The Case of the Unknown Blonde
At around 1:30 PM on Saturday, January 30, 1948, the Monticello Hotel reported that a "shot was fired." Assistant city coroner James Baker Twyman arrived at the Colonial-style hotel in downtown Charlottesville, Virginia, approximately 40 minutes later. Upon exiting his car, he recalled the excitement surrounding the hotel's opening in 1926, when he was 16 years old. At the time, the Monticello Hotel was the tallest structure in Charlottesville, boasting modern amenities in each room, including running ice water, a radio, and even a mail chute. The building's roof featured a searchlight, recognized as the largest in the world, which could be seen from up to 300 miles away.
He proceeded to the room where hotel staff had pinpointed the location of the shot, and upon entering, he found the victim lying under the covers in the bed. He was immediately struck by her face. It appeared she was wearing a fresh application of makeup, as if she had been preparing to go out on a date but decided to lie down for a moment and fell asleep. Pulling back the covers, he saw the single gunshot wound to her chest and the .22 caliber pistol. No, she wasn't going out any longer. Not now. Not ever again.
He looked around the room; nothing appeared disturbed. Police on the scene informed him that the hotel staff said they entered the room using a passkey. He then learned the truly puzzling aspect of the situation: no one seemed to know who she was. A purse found on the floor beside the body contained a one-way train ticket to Rolla, Missouri, but was missing a wallet. The only hint regarding her identity was an empty envelope addressed to "Mr. and Mrs. Scotty Gladstone, care of Mrs. A. Payne, 8 Cronin Court, Rolla, Missouri."
In addition to the missing letter, no suicide note was located.
He looked around the room; nothing appeared disturbed. Police on the scene informed him that the hotel staff said they entered the room using a passkey. He then learned the truly puzzling aspect of the situation: no one seemed to know who she was. A purse found on the floor beside the body contained a one-way train ticket to Rolla, Missouri, but was missing a wallet. The only hint regarding her identity was an empty envelope addressed to "Mr. and Mrs. Scotty Gladstone, care of Mrs. A. Payne, 8 Cronin Court, Rolla, Missouri."
In addition to the missing letter, no suicide note was located.
Later that same day, using the details from this envelope, investigators identified the victim as Miss Hallie Payne, the 19-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Payne from Rolla, Missouri. Miss Payne had been visiting her sister and her brother-in-law, Master Sergeant and Mrs. Francis W. Lips, at Camp Lee, a little over 100 miles away in Petersburg, Virginia, since the previous summer.
The following day, Dr. Twyman handed down a verdict of suicide in the death of Miss Hallie Payne. The death certificate stated that Hallie died from a gunshot wound to the left chest. In the space marked 'other conditions,' Dr. Twyman included: 3 1/2 months pregnant.
As Dr. Twyman put away Hallie's folder, he may have reflected on another case he handled involving a woman who died six weeks earlier. Martha Thomasson was a 27-year-old unwed mother of an 8-month-old daughter who, according to her family, had suffered from a chronic case of postpartum psychosis since the child's birth.
Dr. Twyman observed Martha dead in her home on the morning of December 18, 1947. Her demise was the result of a wound to the chest fired from a 12-gauge single-barrel shotgun. After declaring her death a suicide, he noted on her death certificate that she was the 'depressive type,' and with that, the case was closed.
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Assistant Police Chief J. E. Adams told reporters Miss Payne had purchased a .22 caliber pistol the day before at a local hardware store. He said it was from this gun that the single shot was fired. Chief Adams stated that while the cause of death had been resolved, lingering questions remained concerning her missing pocketbook.
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She graduated from Rolla High School in 1946, and in a local newspaper article celebrating the graduation, classmates described her as 'vivacious.' In another article about the 1946 graduating class, Hallie humorously left the following message for a lowerclassman: “I, Hallie Payne, leave my annual supply of peroxide to Claudia Broking.”
After high school, Hallie was employed at the Stephen and Shinkle Shoe Company. In May 1947, she participated in a beauty contest held in conjunction with the Drummer’s Association Convention. In July of that same year, Hallie moved to Petersburg, Virginia, to live with her oldest sister, Blanche, and her second husband, Master Sergeant Francis W. Lipps.
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Blanche was the eldest daughter of Art and Grace, born in 1915 in Norman, Cleveland County, Oklahoma. On February 11, 1933, Blanche married Wilbur Earl Cooley in Rolla, Missouri. By 1940, the couple had two sons: Wilbur Jr., aged 6, and Ronald, aged 3. Two years later, on February 2, 1942, in Pulaski, Arkansas, Blanche obtained a divorce from Wilbur on the grounds of 'Habitual Drunkenness and Indignities'.
Six weeks later, the Salinas Post, a newspaper out of Salinas, California, announced the marriage of Francis W. Lips, 24, and Blanche Cooley, 27.
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Francis W. Lips was born in 1918 in Guilford, New Haven, Connecticut, to parents Francis Stephen Lips and Gertrude Hefty. Francis Stephen worked as a railroad engineer, while Gertrude dedicated herself to homemaking and rearing her five children in the Catholic faith.
After marrying Blanche in 1942, Francis left the Army and relocated to Rolla, Missouri. There, he took on the role of stepfather to Blanche's two young sons and secured employment at the Stolz Store, a general mercantile. In December of 1945, Francis re-enlisted in the Army.
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On Friday, January 30, 1948, a striking young blonde woman arrived in Charlottesville from Petersburg, Virginia. She entered the Charlottesville Hardware Company, retrieved her wallet from her purse, and presented a driver’s license identifying herself as Miss Hallie Payne, a 19-year-old from Rolla, Missouri. Afterward, she cashed a check from the Petersburg Citizens National Bank at Camp Lee. An employee at the hardware store informed the police that, in addition to the cash from the check, he had noticed at least one $100 bill in her wallet. Before leaving the store, she purchased a .22 caliber pistol.
The following day, Hallie was found dead in a room at the Monticello Hotel. She lay on the bed, under the covers, fully dressed, her face made up, and her hair perfectly coiffed. Inside the room, police discovered an empty addressed envelope, a one-way train ticket to Rollo, Missouri, and her purse, which was missing her wallet containing her identification and cash.
Aside from her purse, which lay on the floor, the only things out of place were the bullet wound in her chest and the .22 caliber pistol found beside her body. Initially, the woman's identity was a mystery to both investigators and hotel staff.
Upon the discovery of her identity, police spoke with her sister, Blanche. She disclosed that Hallie had departed from Richmond the morning before her death, en route back to Rolla, Missouri, after residing with Blanche and her husband for approximately six months in Petersburg. She was unable to explain Hallie's stop in Charlottesville and had no details regarding her pregnancy or any potential suitor. However, she did clarify Hallie's work situation, stating that Hallie was not employed at Camp Lee and left it at that.
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On Saturday night, after the coroner's verdict was announced, Hallie's body was taken to Rolla, Missouri. Her remains were accompanied by her sister and her brother-in-law. Hallie was laid to rest in the Rolla Cemetery on Tuesday afternoon. Meanwhile, on that same day in Charlottesville, Virginia, Elizabeth F. Harrison, a 27-year-old black woman employed at the hotel as a maid for three years, was arrested for the theft of $114 in cash from Hallie's wallet.
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Mrs. Elizabeth F. Harrison confessed to police during questioning that she entered Miss Payne's room using a passkey after hearing a gunshot and saw the handbag on the bed next to the woman's body.
At the time of her arrest, authorities discovered $99 in Mrs. Harrison's possession. She claimed to have taken $114 from the wallet before burning it; however, Chief Adams indicated that his investigation revealed Hallie had approximately $227 in cash on her person. Consequently, he believed that at least $100 was burned along with the wallet. He did not reveal whether his inquiry into the missing pocketbook established the exact amount of the check that Hallie cashed or whose account it originated from.
Mrs. Harrison said nothing about a suicide note or the missing letter intended for Mr. and Mrs. Scotty Gladstone.
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On February 26, 1948, Mrs. Elizabeth F. Harrison was sentenced to one year at the State Farm by Judge A. D. Dabney after she admitted to stealing a wallet and money from Miss Hallie Payne's room.
After the sentencing, Chief Adams disclosed that he had received a letter from Master Sergeant Francis W. Lips of Camp Lee. The letter indicated that his sister-in-law, Hallie, possessed several pieces of jewelry when she left his home. However, no jewelry was found among her belongings, and an investigation into the missing items was initiated.
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No further reports were made public concerning the investigation into the missing jewelry that Master Sergeant Francis W. Lips claimed Hallie had removed from his home.
The letter missing from the empty envelope addressed to "Mr. and Mrs. Scotty Gladstone, care of Mrs. A. Payne, 8 Cronin Court, Rolla, Mo." was never located.
By 1950, Elizabeth F. Harrison had served her sentence, was unemployed, and lived with her grandparents.
On July 7, 1953, Blanche traveled from Indianapolis to Yokohama, Japan, where her husband was stationed, leaving her two sons, aged 16 and 19, behind. The duration of her trip was described on official travel documents as 'indefinitely'.
Note to reader:
Blanche cited as her reason for wanting a divorce: “Habitual Drunkenness and Indignities.” To obtain a divorce based on general indignities, a plaintiff “must show a habitual, continuous, permanent, and plain manifestation of settled hate, alienation, and estrangement on the part of one spouse, sufficient to render the condition of the other intolerable.”
In 1947-48, a new .22 caliber pistol sold for between $20-$50
$100 in 1948 is worth approximately $1318.14 today.
In the 1940s, hotel door locks primarily relied on metal keys and pin tumbler cylinders, with the Yale lock being a common example, though some hotels might also have used combination locks or simpler knob mechanisms. The door could likely have been "locked" before closing the door on exit, but it would not have been self-locking.
The image at the top of this post is not Hallie.
Blanche cited as her reason for wanting a divorce: “Habitual Drunkenness and Indignities.” To obtain a divorce based on general indignities, a plaintiff “must show a habitual, continuous, permanent, and plain manifestation of settled hate, alienation, and estrangement on the part of one spouse, sufficient to render the condition of the other intolerable.”
In 1947-48, a new .22 caliber pistol sold for between $20-$50
$100 in 1948 is worth approximately $1318.14 today.
In the 1940s, hotel door locks primarily relied on metal keys and pin tumbler cylinders, with the Yale lock being a common example, though some hotels might also have used combination locks or simpler knob mechanisms. The door could likely have been "locked" before closing the door on exit, but it would not have been self-locking.
The image at the top of this post is not Hallie.
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Year: 1930; Census Place: Rolla, Phelps, Missouri; Page: 19A; Enumeration District: 0010; FHL microfilm: 2340951
Virginia Department of Health; Richmond, VA, USA; Virginia, Deaths, 1912-2014
Year: 1940; Census Place: Rolla, Phelps, Missouri; Roll: m-t0627-02140; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 81-13
Passenger Lists of Vessels (January 1949-March 1957) and Passenger and Crew Lists of Airplanes (June 1947-March1957) Departing from Seattle and Tacoma, Washington; Microfilm Publication A3376, rolls 1-9; NAID: 4492402; Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service [INS], Record Group 85; The National Archives in Washington, D.C.
National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Petersburg, Petersburg, Virginia; Roll: 720; Page: 77; Enumeration District: 116-45
Rolla Herald, Rolla, Missouri, Thu, May 23, 1946 ·Page 4
Rolla Herald, Rolla, Missouir, Thu, May 23, 1946 ·Page 7
United States Military Registers, 1902–1985. Salem, Oregon: Oregon State Library.
National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Petersburg, Petersburg, Virginia; Roll: 720; Page: 77; Enumeration District: 116-45National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland, USA; Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, 1938-1946; NAID: 1263923; Record Group Title: Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, 1789-ca. 2007; Record Group: 64; Box Number: 00251; Reel: 25Year: 1940; Census Place: Arapahoe, Colorado; Roll: m-t0627-00455; Page: 64A; Enumeration District: 3-26
Year: 1930; Census Place: Guilford, New Haven, Connecticut; Page: 16B; Enumeration District: 0134; FHL microfilm: 2340008Boston Archdiocese; Boston, Massachusetts; Sacramental Records; Volume: 59014; Page: 78
Petersburg, Virginia, City Directory, 1950
Year: 1940; Census Place: Rolla, Phelps, Missouri; Roll: m-t0627-02140; Page: 4A; Enumeration District: 81-13
Missouri State Archives; Jefferson City, MO, USA; Missouri Marriage Records [Microfilm]The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, Virginia, Sat, Jan 31, 1948 ·Page 2
The Bee, Daville, Virginia, Sat, Jan 31, 1948 ·Page 10
The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, Virginia, Mon, Feb 02, 1948 ·Page 2
Danville Register and Bee, Danville, Virginia, Sat, Jan 31, 1948 ·Page 6
The Springfield News-Leader, Springfield, Missouri, Sun, Feb 01, 1948 ·Page 8
The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, Virginia, Wed, Feb 04, 1948 ·Page 2
The Daily Progress, Charlottesville, Virginia, Thu, Feb 26, 1948 ·Page 3
https://www.cvillepedia.org/500_Court_Square
The Licking News, Licking, Missouri, Thu, Feb 12, 1948 ·Page 1
Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, Virginia, Sat, Dec 20, 1947 ·Page 20
National Archives at Washington, DC; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Year: 1950; Census Place: Charlottesville, Charlottesville, Virginia; Roll: 4733; Page: 14; Enumeration District: 104-26
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