Category Archives: Homicide

The Santa Claus Massacre

Posted on December 25, 2013 by lmharnisch

Last night at work, we got to talking about the Bruce Pardo case. He’s the man who dressed up as Santa Claus and killed nine people, including his ex-wife, at a Christmas Eve party in 2009. Here’s the story by … Continue reading →

Posted in 2009, Homicide | Tagged , | 1 Comment

‘I Took the Gun and Shot Him Once in the Leg, Just for Fun’

Posted on December 20, 2013 by lmharnisch

Maybe it was murder. Maybe it never happened at all. Was she telling the truth or was it all a lie? Early on the morning of Nov. 20, 1953, acting on a tip, LAPD Detectives John Olsen and P.R. Brooks … Continue reading →

Posted in 1953, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Homicide, LAPD, Main Street | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Millennial Moment: Man Killed in Toilet Tank Murder

Posted on December 13, 2013 by lmharnisch

Starting tomorrow: “Silkwood.” At 3:45 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 11, 1983, a maid cleaning rooms at the Inn at Laguna on Coast Highway found the body of Ronald Jay Murphy. Murphy, 22, who worked for an oil company in Santa … Continue reading →

Posted in 1983, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Millennial Moments | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Millennial Moment: Man Killed in Toilet Tank Murder

LAPD: Parker Center Cop Shop Files

Posted on December 11, 2013 by lmharnisch

In going through the jumbled mass of pictures, press releases, artist sketches and tattered maps of the LAPD Parker Center Cop Shop Files, I found this photograph. And then a few more. And a few more. Was she a city … Continue reading →

Posted in 1980, Film, Homicide, LAPD, Parker Center Cop Shop Files, Television | 10 Comments

Slaughter of the Innocent

Posted on November 23, 2013 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post I originally wrote for the 1947project in 2006. Nov. 23, 1907 South Pasadena Warning: This is a grotesque, tragic story with graphic details. Pasadena Detective Wallace H. Copping is investigating the murder of a young … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Crime and Courts, Homicide, Pasadena | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

The ‘Masked Marvel Murder’ — Part 10

Posted on November 1, 2013 by lmharnisch

David Bacon, center, in a still from “The Masked Marvel,” photo courtesy of Steven Bibb. In case you just tuned in, we are looking at the “Masked Marvel Murder” of actor David G.G. Bacon, who was stabbed to death Sept. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

The ‘Masked Marvel Murder’ – Part 9

Posted on October 31, 2013 by lmharnisch

Note: This post has been corrected. See details below. In case you just tuned in, we have been going through the case of actor David G.G. Bacon, who was stabbed to death Sept. 12, 1943, in a case that remains … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Cold Cases, Fashion, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The ‘Masked Marvel Murder’ — Part 6

Posted on October 17, 2013 by lmharnisch

In case you just tuned in, we are looking at the unsolved Sept, 12, 1943, killing of actor David G.G. Bacon, who appeared in Republic’s “Masked Marvel” serial. In Part 1, witnesses described Bacon driving erratically on Washington Boulevard, then … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Barbara Graham Gets Death Sentence

Posted on September 23, 2013 by lmharnisch

Sept. 23, 1953: Barbara Graham, John A. Santo and Emmett Perkins are convicted of first-degree murder in the death of Mabel Monahan. The jury returned the verdict without a recommendation of life in prison. “Mrs. Graham didn’t bat an eye,” … Continue reading →

Posted in 1953, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Woman’s Body Found Behind Wall in Highland Park Home

Posted on September 13, 2013 by lmharnisch

Joseph and Anna Lewis, 2630 Johnston St., Highland Park, had been married for 42 when she disappeared. Not that Joseph, 72, a carpenter, was particularly concerned about her absence. Police were not informed of the disappearance until her daughter Shirley … Continue reading →

Posted in 1963, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Suicide | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Joaquin Murrieta’s Head on Display in San Francisco

Posted on September 10, 2013 by lmharnisch

What exists of the Sept. 3, 1853, issue of the Los Angeles Star, in the collection at the Huntington, is online at USC (although it can only be viewed after it is downloaded due to some malfunction in the interface) … Continue reading →

Posted in 1853, African Americans, Animals, Crime and Courts, Homicide, Politics | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Man Kills Wife and Daughter, Commits Suicide Over Pink Bedroom

Posted on September 4, 2013 by lmharnisch

Sept. 4, 1933: A streetcar broadsides an auto at the crossing on Olympic Boulevard between Broadway and Figueroa, killing two people and leaving two others near death, The Times said. A man fatally stabs his estranged wife and daughter, then … Continue reading →

Posted in 1933, Art & Artists, Comics, Downtown, Film, Homicide, LAPD, Main Street, Nightclubs, San Fernando Valley, Streetcars, Suicide, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , | 9 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

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

Man Held in Killing of Ex-Marine

Posted on August 13, 2013 by lmharnisch

On the afternoon of July 23, 1953, Michael Timothy Cavanaugh was drinking beer at Thompson’s Cafe in Chula Vista. Earlier that year, he had himself committed to Patton State Hospital, claiming that he suffered “blackouts” in which he wrote fraudulent … Continue reading →

Posted in 1953, Homicide | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Man Held in Killing of Ex-Marine

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

California Politics: Democratic Candidate for Governor Seeks to Bar Blacks

Posted on August 6, 2013 by lmharnisch

The entire Aug. 1, 1863, issue of the Los Angeles Star is available online via the California Digital Newspaper Collection.   Buckley shoots Francisco Cruz. Aug. 1, 1863: The Star publishes the campaign speech of former Gov. John G. Downey … Continue reading →

Posted in 1863, African Americans, Civil War, Homicide, Politics | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on California Politics: Democratic Candidate for Governor Seeks to Bar Blacks

‘Mysterious Objects’ in Skies Over L.A.

Posted on August 1, 2013 by lmharnisch

Comics characters of the 1950s got to drive MGs! Edward Irving Foote was born June 29, 1861, in Michigan. Someone by that name attended the University of Michigan at Lansing, class of 1877-78, and was described as a “farmer, miner, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1953, Art & Artists, Comics, Downtown, Homicide, LAPD, Obituaries, Suicide | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on ‘Mysterious Objects’ in Skies Over L.A.

Teen Convicted in Bloody Killing of Girl, 12

Posted on June 27, 2013 by lmharnisch

June 27, 1943: The “Greatest Generation” isn’t getting enough “bulk.” Let’s rename Bunker Hill as Angels’ Terrace. Or not. The Courtemanche family lived in the old Sepulveda place at 751 N. Palos Verdes St., on a hill above the Wilmington-San … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Wikipedia: Murder and Myth — Part 2

Posted on April 24, 2013 by lmharnisch

In case you just tuned in, I’m using the alleged beating of Ted Healy by Wallace Beery et al to examine Wikipedia’s accuracy. So far, it hasn’t been good. Yesterday, I looked at the eight different accounts in Wikipedia and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1937, Film, Hollywood, Homicide | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments