The ghost of Leone Jensen is said to roam the hallways of the San Carlos Hotel in downtown Phoenix, AZ. Witnesses claim to see her as a floating white, cloudy figure of mist. Unexplainable breezes accompany her presence. .jpg)
In almost every ghost book or story written about dear Leone tells of a scorned woman devastated by the rejection of a love interest. The stories say she was dressed in an elegant white evening gown ready for a night of dancing with her bellboy boyfriend from a nearby hotel. After her dreams for a romantic evening folded around her, she decided she could no longer live with a broken heart. She left her room on the seventh floor, climbed to the roof, and leaped off the seven story San Carlos Hotel.
Ah, yes, that version of the story is filled with a bit of Hollywood flavor and makes the incident far more sensational than what really happened. I am going to share the real story of the Leone Jensen’s suicide with you. Through research I was able to find the true—and just as dramatic account of the tragedy.
Leone Jensen, aged about 25, was a resident of California and a visitor in Phoenix for about two or three weeks. On May 8, 1928, Leone committed suicide by jumping from the roof of the San Carlos Hotel—her body was badly crushed and shattered.
Despondency over ill health which precipitated a nervous breakdown was believed to be responsible for the suicide of Miss Jensen. She was a pretty girl of the extreme blond type. The girl had been registered at the San Carlos Hotel for only two days, according to the manager. Her room was on the third floor and was not adjacent to the street. Investigators believe she climbed to the roof and jumped off the seven story building. A guest at the hotel, rooming on the top floor, told of hearing a scream as Miss Jensen’s body hurtled through the air.
Leone was fully dressed, even wearing a light weight tan-colored summer coat and hat to match. She wore a thin, rose colored dress of good material, light shoes and stockings. It is believed that the girl held the hat in her hand as it was neither soiled nor crushed when the body was picked up.
A policeman on patrol heard the screams. As he reached Van Buren Street, he found Miss Jensen’s body lying in a heap on the sidewalk near the corner of the hotel on the Monroe Street side.
The fact that the girl had planned her act carefully was shown by the contents of three short letters and a note, all apparently written within an hour of the time she jumped seven stories to her death. The three letters were written on stationery of the San Carlos Hotel and the note was scribbled rather illegibly on telegraph blanks.
Miss Jensen, in the letter to the Phoenix undertaker, made several last requests. One of which was that she be buried in her tan dress and high-heeled slippers. The letter also carried an explanation of Leone’s act. It stated “Nervous breakdown; here for lung trouble; too weak to walk; lost appetite; doctors make me sick—have had too many. Just another lonesome and ill stranger.”
The letter addressed to a Los Angeles undertaker was as follows: “My burden was more than I could carry, so am coming ‘back home’ in the way I predicted, but not as a suicide. But this long living agony is too much for me—and now having suffered a nervous breakdown, I could never go through with it. Am too weak to walk and all in all, I am through.”
“Here are a few of my last requests. Bury me in my tan dress and high-heeled slippers. Organ music above all things. And can you arrange for two girls to sing as I have always loved harmony, ‘Nearer My God To Thee’ if there is one—and some other one which I wish you to select. Need a marcel (a deep wave perm) and my nails are terrible, but have been too sick to care for anything. Good bye and good luck. Think of me kindly, Miss Leone Jensen”
To the hotel manager, Miss Jensen wrote the following note: “The coroner will attend to my bill and be sure all my clothes are packed, as all wearing apparel is known when it arrives in Los Angeles. I have five dollars, which he will get later on tonight.” This note was written on the back of an envelope of the San Carlos Hotel and was found with another short note in Miss Jensen’s purse tightly clutched in her hand when the body was picked up from the sidewalk. Another note, a rather rambling affair, bade a general goodbye to her friends and ended with the line “Darn this hotel pen.”
Hotel San Carlos
202 North Central Avenue
Phoenix, AZ 85004
602-253-4121
For more info: www.mvdghostchasers.com
Debe Branning nazanaza@aol.com
Comments
Thanks Debe for finally revealing this; the ghost tours that had been given there still told this story and I would all but be in their faces telling them they were wrong and that I had the proof. Because I don't have a 'name' attached to my physical mediumship I was patted on the head and told to 'move along'...and then comes validation! I am waiting patiently for more validation regarding the hotel because it's just one of the paranormal hotspots out there...Just say the word Debe and I will show what research I have done and I will even go with you for further research.....
I would love to hear more about your research on Leone Jensen!
Wow! The true story is more intriguing than the local legend. I can picture the poor confused woman. If anyone should haunt a place, I'd think someone as lost and alone as she would do it.
wow wat a story about her i wish i could go see her in the hotel san carlos(CREPPY)
She has been known to pay a visit to the guests in the hotel from time to time!
i worked the San Carlos hotel in the summer 08 and seen some really cool stuff in the basement as well on the fourth floor of the hotel, these are things that i or my son cannot explain. We are going to stay there agian here in the near future to experience this creepy hotel again.
i would be terrified to live there but im just a kid and i wont to hear more about her its kinda interesting
A good friend of mine worked in the hotel in the early 1990's. She said she saw some horrible images in the basements bathroom mirror amongst other things. She said she was never the same after that job.
Please understand that many people who attend the tours offer information on things that they sense or feel about the hotel. We always listen and are fascinated by these things. However, they generally are not added to the tour, unless we have corroborating evidence of some kind. It is neither meant to offend or condescend. I would add, though, that the worst possible way to try to gain our respect is to get "in our faces" or brag to others that you have done so.
Fun article on one of my favorite "haunted" places. I have been on the tour many times. @Brenda-I am confused as to what you think was revealed in Debe's article as most of the facts were taken from an Arizona Republican article printed on May 8, 1928. Thankfully, Debe went beyond the story printed in the Phoenix Gazette on the afternoon of May 7, 1928 when doing her research for the article. Leone's death occurred after the morning paper had already gone to press. As such, she was the headline in the afternoon paper, the Phoenix Gazette, and not the morning paper, AZ Republican, on the day of her death, May 7th. (Thanks to Debe for bringing the second article back into light as it helps fill some of the gaps in Leone's story!) As for the tour, I have always found the guides to be friendly and professional. It has also been my experience the tour incorporates new facts only after they are substantiated by several sources. For example, did you know Leone's name is not really Leone?
The best part of the story is that the gals from the San Carlos Hotel Ghost Tour have been continuing their research on Leone Jensen and have learned fantastic new information revolving around Ms Jensen's tragic story! They have even discovered her tombstone in CA and uncovered her true name and age! Oh, if they can only find a photograph of the former stage performer, it wold be the icing on top of the cake!!! Take their NEW tours coming up for the fall 2010 season and learn more!
Sounds interesting. So white clouds in hallways too, huh. Not a big fan of the paranormal, but, interesting.
where is she buried? which cemetary?
Leone is buried in a cemetery in LA.
i went to san carlos hotel for a walk went up stairs to the 3rd floor . while i was talking to a lady there my grandson was no where to be seen. when i started to look for him, he was behind a pole with shortness of breath, he said somebody was choking him, and at that time he was only 4 years old..so yes i do believe that leone and children are there...
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