Category Archives: Crime and Courts

The Chinese Massacre: October 24, 1871 — Part 4

Posted on October 24, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 24, 1871: Part 4 of a series on the Chinese Massacre. Continue reading →

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The Chinese Massacre: October 24, 1871 — Part 3

Posted on October 24, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 24, 1871: Part 3 of a series on the Chinese Massacre. Continue reading →

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The Chinese Massacre: October 24, 1871 – Part 2

Posted on October 24, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 24, 1871: Part 2 of a series on the Chinese Massacre. Continue reading →

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The Chinese Massacre: October 24, 1871 — Part 1

Posted on October 24, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 24, 1871: Part 1 of a series on the Chinese Massacre. Continue reading →

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October 19, 1907: Toku, Abandoned by Man Who Claimed to Be Wealthy, Denied a Divorce

Posted on October 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 19, 1907: Visiting Japan, K. Tsuneda met a young woman named Toku. Claiming that he was a wealthy Stanford student, Tsuneda married Toku and they came to the U.S. so his new wife could get an American education. She learned that Tsuneda wasn’t rich or a Stanford student. Continue reading →

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October 18, 1947: S.S. General Saw Mass Executions as ‘Necessary to Win War’

Posted on October 18, 2025 by lmharnisch

NEURNBERG, Oct. 17 (A.P.)—S.S. Gen. Erich Naumann, whose commandos killed thousands of Jewish men, women and children on the eastern front, told a war crimes court today he saw nothing wrong with that. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Crime and Courts, World War II | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

October 18, 1943: Errol Flynn Named in Paternity Suit

Posted on October 18, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 18, 1943: Shirley Hassau charges that Errol Flynn is the father of her 3-year-old daughter. Her lawsuits were dismissed in 1951. Continue reading →

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October 16, 1947: LAPD Issues Guns to Policewomen!

Posted on October 16, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 16, 1947: The LAPD changes the uniform for policewomen and issues them guns — to be fashionably carried in a shoulder-slung black purse, also convenient for carrying handcuffs. Continue reading →

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October 16, 1907: Man With Three Wives Believes in Marriage but Not Divorce

Posted on October 16, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 16, 1907: George S. Best is a great believer in marriage and strongly opposes divorce, which is why he has three of one and none of the other. Continue reading →

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October 13, 1907: 2 Die in Tong War

Posted on October 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 13, 1907: Gunmen imported from out of town by the Hop Sing Tong entered the tailor shop of Lem Sing at 806 Juan St. in Chinatown and under the pretense of having some clothing made, wounded him and killed Wong Goon Kor. Continue reading →

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October 12, 1947: Father Charged With Beating Son, 2, for Talking During Movie

Posted on October 12, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 12, 1947: Sheppard W. King III is jailed on charges of child abuse after hitting his 2-year-old son in the lobby of the Pantages because the boy talked during the show. Continue reading →

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October 11, 1947: Jury Overturns Dog Lover’s Will Leaving Fortune to 2 Irish Setters

Posted on October 11, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 11, 1947: Pat and Gunner, 6-year-old Irish setters who were left a $30,000 estate by their late master, Carleton R. Bainbridge, retired attorney, yesterday were disinherited by a jury of eight men and four women. Continue reading →

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October 9. 1907: Trellis, The Confidence Woman

Posted on October 9, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 9, 1907: She was known as Trellis C. Harris or Trellis Blessing—or Edna Hall. But her method was always the same. She would commit some theft, then fake an epileptic fit, spitting up blood from a capsule hidden in her mouth. Continue reading →

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October 5, 1947: Santa Monica Police Link Killing of Teenage Girl to Earlier Stabbing of Teenage Girl

Posted on October 5, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 5, 1947: Police link the stabbings of Barbara Jean Morse and Lillian Dominguez, as well as a third attack. Continue reading →

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October 3, 1947: Full House – Burglar Slips In on Mystery Writer’s Poker Game

Posted on October 3, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 3, 1947: Reddest face in town yesterday belonged to Charles Bennett, writer of screen mysteries in which the brilliant detective always catches the crook. While he had a few friends in for a card game, a burglar crawled through a window and stole his wife’s purse and a pair of earrings. Continue reading →

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October 2, 1907: Patient Dies After Chiropractor Treats Spine With Mallet and Drill

Posted on October 2, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 2, 1907: Thomas H. Storey, an unlicensed chiropractor, has a patient lie with his head on one chair and his knees on another. Storey gets on the patient’s back so all his weight is resting on the spine. Next, he puts his knee in the small of the patient’s back. Then he twists the neck. Continue reading →

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October 1, 1910: ‘A Terrible Roar’

Posted on October 1, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 1, 1910: The Los Angeles Times Building is bombed, killing 20 employees. Continue reading →

Posted in 1910, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Fires, Labor, LAPD | Tagged , | 1 Comment

September 27, 1963: Married Couple Held in Blackmail of Single Woman for $27,000

Posted on September 27, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 27, 1963: I always thought blackmail was something that only occurred in old Perry Mason episodes, but here’s an actual case and it’s quite strange. It involves a married man blackmailing a single woman. No really!

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September 26, 1907: Disharmony for Conductor of Long Beach Band

Posted on September 26, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 26, 1907: Marco Vessella, conductor of Long Beach’s Royal Italian Band, has had nothing but trouble with Special Officer W.D. Cason after firing him from his job as ticket taker. On one September evening, Vessella and a young lady were waiting for a streetcar when Cason taunted him, calling him “spaghetti face” and “a longhaired dago.” Continue reading →

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September 22, 1907: No Divorce, Judge Says, You Knew He Was a Bellboy When You Married Him!

Posted on September 22, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 22, 1907: Judge tells businesswoman she can’t have a divorce from her younger, wastrel husband: “This defendant knew the plaintiff could not support her when she married him….She went into the investment and she must abide by it.” Continue reading →

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