Category Archives: Crime and Courts

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 →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged #Santa Monica, 1947, Barbara Jean Morse, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, homicide, Lillian Dominguez | Comments Off

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 →

Posted in 1947, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD | Tagged 1947, burglaries, comics, crime and courts, film, hollywood, lapd | Comments Off

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 →

Posted in 1907, 1909, Crime and Courts, Medicine | Tagged 1907, chiropractors, crime and courts | Comments Off

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 #Times bombing, 1910 | 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!

Posted in 1963, Animals, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood | Tagged 1963, blackmail, comics, crime and courts, mad elephant | Comments Off

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 →

Posted in 1907, Crime and Courts, Music, Pasadena | Tagged 1907, crime and courts. Marco Vessella, Long Beach, Music | Comments Off

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 →

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

Sept. 21, 1947: Los Angeles Leads U.S. in Burglaries, Ranks 3rd in Killings After New York, Chicago

Posted on September 21, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 21, 1947: Los Angeles leads American cities in burglaries in the first half of 1947. For the first half of 1947, Los Angeles ranked third in the U.S. in homicide at 63, following Chicago (95) and New York (168). Continue reading →

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

September 20, 1947: Marie ‘The Body’ McDonald Marries Karl the Shoe Man

Posted on September 20, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 20, 1947: The clip file of Marie “The Body” McDonald is like a Russian novel of nightclub brawls, Reno divorces, Las Vegas elopements, car crashes, run-ins with the police for drinking and drugs, lawsuits over broken contracts, suicide attempts, unexplained hospitalizations and every once in a while, a movie. And then there’s the kidnapping. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood | Tagged #Kidnapping, 1947, film, hollywood, Marie 'The Body' McDonald | Comments Off

September 19, 1907: Deadlier Than Male

Posted on September 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 19, 1907: “Hidden somewhere in Los Angeles is a daredevil Spanish woman who should be standing with the Mexican revolutionaries when they are arraigned here in the United States Court,” The Times says of Maria Talivera. Continue reading →

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

September 16, 1947: Stanley Beltz, Colorful Lockheed Test Pilot

Posted on September 16, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 16, 1947: Colorful Lockheed test pilot Stanley Beltz is in trouble again. Beltz died in 1955 testing a F-94B Starfire and his despondent fiancee killed herself less than two weeks later. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Aviation, Crime and Courts, Suicide | Tagged #Lockheed, 1947, Aviation, crime and courts, Quiet Birdmen, Stanley Beltz, Suicide | Comments Off

September 13, 1963: Woman’s Body Found Behind Wall in Highland Park Home

Posted on September 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 13, 1963: Joseph Lewis of Highland Park wasn’t terribly concerned when his wife, Anna, disappeared. It was only when her daughter returned from vacation that police were notified. Continue reading →

Posted in 1963, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Suicide | Tagged 1963, comics, Highland Park, homicide, lapd | 2 Comments

September 13, 1942: Retired Police Lt. George H. Williams, Badge 1, Dies at 84

Posted on September 13, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 13, 1942: Retired Lt. George H. Williams,who held LAPD retirement Badge 1, dies at the age of 84. He retired in 1912 after serving with the department for 23 years and was in charge of the detail that brought bodies out of the Times Building after the 1910 bombing. Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, LAPD, Obituaries, World War II | Tagged film, hollywood, lapd, movies, obituaries | Comments Off

September 12, 1944: Wife Stabs Venice Man to Death

Posted on September 12, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 12, 1944: September 12, 1944: Charles Holdren, 45, lived at 1515 Trolleyway, Venice, with his wife, Ellen, and daughters from a previous marriage. He worked as a fish cutter and after Charles and Ellen had spent Sunday drinking heavily, he decided to go to bed. Continue reading →

Posted in 1944, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide | Tagged 1944, comics, film, hollywood, homicide | Comments Off

September 11, 1943: Escaped Soldier Denies Attacking Former Screen Star

Posted on September 11, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 11, 1943: Pvt. George P. Rimke, who was convicted of “attacking” screen dancer and actress Lina Basquette (d. 1994), escapes from March Field, but surrenders to attorney S.S. Hahn. Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Art & Artists, Books and Authors, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Music, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged #courts, 1943, burlesque, film, Jimmy Dorsey, Tom Treanor, World War II | Comments Off

September 6, 1953: Barbara Graham Sobs During Son’s Visit to Jail

Posted on September 6, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 6, 1953: Barbara Graham, on trial in the Mabel Monahan killing, sobs “almost hysterically” as she holds her 18-month-old son, Tommy, during a visit at the Hall of Justice, The Times says. He was in the custody of his grandmother Anne Webb. Continue reading →

Posted in Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Film, Hill Street, Obituaries | Tagged #death penalty, 1953, Barbara Graham, comics, film, hollywood, obituaries | 1 Comment

LAPD Parker Center Cop Shop Files: Jane Doe, September 5, 1973

Posted on September 5, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 5, 1973: Sheriff Peter Pitchess is seeking help in identifying a Jane Doe, age 14-19, found in an open grave in Hacienda Heights. She was wearing these earrings.
Continue reading →

Posted in 1973, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Parker Center Cop Shop Files | Tagged #Sheriff's Department, 1973, Jane Doe, Parker Center Cop Shop Files | 1 Comment

September 3, 1943: Los Angeles Tattoo Shops

Posted on September 3, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 2, 1943: One of my favorite finds from the city archives — a visit to Los Angeles’ tattoo shops. Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Art & Artists, City Hall, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Libraries, Photography, World War II | Comments Off

September 3, 1941: Widow Accused of Killing Ft. MacArthur Officer

Posted on September 3, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 3, 1941: Maj. George Tucker of Ft. MacArthur, stabbed several times in the abdomen, says the knife slipped. His widow (yes, the wounds were fatal) says they had been drinking heavily and she didn’t remember exactly what happened. Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Lee Shippey, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged #homicide, #LAPD, 1941, World War II | Comments Off

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

Posted on September 1, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 1, 1947: More than 1,000 new LAPD officers are World War II veterans. “We’re going to have a young and strong Police Department,” Assistant Chief Joe Reed says. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Crime and Courts, LAPD, World War II | Tagged 1947, crime and courts, lapd, World War II | Comments Off