May 16, 2014: 18th FPA Death (That I Know Of)

An autopsy report tells the story of yet another young woman I know of now to have died after an abortion at that National Abortion Federation flagship: Family Planning Associates Medical Group.

To preserve her confidentiality, I have given her the pseudonym "Kyla Ellis."

Kyla was 23 years old and about 11 weeks pregnant when she went to Family Planning Associate Medical Group at 601 S. Westmoreland Avenue in Los Angeles for an abortion on May 14, 2014. Like other young Black women, she was at higher risk of death than a white woman would be.

The day after the abortion, Kyla suffered agonizing abdominal pain. Her partner, whom I will call "Benjamin," called an ambulance, which rushed her to Centinela Hospital. She arrived at around 3:30 that afternoon. Kyla rated her pain at 10 on a scale of 10. Bright, fresh blood was flowing from her vagina. She couldn't pass urine at all. Hospital staff used a catheter to drain her bladder of about 200 cc of bloody urine.

Doctors decided that Kyla needed more intensive care than Centinela was able to provide. Kyla rode by ambulance to Kaiser West Los Angeles. She arrived shortly after midnight on May 16. At first she was awake, but at around 1:40 a.m. her gaze turned glassy and she became unresponsive. Staff took her to the lab for a CT scan, but on arrival Kyla went into cardio respiratory arrest. All efforts to revive her failed and she was pronounced dead at 2:45 a.m.

The autopsy found her uterus boggy and enlarged. The endometrium (lining) had been scraped away. 

Kyla had bled to death.

She's the seventeenth woman I'm aware of to have died after abortions at FPA. The others are: 

• 1970: Denise Holmes
• 1984: Patricia Chacon and Mary Pena
• 1985: Josefina Garcia
• 1986: Laniece Dorsey
• 1988: Joyce Ortenzio and Tami Suematsu
• 1992: Deanna Bell and Susan Levy
• 1994: Christina Mora
• 1995: TaTanisha Wesson
• 1998: Nakia Jorden
• 1999: Maria Leho
• 2000: Kimberly Neil and Maria Rodriguez
• 2003: "Imelda Laurence"
• 2004: Chanelle Bryant

Watch 17th Known Abortion Death at YouTube. (I had not yet learned of the 2003 death of "Imelda" when I recorded this video.)

Autopsy pages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15

May 16, 1916: Was Dr. Albers Actually Guilty?

Anna Albers

On May 16, 1916, 25-year-old Lucile Bersworth died in Chicago's German-American hospital after telling authorities that Dr. Anna Albers had perpetrated an abortion on her.

She also mentioned a man named Fred Krause, so he might have been her baby's father.

Though Albers was held by the coroner and indicted by a Grand Jury, the case never went to trial. She was rather a respectable physician, at least as of 1912, so she seems an unlikely abortionist.

Watch Not a Lot to Go On on YouTube.

Sources:

• "Merely Comment," The [Chicago] Day Book, May 16, 1916
• Homicide in Chicago Interactive Database

May 15, 1972: Sudden Death from Hospital Abortion

Another researcher has a likely identity for the woman Life Dynamics dubbed "Wendy" Roe. Since I have seen no sign that the woman's family went public, I will continue to refer to her as Wendy. 

Wendy was 23 years old and 16 weeks pregnant when she sought an abortion at community hospital in a small North Carolina town in 1972. Wendy was black, which placed her at higher risk of death from safe, legal abortion.

Wendy's physician chose the saline technique, but overestimated the age of the fetus, and administered too much hypertonic saline. The saline got into Wendy's bloodstream. 

Wendy went into convulsions and developed disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (DIC), a clotting disorder. She died within the hour before expelling the fetus, leaving two children motherless.

Sources: 

• "Fatal Pulmonary Embolism During Legal Induced Abortion in the United States from 1972-1985," Lawson, Herschel W., MD, Atrash, Hani K., MD, MPH, Franks, Adele L., MD, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vol. 162, No. 4, April 1990, p. 986-990
• Death certificate

1972–1978: Abortion, Not Cancer, Kills Leukemia Patient

As a leukemia patient, “Selena” was already facing a battle for her life. She didn’t know that her cancer wouldn’t kill her, but a “safe and legal” first-trimester abortion would.

Selena suffered from poorly differentiated lymphocytic leukemia and was discovered to be pregnant sometime between 1972 and 1978. She was likely scared and may have also feared the effects of cancer medications on her child. At the time, it was not uncommon for pregnant cancer patients to be told to have an abortion, so she probably thought she had no choice. At eight weeks pregnant, she was put through a suction abortion and surgically sterilized to prevent her from becoming pregnant again.

Leukemia weakens the immune system, making post-abortion infection more hazardous for Selena than it would have been for a healthy client. Instead of improving her prognosis, the abortion made her sicker. She contracted an infection, developed sepsis and did not survive.

Ironically, research later found that surgical abortion for pregnant cancer patients is not associated with higher chances of maternal survival at all. Today, well-established treatments exist for pregnant cancer patients and doctors are usually able to save babies while still effectively treating the cancer patient.

(Patient 3)

May 13, 1972: Journey to Safe and Legal Convulsions and Death

Grok AI illustration

"Roxanne" was 17 years old when she decided to take advantage of New York's new abortion law, and traveled there from Michigan to have a first-trimester abortion in a doctor's office. 

The doctor gave her sedatives and local anesthesia to begin the abortion on May 13, 1972. But before the abortion could be started, Roxanne started to have convulsions and went into cardiac arrest.  

Roxanne was taken to an area hospital, but she was declared dead on arrival.  

An investigation into the case revealed that the doctor had exceeded the recommended dose of the local anesthetic. This is the same cause of death of Stacy Ruckman in 1988. 

The 1970 liberalization of abortion had made New York an abortion mecca until the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court ruling that abortionists could legally set up shop in any state of the union. In addition to "Roxanne," these are the women I know of who had the dubious benefit of dying from the newfangled safe-and-legal kind of abortion in pre-Roe New York:

• Pearl Schwier, July, 1970, cardiac arrest during abortion
• Carmen Rodriguez, July, 1970, salt solution intended to kill the fetus accidentally injected into her bloodstream
• Barbara Riley, July, 1970, sickle-cell crisis triggered by abortion recommended by doctor due to her sickle cell disease
• "Amanda" Roe, September, 1970, sent back to her home in Indiana with an untreated hole poked in her uterus
• Maria Ortega, October, 1970, fetus shoved through her uterus into her pelvic cavity then left there
• "Kimberly" Roe, December, 1970, cardiac arrest during abortion
• "Amy" Roe, January, 1971, massive pulmonary embolism
• "Andrea" Roe, January, 1971, overwhelming infection
• "Sandra" Roe, April, 1971, committed suicide due to post-abortion remorse
• "Anita" Roe, May, 1971, bled to death in her home during process of outpatient saline abortion
• Margaret Smith, June 1971, hemorrhage from multiple lacerations during outpatient hysterotomy abortion
• "Annie" Roe, June, 1971, cardiac arrest during anesthesia
• "Audrey" Roe, July, 1971, cardiac arrest during abortion
• "Vicki" Roe, August, 1971, post-abortion infection
• "April" Roe, August, 1971, injected with saline for outpatient abortion, went into shock and died
• "Barbara" Roe, September, 1971, cardiac arrest after saline injection for abortion
• "Tammy" Roe, October, 1971, massive post-abortion infection
• Carole Schaner, October, 1971, hemorrhage from multiple lacerations during outpatient hysterotomy abortion
• "Beth" Roe, December, 1971, saline injection meant to kill fetus accidentally injected into her bloodstream
• "Roseanne" Roe, February, 1971, vomiting with seizures causing pneumonia after saline abortion
• "Connie" Roe, March, 1972, cardiac arrest during abortion
• "Julie" Roe, April, 1972, holes torn in her uterus and bowel
• "Robin" Roe, May, 1972, lingering abortion complications
• Pamela Modugno, May, 1972, air in her bloodstream

Watch Overdose Death in Liberalization Land on YouTube.

Sources: 

• "Maternal Mortality Associated With Legal Abortion in New York State: July 1, 1970 - June 30, 1972," Berger, Tietze, Pakter, Katz, Obstetrics and Gynecology, 43:3, March 1974, 324.
• "Maternal deaths associated with paracervical block anesthesia," Berger, Tyler, Harrod, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 118:8, April 1974, 1142-43.

May 13, 1981: Multiple Professionals Let Barbara Down

Senior photo, Sanford Calhoun High School,
Merrick, NY 1977

A lawsuit filed by Frank Dillon, the father of Barbara Ruth Dillon, a 22-year-old junior at SUNY New Paltz, alleged that Barbara underwent a safe and legal abortion performed by Dr. Mark Silver at Long Island Gynecological Group on April 18, 1981. According to public records, Frank had already faced one tragedy after the other: he had lost his father in 1966, his wife in 1978, and his mother in 1979. 

The Pathology Findings

The tissue from Barbara's abortion was delivered to Idant Laboratory on April 21. Dr. Michael J. Klein completed a microscopic analysis. Both he and the histotechnologist, who performed the gross examination (visible without a microscope), found placental tissue but no fetal parts. The lab notified Long Island Gynecological Group on April 22. 

The pathology finding indicates that the fetus was still inside Barbara's body, either left behind in her uterus or implanted in her fallopian tube. It also didn't eliminate the possibility that Barbara had a double pregnancy -- one embedded in the uterus and the other in her fallopian tube.

Nobody from Long Island Gynecological Group contacted Barbara to inform her that she needed to be seen to determine where the fetus was, or specifically that she needed to be seen to rule out a potentially life-threatening ectopic pregnancy.

Fruitlessly Seeking Care

Barbara suffered pain and bleeding from May 5. On May 10 she finally went to the emergency room at Kingston Hospital and was treated with antibiotics by Dr. Kalyanasundaran Venkataraman and advised to see a gynecologist named Dr. Theodore Jackaway, the on-call gynecologist for the hospital, for follow-up care. 

Barbara was in severe pain later that day and began to vomit, so her roommates called the emergency room again. They were told to give the antibiotics more time. 

At 5:30 on the morning of May 11, Barbara was in so much pain that one of her roommates called Dr. Jackaway's answering service and left a message. Jackaway called back and said that he couldn't take any responsibility for Barbara because he hadn't seen her, so he suggested that she be taken to the emergency room. 

About three hours after talking to Jackaway, Barbara's roommate contacted a neighbor who called the SUNY health center. There, Dr. Johannes D. Weltin requested that somebody take her to the health center so that he could examine her. The neighbor drove Barbara to university health center at around 9:25 a.m. Barbara was unconscious upon arrival, with no respiration, blood pressure, or pulse. 

Dr. Weltin called the hospital and spoke to Dr. Jackaway, and told him that Barbara had blood in her abdomen and needed immediate surgery. Jackaway refused to see her because she wasn't his patient and he didn't want to get involved. Dr. Weltin tried to call Dr. Kirk for a consultation, which he refused to do -- though he did call Dr. Jackaway and try to convince him to treat Barbara.

Too Late

Finally at 11:45 that morning somebody brought in Dr. Venkataraman, who performed emergency surgery. Despite this final doctor's efforts, Barbara went into irreversible shock and died on May 13. (Note: I originally had an incorrect date, May 11, due to lack of clarity in the legal document.) 

It turned out that Barbara had an ectopic pregnancy which the clinic had failed to detect. Barbara's father sued Dr. Silver, Dr. Jackaway, Dr. Kline, and the Long Island Gynecological Group.

Even though, in theory, women who choose abortion should be less likely to die of ectopic pregnancy complications, experiences shows that they're actually more likely to die, due to sloppy practices by abortion practitioners. In Barbara's case, it seems that everybody in the medical establishment except the pathologist and the university physician utterly let her down.

Watch "Passing the Buck Leads to Death" on YouTube.

Source: Dillon v. Silver, New York Appellate Court 134 A.D.2nd 159 (1987)

May 12, 1971: Sent Home to Bleed to Death

Anita's Journey

Grok AI illustration

"Anita" was a 23-year-old mother of two when she chose safe and legal abortion in 1971. She was 22 weeks pregnant.

She traveled from Massachusetts to New York for her abortion. She had not told her husband that she was planning on the abortion. She used a fictitious name at the facility.

A Dangerous Choice

On May 11, 1971 the doctor initiated a saline abortion by injecting a strong sterile salt solution into Anita's uterus. The idea was that the fetus would inhale and swallow the fluid, which would cause massive internal hemorrhaging and death. this would then trigger labor. 

Saline abortion was hardly a pleasant experience. The abortionist would remove as much amniotic fluid as he could using a needle and syringe. He would then replace the amniotic fluid with a concentrated saline (salt) solution that would poison and kill the fetus. The woman would then go into labor and expel the fetus.

Saline abortions became very popular in Japan following WWII. Within the Japanese medical community, however, word quickly spread: this method was unsatisfactory. Too many women were being injured and killed. Over 70 papers were published in the Japanese medical community reporting hazards of saline abortions, including at least 60 maternal deaths. The Japanese Obstetrical and Gynecological Society condemned the technique, and it was quickly abandoned. But the Japanese abortionists kept news of the trouble among themselves -- until Western nations discovered instillation abortions and embraced them with great enthusiasm.

Two Japanese doctors, Takashi Wagatsuma and Yukio Manabe, broke the silence. Wagatsuma wrote, "It is, I think, worthwhile to report its rather disastrous consequences which we experienced in Japan." Manabe wrote, "It is now known that any solution placed within the uterus can be absorbed rather rapidly into the general circulation through the vascular system of the uterus and placenta. Thus any solution used in the uterus for abortion must be absolutely safe even if given by direct intravenous injection. ... A solution deadly to the fetus may be equally toxic and dangerous to the mother. ... In spite of the accumulating undesirable reports, the use of hypertonic saline for abortion is still advocated and used ... in the United States and Great Britain. I would like to call attention to the danger of the method and would predict the further occurrence of deaths until this method is entirely forgotten in these countries."

As western abortionists gained experience with saline abortions, other grim reports arose. A British study published in 1966 found that the saline would enter the mother's bloodstream and cause brain damage. Swedish researchers noticed an unacceptably high rate of complications and deaths. Sweden and the Soviet Union abandoned saline abortion as too dangerous for women in the late 1960s.

For whatever reasons, American abortionists were deaf to these warnings. When New York had completely repealed its abortion law, doctors had tremendous leeway in abortion practice. In New York City in particular, it became popular to inject the woman with the saline in the office, then send her home with instructions to report to a hospital when she went into labor. This was, to say the least, a highly irresponsible way to use an abortion technique that was risky even when performed in a hospital under close medical supervision. Women started dying from these reckless saline abortions.

Sent Home to Die

Anita's doctor sent her home to expel the fetus with no aftercare arranged beyond a phone number. The next day, May 12, Anita's husband found her unresponsive on the bathroom floor, lying in a pool of blood.

She was rushed to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival. An autopsy found a 630-gram fetus partially protruding from Anita's uterus. At this size, Anita's baby would have been about 24 -25 weeks of gestation. The placenta was still about 25% firmly implanted. A small puncture wound from the saline injection was also identified. 

Anita had bled to death on the bathroom floor.

Not an Isolated Incident

In addition to “Anita,” these are the women I know of who had the dubious benefit of dying from the newfangled safe-and-legal kind of abortion in pre-Roe New York:

