Category Archives: Crime and Courts

Dec. 27, 1947: Youth Questioned in Georgette Bauerdorf Killing

Posted on December 27, 2018 by lmharnisch

  Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. The last words her neighbors heard were “Stop, stop, you’re killing me!” as she fought hard for her life. The housekeeper found the body in … Continue reading →

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

Posted on December 27, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Dec. 27, 1907 Henryetta, Okla., by the Associated Press A little more than a month after Oklahoma achieved statehood, James Garden became a wretched statistic: the first black to be lynched there. … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: 6 Reasons Dr. George Hodel Didn’t Kill Elizabeth Short — No. 6 No Connection

Posted on December 23, 2018 by lmharnisch

Elizabeth Short contrasted with the unidentified woman found in George Hodel’s photo album. Not at all the same. Here are six reasons Dr. George Hodel did not kill Elizabeth Short that you will need to know before watching the TNT … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: 6 Reasons Dr. George Hodel Didn’t Kill Elizabeth Short — No. 5 Not a Practicing Surgeon

Posted on December 23, 2018 by lmharnisch

Here are six reasons Dr. George Hodel did not kill Elizabeth Short that you will need to know before watching the TNT mini-series “I Am the Night” or listening to the eight-part podcast accompanying the production. Reason No. 5: Dr. … Continue reading →

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Dec. 23, 1947: Baby Girl Abandoned at Downtown Restaurant With Christmas Card Pinned to Blanket

Posted on December 23, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. The young mother asked the waitress at the cafe in the Subway Terminal Building to hold her baby for just a moment—and then she was gone. … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: 6 Reasons Dr. George Hodel Didn’t Kill Elizabeth Short — No. 4 Clinic Served Poor Blacks of Bronzeville

Posted on December 22, 2018 by lmharnisch

Los Angeles, May 25, 1944: At a Shinto shrine near City Hall, Los Angeles Mayor Fletcher Bowron, second from left, Dr. George M. Uhl and Nicola Giulli of the city housing authority talk to black residents of Bronzeville. Courtesy of the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Homicide, LAPD, Medicine, Television, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Dec. 21, 1907: Desperate Girl, Alone and Friendless in L.A., Steals $10

Posted on December 21, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Dec. 21, 1907 Los Angeles Lillian Poelk was new to Los Angeles, with no friends and little more than a job as a waitress that didn’t quite cover the rent of her … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: 6 Reasons Dr. George Hodel Didn’t Kill Elizabeth Short — No. 1 Not a Prime Suspect

Posted on December 19, 2018 by lmharnisch

Here are six reasons Dr. George Hodel did not kill Elizabeth Short that you will need to know before watching the TNT mini-series “I Am the Night” or listening to the eight-part podcast accompanying the production. Reason No. 1: Dr. … Continue reading →

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Dec. 19, 1907: No, None of It Was His Fault

Posted on December 19, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Dec. 19, 1907 Los Angeles What you have to understand first about George White is that he isn’t to blame. Oh he’ll take his prison sentence for robbing the Hot Rivet Saloon, … Continue reading →

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A Walk in L.A., 1951

Posted on December 18, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a video I made in 2005 using clips from a police training film.

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Dec. 18, 1907: County Coroner Dead Drunk at Bordello

Posted on December 18, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Dec. 18, 1907 Los Angeles Los Angeles County Coroner Roy S. Lanterman was arrested on charges of being drunk and disorderly at the Navajo, a bordello run by Ida Hastings, 309 Ord … Continue reading →

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Dec. 17, 1947: Frightening Food From the 1940s — ‘Unusual’ Fruitcake

Posted on December 17, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project..   Bonus factoid: The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a $2,500 fine against Hollywood book dealer Marcell Rodd for selling the obscene book “Call House … Continue reading →

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Dec. 16, 1947: Back Broken and Skull Fractured, Girl, 2 Dies of Abuse; Mother Gets 10 Years in Prison

Posted on December 16, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Somewhere, there’s 57-year-old man; maybe his name is Steven, or maybe his foster parents changed it. He doesn’t know much about himself except that his birthday … Continue reading →

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L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 14, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: “Little Shoes,” about the murders of three little girls, may not be everybody’s idea of an appropriate holiday gift, but it is more than a “true crime” book. In “Little Shoes” Pamela Everett explores her family’s tragic history in … Continue reading →

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December 12, 1907: The .45-Caliber Newspaper Ombudsman

Posted on December 11, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. December 12, 1907 Los Angeles via the Associated Press Goldfield, Nev.—J. Holtman Buck, editor of the Western Nevada Miner in Mina, Nev., shot Francis L. Burton to death during a fight over … Continue reading →

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1920: Police Raid Party at Ex-Mayor’s Home, Arrest 7 Men in Drag

Posted on December 10, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Dec. 10,1907 Los Angeles Mayor Arthur C. Harper happens to be in all sorts of trouble. He’s telling the newspapers that he has had enough of politics and won’t seek another term. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1909, 1912, City Hall, Crime and Courts, Downtown, LAPD, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Dec. 2, 1938: California’s First Use of Gas Chamber Horrifies Witnesses; Hanging Is ‘Quicker and Better’

Posted on December 9, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project.   The Times editorialized: Kessel and Cannon were two of five convicts who twisted a wire around the warden’s neck and dragged him into the prison … Continue reading →

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Dec. 9, 1907: Black LAPD Officer Blames Firing on Racism, Rejoins Fire Department

Posted on December 9, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Dec. 9, 1907 Los Angeles Mayor Harper has restored E.J. Bowen to his old job in the Fire Department after the rookie police officer was fired for allegedly being a coward—a charge … Continue reading →

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Follies Theater’s 1927 ‘Hot Mamma’ Show Led Court to Overturn Law on ‘Indecent Shows’

Posted on December 9, 2018 by lmharnisch

A EBay vendor posted this photo of a woman named Aline or Alene Carberry, and I could not resist unleashing the hounds of research. Bidding on the “Hot Mamma” photo is currently at $34.50.

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Dec, 7, 2006: Note to "Dahlia Avenger" Fans

Posted on December 7, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Here’s a publicity still of “Maddy” Comfort from “Kiss Me Deadly” for sale on EBay. Her name is also spelled “Mattie” and “Mady.” Comfort is referred to in the Los Angeles County … Continue reading →

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