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The Murder of Marion Parker · Minor Mischief Podcast

• Kiki George: What happens when the trust of a well-dressed man and the plot for revenge leads to what was described as the most horrible crime of the nineteen twenties? This is the Minor Mischief Podcast and this is the murder of Marian Parker. Guess who's back? Back again. We are back. Tell a friend. Guess who's back? Guess who's back? Guess who's back? Guess who's back? Guess who's back? Guess who's back? Guess who's back? Nah na na na na na na na na na na na na. Welcome back. Welcome back to the minor mischief podcast. I am your host and homegirl for the next forty five minutes to an hour, Miss Kiana Amir. And thank you all. Thank you all for joining me. Hopefully, all is well with everybody. I know us here in the Southeast, we have been dealing with Snow Mageddon. I think I have officially contracted cabin fever. It was to the point where I think just sitting in the house for days and days on end, I just could not. And I was really thinking back to like, okay, in COVID, you know, during that time, I really couldn't leave the house. But honestly. You what, I'm not even gonna share that. But I would say I was by myself during COVID because at that time I was separated, you know, from my ex and he had the kids. And so it was just me by myself ordering DoorDash. It was to the point where my neighbor was just like, The only re reason I know you're alive is because I see you open your door, stick your hand out, and pull in your food delivery. And that was the truth. No lies were told, but Being stuck in this house for the last five days, because it was five days this week and then last week, I think I was stuck in the house for four or five days too. Cause we have back to back snow and baby. Well, Carly, what did Cardi B say? I am outside my flippin' medulla, okay? my gosh. So I hope everyone is safe. I hope everyone is warm. I hope everyone is doing well. I hope everyone, you know, has power and water. It has just been a crazy time here, but Let's zone out to another true crime story, shall we? So today's story is a first on this particular show. It's a story that actually popped up in my news feed. You know, when you click on the internet and on your computer on the homepage, these random news articles pop up. So I don't know if it's just because of my search history or my algorithm at this point, but my homepage was like, hey girl, here's a story. And it really intrigued me because this particular story happened almost a hundred years ago. And I love history. Like I do love reading about things that happened in the past. I have to be very careful though, because sometimes when I do go down that rabbit hole of America's chopped and screwed past, it it just is hard for me. so I I do it very sparingly. But I figured this would be, you know, a very interesting story. So let's get into it, shall we cue the music from the nineteen twenties? So today we are introduced to William Hickman, who is our mischief maker, and Marion Parker, who is the star of our show, but unfortunately our victim. So I do want to preface this by saying William Hickman was not a true minor. He was 19, but young enough. Young enough. So please excuse him being older than 18. He was 19 years old when this all happened. And I feel like he was young enough. And I feel like this story was wild enough. So let's get into it. cause you know, we move. So Frances Marian Parker was born on October eleventh, nineteen fifteen. Come on, October babies. One time for the October, baby, two time for the October baby. I'm an October baby myself and I love us. Okay. But she was born on October eleventh, nineteen fifteen, to her parents, Perry and Geraldine Parker. She had an older brother, Perry Jr., and a twin sister named Marjorie. So Perry Parker Sr. was a banker. He was actually the head banker at the Los Angeles First National Trust and Savings Bank. And her mother, Geraldine Parker, appeared to be a homemaker. Now, Marion was a student along with her twin sister, Marjorie. They were both students at the Mount Vernon Junior High School, which is now the Johnny Cochrane Junior Middle School. Go Cougars, A. And that school is located in the Los Angeles Unified School District. I am not from LA, love LA, love y'all down, love the food, love the people, love the culture, love everything about it. I just don't know much about LA, so take that for what you will. William Hickman Jr. was born on February first, nineteen eight, and he was born to his parents, William Hickman Sr. and Eva Hickman. Now, William Sr. was a railroad William Sr. was a railroad worker. I don't know why that word is kicking my behind. And I did not find any employment information on Eva Hickman, but that's not strange for this time, as you know, women's rights were still very new and a lot of women did not work. William did have a brother named Alfred, and one interesting fact about William is apparently he was born a stillborn. And the story goes from his mother, Eva. She said that William was actually born a stillborn and doctors worked tirelessly for a few hours to resuscitate him and bring him to life so that, you know, she could take her baby home with her. Now, in order to do this story justice, I wanted to just paint a little bit of a picture of what was going on around this time, you know, in Los Angeles in nineteen twenty seven. At this time, LA was one of the fastest growing cities in the country. And Hollywood was on the verge of becoming the epicenter for filmmaking. All eyes were on LA, honey, as the luxurious home to celebrities and silent film stars. It was basically like kind of like what it is today. You if you made it here, you can make it anywhere. That's New York. But you know what I'm saying? Like, that's where people went to make it, to become something of themselves. The movie The Jazz Singer had just came out and it introduced the word the world to talkies, which signaled the end of the silent film era. So back in the day, movies did not have volume. Like they were silent. I think there was music and words that would flash across the screen. Movie stars did not really have to speak or memorize lines. They just had to act out what was happening. And so Around this time, talkies, which are the movies that we know and love today, were released into the film world and that took over the silent film era. But LA, like I said, it was becoming the epicenter for filmmaking. It was the home to everything luxurious, everything glitz, glamour, shine. It still had that very much Hollywood charm. And most of the residents were loving living there, but they were also feeling the sting. Of the rapidly growing yet unstable economy. So LA residents at this time were dealing with labor exploitation, unfair wage practices, housing shortages, homelessness, and the rise of organized crime that came with the Prohibition era. If you're unfamiliar with the Prohibition era, this is basically a period of time where alcohol was illegal. So, you know, us as American citizens, we're not gonna just be sober, are we? Absolutely not. We're gonna start bootlegging liquor. So people would make liquor in their basements or like in back rooms in their houses. speakeasies became a thing. Little underground clubs became a thing because it was very much illegal to consume alcohol at that time. Baby, I would not have survived. I don't think I'm an alcoholic or anything, but your girl loves the glass of wine, especially after a long week. So if I was unable to have my glass of wine after a long week, I don't know. It would not be a very fun time in life for me. But this is what was going on. So organized crime was very popular at this time because the people needed their alcohol. Again, organized crime was on the rise and the police at this time, you might as well have called them sidewalk ornaments because they were notorious for looking the other way as middle class, working class, and lower class people begged for change. And it sounds like America in 2026. Just saying we have learned nothing. Which brings us to where William fit in for all of this. So William and his family were transplants from Kansas City who moved to LA with the hopes of starting a new life. Back then, there was a great migration of people from the Midwest, not to be confused with the great migration from the South to the Northern states. This is a separate migration where people from the Midwest and the Northwest were kind of moving over to the West Coast, specifically California. Because they were moving there in hopes for job stability, for gainful employment. They wanted to have a better life and really raise their kids with hopes of a future. Because there wasn't really much going on in the other parts of the country. And America was just so broken and there was just so much going on at that time that they were really grasping for that change. And they were sorely disappointed when they got there and realized that it was really more of the same thing. William did land a job as an assistant cashier and what's the word I'm looking for? He was an assistant cashier, but he was also a courier for the first for the Los Angeles first national trust and savings bank, which if you remember, this is where Perry Parker worked as the head banker slash manager. Well, while employed at the bank, William was feeling the sting of the California economy, which to be quite honest, resonates with today's day and age, like I said. And you know, he was out of options and low on funds and he began stealing from the bank. So what William would do is he would as people were cashing their checks or as he was like delivering, you know, money or whatever the case may be, he would squirrel a little. He would kind of alter the personal checks and then cash them on his own. And over time he was able to cash about four hundred dollars worth of checks, which by today's standards is about seventy five hundred dollars. So William was not able to keep up with this charade for long because his scheme was eventually discovered and he was fired from his job. Now there are some sources that say that Perry snitched on William and this led to him losing his job. And other sources say that the math simply was not mathing. And I do believe that the first version of events is the truth, to be quite honest. I do believe that Perry found out what was going on. He fired William, and that's the version of things, I believe. So after William was fired, he was arrested and he was taken to trial for the forgery and the theft. And William, during his trial, Perry testified against him and he sat and looked in his face and was just like, Hey, yes, he did this. Yes, we caught him doing this. This is how much money he stole and I think he should be in jail. And William served six months in jail because of that. He was convicted. So upon release, William returned to the bank and he basically went up to Perry and was like, Listen, I made a foolish mistake. I really was just down on my luck. I really needed this and I made a decision that I'm not proud of. If you will please give me my job back, I will prove to you that I am not that person. Like I can really be on the up and up. I can do my job and I can do it well. And you don't have to worry about me stealing anymore. And Perry was just like, Boy, if you don't get the hell out of my damn face. He refused to give William his job back. And so William, you know, he's just like, okay, I'm not gonna get stuck in this one place. Let me at least try to look for other jobs. Cause surely the Los Angeles first bank or whatever, it was a long name. He was like, surely the Los Angeles first national trust and savings bank is not the only place to get a job, right? So he did apply for another job. He was offered the job. And the second job, which was not named, called over to the bank and was just like, Hey, can we get a reference on William? He applied for a job here. We really like him. He's a sharp kid. You know, what do