Murderer and Child Molester. In 1949 Fred Stroble was an unemployed baker living with his daughter, her husband, and their two young children in the Culver City neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA. At 67 years old at the time, the Austrian immigrant seemed harmless enough and was well liked by neighborhood children to whom he regularly gave candy and ice cream. What no one knew was that Fred Stroble had been arrested for exposing himself to a 10 year old girl 6 months before. His son in law had bailed him out, and being fearful of going to jail he didn't show up for his court date. Somehow neither the police or the court system noticed, and Fred managed to slip through the cracks.
On November 13, 1949 his son in law learned of his failure to appear and told the old man to turn himself in or he would be thrown out of the house. Living across the street was Linda Joyce Glucoft, a 6 year old friend of his granddaughter Rochelle. The next day Linda left home, telling her mother she was was going to play with Rochelle, not knowing that both Rochelle and her mother had left minutes before to attend a birthday party and the only one left in the house was Fred. Hours passed, and when it was time for Linda to come home for dinner her mother went across the street to retrieve her finding no one was home. She returned home and called the police, and shortly they were searching the neighborhood for little Linda. When Rochelle and her family returned home and learned what was happening, her father told the police of his suspicion that his wife's father was involved due to his record.
Three days later Linda's nude, lifeless body was found under a trash pile in the alley behind the house. She had been hacked to death, wrapped in a bloody blanket, and was wearing only her socks. Beside her were found a bloody axe, butcher's knife, hammer, and ice pick. Immediately an international search was on for Fred Stroble. Working on a tip from a truck driver, police arrested Stroble two days later at a bar in Ocean City, CA.
Fred Stroble confessed to the crime, telling the District Attorney that he "had to kill her when she started to scream" as he began to molest her. He strangled her with his hands, then with a neck tie. Not sure that she was dead he wrapped her in a blanket took her outside then returned to the house for the axe, knife, hammer, and ice pick. He stabbed her repeatedly in the chest with the ice pick, then remembered from his time butchering pigs years before that they would cut their throats, so with the knife he did the same. Still not satisfied he beat her in the head and face with the hammer and the axe, and threw her body over the fence and covered it.
Despite pleas of temporary insanity due to having been drunk the entire day of the murder and multiple appeals, Fred Stroble was convicted of murder in the first degree for the sexually charged murder of Linda Joyce Glucoft and sentenced to death. That sentence was carried out on July 25, 1952 and San Quentin prison. His last words were that he "deeply regretted" the killing.
On November 13, 1949 his son in law learned of his failure to appear and told the old man to turn himself in or he would be thrown out of the house. Living across the street was Linda Joyce Glucoft, a 6 year old friend of his granddaughter Rochelle. The next day Linda left home, telling her mother she was was going to play with Rochelle, not knowing that both Rochelle and her mother had left minutes before to attend a birthday party and the only one left in the house was Fred. Hours passed, and when it was time for Linda to come home for dinner her mother went across the street to retrieve her finding no one was home. She returned home and called the police, and shortly they were searching the neighborhood for little Linda. When Rochelle and her family returned home and learned what was happening, her father told the police of his suspicion that his wife's father was involved due to his record.
Three days later Linda's nude, lifeless body was found under a trash pile in the alley behind the house. She had been hacked to death, wrapped in a bloody blanket, and was wearing only her socks. Beside her were found a bloody axe, butcher's knife, hammer, and ice pick. Immediately an international search was on for Fred Stroble. Working on a tip from a truck driver, police arrested Stroble two days later at a bar in Ocean City, CA.
Fred Stroble confessed to the crime, telling the District Attorney that he "had to kill her when she started to scream" as he began to molest her. He strangled her with his hands, then with a neck tie. Not sure that she was dead he wrapped her in a blanket took her outside then returned to the house for the axe, knife, hammer, and ice pick. He stabbed her repeatedly in the chest with the ice pick, then remembered from his time butchering pigs years before that they would cut their throats, so with the knife he did the same. Still not satisfied he beat her in the head and face with the hammer and the axe, and threw her body over the fence and covered it.
Despite pleas of temporary insanity due to having been drunk the entire day of the murder and multiple appeals, Fred Stroble was convicted of murder in the first degree for the sexually charged murder of Linda Joyce Glucoft and sentenced to death. That sentence was carried out on July 25, 1952 and San Quentin prison. His last words were that he "deeply regretted" the killing.
