In 1916, Newton, Massachusetts tailor Manoog Kardashian was attacked by one of his employees who stabbed him with cutting shears and bit a chunk out of his right cheek over what may be one of the dumbest reasons to assault someone. Kardashian died nine days later, but not necessarily from his wounds. I came across […]

The following article might explain why the first woman executed in Arizona also became the last woman executed in Arizona. Let’s just say, it did not go as planned. She was sentenced to hang for the murder of a rancher she was employed with after his buried body was miraculously discovered 11 months after the […]

Although the beliefs and practices of what is now known as the Blackburn Cult are bizarre and border on humorous, they were probably responsible for the deaths of several people for which they were never prosecuted. This included non-prosecution for manslaughter after “baking” one of their disciples in order to cure her from a blood […]

Like many of the stories I run across, I cringe when I read them because they just seem too  ghoulish or graphic. But then I think, ‘well, this is the way it was and it’s better to be honest with this history than hide it.’ That’s how I came to decide to post this story. […]

 Over-Zealous Newspapers Quick To Play Up Story 2 day Interrogation Leads to False Confession Police Tactics Criticized [Note: Versions of the following three stories appeared in 80 newspapers for the newspaper archive database I used in this case. That doesn’t mean that only 80 newspapers published this story, it only means of the newspapers the […]

Part 1 [MONROE, Michigan,  Jan. 20, 1937]—The bullet-pierced body of Michigan State Policeman Richards F. Hammond was found handcuffed to a mail box on a lonely country road today, five hours after he was abducted by a former convict he had arrested. A posse of more than 200 officers from Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan searched […]

“The two visitors were so far on their way to dreamland that they did not pay any attention to the entrance of the officer.” – My favorite quote for this story. Opium Den Raided [Burlington, Iowa, Sept. 12, 1901]—Two sallow-complexioned Chinamen and one wreck of white humanity lined up at the police station bar yesterday […]

Okay, this may not be a crime story per se, but there was no way I was NOT going to post this from our: “We couldn’t make this up department.” The only crime committed here is stupidity. [LOS ANGELES. May 1, 1941]- In blasé, nonchalant tones, Samuel Brummel, 56-year-old insurance salesman, testified Thursday that his […]

I almost feel sorry for the police. This kid is like the “James Bond” of juvenile delinquents. [November 18, 1949] A thin, wiry, 14 year-old boy who has led officers of three states on a merry chase for seven crime-packed weeks was captured today at his Texarkana home. The boy, small for his age, launched […]

After my last post (The Andrea Yates Epidemic of 1901) I remembered reading this filicide story (a parent who kills their children) and decided to post it because it has subtle differences to it compared to the mothers in the 1901 story. The father’s excuses and story in this post seem a little “hinky.” Isn’t […]