Bio

Harold Thomas Lantz was born on August 11, 1922. Before the murder, Lantz had worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad. The county attorney’s statement described him as a discharged Southern Pacific Railroad employee. By August 1950, he was no longer employed there. On the night of the crime, he boarded an eastbound Southern Pacific train in Tucson, Arizona, without a ticket.

Lantz’s case became known because the murder happened aboard a passenger train shortly before it reached Douglas, Arizona. The victim, Ada Cora Park, was killed during an attempted rape. The Arizona Supreme Court later reviewed his conviction and death sentence in State v. Lantz, confirming that he was convicted of murdering Ada Cora Park and that the death penalty was imposed.

Murder Story

On the night of August 10, 1950, Harold Thomas Lantz boarded an eastbound Southern Pacific train in Tucson, Arizona, without a ticket. He was a former Southern Pacific Railroad employee. The train was traveling toward Douglas in Cochise County.

During the trip, Lantz entered or approached the sleeping berth area where Ada Cora Park was located. The Arizona Supreme Court record states that Lantz was convicted of murdering Ada Cora Park and that the charge was based on the killing being committed during an attempt to perpetrate rape. Under Arizona law at the time, a murder committed during rape or attempted rape could be treated as first-degree murder.

After the killing, Lantz gave an account that blamed another man. He claimed he had seen another person on top of Park in her berth, choking her, and said he tried to defend her before the supposed attacker escaped from the train. Investigators found details that tied Lantz to the scene, including blood on his clothing and ear, scratches on his face, nose, and chest, and his hat and suitcase near the berth. The court record also states that Lantz first claimed the hat belonged to the supposed attacker, then later admitted it was his own.

Lantz later gave a written confession to the county attorney. During his appeal, his defense argued that the confession should not have been admitted before the State proved the corpus delicti, meaning proof that a crime had occurred. The Arizona Supreme Court rejected that argument. The court held that Park’s death by violent means had been established and that the surrounding evidence was enough to support admission of the confession.

Lantz was tried in the Superior Court of Cochise County. In October 1950, a jury found him guilty of murder. According to the supplied county attorney statement, he was sentenced to death on or about October 17, 1950. He appealed the conviction and sentence, but on May 14, 1951, the Arizona Supreme Court affirmed the judgment.

Harold Thomas Lantz was executed by lethal gas at the Arizona State Prison on July 18, 1951. Arizona execution records list him as ADC number 16003 and show that he was executed by lethal gas at 5:04 a.m. on July 18, 1951.