Tag Archives: crime and courts

November 1947: Women Charged Under 1872 Law for Same-Sex Marriage

Posted on June 2, 2025 by lmharnisch

Thelma and Marieta met in college as roommates and fell in love, living as Mr. and Mrs. David Warren — then FBI agents came calling about possible draft evasion. Continue reading →

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Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: M.E. Firman, Lady Detective

Posted on March 24, 2025 by lmharnisch

In an encore post, Mary Mallory looks at the career of Marie E. “M.E.” Firman, early “lady detective” of Los Angeles Continue reading →

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

Posted on January 15, 2025 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.

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

Posted on January 15, 2024 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 , , , , , | 1 Comment

George Hodel: Ask Me Anything, October 2023 / The Trial of George Hodel

Posted on October 10, 2023 by lmharnisch

Boxy and I did an Ask Me Anything on the trial of George Hodel. If all you know is what Steve Hodel claims, this will sound quite a bit different.

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Brian De Palma’s ‘The Black Dahlia’

Posted on September 17, 2023 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2006.  I’m running it again because I’m seeing a fair number of comments on social media about De Palma’s Black Dahlia being “Well, OK, not *that* bad.” Yes, yes it was *that* bad. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1947, Black Dahlia, Books and Authors, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, Zoot Suit | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: Jerry Giesler, Miracle Man

Posted on June 12, 2023 by lmharnisch

Photo: Walter Wanger, left, and Jerry Giesler. Courtesy of Mary Mallory. Note: This is an encore post from 2013. Long before Johnnie L. Cochran Jr., Richard “Racehorse” Haynes, or F. Lee Bailey hit the scene, soft-spoken, circumspect Jerry Giesler iced … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Courts, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — ‘Spirit of ’76’ as Propaganda

Posted on August 15, 2022 by lmharnisch

A still from the lost film “Spirit of ‘76” from Moving Picture World.   Note: This is an encore post from 2013. The United States’ Espionage Act was ratified in 1917 to punish those abetting the enemy, promoting military insubordination, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1917, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Hollywood Heights, Mary Mallory, World War I | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights — ‘Spirit of ’76’ as Propaganda

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

Posted on January 15, 2022 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 , , , , , | 1 Comment

Dec. 23, 1947: Baby Girl Abandoned at Downtown Restaurant With Christmas Card Pinned to Blanket

Posted on December 25, 2021 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. The young mother asked the waitress at the cafe in the Subway Terminal Building to hold her baby for just a moment—and then she was gone. … Continue reading →

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Found on EBay: A. Victor Segno, L.A.’s Greatest Charlatan

Posted on September 27, 2021 by lmharnisch

A. Victor Segno is my favorite Los Angeles charlatan and I’ve written about him several times. His scam was to have people send money to him at his HQ in Echo Park and in return he would send out a … Continue reading →

Posted in Found on EBay | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

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

Posted on January 15, 2021 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 , , , , , | 1 Comment

Black Dahlia: Dec. 23, 1949 — Jury Finds Dr. George Hodel Not Guilty of Molesting Tamar Hodel

Posted on December 23, 2020 by lmharnisch

The Los Angeles Mirror-News, Dec. 23, 1949. Today is the anniversary of a jury of eight women and four men finding Dr. George Hodel not guilty on two counts of molesting his daughter Tamar. I’ll have more to say about … Continue reading →

Posted in 1949, Black Dahlia, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mary Mallory / Hollywood Heights: M.E. Firman, Lady Detective

Posted on June 15, 2020 by lmharnisch

In the early 1900s, most women in the United States lacked the right to vote. Groups such as the National American Woman Suffrage Association organized to actively campaign for enfranchisement. Winning the vote would lead to other reforms regarding child … Continue reading →

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

Posted on January 15, 2020 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 , , , , , | Comments Off on Black Dahlia: Trim Your Roses on Jan. 15 to Remember Elizabeth Short

Dec. 23, 1947: Baby Girl Abandoned at Downtown Restaurant With Christmas Card Pinned to Blanket

Posted on December 25, 2019 by lmharnisch

Note: This is an encore post from 2005 and originally appeared on the 1947project. The young mother asked the waitress at the cafe in the Subway Terminal Building to hold her baby for just a moment—and then she was gone. … Continue reading →

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

L.A. Daily Mirror Retro Holiday Shopping Guide

Posted on December 13, 2019 by lmharnisch

This is an encore post from 2018. Note: “Little Shoes,” about the murders of three little girls, may not be everybody’s idea of an appropriate holiday gift, but it is more than a “true crime” book. In “Little Shoes” Pamela … Continue reading →

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

March 5, 1959: Blinded by Bullet, Officer Shoots Gunman Who Killed Partner

Posted on April 9, 2019 by lmharnisch

Note: I’m way behind on revisiting old blog posts but here’s one I especially like. It’s a little story about  LAPD artist Ector A. Garcia. Garcia also published a paperback “Portraits of Crime” in 1977. It’s a bit hard to … Continue reading →

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Jan. 5, 1959: LAPD Suspends Officer for – Uh-Oh

Posted on February 16, 2019 by lmharnisch

Jan. 5, 1959: Chief William Parker suspends Officer Charles Wolf serial No. 4115 for 15 days for … oh dear. Banging “a known prostitute and dissolute person” and letting her get possession of his firearm. This material is from the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, City Hall, Crime and Courts, LAPD, Libraries | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Feb. 14, 1959: Matt Weinstock (Almost) All Bets Are Off at Raided Bookie Joint

Posted on February 14, 2019 by lmharnisch

Feb. 14, 1959: Matt Weinstock ends his week with an assortment of amusing stories, a poem and a bit of literature. Weinstock had an impressive number and variety of people feeding items to him. He made it look easy. Weinstock’s … Continue reading →

Posted in 1959, Books and Authors, Columnists, Matt Weinstock | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments