True Crime (History Press)
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Murder of a Herkimer County Teacher
The Shocking 1914 Case of a Vengeful Student
by Dennis Webster
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
In 1914, Poland, New York, was a picturesque slice of small-town America. But that innocence was shattered with the shocking murder of beloved schoolteacher Lida Beecher at the hands of her former student Jean Gianini. At twenty-one years old, Lida wasn't much older than her students. The son of a successful furniture dealer, Jean had all the advantages in life, but he had been labeled as different by all who encountered him. The shocking murder brought the world's best alienists to the packed Herkimer County Courthouse to try to prove that the teenager's mental development precluded his guilt. Author Dennis Webster utilizes unprecedented access to court documents to reveal details of the sensational crime never before made known to the public.
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Opium Kings of Old Hawaii
by John Madinger
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
In 1886, five men met at San Francisco's luxurious Baldwin Hotel to discuss a most profitable business: opium smuggling. The exploits of Will Whaley and his partners became the stuff of legend, with tales of landing contraband on deserted shores by the light of the moon, voyages across the Pacific, typhoons and shipwrecks. Their co-conspirator was the notorious Halcyon, a schooner that novelist Jack London once admiringly wrote "sailed like a witch." Despite the danger, betrayals and mysterious deaths, their success inspired copycats and competitors alike, eager to cash in on the lucrative drug trade. Join author and career law enforcement agent John Madinger as he recounts the incredible story of America's first organized drug trafficking ring.
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Coatesville and the Lynching of Zachariah Walker
Death in a Pennsylvania Steel Town
by Dennis B. Downey
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
"A compelling narrative that moves crisply through the murder, the lynching, and the cover-up by silence that local residents thereafter affected."-The Journal of American History
On a warm August night in 1911, Zachariah Walker was lynched-burned alive-by an angry mob on the outskirts of Coatesville, a prosperous Pennsylvania steel town. At the time of his very public murder, Walker, an African American millworker, was under arrest for the shooting and killing of a respected local police officer. Investigated by the NAACP, the horrific incident garnered national and international attention. Despite this scrutiny, a conspiracy of silence shrouded the events, and the accused men and boys were found not guilty at trial. More than 100 years after the lynching, authors Dennis B. Downey and Raymond M. Hyser bring new insight to events that rocked a community.
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(4)
South Carolina Killers
Crimes of Passion
by Mark Jones
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
A South Carolina historian examines a selection of true crime murder stories from the Palmetto State, from 1903 to 2003.
Murder leaves no decade unscarred. In 1903, the lieutenant governor of South Carolina shot dead a local newspaper editor, in full view of witnesses. George Stinney was marched to the electric chair in 1944 at age fourteen. A mother made national news in 1994 pleading for the return of her kidnapped sons, when in truth she had driven them to a watery grave herself. Jones spares no chilling detail in describing each of these crimes; all make for fascinating, and terrifying, reading.
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The 1910 Slocum Massacre: An Act of Genocide in East Texas
by E. R. Bills
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
In late July 1910, a shocking number of African Americans in Texas were slaughtered by white mobs in the Slocum area of Anderson County and the Percilla-Augusta region of neighboring Houston County. The number of dead surpassed the casualties of the Rosewood Massacre in Florida and rivaled those of the Tulsa Riots in Oklahoma, but the incident-one of the largest mass murders of blacks in American history-is now largely forgotten. Investigate the facts behind this harrowing act of genocide in E.R. Bills's compelling inquiry into the Slocum Massacre.
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Napa Valley Lawmen and Outlaws
by Todd L. Shulman
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
Law enforcement in Napa County traces its roots back to the days of Spanish rule and was formalized when California became a state in 1850. Since then, those who wear the badge have pursued the lawless in search of justice. Chuck Hansen, who started as a patrol officer, pioneered the use of forensic science at the Napa Police Department, collecting DNA evidence in 1974 that would become key in solving a murder decades later. And the killer known as "Willy the Woodcutter" was caught thanks to the expertise of Hal Snook of the Napa County Sheriff's Department. Napa police sergeant Todd Shulman brings to life the stories of those who played a part in solving some of wine country's most infamous crimes.
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Murder in the Courthouse
Reconstruction & Redemption in the North Carolina Piedmont
by Jim Wise
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
An in-depth look at the historic murder of an infamous politician during America's Reconstruction following the Civil War.
No suspect was ever indicted or tried for the murder of scalawag politician John W. "Chicken" Stephens in a North Carolina courthouse; and the Ku Klux Klan not only rid itself of a troublesome adversary, but also set up a showdown between the state's old guard and the radical regime of Governor William Woods Holden. Follow this little-known tale from the murder, through the "Kirk-Holden War," through the courts and to the finale, when Holden became the United States' first governor impeached and removed from office. Newspaper reporter and historical columnist Jim Wise takes us beyond the final days of the Civil War in North Carolina, amidst the destruction and poverty and debt, to chronicle the men whose clashing agendas and personalities shaped a violent era and laid foundations for the Jim Crow century to come.
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(7)
South Dakota's Mathis Murders
Horror in the Heartland
by Noel Hamiel
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
South Dakota's Mathis Family Murders brought death and deception to the heartland.
It was perhaps the most infamous murder case in state history. Ladonna Mathis was shot twice in the head at point-blank range inside the family's metal shed serving as their makeshift home. Two of her three children, ages 2 and 4, were also shot in the head. The brutality of the killings shocked the state and set off a frenzy of law enforcement activity. Despite its intensity, the investigation never found the murderer or the murder weapon. Though charged with the crime, the husband was acquitted, leaving the door open for endless speculation about what really occurred on that late summer morning of Sept. 8, 1981.
With renewed insight from those involved, veteran South Dakota journalist Noel Hamiel explores this cold case of murder and mystery that still haunts the Mount Rushmore state.
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(3)
Marple's Gretchen Harrington Tragedy
by Mike Mathis
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
Friday, Aug. 15, 1975 began as a typical summer day in the suburbs. Young children played with their friends, adults prepared for work or planned for their vacation at the Jersey Shore.
That all changed in the hours before noon, when Gretchen Harrington, the 8-year-old daughter of a Presbyterian minister and his wife, was kidnapped while walking to a vacation Bible school less than a quarter-mile from her house. Her body was found by a jogger in a state park nearly two months later.
The crime forever changed the lives of the children who were near Gretchen's age and their parents, many of whom chose to live in Marple Township because they considered it a safe refuge from the crime-ridden streets of Philadelphia.
Journalists Mike Mathis and Joanna Falcone Sullivan examine the kidnapping, murder and the nearly five-decade long investigation through rare access to police files in what is still considered an open investigation.
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Notorious Antebellum North Alabama
by John O'Brien
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
Before the Civil War, North Alabama was infamous for lawlessness. The era saw courts filled with defendants who spanned the socioeconomic gamut--farmers, merchants and politicians. In 1811, John B. Haynes tore apart William Badger's house with his bare hands. Rodah Barnett ran a series of ill-reputed brothels in the early 1820s. In 1818, Rebecca Layman "accidentally" gave her husband sulfuric acid instead of rum. There is even a case of assault with frozen corn. Author John O'Brien relays these and more stories of the shady side of North Alabama during the antebellum period.
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Death in North Carolina's Piedmont
Tales Of Murder, Suicide And Causes Unknown
by Frances H. Casstevens
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
In this unique look at historic crimes of the Piedmont, Frances Casstevens offers readers a glimpse into the criminal mind and the consequences of criminal actions. No matter what piques your interest-be it Civil War stories or young love torn apart by tragedy-Casstevens provides sure-fire ammunition to keep the pages turning. Discover the true-life tales of the outlaw Jesse Dobbins, or of Daisy Hunt, a pregnant twenty-year-old who watches helplessly as her beloved bleeds to death in the snow. Read the story of the infamous Charles Lawson, a man who did the unthinkable-kill himself, his wife and his six children on Christmas Day, 1929. These are but a few examples of the featured tragedies that have shocked the North Carolina Piedmont in the last 150 years.
