The Case of ‘Tiger Man’ Figueroa

Above, George E. “Tiger Man” Figueroa, as portrayed in a courtroom sketch by The Times. At right, Figueroa’s recent bride, Sarah, who was badly beaten and shot in the head.

July 21, 1910: The Times publishes the sensational story of George “Tiger Man” Figueroa of Santa Monica, who was sentenced to hang for beating his young wife, Sarah, and shooting her in the head after she refused to go to bed with his drinking companion.  Figueroa was pardoned by Lt. Gov. A.J. Wallace, who temporarily served as governor while Hiram Johnson was running for vice president on the Progressive Party ticket with Theodore Roosevelt. The Times goes off on a tangent about the curse of the ill-gotten Cariega fortune and a little detective work shows that this refers to a claim brought in 1905 by Figueroa’s aunt Eloise against the estate of Juan B. Careaga on the charge that she was his illegitimate daughter.

The Los Angeles Herald account, July 21, 1910.