Tag Archives: crime and courts

Black Dahlia: Photos From Black Dahlia’s Scrapbook Sell on EBay for $7,611 in 2003

Posted on January 18, 2019 by lmharnisch

Back in 2003, a few photos from Elizabeth Short’s scrapbook were sold on EBay for $7,611.11 Perhaps they look familiar. I archived the page (it has vanished from EBay, of course) to keep anybody from claiming that they found them … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, 2003, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Found on EBay, Homicide | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A. Victor Segno: How to Live 100 Years – Olive Oil and Distilled Water

Posted on January 18, 2019 by lmharnisch

More wisdom from A. Victor Segno, my favorite L.A. charlatan. Via Archive.org..

Posted in 1903, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Black Dahlia: Trim Your Roses on Jan. 15 to Remember Elizabeth Short

Posted on January 14, 2019 by lmharnisch

Today is Jan. 15, the anniversary of Elizabeth Short’s death. As is the custom, the Daily Mirror will be dark. Trim your roses in her memory.

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Black Dahlia: Did George Hodel Kill Jeanne French? No

Posted on January 14, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jeanne French was found beaten and stomped to death Feb. 10 1947, almost a month after Elizabeth Short was killed. French died from a broken rib that punctured her heart. Heel prints were found on her chest and near her … Continue reading →

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

Jan. 14, 1959: Paul Coates on Three Boys Who Killed Their Father as He Slept

Posted on January 14, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 14, 1959: Paul Coates has the amazing story of three boys, ages 7, 9 and 10, who shot their father to death as he slept. Coates says that the mother (and the boys planned to kill her as well … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Crime and Courts, Homicide, Paul Coates | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Jan. 14, 1959: State Supreme Court Upholds L.A.’s Deal for Dodger Stadium

Posted on January 14, 2019 by lmharnisch

Keith Thursby writes: The state Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of the Dodgers and City Hall, moving plans for a baseball stadium in Chavez Ravine one huge step closer to reality. The Times’ coverage was breathless, no surprise since … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Crime and Courts, Dodgers, Keith Thursby, Sports | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Black Dahlia: Are There Any Good Black Dahlia Sites on the Internet? Oh Dear!

Posted on January 11, 2019 by lmharnisch

So you may not read any Black Dahlia books before watching “I Am the Night.” But you may turn to Google. You should be warned. BlackDahliaSolution.org may be the worst of the websites on the Black Dahlia case simply because … Continue reading →

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

Black Dahlia: George Hodel – ‘One of the Evilest Men in History?’ Says Who??

Posted on January 9, 2019 by lmharnisch

One thing you know about evil sociopaths is that they like to treat impoverished people of color. Yep. That’s what evil sociopaths do, fer sure.

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Homicide, LAPD, Television | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Black Dahlia: How Do People Get the Story So Wrong?

Posted on January 8, 2019 by lmharnisch

This popped into my inbox this morning and golly it’s amazing just how many mistakes some crime buffs can pack into one blog post. Then again, the Internet. Ready? Let’s find five obvious errors.

Posted in 1947, Another Good Story Ruined, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Black Dahlia: ‘Black Dahlia Avenger’ Was Just a Prankster’s Joke

Posted on January 7, 2019 by lmharnisch

A practical joke from 1947 is the source of the “Black Dahlia Avenger” franchise. During the investigation of the Black Dahlia case, the killer mailed a small envelope of Elizabeth Short’s belongings to the newspapers. After that, crackpots and pranksters … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Jan. 6, 1959: Matt Weinstock ‘Law Is Upheld’

Posted on January 6, 2019 by lmharnisch

A very upsetting ruling came down recently from Appellate Justice Paul Vallee. Shocked by the discovery that three men were held in jail for five days before being arraigned, he stated in an opinion, “It appears the police are permitted … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Crime and Courts, Matt Weinstock, Suicide | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Jan. 6, 1959: Paul Coates Confidential File – My Responsibilities as Your Reporter

Posted on January 6, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 6, 1959: Paul Coates writes about protecting his sources, citing the case of New York Herald Tribune writer Marie Torre, who was sentenced to 10 days in jail for refusing to reveal her source for a story about Judy … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Paul Coates | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

January 1959: Studio Exec Says They Would Have to Kill Him to Get Wallet – So They Did

Posted on January 5, 2019 by lmharnisch

Kenneth Savoy told holdup men “If you want my wallet, you’re going to have to kill me to get it.” So they did. The story of George Albert Scott and Curtis C. Lichtenwalter, who were robbing bars across Los Angeles. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Victor Segno: ‘How to Live 100 Years’

Posted on January 4, 2019 by lmharnisch

A. Victor Segno is my favorite Los Angeles charlatan. I wrote a feature about him for The Times in 2012.. The entire Daily Mirror post appears on Archive.org.

Posted in 1903, 2009, Books and Authors, Crime and Courts | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Jan. 2, 1969: College Student Home on Vacation Killed, Dumped Off Mulholland

Posted on January 2, 2019 by lmharnisch

This is another story that I don’t remember at all. The original post is here at Archive.org. The killing of Marina Elizabeth Habe remains unsolved (I see that I garbled her name in the original post). See also Keith Thursby’s … Continue reading →

Posted in 1969, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Homicide, Keith Thursby | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Another Fine Mess? Stan Laurel Accused of Planning to Bury Wife in Backyard

Posted on January 2, 2019 by lmharnisch

I have written more than 10,000 posts about L.A. history over the years and I don’t remember many of them. Like this one, which was turned into a “Then and Now” a feature that continued briefly after Cecilia Rasmussen left … Continue reading →

Posted in 1940, 2009, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

LAPD Crime Statistics for 1957 | Looking Back at ‘Our Lawless City’

Posted on January 2, 2019 by lmharnisch

If you are a longtime reader, you may remember when the Daily Mirror was hosted by the Los Angeles Times. The Times holds the copyright on these items, even though the blog was killed in 2011 (thank you, Jimmy Orr), … Continue reading →

Posted in 1957, 2008, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Jan. 1, 1959: Paul Coates, Confidential File ‘Looking Back at ‘58; Looking Ahead to ‘59’

Posted on January 1, 2019 by lmharnisch

One of my particular joys in doing the Daily Mirror at the Los Angeles Times was rerunning Paul Coates’ columns, which originally appeared in the Mirror (d. 1962). I was particularly fortunate to have several excellent interns who transcribed them. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Columnists, Paul Coates | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Dec. 31, 1907: Old Watchman, Beaten by Robbers, Revealed as Cocaine Addict

Posted on December 31, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Dec. 31, 1907 Los Angeles His name was W.H. Reynolds and the old watchman for E.H. Howard Contracting had laid out all night after being beaten up and thrown in the weeds … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, LAPD, Medicine, Streetcars | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Dec. 30, 1907: Old Soldiers of the Civil War, Held as Drunks, Get Free Run of Jail

Posted on December 30, 2018 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006. Dec. 30, 1907 Los Angeles James Sullivan, 64, was a prisoner of the Confederates held at Belle Isle, Libby and Andersonville, where he and war correspondent Albert D. Richardson escaped by tunneling … Continue reading →

Posted in 1907, Civil War, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Food and Drink, LAPD, Streetcars, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment