Below is a sampling of items from our current exhibit. The full exhibit can be viewed on the 4th floor of Hayden Library at Arizona State University in Tempe. The exhibit is open to the public during normal library hours. For a map and directions to AHF click here.

Additional information on the exhibit and the Winnie Ruth Judd Collection is available at the following links:

Above:The .45 caliber pistol used in the murder of Samuelson and LeRoi.

Right:The trunks which were used to ship the bodies from Phoenix to Los Angeles, 1931.

On Friday night of October 16, 1931 Winnie Ruth went to her friends’ apartment for dinner and drinks. What happened next became an enduring and sensationalized part of history.

An argument between the friends broke out. Over what is still unclear. Jack Halloran? Money? Other Women? A gun was pulled and all three women were shot – Winnie Ruth in her left hand, Agnes Anne LeRoi and Hedvig “Sammy” Samuelson both fatally.

The body of Agnes Anne LeRoi was jammed into a large trunk. Hedvig Samuelson’s body was too heavy and would not fit. Her body was then dissected, placed into multiple suitcases and covered by articles of clothing.

Judd, with the body-filled trunks, boarded a train headed for Los Angeles. Enroute the trunks began to leak and emit a horrible smell. Police greeted Judd at the Los Angeles station and asked her to open the trunks. Claiming that her husband had the keys, she fled the scene. The trunks were forced open and the women’s dismembered bodies were found.

The murder trial of Winnie Ruth Judd began on January 19, 1932, at the Maricopa County Courthouse in downtown Phoenix. The media called her “the trunk murderess” and “tiger woman”. Judd claimed self-defense.

She was pronounced guilty, sentenced to death by hanging, and placed on death row at the Arizona State Prison in Florence. Days before her execution Winnie Ruth was called back to the courtroom for an insanity hearing. In 1933, she was found to be insane and moved from prison to the Arizona State Mental Hospital.

Winnie Ruth Judd at her murder trial, 1932. She was never asked to testify.

Victim Agnes Anne LeRoi

Victim Hedvig “Sammy” Samuelson

Winnie Ruth Judd and her husband Dr. Judd in the courtroom

Winnie Ruth Judd speaking with her attorneys Joseph Zaversack, Paul Schenck, and Herman Lewkowitz

Dr. Latton giving his testimony to prove Judd’s insanity