Frances Casstevens, historian, genealogist, and former professor at Wake Forest University, delivers facts in a spellbinding manner. Death in North Carolina's Piedmont: Tales of Murder, Suicide and Causes Unknown meticulously presents the details of each case and leaves it to you, the reader, to draw your own conclusions.
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Abingdon's Boardinghouse Murder
by Greg Lilly
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
On a bitter November night in 1945, a widow shot her young boarder, a WWII veteran, and left him to die on the floor of his room. Helen Clark tossed the gun under the neighbor's porch and then took a taxi to join her teen daughters at a movie in Bristol. When the body was found, after several conflicting statements, she settled on the claim that he shot himself-four times, twice in the back. The Commonwealth of Virginia called it murder in a jealous rage. The trial enthralled the nation. Local author Greg Lilly uses newspaper coverage of the murder, the investigation and the trial to reveal the facts of the Abingdon boardinghouse murder.
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Gangsters and Organized Crime in Buffalo
History, Hits and Headquarters
by Michael F. Rizzo
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
Stories abound about legendary New York City gangsters like "Lucky" Luciano, but Buffalo has housed its fair share of thugs and mobsters too. While many were nothing more than common criminals or bank robbers, a powerful crime family headed by local boss Stefano Magaddino emerged in the 1920s. Close to Canada, Niagara Falls and Buffalo were perfect avenues through which to transport booze, and Magaddino and his Mafiosi maintained a stranglehold on the city until his death in 1974. Local mob expert Michael Rizzo takes a tour of Buffalo's mafia exploits everything from these brutal gangsters' favorite hangouts to secret underground tunnels to murder.
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Death at the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles
by Dale Richard Perelman
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
Built during Los Angeles's rapid growth in the Roaring Twenties, the Beaux Arts-style Cecil Hotel was briefly a glimmering downtown landmark until it became one of the most infamous sites of violence and murder in the country. Nicknamed "The Suicide," the Cecil was the eerie location of more than a dozen people taking their own lives going back to the 1940s and '50s. Rumors still swirl that Elizabeth Short, the Black Dahlia, frequented the hotel in the days before her gruesome murder. Serial killer Richard "Night Stalker" Ramirez lived at the Cecil for long stays in the 1980s. Austrian serial killer Jack Unterweger murdered three sex workers while a guest at the Cecil in 1991. Author Dale Perelman charts the brutal and mysterious history of Los Angeles's most notorious hotel.
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(3)
Gun Smuggling, Castro's Cuba and the Pittsburgh Mafia
by Richard Gazarik
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
A Thrilling Lost Chapter of Mob Rule
Western Pennsylvania's New Kensington was in the grips of Mafia control throughout the 1950s, with a bevy of bookie joints, gambling casinos and brothels. An outgrowth of the Pittsburgh mob, New Kensington's Costa Nostra ordered a group of Mafiosi to break into a National Guard station in Ohio and steal a shipment of weapons. The guns were destined for Fidel Castro, who was waging guerrilla war in Cuba. The Pittsburgh Mafia was hoping to get on Castro's good side if he won the war to secure the reopening of gambling casinos. From a daring heist in Canada to Swiss bank accounts and CIA informants, this infamous gunrunning scheme was a high-speed saga of international intrigue. Join author Richard Gazarik as he presents a harrowing historical narrative of the criminal underworld of Western Pennsylvania.
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Murder in Manteo
Seeking Justice For Stacey Stanton
by John Railey
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
Stacey Stanton, a beloved resident of Manteo, was found stabbed to death in her apartment on the afternoon of February 3, 1990. The slaying was the most horrendous crime the town had seen in years. With tourist season coming on and Manteo in the midst of a revitalization, a rushed investigation followed. Overlooked leads and racial tension led to the conviction of an innocent man. This riveting narrative, built on access to the state's investigative file and multiple interviews with case insiders, delves into the truth behind the murder. Investigative journalist John Railey explores the mistakes made and finally arrives at the long-hidden truth of what happened to Stacey.