• Carmen Rodriguez, July, 1970, salt solution intended to kill the fetus accidentally injected into her bloodstream
• Barbara Riley, July, 1970, sickle-cell crisis triggered by abortion recommended by doctor due to her sickle cell disease
• Pearl Schwier, July, 1970, anesthesia complications
• "Amanda" Roe, September, 1970, sent back to her home in Indiana with an untreated hole poked in her uterus
• Maria Ortega, October, 1970, fetus shoved through her uterus into her pelvic cavity then left there
• "Kimberly" Roe, December, 1970, cardiac arrest during abortion
• "Amy" Roe, January, 1971, massive pulmonary embolism
• "Andrea" Roe, January, 1971, overwhelming infection
• "Sandra" Roe, April, 1971, committed suicide due to post-abortion remorse
• Margaret Smith, June 1971, hemorrhage from multiple lacerations during outpatient hysterotomy abortion
• "Annie" Roe, June, 1971, cardiac arrest during anesthesia
• "Audrey" Roe, July, 1971, cardiac arrest during abortion
• "Vicki" Roe, August, 1971, post-abortion infection
• "April" Roe, August, 1971, death after saline abortion
• "Barbara" Roe, September, 1971, cardiac arrest after saline injection for abortion
• "Tammy" Roe, October, 1971, massive post-abortion infection
• Carole Schaner, October, 1971, hemorrhage from multiple lacerations during outpatient hysterotomy abortion
• "Beth" Roe, December, 1971, saline injection meant to kill fetus accidentally injected into her bloodstream
• "Roseanne" Roe, February, 1971, vomiting with seizures causing pneumonia after saline abortion
• "Connie" Roe, March, 1972, cardiac arrest during abortion
• "Julie" Roe, April, 1972, holes torn in her uterus and bowel
• "Roxanne," May, 1972, convulsions and death at start of abortion
• "Robin" Roe, May, 1972, lingering abortion complications
• Pamela Modugno, May, 1972, air in her bloodstream

Watch Just Another Mention in a Medical Journal on YouTube.
Watch Just Another Mention in a Medical Journal on Rumble.

Sources: 

• "Maternal Mortality Associated With Legal Abortion in New York State: July 1, 1970 - June 30, 1972," Berger, Tietze, Pakter, Katz, Obstetrics and Gynecology, 43:3, March 1974, 325
• "Two Deaths From Mid-Trimester Abortion," New England Journal of Medicine, January 4, 1973; 288:47-48

May 12, 1946: Second Death in One Year for Seattle Abortionist

SUMMARY: Irene Timmons, age 24, died May 12, 1946 after an abortion perpetrated by Seattle sanitarium operator Marjorie Folsom.

According to "When Abortion was Illegal (and Deadly): Seattle's Maternal Death Toll," Seattle Civil Rights & Labor History Project:

The Kingston housewife [Irene Timmons] was the second woman to die as a result of a procedure performed by Margaret Folsom. According to the brief article, Folsom who was out on bail for the Mary Johnson fatality, operated on Mrs. Timmons on May 8 and "the woman died four days later." Police charged that Folsom had established a new office "set up as an abortion mill" since her arrest two months earlier. It is not clear what happened to this case.

The Project cites a May 17, 1946 article in the Seattle Times.

The abortionist's name was actually Marjorie, not Margaret. 

The investigation concluded that Irene's abortion had been done with an instrument that had not been sterilized. She left behind three children.

Marjorie Folsom

According to the May 17, 1946 Seattle Star, neither Folsom, nor her co-conspirator Ada Pearl Wrench, was a doctor or even a nurse. "The trail of investigation led to an unmarked door in a downtown office building." This was Folsom's office. "When the raiding party broke into Mrs. Folsom's office, she frantically attempted to tear up her records, containing figures as well as women's names and addresses." 

Folsom, the Star said, had been caught in a sting operation when the prosecutor sent a female staff member to Folsom's office to arrange an abortion.

Both Folsom and Wrench pleaded not guilty. Folsom was found guilty for abortion and manslaughter in one of the deaths and sentenced to three years, of which she served ten months and the rest was deferred.

My sources: 

• "Death Laid to Illegal Surgery," Seattle Star, May 17, 1946
• "Woman Posts Bail In Abortion Charge," The Bremerton (WA) Sun, May 18, 1946
• "2 Deny Accusation Of Illegal Surgery," Seattle Star, May 21, 1946
• Washington State Correction and Jail Records

May 11, 1907: Death of Newlywed Mom

Mrs. Florence Zeck Porter, age 18, was admitted to Saint Luke's Hospital in Chicago on Saturday night, May 11, 1907. 

In spite of doctors' best efforts, she died on Monday morning, May 13. 

