Category Archives: Crime and Courts

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 →

Posted in 1907, Civil War, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Food and Drink, LAPD, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged #Civil War, 1907, alcohol, crime and courts, food and drink, jails, Sawtelle, veterans | Comments Off

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 →

Posted in #courts, 1957, 1958, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged 1957, Maria Ridulph, Sycamore, unsolved killings | Comments Off

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 →

Posted in 1947, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide | Tagged 1947, Cold Cases, film, Georgette Bauerdorf, hollywood, homicide | Comments Off

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 →

Posted in 1907, African Americans, Crime and Courts | Tagged 1907, African Americans, lynching, Oklahoma | Comments Off

Black Dahlia: December 23, 1949 — Jury Finds Dr. George Hodel Not Guilty of Molesting Tamar Hodel

Posted on December 23, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 23, 1949: A jury of eight women and four men finds Dr. George Hodel not guilty of molesting his daughter Tamar. Continue reading →

Posted in 1949, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, LAPD | Tagged 1949, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, crime and courts, George Hodel, lapd, Tamar Hodel | Comments Off

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

Posted on December 23, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 23, 1947: 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 →

Posted in 1947, Crime and Courts | Tagged #Christmas, 1947, child welfare, crime and courts | Comments Off

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

Posted on December 21, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 21, 1907: 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 room at 831 S. Hope. “While other girls were getting pretty things and preparing for a pleasant Christmas, she was shut up in a cheerless room,” The Times said. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Crime and Courts, LAPD | Tagged 1907, crime and courts, lapd | Comments Off

December 19, 1907: No, None of It Was His Fault

Posted on December 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 19, 1907: George White isn’t to blame for robbing the Hot Rivet Saloon. He just fell in with the wrong man. And beating up the Army lieutenant, that wasn’t his fault, either. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Photography | Tagged 1907, Army, crime and courts, robbery | Comments Off

December 18, 1907: County Coroner Dead Drunk at Bordello

Posted on December 18, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 18, 1907: 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 St. Hastings called police, who arrested Lanterman. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1908, 1909, City Hall, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Photography | Tagged 1907, abortions, Los Angeles County coroner's office, Roy S. Lanterman, sex work | Comments Off

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

Posted on December 17, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 17, 1947: A recipe for an “unusual” fruitcake. 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 Madam.” The book, by Serge G. Wolsey, is now available at the Los Angeles Public Library. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Books and Authors, Comics, Crime and Courts, Food and Drink, Frightening Food From the 1940s | Tagged 10 eggs, 1947, 4 cups flour, crime and courts, food and drink, Frightening Food From the 1940s, fruitcake, obscenity | Comments Off

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

Posted on December 16, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 16, 1947: A terrible story of child abuse. A woman sentenced to 10 years for killing her 2-year-old girl gives birth to a son in the jail ward of county hospital. The judge takes the baby boy from the mother, saying: ‘You shall never see this baby again!’ Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Comics, Crime and Courts, LAPD | Tagged 1947, child abuse, crime and courts, lapd | Comments Off

December 15, 1941: Soldier Kills Civilian in Tragedy at Airport Checkpoint

Posted on December 15, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 15, 1941: Soldiers stop motorists on Sepulveda Boulevard to strip off blue cellophane illegally put over the headlights in the new wartime blackout. Dr. Harry Brandel, assuming the soldiers were hitchhiking, ignored the order to stop and Private Eugene I. Tuttle, 19, fired what he said was a warning shot. Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Jimmie Fidler, World War II | Tagged #Milton Caniff, #Yes, Virginia | 3 Comments

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

Posted on December 12, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 12, 1907: Goldfield, Nev.—J. Holtman Buck, editor of the Western Nevada Miner in Mina, Nev., shot Francis L. Burton to death during a fight over a scathing editorial in which Buck said Burton should be run out of town. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Crime and Courts | Tagged 1907, crime and courts, Newspapers | Comments Off

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

Posted on December 9, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 9, 1907: 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 that Bowen, who is Black, blames on racism. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Crime and Courts, Fires, LAPD, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged 1907, African Americans, Fire Department, lapd, racism | Comments Off

December 5, 1907: Man Accused of Scheme in Selling Daughter to Gypsies

Posted on December 5, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 5, 1907: A Los Angeles couple have a novel way of making money: Antonio Thompson and his wife sell their daughter Marie to the Gypsies, then go to court to get her back. According to statements taken in St. Louis, Marie has been sold off several times as a Gypsy princess. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Crime and Courts, LAPD | Tagged #slavery, 1907, crime and courts, Gypsies | Comments Off

December 4, 1911: Man Arrested for ‘Masquerading in Female Attire’

Posted on December 4, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 4, 1911: Clarence Westfall, 22, is arrested for masquerading in female attire when the boat from San Diego docks in San Pedro. Continue reading →

Posted in 1908, 1911, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Fashions, LAPD, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Streetcars | Tagged #LGBT, 1911, crime and courts, crossdressing | Comments Off

December 4, 1907: Shooting on Baldwin Ranch Raises Tensions Between Chinese, Latino Workers

Posted on December 4, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 4, 1907: Shooting on Lucky Baldwin’s ranch raises tensions between Chinese and Latino workers. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1914, Crime and Courts, Downtown | Tagged 1907, Arcadia, Chinese Americans, Latinos, Lucky Baldwin | Comments Off

December 3, 1907: Gunman Kills LAPD Officer; Dies in Slow Agony Awaiting the Gallows

Posted on December 3, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 3,1907: Daniel Meskil kills LAPD Officer Patrick Lyons, who was trying to arrest Meskil and his companion, Rolla Robe. Meskil was sentenced to be hanged at San Quentin, but died of injuries from jumping off a roof during an escape attempt. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged 1907, crime and courts, Daniel Meskil, End of Watch, lapd, Patrick Lyons, Rolla Robe | Comments Off

December 2, 1958: Model stabbed, dumped off mountain highway

Posted on December 2, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 2, 1958: Model Charlotte Trosper is found stabbed to death in a clump of bushes off Angeles Crest Highway. Boyfriend Gerald Feasby was convicted in the killing. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1958, Courts, Crime and Courts, Front Pages, Homicide | Comments Off

November 30, 1907: Witness Against Mexican Revolutionaries Poisoned!

Posted on November 30, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 30, 1907: A closely guarded witness in the trial of the Mexican revolutionaries goes into convulsions after being allowed to have lunch at a local cafe. Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Streetcars | Tagged 1907, Antonio Villareal, L. Gutierrez De Lara, Librado Rivera, Mexican Revolution, Ricardo Flores Magon | Comments Off