Category Archives: Crime and Courts

Black Dahlia: Steve Hodel, James Ellroy and EBay: Outbid!

Posted on September 6, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Gosh, I upped my bid on James Ellroy’s copies of “Black Dahlia Avenger” (the hardback and paperback) but was outbid. Darn. I’m going to do my best to get them over $25, … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: More Steve Hodel, James Ellroy and EBay

Posted on September 5, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. I couldn’t stand the thought of James Ellroy’s copies of “Black Dahlia Avenger” going for so little on EBay. After all, don’t people know the book has been optioned by New Line … Continue reading →

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Sept. 5, 1907: Young Cecil Moore Explores L.A., One Step Ahead of the Law

Posted on September 5, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Sept. 5, 1907 Los Angeles Poor old Mrs. Moore was ill, so instead of paying the grocer his monthly bill, she put a $10 gold piece in an envelope and told her … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia Avenger: From Steve Hodel to James Ellroy to EBay

Posted on September 4, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. My goodness, one never knows what will turn up on Ebay. This morning I found a copy of “Black Dahlia Avenger” inscribed by Steve Hodel to James Ellroy, who wrote the introduction … Continue reading →

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September 1, 1947: 1,000 World War II Veterans Now in LAPD Uniforms

Posted on September 1, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. They are building a new, young, military Police Department for Los Angeles these days with the men who helped to win the war on foreign battlefields … Continue reading →

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Aug. 31, 1907: The Year in Liquor — 20 Gallons of Beer for Every Man, Woman and Child in U.S.

Posted on August 31, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Aug. 31, 1907 Los Angeles The ugly statistics should dishearten even the most ardent temperance worker. According to federal tax data for the last fiscal year, distillers produced 20 gallons of beer … Continue reading →

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Aug. 29, 1947: Headless Skeleton Found in Burlap Sack in Chantry Flats

Posted on August 29, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. The discovery by camper John Beener of 3743 E. 7th St. only became more puzzling. Investigation revealed that the deceased, an elderly woman about 5-foot-2, had … Continue reading →

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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 →

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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 →

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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 →

Posted in 1964, Crime and Courts, LAPD | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments