Category Archives: Homicide

Grim Sleeper Nos. 75-78

Posted on December 18, 2010 by lmharnisch

      Grim Sleeper No. 76         Grim Sleeper No. 78   These ladies, plus Nos. 75 and 77, have a labret, or piercing, in their lower lip.   No. 76 also has a tattoo on her … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Courts, Grim Sleeper, Homicide, Photography | 1 Comment

Grim Sleeper Nos. 75 and 77

Posted on December 18, 2010 by lmharnisch

        This is a different sort of puzzle. Grim Sleeper No. 75, top, and No. 77, have a tattoo that reads “Kendreay, RIP or HIP” and they both have a piercing (called a labret) in their bottom … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Courts, Grim Sleeper, Homicide, Photography | 1 Comment

Grim Sleeper Nos. 59 and 81

Posted on December 17, 2010 by lmharnisch

  It seems that Grim Sleeper Nos. 59, left, and 81, right, show the same woman and may have been taken at the same time.  No. 81 is dated May 8, 2006, which may or may not be accurate.   … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Courts, Grim Sleeper, Homicide, Photography | 1 Comment

Grim Sleeper Nos. 141-142

Posted on December 17, 2010 by lmharnisch

    Grim Sleeper No. 141 appears to be a Polaroid marked Deborah B. Cleveland, Sept. 18, 2001, although there seems to have been some hesitation about the “18,” as if the writer started with 28 and changed his mind. … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Courts, Grim Sleeper, Homicide, LAPD, Photography | 3 Comments

Grim Sleeper No. 149

Posted on December 17, 2010 by lmharnisch

       Grim Sleeper photo No. 149 has quite a bit of detail. The picture apparently shows Frenchie’s Patio Soul Food, which was located 8101 S. Western Ave. (323) 753-2614. The only mention in The Times is a 1998 … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Courts, Grim Sleeper, Homicide, Photography | 3 Comments

Grim Sleeper No. 166

Posted on December 17, 2010 by lmharnisch

        Grim Sleeper No. 166 is wearing an ID badge reading “Ms. D. Johnson, N.A.” If I had to guess, I would say this was taken professionally and is some sort of graduation picture, and I would … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Courts, Grim Sleeper, Homicide, Photography | 2 Comments

Grim Sleeper Nos. 4 and 52

Posted on December 17, 2010 by lmharnisch

    I also got to wondering if No. 4 and No. 52 were the same woman. ALSO Grim Sleeper Nos. 48-49Grim Sleeper Nos. 51-53.Grim Sleeper Nos. 56-57Grim Sleeper Nos. 59 and 81Grim Sleeper Nos. 75-78, labretsGrim Sleeper Nos. 75 … Continue reading →

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Grim Sleeper Nos. 51-53

Posted on December 17, 2010 by lmharnisch

    Here are three more photos that seem to belong together, Nos. 51-53. Perhaps the women will be more recognizable in context with one another. ALSO Grim Sleeper Nos. 4 and 52Grim Sleeper Nos. 48-49Grim Sleeper Nos. 56-57Grim Sleeper … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Courts, Grim Sleeper, Homicide, Photography | 5 Comments

Grim Sleeper Nos. 56-57

Posted on December 17, 2010 by lmharnisch

    Here’s another pair of photos that belong together. Maybe these women will be more recognizable in context with one another. No. 56 is on the right, No. 57 is on the left. ALSO Grim Sleeper Nos. 4 and … Continue reading →

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Grim Sleeper Nos. 48-49

Posted on December 16, 2010 by lmharnisch

     I noticed in going through the LAPD’s photos in the Grim Sleeper case that several images were taken from one photo. Here’s Nos. 48 and 49, pasted back together. Maybe these women will be more recognizable in context … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Courts, Grim Sleeper, Homicide, Photography | 4 Comments

‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ Protested in Berlin

Posted on December 6, 2010 by lmharnisch

       Dec. 6, 1930:  Fascists in Berlin protest a showing of the German version of “All Quiet on the Western Front.” “Fascists, who were planted in the audience, shouted, ‘Out Jews!’ hurled stench bombs and set white mice … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Homicide | Comments Off on ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ Protested in Berlin

Santa Monica Man Admits Strangling Waitress

Posted on December 3, 2010 by lmharnisch

       Dec. 3, 1960: Gerald "Frenchy" Fernandez admits strangling Susan Kilgore, whose body was found outside the Wind and Sea Tavern, 101 Broadway, Santa Monica. Her clothing was "disarranged" and Fernandez says he killed her when she "resisted … Continue reading →

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Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, Nov. 23, 1940

Posted on November 23, 2010 by lmharnisch

    Nov. 23, 1940: This is one of the more interesting L.A. corruption stories of the 1940s. Bugsy Siegel was getting out of jail, where he was in custody in the killing of Harry Greenberg, thanks to Dr. Benjamin … Continue reading →

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Dr. Crippen Is Hanged

Posted on November 23, 2010 by lmharnisch

    Nov. 23, 1910: Dr. Hawley Crippen is executed in London for killing his wife. “Only a small group of officials attended, and every effort had been made to prevent morbid crowds from gathering in the neighborhood,” The Times … Continue reading →

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Dorothy Stratten — ‘Galaxina’

Posted on November 22, 2010 by lmharnisch

          Nov. 22, 1980: “Galaxina” is released to movie theaters three months after one of the stars, former Playmate of the Year Dorothy Stratten, died in a murder-suicide. “Since Stratten plays a robot in the title … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Obituaries, Suicide | 1 Comment

Death in Miami

Posted on November 20, 2010 by lmharnisch

One magazine, October 1954 In August 1954, a couple parking at a North Miami “lovers lane” found the body of a 27-year-old man in a pool of blood.  About 500 yards away, police located a 1950 convertible with blood spatters … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, #gays and lesbians, 1954, Crime and Courts, Homicide | 6 Comments

Former Mirror Writer Beaten to Death – Update

Posted on November 18, 2010 by lmharnisch

      Roby Heard, 1921 – 1960   This is something I wrote in 2002 at the request of Det. Rick Jackson of the LAPD’s cold case unit. Jackson said that the “murder book” for 1960 was missing and … Continue reading →

Posted in Homicide, LAPD, Obituaries | 4 Comments

Wildfire Destroys 61 Homes in Bradbury

Posted on November 17, 2010 by lmharnisch

           Nov. 17, 1980: A brush fire roars through Bradbury. On the jump, a story by the master, Eric Malnic, who notes that race car driver Mickey Thompson lost six vehicles but saved his house. (Thompson … Continue reading →

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Former Mirror Writer Beaten to Death

Posted on November 12, 2010 by lmharnisch

       Nov. 12, 1960: Here’s the sad story of Roby Heard, a former Mirror rewrite man who was beaten to death with a hammer in a killing that was unsolved for many years.

Posted in Front Pages, Homicide, LAPD | 1 Comment

Woman’s Mutilated Body Buried in Backyard, 1910

Posted on November 5, 2010 by lmharnisch

              Eva Swan in the San Francisco Call   Sept. 24-Nov. 5, 1910: Newspapers of the era are full of stories about a particularly grotesque case involving San Francisco stenographer Eva Swan, who lingered … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, art and artists, health, Homicide | Comments Off on Woman’s Mutilated Body Buried in Backyard, 1910