Tag Archives: crime and courts

‘Little Shoes’: An Author’s Journey of Discovery in Unlocking a Family Tragedy From 1930s L.A.

Posted on June 13, 2018 by lmharnisch

A family’s history is tricky even in the best of circumstances; the past may be sanitized and rewritten for consumption by the next generation. When tragedy is involved, family stories become murky or are simply locked away. So it was … Continue reading →

Posted in 1937, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Black Dahlia: Who Is This Man?

Posted on June 13, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. I recently obtained an original copy of The Times’ March 28, 1971, story “Farewell, My Black Dahlia,” which includes the account of the “Boy on the Bicycle.” Here’s a color picture of … Continue reading →

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

June 12, 1907: Woman Dies After Abortion, but Leaves Statement Against Doctor

Posted on June 12, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 12, 1907 Los Angeles At 19, Florence Grover was old enough to be in love and living with a man, and at 19, she was old enough to become a mother. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Abortion, Black Dahlia, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Medicine, Streetcars | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

June 6, 1947: American POW Recognizes Sadistic Japanese Prison Camp Guard in L.A. Store

Posted on June 6, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. On D-Day plus three years, Los Angeles was torn between the past and the future. And in one instance, the past and its aftermath were the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Crime and Courts, World War II | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

June 6, 1907: Miner Sues Tenderfoot Prospector for Shooting Pet Horse

Posted on June 6, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 6, 1907 San Bernardino The miners of the Silver Lake camp out in San Bernardino didn’t take the tenderfoot too seriously. His name was Fred Myton and he presented himself as … Continue reading →

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June 2, 1947: Erwin Walker Pleads Insanity in ‘He Walked by Night’ Killing of CHP Officer

Posted on June 2, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. The Erwin Walker case is the crossroads of several important stories. The victim was Loren Roosevelt, fired in the 1930s as Arcadia’s police chief in an … Continue reading →

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June 1, 1907: Former L.A. Councilman Charged With Running Bordello

Posted on June 1, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. June 1, 1907 Los Angeles Voir dire, in which lawyers question prospective jurors, is a rough and tumble affair, especially when the case involves prostitution. The matter at hand involves Tom Savage, … Continue reading →

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Black L.A. 1947: NAACP to Protest Not-Guilty Verdicts in South Carolina Lynching

Posted on May 30, 2018 by lmharnisch

May 29, 1947: You may recall that the Los Angeles Times devoted two paragraphs on Page 6 to the acquittal of 28 men in the lynching of Willie Earle. In contrast to the disinterest of The Times, the Sentinel published … Continue reading →

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May 28, 1947: Billie Holiday Sentenced to Prison on Drug Charge

Posted on May 28, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. On June 17, while Holiday was in prison, the film “New Orleans” opened in Los Angeles at the four Music Hall theaters: 8th and Broadway downtown; … Continue reading →

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May 26, 1947: Otto Parzyjegla and the Killing of Alfred Haij

Posted on May 26, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. As tragic as it is, the Otto Parzyjegla case is wonderful example of the distinct contrasts between the murder of Alfred Haij and Elizabeth Short, and … Continue reading →

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May 24, 1947: Where Is the Overell House?

Posted on May 24, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. Of course, all through this period is the sensational case of Bud Gollum and Louise Overell, who were accused of killing her wealthy parents by blowing … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Architecture, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

May 21, 1947: South Carolina Jury Acquits 28 in Lynching

Posted on May 21, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. For the record An earlier headline on this post incorrectly reported the length of the jury’s deliberations. It was five hours and 15 minutes, not 15 … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, African Americans, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

May 21, 1907: J.G. Fleenor ‘Barefoot Burglar’ Talks!

Posted on May 21, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. In a jailhouse interview before he was taken to San Quentin, James G. Fleenor, the barefoot burglar, set the record straight on his escapes, his relationship with a white woman and how … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Real Estate, Streetcars | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Black Dahlia: A Note to Fans of Piu Eatwell’s ‘Black Dahlia, Red Rose’

Posted on May 19, 2018 by lmharnisch

Dear fans of Piu Eatwell’s “Black Dahlia, Red Rose” (I know there’s at least a few of you because you write to me): Leslie Dillon was absolutely, positively in San Francisco when Elizabeth Short was killed. Nothing else matters. Not … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

May 18, 1907: Black Worker on Search for Lost Lumber Gets in Fatal Fight

Posted on May 18, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. May 18, 1907 Los Angeles William Mullen, a black strikebreaker for the Pioneer Truck Company, was delivering a shipment of lumber when he realized that he had lost some of his load … Continue reading →

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Black L.A. 1947: World War II Veteran Kills Wife, Commits Suicide

Posted on May 15, 2018 by lmharnisch

May 15, 1947: Robert B. Hudson, 30, was “ambitious, quiet and conservative in his activities,” the Sentinel said. He was discharged from the service with the rank of staff sergeant after 27 months in the South Pacific. He and his … Continue reading →

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Black Dahlia: ‘It Was Him’ and Edward Wayne Edwards — No Way

Posted on May 12, 2018 by lmharnisch

Before you watch Episode 5 of “It Was Him,” (airing Monday at 9 p.m. on Paramount Net), which attempts to link Edward Wayne Edwards to the Black Dahlia case… Keep in mind: Edward Wayne Edwards was born June 14, 1933. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 2018, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Coming Attractions, Crime and Courts, Homicide, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

May 8, 1947: Mixed Marriage Was Illegal, Louisiana Court Rules, Ordering Woman to Vacate Home for New Owner

Posted on May 7, 2018 by lmharnisch

Daisy Lee Wade, 14, shows off a bike she won in a contest to name a bicycle. Her winning entry: A Master Chaser. May 8, 1947: Tony Rice and Azelia Barthelmy (sometimes Berthlemy) were married by the Catholic Church of … Continue reading →

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May 4, 1907: Author’s Hardest Sentence — 4 Months in Jail Over ‘Research’

Posted on May 4, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. In grappling with a novel about life in prison, writer Ernest Filer of Chicago decided that he should experience imprisonment for himself , thus he hatched the idea of breaking a window … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

From 1937: A Rape Victim’s ‘Night of Horror’

Posted on May 3, 2018 by lmharnisch

And here’s where we go down the research rabbit hole from the L.A. Sentinel, 1947: The California Venereal Disease Control Act of 1937. Which brings us to “California and Western Medicine,” July to December 1937.

Posted in 1932, 1947, African Americans, Crime and Courts, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment