Category Archives: Crime and Courts

Black L.A. 1947: The Kappa Alpha Psis, Clora Bryant and a Certain Attorney

Posted on August 28, 2018 by lmharnisch

Technical difficulties delayed posting until now. Aug. 28, 1947: Earl Griffin has little good to say about the recent Kappa convention. But he mentions Clora Bryant (a footnote in the Black Dahlia case) though as Clara Bryant. And there’s a … Continue reading →

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Aug. 28, 1947: Diamond Street Gang Member Takes Murder Rap ‘for the Gang’

Posted on August 28, 2018 by lmharnisch

  Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. The origins of Latino gangs are not well-documented in The Times, but the case of Earl D. Bush, 911 Diamond St., appears to be the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Crime and Courts, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Aug. 25, 1947: Police Investigate Death of Doctor’

Posted on August 25, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. A doctor and a mysterious death—of course, Dr. Manuel de J. Castillo came under suspicion, although I suspect it was only briefly—in the Black Dahlia case. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Medicine | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Aug. 25, 1907: Death at the Lummis House Over a Garden Hose

Posted on August 25, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Aug. 25, 1907 Los Angeles A 20-year-old Pueblo Indian from New Mexico was shot to death at the home of City Librarian Charles F. Lummis in a fight with a houseguest that … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Streetcars | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Oklahoma’s Executioner: Rich Owens

Posted on August 22, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post that originally appeared in 2006. Ray Parr’s story about Rich Owens, the longtime executioner at McAlester State Penitentiary, has been knocking around my home office for ages, passed along by a former co-worker many … Continue reading →

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Aug. 12-13, 1907: Bucket of Blood Is a Den of Drunken Debauchery

Posted on August 13, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Aug. 12-13, 1907 Los Angeles Despite the name Bismarck Cafe, police call the saloon at Main and Winston Streets the Bucket of Blood because it’s a continual source of crime and violence. … Continue reading →

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Aug. 7, 1907: Too Late for Wife to Repent Marriage to Abusive Husband, Judge Rules

Posted on August 7, 2018 by lmharnisch

  Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Aug. 7, 1907 Los Angeles He swore at her and told her to go to hell. He rarely worked and only helped her run their boarding house when he felt like … Continue reading →

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Aug. 6, 1947: Asian Americans Sue Over Deed Restrictions Forcing Them Out of White Neighborhoods

Posted on August 6, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Petitions were filed in the Supreme Court of California here yesterday seeking to restrain the Superior Court from hearing injunction suits against two American-Orientals to restrain … Continue reading →

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Aug. 5, 1947: Hitchhiking Couple Confess to ‘Kiss of Death’ Murder

Posted on August 5, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. “Last Wednesday, I killed a man.” Joseph stood tall for the news photographers, with his wife, Lois, by his side, a shock of hair swept down … Continue reading →

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Black L.A. 1947: Elizabeth Ingalls to Pay Dora Jones $6,000 in Slavery Case; Sentenced to Fine and Probation

Posted on August 2, 2018 by lmharnisch

July 31, 1947: The Sentinel’s front page is full of news: Elizabeth Ingalls is sentenced in the San Diego slavery case to a fine of $2,500, three years probation and a $6,000 payment to Dora Jones. The Sentinel also reports … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, San Diego | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Aug. 2, 1947: Los Angeles County Clerk Refuses Marriage License for Interracial Couple

Posted on August 2, 2018 by lmharnisch

  Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Her name was Andrea and she was 24. His name was Sylvester and he was 26, a World War II veteran working at Lockheed. And … Continue reading →

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July 31, 1907: After a Day at the Beach, Beer, a Fight and Gunshots

Posted on July 31, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. July 31, 1907 Los Angeles After a delay due to illness, newsboy Charles “Winnipeg” Wilson took the stand to testify against Evelyn Ferguson, who is accused of shooting him because he was … Continue reading →

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June 16, 1964: 2 Dead in Bizarre Drowning, Overdose; ‘All Three Had Been Drinking Heavily’

Posted on July 29, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. It was a follow-up to a post by Kim Cooper. Let’s suppose you and your sister came home from a hard day and found your husband … Continue reading →

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July 28, 1907: L.A. Seeks to Clear Books of Old Laws on Bear Baiting, Quail Hunting by Streetcar Conductors

Posted on July 28, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. July 28, 1907 Los Angeles City officials, hampered by a bramble bush of old and unenforced laws, have appointed deputy prosecutor Eddie to prune back outdated and unnecessary regulations from the early … Continue reading →

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Black L.A. 1947: Elizabeth Ingalls Convicted in San Diego Slavery Case; Jury Deadlocks on Husband’s Guilt

Posted on July 27, 2018 by lmharnisch

July 24, 1947: The Sentinel reports that Elizabeth Ingalls was convicted on charges of holding Dora Jones in slavery. Sentencing was set for July 29. The jury deadlocked on charges against her husband, Albert. The Sentinel said that Dora Jones … Continue reading →

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July 27, 1947: Chinese Author Visits Dr. George Hodel,

Posted on July 27, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. “Knowledge is desirable, but learning is pleasure.” That is one of the sayings of Author Helena Kuo, who came a long way from her native China … Continue reading →

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Black L.A. 1947: Honor Student Vesta Belle Sapenter Strangled; Suspect Released

Posted on July 26, 2018 by lmharnisch

5320 Holmes Ave., in the Pueblo Del Rio housing project, via Google Street View.   July 24, 1947: The Sentinel reports that Benjamin Allen, 16, of 5217 McGarry St., is being held in the death of Vesta Belle Sapenter. Benjamin … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

July 26, 1947: Son Cleared of Killing Father During Attack on Mother

Posted on July 26, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. One night in July, Bernard Robert Monday Jr. finally had enough. The violence had been going on at least a decade, maybe longer. In 1937, when … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

July 24, 1947: Honor Student Vesta Belle Sapenter, 17, Strangled

Posted on July 24, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Her name was Vesta Belle and she was 17, an honor student at Jefferson High, a mile and a half from her home at 5320 Holmes … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Found on EBay: Justice for the McNamaras

Posted on July 23, 2018 by lmharnisch

A vendor on EBay has listed one of the buttons that was created by the AFL to protest the trial of the McNamara brothers in the 1910 bombing of the Los Angeles Times. According to some accounts (possibly true, possibly … Continue reading →

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