Elza was sentenced to a year in prison but was ultimately pardoned due to a letter written by the people of Rock Creek, WY.

[1] Joseph Cretzer learned American Sign Language at a young age because of his parents which would later be a key aspect of his escape attempts later in life.

On November 7, 1939, his wife Edna pleaded guilty to harboring her husband and Cretzer himself confessed to one of the robberies in Los Angeles on January 24, 1940.

[3] On Wednesday, June 26, 1940, Cretzer and Kyle were indicted by a federal grand jury in Tacoma, Washington for attempting to escape from the McNeil Island Penitentiary.

The convicts were transported from the island to the U.S. District Court in Tacoma for arraignment on four separate occasions and each time postponed a plea.

Judge Yankwich, visiting from Los Angeles, was convinced the men were making as many trips as possible, hoping for an opportunity to escape.

On Saturday, July 20, Cretzer and Kyle entered pleas of not guilty and Judge Yankwich set the trial date for August 22, 1940.

During the sentencing in the courthouse a US Marshal Artis James Chitty entered a cell to return Cretzer and Kyle back to the courtroom.

Deputy marshals escorted Cretzer and Kyle back into the courtroom and Judge Yankwich resumed the trial.

[4] Cretzer and Kyle both pleaded guilty to second degree murder for Marshall Chitty's death and received life sentences.

On May 21, 1941, he again attempted to escape from one of the island's workshops called the Model Industries Building along with Sam Shockley, Arnold Kyle, and Lloyd Barkdoll.

During the escape attempt the men held a number of guards hostage but gave up when they failed to cut through the tool-proof bars with an emery wheel.

This plan had been hatched by the cell-house orderly Bernard Coy who offered Cretzer a place on the break in return for use of his onshore contacts.

On May 2, 1946, Bernard Coy attacked officer William Miller which led to the release of Cretzer and Clarence Carnes from their cells.

Warden James A. Johnston asked for federal troops from nearby Naval Station Treasure Island to help deal with the situation.

There was a long-standing rule at Alcatraz that no guns were allowed in the cell house, and the prison officials did not want more officers injured or killed.

They eventually figured out that the rebellious prisoners were confined to the main cell house and ceased their attack until further tactics were worked out.

They drilled holes in the prison roof and dropped grenades into areas where they believed the convicts were located, to force them into a utility corridor where they could be cornered.

The following morning, squads of armed officers periodically rushed into the cell house, firing repeatedly into the narrow corridor.

The failure of the plan led to the bloody and hopeless standoff known as the "Battle of Alcatraz" during which Cretzer, armed with an M1911 pistol, opened fire on many hostage guards.

Cretzer made no attempt to surrender and was slain by guard fire or committed suicide early on May 4 when trapped in a utility corridor.

Cretzer began his final journey with Coy and Hubbard, wrapped in blankets and tied in twine to canvas stretchers for a 12-minute boat ride across San Francisco Bay to Dock Four at nearby Fort Mason, where the bodies begin being prepped for disposal.

Cretzer's urn was later removed by an unknown person and only a mugshot and dried flower remain at the Cypress Lawn Memorial Cemetery.