Category Archives: LAPD

Black Dahlia: Ask Me Anything, September 2025

Posted on September 2, 2025 by lmharnisch

This month’s Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia case, including a progress report on Heaven Is HERE! and look at the “Black Dahlia” edition of “Clue” based on the infamous list of 22 suspects. Continue reading →

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September 1, 1947: 1,000 World War II Veterans Now in LAPD Uniforms

Posted on September 1, 2025 by lmharnisch

September 1, 1947: More than 1,000 new LAPD officers are World War II veterans. “We’re going to have a young and strong Police Department,” Assistant Chief Joe Reed says. Continue reading →

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August 28, 1958: Intruder kills former actress

Posted on August 28, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 28, 1958: Helene Jerome, described as a retired actress, is found strangled in her apartment at the Las Palmas Hotel. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, @news, Cemeteries, Dodgers, Film, Forest Lawn, Front Pages, Hollywood, Hollywood Division, Homicide, LAPD, Sports | 1 Comment

August 28, 1947: Diamond Street Gang Member Takes Murder Rap ‘for the Gang’

Posted on August 28, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 28, 1947: Earl Bush, 19, member of the Diamond Street gang says he’s taking a killing rap for the gang. Continue reading →

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August 27,1958: Woman kills husband over singing, Reds win against Dodgers

Posted on August 27, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 27, 1958: Was the late Benjamin Beynon, stabbed to death by his wife, an abusive husband or just a bad singer? Continue reading →

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August 26, 1938: LAPD officer accused in bizarre plot to kill neighbors

Posted on August 26, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 26, 1938: A suspended LAPD officer hires a couple of men to tunnel to his neighbors’ house, to plant bugging equipment … or explosives. A judge finds The Times guilty of contempt for editorials on pending court cases. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Front Pages, LAPD, Sports | 4 Comments

August 25, 1947: Police Investigate Death of Doctor’s Wife

Posted on August 25, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 25, 1947: Susanne Castillo is found dead in a bathtub and her husband, Dr. Manuel de J. Castillo, is suspected. Continue reading →

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August 25, 1907: Death at the Lummis House Over a Garden Hose

Posted on August 25, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 25, 1907: Death at the Lummis House in a fight that began over a garden hose. Continue reading →

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George Hodel: Ask Me Anything, August 2025

Posted on August 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

This month’s Ask Me Anything on George Hodel and Steve Hodel in the Black Dahlia case. Continue reading →

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August 17, 1958: Fugitive couple attack LAPD officer

Posted on August 17, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 17, 1958: A detective from the LAPD’s Bunco squad is attacked by a fugitive couple at the Alexandria Hotel.
Continue reading →

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Aug. 12-13, 1907: Bucket of Blood Is a Den of Drunken Debauchery

Posted on August 12, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 12, 1907: The L.A. Times describes the Bismark Cafe, known to police as the Bucket of Blood, as “drunken debauchery among girls of tender ages, painted women and men.” It is an “immoral pesthole” where “young girls are enticed nightly do drink and listen to a band concert.” Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, 1908, Crime and Courts, Food and Drink, LAPD, Main Street, Music, Streetcars | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Aug. 12-13, 1907: Bucket of Blood Is a Den of Drunken Debauchery

August 11, 1969: Ritual Killings Terrorize L.A.

Posted on August 11, 2025 by lmharnisch

Here is Deputy District Attorney Vincent Bugliosi’s opening statement in the Tate-La Bianca murders of August 9-10, 1969. Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, @news, Film, Front Pages, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Music, Rock 'n' Roll, Television | Comments Off on August 11, 1969: Ritual Killings Terrorize L.A.

Aug. 11, 1947: Two Men Found Shot to Death in Bizarre Mystery

Posted on August 11, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 11, 1947: Two men are found shot to death in a motel room on Cahuenga Boulevard. They were fully clothed except for their shoes. Continue reading →

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L.A. Welcomes Harbor Freeway Extension With Four-Block Traffic Jam

Posted on August 8, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 8, 1953: If you build it, they will drive. New extension of Harbor Freeway results in four-block traffic jam. And a Marine deserter is killed by a liquor store owner during an attempted robbery. Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: Ask Me Anything, August 2025

Posted on August 5, 2025 by lmharnisch

This month’s Ask Me Anything on the Black Dahlia case, including a progress report on Heaven Is HERE! and look at William Mann’s forthcoming “Black Dahlia: Murder, Monsters and Madness in Midcentury Hollywood.” Continue reading →

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Aug. 1, 1907: Swarm of Bees Terrorizes Downtown Los Angeles

Posted on August 1, 2025 by lmharnisch

August 1, 1907: ‘Naughty’ bees swarm on South Broadway! Continue reading →

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July 31, 1907: After a Day at the Beach, Beer, a Fight and Gunshots

Posted on July 31, 2025 by lmharnisch

July 31, 1907: A day at the beach ends in a fight over beer. Evelyn Ferguson is accused of shooting newsboy Charles ‘Winnipeg’ Wilson with a policeman’s gun because Wilson was attacking her friend, who ‘was not in a condition to remember much about how it happened.’ Continue reading →

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July 28, 1907: L.A. Seeks to Clear Books of Old Laws on Bear Baiting, Quail Hunting by Streetcar Conductors

Posted on July 28, 2025 by lmharnisch

July 28, 1907: Los Angeles seeks to rid itself of outdated laws like hunting rabbits on Spring Street or conductors abandoning their streetcars to go quail hunting at the end of the line. Continue reading →

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Dead Man’s Last Words: ‘Here’s a Good Spot to Shoot, Baby,’ July 25, 1944

Posted on July 25, 2025 by lmharnisch

July 25, 1944: William B. Smith’s last words to his angry girlfriend were “Here’s a good spot to shoot, baby,” after he said he was going back to his wife. Continue reading →

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July 24, 1947: Honor Student Vesta Belle Sapenter, 17, Strangled

Posted on July 24, 2025 by lmharnisch

July 24, 1947: Jefferson High honor student Vesta Belle is found strangled in her bedroom. Continue reading →

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