Socialite beauty found dead

International News Photos (New York, N.Y.) · [ca. January 1950]

Los Angeles, calif........ The shattered framed photo of socialite joy McLaughlin, is shown with the gun that multimillionaire oilman john a. smith told police was next to her body when he entered the house after hearing a shot a few minutes after taking the beauty home from a holiday party. smith told police that she apparently shot herself as he left the house after a quarrel early this morning. He related that he picked up the gun and it accidentally discharged, but the bullet struck the photo. Police found miss McLaughlin's body lying in a pool of blood in the living room of her luxurious San Marino home. In photo at left, sergeant Herman leaf is shown squatting over the body as an unidentified police photographer stands by the photo of miss McLaughlin that was shattered (photo on wall).