Category Archives: Cold Cases

El Segundo Revisited

Posted on July 23, 2011 by lmharnisch

orman Frederick Gagnon looks like an excellent suspect in the unsolved killing of two El Segundo police officers last year. In an incident quite similar to the El Segundo case, Charles H. May and a female companion (The Times, fortunately, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1958, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged #crime and courts, #la, Cold Cases | Comments Off

Death in El Segundo

Posted on July 22, 2011 by lmharnisch

July 22, 1957Los Angeles Note: This is a post from 2007. We’re heading west on Rosecrans Avenue. It’s early Monday morning, a few moments after 1:30 a.m., and the streets are dark. There’s nobody out but a few drunks and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged #Cold Cases, #el segundo, #homicide, #la | 4 Comments

Time Traveling With the L.A. Daily Mirror [Updated]

Posted on July 20, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: Pier Angeli and friend with a reminder on Daylight Saving Time, 1958 I decided to import my old lmharnisch blog, devoted mainly to dissecting “The Black Dahlia Files” by Donald “Fake Document” Wolfe. Now there are posts going back … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 2008, 2009, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Donald Wolfe, Film, History, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Photography | Tagged 1947, black dahlia, cold cases, lapd | 1 Comment

Bill James’ ‘Popular Crime’: Another Good Story Ruined

Posted on July 19, 2011 by lmharnisch

I have procrastinated about looking at Bill James’ “Popular Crime” because, as curious as it may seem, I don’t care much for “true” crime books. Even when they are well done (which is almost never) the subject matter is depressing … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Donald Wolfe, History, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged #crime and courts, 1947, black dahlia, books, cold cases, lapd | 4 Comments

Leesa Jo Shaner – Update

Posted on July 18, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: Leesa Jo Shaner An attempt to resolve one of the nation’s most baffling unsolved crimes is quietly unfolding in federal court in Tucson: The mystery of Leesa Jo Shaner, who vanished May 29, 1973, on her way to the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1973, Cold Cases, Homicide | Tagged #1973, #Cold Cases, #homicide | 2 Comments

Attorney Storms Office, Seizes D.A.’s Bugging Equipment

Posted on July 15, 2011 by lmharnisch

July 15, 1941: Defense attorney Samuel Rummel (shot to death Dec. 11, 1950) breaks a door and seizes a dictograph wired to a microphone in his office in the William Fox Building, 608 S. Hill. Rummel was defending Deputy Charles … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Cold Cases, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Jimmie Fidler, Lee Shippey, Mickey Cohen, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged #crime and courts, #homicide, #la | Comments Off

7|12|2011 #history #museum #cold cases [Updated]

Posted on July 12, 2011 by lmharnisch

Sept. 19, 1890: Edison’s talking doll in the Sydney Journal. RECOMMENDEDRon Cowen in the Washington Post has a great story about scientists using optical scanning to recover a primitive recording made by Thomas Edison about 1889 for a talking doll. … Continue reading →

Posted in Cold Cases, History, Homicide, Museums | Tagged #Cold Cases, #history, #museum | Comments Off

Maria Ridulph: McCullough Denies Kidnapping, Killing Girl

Posted on July 9, 2011 by lmharnisch

Ted Gregory and Isolde Raftery of the Chicago Tribune, reporting from Seattle, have a jailhouse interview with Jack Daniel McCullough, suspected in the 1957 killing of Maria Ridulph. “You gotta have evidence. They have nothing,” McCullough tells Trib.

Posted in 1957, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, Seattle | Tagged #1957, #Cold Cases, #homicide, #Maria Ridulph | 2 Comments

Maria Ridulph: Ex-Cop Had History of Abuse, Records Show

Posted on July 6, 2011 by lmharnisch

John O’Connor of the Associated Press files a story from Springfield, Ill., about affidavits submitted against Jack Daniel McCullough in the kidnapping and killing of Maria Ridulph. McCullough, a former police officer, was fired over accusations that he molested a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, Maria Ridulph | Tagged #1957, #Cold Cases, #Maria Ridulph | Comments Off

