Bertha Talkington: Murder 1st Degree

Bertha Talkington was born Bertha Grace Outland 20 Jul 1894. 
Parents were: Charles Grant Outland (1865-1948) and Estella Merill Linard (1869-1943).








Inmate #57153 San Quentin Prison (California) 
Rec: 17 Jan 1935
Crime: Murder 1st Degree
Term: Life
Age: 44 yrs
was transferred to Tehachapi Women's Prison 





Her life was whirlwind of wants.





















Back Story:

#1  Charles Julius May (1885 - 1922) was her first husband.  They had Grace Viola May in 1913 and nothing else was found in her.  Hazel May (1914 - 1916) wanted to give her doll a bath and drowned in the bathtub.  Esther R May (1919 - 1926) sometimes is referred to as Esther Talkington.  On the Fourth of July she visiting family when she put fireworks in her pocket and tried to light a punt.  Cinders or sparks fell into her pocket which set her dress ablaze 4 July 1926 in Yuba City, CA.


On 9 Oct 1923 she married Lamar Talkington
She killed him...Here's that story.
They found a small package of ground glass in her handbag. Hum....







Estella Merill Linard parents had her children Bertha, Clara Margaret, Hazel May, and Harry T Outland in Ohio.  In Oregon in 1900 they had twins named Claude and Clyde who disappeared, no records have been found.  In Oregon in 1903 they had Goldie Marie Outland.  They moved to Sutter County, CA where they had Guy Carson, Kenneth Parker, and Viola May Outland.

Charles Outland’s Mother was Martha Starbuck of the Nantucket Starbucks.  He had the Quaker birthright and his family goes back to the earliest Quaker families.



  I am not sure what to think or what was actually proven but it seems to me she she had some serious issues. It was court ordered for for to be released from prison 27 Nov 1935. So she didn't spend much time behind bars.


 Her brother-in-law Alonzo Blaine Talkington was also married to a Bertha, as if one Bertha Talkington wasn't enough.




She was in an asylum for a period of time in 1937.
She was at the ranch with Alonzo and she took a revolver and shot herself in the head and died later. Alonzo found her and summoned the asylum and that's where she died. 


Bertha Grace Outland was the oldest child of 10.
She married again to Harry A Coleman. 

I would like to thank Laurie for her help.

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