Category Archives: Homicide

January 24, 1959: Paul Coates — Confidential File

Posted on January 24, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 24, 1959: Paul Coates has the story about the fight over the body of Carl “Alfalfa” Switzer between his parents and his ex-wife. In the meantime, Switzer’s body remains in the morgue. Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Paul Coates, Television | Leave a comment

January 20, 1947: ‘Good Night. Sleep Peacefully With Compliments of Jacks’

Posted on January 20, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 20, 1947: Florabel Muir recounts the murder scene of Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel. TW: graphic contents. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged 1947, Books and Authors, crime and courts, Florabel Muir, homicide | Leave a comment

Black Dahlia: Trim Your Roses on January 15 to Remember Elizabeth Short

Posted on January 15, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 15: Today is the anniversary of Elizabeth Short’s death. As is the custom, the Daily Mirror will be dark. Trim your roses in her memory. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged . prune your roses, 1947, Black Dahlia, crime and courts, homicide, lapd | Comments Off

January 14, 1959: Paul Coates — Confidential File

Posted on January 14, 2026 by lmharnisch

January 14, 1959: Paul Coates has an update on three boys, the oldest age 10, who killed their father as he slept. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1959, Columnists, Homicide, Paul Coates | Comments Off

Black Dahlia and … Zodiac?? Ask Me Anything, January 2026

Posted on January 6, 2026 by lmharnisch

This month’s Ask Me Anything was devoted to debunking alleged claims (by an “amateur code breaker”) that the Black Dahlia and Zodiac murders were by the same killer. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged Alex Baber, Ask Me Anything, Black Dahlia, Elizabeth Short, lapd, Marvin Margolis, Michael Connelly | 1 Comment

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 29, 1938: Bookie shot to death in Hollywood

Posted on December 29, 2025 by lmharnisch

By the end of 1938, Weldon sensed that he was a marked man and that death was not far off. He could have stayed out of Los Angeles and maybe he would have lived–at least for a while. But he … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, @news, City Hall, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD | 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 22, 1938: Jealous husband kills wife with ax

Posted on December 22, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 22, 1938: Virgilio Spinelli kills his wife, Rose, because she was going to run off with another man. He was convicted and executed in the gas chamber May 17, 1940. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1938, Front Pages, Homicide, LAPD | 2 Comments

George Hodel: Ask Me Anything, December 2025

Posted on December 20, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 20, 2025: This month’s Ask Me Anything on George Hodel and Steve Hodel, announcing the Black Dahlia Book Club, coming in January, that will take a long look back at the books and articles written about the Black Dahlia case. Continue reading →

Posted in Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged Ask Me Anything, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Elizabeth Short, homicide, lapd | 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

December 17, 1959: Paul V. Coates – Confidential File

Posted on December 17, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 17, 1959: Paul Coates looks at the estimated 3,000 members of the U.S. Armed Forces who are missing in the Korean War. Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Front Pages, Homicide, Paul Coates, Richard Nixon | 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 11, 1957: Heroic dog shot

Posted on December 11, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 11, 1957: A gunman shoots a dog during the robbery of a liquor store. After a previous holdup, the clerk kept a .45 under the counter and taught his dog to attack. In the next holdup, the robber fatally wounded the clerk. The suspects? Two teenagers, one of them a ‘good boy’ who didn’t need the money. Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, Homicide, Robberies | Tagged 1957, homicide, juvenile crime, Norwalk, Robberies | Comments Off

December 11, 1938: Breakfast of death; voodoo cult killings

Posted on December 11, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 11, 1938: A family’s ‘Breakfast of Death’; Voodoo Killer Suspect Seized; Man Dressed as Woman Found Hanging From Tree Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1938, Food and Drink, Front Pages, Homicide, LAPD | 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

Black Dahlia: Ask Me Anything, December 2025

Posted on December 2, 2025 by lmharnisch

This month’s Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia case includes a progress report on Heaven Is HERE! and a brief introduction to the Black Dahlia case. Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged Ask Me Anything, Black Dahlia, Eli Frankel, Elizabeth Short, lapd | Comments Off

December 1, 1938: California prepares to execute two killers at San Quentin

Posted on December 1, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 1, 1938: California prepares to use the new gas chamber for two executions rather than the previous method of hanging. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1938, @news, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Politics, Religion, Sports | Comments Off

November 30, 1958: Former deputy strangles wife, kills himself as police close in

Posted on November 30, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 30, 1958: A former deputy strangles his wife and kills himself. A pitch-perfect story from 1958. Continue reading →

Posted in 1958, Front Pages, Homicide, Suicide | Comments Off