Printer-friendly version
Reviewed by Pennell Paugh
January 21, 2024 (San Diego) -- A Lovely Girl, the Tragedy of Olga Duncan and the Trial of One of California’s Most Notorious Killers tells of a 1958 murder as the evidence was collected. The story ends with the last woman to ever be executed in California.
Local author Deborah Holt Larkin tells her personal story. Larkin was 10 years old when Olga Duncan disappeared from her apartment in Santa Barbara, California. Larkin’s father, a reporter for the Ventura County Star Free-Press, covered the case and followed the story through all its court cases and final judgments.
Here's a sample of her writing:
Ten days after Olga vanished, our house was busy with Thanksgiving preparations. Mother and Betsey worked on dinner in the kitchen while my father tried to “neaten up” the living room. I sat out on the front porch in an aluminum armchair, alternately reading and acting as lookout.
“They’re here!” I shouted. “Grandma and Grandpa.”
Pinky Lee (the family cat) jumped out of my lap when we heard the crunch of walnuts under the tires of the big Chrysler Imperial rolling slowly up the driveway.
My father, in his new slacks and bow tie, stuck his head out the door, “Oh, God.”
“Don’t mention the election to my mother, Bob,” Mother called out.
Daddy hummed, “Happy Days Are Here Again” as he bounded down the steps. “Sure made good time …
I wrapped my book in my sweater, pushed it under the chair, and followed Daddy down the steps. Grandma swung her short legs out of the big black car and kicked some walnut husks out of the way with the toe of her patient leather pump. She wore her mink stole even on this sunny California day. I waved at Grandpa, hugged my grandmother, and then stepped out of the way as she began to unfold an assortment of boxes and packages from the back seat.
I fingered the chrome eagle hood ornament on the front of the car as she handed my father a pie tin covered in wax paper. “Now don’t drop that, Robert.”
Daddy smiled sweetly, “How about that governor’s race, Mrs. Baker,” he said and let his hands drop a few inches before righting the tin.
Olga, seven months pregnant, disappears from her apartment, leaving her front door open and her purse inside. Her husband has moved out to return to live with his mother.
Meanwhile Olga’s mother-in-law, Elizabeth Duncan, claims that two men and a woman have been trying to blackmail her. They do extract funds from her, but in the end, the total she hands them is $175 that Elizabeth obtains by pawning her wedding ring. Frank, Elizabeth’s son and Olga’s husband, reports his mother’s story to the police.
Mrs. Duncan’s best friend, 84-year-old Emma Short, shares personal details about Elizabeth Duncan with the police. Elizabeth seems intensely attached to her son, Frank. She suspects mother and son share the same bed, though Frank is a grown man. Prior to Olga’s disappearance, Elizabeth did everything in her power to separate Olga and Frank. Not only that, she asked people in town if she could hire someone to get rid of Olga. She insisted that no other woman could have her son.
Police follow Emma’s claim that Elizabeth forged the annulment to call off Frank and Olga’s marriage. The claim turns out to be true.
One of the two men who Elizabeth states were trying to “blackmail” her, Louis Moya, confesses to Olga’s murder with Augustine Baldonado. Moya even shows the police the location of the Olga’s shallow grave.
The author’s family life comes alive as Larkin shares tales about her persistent efforts to learn everything she can about Olga Duncan’s story. Each time her father types up a report about the case, her family life is told in stories that show the little girl doing exactly what her parents have told her not to do.
A Lovely Girl reveals details of the Olga Duncan case on a step-by-step basis. The reader becomes involved in police investigations and reads pertinent courtroom activities provided in transcripts. At times, the transcribed material is enhanced by telling it from the point of view of the defense, or from the perspective of the prosecuting attorney.
The book is an enjoyable read. Some of the characters, including the author herself, are entertaining and often quite funny. I recommend the book as an example of how real people can be characters in a story that hook and maintain the reader’s interest.
Deborah Holt Larkin holds a bachelor’s degree in American History and Literature from the University of California at Davis, and she studied creative writing at the University of California at San Diego. She has a master’s degree in the Education of Exceptional Children from San Francisco State University. She spent more than three decades teaching students with special needs before becoming an elementary school principal. She has also volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) with Voices for Children in San Diego.
Recent comments