Category Archives: #courts

September 10, 1931: Voices — Christine Collins

Posted on September 10, 2026 by lmharnisch

September 10, 1931: Christine Collins, whose experiences inspired the Clint Eastwood movie ‘Changeling,’ writes to the warden seeking release for her husband, Walter. Continue reading →

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September 8, 1931: Voices — Christine Collins

Posted on September 8, 2026 by lmharnisch

September 8, 1931: Christine Collins, whose experiences inspired the Clint Eastwood movie ‘Changeling,’ writes to prison officials urging a parole for her husband, Walter Collins. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1931, Changeling, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Robberies | Leave a comment

August 28, 1958: Intruder kills former actress

Posted on August 28, 2026 by lmharnisch

August 28, 1958: Helene Jerome, described as a retired actress, is found strangled in her apartment at the Las Palmas Hotel. Continue reading →

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Voices — Christine Collins, August 28, 1932

Posted on August 28, 2026 by lmharnisch

Walter Collins in an undated prison photo. August 28, 1932: Christine Collins replies to the warden, saying that she is not yet ready to visit the grave of her husband, Walter, in the prison cemetery. She also says she is … Continue reading →

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August 27,1958: Woman kills husband over singing, Reds win against Dodgers

Posted on August 27, 2026 by lmharnisch

August 27, 1958: Anne Benyon was arguing with her husband, Ben, about his singing, and as he hummed a tune, she rolled her wheelchair into the kitchen, got a knife and stabbed him. Continue reading →

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Voices — Christine Collins, August 25, 1932

Posted on August 25, 2026 by lmharnisch

August 25, 1932: Christine Collins, whose experiences inspired the movie ‘Changeling,’ asks the warden about visiting her husband’s grave in the prison cemetery. Continue reading →

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July 23, 2009: Darryl Thomas Kemp, Paroled Sex Killer Strikes Again, Gets Death Penalty for the Third Time

Posted on July 23, 2026 by lmharnisch

July 23, 2009: Darryl Thomas Kemp, paroled sex killer, is sentenced to death in the 1978 killing of Armida Wiltsey. Continue reading →

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July 5, 1927: Voices — Christine Collins

Posted on July 5, 2026 by lmharnisch

July 5, 1927: The prison warden replies to Christine Collins regarding parole for her husband, Walter. Christine Collins’ tragedy inspired the Clint Eastwood movie ‘Changeling.’ Continue reading →

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July 2, 1908: Life ‘A Living Hell,’ Wife Flees Husband

Posted on July 2, 2026 by lmharnisch

July 2, 1908: Walter F.W. Stock says his wife, Fannie, was lured away from home during a motoring trip with “a prepossessing young Mexican in his employ. The next day, however, Fannie says her life is a living hell: Married at 16, giving birth to seven children in seven years. Continue reading →

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Voices — Christine Collins, June 30, 1931

Posted on June 30, 2026 by lmharnisch

June, 30, 1931: Police Chief R.E. Steckel tells the parole board that Walter Collins should be considered a habitual criminal. Collins’ wife, Christine, was the inspiration for Clint Eastwood’s film ‘Changeling.’ Continue reading →

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June 4, 1941: Burbank Man Invents Death Ray!

Posted on June 4, 2026 by lmharnisch

June 4, 1941: A Burbank man claims to have invented a death ray that will kill rabbits at 100 yards. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1941, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Death Rays, Film, Hollywood, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor | Comments Off on June 4, 1941: Burbank Man Invents Death Ray!

May 29, 1908: Concert Pianist Put on Chain Gang in Crackdown on Gays

Posted on May 29, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 28, 1908: Concert pianist Peje Storck is put on chain gang after being arrested in a room full of men, pleading guilty to a reduced charge of “vagrancy.” Continue reading →

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May 12, 1908: Stanford Officials Open Unmarked Graves

Posted on May 12, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 12: 1908: “The Christ Kid” gets his nickname from posing as a preacher to the homeless whenever police are looking for him. Continue reading →

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May 7, 1938: Remembering Jack Parsons

Posted on May 7, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 7, 1938: Jack Parsons displays his re-creation of the pipe bomb used in the Harry Raymond bombing. In 1952, Parsons was fatally injured by an explosion in his garage. Continue reading →

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May 6, 1908: Shocked Judge Grants Divorce; Bodies Found at Indiana Murder Farm

Posted on May 6, 2026 by lmharnisch

May 6, 1908: A judge in Connecticut grants a divorce to Henry Lord with details so shocking that the judge stays the proceedings. And crowds visit the Indiana murder farm. Continue reading →

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April 29, 1891: ‘The Chinese Murder,’

Posted on April 29, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 29, 1891: The Times reports the death of a Chinese woman named Ah Gue/Goot Gue, who was shot in the abdomen by her husband, Wong Ark/Gam Duck, outside a brothel on Apablasa Street. Ark allegedly killed Gue because she didn’t give him all the money he wanted for gambling. Continue reading →

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Voices — Christine Collins, April 23, 1931

Posted on April 23, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 23, 1931: Walter Collins is “in good condition,” a prison report says. Collins was the husband of Christine Collins, whose story inspired the Clint Eastwood movie “Changeling.” Continue reading →

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April 16, 1938: Child Molested, Killed

Posted on April 22, 2026 by lmharnisch

Trigger warning: This post from 1938 deals with an abuser who died in the gas chamber for killing his young victim. Continue reading →

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April 20, 2008: Club Mecca Firebombing Victims Remembered

Posted on April 20, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 20, 2008: Remembering the victims of the Club Mecca Firebombing. Continue reading →

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April 15, 1908: Accused Wife Killer Says ‘Everything Went Black’

Posted on April 15, 2026 by lmharnisch

April 15,1908: Quong Wai, who is fighting a deportation order, says he is an American born in San Francisco. He says immigration officers arrested him at a streetcar station without reason. Continue reading →

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