you think? Was he great there? And Perry once again was just like, I may tell you a joke, but I won't tell you a lie. I wouldn't hire him. I cannot give him a good reference because I don't have a good reference to give. Like, you know? And so William at that time was also denied that job. So William at this point, he's down on his luck, doesn't have a job, no way to help his family out, no way to, you know, contribute to the household, because, you know, back then all a man could stand on was his word and a job. And William was definitely lacking in that area. So the family, you know, basically with their back up against the wall and nowhere to go, they pack up and they move back to Kansas City because, you know, at this point it's like, hey, things aren't working out for us in LA. We do have a home to go back to. We can go, we can do the farm thing. We can, you know, go back to the great old Midwest and it'll be fine. I am not sure what led William to come up with this next part because it was absolutely ridiculous and completely uncalled for. But here it goes. So in November 1927, William steals a car from a stranger in Kansas City and he begins the trek back to Los Angeles. So once he's back in LA, he secures an apartment and begins his plan on what to do next to get his money back, but also to repay Perry for his misfortune. So now it's December 15th, 1927. It's a mild day. You know, it never rains in Southern California. Beautiful day, 65 degrees Fahrenheit. The sun is shining, hopes are high, kids are playing, they're excited, they are beaming and gleaming. You know that pre Christmas. joy in the air, that is the season that we find our victim in. So she's at school, it's shortly afternoon on a Thursday. So you know everybody's gearing up for the weekend. Everybody's gearing up for Christmas. Marian is in class. They're having a Christmas party and I am sure baby girl was eating all the stacks and having all the fun. Because if one thing your girl loves is a good old school party. Even now when my babies have parties at their daycare, And they come home with their goodie bags. I'm like, baby, I'm so sorry. Mommy has to tax you because I love school parties. So Marion is having a good old time. She's at her school party. And then William walks into the registrar's office at Mount Vernon Junior High School and he puts on a show. He is wearing his best suit. He had dark curly hair. And so he had it very well combed and styled. And he walks in with an air of confidence, smelling like Versace Cologne. I know obviously not Versace because Versace didn't come out till the 80s, but you know, he is smelling good, he is looking good, he has an air of confidence of him about himself. He's walking upright, looking people in the eyes, charming them with his words. And he walks up to the registrar at the school. Her name is Mary Holt. And he's like, hey. I am here to pick up Mr. Parker's daughter. And Mary's like well, Mr. Parker has two daughters. Which one are you here to pick up? And he's just like the younger one. And she's like, I mean, yeah, that's all well and good, but they're twins. And he's like Yeah, that's what I meant, the youngest of the twins. And so Mary is just like, I'm sorry, honey, but I don't even know you. And can you even tell me her name? And he's just like, Well, I don't know her name, but I do work for Mr. Perry at the bank and he has been in an accident and he really just wants his daughter there by his side. And so he sent me here to pick her up and I was just wanting to pick her up so that I can head back over there. He is still at the scene of the accident and I just really need to pick her up. And Mary's just like But you don't know her name? Do you know how old she is? Like I need something else than I am here to pick up Mr. Parker's younger daughter. Like what's Mr. Parker's name? Do you know his first name? Do you know mom's name? Like what's give me more than that? And so William at this time is just like, Okay, let's talk turkey. I do work for Mr. Perry. Here's his phone number. You can call him if you don't believe me, but I I'd be in trouble if I don't pick Marianne up and take her with me. And so he gives her a piece of paper with a phone number on it, and she looks at it and she's just like, you know what? You seem like a sincere and honest dude. Let me call down to the class and I'll have Marion come up and go with you. And I really do hope Mr. Parker's okay. So Mary calls down to Marion's class and her teacher's just like, Yeah, I can send Marion up to the front office, but you sure you don't want to take Marjorie too? And she's like, Nope, just Marion. their dad's been in an accident and he really only wants Marion to come. No Marjorie, just Marion. And so she's just like, and that doesn't sound strange to you. And he's just like, Listen. Mr. Parker's his boss. This guy seems sincere. He seems honest. He has honest and kind eyes, a great demeanor about himself. I think we can trust that he's able to pick up, you know, Marion. And so the teacher's like, Okay. And she sends Marion to the front office. So Marion walks up to the front office and she is confused. First of all, she's like, Who is this man? I don't know you. And second of all, she's just like, Why am I leaving without Marjorie? And I'm just like, okay, you guys had three checkpoints of confused people, but I digress. so he bends down, William. He gets to Marion's level and he's like, hey, sweetie, your father's been in a car accident. I have to take you over to him. He's fine. Trust me. Everything will be fine. He's fine. Everything is fine. Just come with me. And so Marion looks over to Mary. And Mary is just like, You can trust him, sweetie. Like, you can go ahead with him. And so She grabs her book bag, grabs her lunchbox, and she heads out the door with William. All this back and forth is going on. Marjorie is still in class and she is standing by the window and she sees William and Marion leaving and getting into William's car. Well, the stolen car. And so Marjorie is just like, okay, that looks weird. And she just kind of takes like details of the car, what the guy looked like, and she's just like, I'm sure everything's fine, but just in case, you know, I have this information. So school lets out, and then the Parkers go to pick up the girls from school. And they're just like, hey, Marjorie, where's your sister? And so Marjorie's just like, hey, I saw her leave with this man. He was about five's eight. He was very fair skinned, dark, beautiful hair. he's, you know, very well dressed, very well groomed, and that's who Marianne left with. And they're just like, that doesn't make any sense. We don't know anybody that looks like that. So they head up to the front office and they're just like, Where's Marion? And Mary at this time is just like, the guy that works for you came to get her. Like, surely you know. And Perry's just like, Okay, well, let me go figure this out. Thank you, but let me go see where my daughter is. So he's sh going around trying to figure out, like, okay, where's where's Marion? Like, what's going on? And so Mary Tells Perry, she's just like, listen, he said you had been in an accident. And the gag is, guys, Perry had actually been home all day. So December 15th was Perry's 48th birthday. So he took the day off to spend some alone quality time with his wife. And I know that's right, Perry. I do not work on my birthday either. It is a national holiday as far as I'm concerned. And I don't work on my birthday either. So I love that for you and I love that for us. But now they are panicked. Because they're just like, okay, so Marion left with this guy. He says that I got into an accident and we worked together, but I wasn't even at work today. And so they're panicked. I'm not sure though if the family got law enforcement involved at this time because none of the articles I read mentioned the police being called at this time. But then again, these articles are almost 100 years old. For the sake of storytelling, we'll say they did not because I could not find any proof that they called the police at this time. So about 6.02 p.m., the Parker family receives a telegram from Western Union which reads, Mary insecure, use good judgment, interference with my plans, dangerous. Signed, George Fox. So now Perry knows, like, okay, something's wrong. Someone has my baby girl, and I don't even know what to do. And this is kind of what led me to believe they did not call the police yet because the first note advised them not to say anything and wait until they get further instructions or else. So the following day, Perry receives a second telegram instructing him to get fifteen hundred dollars of twenty dollar gold certificates and prepare to deliver them that night. Gold certificates were a type of money that people could use to prevent them from using a ton of coins for larger purchases. So fifteen hundred dollars by today's value is around twenty eight thousand dollars. In the letter, William informed Perry that if he got the police involved, that Marion would surely die. He signed this letter fate, F A T E. At this point, there's documentation of Perry notifying the police, who initially told him not to pay the ransom and to allow them time to investigate further. They did urge Perry, however, to go ahead and meet with the kidnapper and then they'll kind of take it from there. So the night of December sixteenth comes and Perry is waiting at the location as he was instructed. William drives over to the location and he notices like that looks like a police car over there. And I know that ain't a police car. So he kind of ducks off and makes a U-turn out one of the side streets and goes back where he came from. Which y'all have got to be so for real. If you know you are supposed to be hidden, why can this man see you? But that's not why we're here. So William, noticing the police presence around the drop off point, like I said earlier, he leaves and basically hauls the hell out of there. And now he is just like, okay, you think you think you're cute, Perry. So the following day he sends Perry another note expressing his disappointment with him for not making the exchange the way that they agreed. This letter was followed up with a letter from Marion begging for her father to pay the ransom and the letter that Marion wrote reading. Dear Daddy and Mother, I wish I could come home. I think I'll die if I have to be like this much longer. Won't someone tell me why all this had to happen to me? Daddy, please do what this man tells you or he'll kill me if you don't. Your loving daughter, Marion Parker. PS Please, Daddy, I want to come home tonight. Please, Daddy. Perry did relay this information to the police who instructed him to go ahead and get the ransom money out and pay the ransom and then this should be all over with. Remember earlier when I called them sidewalk ornaments, I was not trying to be rude. I was being so for real. Perry did do as he was in instructed and he secured the bag and he prepared to meet with Marion's kidnapper. And remember at this time Perry doesn't know that it's William. He's just like my daughter's been stolen by some maniac and I'm just gonna do whatever it takes to get her back. So to prepare for their meeting, William ditches the original car, 'cause remember at this point Marjorie saw the car, so she's able to locate it or at least describe it. And he needed something different because he didn't want to be tied to being the person that picked Marion up that day. And so he goes and he steals another car and he goes back to the hideout with the stolen car in his possession, and he's sitting there trying to figure out like, okay, what should I do? Like, I have to protect my identity. I can't go back to jail. She knows my name. We've been here these last couple days. She knows everything. But I need to protect my identity because I can't go back to jail. How can I make sure that Perry sees his daughter in the car with me, but she can't say anything? I there has to be