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Till Death

December 17, 2025·55 min·5 clips

Zella Archer starts convulsing and dies after being injected during a home invasion, but toxicology finds no poison.

This episode of Buried Bones examines the 1956 death of Zella Archer in Covina, California, following a reported home invasion. Hosts Kate Winkler Dawson, a true crime journalist, and Paul Holes, a retired cold case investigator, apply modern forensic analysis to this historical mystery. The case centers on Zella's husband, Dale Archer, who claimed two armed men broke into their home and injected his wife with a hypodermic syringe. Sergeant Harry Andre of the L.A. County Sheriff's Office responded to the scene and found Zella with rope burns and puncture wounds, though no valuables like jewelry were taken. Investigators discovered a syringe in a vacant lot and a vial of long-acting NPH U-80 insulin, half empty, alongside a 20-gauge hypodermic needle in the Archer bathroom. Zella's condition deteriorated with symptoms of profuse sweating, labored breathing, and convulsions, leading to her death within days. The coroner's report noted four puncture wounds in her buttocks but found no poisonous substances, ultimately attributing her death to bronchopneumonia due to a coma of undetermined origin. Paul Holes notes the oddity of using insulin in a robbery, suggesting it could plunge a victim's blood glucose to induce a hypoglycemic state. Sergeant Andre grew suspicious because Zella only ever described one masked assailant, whose build matched her husband's, and Dale had a history of scams and multiple marriages. Dale had a medical background from working as a hospital orderly, and Zella had recently sold her house for $10,000, with escrow closing just 11 days before the incident. After Zella's death, Dale quickly moved in with a wealthy divorcee, Juanita Plum, and exhausted her $765,000 estate within a year before she died with similar symptoms in a Las Vegas hotel room. Juanita's doctor initially diagnosed an overdose of barbiturates and bourbon, prescribed by Dale, and she was cremated before a full autopsy could be conducted. Dale later married and divorced Gladys Stewart, then remarried her after Juanita's death, and a business associate named Frank Stewart died after a suspicious fall in an airport bathroom. Frank exhibited the same symptoms as Zella and Juanita—dilated pupils, difficulty breathing, and convulsions—but doctors attributed his death to a cerebral hemorrhage. Holes speculates Dale may have injected Frank with insulin in the bathroom after striking his head, following a successful pattern. The hosts' conversation is analytical and methodical, dissecting the timeline and forensic evidence with a collaborative, investigative tone. Listeners who enjoy cold case analysis, forensic details, and historical crime narratives will find this episode compelling. Those seeking a resolved narrative or fast-paced action might find the procedural detail and unresolved questions less engaging.

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