Thelma Todd Mystery.

Thelma Todd was a popular actress of the late 1920s and early 1930s. Born in Lawrence, MA in 1905, Todd was a schoolteacher and model before beginning her career in film. Appearing in over 40 movies between 1926 and 1935, she is best remembered for her comedic roles in films like Marx Brothers movies, Monkey Business and Horse Feathers. In the 1930s, she opened a restaurant, Thelma Todd’s Sidewalk Cafe, and took up residence in a luxurious apartment above the cafe. Located near the ocean on the Roosevelt Highway at Catellammare, it became a popular meeting and eating place. It was in the garage of the Sidewalk Cafe on December 15, 1935, that she was found in her parked car, dead of carbon monoxide poisoning. Was it suicide or murder?

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The Grand Jury investigation into her death yielded conflicting results. Spots of blood were found both on and in the car, and on Todd’s mouth. This led to the theory that she might have been knocked out, then placed in the car by persons unknown. In support of this theory was the additional fact that her blood alcohol level was .13; enough, it was stated, to “stupefy” her. To further this theory, Todd would have had to ascend a steep flight of outdoor stairs after leaving the cafe to reach the garage, and the shoes she was wearing when her body was discovered were high-heeled sandals and were free of any dirt. Additionally, an unidentified, smudged handprint was found on the door of her car.

If it was murder, who might have had a motive, and was there any supporting evidence? Todd had been the victim of an extortion attempt, and had also just come through a rather acrimonious divorce that involved charges of spousal abuse. Investigators ultimately decided that neither of these occurrences were related to her death, and no other motives or suspects were revealed during the investigation.

The suicide theory was supported by the testimony of several witnesses at the Grand Jury investigation, who stated that Todd had been subject to depression, and often spoke of ending it all. It was also revealed that she was in trouble with the IRS, and on the verge of bankruptcy.

In the end, the Grand Jury ruled her death a suicide. But doubts reamined, and the mystery lingers: What really happened to Thelma Todd on that December morning in 1935?

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I found this additional imformation- seems there were other theories surrounding her death:

On the morning of December 16, 1935, she was found dead in her car inside her garage, and her death was determined to have been caused by carbon monoxide poisoning. Todd had a wide circle of friends and associates as well as a busy social life. Police investigations revealed that she had spent the last night of her life at a party hosted by entertainer Stanley Lupino and his daughter, the actress Ida Lupino. She had been involved in an argument with her boyfriend, director Roland West. However, her friends stated that she was in good spirits and were aware of nothing unusual in her life that could suggest a reason for committing suicide.

Police were offered other alternatives throughout their investigations. One theory was that Roland West (known to have been very possessive of her) had grown frustrated by Todd’s flightiness and, to keep her from leaving her premises to attend another party, had locked her in the garage. Her resulting death according to this theory was accidental. However, a key, which would have allowed her to escape, was found in Todd’s handbag.

A second theory was that Todd had turned on the motor of the car in order to keep warm and had fallen asleep. Roland West had closed the door to the garage without realising Todd was inside, and she had died as a result.

A third theory postulates she was murdered by New York gangster “Lucky” Luciano because of her refusal to allow him to involve her club with illegal gambling. Like the Roland West story, the Lucky Luciano story was in Kenneth Anger’s book Hollywood Babylon. Later it was alleged to be “the true story” in Andy Edmonds’ book (and later TV movie) Hot Toddy. It has become the most celebrated of all theories.

A fourth theory was that she was murdered by her ex–husband, Pat DiCicco, who was involved in bootlegging and prostitution and had a history of violence against women. Gloria Vanderbilt, who was later married to DiCicco, mentioned allegations that he had murdered Thelma Todd in her autobiography, Black Knight, White Knight (DiCicco was the “Black Knight” of the title ).

The Los Angeles DA’s department and a Grand Jury were unable to establish the true circumstances surrounding her death. The conjecture that surrounded it at the time, which has never been resolved with a definitive explanation, is an early example of what would become known as a conspiracy theory with rumours and suppositions accepted as fact and widely divergent opinions given credence. The fact that her body was cremated caused theorists to conjecture that this had been done to destroy evidence and to prevent a second autopsy. However, by this time, authorities were satisfied with her official cause of death.

Her death certificate states her cause of death as accidental carbon monoxide poisoning. She was cremated and, after her mother’s death, her remains were placed in her mother’s casket and buried in Bellevue Cemetery in her hometown of Lawrence, Massachusetts.

It was reported that Roland West actually confessed to the crime, in the manner stated in the first theory stated above, i.e. that he was trying to keep her from going to the next party. Although no legal action was taken against him, allegedly due to Hollywood’s elite “closing ranks”, West supposedly “never worked again” in Hollywood. It is difficult to verify that, since his IMDB entry shows that he actually stopped producing pictures several years before Todd’s death.

In a curious twist on her tragic story, a line of dialogue in the 1930 Marx Brothers film Monkey Business appears to predict Todd’s death. Alone with Todd in her cabin, Groucho Marx quips: “You’re a woman who’s been getting nothing but dirty breaks. Well we can clean and tighten your breaks but you’ll have to stay in the garage all night.” While the reference to staying in the garage all night is nothing more than a coincidence, it is perceived by many fans as extremely eerie in light of the tragic events that would take place only five years later.