Florine Williams

Short Biography

After the death of Earle, Florine found herself in financial ruin. She had received probation for passing off bad checks and was afraid of being arrested for stealing $3400 from her maid. She and her 80 year old mother made a suicide-murder pact. Florine killed both of her children, aged 7 and 4, with chloroform. Then she killed her mother. She laid next to the bed of her dead children and attempted to do the same to herself. When neighbors complained of an odd smell coming from her apartment, the janitor went in through a window and found a dying Florine on the ground. She went to the hospital but died 6 hours later. Among her papers were suicide notes and letters from Constance Talmadge and Joseph Schenk, loaning her money.