An inquest held at the hospital determined that she had died from a botched abortion.

According to public records, Florence and her husband, Harvey, had only been married for a little over a year and had a young son.

Sources:

• Death notice, Chicago Tribune, May 14, 1907
• "Doctors to Help Convict Doctors," Chicago Daily Tribune, May 15, 1907

May 11, 1884: Protecting a Deadly Abortionist

On May 11, 1884, a young woman who had given her name as Alice Brown died at the Chicago residence of Mrs. R. A. Hough. She was quickly identified as 20-year-old Lottie Hudson of Austin, Illinois. 

Lottie had gone to Chicago to live with a man identified as C. O. Owen, "a printer who already had a wife and family." He had been boarding with Lottie's mother, Mrs. Hudson.

Mrs. Hough insisted that she hadn't known anything about Lottie's background but had just taken her in out of the goodness of her heart. Lottie's mother visited her twice at Mrs. Hough's home during her illness. 

Lottie had sent two letters to her mother during her illness:

May 5, 1884
My Dear, Darling Mamma:
It is very hard for me to write, for I am very weak, but I know you would be glad if only to get a few words. I am getting along as well as I can. Won't be able to sit up for a week. I don't think I will write as often as I can. I will have to have some more money. Will write about that when I am stronger. Love to all, and May and Willie. Lovingly,
Alice

Chicago, May 8
My Darling Mamma:
Inclosed you fill find a letter for him [likely Owen]. I want you to send it to him immediately; you know his address. I am getting along very well now, though slowly. I sat up a short time yesterday. I can't write any more. I am all tired out now. Mamma, you write to me as 'Auntie.' I will be so glad to hear from you. My address is 'Alice brown, care of Mrs. R. A. Hough, No. 300 garfield avenue, Chicago.' give my love to every one, and keep lots of love and kisses for your own dear self. Yours lovingly,
Alice

On the day of the funeral, Mrs. Hough went to Mrs. Hudson's house and "was decidedly uneasy during the forenoon." At 11 a.m., Hough asked Mrs. Hudson to leave with her because the police would soon come to arrest them since they'd not called in a doctor to attend to Lottie as she was dying.

It was determined that Lottie had died from blood poisoning due to an abortion, believed to be perpetrated by a doctor whose name neither Lottie nor Mrs. Hough either could or would divulge. 

Lottie's family situation had been sad. Her mother had been widowed after her husband had dropped dead in a street car somewhere back East when Lottie and her sibling were very young.

Watch Protecting a Deadly Abortionist on YouTube.
Watch Protecting a Deadly Abortionist on Rumble.

Sources:

• "The City," Chicago Tribune, 16 May, 1884
• "Inquests," Chicago Inter Ocean, 16 May, 1884
• Burial notice, Chicago Inter Ocean, Sunday., 18 May, 1884
• "A Mother's Sorrow," Chicago Inter Ocean, Saturday, 17 May, 1884

May 11, 1915: Home Abortion Leaves 8 Children Motherless

Grok AI imagining of the family

Homemaker May Johnson, age 36, of Melrose Street in Chicago died on May 11, 1915 from a self-induced abortion "after advice from quack."

According to public records, May (also spelled Mae) and her husband, Frank, had 8 children:

• Perlie, age 2
• Helen, age 4
• Mabel, age 6
• Lillian, age 9
• Erma, age 11
• Leslie, age 14
• Aletha, age 16
• Fern, age 18

According to the 1910 Federal census, Frank was a laborer who did odd jobs. 

Sources:

• "Just Five Month's Abortion Toll," Chicago Daily Tribune, May 29, 1915
• Cook County death index
• Find-a-Grave

May 10, 1983: Minimal information on New York death

The Blackmun Wall by Life Dynamics had a memorial entry for “Jaime”, who they only noted was a Black woman between the ages of 20 and 24 who died from legal abortion in New York.

Kevin Sherlock’s book, The Scarlet Survey, contained a matching case with more information. Jaime was 20 and from Manhattan, and she died of her legal abortion in New York City on May 20, 1983.

Women of color like Jaime are disproportionately targeted by the abortion industry— especially in New York, where more Black babies are aborted than born.

The little information known about Jaime was obtained through New York State Health Department records. The records on her death were run in 1995, and today the relevant data cannot be found on the NY Health Department’s website.

New York State Department Of Health, Bureau of Biometrics, Abortion Related Deaths, Resident Data (archived data, run on July 19, 1995)

The Scarlet Survey, page 221, citing New York Health Department (Jaime is Jane Roe of Manhattan 1983)

May 10, 1960: Dumped Off the Highway

A Gruesome Discovery 

AI rendition of police at the dump site

At around 6:50 on the morning of Wednesday, May 11, 1960, the body of a young black woman was found in an uncultivated field just off Taylor Road at a spot about 100 yards off Highway 215. Found along with the body were a topcoat, a bundle, and shoes. In the coat pocket was a piece of paper with the dead woman's name. 

Identity and Cause of Death

The dead woman was 30-year-old Miss Corine Lyles of Jenkinsville, SC. She had worked as a domestic servant in Richland.

Dr. C. K. Lindler, who performed the autopsy and signed the death certificate, concluded that Corine had died the previous day from bleeding and shock due to a criminal abortion. The coroner's jury concluded that the abortion had been perpetrated the day Corine died.

The Sister's Story

Corine's sister, Mary Estelle Harrison, was arrested as an accessory before the fact. She stated that Corine had been pregnant and had said that she would "kill herself if she couldn't get rid of the baby." Mary told investigators that 54-year-old Daisy Brown Baxley said that she could "do away with" the baby. Mary said that she paid Baxley $45 as a down payment for the $75 abortion.

Perpetrator or Accomplice?

Baxley, who was also black, was arrested as the principal in the case. She reportedly told Chief Deputy Sheriff J. C. Harrison that she had only referred Corine to Viola Anderson Wheeler, age 44, for the abortion rather than perpetrate it herself. All the parties agreed that regardless of who had wielded the deadly instruments, the abortion had been perpetrated in the Baxter home, 305 Wilkes Road, Columbia.

Daisy Baxley's husband, 53-year-old Herman Baxley, was arrested as an accessory after the fact. 

The Baxleys were evidently a relatively well-off couple. The single-family home in which they lived was only about five years old.

AI image based on actual location of the fatal abortion

Herman Baxley later pleaded guilty, saying that his wife had asked for help dumping Corine's body so he had helped load it into his station wagon and drive to the dump site. 

Wheeler also denied having perpetrated the abortion. Despite her original statement that she had not laid eyes on Corine until after the young woman had died, when her case went to court she admitted that she had been in the room when Corine died. She also admitted that she had helped to dispose of Corine's body and pleaded guilty to her charges.

When the case went to court, Baxley again denied performing the abortion but did admit to having been present when Corine succumbed. She said that Corine "started foaming at the mouth and ... laid back on the bed and died." She pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to 3 years in prison.

Herman Baxley, who was Daisy Baxley's husband, and Viola Wheeler were charged as accessories after the fact.

Herman was granted a divorce from Daisy in the spring of 1961. She was paroled on September 21, 1961.

Watch "Dumped by the Highway" on YouTube.

• South Carolina Death Certificate #60 008125
  
• "Woman Is Found Dead On Highway," The Columbia (S.C.) Record, May 12, 1960
• "Sheriff Probing Case of Woman Dead on Highway," The Columbia (S.C.) Record, May 13, 1960
• "Inquests Set In Richland Negro Deaths," The Columbia (S.C.) Record, May 16, 1960
• "3 Being Held For Inquest In Abortion," The Columbia (S.C.) Record, May 16, 1960
• "Four Held for Grand Jury Action in Abortion Death," The (Columbia, S.C.) State, May 18, 1960
• “Two Abortion Indictments Are Slated,” The (Columbia, S.C.) State, June 8, 1960
• "Was Money for Abortion Down Payment on Death?" The (Columbia, S.C.) State, June 30, 1960
• "Divorces Granted," The Columbia Record, April 13, 1961
• "Parole Board Frees Eleven From Prison," The Columbia Record, September 11, 1961