In 1910, if someone said they were “blowing the peter,” — it’s not what you’re thinking. From approximately 1890 to 1919, that term meant they were going to the door off a safe to rob it, and the person doing it was called “a yeggman,” slang for safe robber. If someone said they wanted to […]

Here is a good article from writer Sarah Weinman on Buzzfeed.com: “Massacre on Ninth and Main.” Summary: On August 13, 1903, Gilbert Twigg opened fire during a concert in Winfield, Kansas, killing nine and injuring dozens. There was no motive, and no one had ever seen anything like it before, or for decades after. Yet […]

Ever wondered who has served the longest prison sentence in US history and how long it was? How about in the entire world? Who, how long and where? And what was it like to give up more than six decades of your life? What happens to a person who serves 60-plus years in prison? In […]

August Maternity Leave (or whatever they call it for men). Paternity Leave? For those of you that have known me awhile, last November my wife and I tried IVF to get pregnant. With only one good embryo, it worked. Tomorrow evening, our OB/GYN will induce labor and our daughter, Alison, should be born sometime on […]

True Crime Reader is a blog dedicated to the genre of true crime – reviews, news and film and television adaptations. It is managed by Australian True Crime author, journalist, wife and busy mom, Emily Webb. If True Crime Reader says your book is good, it means something. Recently, TCR posted a very nice and […]

  The Queen of True Crime is Dead. Ann Rule, 1930-2015. Thank you, Ann, for all that you have given us. Rest in Peace. Story —###—  

. The Sword and Scale True Crime Podcast is the most professionally produced true crime podcast out there. Sword and Scale founder and presenter, Mike Boudet, has long been a friend to HCD. This week, Episode 36, Mike and I explore the case of Savage Killer Timothy McCorquodale, 1974, which I wrote and posted on […]

  Consider the mug shot below and the clues it contains and see if you can figure out what his crime was by using the internet. You can post your answer on our Facebook Page. I will post an answer with story tomorrow on Facebook. The picture below was our last week’s “Guess My Crime.” […]

. I’m proud to be a regular contributor to Sword and Scale True Crime Podcast where in this week’s episode Mike Boudet and I review the most incredible historical true crime story you’ve never heard about. This podcast presentation was born from a story I wrote and posted on the HCD blog last October called: […]

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