Category Archives: Homicide

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 , , | 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 , , , | 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 , | 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 , , , | Comments Off on Widow Accused of Killing Ft. MacArthur Officer, Sept. 3, 1941

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 , , | Comments Off on Voices: Police Capt. Ed Jokisch, 1914 – 2011, Part 3

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?

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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 , | 2 Comments

Movieland Mystery Photo [Updated +++]

Posted on August 15, 2011 by lmharnisch

Here’s our mystery lady! [Updated: There’s a new photo on the jump!]

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Mystery Photo, Obituaries, Photography | Tagged , , , | 27 Comments

Voices: Police Capt. Ed Jokisch, 1914 – 2011, Part 2

Posted on August 14, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: Capt. Ed Jokisch. Credit: Jokisch family   This is Part 2 of my interview with the late Ed Jokisch.

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Obituaries, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Changeling Stories — Part 4

Posted on August 7, 2011 by lmharnisch

Los Angeles Times file photo Louisa Northcott, the mother of Gordon Northcott, isn’t portrayed in “Changeling,” but played a key role in the actual case. Above, she’s booked in jail. Los Angeles Times file photo Louisa Northcott with one of … Continue reading →

Posted in 1928, Changeling, Crime and Courts, Film, Homicide | Tagged , | 3 Comments

Changeling Stories — Part 3

Posted on August 6, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photograph by Tony Rivetti Jr. / Universal PicturesAbove, Colm Feore as Police Chief James Davis, “Changeling,” set in 1928. Los Angeles Times file photoAbove, Police Chief James Davis, 1926. Northcott signs confession. I don’t care much for the press passes … Continue reading →

Posted in 1928, Changeling, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Changeling Stories — Part 1

Posted on August 4, 2011 by lmharnisch

Police Capt. Jones and LAPD officers search the lake in Lincoln Park for the body of Walter Collins, Los Angeles Times, April 6, 1928. The boy claiming to be Walter Collins poses with Christine Collins, Aug. 18, 1928 Several regular … Continue reading →

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A Shot in the Dark

Posted on July 30, 2011 by lmharnisch

Note: This is a post I wrote in 2007 for the Daily Mirror when it was on latimes.com. I’m gradually transferring material over to the L.A. Daily Mirror.   April 28, 1957 Los Angeles Let’s park here and sit in … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, 2007, Cold Cases, Homicide | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Robbers Kill LAPD Officer in Shootout, July 24, 1934

Posted on July 25, 2011 by lmharnisch

Stanford Avenue and 33rd Street via Google maps’ street view. Stanford Avenue and 33rd Street is one of those little pockets of old houses in Los Angeles that looks like it hasn’t changed much since 1934, when two men in … Continue reading →

Posted in 1934, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

El Segundo Revisited

Posted on July 23, 2011 by lmharnisch

orman Frederick Gagnon looks like an excellent suspect in the unsolved killing of two El Segundo police officers last year. In an incident quite similar to the El Segundo case, Charles H. May and a female companion (The Times, fortunately, … Continue reading →

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Death in El Segundo

Posted on July 22, 2011 by lmharnisch

July 22, 1957Los Angeles Note: This is a post from 2007. We’re heading west on Rosecrans Avenue. It’s early Monday morning, a few moments after 1:30 a.m., and the streets are dark. There’s nobody out but a few drunks and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Time Traveling With the L.A. Daily Mirror [Updated]

Posted on July 20, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: Pier Angeli and friend with a reminder on Daylight Saving Time, 1958 I decided to import my old lmharnisch blog, devoted mainly to dissecting “The Black Dahlia Files” by Donald “Fake Document” Wolfe. Now there are posts going back … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 2008, 2009, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Donald Wolfe, Film, History, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Photography | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Bill James’ ‘Popular Crime’: Another Good Story Ruined

Posted on July 19, 2011 by lmharnisch

I have procrastinated about looking at Bill James’ “Popular Crime” because, as curious as it may seem, I don’t care much for “true” crime books. Even when they are well done (which is almost never) the subject matter is depressing … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Donald Wolfe, History, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Leesa Jo Shaner – Update

Posted on July 18, 2011 by lmharnisch

Photo: Leesa Jo Shaner An attempt to resolve one of the nation’s most baffling unsolved crimes is quietly unfolding in federal court in Tucson: The mystery of Leesa Jo Shaner, who vanished May 29, 1973,  on her way to the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1973, Cold Cases, Homicide | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Attorney Storms Office, Seizes D.A.’s Bugging Equipment

Posted on July 15, 2011 by lmharnisch

July 15, 1941: Defense attorney Samuel Rummel (shot to death Dec. 11, 1950) breaks a door and seizes a dictograph wired to a microphone in his office in the William Fox Building, 608 S. Hill. Rummel was defending Deputy Charles … Continue reading →

Posted in 1941, Art & Artists, Cold Cases, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Jimmie Fidler, Lee Shippey, Mickey Cohen, Tom Treanor, World War II | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Attorney Storms Office, Seizes D.A.’s Bugging Equipment