a way. There has to be a way to keep her alive, but get the money. Maybe I could throw her out the car. I don't know. What should I do? She knows even if I let her go, she knows. She knows everything. So this next part is pretty graphic, so if you're squeamish, please be advised. So William is pondering at this time, like, I can't kill her because Perry's not gonna give me the money without seeing his daughter, and I can't let her go alive because she knows who I am and where we've been. She's been to my house, she knows where I live, she knows my name, she knows my face, she knows my car. So at this point, he's like, Damn, she gotta go. William then slits Marion's throat and then he strangles her until she takes her final breath. After this, he's like, Okay, but now she's dead. How do I get the money? I can't get rid of her body, but I need to get rid of her body. I can't leave it here. And he's like, Okay, okay, I'm gonna cut her up and I'm gonna throw her away. But if I throw her away, I'm not gonna get the money and I need the money. The whole point of doing this was for the money. And so he begins to dismember Marianne's body limb by limb and he wrapped each dismembered limb in newspaper. And he's just like still thinking like there has to be a way to make it look like she's still alive because I need to get this money. So at this point he takes piano wire and he kind of like sews her eyelids open. He puts Takes her bowels out because remember he had already dismembered her. He cuts into her, removes her bowels, disposes of them, and then he stuffs her with a t shirt and towels to prop her body up. And he takes Marion's mutilated body out to the stolen car, washes himself up, covers his face with a handkerchief, puts on a hat and prepares to meet Perry. So at seven thirty PM now and William calls Perry and is just like, Hey, I'm ready, no funny business. I'll meet you at Fifth Avenue and Manhattan and now not Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, but it's Fifth Avenue and Manhattan Avenue. So he's just like, I'm gonna meet you at Fifth Avenue and Manhattan Avenue, and we'll do an exchange. I'm gonna pull up right alongside of you, and then once you give me the money, I'm gonna drive one block. I'm gonna stop and I'm gonna let Marion out of the car at that time. They get off the phone, Perry gets in his car. William gets in his car. They both drive to Fifth Avenue and Manhattan Street in Los Angeles. So Perry parks and he's waiting for William to pull up. So shortly after William pulls up alongside of him, and William points a saw-off shotgun at him. And he's just like, Listen, you know why I'm here. Don't make any sudden moves. Don't try any funny business. And Perry's just like, I hear what you're saying, but where's my child? And so he asks to see Marion before he gives William the money. And so William points over to Marion and Perry's just like, hey baby, are you okay? And he's just like, Listen, she's asleep. She's not gonna hear you. She's not gonna say anything. She's asleep, but give me the money and I'll do what I promised you. And so at this point, Perry's just like, okay, maybe she's been chloroformed. I don't know what he's done to her, but I'm ready for this to all be behind me. I'm ready to haul my baby girl. In my arms again, and he hands over the money to William. So William speeds off, gets to the end of the block, and shoves Marion's body out of the car at the curb. So Perry drives up to his daughter, gets out of the car, picks her up into his arms, and everyone that was in the area at this time said that Perry let out the most gut-wrenching, loud scream that they have ever heard in their life. So Perry looks down and he realizes like, this is not my baby. This is not my baby. This is not my baby. Like he's left holding only a tiny piece, like just a piece of her. Because remember, she's just a torso at this point. So police and medics arrive to the scene. They take a statement from Perry and they take Marion's torso to be autopsied. During the autopsy, the medical examiner notices that Marion had only been dead for less than twelve hours and that one of the towels that Marion was wrapped in was labeled Bellevue Apartments. Now wait a minute. Did apartments come with towels back in the day or was this kind of like a hotel type of scenario? Because if apartments came with anything but the four walls at that point in time, why are we paying for more? That is just my question, and that is all. So They head over to the Bellevue apartments, and apparently William saw them coming because the police cannot be sneaky in this story for some reason or another. So William sees them coming and he immediately hauls off. He's just like, nope, gotta go. So they head into the apartments and they get up there and they speak with the landlord. And the landlord's just like, Yeah, 'cause they showed him William's picture and he's just like, I know that guy, but his name is Donald. His name is Donald Evan. He just moved in here less than a month ago. He stays back there in apartment three fifteen. So they're like, Hey, can you let us in? And so he lets them in. And upon searching the apartment, the police discover bloody footprints and partially burnt handwritten drafts of the ransom letters. They also find newspaper clippings about the kidnapping. And at this point, you know, neighbors are nosy. They're like, wait a minute, what's going on with the police presence in this building? Like, what's happening? And so the police, I guess, explained to them, like, hey, have you seen this kid? You know, we're looking for him. We're wanting to question him about this murder. And they're just like, No, we haven't seen him today, but we did see him carrying several packages to his car the other day. And then when he came back, He was cleaning this car and he was kind of like wiping down the seats, making sure they were all clean. So we haven't seen him, but that is very suspicious behavior. So now it's december eighteenth, twenty almost said twenty twenty seven. Now it's december eighteenth, nineteen twenty seven, and investigators find Marion's arms and legs wrapped in newspaper on the side road of Elysian Park. Now Elysian Park present day is where the Dodgers stadium is located. And this was the first time since the murder that the Parkers spoke to any press. Perry conducted an interview from his home and told the press, This is the saddest time of my life. Gentlemen, I can't say much. My heart is too full. I know you want some kind of statement from me, but what can I say? My little girl is gone. Gone from me forever. And when I think how I I I just can't say anymore. Like I just I really want to be alone. So Perry at this point leaves and he retreats to his bedroom and Perry Junior comes and he's just like listen. Mother knows that Marion is dead, but she doesn't know everything. And our prayer is that she will never know. Father and I know, of course, we have not told her, and we will never tell her. Mother is wonderful. She has not broken down. Neither has father. They keep going. I don't know how. Mother's out in the kitchen now getting breakfast for us. I think it makes it a little easier for us to keep busy. Father's asleep at last. He's worn out. And I think it's time you all should go. And that was the statement. Marian's funeral was held at the Little Church of the Flowers at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. She was cremated and her ashes were placed inside of Forest Lawn's Great Mausoleum where they remain to this day. On December 20th, 1927, the police find the stolen vehicle in San Francisco and had it fingerprinted. Because William was relatively fresh off of his jail sentence for theft, they were able to match the fingerprints to his profile pretty quickly. Fun fact for your trivia hat. This was actually one of the very first cases where fingerprints were used to determine a suspect's identity. When news broke of Marion's body parts being found and the connection to William via fingerprints, hundreds of officers and thousands of outraged citizens went on the hunt to find William. When I tell you everyone was in on the hunt, one article I read even said that well known mob bosses, because remember, organized crime was a thing. Like, They were out there getting that sh money, like they were not playing. But I read an article that said that well known mob bosses put crime to the side to make sure that William paid for his sins against the Parker family. And you know how serious that is for people who use crime as a source of their sole source of income and wealth to put operations on hold so that they could find Joass, William should have just jumped off the golden break the golden gate bridge at that point, because there was no getting out of this, I promise you. popular mob bosses, Albert Marco and Tony the Hat Panero, were amongst those that suspended all bootlegging and offered their henchmen twenty-five thousand dollars for anyone who brought William Hickman to them. Now, news spread very quickly about the hunt for William, and California Lieutenant Governor Buron Fitz sent a telegram to the official governor, and he called the murder of Marion Parker the most vicious and accrual. Atrocious crime in California history. Now, was this before or after the Black Dahlia? I think it was before, 'cause I think the Black Dahlia was in nineteen twenty nine, but hold on, now I gotta know. When did that happen? 'Cause this was not a great time in California history. This is ghetto, I know. Yeah, this was after no, the Black Dahlia wasn't until nineteen forty seven. She was three when this case happened. Never mind. Yeah, this was at that time the most horrendous crime in California's history. So after the assistant, well the lieutenant governor reached out to the governor, a bulletin went out offering fifty thousand dollars for William's capture. This reward was shortly increased to a hundred thousand dollars. And do you know how much money that is? A hundred thousand dollars in nineteen twenty seven today is just shy of two million dollars. Baby, I would have went on a hunt for William myself. I would have gone on a hunt for William myself. Tips came flooding in as expected, and everyone was making law enforcement aware of William's whereabouts. This allowed police to trace Williams' path going north to Oregon and then up to Washington, where he used two of the $20 gold certificates to purchase clothing the following day. But get this back in those days, police officers were eligible to receive monetary monetary rewards for capturing a criminal. So everybody, including state police, local police, forest strangers, everybody was hot on the trail to find William. On December twenty second, nineteen twenty seven, in Oregon, two officers, Tom Gurdain and Buck Llewellyn, located him based on a bulletin that was released after he was seen buying gas. They pursued William in a frantic two mile car chase. Two miles. They could have just chased him off foot. But then again, according to Google, The highest speed for a car in 1927 was 45 miles per hour, so it probably took them a little bit to get that two miles. After the chase came to a head, William was arrested by officers Gurdain and Llewellyn without incident. Fun fact though, after they were paid, law enforcement became ineligible for tip line compensation or the arrest or di detainment of a wanted person. The officers also found the remainder of the fourteen hundred dollars that William requested of Perry. And I do wonder if they gave Perry his money back. Just out of curiosity. The LAPD and County Sheriff's Department made their way up to Oregon to bring William to justice in Los Angeles. On the trade and ride back to LA, William signed a confession detailing his crimes and the murder and dismemberment of Marion. Now this was back before Miranda rights were a thing, as Miranda rights did not take effect until the case of Ernesto Arturo Miranda in nineteen sixty-three. In Mr Ernesto's case, He confessed to kidnapping and rape without being informed of his right to remain silent. And he sued the state of Arizona and won, thus placing the Miranda Wright Law into effect at that time. So during William's train ride, he was pretty much in the hot seat. He was surrounded not only by officers, but all of the passengers on the train knew who he was. Cause at this time, it was very, very, very well publicized news that William was wanted for this heinous crime. So he is in this train and the passengers of this train are cursing at him. They're just like, You deserve to be lynched. You don't deserve the air you breathe. Justice will come swiftly for you, boy. They're spitting at him. They're chastising him. And then officers are just like, You know what? Maybe we don't need to be on this train with him. So they get off the train and then they charter a car back to LA where they drove him the rest of the way. When they arrived at the Hall of Justice jail, you would think that William's horrors were over, but no baby, they were not. There was a large angry crowd waiting for William to get out of the car. Like as they soon as they pulled up, they were like, Lantam. It's not funny. It's not funny, but there was an angry mob outside of the jail. And they're just like, okay, William, apparently you're not safe here because they're just like, cash me outside. You want to kill little girls? Let's do this. Like we could square up. And the public was not letting up. So for his safety, William was not held in the jail, but instead he was sent to the DA's office where he was heavily guarded. And that's where he sat awaiting trial. Luckily for him, his trial did not take long to come because the people of Los Angeles and apparently surrounding areas were ready to turn William every which way but loose. William's trial started in January of nineteen twenty eight, and William did what anyone facing the death penalty will do. He plot insanity, and he said that he killed Marion under the leading of a supernatural entity that he said was named Providence. The trial saw testimony from his father, his mother, and his brother Alfred William Sr. took the stand first and he broke down. He gave a very factual account of William Junior's childhood through sobs and tears. Mrs. Hickman was next to take the stand, and she was quite the opposite. Although she did testify with her head bowed the entire time, and she never once looked William's way. She recalled that life was not that great at the Hickman household. And she admitted to hating her husband pretty much every day of her life and being very open with the thoughts of killing him and others. She went on to say that she does not recall all of the horrible things that she had done in William's life because her mind would just black out sometimes. The defense then showed members of the jury photographs of Marion's body at the autopsy, and many members of the jury, which consisted mostly of women, burst into tears and were heard sobbing throughout the courtroom. Talk about not being judged by a j jury of your peers because not only was it a jury of predominantly women, it was a jury of predominantly women of childbearing age or who had children. So there was no way William was winning this fight. Just there was just no way. Mary Holt, if you remember, she was the school's registrar. She testified to William being the person that picked Marion up from school that day. And she said that she honestly would not have let Marion go with him if it was not for his kind and stable and charming demeanor. Which basically, girl, William looked wealthy because he had on that suit and those nice shoes and he smelled good and his hair was combed and gelled, and he probably had a nice little pocket watch on him. And she was just like, You got money? Okay. You're trustworthy. And sadly, stuff like that still happens to this day. And it's just really sad. The defense did bring in expert testimony by a doctor named Dr. Fetz, who testified that he did a complete examination of William and that William was found to have serous meningitis, which is inflammation of the brain. To which I'm just like, it was in the nineteen twenties. I think tons of people had meningitis. Like, let's be so for real. Another physician, doctor Shelton, testified that William was suffering from dementia praecox, which now is called schizophrenia. He said also that William was suffering with a megalomania, which is the obsession with abuse of power and the domination of others. He also said that William should be classified as a paranoid person and a manic depressant. The trial was sealed with testimony from the medical examiner about the results of Marianne's autopsy and testimony from Perry Parker. In February 1928, the case was over and the jury did want go out to deliberate, and within the hour they found William guilty of his crimes and he was sentenced to death. William was executed via hanging. Shesh. Golly, William was executed via hanging by the state of California at San Quentin Prison on October nineteenth, nineteen twenty eight. And child, even his hanging was a spectacle. So apparently the rope that they used was cut too short, and none of the prison guards wanted to be the one to pull the rope on William because, you know, he was a young kid. And so they pulled the rope, the rope was too short, and he didn't drop. far enough. So instead of hanging, his neck just broke and he died immediately. Now what made this situation worse is that Williams' leg got stuck on the trapdoor of the gallows. So basically how hangings are done is you're standing on this trapdoor situation contraption with a rope around your neck. And I know this is graphic, but this is a true crime like podcast. And so prison guards at the time would pull a rope That would open the door and drop weights on your ankles to hang you. And so, William, when the door was pulled, his leg was stuck on the freaking door. So instead of like, you know, just hanging, he falls, his neck snaps, and then he kind of like