Jana Bommersbach, a longtime journalist for the Phoenix New Times "who wrote the definitive book on one of Arizona's most infamous suspects," died July 17, the Arizona Republic reported. She was 78. Bommersbach was the author of seven books, including true-crime, novels, and a children's book, but her best-known work was her debut, The Trunk Murderess: Winnie Ruth Judd.
Convicted of killing two women in a Phoenix home in the 1930s, Judd was sentenced to die by hanging but later judged insane and eventually released. Bommersbach interviewed Judd for her book and pored through case records. Her book cast doubt on what had been the accepted and sensationalized version of the tale, the Republic noted.
Athia Hardt, a family representative and former Arizona Republic reporter who confirmed Bommersbach's death, remembered her boisterous personality: "Jana was always bigger than life. She had a good time wherever she went and lived life to the fullest."
Phil Alvidrez, who was news director at KTVK-TV, said he unsuccessfully tried in the late 1980s to lure Bommersbach away from New Times and have her work as the station's investigative reporter. He later was able to bring her on Good Morning Arizona in the 1990s. She also co-hosted Books & Co. on KAET-TV.
"Jana had this unique ability to make people think," Alvidrez said. "She was able to provoke people whether they agreed with her or not, and maybe take a moment and actually consider something."
Bommersbach's other books include Funeral Hotdish and Cattle Kate: A Mystery. Her final book, Hellraisers and Trailblazers: The Real Women of the Wild West, was a collaboration with Bob Boze Bell, who had been a cartoonist at the New Times while she worked there.