Burmah A White was born Aurma Arline Adams (Burmak Arline Adams) on 9 Jan 1914 in Ohio to Joseph A Adams (1879–1935) and Pearl Cora Smith (1888–1962).
She met a Gangster named the Rattlesnake Bandit and her world would ever changed at age 19. a hairdresser and former Santa Ana High School student, and her husband of less than one week, twenty-eight year old Thomas White, an ex-con, spent their honeymoon on a crime spree.
Inmate: #55120 San Quentin Prison
Rec: 6 Dec 1933
Crime: Assault, Robbery 1st degree, Attempted Robbery, Assault with a deadly weapon, Robbery 1st degree.
Term: 30 years
Age: 20
She met Thomas White who was a bad boy and had done time in Folsom prison in 1930. During their last heist they blinded a school teacher named Cora Withington, by shooting her in the eye. Here is the newspaper article, this is what started me their story. The couple perpetrated ten stick-ups, seven in a single evening; but the worst of their crimes was the shooting of a popular elementary school teacher, Cora Withington, and a former publisher, Crombie Allen, who was teaching her how to drive his new car.
Don't you just love her fur coat?
This is the photo of Burmah as the judge sentences her to prison.
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37950590/the_los_angeles_times/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37948600/burmah_white/
She pretty much threw him under the bus, and of course played the poor me card, I am not buying it, she knew what he was and what she was doing.
While she was in prison she wrote poetry for the prison paper
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37947043/burmah_white/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37948367/burmah_white/
She came up for parole several times and was denied each time.
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37946851/burmah_white/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37948091/burmah_white/
Once the women prison was completed she was transferred to it. She finally gets paroled in 1942
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37950721/burmah_white/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37951159/aurma_white/
Her father died in 1935 while she was in prison
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37966402/obituary_for_joseph_a_adams_aged_66/
She did around 10 years, not sure if justice was served or not, but after her release she disappears quietly from public living in San Francisco, I found 1942 newspaper article about a car accident.
Her mother dies in 1962 and she has a 1/2 brother Herbert and a sister Jo Lorraine Adams (1924–1994).
Thomas White was born about 1897 in New York to Thomas White (1862-). He was called the Rattlesnake Bandit.
Burmah & Thomas where they were hiding in this apartment building where Thomas was shot down, their car was parked outside.
The police have a shootout and Thomas lost, his sister Violet Identifies his body at the morgue.
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37971713/thomas_white_burmah_white/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37971901/thomas_white_burmah/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37971491/thomas_burmah_white/
Thomas' life ended 6 Sep 1933 on He and Burmah were married 1 Sep 1933.
Burmah becomes office manager of the flamboyant developer, lawyer and investor Edmond Herrscher in San Francisco. She gets married to Alfred O Dymond Jr
a structural engineer. Moving to the state of Washington in the 1950's.
Here are some other weblinks on them and there was a book written about Burmah.
https://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/blonde-rattlesnake-burmah-white/
She met a Gangster named the Rattlesnake Bandit and her world would ever changed at age 19. a hairdresser and former Santa Ana High School student, and her husband of less than one week, twenty-eight year old Thomas White, an ex-con, spent their honeymoon on a crime spree.
Inmate: #55120 San Quentin Prison
Rec: 6 Dec 1933
Crime: Assault, Robbery 1st degree, Attempted Robbery, Assault with a deadly weapon, Robbery 1st degree.
Term: 30 years
Age: 20
Burmah
 |
| Burmah |
She met Thomas White who was a bad boy and had done time in Folsom prison in 1930. During their last heist they blinded a school teacher named Cora Withington, by shooting her in the eye. Here is the newspaper article, this is what started me their story. The couple perpetrated ten stick-ups, seven in a single evening; but the worst of their crimes was the shooting of a popular elementary school teacher, Cora Withington, and a former publisher, Crombie Allen, who was teaching her how to drive his new car.
I then found several more articles and then made her a tree, added her prison record and then added her husband Thomas.
The victims
 |
| Cora Withington |
 |
| Crombie Allen |
They were stopped at a light when a car driven by a young blonde woman pulled up alongside them, and a man brandishing a gun jumped out of the vehicle. The bandit pointed his weapon at Withington's head and said, "Shell out, sweetheart..." Just as Withington and Allen were handing over their valuables there was a gunshot - and it tore through Miss Withington's left eye, came out near the right eye and ripped a hole in Allen's neck. Despite his injury, Allen memorized the license plate number of the bandit's car. Both victims survived their wounds, but Allen was permanently blinded.
A note Burmah wrote
Here's some courtroom photos from the Los Angeles Public Library.
Don't you just love her fur coat?
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37950590/the_los_angeles_times/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37948600/burmah_white/
She pretty much threw him under the bus, and of course played the poor me card, I am not buying it, she knew what he was and what she was doing.
While she was in prison she wrote poetry for the prison paper
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37947043/burmah_white/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37948367/burmah_white/
She came up for parole several times and was denied each time.
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37946851/burmah_white/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37948091/burmah_white/
Once the women prison was completed she was transferred to it. She finally gets paroled in 1942
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37950721/burmah_white/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37951159/aurma_white/
Her father died in 1935 while she was in prison
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37966402/obituary_for_joseph_a_adams_aged_66/
She did around 10 years, not sure if justice was served or not, but after her release she disappears quietly from public living in San Francisco, I found 1942 newspaper article about a car accident.
Her mother dies in 1962 and she has a 1/2 brother Herbert and a sister Jo Lorraine Adams (1924–1994).
Thomas White was born about 1897 in New York to Thomas White (1862-). He was called the Rattlesnake Bandit.
Inmate: 16852 Folsom Prison
Rec: 13 Sep 1930
Crime: Grand Theft
Term: 1-10
 |
| Thomas White Mugshot |
 |
| Thomas White |
 |
| Thomas White's Gun |
Burmah & Thomas where they were hiding in this apartment building where Thomas was shot down, their car was parked outside.
The police have a shootout and Thomas lost, his sister Violet Identifies his body at the morgue.
 |
| Thomas White sister Violet Dillon identifying his body in the morgue |
 |
| Burmah Saying goodbye to husband of only a few days |
 |
| Thomas being viewed and identified by eyewitness to his crimes |
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37971713/thomas_white_burmah_white/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37971901/thomas_white_burmah/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/37971491/thomas_burmah_white/
Thomas' life ended 6 Sep 1933 on He and Burmah were married 1 Sep 1933.
Burmah becomes office manager of the flamboyant developer, lawyer and investor Edmond Herrscher in San Francisco. She gets married to Alfred O Dymond Jr
a structural engineer. Moving to the state of Washington in the 1950's.
Here are some other weblinks on them and there was a book written about Burmah.
https://www.lamag.com/culturefiles/blonde-rattlesnake-burmah-white/
I ordered my copy
Burmah died in 1962
Here is her Find A Grave Memorial
So why do good girls end up with bad boys? Because they are daring, fun, adventurous, never a dull moment. They make you feel sexy, wanted and needed, and feel like a million bucks. That what she would of said if she would of been honest and not of gotten caught. If Thomas wouldn't of died, she would of stuck by her man all the way.
Great Information. Crombie Allen was my husband's uncle.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for reaching out to me, you are very welcome. Feel free to use any of this to add to your tree..I also made a tree.
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