Charlotte's parents were:
William Butler Cope, b. Aug. 2, 1882 in KY. and d. Kan. 30, 1952 in Fresno, Fresno County, CA. &
Lena M Ward, b. Nov. 28, 1882 in Arkansas and d. Oct. 19, 1956 in Fresno county, CA.
William and Lena Cope's children were:
1. Clara Cope, b. abt. 1902 in TX.
2. Charlotte "Lottie" May Cope, b. Mar. 31, 1906 in Webbers Falls, Muskogee county, OK. and d. Nov. 14, 1943 in Monrovia, L. A. county, CA.
3. Bonnie (Bonita?) Cope , b. abt. 1911. Bonnie marr. _ Sawyer.
4. Jewel Beatrice Cope, b. Dec. 23, 1911 in Salisaw, OK. and d. Jun. 6, 1996 in Dallas, TX. Jewel marr. Samuel Lawrence Drybread.
5. William Raymond Cope, b. May 9, 1914 in Okmulgee, OK. and d. Apr. 4, 1962 in Fresno, county, CA. Raymond marr. Mary Rose _.
In the 1910 U. S. census, 4 yr. old Lottie Cope, b. in OK., was living in Midland, Pontotoc, OK. with her
28 yr. old father, William Cope, a Laborer on the Railroad, b. in KY.
27 yr. old mother, Lena Cope, b. in Arkansas
8 yr. old sister, Clara Cope, b. in TX.
4 yr. old sister, Lottie Cope, b. in OK.
newborn (0/12 mth. old) sister, Bonnie Cope, b. in OK.
18 yr. old uncle, Walter Cope, a Farm Laborer on the home farm, b. in OK.
This was a 1st marriage for William & Lena. They had been married for 9 years.
Lena was the mother of 4 children, only 3 still alive by this census.
In the 1920 U. S. census, 13 yr. old Lottie Cope, b. in OK., was attending school and living in a rented home on East Second St. in Casper Ward 3, Natrona, WY. with her
38 yr. old father, William Cope, a Boilermaker at an oil refinery, b. in KY.
38 yr. old mother, Lena Cope, b. in Arkansas
17 yr. old sister, Clara Cope, b. in TX.
9 yr. old sister, Bonnie Cope, attending school, b. in OK.
8 yr. old sister, Jewel Cope, attending school, b. in OK.
5 yr. 7 mth. old brother, Raymond Cope, b. in OK.
and 4 lodgers, all boilermakers ar a refinery.
William's parents were both b. in KY. Lena's parents were both b. in Arkansas.
Charlotte May Cope was married four times (3 according to her sister-in-law, Bonita Frisbee):
1st - to Charles Hawks, "sometime in the 20's.
2nd - On Apr. 18, 1930, 24 yr. old Charlotte Mae Cope, b. in OK. and a resident of Los Angeles, occupation: at home, daughter of W. B. Cope & Lena Ward,
and 27 yr. old (L. ) Grady Lynch, b. in TX. and a resident of OK., occupation: driller, son of D. (Dan) D. Lynch and Elenora Cooper,
were married in Mount Pleasant, Isabella county, Michigan.
Grady had not previously been married. This was a 2nd marriage for Charlotte.
3rd - to Frank Newby, "sometime in the 30's"
4th - to Theron G. Phillips, who she met in 1939 (*when he was already on his 2nd marriage to Sue Henderson). Theron and Charlotte married on May 18, 1943 (although his divorce from Sue didn't become final until May 25, 1943). - Theron shot and killed her after a jealous quarrel, accusing her of continuing to "carry on" with her ex-husband, Frank Newby. (*This was also Theron's 3rd marriage. Before Sue, he was married to Anna May Veneziano in 1929.)
Sunday-Times Democrat (Okmulgee, OK.), P. 4, Col. 3
Sun., Jan 26, 1930
The marriage of L. G. Lynch of Oklahoma City to Miss Charlotte Cope, also of Oklahoma City, on Jan. 7, was announced Saturday at the home of Mr. Lynch's parents, Mr. And Mrs. Dan Lynch, 915 North Alabama avenue.
The couple is visiting in Okmulgee today. Their marriage was a surprise to their parents who were told when the couple arrived Saturday for a visit.
The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA.), P. 21, Col. 1
Wed., Feb. 21, 1934
EIGHT HELD BY POLICE AS CHECK RING
Six Men and Two Women Arrested as Members of Forgery Scheme
Six men and two women, believed by investigators to be members of a forgery ring, were named in complaints issued yesterday by Dep.Dist.-Atty. Stahlman accusing them of attempting to flood Los Angeles with fictitious checks drawn on non-existent banks Chicago and Houston, Tex.
The defendants are Frank Newby, Charlotte Cope (one other woman and three other men).
The complaints charge they issued four personal checks of no value totaling $251 and twelve cashier's checks totaling more than $300.
Arraigned before Municipal Judge Curtis, their bail was fixed at sums ranging from $3,000 for newly to $40,000 for Morton. They were ordered to return to court on the 27th inst. for preliminary hearing.
Post Record (Los Angeles, CA.), P. 5, Col. 7
Wed., Feb. 28, 1934
SIX FACED WITH FORGERY CHARGES
Charged with passing checks written on non-existing banks, six members of an alleged forgery ring today awaited trial in superior court.
Arraigned yesterday before Municipal Judge Chalmers, Frank Newby, Charlotte Cope, (3 other men and one other woman) were found over after a representative of the federal bank examiner testified that banks on which the checks were written did not exist.
The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA.), P. 18, last column
Mon., Nov. 15, 1943
Husband Held in Wife's Death
MONROVIA, Nov. 14 - Mrs. Charlotte Phillips, 38, was shot to death today at her home, 816 W. Walnut St.
Police Sergeant Ralph Odwarker of Monrovia said that Cheron (Theron) Phillips, 43, husband of the woman and a steam shovel operator, called him on the telephone saying that he had just shot and killed his wife and that the police should come and get him.
"He was all broken up and crying," Odwarker said, "and told me that his wife had been keeping company with another man." Phillips is being held by police here.
Monrovia Daily News-Post (Monrovia, CA.), P. 1, Col. 1-2
Mon., Nov. 15, 1943
Monrovian Shoots Wife, Calls Police to Give Self Up
The telephone bell broke the Sunday afternoon quiet at the Monrovia police station yesterday.
Desk Sergeant Ralph Odwarker answered the call and the party informed him that he had just shot his wife and for police to come after him.
The informant was Theron (Theran) Phillips, 43, of 816 W. Walnut ave., brother of the late Tex Phillips, former Monrovia motorcycle officer, who was killed several years ago while piloting an airplane in the employ of William Randolph Hearst, newspaper publisher
Pronounced Dead
Officers found Phillips' wife, Charlotte, seated in a rocking chair in the front room of their home with a bullet wound in her head. Examining doctor pronounced her dead and Phillips, steam-shovel operator, was booked at the Monrovia police station on suspicion of murder.
Later, after homicide deputies of the sheriff's office had been called in, Phillips was removed to the county jail awaiting arraignment in justice court.
When officers arrived, they found Philipps sitting in another chair near the telephone, and the suspect is quoted in police reports as saying he did the shooting.
Motive Not Clear
Nearby officers found the gun, with four unfired shots and one discharged bullet in the chamber.
Police have not clearly established the motive of the crime, although indications are that another man was involved with his wife, officer's reports stated.
The body of Mrs. Phillips was taken to the Mendenhall-Renaker mortuary.
The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA.), P. 20, Col. 4
Thu., Nov. 18, 1943
Husband Blamed in Wife's Death
After an inquest into the death of Mrs. Charlotte May Phillips, 37, who was shot and killed last Nov. 14, a Coroner's jury yesterday recommended that Theron Phillips, 42, her husband, be held to answer for her death.
Roy Coleman, Monrovia policeman said that when he arrived at the Phillip's home at 816 W. Walnut St., Monrovia, he found the woman's body slumped in a chair and that Phillips said he had shot her in the head and was "willing to take the consequences."
It was intimated that the couple quarreled over Mrs Phillips' ex-husband, Frank Newby.
The Fresno Bee (Fresno, CA.), P. 13, last column
Thu., Nov. 18, 1943
Former Fresno Woman Is Slain By Jealous Spouse
Mrs. Charlotte Phillips, 37, Is Shot To Death In Monrovia Home
Funeral services are being arranged in the Tinkler Mission Chapel here for Mrs. Charlotte Phillips, 37, formerly of Fresno, who was shot to death Sunday in her Monrovia home. The police are holding her husband, Thorne G. Phillips, in custody on suspicion of murder.
