Susan Cabot

July 7, 1927 – December 10, 1986

You couldn’t make it up.

This was Wasp Woman week in the Findadeath household. My buddy Ted at Celebrity Collectables sometimes flags things that are particularly interesting to us death hags, and sends them on. This was is terrific. I just finished watching Wasp Woman, five minutes ago. Typical Corman nonsense. The costumes were horrid, the acting mediocre, the sets cost about 5cents, about 50 minutes long… you know what I mean. But the concept was good, and her office looked suspiciously like Mr. Drysdale’s on The Beverly Hillbillies. Cabot plays the head of a cosmetics company obsessed with youth. Your typical LA story. She starts injecting wasp jizz and eventually flips and becomes a killer. Good stuff. Her real life death was much more fascinating.

Cabot’s real name was Harriet Shapiro. She was married a couple of times, and once had an affair with the hunky King Hussein of Jordan. He and Queen Noor were hot hot hot. Cabot and the King make a great looking couple but that was short lived. She married twice, and sometime around 1963 had a kid whom she named Timothy Scott Roman.  He was a dwarf. Susan herself was 5″2′.

Findadeath.com friend Jenny found this link with a picture of her son.  Thanks Jenny.

They lived here in Encino, for 11 years.  They never went anywhere without each other. Must have been quite a sight. The creepy “kept to themselves” scenario. Inside the house was reportedly disgusting. Newspapers and magazines everywhere, clothing strewn about. She hadn’t made films in years, so it was VERY Sunset Boulevard, with no butler.

Wanna see the mailbox?

On the night of December 10, 1986 at 10:30pm, police responded to a call that there was an intruder at house.  When they arrived, Roman told them that “a tall Latino with curly hair, dressed like a Japanese Ninja warrior” had attacked them both, making off with about $70,000 cash. Roman told the cops that he fought with the intruder and was knocked out. A good story, but he had only a tiny bruise on his head, and a 1/4 inch cut on his arm. Yeah, it was a Ninja.

A neighbor said that the two were “very, very close. She never went any place without him.” Another said, “she was… different.” Says so much more, doesn’t it?

They searched the house, but couldn’t get in to Roman’s room because he had four Akitasthat were in attack mode. They called in animal control to remove the pooches.   Seems like Akitas and murder locations go together.

According to the autopsy report sent by Ted, this is what the cops found: Susan was lying in bed, on her stomach. She was wearing a purple v neck nightgown, a bra on the floor near the bed. Her head was covered with a piece of bed linen. They noted blood spatters on the mirrored walls and ceiling (uh huh.).  It appeared that she pulled the linen over her head during the attack. When they lifted the linen, TA DA! Massive head injuries. Brain matter and skull everywhere. There were no defense wounds. On her right buttock was a partially melted pill, that they think she fell asleep on before her attack.

After becoming suspicious of the son, police took him to headquarters to question him further.  They returned to this house with him later that night to pick up his medication, and he cracked.  He directed police to the murder weapon. A weight lifting bar, probably from a dumbbell. On many levels. It was (and you could NOT make this up) hidden in a box of Bold 3 laundry detergent, in his hamper. The cops figured since they couldn’t get past the dogs, neither could a Ninja, and they arrested Roman for murder.

While preparing for his defense, it was brought to light that he was treated for 15 years with an experimental growth hormone that was found to cause neurological problems. whoops. Don’t fuck with a crazy dwarf. I saw Don’t Look Now. But what made him more crazy was his life with his mother. Extremely possessive, they spoke about sexual situations in graphic detail.  She also suffered from breakdowns. Plus, he was an art student.  Cream on top of it all really.

During the trial, the birth father of Roman was said to have been King Hussein, who was sending monthly support to Susan. Apparently he ended his relationship with Susan because she was Jewish. Whatever.  Turned out the father was one of her ex husbands, but it made for an interesting day in the papers.

The craziness continued to come out during the trial. Roman changed his story a few times. One incarnation was that on the night of the murder, his mother was screaming at him, and attacked him with a barbell and a scalpel. He said he grabbed the barbell, but didn’t remember hitting her.

He got three years probation, because they could not prove that the murder was premeditated. The judge said that Roman and his mother both had physical and emotional problems that may have contributed to the slaying.

Timothy Roman Scott died on January 22, 2003 of heart failure.  His cremains were scattered at sea.

Now, the woman that was at the house yesterday watched me photograph it. When I explained that I was researching someone that used to live in this house, she said, “NO ONE else lived in this house.” I was about to get an attitude when I realized that it might be a new house. I asked how old the house was, and she replied, “six years.” Then I said, well, I’m researching someone that used to live at this address then. She got disgusted and turned her back. Rude cow.  So this one is probably not the murder house, but it is the correct address.

I went to the cemetery to find her grave yesterday, and thanks to Findagrave – I found it. It wasn’t marked,

at least not officially. But it did have an old withered label on it,

which I didn’t have the heart to take. I’m going to try and make a new one for her soon. Least I could do. Weighing out all options of course. 🙂

Ok, so yesterday the 16th of November, some death hags

and I ventured over to Hollywood Forever Cemetery to poke around and just be around other like minded individuals.  While there, I had people sign a little poster

for Susan, and today I went over to the cemetery to leave it on her crypt.  Of course, someone will undoubtedly take the sign off, so underneath I put a simple label,

just to be polite.

UPDATE April 18, 2012: I’m pleased to announce that Cabot’s grave is now marked.  A Death Hag project that came to a happy conclusion.  After negotiating with the cemetery, a plaque was installed on her grave after 26 years.  RIP.

Thanks to Ted and Marilyn for the help.  The autopsy report is available for sale, and it has great diagrams and all the glitchy details.