Murderer and Child Molester. In 1949 Fred Stroble was an unemployed baker living with his daughter, her husband, and their two young children in the Culver City neighborhood of Los Angeles, CA. At 67 years old at the time, the Austrian immigrant seemed harmless enough and was well liked by neighborhood children to whom he regularly gave candy and ice cream. What no one knew was that Fred Stroble had been arrested for exposing himself to a 10 year old girl 6 months before. His son in law had bailed him out, and being fearful of going to jail he didn't show up for his court date. Somehow neither the police or the court system noticed, and Fred managed to slip through the cracks.
On November 13, 1949 his son in law learned of his failure to appear and told the old man to turn himself in or he would be thrown out of the house. Living across the street was Linda Joyce Glucoft, a 6 year old friend of his granddaughter Rochelle. The next day Linda left home, telling her mother she was was going to play with Rochelle, not knowing that both Rochelle and her mother had left minutes before to attend a birthday party and the only one left in the house was Fred. Hours passed, and when it was time for Linda to come home for dinner her mother went across the street to retrieve her finding no one was home. She returned home and called the police, and shortly they were searching the neighborhood for little Linda. When Rochelle and her family returned home and learned what was happening, her father told the police of his suspicion that his wife's father was involved due to his record.
Three days later Linda's nude, lifeless body was found under a trash pile in the alley behind the house. She had been hacked to death, wrapped in a bloody blanket, and was wearing only her socks. Beside her were found a bloody axe, butcher's knife, hammer, and ice pick. Immediately an international search was on for Fred Stroble. Working on a tip from a truck driver, police arrested Stroble two days later at a bar in Ocean City, CA.
Fred Stroble confessed to the crime, telling the District Attorney that he "had to kill her when she started to scream" as he began to molest her. He strangled her with his hands, then with a neck tie. Not sure that she was dead he wrapped her in a blanket took her outside then returned to the house for the axe, knife, hammer, and ice pick. He stabbed her repeatedly in the chest with the ice pick, then remembered from his time butchering pigs years before that they would cut their throats, so with the knife he did the same. Still not satisfied he beat her in the head and face with the hammer and the axe, and threw her body over the fence and covered it.
Despite pleas of temporary insanity due to having been drunk the entire day of the murder and multiple appeals, Fred Stroble was convicted of murder in the first degree for the sexually charged murder of Linda Joyce Glucoft and sentenced to death. That sentence was carried out on July 25, 1952 and San Quentin prison. His last words were that he "deeply regretted" the killing.
On November 13, 1949 his son in law learned of his failure to appear and told the old man to turn himself in or he would be thrown out of the house. Living across the street was Linda Joyce Glucoft, a 6 year old friend of his granddaughter Rochelle. The next day Linda left home, telling her mother she was was going to play with Rochelle, not knowing that both Rochelle and her mother had left minutes before to attend a birthday party and the only one left in the house was Fred. Hours passed, and when it was time for Linda to come home for dinner her mother went across the street to retrieve her finding no one was home. She returned home and called the police, and shortly they were searching the neighborhood for little Linda. When Rochelle and her family returned home and learned what was happening, her father told the police of his suspicion that his wife's father was involved due to his record.
Three days later Linda's nude, lifeless body was found under a trash pile in the alley behind the house. She had been hacked to death, wrapped in a bloody blanket, and was wearing only her socks. Beside her were found a bloody axe, butcher's knife, hammer, and ice pick. Immediately an international search was on for Fred Stroble. Working on a tip from a truck driver, police arrested Stroble two days later at a bar in Ocean City, CA.
Fred Stroble confessed to the crime, telling the District Attorney that he "had to kill her when she started to scream" as he began to molest her. He strangled her with his hands, then with a neck tie. Not sure that she was dead he wrapped her in a blanket took her outside then returned to the house for the axe, knife, hammer, and ice pick. He stabbed her repeatedly in the chest with the ice pick, then remembered from his time butchering pigs years before that they would cut their throats, so with the knife he did the same. Still not satisfied he beat her in the head and face with the hammer and the axe, and threw her body over the fence and covered it.
Despite pleas of temporary insanity due to having been drunk the entire day of the murder and multiple appeals, Fred Stroble was convicted of murder in the first degree for the sexually charged murder of Linda Joyce Glucoft and sentenced to death. That sentence was carried out on July 25, 1952 and San Quentin prison. His last words were that he "deeply regretted" the killing.
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