Category Archives: Homicide

Black Dahlia Avenger: From Steve Hodel to James Ellroy to EBay

Posted on September 4, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. My goodness, one never knows what will turn up on Ebay. This morning I found a copy of “Black Dahlia Avenger” inscribed by Steve Hodel to James Ellroy, who wrote the introduction … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Uncategorized | Tagged #EBay, #James Ellroy, 1947, 2006, black dahlia, lapd, Steve Hodel | Comments Off

Aug. 11, 1947: Two Men Found Shot to Death in Bizarre Mystery

Posted on August 11, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Someone found them shot to death on the floor of the Portal Motel at 2775 N. Cahuenga: two men completely clothed except for their shoes, each … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged 1947, cold cases, homicide, lapd | Comments Off

Aug. 5, 1947: Hitchhiking Couple Confess to ‘Kiss of Death’ Murder

Posted on August 5, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. “Last Wednesday, I killed a man.” Joseph stood tall for the news photographers, with his wife, Lois, by his side, a shock of hair swept down … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged 1947, crime and courts, homicide, Kiss of Death Murder | Comments Off

Black L.A. 1947: Elizabeth Ingalls to Pay Dora Jones $6,000 in Slavery Case; Sentenced to Fine and Probation

Posted on August 2, 2018 by lmharnisch

July 31, 1947: The Sentinel’s front page is full of news: Elizabeth Ingalls is sentenced in the San Diego slavery case to a fine of $2,500, three years probation and a $6,000 payment to Dora Jones. The Sentinel also reports … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, San Diego | Tagged #slavery, 1947, African Americans, crime and courts, Dora L. Jones, Elizabeth Ingalls, homicide, lapd, Los Angeles Sentinel, San Diego | 3 Comments

Black L.A. 1947: Honor Student Vesta Belle Sapenter Strangled; Suspect Released

Posted on July 26, 2018 by lmharnisch

5320 Holmes Ave., in the Pueblo Del Rio housing project, via Google Street View. July 24, 1947: The Sentinel reports that Benjamin Allen, 16, of 5217 McGarry St., is being held in the death of Vesta Belle Sapenter. Benjamin … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged 1947, African Americans, crime and courts, homicide, lapd, Los Angeles Sentinel | 3 Comments

July 26, 1947: Son Cleared of Killing Father During Attack on Mother

Posted on July 26, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. One night in July, Bernard Robert Monday Jr. finally had enough. The violence had been going on at least a decade, maybe longer. In 1937, when … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged 1947, crime and courts, domestic violence, homicide, lapd | 1 Comment

July 24, 1947: Honor Student Vesta Belle Sapenter, 17, Strangled

Posted on July 24, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Her name was Vesta Belle and she was 17, an honor student at Jefferson High, a mile and a half from her home at 5320 Holmes … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged 1947, African Americans, crime and courts, homicide, lapd | 5 Comments

Black L.A. 1947: Postal Worker Finds Body of Rosenda Mondragon

Posted on July 11, 2018 by lmharnisch

July 10, 1947: The Sentinel publishes a picture of Newton Joshua, who discovered the body of Rosenda Mondragon. I don’t recall ever seeing his name in coverage of the killing.

Posted in 1947, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged 1947, crime and courts, homicide, lapd, Rosenda Mondragon | Comments Off

July 9, 1947: Rosenda Mondragon Strangled With Stocking

Posted on July 10, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Here’s a perfect illustration of the difference between The Times and the Examiner, which has a completely different version of Antonio Mondragon’s actions on the night … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged 1947, crime and courts, homicide, lapd, Rosenda Mondragon | Comments Off

July 2, 1947: Man Held in Strangling of Mary Tate

Posted on July 2, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. This is, of course, a murder frequently tossed into the Black Dahlia file by crime books such as “The Cases That Haunt Us” and “Black Dahlia … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged 1947, Black Dahia, crime and courts, homicide, lapd | 1 Comment

June 29, 1907: Horribly Beaten, Wife Begs Police Not to Charge Husband, Refuses to Testify

Posted on June 29, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 29, 1907 Los Angeles Through the jail cell’s bars, the officer asked, “Where did you get that blood on your shirt?” E.H. Phelan, a barber at the Hotel Alexandria, said: “No, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Streetcars | Tagged 1907, crime and courts, domestic violence, lapd | Comments Off

June 25, 1947: L.A. Times Praises Gangland Slaying of Bugsy Siegel

Posted on June 25, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Gov. Warren is justified in his concern over the growth of gangsterism in California, dramatized by the effective and efficient taking-off of the charming but unlamented … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged 1947, Bugsy Siegel, crime and courts, editorials, Organized Crime | 1 Comment

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

Posted on June 20, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. I was talking with Siegel about seven o’clock on the Friday evening of his death. He called me at the office of Hollywood’s Daily Variety, for … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged 1947, Books and Authors, crime and courts, Florabel Muir, homicide | 1 Comment

June 20, 1947: Dinner at Jacks at the Beach

Posted on June 20, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Good evening, Mr. Siegel. Welcome to Jacks at the Beach. I’ll be your waiter tonight. Would you like to start off with a drink? Here’s a … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Crime and Courts, Food and Drink, Homicide | Tagged 1947, crime and courts, food and drink, homicide, Jacks at the Beach | Comments Off

June 16, 1907: Lawyer Edith Foulkes Handles Her Own Divorce Case

Posted on June 16, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 16, 1907 Los Angeles Despite the old saying—a lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client—Edith Foulkes is a smart woman, at least in the courtroom. She can’t make … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Crime and Courts, Fashions, Homicide, LAPD, Streetcars | Tagged 1907, attorneys, crime and courts, divorce | Comments Off

June 15, 2005: Remembering UCLA Professor Eric Monkkonen

Posted on June 15, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. The Times reports the death of UCLA professor Eric Monkkonen, who spent years studying murder in the U.S. and focused on Los Angeles. Among his many … Continue reading →

Posted in 2006, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Obituaries | Tagged 2006, crime and courts, Eric Monkkonen, homicide, lapd, obituaries | Comments Off

‘Little Shoes’: An Author’s Journey of Discovery in Unlocking a Family Tragedy From 1930s L.A.

Posted on June 13, 2018 by lmharnisch

A family’s history is tricky even in the best of circumstances; the past may be sanitized and rewritten for consumption by the next generation. When tragedy is involved, family stories become murky or are simply locked away. So it was … Continue reading →

Posted in 1937, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged 1937, Albert Dyer, Books and Authors, crime and courts, Inglewood, Joseph Paul De River, Little Shoes, Pamela Everett | 1 Comment

Black Dahlia: Who Is This Man?

Posted on June 13, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. I recently obtained an original copy of The Times’ March 28, 1971, story “Farewell, My Black Dahlia,” which includes the account of the “Boy on the Bicycle.” Here’s a color picture of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Donald Wolfe, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged black dahlia, cold cases, crime and courts, donald wolfe, homicide, lapd | 1 Comment

June 9, 1907: Woman’s Bizarre Death Exposes a Family’s Curse

Posted on June 9, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 9, 1907 Los Angeles Olga Miller was a comely young thing who worked at the Hotel Rosslyn and was considered quite attractive despite the scar on her temple from shooting herself … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Crime and Courts, Homicide, Streetcars | Tagged 1907, Bertha Beilstein, family curses | Comments Off

Shout Out

Posted on June 7, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. General Motors [ISP Redacted] Windows 2000? Upgrade! The Netherlands [ISP Redacted] E! Entertainment [ISP Redacted] “E! Mysteries and Scandals,” my first TV interview, by the guy who did “Real Chases of the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 2006, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Donald Wolfe, History, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Uncategorized | Tagged black dahlia, donald wolfe | Comments Off