Southard vs. Thomas Case 1925 | Riverside County Court House

On September 21, 1925, at 8:30 p.m., Roy Southard began arguing with his passenger, Roy Thomas, while driving on the cement highway between Murrieta and Elsinore. A fight broke out in the car and at some point, Roy Thomas was knocked unconscious. He was admitted to the Riverside Community hospital with a fractured skull. Roy Southard was arrested and placed in the Riverside county jail. Then authorities waited for Roy Thomas to awake in order to formally charge Roy Southard. After a week laying in a coma, Roy Thomas succumbed to his injuries and died on September 28th. Roy Southard was immediately charged with murder.

Roy Walter Southard was born January 29, 1890 in Kirwin, Kansas. He was the son of Walter and Mary (McFadden) Southard. Walter Southard purchased land at the southwest corner of Ivy Street and Adams Avenue in 1893. The Southard family moved from Redlands, California to Murrieta in 1895. Walter and Mary had five children: Ella, Pearl, Edith, Maude, and Roy. Walter Southard was a farmer, but he also had a lifetime license as a local pastor for the Methodist Episcopal Church. He often conducted church services in Murrieta and Wildomar when the assigned pastor was unable to attend.

Roy Southard completed the eighth grade at the Murrieta Grammar School in 1906. During World War I, Roy was drafted and sent to Camp Lewis, Washington on July 22, 1918. He was still in military training

when the war ended in November. He was discharged in January 1919.

After he returned home, he found work hauling ore from the silica mine northeast of town for a short time. By the summer he formed a partnership with Urban Tarwater, son of local merchant, Benjamin Tarwater. Roy and Urban grew alfalfa, and bought a thresher to extract the seeds. They sold and shipped

the alfalfa seeds by truck to the Germain Seed Co. in Los Angeles.

Tarwater and Southard expanded their land holdings and began water developments. In the summer of 1921, they hired Willis Maydole to construct a large reservoir east of town near a big spring. The reservoir may have been used in flood irrigation for their alfalfa fields.

In the 1920s, there were oil prospectors leasing land in Murrieta. Roy and Urban went to Los Angeles to see about investing in a well boring outfit to search for oil on their land. The cost may have been too

high, because there is no mention of them oil prospecting. However they did mine clay, silica and feldspar and shipped it by train.

Urban Tarwater sold his interests in the Tarwater store to his father and brother, Earl in August 1924. He had been in real estate and mining, but decided to focus on his ranch. A year later, his business partner,

Roy Southard, was in the county jail for the murder of Roy Thomas.

Roy Charles Thomas was born May 1, 1884 in California. He was the son of Moyd and Christina (Hutz) Thomas. Roy and his brother, Moyd Thomas, Jr. settled in the Winchester area. On September 12, 1918, Roy Thomas registered for the draft. On his application he stated he was operating a farm in the Auld

Valley. He was married to Jane Joy, but they had no children. In March 1925, Roy Thomas was convicted of the illegal manufacturing and transporting of liquor.

Roy Thomas, who was listed as a special deputy sheriff, was running a bootlegging operation, providing liquor to clients in Los Angeles. He was arrested at five in the morning on the Mission Road/Inland

Highway near Wineville. His car was loaded with “bonded” whiskey. He was using the alias, Ralph W. Tucker of San Bernardino. When the officer approached, Roy abandoned his alias and confessed who he was. He stated that he was transporting illegal liquor in order to pay off debts on his land.

At the arraignment, Roy Thomas pleaded guilty to his crime. He paid a $500 fine and was sentenced to six months in the county jail. After serving his time, he returned to his ranch in Murrieta. Shortly afterwards, he was given a ride in Roy Southard’s car, but what happened next is based solely on

Southard’s testimony.

“So far as can be learned, the two men engaged in a battle in the Southard car at a point not far from Murrieta. After fighting at close quarters, it is thought Southard forced Thomas out of the car. Whether (Thomas) was afterwards struck by the Southard car so that he suffered the basal fracture of his skull remains to be discovered by investigation now being conducted.” (September 22, 1925, Riverside Daily Press)

Roy Southard transported the unconscious man to the Thomas ranch and informed Mrs.

Thomas that her husband had been hurt. Dr. A. Brimhall of Elsinore was summoned and he

attended to Thomas’ wounds. Roy Thomas was then transported to the Riverside Community hospital for further treatment. He remained in a coma for a week and then died. He was interred in the Evergreen

Memorial Park and Mausoleum in Riverside.

According to the coroner’s report, Roy Thomas’ death was caused by a blow over the left eye which caused a cerebral hemorrhage. There was also a bruise on the abdomen and various other marks on his body.

Roy Southard was arraigned before Justice Leonard J. Difani on October 2nd. The preliminary hearing was set for Friday morning, October 7th. The next day Southard was bound over to the superior court on the reduced charge of manslaughter. With his charges reduced, Southard was able to post bond

of either $5,000 cash or a $10,000 property bond. He was scheduled to be arraigned in superior court on October 17th. However, Judge W. H. Ellis rescheduled the proceedings to October 24th.

At the arraignment, Roy Southard pleaded not guilty to the charge of manslaughter. His jury trial was set for November 7th at which time 50 names would be drawn in order to assemble a juror panel. On that day though, Judge Benjamin F. Warmer of San Bernardino took the bench during Judge Ellis’

absence and the juror selection was postponed until November 16th.

Finally, the jury trial was scheduled to take place on April 20, 1926. Roy Southard was out of jail on a $5,000 bond waiting for his day in court. His father began selling plots of land to cover the growing legal costs of the trial. Then on January 12, 1926, Walter Southard died at the Riverside hospital without learning the final verdict for his son. It is possible that the stress of the trial may have been too

much for him, and his health suffered.

In April, Judge George R. Freeman, on a recommendation from District Attorney Albert Ford, released Roy Southard of all charges. The victim, whose testimony could have convicted Southard, had died

without a confession. There were no other witnesses to the altercation. The final ruling was that Thomas’ death was caused by his own carelessness.

Afterwards Mary Southard, Roy’s mother, subdivided a strip a land that they owned along Ivy Street between Plum and Washington avenues. It is possible that she sold these lots in order to pay off her son’s legal fees, or to pay off her husband’s funeral expenses. In July, Roy Southard donated new

doors to the Murrieta Methodist Episcopal Church in memory of his father, Rev. Walter J. Southard.

Almost ten months after her husband’s death, Mrs. Jane Thomas died on July 31, 1926 in Prescott, Arizona. Her death was caused by an infection she received after she had some dental work. She was interred in the mausoleum at Mountain View Cemetery in San Bernardino. Her mother, Mrs. Ella Joy, filed to be executor of her estate, which was valued at $10,000. Next, Mrs. Ella Joy sued Southard for $25,000 for negligent operation of a motor car that caused the death of Roy Thomas. The results of this

case are unknown.

After the trial Roy Southard continued to farm and to work in real estate in Murrieta. On December 31, 1951, he married Mrs. Edna (Ayres) Hale. He died on July 27, 1964 at his home and was laid to rest in the

Elsinore Valley Cemetery.

There were those in Elsinore and Murrieta who believed they knew what Southard and Thomas were arguing about, but no one came forward. What transpired on the night of September 21, 1925 may never be known. Roy Thomas may have been physically struck by Southard or he may have been

hit by Southard’s car. Evidence suggests that Roy Southard’s actions led to Thomas’ unintentional death. For the courts to declare that Thomas’s death was caused by his own carelessness is a terrible injustice, but without a witness’ confession, the case was closed and the story faded away in time.

Riverside County Court