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Solving the West Georgia Murder of Gwendolyn Moore
A Cry From the Well
by Clay Bryant
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
On a sultry August morning in 1970, the battered body of a young woman was, hoisted from a dry well just outside Hogansville, Georgia. Author and investigator Clay Bryant was there, witnessing the macabre scene. Then fifteen, Bryant was tagging along with his father, Buddy Bryant, Hogansville chief of police. The victim, Gwendolyn Moore, had been in a violent marriage. That was no secret. But, her husband had connections to a political machine that held sway over the Troup County Sheriff's Office overseeing the case. To the dismay and bafflement of many, no charges were, brought. That is, until Bryant followed his father's footsteps into law enforcement and a voice cried out from the well three decades later.
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(5)
Tragedy In The North Woods
The Murders of James Hicks
by Trudy Irene Scee
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
Jennie Cyr disappeared in 1977. Jerilyn Towers vanished in 1982. Lynn Willette never came home on a night in 1994. Each woman had a relationship with James Hicks, who in 2000 confessed to murdering them, dismembering their bodies and burying the remains alongside rural roads in Aroostook County. This is their story. Trudy Irene Scee follows Hicks from the North Woods to west Texas, detailing three decades of evasion, investigation and prosecution. She interviews police officers and victims' families--and meets Hicks at the state prison in Thomaston, where he remains remorseless as he lives out his days behind bars. Thoroughly researched and carefully documented, Tragedy in Aroostook is the definitive history of one of Maine's most ruthless killers.
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Death on the Devil's Teeth
The Strange Murder That Shocked Suburban New Jersey
by Jesse P. Pollack
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
Four decades after Jeannette DePalma's tragic death, authors Jesse P. Pollack and Mark Moran present the definitive account of the shocking Springfield township cold case.
As Springfield residents decorated for Halloween in September 1972, the crime rate in the quiet, affluent township was at its lowest in years. That mood was shattered when the body of sixteen-year-old Jeannette DePalma was discovered in the local woods, allegedly surrounded by strange objects. Some feared witchcraft was to blame, while others believed a serial killer was on the loose. Rumors of a police cover up ran rampant, and the case went unsolved - along with the murders of several other young women.
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Manhattan Mafia Guide
Hits, Homes & Headquarters
by Eric Ferrara
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
The New York City historian and author of The Bowery takes readers on a tour of New York's infamous underworld in this revealing guide.
During the early twentieth century, Sicilian and Southern Italian immigrants poured into New York City looking for a better life. But while they escaped the kind of poverty and persecution they experienced in the old country, they soon discovered that certain criminal enterprises followed them to America. Over the years, the island of Manhattan would become a hotbed of organized crime and underworld intrigue. It's a version of the city that remains invisible to most visitors-until now.
In this revealing tour of New York City's mafia history, Eric Ferrara gives readers an insider's look at how the mob lived-and where they died. Ferrara goes inside mafia hangouts from the Copacabana to Milady's Bar and the Thompson Street Social Club. He vividly recounts infamous episodes in the lives of famous mafia men, like Charlie "Lucky" Luciano and Joey Gallo, as well as more obscure players who will be new to most readers.
From the beginnings of Black Hand criminal networks to the reign of an all-powerful organized crime syndicate, Manhattan Mafia Guide offers a fascinating look down New York City's mean streets.
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(4)
Murder of the Jujube Candy Heiress
A Coronado Cold Case
by Taylor Baldwin Kiland
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
One candy heiress, two bullets and three suspects.
The small Southern California island of Coronado rarely makes news for violent crime. But in the spring of 1975, World War II widow and retired librarian Ruth Quinn was murdered, execution-style, in her cottage. Her death sent a shock wave through the community. The granddaughter of Jujubes and Jujyfruits creator Henry Heide, Ruth was found fully clothed with her shoes on, in her bed, dead from two gunshot wounds. To this day, her murder has never been solved, but whispers about her brother, her son and even a local petty thief still swirl.
Author Taylor Baldwin Kiland sifts through the dirt for the facts about Ruth's life and her untimely end in Coronado.
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The Long Beach Gay Trials
A History Of Injustice
by Gerrie Schipske
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
How Long Beach caused the death of John A. Lamb.
