Morley Vernon King

Morley Vernon King was born in West Virginia October 20, 1901 and ran away from home at age 15.[1] King traveled extensively throughout Europe for several years and lived in Casablanca, Morrocco.[1] King married his wife Helen in Casablanca in 1929, where King, an accomplished chef and restaurateur, owned and operated a hotel and bar.[2] The Kings returned to the United States in 1934 and lived in New Orleans, where they operated another restaurant.[1]

On July 9, 1947, the dead body of Helen King was found in a trunk under the back porch of a San Luis Obispo, California hotel.[3] She had apparently been strangled to death and further investigation showed that she had been killed on July 1.[4][3] Morely King had been missed from his job at the hotel a day prior and left California in a four-door Buick sedan, which was recovered in Montana roughly a year later.[1] On July 18, 1947, a warrant was issued for King's arrest.[2]

On March 15, 1950, King became the second fugitive to be listed on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.[5] Prior to that, King had been listed on the non-sequential Most Wanted List on its inception in 1949.[6] The FBI reported that King walked with a limp due to one leg being slightly shorter than the other, and spoke Spanish, French, and Italian.[4][3] The FBI additionally reported that due to his experience as an accomplished chef and restauranter and extensive travel outside the United States, he could possibly be working at a restaurant specializing in foreign food.[1]

King was arrested without incident on October 31, 1951, in the kitchen of a seafood restaurant in Philadelphia where he had been working under the assumed identity William G. Wilson.[2][7]

On November 13, 1951, King was extradited to California to face legal action for his wife's murder and was later sentenced to life imprisonment.[8][9] King died of heart failure at San Quentin State Prison on September 5, 1954, at age 52.[10]