Category Archives: Crime and Courts

June 16, 1947: LAPD Officers Hidden in Bar Kill Watchman Stealing Liquor

Posted on June 16, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. This was a follow-up to Kim Cooper’s original post on Wanzy Patterson, an unfortunate watchman who was helping himself to liquor while guarding a bar. Two … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Crime and Courts, Food and Drink, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

June 16, 1907: Lawyer Edith Foulkes Handles Her Own Divorce Case

Posted on June 16, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 16, 1907 Los Angeles Despite the old saying—a lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client—Edith Foulkes is a smart woman, at least in the courtroom. She can’t make … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Crime and Courts, Fashions, Homicide, LAPD, Streetcars | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on June 16, 1907: Lawyer Edith Foulkes Handles Her Own Divorce Case

June 15, 2005: Remembering UCLA Professor Eric Monkkonen

Posted on June 15, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. The Times reports the death of UCLA professor Eric Monkkonen, who spent years studying murder in the U.S. and focused on Los Angeles. Among his many … Continue reading →

Posted in 2006, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Obituaries | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on June 15, 2005: Remembering UCLA Professor Eric Monkkonen

‘Little Shoes’: An Author’s Journey of Discovery in Unlocking a Family Tragedy From 1930s L.A.

Posted on June 13, 2018 by lmharnisch

A family’s history is tricky even in the best of circumstances; the past may be sanitized and rewritten for consumption by the next generation. When tragedy is involved, family stories become murky or are simply locked away. So it was … Continue reading →

Posted in 1937, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Black Dahlia: Who Is This Man?

Posted on June 13, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. I recently obtained an original copy of The Times’ March 28, 1971, story “Farewell, My Black Dahlia,” which includes the account of the “Boy on the Bicycle.” Here’s a color picture of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Donald Wolfe, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Black L.A. 1947: The Case of Godwin ‘Buddy’ Bush, Who Escaped From a Lynch Mob

Posted on June 12, 2018 by lmharnisch

June 12, 1947: Juanita Washington Goodman’s columns were a weekly feature in the Sentinel. In this one, she’s writes about Godwin/Goodwin “Buddy” Bush, who escaped from a mob that had taken him from the Jackson, N.C., jail May 23, 1947. … Continue reading →

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

June 12, 1907: Woman Dies After Abortion, but Leaves Statement Against Doctor

Posted on June 12, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 12, 1907 Los Angeles At 19, Florence Grover was old enough to be in love and living with a man, and at 19, she was old enough to become a mother. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Abortion, Black Dahlia, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Medicine, Streetcars | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

June 9, 1907: Woman’s Bizarre Death Exposes a Family’s Curse

Posted on June 9, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 9, 1907 Los Angeles Olga Miller was a comely young thing who worked at the Hotel Rosslyn and was considered quite attractive despite the scar on her temple from shooting herself … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Crime and Courts, Homicide, Streetcars | Tagged , , | Comments Off on June 9, 1907: Woman’s Bizarre Death Exposes a Family’s Curse

Shout Out

Posted on June 7, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. General Motors [ISP Redacted] Windows 2000? Upgrade! The Netherlands [ISP Redacted] E! Entertainment [ISP Redacted] “E! Mysteries and Scandals,” my first TV interview, by the guy who did “Real Chases of the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 2006, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Donald Wolfe, History, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Comments Off on Shout Out

June 6, 1947: American POW Recognizes Sadistic Japanese Prison Camp Guard in L.A. Store

Posted on June 6, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. On D-Day plus three years, Los Angeles was torn between the past and the future. And in one instance, the past and its aftermath were the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Crime and Courts, World War II | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

June 6, 1907: Miner Sues Tenderfoot Prospector for Shooting Pet Horse

Posted on June 6, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 6, 1907 San Bernardino The miners of the Silver Lake camp out in San Bernardino didn’t take the tenderfoot too seriously. His name was Fred Myton and he presented himself as … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Animals, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Streetcars | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on June 6, 1907: Miner Sues Tenderfoot Prospector for Shooting Pet Horse

June 2, 1947: Erwin Walker Pleads Insanity in ‘He Walked by Night’ Killing of CHP Officer

Posted on June 2, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. The Erwin Walker case is the crossroads of several important stories. The victim was Loren Roosevelt, fired in the 1930s as Arcadia’s police chief in an … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on June 2, 1947: Erwin Walker Pleads Insanity in ‘He Walked by Night’ Killing of CHP Officer

June 1, 1907: Former L.A. Councilman Charged With Running Bordello

Posted on June 1, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 1, 1907 Los Angeles Voir dire, in which lawyers question prospective jurors, is a rough and tumble affair, especially when the case involves prostitution. The matter at hand involves Tom Savage, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, City Hall, Crime and Courts, Streetcars | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on June 1, 1907: Former L.A. Councilman Charged With Running Bordello

May 30, 1907: Hop Chung, Chinese Laundryman, Presses Zoning Case in Court

Posted on May 31, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. May 30, 1907 Los Angeles Hop Chung is in trouble again. Chung, it seems, is no stranger to the legal system, with a police record going back to 1883. Ten years later, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, City Hall, Crime and Courts, Streetcars | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Black L.A. 1947: NAACP to Protest Not-Guilty Verdicts in South Carolina Lynching

Posted on May 30, 2018 by lmharnisch

May 29, 1947: You may recall that the Los Angeles Times devoted two paragraphs on Page 6 to the acquittal of 28 men in the lynching of Willie Earle. In contrast to the disinterest of The Times, the Sentinel published … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Black L.A. 1947: NAACP to Protest Not-Guilty Verdicts in South Carolina Lynching

May 28, 1947: Billie Holiday Sentenced to Prison on Drug Charge

Posted on May 28, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. On June 17, while Holiday was in prison, the film “New Orleans” opened in Los Angeles at the four Music Hall theaters: 8th and Broadway downtown; … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Crime and Courts, Film, Music | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on May 28, 1947: Billie Holiday Sentenced to Prison on Drug Charge

May 26, 1947: Otto Parzyjegla and the Killing of Alfred Haij

Posted on May 26, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. As tragic as it is, the Otto Parzyjegla case is wonderful example of the distinct contrasts between the murder of Alfred Haij and Elizabeth Short, and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on May 26, 1947: Otto Parzyjegla and the Killing of Alfred Haij

May 24, 1947: Where Is the Overell House?

Posted on May 24, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Of course, all through this period is the sensational case of Bud Gollum and Louise Overell, who were accused of killing her wealthy parents by blowing … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Architecture, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

May 21, 1947: South Carolina Jury Acquits 28 in Lynching

Posted on May 21, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. For the record An earlier headline on this post incorrectly reported the length of the jury’s deliberations. It was five hours and 15 minutes, not 15 … Continue reading →

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

May 21, 1907: J.G. Fleenor ‘Barefoot Burglar’ Talks!

Posted on May 21, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. In a jailhouse interview before he was taken to San Quentin, James G. Fleenor, the barefoot burglar, set the record straight on his escapes, his relationship with a white woman and how … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Real Estate, Streetcars | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment