CMS Research & Genealogy

What happened next for Alvera? This is a heavy one, so grab onto your seats.

Alvera Schlosser Tells Police…, The San Bernardino County Sun (San Bernardino, CA), September 30, 1928

We left off in Part I with Alvera’s explanation of the murder of her husband, Fred Schlosser. Alvera asserted that Fred had come home drunk and cursed and threatened her. She calmly admitted to police investigators that she had shot Fred when she felt her life was in danger. She claimed that Fred, who had worked as a painter for the Richfield Oil Company for the past five years, left the filling station/home that he shared with Alvera at about 7 AM to take care of some business in San Bernardino. Fred told Alvera that he was going to turn in his timecard to the Richfield Company. Alvera also stated that Fred was driving a new automobile the couple had purchased on September 25, 1928. They had bought the automobile as a celebration of sorts, as Fred had sworn off his binge drinking ways.

When Fred returned home at 5:30 PM, Alvera said that she could tell Fred had been drinking because the automobile careened from side to side on the road. He exited the car and the argument began. This next part was covered in Part I. Please refer to it for Alvera’s version of the actual shooting.

After the shooting, Alvera went into the storeroom of her house. There, for about half an hour, she said she tried to reach the San Bernardino police or a physician by telephone. When she finally reached the police station by phone, Policeman Pat Tighe and Provost Sergeant John Cost were sent to investigate.

When Tighe and Cost reached the filling station, the officers said that Fred Schlosser was dead, which was verified by Deputy Coroner Dennis Ralphs, who arrived a short time after that. The body was taken to the Mark B. Shaw funeral home in San Bernardino to await autopsy and a coroner’s inquest.

Alvera was arrested on that Saturday night and lodged in the city jail on a tentative charge of murder. A coroner’s inquest was scheduled for 10 AM Monday (October 1) in the district attorney’s office where her story would be told completely.

En route to the police station, Alvera was stoically calm as she answered questions from a reporter. (Side note: There was a reporter in the police car??? That wouldn’t fly today, for sure.) She answered the reporter’s questions, all except one. She refused to say where her mother, her only immediate relative, was living currently. Alvera said it was in Pennsylvania but would not name the town. She said her mother was well advanced in her seventies and should not be bothered with this incident. Alvera also told the reporter that she and Fred had married eight years earlier in Pennsylvania. Two years later, they came to California and they had lived in San Bernardino for one year. Alvera also declared that she had been married before and divorced and that there were no children. As we learned in the last installment, there was a child born before that first marriage, father unknown. Alvera told the reporter that she had operated the filling station on Arrowhead Road since coming to San Bernardino while Fred worked as a professional painter. He was often away all night on his drunken “sprees”, she said, and she had the revolver in her home for protection. Sometime in or around August of 1928, Alvera called the San Bernardino police after Fred came home intoxicated. Policeman Tighe arrested Fred and he was lodged in the city jail overnight. The next day, Alvera withdrew the claim and Fred was released.

Coroner’s Inquest- October 1. 1928

Alvera Schlosser at Coroner’s Inquiry, The San Bernardino County Sun (San Bernardino, CA), October 2, 1928

During the coroner’s inquest on October 1, 1928, Alvera, now represented by two lawyer: Frank T. Bates and Trent Penland, did not testify, as she elected to remain silent until the case reaches the courts.

Thekla Merget at Alvera Schlosser Inquiry, The San Bernardino County Sun (San Bernardino, CA), October 2, 1928

During the inquest, Thekla Merget, a neighbor across the road from Fred and Alvera, testified that she witnessed a car (a touring car) parked in the Schlosser driveway that did not belong to the Schlosser’s, just prior to the shooting. Thekla also testified that she heard a loud “pop,” not unlike a gun report or automobile backfire at about 5:30 PM. At this point, Thekla stepped to her window and witnessed the “mystery” car still in the driveway. When police arrived about half an hour later, that car was not present. Thekla also testified that Alvera was not at home when Fred came home that fateful evening. This statement going against Alvera’s original statement that she saw Fred drive up to the house. (This is quite interesting, as this completely goes against what the police investigators found and what Thekla would testify later in this coroner’s inquiry).

The investigators both testified that Alvera, instead of attempting to get away from her husband, went into the house, got her revolver, and returned to the yard, where the shooting occurred. Alvera was 15 feet away from Fred, when she fired.

It was also asserted that the state will probably ask for a chemical analysis of Fred’s stomach to prove or disprove Alvera’s statement that Fred had been drinking.

Patrick Tighe at Alvera Schlosser Inquiry, The San Bernardino County Sun (San Bernardino, CA), October 2, 1928

Officer Tighe also testified that when he arrived at the filling station (after receiving a call from a “mysterious” man regarding the shooting), Alvera was knelt beside Fred, rubbing his hands. She was excited, but not in tears, he said. He also said that this was when Alvera admitted to shooting her husband and that she only fired when Fred tried to strike her. After being placed in the police car to be taken to the police station, Officer Tighe said that Alvera begged to return to the house for “just one more look at Fred.” Officer Tighe obliged and they returned to the scene of the shooting, at which time Alvera started sobbing while stating “Fred, forgive me, forgive me.”

Thekla Merget testified further that directly after the “pop” sound, Alvera came to the Merget residence and stated “I’ve shot Fred. Come over and look at him.” Thekla said she declined the invitation “because she didn’t like to see dead people.” Thekla explained this this was 15 minutes or more before the police had arrived at the scene. She also said that she had seen Fred when he returned home and he didn’t seem to be intoxicated. Thekla stated that she had seen the “mystery” car at the Schlosser residence frequently. When asked if she knew the owner, she said no.

Edward Poppett at Alvera Schlosser Inquiry, The San Bernardino County Sun (San Bernardino, CA), October 2, 1928

A “mystery” man? I wonder if he is the same guy who owns the “mystery” car.

W.G. Kitchen at Alvera Schlosser Inquiry, The San Bernardino County Sun (San Bernardino, CA), October 2

Other Fingings of Alvera Schlosser Inquiry, The San Bernardino County Sun (San Bernardino, CA), October 2, 1928

So, basically, the coroner’s jury could not say whether or not Alvera committed the murder. That was the conclusion, however, the evidence that was given was enough for the prosecutor, Chief Deputy District Attorney C.O. Thompson, to hold Alvera pending murder charges to be filed.

What will happen now and who is that “mysterious” man? Join us next Friday to find out.

It was stated that the series of Alvera Schlosser will be 4 installments. Well that has changed. We don’t know how many there will be, but it will be more than 4. So come back and visit us next Friday to read The Ballad of Alvera Schlosser- Part IV. If you are enjoying our blog, please subscribe and/or comment below! Thank you visiting us! We are so grateful for your interest!

During our genealogical research, CMS Research & Genealogy comes across many stories that have nothing to do with our current project. We have tons of them and will be sharing them all with you on this blog. All the more reason to come back and visit us again.

March 10, 2023