Immediately after his 1914 election as mayor of Long Beach, Louis Napoleon Whealton fired the chief of police and raided the city treasury. To replenish the funds, Mayor Whealton concocted a scheme to collect fines from any male "who made advances toward other men." Two special police officers entrapped and arrested thirty-one men, dragging them before a judge to pay up or risk a public trial. When one victim refused to play along, newspapers were quick to publish the names of everyone accused, including local pharmacist and popular churchman John A. Lamb. His suicide made headlines, but the city continued to target gay men well into this century.
Author and historian Gerrie Schipske uncovers the story of a tragic death with far-reaching consequences in Long Beach.
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True Crime Stories of the South Carolina Midlands
by Cathy Pickens
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
Mischief and Mayhem in the Midlands. A thrilling account of dramatic and menacing crimes that shaped the central region of the state. Crimes that captured the attention of residents in the area and statewide over the years from gamblers with too much debt to insurance fraud and a famous cat burglar. A well-known televangelist had a run in with arson, and a murderer made his presence felt all the way in California. This collection of headlining stories features notorious serial killers, families divided, vicious politics and marital strife. Author Cathy Pickens brings her eye for a great story to Columbia and recounts with a novelist's detail the infamous crimes that rocked a region.
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The Jefferson County Egan Murders
Nightmare on New Year's Eve 1964
by Dave Shampine
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
The names Peter, Barbara Ann and Gerald Egan were familiar to Watertown police before December 31, 1964. The police suspected the trio in a long string of burglaries, and they were under investigation by the FBI for grand theft auto. But on that New Year's night, the Egans were shot execution style at a rest stop off Interstate 81. The gruesome gangland-style killings puzzled local and state police. Theories ranged from a simple confrontation gone awry to a premeditated act of retribution by hardened criminals who feared the Egans would turn state's witness. With interviews from key witnesses, authors Dave Shampine and Daniel Boyer recount the grisly story of this New Year's Eve North Country nightmare, which is still shrouded in mystery today.
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1960s Austin Gangsters
Organized Crime that Rocked the Capital
by Jesse Sublett
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
Timmy Overton of Austin and Jerry Ray James of Odessa were football stars who traded athletics for lives of crime. The original rebels without causes, nihilists with Cadillacs and Elvis hair, the Overton gang and their associates formed a ragtag white trash mafia that bedazzled Austin law enforcement for most of the 1960s. Tied into a loose network of crooked lawyers, pimps and used car dealers who became known as the "traveling criminals," they burglarized banks and ran smuggling and prostitution rings all over Texas. Author Jesse Sublett presents a detailed account of these Austin miscreants, who rose to folk hero status despite their violent criminal acts.
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Oregon Murder in Linn County
The True Story of the Legendary Plainview Killings
by Cory Frye
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
On June 21, 1922, Linn County sheriff Charles Kendall and Reverend Roy Healy drove out to the town of Plainview to arrest a moonshining farmer named Dave West. By the end of the day, all three men were dead. First responders found Sheriff Kendall facedown with his pistol still holstered. The court appointed William Dunlap as the new sheriff, but within a year, someone killed him, too. Author and journalist Cory Frye delivers a riveting, detailed account of these shocking and tragic crimes that haunted Linn County for decades.
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Silas Jayne
Chicago's Suburban Gangster
by Bryan Alaspa
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
His name might not have the same notoriety that belonged to Al Capone or John Wayne Gacy, but Silas Jayne's life carved a similarly brutal arc through the Windy City's history. Even the mob was reluctant to compete with a man who burned his own horses alive for insurance money and ordered the assassination of his own brother in the same unhesitating fashion that he reportedly axed a flock of geese when he was six. Protected by bribery and intimidation, Jayne preyed on the innocence of the girls who took riding lessons in his stables and remained perversely untouched in the background of infamous Chicago crimes like the Schuessler-Peterson murders and the disappearance of candy heiress Helen Brach.
