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Louise <I>Preslar</I> Peete

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Louise Preslar Peete Famous memorial

Birth
Bienville, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, USA
Death
11 Apr 1947 (aged 66)
San Quentin, Marin County, California, USA
Burial
Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, USA Add to Map
Plot
Section G, Lot 19A, Space 6S, Unmarked
Memorial ID
View Source
Criminal. Though short and plump, her southern charm seemed to exude a fatal attraction to men. She was married four times but drove each one of her husbands to suicide by flaunting her affairs and criminal activities. Soon after winning an acquittal in Texas in the killing of a rich man she claimed was trying to rape her, she turned up in Los Angeles. There, she met and wormed her way into the affections of a millonaire businessman named Jacob Denton. She moved into his mansion and soon after shot him in the head. She buried him in the basement and began to take over his money and business affairs, telling his friends, relatives, and associates that he had been suddenly called away on an urgent matter. She kept up the charade for months, leading everyone to believe that Denton was still alive but unavailable, while she busily emptied his bank account and rented out his home. Finally caught when Denton's body was discovered, she was tried and sentenced to life imprisonment. After she had spent 18 years in prison, a sympathetic couple named Arthur and Margaret Logan, who had cared for Louise's young daughter and who had fought for a long time to have her win parole, at last got their wish, and she was released. They let her live in their home and gave her a job. She repaid them by killing Margaret and placing Arthur into a mental ward. She then went about taking over their property and possessions and telling lies to their friends and neighbors to explain their absence. When she got caught this time, there was no mercy from the court, and she became one of only four women to be executed in California's gas chamber at San Quentin.
Criminal. Though short and plump, her southern charm seemed to exude a fatal attraction to men. She was married four times but drove each one of her husbands to suicide by flaunting her affairs and criminal activities. Soon after winning an acquittal in Texas in the killing of a rich man she claimed was trying to rape her, she turned up in Los Angeles. There, she met and wormed her way into the affections of a millonaire businessman named Jacob Denton. She moved into his mansion and soon after shot him in the head. She buried him in the basement and began to take over his money and business affairs, telling his friends, relatives, and associates that he had been suddenly called away on an urgent matter. She kept up the charade for months, leading everyone to believe that Denton was still alive but unavailable, while she busily emptied his bank account and rented out his home. Finally caught when Denton's body was discovered, she was tried and sentenced to life imprisonment. After she had spent 18 years in prison, a sympathetic couple named Arthur and Margaret Logan, who had cared for Louise's young daughter and who had fought for a long time to have her win parole, at last got their wish, and she was released. They let her live in their home and gave her a job. She repaid them by killing Margaret and placing Arthur into a mental ward. She then went about taking over their property and possessions and telling lies to their friends and neighbors to explain their absence. When she got caught this time, there was no mercy from the court, and she became one of only four women to be executed in California's gas chamber at San Quentin.

Bio by: Karen Valentine



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  • Maintained by: Find a Grave
  • Originally Created by: Karen Valentine
  • Added: Jan 2, 2003
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID:
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7050582/louise-peete: accessed ), memorial page for Louise Preslar Peete (20 Sep 1880–11 Apr 1947), Find a Grave Memorial ID 7050582, citing Angelus Rosedale Cemetery, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave.