Category Archives: Homicide

Jealousy slaying

Posted on May 2, 2007 by lmharnisch

May 2, 1957 Los Angeles Meet Henry C. “Clay” Hamby, 42, who lived with his wife, Mildred, and three children in a 944-square-foot home at 14519 Paddock St., in Sylmar. Clay is a drophammer operator at Reylon Precision Products, a … Continue reading →

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A shot in the dark

Posted on April 28, 2007 by lmharnisch

April 28, 1957 Los Angeles Let’s park here and sit in the car for a minute. It’s late, sometime between 11 p.m. on Jan. 3 and dawn on Jan. 4, 1957. The lights are on as if someone’s home. Hear … Continue reading →

Posted in Homicide | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Voices

Posted on April 24, 2007 by lmharnisch

Note: Ulrich K. Quast, an auto salesman who took L. Ewing Scott and his wife, Evelyn, for a test drive along Mulholland in 1955, was probably the last person who saw her alive aside from her killer. As far as … Continue reading →

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The bad dream

Posted on April 23, 2007 by lmharnisch

April 23, 1957 Los Angeles "It’s like a bad dream," he said. "You keep thinking you’ll awaken and find it’s a bad dream." Edward Simon Wein, given five death sentences under California’s "Little Lindbergh Law" for a series of kidnappings … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Caryl Chessman, Homicide, Long Beach, San Fernando Valley, Venice Division | 3 Comments

A lack of curiosity

Posted on April 16, 2007 by lmharnisch

April 16, 1957 Los Angeles Everyone seems to be wondering what became of Evelyn–everyone except her husband, Leonard. The way he tells it, on May 8, 1955, they took a car for a test drive along Mulholland, came back to … Continue reading →

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The Wife-Saving House

Posted on April 13, 2007 by lmharnisch

April 13, 1957 Los Angeles By Larry Harnisch Step back with me for a moment to that 1950s home the McCauleys built, one of those futuristic places that practically took care of itself and just needed a little soap and … Continue reading →

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April 5, 1957: Twice Burned in Club Mecca Firebombing

Posted on April 5, 2007 by lmharnisch

April 5, 1957 Los Angeles By Larry Harnisch They were a six-pack of juiceheads, daddy-o. Human-torched by lowlifes that wildfired the imagination of young, L.A. bike-roaming James Ellroy, demon dogging the pulp novel city in type-O scarlet and memory napalm. … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, 1957, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , | 18 Comments

In-Cred-I-Ble

Posted on February 13, 2007 by lmharnisch

A large (20×30) reproduction of Elizabeth Short’s mug shot has appeared on EBay at a starting price of $250, or $400 under “buy it now” in an auction by mermaidfx. The word “rare” is ridiculously common on EBay, surpassed only … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on In-Cred-I-Ble

Blogging the Wolfe Book, Our Story So Far

Posted on February 8, 2007 by lmharnisch

Larry Harnisch (described by James Ellroy as a Dahlia scholar/Dahlia freak, take your pick) is blogging in real time as he reads Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files: The Mob, the Mogul and the Murder That Transfixed Los Angeles.” … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Donald Wolfe, Film, History, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Strange Fruit

Posted on February 1, 2007 by lmharnisch

Feb. 1, 1907Los Angeles I was all set to write about Leroyxez, “The Human Pincushion,” being nailed to a cross promptly at 4 p.m. at Chutes Park, and then a story about lynching in the U.S. caught my eye. Year … Continue reading →

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Also on EBay

Posted on January 16, 2007 by lmharnisch

Jan. 16, 2007 Sfxarchive is selling a 4- by 5-inch negative ostensibly from the Black Dahlia case. I don’t recognize any of these individuals, nor have I ever seen the image. It doesn’t show any of the main suspects, nor … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

In Cred I Ble

Posted on January 13, 2007 by lmharnisch

The sale of 1940s mug shots, including one of Elizabeth Short, sold Jan. 12, 2007, for $1,802.77 (more than $78 per picture) to phenomaly. Although EBay now conceals bidders’ identities, we can see that the next highest bid was $1,777.77. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 5 Comments

For Sale on EBay

Posted on January 3, 2007 by lmharnisch

“escalante_sandy” is offering an original mug shot of Elizabeth Short, with bidding starting at $50. The seller says this mug shot, among a lot of 23 photos, belonged to a retired detective and is not a reproduction, a claim that … Continue reading →

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Whats in That Embalming Fluid?

Posted on December 18, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec. 18, 1907Los AngelesLos Angeles County Coroner Roy S. Lanterman was arrested on charges of being drunk and disorderly at the Navajo, a bordello run by Ida Hastings, 309 Ord St. Hastings called police, who arrested Lanterman.A Mills Seminary graduate … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1908, 1909, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, City Hall, Crime and Courts, Film, Freeways, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Photography, Streetcars | Comments Off on Whats in That Embalming Fluid?

Adios Judy!

Posted on December 16, 2006 by lmharnisch

Judith Regan, the publisher of Donald H. Wolfe’s “The Black Dahlia Files,” has found a way to make Page 1 of The Times: Get fired by HarperCollins. (The New York Times story is here.) I’m trying not to gloat. But … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Donald Wolfe, History, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Adios Judy!

Note to "Dahlia Avenger" Fans

Posted on December 7, 2006 by lmharnisch

Here’s a publicity still of “Maddy” Comfort from “Kiss Me Deadly” for sale on EBay. Her name is also spelled “Mattie” and “Mady.”Comfort is referred to in the Los Angeles County district attorney’s files on George Hodel. Investigators checking on … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Found on EBay, Homicide, LAPD, Streetcars | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

In the Line of Duty

Posted on December 3, 2006 by lmharnisch

Dec. 3, 1907Los AngelesOfficer Patrick Lyons had been on the force for four months when he was shot in the head while trying to arrest two robbers a little after 11 p.m. at Central Avenue and 14th Street.There’s no picture … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Education, Homicide, LAPD, Streetcars, Transportation | Comments Off on In the Line of Duty

Slaughter of the Innocent

Posted on November 23, 2006 by lmharnisch

Nov. 23, 1907South Pasadena Warning: This is a grotesque, tragic story with graphic details. Pasadena Detective Wallace H. Copping is investigating the murder of a young baby boy, whose half-eaten body was found in a pigpen on the Berry ranch … Continue reading →

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The Murderous Mother

Posted on November 21, 2006 by lmharnisch

Nov. 21, 1907Los Angeles The woman who threw her baby from an inbound train was arrested at her mother’s home at 12th Street and San Pedro after the girl’s nurse contacted authorities, saying that she read about the incident in … Continue reading →

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Fatal Fury

Posted on November 16, 2006 by lmharnisch

Nov. 16, 1907Los Angeles Mrs. Amanda Cook (she is also identified as Jennie and Mary) came to Los Angeles from Boston in 1906 with two of her children in search of her husband, Frederick, a union plasterer and bricklayer. She … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1908, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Homicide, LAPD, Streetcars, Transportation | Comments Off on Fatal Fury