This Master Detective from July 1960 has cover art that incorporates two elements millions of people dream about every night—a beautiful girl and a dead BP executive. Inside is a grisly story on housewife Nancy Haas, who was murdered by nineteen year-old Robert Elton Edwards in March 1960. Edwards’ MO was to knock on the doors of houses with For Sale signs in the yards, then rob the people inside. In this case, he tried to chain Haas to a bed but when she struggled he shot her dead with a .22 pistol. She was the first woman Edwards had killed, and the last, because Haas’s daughter, who was only three, told police, “A bad man hurt mommy and drove away in a white car.” That simple description led to police arresting Edwards three days later in Arizona, driving a stolen white 1959 Plymouth Fury. Edwards pleaded guilty to murder and at his sentencing the judge said he’d contemplated sending Edwards to the gas chamber, but changed his mind. The judge explained: “I’m not doing you any favors.” Then he sentenced Edwards to life in prison. 

June 1968 cover of Master Detective. This particular true crime magazine was launched in 1924, and there is an identically named magazine being published today, but we suspect it’s a different imprint despite the fact that we saw an ad online claiming the two magazines are one and the same. But frankly, we don’t believe them. The vintage Master Detective was published in the U.S., while the new one is UK based. So that’s a dead giveaway right there. But we hate to be wrong, so we’ll do the heavy research on this after the World Cup is over. 

Master Detective is yet another of the true crime magazines that ditched their nice painted covers for posed covers featuring models. We always sympathize with these women, but this one in particular was really put through the wringer. If this job paid fifty dollars we’d be shocked. Can’t argue with the result, though.     

This July 1962 cover of Master Detective is less artful than many of the pieces we post, but we wanted to share it because it imparts a crucial lesson: when your girlfriend asks if something she’s wearing makes her butt look big, the only correct answer is no.