Cap in the Hedge
Cases unlock in order, like levels. This is case 184 of 200.
Los Angeles, Thursday, February 2, 1922, 11:00 am. In a bungalow court in Westlake, film director Lorcan Kilbride, 49, was found at 7:30 am slumped behind the desk in his study.
A man who said he was a doctor spoke of a stomach hemorrhage and vanished in the confusion. At 9:00 am the coroner turned the body over: one shot in the back, .38 caliber, fired last night.
His wallet with the cash and his diamond ring were still on him. It was not a robbery.
Three people passed through this bungalow between yesterday and today. One of them knows why Kilbride died facing away.
Study of a film director's bungalow in Los Angeles, 1922, with silent-film posters on the wall.
Suspects
Velma StarlingComedy actress, the last to see the victim alive, 27
Odessa VailMother and manager of young star Dolly Vail, 48
Elmo GainesServant and cook of the bungalow, who found the body, 41
The real case
The death of William Desmond Taylor
Los Angeles, United States, 1922
Read the real case