struggles. It's not funny. It's not funny. But he kind of like wiggled around and then they just kind of stared at him for twenty minutes and then the doctor was like, Okay, maybe I should check and see if he's dead. And then the doctor was just like, Okay, yeah. His heart's no longer beating. He's good. And so there was a photographer, the same photographer that did the crime scene photos of Marianne's body. his name was George Watson. And George was just like watching that execution was probably the worst thing he had ever seen in his life. Because it was like looking at William being murdered because of how he fell and how all those things happened. And he's just like, listen, he deserved it. He deserved it, but still very hard to watch. I personally could not watch that. That right there, do not sign me up. I don't ever, don't, ever want to see anyone be murdered. I just, I cannot. But yeah, so 10 months after. Killing Marion Parker, William Hickman himself was executed and killed. following his death in the newspaper the next day, there was an huge article on the front page that read Hickman is hanged. And it was printed very large and distributed nationwide in the Daily Newspaper. And it was right under an article, just you know, for the sign of the times that said, Bomb perils Waukisha children. So yeah. That's what was going on. There was war and then William Hickman was hanged. Where are they now, child? Where are their descendants? I did try to trace the Hickman lineage and William Hickman was also the name of a Frontiersman who was like he went by the name of Wild Bill Wild Bill Hickman. He was a Mormon. you know, he belonged to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. And he was very what's the word I'm looking for, he was very pivotal in the founding of Utah. And so when I was looking up William Hickman, I was I just found a lot of stuff on him. So I truly do not know. and the story of Marion Parker carries on. Like I said, she is still located in the mausoleum to this day. You can find pictures of her, her mom, her twin sister Marjorie all online. You can find pictures of Perry Parker. they were very well known in their community even prior to Marion's. Untimely death and they kind of went down in history after that happened because there were a lot of firsts in their trial. it was among the first of fingerprinting used to identify a suspect, like I mentioned earlier. It was like one of the first dismemberment crimes. there was just so many firsts in this crime. It was the first time that someone of Williams' age was executed and he was actually one of the first people to be executed. So it was just a lot of firsts. And my thoughts on this story, my final thoughts is it was very interesting to research. I could not imagine obviously I could not imagine being a citizen in the twenties. But it was very interesting to research. And I think something that stook Something that stuck out to me about this case was how the city and the residents, even organized crime lords, were all rallying behind the Parker family to bring William to justice. And it painted a picture to me of a community that was strong within their walls. And by saying that, it meant that obviously they all had differences. They were all from different places. They were all from different walks of life. They were all into different things. But when it came to justice for this young lady, they were all rallying behind her. Everyone was determined to bring, you know, William to justice for what he had done to marry him. Now, obviously, you know, we're not going to speak on every demographic of people, you know, during this time because segregation was still very much a thing. It just painted a picture to me of community togetherness. And it brought me to think about our country now and about How we do things. I can't think of a time in my life where everyone rallied around the same cause. I can't think about it. I cannot think about a time where everyone rallied together. Like, yes, people rallied, but the sense of togetherness, I think, is what we were missing. And so it just it was beautiful to see. And because everyone, you know, had all eyes on bringing justice to Marianne's case and bringing awareness to Marianne's case. I think that's why William was able to be found as fast as he was. So that's just my final thoughts. It was just beautiful to kind of read about the togetherness of this community at the time. And it just made me feel like, well dang, why can't why can't we ever just do things together? You know, there's just so much division and there's just so much, my way is the right way and blah blah blah. Honestly, when it comes to certain things, I don't even understand why there are two different opinions. Like right is right, wrong is wrong. Right? And that's just what it is. Anyway, follow me. Follow me. Follow me, yeah. Follow me on TikTok at Minor MischiefPod and on Instagram at Minor Mischief Podcast. Case suggestions, wanna say what's up. wanna be home girls or home guys with me, send me an email, minor mischiefpodcast at gmail.com. trying to think. Happy Black History Month. I realized that after I started researching this case, because I started the research for this case last week. And like I said, I've been snowed in, so time is not a real concept to me right now. But I was like, after I did all the research and everything for this case, I was like, dang, I really should just do black history cases this month. And that's what I'm gonna do. So I found my case for next week. I'm pretty excited to uncover that. It is gonna be another period piece, so I'm really excited about that. And yeah, happy Black History Month. And we're gonna cover Black History cases this month. Yay. This case was really fun. And thank you for hanging out with me here on the Minor Mischief Podcast. As you can tell, I'm probably exhausted. Child baby is exhausted. Me is exhausted. And we will be back next week, same day of the week. And until then, stay mysterious, friends.