Category Archives: Homicide

Robber kills self

Posted on January 21, 2008 by lmharnisch

Here’s a headline that says: "Read Me":"Cornered and Bullet-Riddled, Bandit Blows His Brains Out." I stumbled across this while researching the mysterious noise mentioned in Matt Weinstock’s column and it’s too good not to share. This is quite a story … Continue reading →

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Paul Coates

Posted on January 16, 2008 by lmharnisch

Jan. 16, 1958 In the space of a year, in a county of 6,000,000 persons, a lot of policemen draw their revolvers a lot of times. And use them, too. They do it because we expect it of them. But … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia

Posted on January 15, 2008 by lmharnisch

Yes, today is the anniversary of Elizabeth Short’s murder. As is my custom, I will be cutting back my roses today, which is one way I honor her memory. I also make an annual donation in her name to Shelter … Continue reading →

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Jan. 14, 1908

Posted on January 14, 2008 by lmharnisch

A man convicted of killing a police officer killer tries to sell his body for a little cash … and his partner goes on trial…  A man can’t get picked up by the streetcar because he looks like a robber… … Continue reading →

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Killing revisited

Posted on January 13, 2008 by lmharnisch

  Sylvan C. Diamond writes of the Felicitas Nicholson case: I covered the Nicholson trial as a reporter for the all news radio station in Riverside, KACE. (No longer there). I was allowed by presiding Superior Court Judge John Gabbert … Continue reading →

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Paul Coates

Posted on January 13, 2008 by lmharnisch

Jan. 13, 1958 Juvenile terror has been a fact in this town for a long time. It’s nothing new. But there is something new about the latest series of outbreaks which hit the headlines over the last few days. Take … Continue reading →

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Streetcar holdup

Posted on January 12, 2008 by lmharnisch

Jan. 12, 1908Los Angeles Streetcars robberies, although not everyday occurrences, were a regular risk 100 years ago on our sainted mass-transit system. In this instance, a passenger grabbed the bandit as he was holding two guns to the conductor’s head … Continue reading →

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Landlord slain

Posted on January 11, 2008 by lmharnisch

Jan. 11-12, 1958 Los Angeles So it’s right before Christmas, Dec. 7, and our guy is a week late with the rent. Not working, no money. The landlord comes around; he’s a machinist at Douglas who owns these four apartments … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia

Posted on January 9, 2008 by lmharnisch

  This letter showed up on my desk last week. Note the postmark: August 2007. Apparently "Black Dahlia" and "Los Angeles Times" is almost all it takes to get a letter to me–eventually–although I don’t recommend it. For the record, … Continue reading →

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Jan. 9, 1908

Posted on January 9, 2008 by lmharnisch

Daniel Meskil is convicted of fatally shooting Officer Patrick Lyons, the second LAPD officer ever killed in the line of duty. Notice that The Times used an illustration for breaking news instead of a photograph… Searching for moonstones on Redondo … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Downtown, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Man kills son

Posted on January 7, 2008 by lmharnisch

  Jan. 7, 1958 Los Angeles "Dear mother," the note from 9-year-old Jimmy began. They weren’t his words, of course. They were dictated by his father, David James Darr, a 34-year-old machinist who was apparently holding a .45 to his … Continue reading →

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Cops kill Marine

Posted on January 3, 2008 by lmharnisch

  Jan. 1, 1958 Los Angeles Officers Ed Neville and R.O. Potter of the Wilshire Division began the year on a thankful note: They were alive. As final hours of 1957 ticked away, the officers were called to an apartment … Continue reading →

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Our lawless city

Posted on January 1, 2008 by lmharnisch

<p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p><p>lapd_crime_stats</p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p> Los Angeles Police Department Crime Statistics Offense 1956 1957 Increase/Decrease Homicide 104 119 +14.4% Rape 1,056 1,271 +20.4% Robbery 3,548 4,269 +20.3% Aggravated Assault 5,315 5,786 +8.9% Burglary 22,799 26,887 +17.9 Larceny (Except Auto Theft) 45,276 50,173 +10.8% Auto … Continue reading →

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Ewing Scott

Posted on December 27, 2007 by lmharnisch

  Photograph by Con Keyes / Los Angeles Times Convicted killer L. Ewing Scott, 1980, at the age of 83. In 1986, bedridden, frail and slowly dying in a Silver Lake convalescent home, 89-year-old Leonard Ewing Scott agreed to see … Continue reading →

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L. Ewing Scott

Posted on December 23, 2007 by lmharnisch

Feb. 13, 1958Los Angeles Photograph by Ray Graham / Los Angeles Times Here’s a great moment in photojournalism: Convicted killer L. Ewing Scott is interviewed with his fly open.  

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Heroic dog update

Posted on December 11, 2007 by lmharnisch

No, I don’t know anything further about Baron the German shepherd, but I do have more information about Nyals A. Andreason, thanks to a reader. According to an online obituary, Nyals graduated from Brigham Young University and was a computer … Continue reading →

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December 11, 1957: Heroic dog shot

Posted on December 11, 2007 by lmharnisch

  Dec. 11, 1957Los Angeles This began as a story about a dog and ended in death. On Dec. 10, 1957, a gunman shot a German shepherd named Baron that had been ordered to attack as the robber was leaving … Continue reading →

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December 3, 1957: Girl kidnapped

Posted on December 6, 2007 by lmharnisch

  Dec. 3, 1957-April 26, 1958 Sycamore, Ill Maria E. Ridulph* was a 7-year-old girl from Sycamore, Ill., who was kidnapped Dec. 3, 1957, and whose decomposed body was found April 26, 1958, near Woodbine, a tiny, unincorporated settlement in … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1957, 1958, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Woman kills robber

Posted on November 28, 2007 by lmharnisch

  Nov. 28, 1957 Los Angeles The last bad decision in James B. Burton’s 42 years of bad decisions was to light a cigarette. Because to light the cigarette, he had to put down his gun.  Of course he had … Continue reading →

Posted in Homicide, LAPD, Robberies | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

Rampages revisited

Posted on November 27, 2007 by lmharnisch

  Photograph by Larry Harnisch / Los Angeles TimesHere’s 307 Tamarac Drive, where Harvey F. Rawlings killed his family and committed suicide.   And this is 555 Avenue 64, where Harold Oilar killed his family in 1954.   And here’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Homicide, Suicide | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments