McAvennie
Justified & Ancient
- Joined
- Mar 13, 2003
- Messages
- 3,998
I've always kind of taken as fact the story that Peg Entwistle killed herself by jumping from the Hollywood sign.
Having read the 'wiki' facts of the case though it strikes me as very inconclusive.
Granted, this is Wikipedia, but still. Some very curious things in there.
a) The mysterious caller who discovered the body while hiking and then took artefacts from the scene and anonymously left them at the police station.
b) The leap from her last known contact being to declare she was walking to meet friends to 'she must have climbed the sign and jumped'.
c) The suicide note, could mean many things - not necessarily suicide, and was found in the purse the mystery woman transported from the scene to the station.
In the murky world of 1930s LA surely there must have been at least the suspicion that something more was involved than just an open and shut suicide?
Maybe the Wiki story is just really poorly written, but I had always assumed witnesses had seen her jump and the story was set in bona fide fact. At best it is circumstantial and at worst seems entirely plausible to be an invented course of events.
Anyone know anything more of this case that maybe solidifies the legend?
EDIT:
http://allanellenberger.com/book-flm-ne ... s-suicide/
This article provides a few more details. While it answers some Qs it asks more As. The notion that she left her home that is a mere walk from the sign is slightly flawed as the pics in that article show that while it was visible at the end of her street it was some distance off. And in that area of LA it is visible from the end of hundreds of streets.
Furthermore, it mentions talk of a broken relationship as a potential cause of her suicide. Playing at amateur Jessica Fletcher here, could it not be that the suicide note is in fact a breaking up note? The initials added after the event? Would handwriting analysis have been used in 1932?
A theory, and I'm just speculating, could be made that her relationship with Mr X had ended, she was carrying his note in her purse and was unable to get over the break up, wanting to move on and be with Miss X (maybe the anonymous caller), Mr X either lured her to the Hollywood hills and pushed her down the ravine or arranged to meet there before an argument or squabble led to her falling.
Her injuries certainly point to a fall and it would seem a bizarre method to choose to murder someone, potential of them surviving, although would be an ideal way to cover up and make it look like an accident or a suicide.
And if foul play was involved why would a potential accomplice alert the police to the location of the body?
There is probably very clear evidence that the police in 1932 had which did not leave any shadow of doubt. And the retelling of the story down the years has presumably added embellishments which have become 'fact'. However, I still find it very peculiar how the theory was made that she must have jumped. I can almost buy the surmising that it was from letter H - position of the body, maybe that was the only letter with a ladder attached. Curious.
Having read the 'wiki' facts of the case though it strikes me as very inconclusive.
Granted, this is Wikipedia, but still. Some very curious things in there.
a) The mysterious caller who discovered the body while hiking and then took artefacts from the scene and anonymously left them at the police station.
b) The leap from her last known contact being to declare she was walking to meet friends to 'she must have climbed the sign and jumped'.
c) The suicide note, could mean many things - not necessarily suicide, and was found in the purse the mystery woman transported from the scene to the station.
In the murky world of 1930s LA surely there must have been at least the suspicion that something more was involved than just an open and shut suicide?
Maybe the Wiki story is just really poorly written, but I had always assumed witnesses had seen her jump and the story was set in bona fide fact. At best it is circumstantial and at worst seems entirely plausible to be an invented course of events.
Anyone know anything more of this case that maybe solidifies the legend?
EDIT:
http://allanellenberger.com/book-flm-ne ... s-suicide/
This article provides a few more details. While it answers some Qs it asks more As. The notion that she left her home that is a mere walk from the sign is slightly flawed as the pics in that article show that while it was visible at the end of her street it was some distance off. And in that area of LA it is visible from the end of hundreds of streets.
Furthermore, it mentions talk of a broken relationship as a potential cause of her suicide. Playing at amateur Jessica Fletcher here, could it not be that the suicide note is in fact a breaking up note? The initials added after the event? Would handwriting analysis have been used in 1932?
A theory, and I'm just speculating, could be made that her relationship with Mr X had ended, she was carrying his note in her purse and was unable to get over the break up, wanting to move on and be with Miss X (maybe the anonymous caller), Mr X either lured her to the Hollywood hills and pushed her down the ravine or arranged to meet there before an argument or squabble led to her falling.
Her injuries certainly point to a fall and it would seem a bizarre method to choose to murder someone, potential of them surviving, although would be an ideal way to cover up and make it look like an accident or a suicide.
And if foul play was involved why would a potential accomplice alert the police to the location of the body?
There is probably very clear evidence that the police in 1932 had which did not leave any shadow of doubt. And the retelling of the story down the years has presumably added embellishments which have become 'fact'. However, I still find it very peculiar how the theory was made that she must have jumped. I can almost buy the surmising that it was from letter H - position of the body, maybe that was the only letter with a ladder attached. Curious.
