Killed, Part 6- A Tragic Mistake

 

Date: 15 Jul 1961

Place: Ventura County, California 

The Story:

35 year old Earl Mason Mendenhall was a deputy sheriff in Ventura County, California. He had been on leave for sometime and was back 3 days when this tragic accident occurred. 

Earl was transporting a mentally ill prisoner to the psychiatric ward of Ventura County General Hospital. 27 year old James Edward Snow had threatened to kill his family- 25 year old wife named Neoma & young son Douglas. Neoma and Douglas were riding in the backseat of the car, which is probably why James was placed in the front seat of the the police car; However, he was not handcuffed. The man apparently started hearing voices, grabbed the wheel from Mendenhall and crashed the vehicle into oncoming traffic. The officer died. Snow, his wife and child all suffered minor injuries. 

The car that the police collided with was driven by 41 year old Stewart Walther. Also in the car were his daughter (15) and another passenger (15). Mendenhall was the only one killed. 

The Victim:

Earl Mason Mendenhall was born on 01 Sep 1925 in Akron, Ohio to 

Image from Findagrave.com

William E. Mendenhall (1894-1960) & Clara L. Jones (1892-1973). 

He had one brother- Howard P. Mendenhall (1928-2006).

Earl married twice. First, to Lota Mae Dixon (1927-2005) on 23 Jun 1944 in Craven County, North Carolina. They had 3 children: David, Daniel and Sue. On 22 Apr 1960, Earl married Barbara Ann Dickey and they had 4 sons: James, William & Robert (Twins), and Richard. Richard was just 2 months old when his father was killed.  

Image & newspaper info:
Ventura County Star-Free Press Newspaper
17 Jul 1961

After Earl's death, his wife/widow received $750 from donations called the "Mendenhall Fund"

Ventura County Star- Free Press
26 Jul 1961

Next, I wanted to see if I could find anything on James Snow, the prisoner. 

Things news articles have told me: 

James Edward Snow, 27 (born about 1934)

Former home- Lebanon, Missouri

Wife- Neoma, age 25 (born about 1936)

Son- Douglas (4 or 5 years old in 1961, born about 1956)

In late July, 1961, Snow was committed to Camarillo State Hospital, court ordered, but I know he escaped and by Dec 1961, he was on the run with his wife and child.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything else on Snow and his family. I feel like both his first and surname are far too common, it would be hard to pinpoint which person it is. 

~Earl Mason Mendenhall (1925-1961) was my 9th cousin, 3x removed.