On March 30, 1943, (Amos) Raymond Latshaw was arrested in Los Angeles. He was the main suspect in the homicide of Charles and Bertha Latshaw (his grandparents), 7-year-old Charles Latshaw (his half-brother), Olive Latshaw (his stepmother) and Amos Latshaw (his father). It was the most heinous crime in Placer County since Adolph Weber murdered his family in 1904. On March 31, 1943, Latshaw was in the custody of Placer County Sheriff Silva and driven back to Auburn.
On Feb. 28, 1943, the bodies of the five Latshaw family members were discovered at the Latshaw Ranch in Loomis by Sheriff Deputy Charles Dolce after a report from a concerned citizen. Raymond Latshaw was last seen at the Auburn Pharmacy on Feb. 11, 1943, which is the day investigators believe the crime was committed.
When Latshaw arrived in Auburn, he confessed to the murders, but later recanted and pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. The first trial ended in a hung jury. Before the second trial could begin, Latshaw, with his attorney, Charles Tuttle, entered a plea of guilty to four of the murders, but not for the murder of his father.
Were he convicted of murdering his father, he would not inherit his estate, which was a law inspired by the Weber case.
Latshaw’s plea was accepted, and he was sentenced to four life terms. Incidentally, Charles Tuttle, Latshaw’s attorney, was the Placer County District Attorney who unsuccessfully prosecuted Alma Bell for the murder of Joe Armes in 1909, yet another sensational Placer County trial.
Latshaw died in San Quentin State Prison in 1959 after an unsuccessful operation to remove a brain tumor.
|
