Category Archives: Crime and Courts

Barbara Graham Defense Wins Delay After Prosecution Bombshell

Posted on August 30, 2013 by lmharnisch

Aug. 30, 1953: Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charles W. Fricke grants attorneys for Barbara Graham a slight delay in opening their defense after the prosecution closes with a “bombshell”: A transcript of a recorded conversation between Graham and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1953, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Paul Coates | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Parents Sue Doctor Who Said Baby Girl Was a Boy!

Posted on August 29, 2013 by lmharnisch

Aug. 29, 1943: The family of Marine Cpl. Carroll E. Trego, a radio operator captured in the fall of Wake Island, receives a letter written from a prisoner of war camp in Shanghai. Dr. John M. Andrews is being sued … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Medicine, Streetcars, Transportation, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

War Hero Kills Rich Widow in Botched Burglary

Posted on August 23, 2013 by lmharnisch

Grant Edward Anderson was a war hero, a burglar and a killer. A paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne, Anderson served 19 months overseas, received two Purple Hearts,  and was awarded the Bronze Star for dragging four wounded men to safety … Continue reading →

Posted in 1963, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Rocket Builder Steals Truckload of Equipment From Caltech

Posted on August 22, 2013 by lmharnisch

Aug. 22, 1953: Fred Frank Wildemuth kills his wife because he didn’t want her to catch carbon monoxide poisoning from him. “I, the Jury” in 3-D at the Paramount theaters in Hollywood and downtown. A brilliant — and unidentified — … Continue reading →

Posted in 1953, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Music, Suicide | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

L.A. French Benevolent Society Celebrates Founding in 1859

Posted on August 20, 2013 by lmharnisch

The entire Aug. 15, 1863, issue of the Los Angeles Star, scanned from a copy at the Huntington, is available from USC (in color) or the California Digital Newspaper Collection (black and white). Aug. 15, 1863: Another installment of the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1859, 1863, African Americans, City Hall, Civil War, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on L.A. French Benevolent Society Celebrates Founding in 1859

Man Held in Killing of Ex-Marine — Part 2

Posted on August 14, 2013 by lmharnisch

As strange as the tale of Michael Timothy Cavanaugh had been, the case became even more bizarre once he was arrested. After several days of denying that he knew ex-Marine Ralph Welch, even though he was driving Welch’s car and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1953, 1956, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Rose Parade Encounter Leads to Killing of Arcadia Woman

Posted on August 9, 2013 by lmharnisch

Aug. 9, 1963: “In Saigon, 400 miles to the south, police geared for trouble as a young, unidentified monk announced plans to burn himself to death in the continuing Buddhist struggle for what they consider their civil rights and religious … Continue reading →

Posted in 1963, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Religion, Vietnam | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Millennial Moment: Prison Escapee Slaughters Family

Posted on August 2, 2013 by lmharnisch

Aug. 2, 1983: Terry Atkinson reviews the L.A. debut of the Eurythmics at the Palace, saying: “Move over, Chrissie Hynde and Martha Davis, and make room for Annie Lennox.” Kevin Cooper is arraigned in an attack that killed four people … Continue reading →

Posted in 1983, Comics, Crime and Courts, Millennial Moments, Music, Sports | 1 Comment

Tomahawk Murder: ‘It Must Have Been the Heat’

Posted on July 31, 2013 by lmharnisch

July 31, 1943: Los Angeles — and that is Los Angeles before air conditioning — bakes in a heat wave, temperatures so hot that it’s the reason for murder. “I had a sudden impulse; it must have been the heat,” … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, San Fernando Valley, Suicide, Theaters | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Preaching at the Court House

Posted on July 30, 2013 by lmharnisch

USC has taken its collection of the Los Angeles Star offline for indexing. Here’s a backup copy from the California Digital Newspaper Collection. July 25, 1863: A staunchly anti-Republican paper, the Star endorses the Democratic ticket, including John G. Downey … Continue reading →

Posted in 1863, Crime and Courts, Obituaries, Politics, Religion | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Black Doctor in Divorce Case Says Wife Tried to ‘Masquerade’ as White

Posted on July 23, 2013 by lmharnisch

July 23, 1923: The centennial of the Monroe Doctrine is celebrated at Exposition Park in the American Historical Revue and Motion Picture Exposition.. The U.S. Mint in San Francisco issued commemorative half dollars for the occasion. The Times says: “One … Continue reading →

Posted in 1823, 1923, African Americans, Art & Artists, Broadway, Comics, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Fires, Hill Street, Hollywood, Theaters | Tagged , , , , | 5 Comments

Vice Cop Kills Robber in Botched Holdup at the Roost

Posted on July 9, 2013 by lmharnisch

June 26, 1953: A big, screamer headline in The Times. Glenn Elbert Kingsbury, shot in the chest by an LAPD vice officer, staggered backward into the Roost Cafe, which he had just robbed, and collapsed on the floor, moaning: “Oh … Continue reading →

Posted in 1937, 1953, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Nightclubs | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Los Angeles Celebrates the Fourth of July With Pic-Nics and Fire-Works

Posted on July 4, 2013 by lmharnisch

The complete July 4, 1863, issue of the Los Angeles Star is available from USC, which scanned  a copy at the Huntington. July 4, 1863: Los Angeles plans to celebrate the Fourth of July with a 34-gun salute and a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1863, Crime and Courts, San Francisco | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Los Angeles Celebrates the Fourth of July With Pic-Nics and Fire-Works

Who Was California’s First Woman Judge? A Puzzlement

Posted on April 17, 2013 by lmharnisch

April 17, 1913: Clara Jess, described as the first woman in California to be appointed as a judge, resigns after a year. She was the recorder of Daly City and functioned like a justice of the peace, according to an … Continue reading →

Posted in 1913, Crime and Courts, Immigration | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Human Fly Flees Hall of Justice

Posted on April 4, 2013 by lmharnisch

April 4, 1943: Col. Darryl F. Zanuck comes under criticism for trying to return to civilian life. (Zanuck said there wasn’t much chance that he would make more movies of combat.) Sen. Harry Truman (D-Mo.) of the Senate War Program … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Broadway, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Immigration, World War II | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Millennial Moment: Officer Kills Boy, 5, Holding Toy Gun

Posted on March 21, 2013 by lmharnisch

March 3, 1983: Patrick Andrew Mason was too sick to go to school, and his mother Patricia Ridge, 29, had no one to care for him while she went to her job charging car batteries at a Sears store in … Continue reading →

Posted in 1983, Crime and Courts, Millennial Moments | Tagged , , | 14 Comments

Folsom Prison Break 1893 – Found on EBay

Posted on March 12, 2013 by lmharnisch

A photo showing the guns and individuals involved in an unsuccessful escape attempt at Folsom prison in June 1893 has been listed on EBay. The photo is listed as Buy It Now for $699. As with anything on EBay, an … Continue reading →

Posted in 1893, Crime and Courts, Found on EBay, Photography | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Black Dahlia: The Non-Smoking Gun – George Hodel Files Part 31

Posted on March 9, 2013 by lmharnisch

Sounds like Hodel is trying to pull a fast one of some kind!!!!! Still playing Chinese music — music worse than Hodel’s music!!! March 20, 1950: Discussions of books and poetry!! Going to see Burrel Ives (Burl Ives) at UCLA!!! … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 1950, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Black Dahlia: The Non-Smoking Gun – George Hodel Files Part 11

Posted on February 17, 2013 by lmharnisch

Thursday I may be going to Santa Barbara!!! And here is Part 11 of the Dr. George “Evil Genius” Hodel transcripts for Feb. 28, 1950. The George Hodel files Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 1950, Architecture, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Black Dahlia: The Non-Smoking Gun – George Hodel Files Part 6

Posted on February 12, 2013 by lmharnisch

Hodel phoned someone asked for $1,000.00 cash advance — said he was short of ready cash! I guess being a maniacal killer doesn’t pay very well. (Speaking of which, how can Dexter Morgan afford a boat, a nanny and a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 1950, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Black Dahlia: The Non-Smoking Gun – George Hodel Files Part 6