LYDA TRUEBLOOD’S
UNIQUE METHOD
OF MURDER...
...There Were So Many Fatal Affairs
N
OTHING, IT seemed, could
stop the little blonde Missouri
sex kitten from accumulating
money. Or keeping grave-diggers busy.
An enthusiastic performer after dark
- or during the day, for that matter –
Lyda Trueblood was born in 1893 on
a horse ranch outside Keytesville, one
of the family of Billy Trueblood who
for some reason was known as “Honest
John.’’
Two brothers, Ed and Bob Dooley,
lived nearby. Like Lyda’s parents, they
were farmers, and they loved to come
into town on Saturday nights to swig
hard cider and swing the girls on the
dance-floor.
Ed, two years his brother’s senior,
was a clumsy hand at rolling his own
cigarettes. His efforts left loose tobacco
dangling, and it was joked that when
Ed lit up, the fire department was
placed on alert.
One night at a dance, he and Lyda
were swinging it when Ed said, “Let’s
go outside while I have a smoke.’’
“You know somethin’, Ed?’’ said
Lyda.
“No, what?’’
“I’d like a cigarette too.’’
This was a risky business in those
days – when a female was caught
smoking, even in her home, she was
marked down as a “fallen” woman.
So Ed and Lyda, leaving Bob in the
dance-hall, went outside and Ed rolled
a couple of cigarettes. He gave one to
Lyda and she dragged on it with deep
satisfaction.
Then a piece of flaming tobacco,
dangling from the tip of Ed’s cigarette,
was blown by the wind and set fire to
his high celluloid collar.
46 Murder Most Foul Lyda Trueblood’s Unique Method Of Murder
Case recalled by
Alan HyndLyda Trueblood- a heartless
and cunning
killer whose
greed knew no
bounds