large manhunt, where the police failed to find them. On April 3, they arrived in Jacksonville, Florida. Cooney's baby was born on April 10, and within two days it died. On April 15, the police disclosed the identity of Celia and Ed Cooney to the public, and several days later the couple was caught. Capture and trial The capture of the 'Bobbed Hair Bandit' made the front page of many New York City newspapers, as well as the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, San Francisco Chronicle, and the Los Angeles Times. As she was brought up to New York City for her trial, thousands of people turned out to see her as her train passed. When she arrived in New York City, a large crowd greeted her. The New York World described the crowd: "Neither Presidents nor Jack Dempsey had attracted such a throng to Pennsylvania station as Celia Cooney, Brooklyn's Bobbed Haired Bandit and her husband, Edward did when they reached this city at 3:30." She was tried in Jefferson Market Courthouse, and sentenced to twenty years in prison. She spent her time in Auburn Prison. Later life Ed Cooney had his fingers smashed in a machine while in prison, and had his arm eventually amputated below the elbow. Weakened, he developed tuberculosis and died in 1936. Before his death, in 1931, Ed filed a $100,000 case against New York state because of the loss of his arm. His lawyers, Samuel S. Leibowitz, and Jacob Shientag won the case, granting a settlement of $12,000 to the family. The couple were released on October 16, 1931. Celia Cooney spent the rest of her life in relative obscurity, working as a typist, and later at Sperry Gyroscope. She married Harold La Grange in 1943, and died on July 13, 1992. Cooney's exploits would soon enter popular culture, with lectures, plays, and songs featuring her story. In December 2021, true crime comedy podcast My Favorite Murder released an episode covering Cooney's story. References Bibliography Mahon, Elizabeth K. (2021). “Celia Cooney: The Bobbed Haired Bandit.” In Pretty Evil: True Stories of Mobster Molls, Violent Vixens, and Murderous Matriarchs. Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot, pp. 157–174. 1904 births 1992 deaths American robbers