The FBI Thins Its Files

Posted on July 6, 2011 by lmharnisch

I had the strangest experience Saturday when I was going through Ernest Hemingway’s FBI file. I was sure the buro had posted Louis Armstrong’s dossier — it’s brief and not terribly interesting except for the fact that it exists. Or … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, History, Homicide, LAPD, Libraries | Tagged #FBI, 1947, archives, black dahlia, cold cases, lapd | Comments Off

Man Held in 1957 Cold Case Killing of Maria Ridulph

Posted on July 2, 2011 by lmharnisch

Dec. 3, 1957-April 26, 1958 Sycamore, Ill Note: Jack Daniel McCullough has been charged in the 1957 killing of Maria Ridulph. Here’s an article I wrote about the case in 2007. Maria E. Ridulph* was a 7-year-old girl from Sycamore, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, Cold Cases, Homicide | Tagged #1957, #Cold Cases, #crime and courts, #homicide | 2 Comments

#Cold Cases

Posted on June 30, 2011 by lmharnisch

New York Times The NYT takes a look at Manhattan Dist. Atty. Cyrus R. Vance Jr., who is expanding the use of DNA to solve old cases. The NYT says: On Wednesday, Mr. Vance will travel to Albany in support … Continue reading →

Posted in Cold Cases, Crime and Courts | Tagged #Cold Cases, #Crime, #DNA | Comments Off

‘Zoot Suit’ and history – Part 1

Posted on June 27, 2011 by lmharnisch

I was extremely fortunate to attend Wednesday night’s showing of “Zoot Suit” and hear remarks by the panel that preceded the show. Betto Arcos moderated a session with director Luis Valdez, Rose Portillo (Della), Edward James Olmos (El Pachuco) and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, 1943, 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Fashion, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Latinos, Music, Stage, Theaters, Zoot Suit | Tagged #1942, #1943, #courts, #fashion, #film, #hollywood, #LAPD, #Latinos, #music, #theaters, 1947, black dahlia, cold cases, lapd | 4 Comments

Immigrants Overwhelm San Diego!

Posted on June 13, 2011 by lmharnisch

San Diego has everything a family might want: A moderate climate and jobs in the expanding defense industries. But there’s no place to live. Rep. John H. Tolan (D-Oakland) is holding hearings in San Diego on the plight of migrants … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Environment, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Immigration, LAPD, San Diego, Transportation, World War II | Tagged 1947, black dahlia, cold cases, lapd | 1 Comment

In-Cred-I-Ble

Posted on February 13, 2007 by lmharnisch

A large (20×30) reproduction of Elizabeth Short’s mug shot has appeared on EBay at a starting price of $250, or $400 under “buy it now” in an auction by mermaidfx. The word “rare” is ridiculously common on EBay, surpassed only … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Uncategorized | Tagged 1947, black dahlia, cold cases, lapd | Comments Off

Blogging the Wolfe Book, Our Story So Far

Posted on February 8, 2007 by lmharnisch

Larry Harnisch (described by James Ellroy as a Dahlia scholar/Dahlia freak, take your pick) is blogging in real time as he reads Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob, the Mogul and the Murder That Transfixed Los Angeles.” … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Donald Wolfe, Film, History, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Uncategorized | Tagged #crime and courts, 1947, black dahlia, Books and Authors, cold cases, crime and courts, donald wolfe, lapd | 1 Comment

Also on EBay

Posted on January 16, 2007 by lmharnisch

Jan. 16, 2007 Sfxarchive is selling a 4- by 5-inch negative ostensibly from the Black Dahlia case. I don’t recognize any of these individuals, nor have I ever seen the image. It doesn’t show any of the main suspects, nor … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Uncategorized | Tagged 1947, black dahlia, cold cases, lapd | 2 Comments

In Cred I Ble

Posted on January 13, 2007 by lmharnisch

The sale of 1940s mug shots, including one of Elizabeth Short, sold Jan. 12, 2007, for $1,802.77 (more than $78 per picture) to phenomaly. Although EBay now conceals bidders’ identities, we can see that the next highest bid was $1,777.77. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Uncategorized | Tagged 1947, black dahlia, cold cases, lapd | 5 Comments

For Sale on EBay

Posted on January 3, 2007 by lmharnisch

“escalante_sandy” is offering an original mug shot of Elizabeth Short, with bidding starting at $50. The seller says this mug shot, among a lot of 23 photos, belonged to a retired detective and is not a reproduction, a claim that … Continue reading →