Category Archives: Homicide

Boston Bans ‘Candide’; Details on Torso Victim, May 23, 1929

Posted on May 23, 2009 by lmharnisch

Hey, look! It's Rube Wolf! "Tout va pour le mieux dans le meilleur des mondes" Pieces of a dismembered body are found in the Los Angeles River, skillfully dissected. Could the killer be a doctor?

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Father Turns in Son in Fatal Stabbing, May 22, 1959

Posted on May 22, 2009 by lmharnisch

"Just Wait There! — I'll Come Right Down." Kenneth A. Merriam is accused of helping to kill the two children of his girlfriend, Wanda Brogdon. Evidently, both of them were mentally disabled. At right, Ernie Kovacs needs a 100-foot piano … Continue reading →

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Man Admits Sack Murder, May 28, 1934

Posted on May 22, 2009 by lmharnisch

Tulley/Tully McQuate was hanged May 24, 1935. Harry Carr visits Beale Street.

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L.A. Orders Two-Man Streetcar Crews, May 11, 1939

Posted on May 11, 2009 by lmharnisch

These old papers are fantastic; all you have to do is stick a shovel in the dirt and you strike gold. At left and above, Los Angeles struggles to solve its problems with congested traffic. The Times shows work … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Obituaries, Sports | Comments Off

Bianchi Charged as Hillside Strangler; Nolan Ryan on Baseball, May 10, 1979

Posted on May 10, 2009 by lmharnisch

May 10, 1979: Gas rationing, a SALT (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks) agreement with the Soviets and Dial Torgerson reports from Jerusalem that U.N. troops turn back an Israeli force pursuing Palestinian guerrillas into Lebanon. Former security guard Kenneth Allesio Bianchi, … Continue reading →

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Paul V. Coates — Confidential File, May 5, 1959

Posted on May 5, 2009 by lmharnisch

Photograph by John Malmin / Los Angeles Times Elizabeth Ann Duncan crosses her fingers during her murder trial. CONFIDENTIAL FILE Frank S. Duncan Has Come to Town In a sparsely furnished office on the floor of a modernistic Sunset … Continue reading →

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To the Horizon — Everett Ruess

Posted on May 3, 2009 by lmharnisch

After Tom Maugh's story on the apparent resolution of Everett Ruess' disappearance, I thought it would be interesting to go through the archives. Here's what I found: Loving the Land That Engulfed Him New Interest in Young Man Who … Continue reading →

Posted in art and artists, books, Homicide | 2 Comments

The ‘Further Crimes’ of Dr. George Hodel

Posted on May 1, 2009 by lmharnisch

Above: James Ellroy’s inscribed copy of “Black Dahlia Avenger,” as sold on EBay. Steve Hodel’s long-promised sequel to “Black Dahlia Avenger” is evidently headed toward bookstores, according to this item in Library Journal: Steve Hodel with Ralph Pezzullo. Most Evil: … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Homicide | 1 Comment

Death by the Numbers, 1948

Posted on April 27, 2009 by lmharnisch

1948: Knives are almost as popular as guns as a murder weapon. On Sunday, I was part of a Festival of Books panel on California crime, and the final question dealt with gun control. I said I was surprised … Continue reading →

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James Ellroy at the Festival of Books

Posted on April 26, 2009 by lmharnisch

Photograph by Leslie Anne Wiggins / Los Angeles Times Leslie Anne Wiggins writes: The L.A. Times’ Patt Morrison gave the audience appropriate warning before James Ellroy’s loud and expletive-filled speech at the Book Festival Sunday: “Seat belts fastened low and … Continue reading →

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Masked Mob Seizes Black Rape Suspect From Mississippi Jail, April 26, 1959

Posted on April 26, 2009 by lmharnisch

The Times takes a look at the 1910 Aviation Week at Dominguez Hills. Here's a post from last year about J.S. Zerbe. Gunmen wearing masks and gloves raided the jail in Poplarville, Miss., and seized Mack Charles Parker, 23, … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, art and artists, books, Comics, Countdown to Watts, Dodgers, Film, health, Hollywood, Homicide, Music, Politics, Richard Nixon, Science, Stage, Transportation | Comments Off

Paul Coates — Confidential File, April 23, 1959

Posted on April 23, 2009 by lmharnisch

CONFIDENTIAL FILE Underworld Eyes Bounty on a Killer As one who, from time to time, chronicles the grim game of cops and robbers, I have always believed implicitly that the underworld has a First Commandment: "Never kill a cop." And … Continue reading →

Posted in Columnists, Homicide, Paul Coates, Politics | 2 Comments

Body Found on Pasadena Golf Course, May 22, 1906

Posted on April 19, 2009 by lmharnisch

Posted in Homicide | 2 Comments

State Tax Plan; Dodger Breaks Ankle, April 9, 1969

Posted on April 9, 2009 by lmharnisch

Tommy Davis was a star with the Dodgers, a two-time National League batting champion. Then everything changed with one slide. Davis was headed toward second in a 1965 game at Dodger Stadium, a routine play that forever slowed his career. … Continue reading →

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Robbers Kill LAPD Officer, April 7, 1959

Posted on April 7, 2009 by lmharnisch

Two ex-convicts named Napoleon Banks and Howard Green (misidentified as James Calvin in the story above) got drunk and decided to hold up a market at 1451 W. Washington Blvd. They parked their car on a side street with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Front Pages, Homicide, LAPD | 1 Comment

CBS Cancels Hit Comedy Show Over Censorship; Sweet Lou Returns, April 5, 1969

Posted on April 5, 2009 by lmharnisch

A Requiem by Benny Carter is performed at a memorial for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Restaurants lost thousands of dollars to hippies who ate meals but left without paying. The ACLU says Palm Spring police violated the Constitution … Continue reading →

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Jordan’s King Hussein Visits L.A.; Rams to Play Night Game, April 4, 1959

Posted on April 4, 2009 by lmharnisch

The Times' art department retouched Neil Clemans' photo of Marlon Brando giving the finger to photographers. Let's see if we can get a copy of the original. At left, King Hussein of Jordan waves to photographers in Palmdale after flying … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, @news, Film, Front Pages, Homicide, San Fernando Valley, Science, Transportation | 1 Comment

‘Ma’ Duncan

Posted on March 30, 2009 by lmharnisch

Photograph by John Malmin / Los Angeles Times Defendants Augustine Baldonado, left, and Luis Moya stand during the arraignment of Elizabeth Ann Duncan, with attorney S. Ward Sullivan, in Ventura County. By Catriona Lavery Elizabeth Ann Duncan hired two men … Continue reading →

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Actress Near Death After Beating; Gehrig in Decline, March 29, 1939

Posted on March 29, 2009 by lmharnisch

Dewitt Clinton Cook, who admitted attacking actress Delia Bogard, was executed Jan. 31, 1941, in the fatal beating of Anya Sosoyeva. Bogard died in 1995 in Los Angeles at the age of 74. Ouch! A Duesenberg Model J sedan for … Continue reading →

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Matt Weinstock — March 26, 1959

Posted on March 26, 2009 by lmharnisch

Progressive Pains That noise you hear down Santa Monica way is not another hunk of palisades sliding toward the ocean, it’s the indignant uproar over progress, with our without quotes. With the opening of Pacific Ocean Park last year, the … Continue reading →

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