Category Archives: Homicide

California Prepares to Execute Juanita ‘The Duchess’ Spinelli, Nov. 20, 1941

Posted on November 20, 2011 by lmharnisch

Nov. 20, 1941: California prepares to execute Juanita “The Duchess” Spinelli at San Quentin. Spinelli, her boyfriend Mike Simeone, Gordon Hawkins and Albert Ives were convicted of drugging and drowning Robert Sherrard to keep him from informing on them about … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide | Tagged #Death Row, #Gas Chamber, #San Quentin | 6 Comments

Hollywood Model Dies of Botched Abortion, Nov. 19, 1941

Posted on November 19, 2011 by lmharnisch

This post has be edited. See note at bottom for explanation. Nov. 19, 1941: Angelka Rose Gogich was 18 when she died at Glendale Emergency Hospital after undergoing an abortion. She had be working as a model, hat check girl … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Abortion, Art & Artists, Black Dahlia, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Medicine, Obituaries | Tagged #Abortion | 1 Comment

Ford’s Theatre Bans O’Reilly’s ‘Lincoln’ Book Over Mistakes

Posted on November 17, 2011 by lmharnisch

Manson family member Charles “Tex” Watson was denied parole. L.A. Times | AP via Washington Post Stephan Benzkofer of the Chicago Tribune takes a look at Police Officer Francis O’Neill in Part 2 of his Legendary Lawmen series. Edith Brady-Lunny … Continue reading →

Posted in Books and Authors, Chicago, Crime and Courts, History, Homicide, Washington, World War II | Tagged #Killing Lincoln, Bill O'Reilly | Comments Off

Man Says He Shot Wife With ‘Unloaded’ Rifle

Posted on November 10, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: The 600 block of West 87th Street via Google’s Street View. Nov. 10, 1941: A week after Kenneth and Betty met at a malt shop, the 20-year-olds drove to Yuma, Ariz., to get married. They moved in with his … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Religion | Tagged #Civil War, #Confederate veterans, #rebel yell, #unloaded guns | 3 Comments

The Chinese Massacre: Oct. 24, 1871 — Part 4

Posted on October 27, 2011 by lmharnisch

The New York Daily Tribune of Nov. 11, 1871, also carried an account of the massacre. Chinese Massacre Part 1 | Part 2| Part 3 Wong Chin, a merchant, was the first victim of the hanging. He was led … Continue reading →

Posted in 1871, Chinese Massacre, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged #1871, #Chinese Massacre | 1 Comment

The Chinese Massacre: Oct. 24, 1871 – Part 2

Posted on October 25, 2011 by lmharnisch

Here’s the San Francisco Bulletin’s Oct. 25, 1871, coverage of the massacre, as republished in the Carroll (Iowa) Herald on Nov. 22, 1871. [This link works now but it may be broken eventually as Google tinkers with its newspaper archives]. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1871, Chinese Massacre, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged #1871, #Chinese Massacre | Comments Off

The Chinese Massacre: Oct. 24, 1871 — Part 1

Posted on October 24, 2011 by lmharnisch

I hadn’t planned to get into the Chinese Massacre until I wrapped up the Zoot Suit Riots, but Google’s recent changes in its news archives pressed me to get the material online before the newspapers disappear. For decades, the average … Continue reading →

Posted in 1871, Chinese Massacre, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged #1871, #Chinese Massacre | 3 Comments

Parole Rejected for ‘Onion Field’ Killer

Posted on October 18, 2011 by lmharnisch

The Board of Parole Hearings has recommended against releasing Gregory Powell, who was convicted in the 1963 “Onion Field” killing of Officer Ian Campbell. Powell, who has prostate cancer, was seeking a compassionate release, reserved for inmates with serious illnesses. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1963, Books and Authors, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged #Onion Field, #Parole | 2 Comments

Shakespeare, ‘Anonymous’ and Nonsense

Posted on October 18, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: Trailer for “Anonymous.” In a New York Times op-ed piece, Columbia English professor James Shapiro challenges the premise of Roland Emmerich’s upcoming film “Anonymous,” which presents Edward de Vere as the true author of (wait for it) all of … Continue reading →

Posted in Chicago, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Libraries, Museums, World War II | Tagged #Civil War, #OSS, #Shakespeare, #Spies, Anonymous | 3 Comments

