Category Archives: Homicide

Paul Coates, Oct. 26, 1960

Posted on October 26, 2010 by lmharnisch

      Oct. 26, 1960: Paul Coates takes another look at the gang killing of Manuel Castro. This time he talks to Manny Tovar, a skid row bartender whose son was charged in the shooting. "I tried to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Front Pages, Homicide, Paul Coates | Comments Off on Paul Coates, Oct. 26, 1960

Widowed by Hasty Words

Posted on October 25, 2010 by lmharnisch

       Oct. 25, 1910: Jessie Emery wanted her husband, Fred, to go to the store and get a bottle of milk and a loaf of bread for dinner. But he had a hard day and didn’t feel like … Continue reading →

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Tom Bosley and the Black Dahlia

Posted on October 19, 2010 by lmharnisch

      Beverly Lafayette “Bevo” Means, 1971.   Most people associate the late Tom Bosley with his role as Howard Cunningham in “Happy Days.” But not at the Daily Mirror HQ, where we think of him in his cameo … Continue reading →

Posted in Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Obituaries, Television | Comments Off on Tom Bosley and the Black Dahlia

An Important Visitor

Posted on September 16, 2010 by lmharnisch

Sept. 16, 1910: And what could possibly be interesting about a bankers’ convention? Notice the dates: Oct. 3-7. So if William J. Burns, head of the Burns National Detective Agency, comes to Los Angeles for the convention and arrives a … Continue reading →

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The Well-Informed Public, 1911

Posted on September 3, 2010 by lmharnisch

Los Angeles Times file photo 1911: James B. McNamara’s defense team leaves the courthouse. At left, Samuel Gompers, famous head of the American Federation of Labor, is eating a snack and holding a cigar. The fellow on the right is … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1910 L.A. Times bombing, Homicide | 1 Comment

Burned Bones Indicate Grim Fate of Missing Family

Posted on August 5, 2010 by lmharnisch

  Aug. 4, 1910: The San Francisco Call. Isn’t that a great font? And two kinds of “Ms.” Aug. 4-5, 1910: The Kendall family disappears from a ranch outside Santa Rosa and investigators find grisly evidence that they were slaughtered. … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Countdown to Watts, Homicide, Religion | 2 Comments

Lynchings in Florida

Posted on August 4, 2010 by lmharnisch

    Aug. 2, 1910: Alexandria (Va.) Gazette. The Times, Aug. 4, 1910. Aug. 5, 1910: Mahoning (Ohio) Dispatch. Aug. 9, 1910: Bisbee (Ariz.) Daily Review. Aug. 2-9, 1910: It’s a bit difficult to track down the original story about … Continue reading →

Posted in Countdown to Watts, Homicide | 2 Comments

Dr. Crippen

Posted on July 31, 2010 by lmharnisch

  July 15, 1910: Belle Elmore, buried in the cellar. July 15, 1910: Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen. July 15- 30, 1910: Murder-suspense stories don’t get much better than that of Dr. Hawley H. Crippen, an American  living in London who … Continue reading →

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The Case of ‘Tiger Man’ Figueroa

Posted on July 21, 2010 by lmharnisch

   Above, George E. “Tiger Man” Figueroa, as portrayed in a courtroom sketch by The Times. At right, Figueroa’s recent bride, Sarah, who was badly beaten and shot in the head.   July 21, 1910: The Times publishes the sensational … Continue reading →

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Medical Miracle Saves Killer

Posted on July 18, 2010 by lmharnisch

July 18, 1910: George C. Luitweiler wanted to sell his home at 1134 State St. so he could get money to be treated for tuberculosis. When his wife disagreed, he shot her to death and wounded her sister, then went … Continue reading →

Posted in Homicide, Suicide | 4 Comments

Ohio Mob Lynches Private Detective

Posted on July 9, 2010 by lmharnisch

July 9, 1910: Charles Etherington, one of several detectives sent to Newark by the Ohio Anti-Saloon League, is lynched in the public square by a mob of men and women after the former police chief, who owned the Last Chance … Continue reading →

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Paul V. Coates, Confidential File, July 5, 1960

Posted on July 5, 2010 by lmharnisch

  July 5, 1960: I have to hand it to Paul Coates. For this column, he tries to beat an 80-year-old con woman at her own game. Here’s his Jan. 28, 1960, piece about her. Notice the Page 1 story … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, #gays and lesbians, Columnists, Front Pages, Homicide | 1 Comment

Major Crimes Decline, LAPD Says

Posted on June 12, 2010 by lmharnisch

  “I’m No Good … No Good … No Good!” June 12, 1960: The LAPD, which has kept detailed statistics for decades, finds that major crimes declined 5.7% in 1959 after a three-year increase. Of the 3,124 people who applied … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, art and artists, Comics, Homicide, LAPD | Comments Off on Major Crimes Decline, LAPD Says

Cheryl Crane Escapes

Posted on June 5, 2010 by lmharnisch

  June 5, 1960: Cheryl Crane and two other inmates escape from El Retiro School for Girls, where she had been committed for killing Johnny Stompanato. "This was a big change from the meek and mild little girl who came … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide | 2 Comments

Paul V. Coates – Confidential File, June 2, 1960

Posted on June 2, 2010 by lmharnisch

  June 2, 1960: Paul Coates catches up with former Floradora Girl Evelyn Nesbit, whose millionaire husband, Harry K. Thaw, killed architect Stanford White in a jealous rage during a rooftop performance at Madison Square Garden in June 1906.

Posted in Columnists, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Paul Coates, Stage | 1 Comment

Charles Champlin on ‘Haywire’

Posted on May 14, 2010 by lmharnisch

May 14, 1980: Charles Champlin on the making of “Haywire,” the TV movie based on the book by Brooke Hayward. The project, which was scaled back from a mini-series to a three-hour show, evoked painful memories for the surviving family … Continue reading →

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A Baffling Murder in Denver

Posted on May 11, 2010 by lmharnisch

Clayton Street via Google maps’ street view. May 11, 1910: Catherine (or Katherine) Wilson is found stuffed into a packing crate at 1054 Clayton St. and suspicion focuses on a Japanese man supposedly hired to help her move in. The … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Homicide | 1 Comment

Jimmie Fidler in Hollywood, May 7, 1940

Posted on May 7, 2010 by lmharnisch

  May 7, 1940: “Walter Pidgeon and John Carroll are packing tackle for a fishing trek to Texas Gulf resorts,” Jimmie Fidler says. 

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Beverly Hills Confidential

Posted on April 25, 2010 by lmharnisch

  April 25, 1960: Beverly Hills Police Chief Clinton H. Anderson describes the Johnny Stompanato killing in “Beverly Hills Is My Beat.” The book, which also covers the Bugsy Siegel murder,  is readily available via Bookfinder. On the jump, hundreds … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Dodgers, Homicide, Nightclubs, Sports | 1 Comment

The Mysterious Death of Morgan Shiveley

Posted on April 21, 2010 by lmharnisch

  April 21, 1910: The Times publishes an update in the curious death of Morgan Shiveley (or Shively),  in which an examination of bloody fingerprints merely deepens the mystery.Charges against the Stones were eventually dismissed and the case was abandoned.

Posted in #courts, Homicide | 3 Comments