Golf champ's wife dies mysteriously

International News Photos (New York, N.Y.) · October 27, 1954

Mrs. Mary von Elm, 47 (photo at left), wife of former golf champion george von elm,was found dead under mysterious circumstances today in an automobile parked at the rear of a san fernando valley restaurant. (center photo) police found her body sprawled lifeless across the front seat of the auto. her companion, roy ford (photo at right), a 29-year-old,auto salesman and protege of von elm, was booked on suspicion of murder but police indicated that they believed his story that she took poison. ford, who lived with the von elms in north hollywood, said he knocked a bottle of insecticide away from mrs. von elm's lips but "it was too late." an autopsy showed that mrs. von elm died of nicotine poisoning, bearing out ford's story. nicotine was an ingredient of the insecticide which, according to ford, mrs. von elm swallowed in a fit of despondency.