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Oklahoma Scoundrels
History's Most Notorious Outlaws, Bandits & Gangsters
by Robert Barr Smith
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
Early Oklahoma was a haven for violent outlaws and a death trap for deputy U.S. marshals. The infamous Doolin gang's OK Hotel gunfight left five dead. Killers like Bible-quoting choir leader Deacon Jim Miller wreaked havoc. Gunslinger femme fatale Belle Starr specialized in horse theft. Wannabe outlaws like Al Jennings traded train robbing for politics and Hollywood films. And Elmer McCurdy's determination and inept skill earned him a carnival slot and the nickname "the Bandit Who Wouldn't Give Up." Historians Robert Barr Smith and Laurence J. Yadon dispel myths surrounding some of the most significant lawbreakers in Sooner history.
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Big Safe
The Milwaukee Crew And The Reno Redfield Heist
by Gavin Schmitt
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
Some say it was the biggest theft in American history. Maybe it was.
The multimillion-dollar burglary at eccentric gambler LaVere Redfield's Reno mansion was an endless comedy of errors. A target who hides from cameras and gets embarrassed for his dog. A failed songwriter "mastermind" who can't keep her mouth shut. A safecracker who can't pick a lock. And a convicted killer who allows his ill-gotten gains to be stolen while his pants are down. In almost every way, the 1952 Reno Heist is a study in how not to commit a crime, which is likely why the case lives on in infamy.
Historian Gavin Schmitt unfolds the notorious misadventures of bumbling crooks, shady casino owners and femme fatales.
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Notorious Antebellum North Alabama
by John O'Brien
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
Before the Civil War, North Alabama was infamous for lawlessness. The era saw courts filled with defendants who spanned the socioeconomic gamut-farmers, merchants and politicians. In 1811, John B. Haynes tore apart William Badger's house with his bare hands. Rodah Barnett ran a series of ill-reputed brothels in the early 1820s. In 1818, Rebecca Layman "accidentally" gave her husband sulfuric acid instead of rum. There is even a case of assault with frozen corn. Author John O'Brien relays these and more stories of the shady side of North Alabama during the antebellum period.
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Akron's Infamous Escort Case
by Jane E. Bond
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
In the late 1990s, the Akron Vice Squad began Operation Red Light to investigate two local escort services. Little did they expect the political and legal storm their actions would unleash.
Soon everyone wanted to know who was on the list of clients. Were the defense lawyers on the list of false names given by men hiding their identities? Was a prostitute's murder covered up to protect a judge who had taken her into the courthouse for sex and drugs, and did an undercover police officer use public money to fund an abortion for an escort who claimed he was the father? Were bogus racketeering charges used to seize money for cars and expenses for the police?
Progressing step by step through the evidence, presiding judge Jane Bond goes behind the scenes and into her courtroom to see if justice can be done.
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Texas Pistoleers
The True Story of Ben Thompson and King Fisher
by G. R. Williamson
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
The Vaudeville Theater Ambush of 1884 went down in history as one of the most famous gunfights in San Antonio, but the killing that night of Ben Thompson and John King Fisher, two of the most notorious pistoleers of the day, became something of a mystery. The two men entered the theatre just before midnight on March 11, and less than an hour later, both lay dead, shot down in what for all accounts was a true massacre. The responsible gunmen never were prosecuted for their crimes, and Thompson and Fisher, a mere mention of either man's name was enough to put the fear of death in any opponent, have been widely ignored since. Now, historian G.R. Williamson brings to light the mystery and the myths surrounding these men and their infamous deaths in Texas Pistoleers.
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Murder and Mountain Justice in the Moonshine Capital of the World
by Phillip Andrew Gibbs
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
A Story of Hard Spirits and Defiant Souls Franklin County, Virginia has long been known as the Moonshine Capital of the World. That history can seem romantic, but the county has a dark and violent past. The descendants of the Scots-Irish who settled its rugged mountains openly defied the law and employed their own notions of justice to defend their traditions and livelihood. During Prohibition, the production of moonshine skyrocketed, but the liquor didn't stop flowing from the mountains when the Eighteenth Amendment was repealed. County and state officials struggled to maintain order in a region where unsolved murders, strange disappearances, and senseless killings were a way of life. The peak came in 1978, with nine murders linked to moonshine and drugs in the county. Historian and Virginia native Phillip Andrew Gibbs tells story of that horrific year and the history behind it.
