Imperial Valley Press

Airport Leader Wounds ; 'Other Man' Fatally

Glendale Plane Manager Shot as Mate Wakes Up, Finds Wife in Arms Of Another on Bench

BULLETIN

GLENDALE, Cal., Nov. 9. (UP)—John Kimmel, 35, died this afternoon of bullet wounds admittedly inflicted by Paul A. Wright, aviation official, who shot Kimmel and his wife when he surprised them in a compromising situation in the Wright home.

GLENDALE, Cal., Nov. 9. (UP)—Enraged when he discovered his wife in the arms of another man, Paul A. Wright, 40, president of Union Air Terminal, today shot and killed his wife, Evelyn, 30, and critically wounded John Kimmel, 30, in the Wright home.

Wright immediately telephoned police and surrendered.

"I saw my wife in the arms of another man and I emptied my gun into both of them," Wright told police Chief V. B. Brown.

Kimmel, manager of operations for the United Air Lines, was reported near death at Burbank hospital. He was shot in the head and chest.

Mrs. Wright was shot four times and died instantly.

In the Wright home at the time of the shooting were the Wrights 3-year-old daughter, Helen, and a maid. They did not hear the shooting.

Wright told police he and Kimmel attended a dinner party in Hollywood last night and returned to the Wright home between midnight and 2 a.m. Kimmel stopping in at Wright's invitation, to have a few drinks before Kimmel went to his own home nearby.

He said he went into the main floor bedroom later for a nap. About four hours later he got up and went into the living room where he found his wife and Kimmel in close embrace.

Wright said he went back into the bedroom, secured his pistol, and shot both before they were aware of his presence in the living room.

Kimmel is married to Maureen Mitchell, United Air Lines stewardess. He is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley.

Early today Wright called Glendale police and said:

"I am Paul Wright, manager of the Union Air Terminal. I have just killed my wife and wounded John Kimmel, my traffic manager."

Upon arrival at the Wright home, police found Mrs. Wright dead on a sofa. Her body was riddled with bullets. Kimmel was on the floor gravely wounded.

Wright said he, his wife and Kimmel returned to the Wright home for a "nightcap" shortly before dawn.

Wright removed his coat and went to sleep on a sofa. Later, he awakened and saw Mrs. Wright and Kimmel embracing on a piano bench.

"Everything went white," Wright told Capt. W. E. Hart of the Glendale police.

"I got my Luger and opened fire."

Attaches at the air terminal said Wright, a mild-mannered and well recognized aviation expert, had been manager for about two years. He was transferred here from Chicago, they said.

Police described Mrs. Wright as about 30.

At police headquarters Wright sobbed:

"She is—I mean she was—such a fine woman. I don't know why I did it."