Henry Peavey

Henry Peavey (March 3, 1882 [ 60. ] On the day following Taylor's murder on February 1, 1922, Taylor was scheduled to appear in court on Peavey's behalf.

It was Peavy who discovered Taylor's body at 7:30 on the morning of February 2, 1922. He was repeatedly questioned by police and reporters for possible leads, but was of little help. Some Hearst reporters suspected that Peavey was withholding information, so they kidnapped him a few weeks after the crime and attempted to scare him into a confession. ["Los Angeles Times" (February 22, 1922), reprinted in Taylorology 6. For the perspective of one of the kidnappers, see Florabel Muir, "Headline Happy" (Holt, 1950), pp. 100-102. ]

In a 1930 interview, Peavey expressed the (widely unsupported) opinion that Mabel Normand had been the person who killed Taylor. ["Los Angeles Record" (January 7, 1930). This is examined much further in "Why Taylor's Servant Thought Mabel Normand was the Killer", Taylorology 10.]

A few months after the Taylor murder, Peavey left Los Angeles and went to San Francisco. He was admitted to the Napa State Hospital with general paresis in 1930 and died in 1931. ['Los Angeles Times" (May 11, 1937). ] [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Taylor Valet Hunt Opens. Fitts Aide Desires to Question Peavey on New Developments. |url= |quote=Search for Henry Peavey, former Negro valet for William Desmond Taylor, was instituted by the District Attorney's office yesterday as the reopened investigation into the murder of the once famous motion-picture director took on added intensity. |publisher=Los Angeles Times |date=May 9, 1937 |accessdate=2007-07-21 ]

ee also

* William Desmond Taylor

References

External links

* [http://www.silentsaregolden.com/articles/Taylorcasearticle4.html The William Desmond Taylor Case]
* [http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/classics/william_taylor/6.html Crime Library]