Boston Policeman Killed Trying to Disarm Former Officer, 1921

Posted on October 9, 2011 by lmharnisch

The National Air and Space Museum in Washington is closed after antiwar demonstrators try to enter to protest an exhibit on drones. The crowd dispersed after being pepper-sprayed by a security guard coming to the rescue of another guard. Washington … Continue reading →

Posted in 1921, Crime and Courts, Homicide, Museums, Washington | Tagged #1921, #Protests, Boston | Comments Off

John Wayne Gacy Victim to Be Exhumed for DNA Tests

Posted on October 7, 2011 by lmharnisch

Dec. 27, 1978: Four more bodies are found under the home of John Wayne Gacy. Adam Nagourney of the New York Times reports on the slow process of bringing a 21-foot granite boulder to the Los Angeles County Museum of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1978, Architecture, Art & Artists, Crime and Courts, Homicide, Museums, Obituaries, Transportation | Tagged #crossword puzzles, #John Wayne Gacy, #Schwarzenegger, Alcatraz | 2 Comments

Silver Lake Hammer Murder – Part 3

Posted on September 23, 2011 by lmharnisch

Sept. 19, 1941: Valverda Booth visits her husband, Ernest Booth, while he is in custody in the Silver Lake Hammer Murder of heiress Florence Stricker. Is there anything more delightful to the heart of a research drudge than a notice … Continue reading →

Posted in 1927, 1929, 1941, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Libraries | Tagged #prisons, #Silver Lake Hammer Murder, authors | 4 Comments

Silver Lake Hammer Murder – Part 2

Posted on September 16, 2011 by lmharnisch

Sept. 16, 1941: The Silver Lake Hammer Murder turned out to be far more complicated than I expected. This segment looks at the lives of victim Florence Stricker and her husband, Dr. George H. Stricker, up to the time of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged #1941, #hammer murder, #Silver Lake | 1 Comment

Heiress Beaten to Death in Silver Lake

Posted on September 15, 2011 by lmharnisch

2153 Moreno Drive, via Google’s street view. Sept. 15, 1941: The murder house is on one of those narrow, curving streets above Silver Lake Reservoir, 2153 Moreno Drive. Her husband came home from work and found her beaten to death … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Cold Cases, Columnists, Comics, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, World War II | Tagged #Cold Cases, #Jimmie Fidler, #LAPD, #Silver Lake | 3 Comments

John Wilkes Booth Site for Sale – Civil War Reenactors Not Included

Posted on September 8, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: Cleydael. Credit: Motley’s Auction and Realty Group. Three historic buildings in Texas’ Bastrop State Park were lost in the recent wildfire, but many other structures built by the Civilian Conservation Corps have survived, according to Ben Wear of the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1859, Architecture, Crime and Courts, Film, Homicide, Stage, Theaters | Tagged #Civil War, #John Wilkes Booth | 3 Comments

Widow Accused of Killing Ft. MacArthur Officer, Sept. 3, 1941

Posted on September 3, 2011 by lmharnisch

Sept. 3, 1941: OK, Maj. Tucker, let me get this straight. You and your wife, Marie, got home from a party, where both of you had been drinking. She was in the bedroom and you were in the kitchen making … Continue reading →

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

Voices: Police Capt. Ed Jokisch, 1914 – 2011, Part 3

Posted on August 23, 2011 by lmharnisch

Image: Ed Jokisch retires, Feb. 18, 1972. Retirement cartoons are an LAPD tradition. This is what they looked like in the 1970s. Credit: Ed Jokisch family. This is Part 3 of my interview with the late Ed Jokisch. Note: Toward … Continue reading →

Posted in Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged #crime and courts, #LAPD, Black Dahlia | Comments Off

Lizzie Borden and Fall River’s Mysterious Murder

Posted on August 16, 2011 by lmharnisch

Aug. 6, 1892: Fall River’s Mysterious Murder. Jennifer Levitz of the Wall Street Journal revisits the Lizzie Borden case. So why shouldn’t we?

Posted in 1893, Crime and Courts, History, Homicide | Tagged #1893, #homicide, #Lizzie Borden | Comments Off

Coming Tomorrow: Lizzie Borden

Posted on August 15, 2011 by lmharnisch

June 21, 1893: Lizzie Borden is found not guilty of killing her father and stepmother. Since it’s August, I thought it would be interesting to go through a few clips on the Lizzie Borden case.

Posted in 1893, Coming Attractions, History, Homicide | Tagged #1893, #Lizzie Borden | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated +++]