Her brother, W. R. Cope of Fresno, said Phillips, one of the crane operators of the Friend Dam, shot Mrs. Phillips during a fit of jealousy and following a quarrel.
Sought To Kill Pair
J. N. Dennis, a Los Angeles sheriff's investigator, testified at a coroner's inquest yesterday in Monrovia that Phillips told him after the shooting he went to Pasadena last Friday night with a revolver, hoping to find his wife and her former husband, Frank Newby, together and "get them both."
Dennis said Phillips returned recently from a contracting job in Persia. Dennis and Roy Coleman, Monrovia policeman, testified Phillips called Monrovia police Sunday afternoon and said he had shot his wife.
Phillips did not testify at the inquest. The coroner's jury recommended that he be held for trial.
Mrs. Phillips was born in Weber Falls, Okla., and lived in Fresno for a year before moving to Monrovia.
Other surviving relatives include her parents, Mr. and Mrs. William B. Cope of Fresno, and a sister, Mrs. Samuel Drybread of Louisiana.
The body is being brought to Fresno by the parents.
Monrovia News-Post (Monrovia, CA.), P. 1, Col. 3 and P. 3, Col. 6-7
Thu., Nov. 25, 1943
L. A. Attorney To Defend Monrovia Man
Lorrin Andrews to Be Counsel for Theron Phillips
An imposing array of legal talent will defend Theron G. Phillips against the charge that he murdered his wife, Charlotte, 37, it became apparent here today.
Lorrin Andrews, prominent Los Angeles lawyer, announced that he will act as counsel for the 43-year-old crane operator, assisted by two other attorneys, Frank Hemminger and William Wetherwax.
Ordered for Trial
Phillips, who police claim has confessed to having fatally shot his wife during a quarrel at their home, 816 W. Walnut, Nov. 14 last and to having refused to disclose in detail what the quarrel was about, is scheduled to be arraigned on a murder charge in department 43 of the superior court on Dec. 9.
Municipal Judge Joseph F. Chambers ordered him held for trial on that accusation at a preliminary hearing in Los Angeles this week.
Witnesses included Officer Roy Coleman of Monrovia; Mrs. Loleta Elliott of 820 W. Walnut, a next door neighbor of the Phillips; Dr. Frank R. Webb, chief autopsy surgeon of the coroner's office and Deputy Sheriff J. N. Dennis.
Refuses to Testify
Standing on his constitutional rights, Phillipos refused to testify on advice of Andrews. He appeared in court coatless. He wore a light colored shirt opened at the neck. He watched the proceedings without apparent emotion.
"It's a pity I didn't shoot him instead of her," Coleman quoted Phillips as saying after the tragedy. By "him" Phillips meant Frank Newby, ex-husband of Mrs. Phillips, the officer testified.
On the morning of the fatal day, which was on a Sunday, the couple went to a local café (The House that Jack Built), had "several drinks" and then returned home where the quarrel soon ensued, Deputy Sheriff Dennis told the court.
Dramatic Climax
The quarrel was over Newby, who had been "meddling' in their affairs, the crane operator told him, Dennis declared.
A dramatic episode preceded the shooting.
Phillips went into the bedroom, got his gun and on returning to the living room, where his wife was sitting, he told her he was going to shoot her, to which she answered defiantly, "Go ahead and shoot," according to the deputy sheriff's testimony.
"I heard a woman's scream coming from the home," said Mrs. Elliott. "I heard another scream about five minutes later and then the sound of a shot."
Mrs. Phillips was in a state of "extreme intoxication," Dr. Webb reported his autopsy showed. He said he found abrasions about the thighs and arms of the victim and a cut about the suspect's forehead. Some of the abrasions had occurred two or three days prior to the time of the tragedy, he testified.
Monrovia Daily News-Post (Monrovia, CA.), P. 1, Col. 7
Fri., Jan. 28, 1944
State Fails To Shake Phillips Story
Prosecution Seeks To Revive 'Lost Memory' of Monrovian
Nearly two hours of prosecution grilling today apparently failed to dislodge Theron G. Phillips from his story of "lost memory" defense to the gunshot death of his wife Charlotte, 37, here last Nov. 14.
The 43-year-old steam-shovel operator is on trial for the third day on a charge of murdering his wife, before a jury of 11 women and one man in Superior Judge Leslie E. Still's court in Los Angeles.
Still No Memory
To the many questions asked him by Prosecutor Adolph Alexander, Phillips made answer, "I don't remember" and "Not that I can recall."
"You shot Charlotte, didn't you? Alexander questioned.
"I couldn't say that I did," Phillips answered. Phillips then added, "I don't know that I shot her at all."
The accused man said that he did not remember anything from a few minutes before the shooting took place in the living room of their home at 816 W. Walnut ave.
He added that he did remember using the telephone to call police but he did not recall what he told them. He also said that his memory was a blank as to a second call he is said to have made to Judge John A. H. Sturgeon. The judge testified at noon today that he had received a call from Phillips who said that he had just killed his wife.
Phillips began his "blank" mind defense while on the stand virtually all yesterday afternoon.
He insisted that he couldn't remember anything after his wife, during a quarrel that preceded the shooting, told him that would would "go out" with any man that asked her.
Remembers Nothing
At this point Phillips lost his composure and during the brief pause in the trial wiped away tears from his eyes.
"I don't remember anything after she told me that," he continued. "Everything went blank then and I feel like someone had hit me over the head with a hammer."
He said he did not recall shooting his wife, as police and Prosecutor Alexander claim he did during the quarrel which he testified was prompted by his dead wife's threat to leave him and go back to Newby in Pasadena.
"I pleaded with her to stay home and I told her how much I loved her," he said. "She kept whining she wanted to go to Pasadena. When she started to dress up, I went out to get a drink of water and when I came back she had the pistol (the death weapon) on a coffee table.
Threat Described
She said, "If you don't stop talking about my not being true to you I'm going to shoot you."
The tall and husky steam shovel operator testified he told her "you might as well shoot me after what you're doing to me."
It was at this point that Mrs. Phillips assuredly made the threat she would go out with anyone she cared to.
Previously he testified that he suffered two sun strokes while working in Persia from 1941 to last May when he said he returned here and that he had periodic "severe headaches, especially when I had trouble at home."
Under cross-examining by Alexander, Phillips disclosed that he first met the dead woman in 1939 when she was known as Charlotte Cope and that at that time he was married to a Sue Henderson. He also said that previously he was married to an Anna May Vinzano.
Divorce Dates
Alexander raised the question as to whether Phillips' divorce from Sue Henderson had become final at the time the defendant wed the dead woman last May 18. He replied that as far as he knew it had. But Alexander contended that his information was that the divorce did not become final until May 25, or about a week after he married Charlotte.
Monrovia Daily News-Post (Monrovia, CA.), P. 1, Col. 1-2
Fri., Feb. 4, 1944
Excerpt from: Jurors Declare Phillips Sane
Second Trial Follows Manslaughter Verdict In Slaying of Wife Here
Theron Phillips, 43-year-old Monrovia steam-shovel operator, was declared sane by a jury which returned a verdict at 2:20 p.m. this afternoon. The sanity trial followed a verdict by the jury late yesterday charging Phillips with manslaughter in connection with the death of his wife here.
A verdict declaring that Phillips was insane at the time of the fatal shooting will have the effect, court attaches said, of freeing the 43-year-old steam shovel operator of all criminal responsibility in the death.
The jury returned its verdict of manslaughter, which carried a sentence ranging from one to ten years in prison, at 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon.
Phillips showed no apparent emotion as the court clerk completed reading of the verdict.
According to Feb. 26, 1944 San Quentin Prison Records, Theron (Gladen) Phillips, b. Oct. 10, 1901 in TX., was in prison for "Manslaughter" for a term of 0-10 years. Court & County: Los Angeles. Occupation: Teaston? (Crane) operator. Years of schooling: 9. Marital status: Widowed. Religion: Protestant. Habits: T & L. (Tobacco and liquor?); Description: 5' 11" tall, weighing 192 lbs., with brown eyes and brown/grey hair; Transferred to Chino: May 23, 1944. Board Action: Sep. 26, 1945 - Granted 20 mo. on parole. Sep. 4, 1946 - parole. Listed as a contact: (sister?) Miss Evelyn Phillips, Weatherford, TX.
William Butler Cope, b. Aug. 2, 1882 in KY. and d. Kan. 30, 1952 in Fresno, Fresno County, CA. &
Lena M Ward, b. Nov. 28, 1882 in Arkansas and d. Oct. 19, 1956 in Fresno county, CA.
William and Lena Cope's children were:
1. Clara Cope, b. abt. 1902 in TX.
2. Charlotte "Lottie" May Cope, b. Mar. 31, 1906 in Webbers Falls, Muskogee county, OK. and d. Nov. 14, 1943 in Monrovia, L. A. county, CA.
3. Bonnie (Bonita?) Cope , b. abt. 1911. Bonnie marr. _ Sawyer.
4. Jewel Beatrice Cope, b. Dec. 23, 1911 in Salisaw, OK. and d. Jun. 6, 1996 in Dallas, TX. Jewel marr. Samuel Lawrence Drybread.
5. William Raymond Cope, b. May 9, 1914 in Okmulgee, OK. and d. Apr. 4, 1962 in Fresno, county, CA. Raymond marr. Mary Rose _.
In the 1910 U. S. census, 4 yr. old Lottie Cope, b. in OK., was living in Midland, Pontotoc, OK. with her
28 yr. old father, William Cope, a Laborer on the Railroad, b. in KY.
27 yr. old mother, Lena Cope, b. in Arkansas
8 yr. old sister, Clara Cope, b. in TX.
4 yr. old sister, Lottie Cope, b. in OK.
newborn (0/12 mth. old) sister, Bonnie Cope, b. in OK.
18 yr. old uncle, Walter Cope, a Farm Laborer on the home farm, b. in OK.
This was a 1st marriage for William & Lena. They had been married for 9 years.
Lena was the mother of 4 children, only 3 still alive by this census.
In the 1920 U. S. census, 13 yr. old Lottie Cope, b. in OK., was attending school and living in a rented home on East Second St. in Casper Ward 3, Natrona, WY. with her
38 yr. old father, William Cope, a Boilermaker at an oil refinery, b. in KY.
38 yr. old mother, Lena Cope, b. in Arkansas
17 yr. old sister, Clara Cope, b. in TX.
9 yr. old sister, Bonnie Cope, attending school, b. in OK.
8 yr. old sister, Jewel Cope, attending school, b. in OK.
5 yr. 7 mth. old brother, Raymond Cope, b. in OK.
and 4 lodgers, all boilermakers ar a refinery.
William's parents were both b. in KY. Lena's parents were both b. in Arkansas.
Charlotte May Cope was married four times (3 according to her sister-in-law, Bonita Frisbee):
1st - to Charles Hawks, "sometime in the 20's.
2nd - On Apr. 18, 1930, 24 yr. old Charlotte Mae Cope, b. in OK. and a resident of Los Angeles, occupation: at home, daughter of W. B. Cope & Lena Ward,
and 27 yr. old (L. ) Grady Lynch, b. in TX. and a resident of OK., occupation: driller, son of D. (Dan) D. Lynch and Elenora Cooper,
were married in Mount Pleasant, Isabella county, Michigan.
Grady had not previously been married. This was a 2nd marriage for Charlotte.
3rd - to Frank Newby, "sometime in the 30's"
4th - to Theron G. Phillips, who she met in 1939 (*when he was already on his 2nd marriage to Sue Henderson). Theron and Charlotte married on May 18, 1943 (although his divorce from Sue didn't become final until May 25, 1943). - Theron shot and killed her after a jealous quarrel, accusing her of continuing to "carry on" with her ex-husband, Frank Newby. (*This was also Theron's 3rd marriage. Before Sue, he was married to Anna May Veneziano in 1929.)
Sunday-Times Democrat (Okmulgee, OK.), P. 4, Col. 3
Sun., Jan 26, 1930
The marriage of L. G. Lynch of Oklahoma City to Miss Charlotte Cope, also of Oklahoma City, on Jan. 7, was announced Saturday at the home of Mr. Lynch's parents, Mr. And Mrs. Dan Lynch, 915 North Alabama avenue.
The couple is visiting in Okmulgee today. Their marriage was a surprise to their parents who were told when the couple arrived Saturday for a visit.
The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA.), P. 21, Col. 1
Wed., Feb. 21, 1934
EIGHT HELD BY POLICE AS CHECK RING
Six Men and Two Women Arrested as Members of Forgery Scheme
Six men and two women, believed by investigators to be members of a forgery ring, were named in complaints issued yesterday by Dep.Dist.-Atty. Stahlman accusing them of attempting to flood Los Angeles with fictitious checks drawn on non-existent banks Chicago and Houston, Tex.
The defendants are Frank Newby, Charlotte Cope (one other woman and three other men).
The complaints charge they issued four personal checks of no value totaling $251 and twelve cashier's checks totaling more than $300.
Arraigned before Municipal Judge Curtis, their bail was fixed at sums ranging from $3,000 for newly to $40,000 for Morton. They were ordered to return to court on the 27th inst. for preliminary hearing.
Post Record (Los Angeles, CA.), P. 5, Col. 7
Wed., Feb. 28, 1934
SIX FACED WITH FORGERY CHARGES
Charged with passing checks written on non-existing banks, six members of an alleged forgery ring today awaited trial in superior court.
Arraigned yesterday before Municipal Judge Chalmers, Frank Newby, Charlotte Cope, (3 other men and one other woman) were found over after a representative of the federal bank examiner testified that banks on which the checks were written did not exist.
The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA.), P. 18, last column
Mon., Nov. 15, 1943
Husband Held in Wife's Death
MONROVIA, Nov. 14 - Mrs. Charlotte Phillips, 38, was shot to death today at her home, 816 W. Walnut St.
Police Sergeant Ralph Odwarker of Monrovia said that Cheron (Theron) Phillips, 43, husband of the woman and a steam shovel operator, called him on the telephone saying that he had just shot and killed his wife and that the police should come and get him.
"He was all broken up and crying," Odwarker said, "and told me that his wife had been keeping company with another man." Phillips is being held by police here.
Monrovia Daily News-Post (Monrovia, CA.), P. 1, Col. 1-2
Mon., Nov. 15, 1943
Monrovian Shoots Wife, Calls Police to Give Self Up
The telephone bell broke the Sunday afternoon quiet at the Monrovia police station yesterday.
Desk Sergeant Ralph Odwarker answered the call and the party informed him that he had just shot his wife and for police to come after him.
The informant was Theron (Theran) Phillips, 43, of 816 W. Walnut ave., brother of the late Tex Phillips, former Monrovia motorcycle officer, who was killed several years ago while piloting an airplane in the employ of William Randolph Hearst, newspaper publisher
Pronounced Dead
Officers found Phillips' wife, Charlotte, seated in a rocking chair in the front room of their home with a bullet wound in her head. Examining doctor pronounced her dead and Phillips, steam-shovel operator, was booked at the Monrovia police station on suspicion of murder.
Later, after homicide deputies of the sheriff's office had been called in, Phillips was removed to the county jail awaiting arraignment in justice court.
When officers arrived, they found Philipps sitting in another chair near the telephone, and the suspect is quoted in police reports as saying he did the shooting.
Motive Not Clear
Nearby officers found the gun, with four unfired shots and one discharged bullet in the chamber.
Police have not clearly established the motive of the crime, although indications are that another man was involved with his wife, officer's reports stated.
The body of Mrs. Phillips was taken to the Mendenhall-Renaker mortuary.
The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA.), P. 20, Col. 4
Thu., Nov. 18, 1943
Husband Blamed in Wife's Death
After an inquest into the death of Mrs. Charlotte May Phillips, 37, who was shot and killed last Nov. 14, a Coroner's jury yesterday recommended that Theron Phillips, 42, her husband, be held to answer for her death.
Roy Coleman, Monrovia policeman said that when he arrived at the Phillip's home at 816 W. Walnut St., Monrovia, he found the woman's body slumped in a chair and that Phillips said he had shot her in the head and was "willing to take the consequences."
It was intimated that the couple quarreled over Mrs Phillips' ex-husband, Frank Newby.
The Fresno Bee (Fresno, CA.), P. 13, last column
Thu., Nov. 18, 1943
Former Fresno Woman Is Slain By Jealous Spouse
Mrs. Charlotte Phillips, 37, Is Shot To Death In Monrovia Home
Funeral services are being arranged in the Tinkler Mission Chapel here for Mrs. Charlotte Phillips, 37, formerly of Fresno, who was shot to death Sunday in her Monrovia home. The police are holding her husband, Thorne G. Phillips, in custody on suspicion of murder.
Her brother, W. R. Cope of Fresno, said Phillips, one of the crane operators of the Friend Dam, shot Mrs. Phillips during a fit of jealousy and following a quarrel.
Sought To Kill Pair
J. N. Dennis, a Los Angeles sheriff's investigator, testified at a coroner's inquest yesterday in Monrovia that Phillips told him after the shooting he went to Pasadena last Friday night with a revolver, hoping to find his wife and her former husband, Frank Newby, together and "get them both."
Dennis said Phillips returned recently from a contracting job in Persia. Dennis and Roy Coleman, Monrovia policeman, testified Phillips called Monrovia police Sunday afternoon and said he had shot his wife.
Phillips did not testify at the inquest. The coroner's jury recommended that he be held for trial.
Mrs. Phillips was born in Weber Falls, Okla., and lived in Fresno for a year before moving to Monrovia.
Other surviving relatives include her parents, Mr. and Mrs. William B. Cope of Fresno, and a sister, Mrs. Samuel Drybread of Louisiana.
The body is being brought to Fresno by the parents.
Monrovia News-Post (Monrovia, CA.), P. 1, Col. 3 and P. 3, Col. 6-7
Thu., Nov. 25, 1943
L. A. Attorney To Defend Monrovia Man
Lorrin Andrews to Be Counsel for Theron Phillips
An imposing array of legal talent will defend Theron G. Phillips against the charge that he murdered his wife, Charlotte, 37, it became apparent here today.
Lorrin Andrews, prominent Los Angeles lawyer, announced that he will act as counsel for the 43-year-old crane operator, assisted by two other attorneys, Frank Hemminger and William Wetherwax.
Ordered for Trial
Phillips, who police claim has confessed to having fatally shot his wife during a quarrel at their home, 816 W. Walnut, Nov. 14 last and to having refused to disclose in detail what the quarrel was about, is scheduled to be arraigned on a murder charge in department 43 of the superior court on Dec. 9.
Municipal Judge Joseph F. Chambers ordered him held for trial on that accusation at a preliminary hearing in Los Angeles this week.
Witnesses included Officer Roy Coleman of Monrovia; Mrs. Loleta Elliott of 820 W. Walnut, a next door neighbor of the Phillips; Dr. Frank R. Webb, chief autopsy surgeon of the coroner's office and Deputy Sheriff J. N. Dennis.
Refuses to Testify
Standing on his constitutional rights, Phillipos refused to testify on advice of Andrews. He appeared in court coatless. He wore a light colored shirt opened at the neck. He watched the proceedings without apparent emotion.
"It's a pity I didn't shoot him instead of her," Coleman quoted Phillips as saying after the tragedy. By "him" Phillips meant Frank Newby, ex-husband of Mrs. Phillips, the officer testified.
On the morning of the fatal day, which was on a Sunday, the couple went to a local café (The House that Jack Built), had "several drinks" and then returned home where the quarrel soon ensued, Deputy Sheriff Dennis told the court.
Dramatic Climax
The quarrel was over Newby, who had been "meddling' in their affairs, the crane operator told him, Dennis declared.
A dramatic episode preceded the shooting.
Phillips went into the bedroom, got his gun and on returning to the living room, where his wife was sitting, he told her he was going to shoot her, to which she answered defiantly, "Go ahead and shoot," according to the deputy sheriff's testimony.
"I heard a woman's scream coming from the home," said Mrs. Elliott. "I heard another scream about five minutes later and then the sound of a shot."
Mrs. Phillips was in a state of "extreme intoxication," Dr. Webb reported his autopsy showed. He said he found abrasions about the thighs and arms of the victim and a cut about the suspect's forehead. Some of the abrasions had occurred two or three days prior to the time of the tragedy, he testified.
Monrovia Daily News-Post (Monrovia, CA.), P. 1, Col. 7
Fri., Jan. 28, 1944
State Fails To Shake Phillips Story
Prosecution Seeks To Revive 'Lost Memory' of Monrovian
Nearly two hours of prosecution grilling today apparently failed to dislodge Theron G. Phillips from his story of "lost memory" defense to the gunshot death of his wife Charlotte, 37, here last Nov. 14.
The 43-year-old steam-shovel operator is on trial for the third day on a charge of murdering his wife, before a jury of 11 women and one man in Superior Judge Leslie E. Still's court in Los Angeles.
Still No Memory
To the many questions asked him by Prosecutor Adolph Alexander, Phillips made answer, "I don't remember" and "Not that I can recall."
"You shot Charlotte, didn't you? Alexander questioned.
"I couldn't say that I did," Phillips answered. Phillips then added, "I don't know that I shot her at all."
The accused man said that he did not remember anything from a few minutes before the shooting took place in the living room of their home at 816 W. Walnut ave.
He added that he did remember using the telephone to call police but he did not recall what he told them. He also said that his memory was a blank as to a second call he is said to have made to Judge John A. H. Sturgeon. The judge testified at noon today that he had received a call from Phillips who said that he had just killed his wife.
Phillips began his "blank" mind defense while on the stand virtually all yesterday afternoon.
He insisted that he couldn't remember anything after his wife, during a quarrel that preceded the shooting, told him that would would "go out" with any man that asked her.
Remembers Nothing
At this point Phillips lost his composure and during the brief pause in the trial wiped away tears from his eyes.
"I don't remember anything after she told me that," he continued. "Everything went blank then and I feel like someone had hit me over the head with a hammer."
He said he did not recall shooting his wife, as police and Prosecutor Alexander claim he did during the quarrel which he testified was prompted by his dead wife's threat to leave him and go back to Newby in Pasadena.
"I pleaded with her to stay home and I told her how much I loved her," he said. "She kept whining she wanted to go to Pasadena. When she started to dress up, I went out to get a drink of water and when I came back she had the pistol (the death weapon) on a coffee table.
Threat Described
She said, "If you don't stop talking about my not being true to you I'm going to shoot you."
The tall and husky steam shovel operator testified he told her "you might as well shoot me after what you're doing to me."
It was at this point that Mrs. Phillips assuredly made the threat she would go out with anyone she cared to.
Previously he testified that he suffered two sun strokes while working in Persia from 1941 to last May when he said he returned here and that he had periodic "severe headaches, especially when I had trouble at home."
Under cross-examining by Alexander, Phillips disclosed that he first met the dead woman in 1939 when she was known as Charlotte Cope and that at that time he was married to a Sue Henderson. He also said that previously he was married to an Anna May Vinzano.
Divorce Dates
Alexander raised the question as to whether Phillips' divorce from Sue Henderson had become final at the time the defendant wed the dead woman last May 18. He replied that as far as he knew it had. But Alexander contended that his information was that the divorce did not become final until May 25, or about a week after he married Charlotte.
Monrovia Daily News-Post (Monrovia, CA.), P. 1, Col. 1-2
Fri., Feb. 4, 1944
Excerpt from: Jurors Declare Phillips Sane
Second Trial Follows Manslaughter Verdict In Slaying of Wife Here
Theron Phillips, 43-year-old Monrovia steam-shovel operator, was declared sane by a jury which returned a verdict at 2:20 p.m. this afternoon. The sanity trial followed a verdict by the jury late yesterday charging Phillips with manslaughter in connection with the death of his wife here.
A verdict declaring that Phillips was insane at the time of the fatal shooting will have the effect, court attaches said, of freeing the 43-year-old steam shovel operator of all criminal responsibility in the death.
The jury returned its verdict of manslaughter, which carried a sentence ranging from one to ten years in prison, at 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon.
Phillips showed no apparent emotion as the court clerk completed reading of the verdict.
According to Feb. 26, 1944 San Quentin Prison Records, Theron (Gladen) Phillips, b. Oct. 10, 1901 in TX., was in prison for "Manslaughter" for a term of 0-10 years. Court & County: Los Angeles. Occupation: Teaston? (Crane) operator. Years of schooling: 9. Marital status: Widowed. Religion: Protestant. Habits: T & L. (Tobacco and liquor?); Description: 5' 11" tall, weighing 192 lbs., with brown eyes and brown/grey hair; Transferred to Chino: May 23, 1944. Board Action: Sep. 26, 1945 - Granted 20 mo. on parole. Sep. 4, 1946 - parole. Listed as a contact: (sister?) Miss Evelyn Phillips, Weatherford, TX.
