Tag Archives: homicide

The ‘Masked Marvel Murder’ — Part 10

Posted on November 1, 2013 by lmharnisch

David Bacon, center, in a still from “The Masked Marvel,” photo courtesy of Steven Bibb. In case you just tuned in, we are looking at the “Masked Marvel Murder” of actor David G.G. Bacon, who was stabbed to death Sept. … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Cold Cases, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

The ‘Masked Marvel Murder’ – Part 9

Posted on October 31, 2013 by lmharnisch

Note: This post has been corrected. See details below. In case you just tuned in, we have been going through the case of actor David G.G. Bacon, who was stabbed to death Sept. 12, 1943, in a case that remains … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Cold Cases, Fashion, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Woman’s Body Found Behind Wall in Highland Park Home

Posted on September 13, 2013 by lmharnisch

Joseph and Anna Lewis, 2630 Johnston St., Highland Park, had been married for 42 when she disappeared. Not that Joseph, 72, a carpenter, was particularly concerned about her absence. Police were not informed of the disappearance until her daughter Shirley … Continue reading →

Posted in 1963, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Homicide, LAPD, Suicide | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Joaquin Murrieta’s Head on Display in San Francisco

Posted on September 10, 2013 by lmharnisch

What exists of the Sept. 3, 1853, issue of the Los Angeles Star, in the collection at the Huntington, is online at USC (although it can only be viewed after it is downloaded due to some malfunction in the interface) … Continue reading →

Posted in 1853, African Americans, Animals, Crime and Courts, Homicide, Politics | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Man Kills Wife and Daughter, Commits Suicide Over Pink Bedroom

Posted on September 4, 2013 by lmharnisch

Sept. 4, 1933: A streetcar broadsides an auto at the crossing on Olympic Boulevard between Broadway and Figueroa, killing two people and leaving two others near death, The Times said. A man fatally stabs his estranged wife and daughter, then … Continue reading →

Posted in 1933, Art & Artists, Comics, Downtown, Film, Homicide, LAPD, Main Street, Nightclubs, San Fernando Valley, Streetcars, Suicide, Transportation | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

Barbara Graham Defense Wins Delay After Prosecution Bombshell

Posted on August 30, 2013 by lmharnisch

Aug. 30, 1953: Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charles W. Fricke grants attorneys for Barbara Graham a slight delay in opening their defense after the prosecution closes with a “bombshell”: A transcript of a recorded conversation between Graham and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1953, Art & Artists, Columnists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Paul Coates | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Rocket Builder Steals Truckload of Equipment From Caltech

Posted on August 22, 2013 by lmharnisch

Aug. 22, 1953: Fred Frank Wildemuth kills his wife because he didn’t want her to catch carbon monoxide poisoning from him. “I, the Jury” in 3-D at the Paramount theaters in Hollywood and downtown. A brilliant — and unidentified — … Continue reading →

Posted in 1953, Comics, Crime and Courts, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Music, Suicide | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Man Held in Killing of Ex-Marine — Part 2

Posted on August 14, 2013 by lmharnisch

As strange as the tale of Michael Timothy Cavanaugh had been, the case became even more bizarre once he was arrested. After several days of denying that he knew ex-Marine Ralph Welch, even though he was driving Welch’s car and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1953, 1956, Crime and Courts, Homicide | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Man Held in Killing of Ex-Marine

Posted on August 13, 2013 by lmharnisch

On the afternoon of July 23, 1953, Michael Timothy Cavanaugh was drinking beer at Thompson’s Cafe in Chula Vista. Earlier that year, he had himself committed to Patton State Hospital, claiming that he suffered “blackouts” in which he wrote fraudulent … Continue reading →

Posted in 1953, Homicide | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Man Held in Killing of Ex-Marine

Rose Parade Encounter Leads to Killing of Arcadia Woman

Posted on August 9, 2013 by lmharnisch

Aug. 9, 1963: “In Saigon, 400 miles to the south, police geared for trouble as a young, unidentified monk announced plans to burn himself to death in the continuing Buddhist struggle for what they consider their civil rights and religious … Continue reading →

Posted in 1963, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Downtown, Film, Hollywood, Homicide, Religion, Vietnam | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

California Politics: Democratic Candidate for Governor Seeks to Bar Blacks

Posted on August 6, 2013 by lmharnisch

The entire Aug. 1, 1863, issue of the Los Angeles Star is available online via the California Digital Newspaper Collection.   Buckley shoots Francisco Cruz. Aug. 1, 1863: The Star publishes the campaign speech of former Gov. John G. Downey … Continue reading →

Posted in 1863, African Americans, Civil War, Homicide, Politics | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on California Politics: Democratic Candidate for Governor Seeks to Bar Blacks

‘Mysterious Objects’ in Skies Over L.A.

Posted on August 1, 2013 by lmharnisch

Comics characters of the 1950s got to drive MGs! Edward Irving Foote was born June 29, 1861, in Michigan. Someone by that name attended the University of Michigan at Lansing, class of 1877-78, and was described as a “farmer, miner, … Continue reading →

Posted in 1953, Art & Artists, Comics, Downtown, Homicide, LAPD, Obituaries, Suicide | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on ‘Mysterious Objects’ in Skies Over L.A.

Teen Convicted in Bloody Killing of Girl, 12

Posted on June 27, 2013 by lmharnisch

June 27, 1943: The “Greatest Generation” isn’t getting enough “bulk.” Let’s rename Bunker Hill as Angels’ Terrace. Or not. The Courtemanche family lived in the old Sepulveda place at 751 N. Palos Verdes St., on a hill above the Wilmington-San … Continue reading →

Posted in 1943, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Wikipedia: Murder and Myth — Part 2

Posted on April 24, 2013 by lmharnisch

In case you just tuned in, I’m using the alleged beating of Ted Healy by Wallace Beery et al to examine Wikipedia’s accuracy. So far, it hasn’t been good. Yesterday, I looked at the eight different accounts in Wikipedia and … Continue reading →

Posted in 1937, Film, Hollywood, Homicide | Tagged , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Wikipedia: Murder and Myth – Part 1

Posted on April 23, 2013 by lmharnisch

As longtime readers know, the L.A. Daily Mirror is usually a Wikipedia-free zone. I consider it a sinkhole of myth, mistakes, rumors and folklore that is created and maintained by “citizen scholars,” crackpots, coding tweakers, factoid zealots and folks in … Continue reading →

Posted in 1937, Film, History, Hollywood, Homicide | Tagged , , , , , | 26 Comments

Smallpox Epidemic – Los Angeles, Feb. 7, 1863

Posted on February 5, 2013 by lmharnisch

Read the entire Feb. 7, 1863, edition of the Los Angeles Star from the Huntington Library, scanned by USC. Feb. 7 1863: The coroner holds an inquest in the killing of Christian Hutt. George Wright, the father of accused killer … Continue reading →

Posted in 1863, Animals, Crime and Courts, Homicide, Medicine | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

LAPD Losing Staff to War Effort

Posted on August 1, 2012 by lmharnisch

Aug. 1, 1942: Chief C.B. Horrall announces that the LAPD has lost 22 men and two women to the armed services. By the end of the war, many more officers and staff will have gone into the military, leaving the … Continue reading →

Posted in 1942, Art & Artists, Comics, Crime and Courts, Hollywood, Homicide, LAPD, World War II | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on LAPD Losing Staff to War Effort

Woman, boy strangled

Posted on July 24, 2008 by lmharnisch
Posted in Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Woman disappears

Posted on July 23, 2008 by lmharnisch

3714 W. Pico, via Google maps.   July 23, 1958 uth lived in a room at the Shari Hotel, 3714 W. Pico, that she shared with a little dog and a couple of parakeets. The landlord realized she hadn’t been … Continue reading →

Posted in Homicide | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

June 2, 1908

Posted on June 2, 2008 by lmharnisch

  Above, a dramatic story from Central Avenue … Mayor Harper reacts to a Times expose on illegal gambling in the city … Robert T. Hale of the Anti-Fakers Society of Los Angeles County tells county supervisors that granting exemptions … Continue reading →

Posted in #courts, Front Pages, Homicide, LAPD | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment