Category Archives: Homicide

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 →

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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. Note: This is a blog post from 2010.  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 … 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

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 →

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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 →

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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