Charlotte's parents were:
William Butler Cope, b. Aug. 2, 1882 in KY. and d. Kan. 30, 1952 in Fresno, Fresno County, CA. &
Lena M Ward, b. Nov. 28, 1882 in Arkansas and d. Oct. 19, 1956 in Fresno county, CA.
William and Lena Cope's children were:
1. Clara Cope, b. abt. 1902 in TX.
2. Charlotte "Lottie" May Cope, b. Mar. 31, 1906 in Webbers Falls, Muskogee county, OK. and d. Nov. 14, 1943 in Monrovia, L. A. county, CA.
3. Bonnie (Bonita?) Cope , b. abt. 1911. Bonnie marr. _ Sawyer.
4. Jewel Beatrice Cope, b. Dec. 23, 1911 in Salisaw, OK. and d. Jun. 6, 1996 in Dallas, TX. Jewel marr. Samuel Lawrence Drybread.
5. William Raymond Cope, b. May 9, 1914 in Okmulgee, OK. and d. Apr. 4, 1962 in Fresno, county, CA. Raymond marr. Mary Rose _.
In the 1910 U. S. census, 4 yr. old Lottie Cope, b. in OK., was living in Midland, Pontotoc, OK. with her
28 yr. old father, William Cope, a Laborer on the Railroad, b. in KY.
27 yr. old mother, Lena Cope, b. in Arkansas
8 yr. old sister, Clara Cope, b. in TX.
4 yr. old sister, Lottie Cope, b. in OK.
newborn (0/12 mth. old) sister, Bonnie Cope, b. in OK.
18 yr. old uncle, Walter Cope, a Farm Laborer on the home farm, b. in OK.
This was a 1st marriage for William & Lena. They had been married for 9 years.
Lena was the mother of 4 children, only 3 still alive by this census.
In the 1920 U. S. census, 13 yr. old Lottie Cope, b. in OK., was attending school and living in a rented home on East Second St. in Casper Ward 3, Natrona, WY. with her
38 yr. old father, William Cope, a Boilermaker at an oil refinery, b. in KY.
38 yr. old mother, Lena Cope, b. in Arkansas
17 yr. old sister, Clara Cope, b. in TX.
9 yr. old sister, Bonnie Cope, attending school, b. in OK.
8 yr. old sister, Jewel Cope, attending school, b. in OK.
5 yr. 7 mth. old brother, Raymond Cope, b. in OK.
and 4 lodgers, all boilermakers ar a refinery.
William's parents were both b. in KY. Lena's parents were both b. in Arkansas.
Charlotte May Cope was married four times (3 according to her sister-in-law, Bonita Frisbee):
1st - to Charles Hawks, "sometime in the 20's.
2nd - On Apr. 18, 1930, 24 yr. old Charlotte Mae Cope, b. in OK. and a resident of Los Angeles, occupation: at home, daughter of W. B. Cope & Lena Ward,
and 27 yr. old (L. ) Grady Lynch, b. in TX. and a resident of OK., occupation: driller, son of D. (Dan) D. Lynch and Elenora Cooper,
were married in Mount Pleasant, Isabella county, Michigan.
Grady had not previously been married. This was a 2nd marriage for Charlotte.
3rd - to Frank Newby, "sometime in the 30's"
4th - to Theron G. Phillips, who she met in 1939 (*when he was already on his 2nd marriage to Sue Henderson). Theron and Charlotte married on May 18, 1943 (although his divorce from Sue didn't become final until May 25, 1943). - Theron shot and killed her after a jealous quarrel, accusing her of continuing to "carry on" with her ex-husband, Frank Newby. (*This was also Theron's 3rd marriage. Before Sue, he was married to Anna May Veneziano in 1929.)
Sunday-Times Democrat (Okmulgee, OK.), P. 4, Col. 3
Sun., Jan 26, 1930
The marriage of L. G. Lynch of Oklahoma City to Miss Charlotte Cope, also of Oklahoma City, on Jan. 7, was announced Saturday at the home of Mr. Lynch's parents, Mr. And Mrs. Dan Lynch, 915 North Alabama avenue.
The couple is visiting in Okmulgee today. Their marriage was a surprise to their parents who were told when the couple arrived Saturday for a visit.
The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA.), P. 21, Col. 1
Wed., Feb. 21, 1934
EIGHT HELD BY POLICE AS CHECK RING
Six Men and Two Women Arrested as Members of Forgery Scheme
Six men and two women, believed by investigators to be members of a forgery ring, were named in complaints issued yesterday by Dep.Dist.-Atty. Stahlman accusing them of attempting to flood Los Angeles with fictitious checks drawn on non-existent banks Chicago and Houston, Tex.
The defendants are Frank Newby, Charlotte Cope (one other woman and three other men).
The complaints charge they issued four personal checks of no value totaling $251 and twelve cashier's checks totaling more than $300.
Arraigned before Municipal Judge Curtis, their bail was fixed at sums ranging from $3,000 for newly to $40,000 for Morton. They were ordered to return to court on the 27th inst. for preliminary hearing.
Post Record (Los Angeles, CA.), P. 5, Col. 7
Wed., Feb. 28, 1934
SIX FACED WITH FORGERY CHARGES
Charged with passing checks written on non-existing banks, six members of an alleged forgery ring today awaited trial in superior court.
Arraigned yesterday before Municipal Judge Chalmers, Frank Newby, Charlotte Cope, (3 other men and one other woman) were found over after a representative of the federal bank examiner testified that banks on which the checks were written did not exist.
The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA.), P. 18, last column
Mon., Nov. 15, 1943
Husband Held in Wife's Death
MONROVIA, Nov. 14 - Mrs. Charlotte Phillips, 38, was shot to death today at her home, 816 W. Walnut St.
Police Sergeant Ralph Odwarker of Monrovia said that Cheron (Theron) Phillips, 43, husband of the woman and a steam shovel operator, called him on the telephone saying that he had just shot and killed his wife and that the police should come and get him.
"He was all broken up and crying," Odwarker said, "and told me that his wife had been keeping company with another man." Phillips is being held by police here.
Monrovia Daily News-Post (Monrovia, CA.), P. 1, Col. 1-2
Mon., Nov. 15, 1943
Monrovian Shoots Wife, Calls Police to Give Self Up
The telephone bell broke the Sunday afternoon quiet at the Monrovia police station yesterday.
Desk Sergeant Ralph Odwarker answered the call and the party informed him that he had just shot his wife and for police to come after him.
The informant was Theron (Theran) Phillips, 43, of 816 W. Walnut ave., brother of the late Tex Phillips, former Monrovia motorcycle officer, who was killed several years ago while piloting an airplane in the employ of William Randolph Hearst, newspaper publisher
Pronounced Dead
Officers found Phillips' wife, Charlotte, seated in a rocking chair in the front room of their home with a bullet wound in her head. Examining doctor pronounced her dead and Phillips, steam-shovel operator, was booked at the Monrovia police station on suspicion of murder.
Later, after homicide deputies of the sheriff's office had been called in, Phillips was removed to the county jail awaiting arraignment in justice court.
When officers arrived, they found Philipps sitting in another chair near the telephone, and the suspect is quoted in police reports as saying he did the shooting.
Motive Not Clear
Nearby officers found the gun, with four unfired shots and one discharged bullet in the chamber.
Police have not clearly established the motive of the crime, although indications are that another man was involved with his wife, officer's reports stated.
The body of Mrs. Phillips was taken to the Mendenhall-Renaker mortuary.
The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA.), P. 20, Col. 4
Thu., Nov. 18, 1943
Husband Blamed in Wife's Death
After an inquest into the death of Mrs. Charlotte May Phillips, 37, who was shot and killed last Nov. 14, a Coroner's jury yesterday recommended that Theron Phillips, 42, her husband, be held to answer for her death.
Roy Coleman, Monrovia policeman said that when he arrived at the Phillip's home at 816 W. Walnut St., Monrovia, he found the woman's body slumped in a chair and that Phillips said he had shot her in the head and was "willing to take the consequences."
It was intimated that the couple quarreled over Mrs Phillips' ex-husband, Frank Newby.
The Fresno Bee (Fresno, CA.), P. 13, last column
Thu., Nov. 18, 1943
Former Fresno Woman Is Slain By Jealous Spouse
Mrs. Charlotte Phillips, 37, Is Shot To Death In Monrovia Home
Funeral services are being arranged in the Tinkler Mission Chapel here for Mrs. Charlotte Phillips, 37, formerly of Fresno, who was shot to death Sunday in her Monrovia home. The police are holding her husband, Thorne G. Phillips, in custody on suspicion of murder.
Her brother, W. R. Cope of Fresno, said Phillips, one of the crane operators of the Friend Dam, shot Mrs. Phillips during a fit of jealousy and following a quarrel.
Sought To Kill Pair
J. N. Dennis, a Los Angeles sheriff's investigator, testified at a coroner's inquest yesterday in Monrovia that Phillips told him after the shooting he went to Pasadena last Friday night with a revolver, hoping to find his wife and her former husband, Frank Newby, together and "get them both."
Dennis said Phillips returned recently from a contracting job in Persia. Dennis and Roy Coleman, Monrovia policeman, testified Phillips called Monrovia police Sunday afternoon and said he had shot his wife.
Phillips did not testify at the inquest. The coroner's jury recommended that he be held for trial.
Mrs. Phillips was born in Weber Falls, Okla., and lived in Fresno for a year before moving to Monrovia.
Other surviving relatives include her parents, Mr. and Mrs. William B. Cope of Fresno, and a sister, Mrs. Samuel Drybread of Louisiana.
The body is being brought to Fresno by the parents.
Monrovia News-Post (Monrovia, CA.), P. 1, Col. 3 and P. 3, Col. 6-7
Thu., Nov. 25, 1943
L. A. Attorney To Defend Monrovia Man
Lorrin Andrews to Be Counsel for Theron Phillips
An imposing array of legal talent will defend Theron G. Phillips against the charge that he murdered his wife, Charlotte, 37, it became apparent here today.
Lorrin Andrews, prominent Los Angeles lawyer, announced that he will act as counsel for the 43-year-old crane operator, assisted by two other attorneys, Frank Hemminger and William Wetherwax.
Ordered for Trial
Phillips, who police claim has confessed to having fatally shot his wife during a quarrel at their home, 816 W. Walnut, Nov. 14 last and to having refused to disclose in detail what the quarrel was about, is scheduled to be arraigned on a murder charge in department 43 of the superior court on Dec. 9.
Municipal Judge Joseph F. Chambers ordered him held for trial on that accusation at a preliminary hearing in Los Angeles this week.
Witnesses included Officer Roy Coleman of Monrovia; Mrs. Loleta Elliott of 820 W. Walnut, a next door neighbor of the Phillips; Dr. Frank R. Webb, chief autopsy surgeon of the coroner's office and Deputy Sheriff J. N. Dennis.
Refuses to Testify
Standing on his constitutional rights, Phillipos refused to testify on advice of Andrews. He appeared in court coatless. He wore a light colored shirt opened at the neck. He watched the proceedings without apparent emotion.
"It's a pity I didn't shoot him instead of her," Coleman quoted Phillips as saying after the tragedy. By "him" Phillips meant Frank Newby, ex-husband of Mrs. Phillips, the officer testified.
On the morning of the fatal day, which was on a Sunday, the couple went to a local café (The House that Jack Built), had "several drinks" and then returned home where the quarrel soon ensued, Deputy Sheriff Dennis told the court.
Dramatic Climax
The quarrel was over Newby, who had been "meddling' in their affairs, the crane operator told him, Dennis declared.
A dramatic episode preceded the shooting.
Phillips went into the bedroom, got his gun and on returning to the living room, where his wife was sitting, he told her he was going to shoot her, to which she answered defiantly, "Go ahead and shoot," according to the deputy sheriff's testimony.
"I heard a woman's scream coming from the home," said Mrs. Elliott. "I heard another scream about five minutes later and then the sound of a shot."
Mrs. Phillips was in a state of "extreme intoxication," Dr. Webb reported his autopsy showed. He said he found abrasions about the thighs and arms of the victim and a cut about the suspect's forehead. Some of the abrasions had occurred two or three days prior to the time of the tragedy, he testified.
Monrovia Daily News-Post (Monrovia, CA.), P. 1, Col. 7
Fri., Jan. 28, 1944
State Fails To Shake Phillips Story
Prosecution Seeks To Revive 'Lost Memory' of Monrovian
Nearly two hours of prosecution grilling today apparently failed to dislodge Theron G. Phillips from his story of "lost memory" defense to the gunshot death of his wife Charlotte, 37, here last Nov. 14.
The 43-year-old steam-shovel operator is on trial for the third day on a charge of murdering his wife, before a jury of 11 women and one man in Superior Judge Leslie E. Still's court in Los Angeles.
Still No Memory
To the many questions asked him by Prosecutor Adolph Alexander, Phillips made answer, "I don't remember" and "Not that I can recall."
"You shot Charlotte, didn't you? Alexander questioned.
"I couldn't say that I did," Phillips answered. Phillips then added, "I don't know that I shot her at all."
The accused man said that he did not remember anything from a few minutes before the shooting took place in the living room of their home at 816 W. Walnut ave.
He added that he did remember using the telephone to call police but he did not recall what he told them. He also said that his memory was a blank as to a second call he is said to have made to Judge John A. H. Sturgeon. The judge testified at noon today that he had received a call from Phillips who said that he had just killed his wife.
Phillips began his "blank" mind defense while on the stand virtually all yesterday afternoon.
He insisted that he couldn't remember anything after his wife, during a quarrel that preceded the shooting, told him that would would "go out" with any man that asked her.
Remembers Nothing
At this point Phillips lost his composure and during the brief pause in the trial wiped away tears from his eyes.
"I don't remember anything after she told me that," he continued. "Everything went blank then and I feel like someone had hit me over the head with a hammer."
He said he did not recall shooting his wife, as police and Prosecutor Alexander claim he did during the quarrel which he testified was prompted by his dead wife's threat to leave him and go back to Newby in Pasadena.
"I pleaded with her to stay home and I told her how much I loved her," he said. "She kept whining she wanted to go to Pasadena. When she started to dress up, I went out to get a drink of water and when I came back she had the pistol (the death weapon) on a coffee table.
Threat Described
She said, "If you don't stop talking about my not being true to you I'm going to shoot you."
The tall and husky steam shovel operator testified he told her "you might as well shoot me after what you're doing to me."
It was at this point that Mrs. Phillips assuredly made the threat she would go out with anyone she cared to.
Previously he testified that he suffered two sun strokes while working in Persia from 1941 to last May when he said he returned here and that he had periodic "severe headaches, especially when I had trouble at home."
Under cross-examining by Alexander, Phillips disclosed that he first met the dead woman in 1939 when she was known as Charlotte Cope and that at that time he was married to a Sue Henderson. He also said that previously he was married to an Anna May Vinzano.
Divorce Dates
Alexander raised the question as to whether Phillips' divorce from Sue Henderson had become final at the time the defendant wed the dead woman last May 18. He replied that as far as he knew it had. But Alexander contended that his information was that the divorce did not become final until May 25, or about a week after he married Charlotte.
Monrovia Daily News-Post (Monrovia, CA.), P. 1, Col. 1-2
Fri., Feb. 4, 1944
Excerpt from: Jurors Declare Phillips Sane
Second Trial Follows Manslaughter Verdict In Slaying of Wife Here
Theron Phillips, 43-year-old Monrovia steam-shovel operator, was declared sane by a jury which returned a verdict at 2:20 p.m. this afternoon. The sanity trial followed a verdict by the jury late yesterday charging Phillips with manslaughter in connection with the death of his wife here.
A verdict declaring that Phillips was insane at the time of the fatal shooting will have the effect, court attaches said, of freeing the 43-year-old steam shovel operator of all criminal responsibility in the death.
The jury returned its verdict of manslaughter, which carried a sentence ranging from one to ten years in prison, at 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon.
Phillips showed no apparent emotion as the court clerk completed reading of the verdict.
According to Feb. 26, 1944 San Quentin Prison Records, Theron (Gladen) Phillips, b. Oct. 10, 1901 in TX., was in prison for "Manslaughter" for a term of 0-10 years. Court & County: Los Angeles. Occupation: Teaston? (Crane) operator. Years of schooling: 9. Marital status: Widowed. Religion: Protestant. Habits: T & L. (Tobacco and liquor?); Description: 5' 11" tall, weighing 192 lbs., with brown eyes and brown/grey hair; Transferred to Chino: May 23, 1944. Board Action: Sep. 26, 1945 - Granted 20 mo. on parole. Sep. 4, 1946 - parole. Listed as a contact: (sister?) Miss Evelyn Phillips, Weatherford, TX.
William Butler Cope, b. Aug. 2, 1882 in KY. and d. Kan. 30, 1952 in Fresno, Fresno County, CA. &
Lena M Ward, b. Nov. 28, 1882 in Arkansas and d. Oct. 19, 1956 in Fresno county, CA.
William and Lena Cope's children were:
1. Clara Cope, b. abt. 1902 in TX.
2. Charlotte "Lottie" May Cope, b. Mar. 31, 1906 in Webbers Falls, Muskogee county, OK. and d. Nov. 14, 1943 in Monrovia, L. A. county, CA.
3. Bonnie (Bonita?) Cope , b. abt. 1911. Bonnie marr. _ Sawyer.
4. Jewel Beatrice Cope, b. Dec. 23, 1911 in Salisaw, OK. and d. Jun. 6, 1996 in Dallas, TX. Jewel marr. Samuel Lawrence Drybread.
5. William Raymond Cope, b. May 9, 1914 in Okmulgee, OK. and d. Apr. 4, 1962 in Fresno, county, CA. Raymond marr. Mary Rose _.
In the 1910 U. S. census, 4 yr. old Lottie Cope, b. in OK., was living in Midland, Pontotoc, OK. with her
28 yr. old father, William Cope, a Laborer on the Railroad, b. in KY.
27 yr. old mother, Lena Cope, b. in Arkansas
8 yr. old sister, Clara Cope, b. in TX.
4 yr. old sister, Lottie Cope, b. in OK.
newborn (0/12 mth. old) sister, Bonnie Cope, b. in OK.
18 yr. old uncle, Walter Cope, a Farm Laborer on the home farm, b. in OK.
This was a 1st marriage for William & Lena. They had been married for 9 years.
Lena was the mother of 4 children, only 3 still alive by this census.
In the 1920 U. S. census, 13 yr. old Lottie Cope, b. in OK., was attending school and living in a rented home on East Second St. in Casper Ward 3, Natrona, WY. with her
38 yr. old father, William Cope, a Boilermaker at an oil refinery, b. in KY.
38 yr. old mother, Lena Cope, b. in Arkansas
17 yr. old sister, Clara Cope, b. in TX.
9 yr. old sister, Bonnie Cope, attending school, b. in OK.
8 yr. old sister, Jewel Cope, attending school, b. in OK.
5 yr. 7 mth. old brother, Raymond Cope, b. in OK.
and 4 lodgers, all boilermakers ar a refinery.
William's parents were both b. in KY. Lena's parents were both b. in Arkansas.
Charlotte May Cope was married four times (3 according to her sister-in-law, Bonita Frisbee):
1st - to Charles Hawks, "sometime in the 20's.
2nd - On Apr. 18, 1930, 24 yr. old Charlotte Mae Cope, b. in OK. and a resident of Los Angeles, occupation: at home, daughter of W. B. Cope & Lena Ward,
and 27 yr. old (L. ) Grady Lynch, b. in TX. and a resident of OK., occupation: driller, son of D. (Dan) D. Lynch and Elenora Cooper,
were married in Mount Pleasant, Isabella county, Michigan.
Grady had not previously been married. This was a 2nd marriage for Charlotte.
3rd - to Frank Newby, "sometime in the 30's"
4th - to Theron G. Phillips, who she met in 1939 (*when he was already on his 2nd marriage to Sue Henderson). Theron and Charlotte married on May 18, 1943 (although his divorce from Sue didn't become final until May 25, 1943). - Theron shot and killed her after a jealous quarrel, accusing her of continuing to "carry on" with her ex-husband, Frank Newby. (*This was also Theron's 3rd marriage. Before Sue, he was married to Anna May Veneziano in 1929.)
Sunday-Times Democrat (Okmulgee, OK.), P. 4, Col. 3
Sun., Jan 26, 1930
The marriage of L. G. Lynch of Oklahoma City to Miss Charlotte Cope, also of Oklahoma City, on Jan. 7, was announced Saturday at the home of Mr. Lynch's parents, Mr. And Mrs. Dan Lynch, 915 North Alabama avenue.
The couple is visiting in Okmulgee today. Their marriage was a surprise to their parents who were told when the couple arrived Saturday for a visit.
The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA.), P. 21, Col. 1
Wed., Feb. 21, 1934
EIGHT HELD BY POLICE AS CHECK RING
Six Men and Two Women Arrested as Members of Forgery Scheme
Six men and two women, believed by investigators to be members of a forgery ring, were named in complaints issued yesterday by Dep.Dist.-Atty. Stahlman accusing them of attempting to flood Los Angeles with fictitious checks drawn on non-existent banks Chicago and Houston, Tex.
The defendants are Frank Newby, Charlotte Cope (one other woman and three other men).
The complaints charge they issued four personal checks of no value totaling $251 and twelve cashier's checks totaling more than $300.
Arraigned before Municipal Judge Curtis, their bail was fixed at sums ranging from $3,000 for newly to $40,000 for Morton. They were ordered to return to court on the 27th inst. for preliminary hearing.
Post Record (Los Angeles, CA.), P. 5, Col. 7
Wed., Feb. 28, 1934
SIX FACED WITH FORGERY CHARGES
Charged with passing checks written on non-existing banks, six members of an alleged forgery ring today awaited trial in superior court.
Arraigned yesterday before Municipal Judge Chalmers, Frank Newby, Charlotte Cope, (3 other men and one other woman) were found over after a representative of the federal bank examiner testified that banks on which the checks were written did not exist.
The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA.), P. 18, last column
Mon., Nov. 15, 1943
Husband Held in Wife's Death
MONROVIA, Nov. 14 - Mrs. Charlotte Phillips, 38, was shot to death today at her home, 816 W. Walnut St.
Police Sergeant Ralph Odwarker of Monrovia said that Cheron (Theron) Phillips, 43, husband of the woman and a steam shovel operator, called him on the telephone saying that he had just shot and killed his wife and that the police should come and get him.
"He was all broken up and crying," Odwarker said, "and told me that his wife had been keeping company with another man." Phillips is being held by police here.
Monrovia Daily News-Post (Monrovia, CA.), P. 1, Col. 1-2
Mon., Nov. 15, 1943
Monrovian Shoots Wife, Calls Police to Give Self Up
The telephone bell broke the Sunday afternoon quiet at the Monrovia police station yesterday.
Desk Sergeant Ralph Odwarker answered the call and the party informed him that he had just shot his wife and for police to come after him.
The informant was Theron (Theran) Phillips, 43, of 816 W. Walnut ave., brother of the late Tex Phillips, former Monrovia motorcycle officer, who was killed several years ago while piloting an airplane in the employ of William Randolph Hearst, newspaper publisher
Pronounced Dead
Officers found Phillips' wife, Charlotte, seated in a rocking chair in the front room of their home with a bullet wound in her head. Examining doctor pronounced her dead and Phillips, steam-shovel operator, was booked at the Monrovia police station on suspicion of murder.
Later, after homicide deputies of the sheriff's office had been called in, Phillips was removed to the county jail awaiting arraignment in justice court.
When officers arrived, they found Philipps sitting in another chair near the telephone, and the suspect is quoted in police reports as saying he did the shooting.
Motive Not Clear
Nearby officers found the gun, with four unfired shots and one discharged bullet in the chamber.
Police have not clearly established the motive of the crime, although indications are that another man was involved with his wife, officer's reports stated.
The body of Mrs. Phillips was taken to the Mendenhall-Renaker mortuary.
The Los Angeles Times (Los Angeles, CA.), P. 20, Col. 4
Thu., Nov. 18, 1943
Husband Blamed in Wife's Death
After an inquest into the death of Mrs. Charlotte May Phillips, 37, who was shot and killed last Nov. 14, a Coroner's jury yesterday recommended that Theron Phillips, 42, her husband, be held to answer for her death.
Roy Coleman, Monrovia policeman said that when he arrived at the Phillip's home at 816 W. Walnut St., Monrovia, he found the woman's body slumped in a chair and that Phillips said he had shot her in the head and was "willing to take the consequences."
It was intimated that the couple quarreled over Mrs Phillips' ex-husband, Frank Newby.
The Fresno Bee (Fresno, CA.), P. 13, last column
Thu., Nov. 18, 1943
Former Fresno Woman Is Slain By Jealous Spouse
Mrs. Charlotte Phillips, 37, Is Shot To Death In Monrovia Home
Funeral services are being arranged in the Tinkler Mission Chapel here for Mrs. Charlotte Phillips, 37, formerly of Fresno, who was shot to death Sunday in her Monrovia home. The police are holding her husband, Thorne G. Phillips, in custody on suspicion of murder.
Her brother, W. R. Cope of Fresno, said Phillips, one of the crane operators of the Friend Dam, shot Mrs. Phillips during a fit of jealousy and following a quarrel.
Sought To Kill Pair
J. N. Dennis, a Los Angeles sheriff's investigator, testified at a coroner's inquest yesterday in Monrovia that Phillips told him after the shooting he went to Pasadena last Friday night with a revolver, hoping to find his wife and her former husband, Frank Newby, together and "get them both."
Dennis said Phillips returned recently from a contracting job in Persia. Dennis and Roy Coleman, Monrovia policeman, testified Phillips called Monrovia police Sunday afternoon and said he had shot his wife.
Phillips did not testify at the inquest. The coroner's jury recommended that he be held for trial.
Mrs. Phillips was born in Weber Falls, Okla., and lived in Fresno for a year before moving to Monrovia.
Other surviving relatives include her parents, Mr. and Mrs. William B. Cope of Fresno, and a sister, Mrs. Samuel Drybread of Louisiana.
The body is being brought to Fresno by the parents.
Monrovia News-Post (Monrovia, CA.), P. 1, Col. 3 and P. 3, Col. 6-7
Thu., Nov. 25, 1943
L. A. Attorney To Defend Monrovia Man
Lorrin Andrews to Be Counsel for Theron Phillips
An imposing array of legal talent will defend Theron G. Phillips against the charge that he murdered his wife, Charlotte, 37, it became apparent here today.
Lorrin Andrews, prominent Los Angeles lawyer, announced that he will act as counsel for the 43-year-old crane operator, assisted by two other attorneys, Frank Hemminger and William Wetherwax.
Ordered for Trial
Phillips, who police claim has confessed to having fatally shot his wife during a quarrel at their home, 816 W. Walnut, Nov. 14 last and to having refused to disclose in detail what the quarrel was about, is scheduled to be arraigned on a murder charge in department 43 of the superior court on Dec. 9.
Municipal Judge Joseph F. Chambers ordered him held for trial on that accusation at a preliminary hearing in Los Angeles this week.
Witnesses included Officer Roy Coleman of Monrovia; Mrs. Loleta Elliott of 820 W. Walnut, a next door neighbor of the Phillips; Dr. Frank R. Webb, chief autopsy surgeon of the coroner's office and Deputy Sheriff J. N. Dennis.
Refuses to Testify
Standing on his constitutional rights, Phillipos refused to testify on advice of Andrews. He appeared in court coatless. He wore a light colored shirt opened at the neck. He watched the proceedings without apparent emotion.
"It's a pity I didn't shoot him instead of her," Coleman quoted Phillips as saying after the tragedy. By "him" Phillips meant Frank Newby, ex-husband of Mrs. Phillips, the officer testified.
On the morning of the fatal day, which was on a Sunday, the couple went to a local café (The House that Jack Built), had "several drinks" and then returned home where the quarrel soon ensued, Deputy Sheriff Dennis told the court.
Dramatic Climax
The quarrel was over Newby, who had been "meddling' in their affairs, the crane operator told him, Dennis declared.
A dramatic episode preceded the shooting.
Phillips went into the bedroom, got his gun and on returning to the living room, where his wife was sitting, he told her he was going to shoot her, to which she answered defiantly, "Go ahead and shoot," according to the deputy sheriff's testimony.
"I heard a woman's scream coming from the home," said Mrs. Elliott. "I heard another scream about five minutes later and then the sound of a shot."
Mrs. Phillips was in a state of "extreme intoxication," Dr. Webb reported his autopsy showed. He said he found abrasions about the thighs and arms of the victim and a cut about the suspect's forehead. Some of the abrasions had occurred two or three days prior to the time of the tragedy, he testified.
Monrovia Daily News-Post (Monrovia, CA.), P. 1, Col. 7
Fri., Jan. 28, 1944
State Fails To Shake Phillips Story
Prosecution Seeks To Revive 'Lost Memory' of Monrovian
Nearly two hours of prosecution grilling today apparently failed to dislodge Theron G. Phillips from his story of "lost memory" defense to the gunshot death of his wife Charlotte, 37, here last Nov. 14.
The 43-year-old steam-shovel operator is on trial for the third day on a charge of murdering his wife, before a jury of 11 women and one man in Superior Judge Leslie E. Still's court in Los Angeles.
Still No Memory
To the many questions asked him by Prosecutor Adolph Alexander, Phillips made answer, "I don't remember" and "Not that I can recall."
"You shot Charlotte, didn't you? Alexander questioned.
"I couldn't say that I did," Phillips answered. Phillips then added, "I don't know that I shot her at all."
The accused man said that he did not remember anything from a few minutes before the shooting took place in the living room of their home at 816 W. Walnut ave.
He added that he did remember using the telephone to call police but he did not recall what he told them. He also said that his memory was a blank as to a second call he is said to have made to Judge John A. H. Sturgeon. The judge testified at noon today that he had received a call from Phillips who said that he had just killed his wife.
Phillips began his "blank" mind defense while on the stand virtually all yesterday afternoon.
He insisted that he couldn't remember anything after his wife, during a quarrel that preceded the shooting, told him that would would "go out" with any man that asked her.
Remembers Nothing
At this point Phillips lost his composure and during the brief pause in the trial wiped away tears from his eyes.
"I don't remember anything after she told me that," he continued. "Everything went blank then and I feel like someone had hit me over the head with a hammer."
He said he did not recall shooting his wife, as police and Prosecutor Alexander claim he did during the quarrel which he testified was prompted by his dead wife's threat to leave him and go back to Newby in Pasadena.
"I pleaded with her to stay home and I told her how much I loved her," he said. "She kept whining she wanted to go to Pasadena. When she started to dress up, I went out to get a drink of water and when I came back she had the pistol (the death weapon) on a coffee table.
Threat Described
She said, "If you don't stop talking about my not being true to you I'm going to shoot you."
The tall and husky steam shovel operator testified he told her "you might as well shoot me after what you're doing to me."
It was at this point that Mrs. Phillips assuredly made the threat she would go out with anyone she cared to.
Previously he testified that he suffered two sun strokes while working in Persia from 1941 to last May when he said he returned here and that he had periodic "severe headaches, especially when I had trouble at home."
Under cross-examining by Alexander, Phillips disclosed that he first met the dead woman in 1939 when she was known as Charlotte Cope and that at that time he was married to a Sue Henderson. He also said that previously he was married to an Anna May Vinzano.
Divorce Dates
Alexander raised the question as to whether Phillips' divorce from Sue Henderson had become final at the time the defendant wed the dead woman last May 18. He replied that as far as he knew it had. But Alexander contended that his information was that the divorce did not become final until May 25, or about a week after he married Charlotte.
Monrovia Daily News-Post (Monrovia, CA.), P. 1, Col. 1-2
Fri., Feb. 4, 1944
Excerpt from: Jurors Declare Phillips Sane
Second Trial Follows Manslaughter Verdict In Slaying of Wife Here
Theron Phillips, 43-year-old Monrovia steam-shovel operator, was declared sane by a jury which returned a verdict at 2:20 p.m. this afternoon. The sanity trial followed a verdict by the jury late yesterday charging Phillips with manslaughter in connection with the death of his wife here.
A verdict declaring that Phillips was insane at the time of the fatal shooting will have the effect, court attaches said, of freeing the 43-year-old steam shovel operator of all criminal responsibility in the death.
The jury returned its verdict of manslaughter, which carried a sentence ranging from one to ten years in prison, at 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon.
Phillips showed no apparent emotion as the court clerk completed reading of the verdict.
According to Feb. 26, 1944 San Quentin Prison Records, Theron (Gladen) Phillips, b. Oct. 10, 1901 in TX., was in prison for "Manslaughter" for a term of 0-10 years. Court & County: Los Angeles. Occupation: Teaston? (Crane) operator. Years of schooling: 9. Marital status: Widowed. Religion: Protestant. Habits: T & L. (Tobacco and liquor?); Description: 5' 11" tall, weighing 192 lbs., with brown eyes and brown/grey hair; Transferred to Chino: May 23, 1944. Board Action: Sep. 26, 1945 - Granted 20 mo. on parole. Sep. 4, 1946 - parole. Listed as a contact: (sister?) Miss Evelyn Phillips, Weatherford, TX.
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