Tag Archives: crime and courts

Deccember 17, 1947: Frightening Food From the 1940s — ‘Unusual’ Fruitcake

Posted on December 17, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 17, 1947: A recipe for an “unusual” fruitcake. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholds a $2,500 fine against Hollywood book dealer Marcell Rodd for selling the obscene book “Call House Madam.” The book, by Serge G. Wolsey, is now available at the Los Angeles Public Library. Continue reading →

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December 16, 1947: Back Broken and Skull Fractured, Girl, 2 Dies of Abuse; Mother Gets 10 Years in Prison

Posted on December 16, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 16, 1947: A terrible story of child abuse. A woman sentenced to 10 years for killing her 2-year-old girl gives birth to a son in the jail ward of county hospital. The judge takes the baby boy from the mother, saying: ‘You shall never see this baby again!’ Continue reading →

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December 12, 1907: The .45-Caliber Newspaper Ombudsman

Posted on December 12, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 12, 1907: Goldfield, Nev.—J. Holtman Buck, editor of the Western Nevada Miner in Mina, Nev., shot Francis L. Burton to death during a fight over a scathing editorial in which Buck said Burton should be run out of town. Continue reading →

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December 5, 1907: Man Accused of Scheme in Selling Daughter to Gypsies

Posted on December 5, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 5, 1907: A Los Angeles couple have a novel way of making money: Antonio Thompson and his wife sell their daughter Marie to the Gypsies, then go to court to get her back. According to statements taken in St. Louis, Marie has been sold off several times as a Gypsy princess. Continue reading →

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December 4, 1911: Man Arrested for ‘Masquerading in Female Attire’

Posted on December 4, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 4, 1911: Clarence Westfall, 22, is arrested for masquerading in female attire when the boat from San Diego docks in San Pedro. Continue reading →

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December 3, 1907: Gunman Kills LAPD Officer; Dies in Slow Agony Awaiting the Gallows

Posted on December 3, 2025 by lmharnisch

December 3,1907: Daniel Meskil kills LAPD Officer Patrick Lyons, who was trying to arrest Meskil and his companion, Rolla Robe. Meskil was sentenced to be hanged at San Quentin, but died of injuries from jumping off a roof during an escape attempt. Continue reading →

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November 23, 1947: ‘Lonesome’ Woman Sought Threesomes and Husband, Ex-Wife Says

Posted on November 23, 2025 by lmharnisch

Kitty Higgins in all its uproarious humor. Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. This was rather a racy edition of The Times, especially for a Sunday paper. Next to the Kertz’s saga, … Continue reading →

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November 23, 1907: Baby Murdered With Ax, Half-Eaten by Pigs in Garbage Heap

Posted on November 23, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 23, 1907: Trigger Warning — half-eaten body of baby found in ranch’s pig pen. Continue reading →

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November 22, 1907: Son Beats Father With Baseball Bat to Protect Mother; Bleeding and Shot in the Head, She Vows Eternal Love

Posted on November 22, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 22, 1907: Though beaten and shot in the head by her drunk husband, Ellen Larkin vowed her eternal love and said he could come home as soon as he recovered from being beaten with a baseball bat by their son to protect his mother. Continue reading →

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November 21, 1947: Judge Tells Joel Thorne to Quit ‘Fooling Around’ With Racecars, Nightclubs

Posted on November 21, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 21, 1947: A judge admonishes Joel Thorne, who sneaked out of Cedars of Lebanon Hospital after being injured in a motorcycle crash to avoid paying alimony to his ex-wife. In 1955, Thorne was killed when his Beachcraft Bonanza plunged into an apartment building, killing eight others. Continue reading →

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November 21, 1907: Mother, 17, Throws Baby From Train to Hide ‘Shame’ From Family

Posted on November 21, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 21, 1907: Louise Williams is arrested on charges of throwing her baby from an inbound train. “She was suddenly overwhelmed with the shame of meeting her mother and sisters at Los Angeles, who had not learned of her ruin,” her attorney said. Continue reading →

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November 20, 1947: Bobby-Soxer Kills Girl, 5

Posted on November 20, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 13, 1947: Joyce, 13, forces Myretta Jones, 5, to undress, then smashes her with a rock and a shovel until she’s dead. Why? Joyce said she didn’t know. Continue reading →

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November 20, 1907: Police Capture Streetcar Bandits

Posted on November 20, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 20, 1907: Police arrest two men who staged daring holdups on the Ascot Park and Eastlake streetcars, robbing the motormen and conductors as the cars reached the ends of their routes. Continue reading →

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November 19, 1907: Crime Wave Sweeps L.A.

Posted on November 19, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 19, 1907: An influx of crooks, petty hoodlums and vagrants drawn by good weather and horse racing at Santa Anita are blamed for a siege of crime throughout the city. Continue reading →

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November 17, 1907: A #MeToo Moment in the Monkey House; Opera Tenors in Trouble

Posted on November 17, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 17, 1907: A detective in Central Park’s monkey house arrests Leon Cazauran, brought to New York to sing in “Thais” at Oscar Hammerstein’s Manhattan Operahouse, and his companion, Claude Modjeska, “a copper-colored young man,” The Times says. The charge was attempting to corrupt small boys Continue reading →

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November 16, 1907: Husband in Elaborate Disguise Shoots Estranged Wife on Streetcar

Posted on November 16, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 16,1907: Frederick Cook faces trial for shooting his estranged wife on a streetcar, disguising himself so she wouldn’t recognize him. Continue reading →

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November 12, 1907: A Bad Way With Horses

Posted on November 12, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 12, 1907: John P. Shumway Jr. is badly injured when the carriage he was driving collided with the 11th Street trolley. Shumway was thrown about 20 feet, striking the pavement head-first, and the horse ran for the stable, pulling what was left of the smashed carriage, witnesses said. Continue reading →

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November 10, 1947: Remains of Kidnapped Girl Found in Orange County Ravine

Posted on November 10, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 10, 1947: The remains of 6-year-old Rochelle Gluskoter, kidnapped February 15, 1946, are found in a small ravine in Orange County. Her case was never solved. Continue reading →

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November 8, 1947: Tokyo Rose Seeks to Return to U.S.

Posted on November 8, 2025 by lmharnisch

November 8, 1947: Iva Toguri of Los Angeles seeks to return to the U.S. after being stranded in Japan during the war, when she was known as Tokyo Rose. Continue reading →

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October 28, 1907: Former LAPD Chief Calls It ‘Most Detestable Job Ever Created’

Posted on October 28, 2025 by lmharnisch

October 28, 1907: A former LAPD chief says the job is the worst in the city. Continue reading →

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