Edward F. Sands (born Edward Fitzgerald Snyder, April 4, 1894 – 19??), also known as Edward Fitzwilliam Strathmore and Jazz, was a suspect in the murder of

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

director

William Desmond Taylor William Desmond Taylor (born William Cunningham Deane-Tanner, 26 April 1872 – 1 February 1922) was an Anglo-Irish-American film director and actor. A popular figure in the growing Hollywood motion picture colony of the 1910s and early 1920s, ...

on February 1, 1922.

Biography

Edward Sands had been employed as Taylor's personal assistant, serving as

cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...

and

valet A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, valet de chambre was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "vale ...

. Although he was born in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, he spoke with an affected English accent (screen star

Mary Miles Minter Mary Miles Minter (born Juliet Reilly; April 25, 1902Louisiana Birth Certificate, Caddo Parish, No. 119, Book A, Page 97, Birth Date: April 25, 1902, Name: Mary M. Reilly ic – Original Caddo birth record was recorded as "J.H. Riley's Child" ...

referred to him as a ''

cockney Cockney is an accent and dialect of English, mainly spoken in London and its environs, particularly by working-class and lower middle-class Londoners. The term "Cockney" has traditionally been used to describe a person from the East End, or b ...

''). Taylor left Sands in charge of his affairs during a vacation in 1921 and returned to find Sands gone and several of the director's possessions missing including his car, checkbook, a large supply of distinctive cigarettes and jewelry. Sands had cashed several blank checks left by Taylor and, using the stolen checkbook, began forging Taylor's signature. A few months later Taylor received a letter from Sands which included a

pawn ticket A pawnbroker is an individual or business (pawnshop or pawn shop) that offers secured loans to people, with items of personal property used as collateral. The items having been ''pawned'' to the broker are themselves called ''pledges'' or ...

in the name of ''William Deane Tanner'' (Taylor's birth name), indicating that Sands knew Taylor's true identity, which Taylor had kept secret since his arrival in Hollywood eight years earlier. Sands seems to have returned clandestinely. One of the distinctive stolen cigarettes was found (smoked and crushed) on Taylor's doorstep and footprints were left on Taylor's bed. Some more of Taylor's jewelry was stolen and receipts were found showing Sands had sold the items in northern

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

.Taylorology

Military service

Sands had seven enlistments in the military under various names. * He initially enlisted in the United States Navy at the Recruiting Station in Cincinnati, Ohio at the age of 17. He served on the U.S.S. Franklin, U.S.S. Constellation, U.S.S. Montana, and U.S.S. Paducah with the assignments of pay office and canteen yeoman. After serving on the U.S.S. Southery at the Navy Yard in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, he was discharged as a landsman on August 6, 1916. * On August 21, 1916, he joined the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

, where he served on the cutter Gresham and was discharged on August 20, 1917, as a cabin steward. * On October 17, 1917, he enlisted in the U.S. Naval Reserve at the Navy Yard in New York, New York. On December 1, 1918, he was promoted to Chief Commissary Steward. * On February 8, 1919, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy at Kansas City, Missouri. * On April 17, 1919, he enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard as a cook at Brooklyn, New York. * On May 22, 1919, he enlisted in the U.S. Army at Columbus Barracks, Ohio and was assigned to the finance office. On August 25 he was promoted to sergeant. * On November 17, 1921, he enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard and was assigned to the cutter Bear as a Mess Attendant 1st Class.

Disappearance

An eyewitness reported seeing someone leaving Taylor's bungalow around the time he was murdered, but her description does not fully match Sands' appearance. The police considered Sands a strong suspect, but never issued a warrant for his arrest in connection with the murder. Sands reportedly quit a job in northern California and disappeared the day of the murder. Subsequent investigations turned up evidence he had likely been arrested previously for petty crimes and had apparently deserted from the

.Giroux, pp. 116–17. Sands was never found.

Biography

Military service

Disappearance

See also

References

Further reading