By 1934, the aggressive and controlling management of Snyder began to create professional problems for Etting. She was not being considered for many jobs due to Snyder’s arguments with those who employed her. Etting went to England for work in 1936, where Snyder managed to involve himself in a street fight soon after their arrival; this resulted in unfavorable publicity for Etting. Etting divorced Snyder on the grounds of cruelty and abandonment on November 30, 1937. Snyder did not contest the divorce; he received a settlement from Etting.
In January 1938, Snyder began making threatening telephone calls to Etting, at first claiming she concealed assets from him when the divorce settlement was made. Snyder was also upset that Etting was now seeing her accompanist, Myrl Alderman. Snyder told Etting he intended to come to California and kill her. Etting obtained both police and private protection, but apparently believed the danger was past when Snyder did not appear soon after his telephone threats; she dismissed her bodyguards.
Snyder detained Myrl Alderman at a local radio station on October 15, 1938. He forced the pianist to drive him to his former wife at gunpoint. Etting and Edith Snyder, his daughter, were in the house when Snyder and Alderman arrived. When Snyder was told Edith was in another part of the house, he forced Etting to call her into the music room, where he held Etting and Alderman at gunpoint. Snyder told them to be quiet and that he intended to kill them all. When Myrl Alderman tried to speak, he was shot by Snyder, who then told Etting, “I’ve had my revenge, so you can call the police.”
Etting, who said the only gun in the house was hers, was able to go into her bedroom for the gun after the shooting of Alderman. When Snyder saw Etting with the gun, he wrestled it away from her; it fell to the floor where Edith Snyder picked it up and started shooting at her father. Edith’s shots did not hit her father, but went into the floor. Snyder’s daughter said she shot at her father to save Ruth Etting.
