Category Archives: Crime and Courts

January 31, 1947: Herald-Express Publishes Name and Address of Rape Victim

Posted on January 31, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 31, 1947: It is difficult to believe that there was a time when newspapers published rape victims’ names and addresses, but the Herald-Express had no misgivings about it. Continue reading →

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January 29, 1947: Thief Steals Box of Rattlers From Snake Expert’s Car

Posted on January 29, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 29, 1947: A thief breaks into a car and steals a box containing … three rattlesnakes. Continue reading →

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January 23, 1947: Four Held for Trial in ‘Red Hibiscus Murder’

Posted on January 23, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 23, 1947: Four youths are held in the ‘Red Hibuscus Murder” of Naomi Tullis Cook, who was found in a clump of hibiscus bushes next to the men’s restroom in Lincoln Park. Continue reading →

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January 22, 1959: ‘Our Gang’ Star Carl ‘Alfalfa’ Switzer Dies in Fight Over $50

Posted on January 22, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 22, 1959: Carl “Alfalfa” Switzer dies in a fight over $50. Continue reading →

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January 22, 1947: Police Hunt ‘Large Nose Bandit’

Posted on January 22, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 22, 1947: Police hunt “Large Nose Bandit” in bank holdup. Continue reading →

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January 21, 1947: ‘Model Prisoners’ Slip From Custody at Night to Commit Burglaries

Posted on January 21, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 21, 1947: Marley Griggs and his sidekick Oliver Gebhart had the perfect alibi for the burglary of a market on Western Avenue—they were already in custody 60 miles away. But then they outsmarted themselves. Continue reading →

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January 20, 1947: ‘Good Night. Sleep Peacefully With Compliments of Jacks’

Posted on January 20, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 20, 1947: Florabel Muir recounts the murder scene of Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel. TW: graphic contents. Continue reading →

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January 19, 1947: Watch Out for His Left Jab!

Posted on January 19, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 19, 1947: Southern Pacific conductor Clinton White, a southpaw, fights off two holdup men by throwing a mean left jab. Continue reading →

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January 17, 1947: Big Bill Tilden Gets Jail for Morals Case Involving Teenage Boy

Posted on January 17, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 17, 1947: William (Big Bill) Tilden, 54-year-old internationally known tennis star, yesterday was sentenced to serve nine months in the County Jail with a road gang recommendation by Juvenile Judge A.A. Scott for contributing to the delinquency of a 14-year-old boy. Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Trim Your Roses on January 15 to Remember Elizabeth Short

Posted on January 15, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 15: Today is the anniversary of Elizabeth Short’s death. As is the custom, the Daily Mirror will be dark. Trim your roses in her memory. Continue reading →

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January 9, 1913: The Day’s News – Pestilence and Starvation

Posted on January 9, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 9, 1908: The Times publishes a map of places in the news, showing “troops arriving at the front,” “ship in distress,” “burning building,” “land battle,” “earthquake,” “execution” and “volcano eruption.” The past was definitely not a “kinder, simpler time.” Continue reading →

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January 8, 1947: Judge Denies ‘Hollywood’ Divorce for Actress Virginia Engels ‘The Orchid Queen’

Posted on January 8, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 8, 1947: A judge rejects a divorce for Virginia Engels, nicknamed “Miss Streamline,” “Miss Los Angeles 1940” and “the Orchid Queen.” Engels was later found not guilty of killing her second husband. A bit player in ‘Caged,’ she died forgotten and alone in her apartment in late 1956. Continue reading →

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January 7, 1907: TLC

Posted on January 7, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 7, 1907: Elizabeth Mahler is one of the bright spots at Long Beach Hospital. Though she was engaged, she was courted by a patient’s business partner. The engagement was broken and wedding bells chimed…. Nine years later, divorce court. Continue reading →

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January 5, 1959: LAPD Suspends Officer for – Uh-Oh

Posted on January 5, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 5, 1959: The LAPD suspends Officer Charles Wolf for 15 days for — no, he didn’t! (Yes, he did). Continue reading →

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January 5, 1947: Two Black 15-Year-Olds Set for Electric Chair After Losing Plea

Posted on January 5, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 5, 1947: In Mississippi, two Black 15-year-olds lose their appeal for clemency despite the efforts of Blanche Meiers of Oakland, who pleaded for their lives. The teens are set to be electrocuted January 17 in the killing of a white man. Continue reading →

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January 4, 1947: Angry Sailor Sets Fire to Skid Row Hotel After Being Rolled

Posted on January 4, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 4, 1947: 19-year-old mess cook second class Edward Pavlischak is so angry at being rolled for $30 while drunk in a hotel room that he sets fire to the place, killing 1 and injuring 5. Continue reading →

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December 30, 1907: Old Soldiers of the Civil War, Held as Drunks, Get Free Run of Jail

Posted on December 30, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 30, 1907: Six Civil War veterans are jailed on charges of being drunk and rowdy in Sawtelle, the settlement outside the gates of the veterans home. Continue reading →

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December 3, 1957: Girl kidnapped

Posted on December 29, 2025 by lmharnisch

Revisiting the 1957 abduction and killing of Maria Ridulph from Sycamore, Ill. Continue reading →

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December 27, 1947: Youth Questioned in Georgette Bauerdorf Killing

Posted on December 27, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 27, 1947: Sheriff’s detectives question Robert White in the 1944 killing of Georgette Bauerdorf. Continue reading →

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December 27, 1907: Oklahoma Lynching — A Grim Record for New State

Posted on December 27, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 27,1907: Oklahoma records its first lynching since statehood: James Garden. Continue reading →

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