Joseph Emory
Homicide
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- Gender
- male
- Country
- USA
- Location
- Los Angeles, California, USA
- Date of birth
- 1920
- Age at first offence
- 40
- Characteristics
- child killer
- Victim profile
- One woman / Children
- Method of murder
- Negligence
- Date(s) of murder
- 1960 / 1974 - 1976
- Years active
- 1960–1976
- Date of arrest
- June 8, 1976
- Status
-
Imprisoned
Arrested and booked on investigation for ten counts of murder on 8 June 1976; his wife and 32-year-old son were booked on identical charges, while prosecutors stated the charges were based on "a wanton and reckless disregard for life" and also reported that their probe was "not excluding the possibility of intentional killing".
Case record: Joseph Emory
Joseph Emory was an osteopath who operated a makeshift clinic called the Highland Medical Center in north-central Los Angeles.
Background
Most of the patients who entered the modest house were poor Mexican aliens, and most were pregnant women. The women were drawn to the Highland Medical Center by low child-delivery fees charged by Emory.
Emory had previously been convicted of murder connected to illegal abortions:
- In 1960, Emory was convicted of second-degree murder after one of his female patients died in the course of an illegal abortion.
- He was paroled in 1964.
- He was arrested on a new abortion charge three years later and jailed from 1967 to 1969.
- During that period, his medical license was revoked.
- He won reinstatement of his license in May 1974.
After his license was reinstated, Emory opened the Highland Medical Center, which delivered more than 700 babies over the next two years. He charged patients roughly half the normal hospital fee, usually between $200 and $300 per case.
The offence
Over two years at the Highland Medical Center, 25 infant deaths were recorded soon after being born at the clinic. A twenty-sixth infant died in the hospital hours after being removed from the clinic for emergency treatment.
On 8 June 1976, Emory was arrested and booked for investigation on ten counts of murder. His wife was held on identical charges, and his son Alan, 32, was booked on five counts.
Deputy District Attorney Dinko Bozanich announced that the charges were based on:
"a wanton and reckless disregard for life"
Other spokesmen for the prosecution reported that their probe was:
"not excluding the possibility of intentional killing."
Investigation and charges
At the week’s end, the district attorney’s office had not revealed what evidence had led to its murder charge, but it noted that it was not excluding the possibility of "intentional" killings.
A D.A. spokesman questioned licensing decisions of state bodies, saying:
"Why was this man licensed? And why, after a murder conviction and the rest of his record, was his license reinstated?"
Prosecutors raised pointed questions about the state board of osteopathic examiners and the state board of health, including why the license had been reinstated.
Other details
Emory’s wife and son Alan served as assistants despite having no medical certification.
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