Minnie Ola White, aged 51, was tragically murdered on March 21, 1981. Her body was discovered in the trunk of a car near Blythe, California. The investigation revealed that she had been fatally shot. This heinous crime was part of a larger cross-country crime spree committed by Kelvin Shelby Malone and his accomplice, Michael Crenshaw. Malone was identified as the primary perpetrator, while Crenshaw was also implicated in the crimes.
The crime spree began with the murder of cab driver
William Parr in Berkeley, Missouri, on March 18, 1981. This was followed by the disappearance and presumed murder of James Rankin from Kansas City on March 19. On March 20, Malone and Crenshaw brutally murdered Myrtle Dee Benham in an abandoned shack in the desert near Daggett, California. The next day, Minnie Ola White became their final victim. Her body was found stuffed in the trunk of a leased car abandoned near Blythe.
The subsequent investigation led to the arrest of Malone and Crenshaw on March 24, 1981, in San Jose, California. They were apprehended after a high-speed chase during which a .25-caliber Raven automatic pistol, later identified as the murder weapon, was thrown from their car. Credit cards belonging to Minnie Ola White and James Rankin were also found in the vehicle.
Malone was sentenced to death for his role in the murders, including the killing of Minnie Ola White. Crenshaw, who cooperated with authorities, received a life sentence for his involvement. The case against Malone was marked by his violent tendencies and the brutal nature of the crimes, which left a trail of devastation across multiple states. The legal proceedings were extensive, with Malone's death sentence being upheld by the Supreme Court of California in 1988.