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The Rio Grande Sniper Killings
Caught in the Sights of a Drug Conspiracy
by John Primomo
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
Untangle the complex conspiracy that led to the tragic deaths of Charlotte Kay Elliott and Kevin Edwin Frase on the banks of the Rio Grande. On the night of July 13, 1980, a hitman fired a high-powered rifle into the crowd at Pepe's On the River, an outdoor bar in Mission, Texas. He missed his target, a witness in the Loop 360 drug case, but killed two young bystanders. While state court prosecutions for capital murder inexplicably faltered, a federal court gave the assassin a life sentence for attempted murder of a grand jury witness. A member of the judge's staff who was present throughout the trial, author John W. Primomo revisits the dramatic twists and turns surrounding this murder on the Rio Grande.
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The WVU Coed Murders
Who Killed Mared and Karen?
by Geoffrey C. Fuller
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
Some said that the killer couldn't be a local. Others claimed that he was the wealthy son of a prominent Morgantown family. Whispers spread that Mared and Karen were sacrificed by a satanic cult or had been victims of a madman poised to strike again. Then the handwritten letters began to arrive: "You will locate the bodies of the girls covered over with brush--look carefully. The animals are now on the move." Investigators didn't find too few suspects--they had far too many. There was the campus janitor with a fur fetish, the "harmless" deliveryman who beat a woman nearly to death, the nursing home orderly with the bloody broomstick and the bouncer with the "girlish" laugh who threatened to cut off people's heads. Local authors Geoffrey C. Fuller and S. James McLaughlin tell the complete story of the murders for the first time.
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The San Francisco Doodler Murders
by Kate Zaliznock
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
In 1974, one of San Francisco's most horrific unsolved serial murder cases began.
In less than two years, the man police called "The Doodler" took at least five lives, terrorized the LGBTQ community, and left three survivors forever changed. Initial reports claimed the murderer didn't approach his victims with the knife he used to kill them, but that the suspect shared skilled drawings-sketches of faces and animals-before leaving a string of gay men to bleed out on the sands of Ocean Beach. Police investigations and activist efforts to uncover the killer led to several suspects, but no definitive identification of the artist of death.
Author Kate Zaliznock shines a light on this riveting cold case.
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The Westside Park Murders
Muncie's Most Notorious Cold Case
by Keith Roysdon
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
On a warm night in September 1985, teenagers Kimberly Dowell and Ethan Dixon were brutally murdered in Westside Park in Muncie, Indiana. Their killer has never been charged. Early on, police focused on a family member of one of the teens as a primary suspect. The investigation even ruled out fantastic scenarios, including a theory that the perpetrator was a Dungeons & Dragons devotee. The case grew cold. Only decades later did a dogged police investigator narrow the scope to a suspect whose name has never been publicly revealed until now.
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St. Louis Gambling Kingpins
by James R. Doyle
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
A history of betting on the East Side.
Making it as a professional gambler in the first part of the twentieth century was a long shot, but wagering on the wide open scene of East St. Louis could help even the odds. Folks who were feeling lucky enough might grab a copy of Louis Cella's racing form, or get the inside scoop from turf men like Barney Schreiber. Students of the art of bookmaking had plentiful mentors in local legends like Adam "Mulepole" Fritz. But even then, a hot streak could attract the attention of a representative of the Chicago Outfit such as Frank "Buster" Wortman. The nephew of Vic and Jim Doyle, who built the Ringside Casino into the Midwest's largest casino, author James Doyle connects the dice rolls of bygone St. Louis Kingpins to high stakes players in New York and New Orleans.
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The Hoyt-Wallis Murder Mystery in Herkimer County
by James M. Greiner
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
Warren township in the southern portion of Herkimer County has been the scene of more than one gruesome event.
In January 1885, locals reeled in horror when disgruntled wife Roxalana Druse shot her husband and dismembered his corpse to incinerate it in a farm house stove. Her trial and hanging was followed up in May of 1901 with two murders in yet another farm house kitchen. John C. Wallis had allowed his ex-wife Arvilla to return home, one year after running off with hired farm hand Ben Hoyt. Wallis then rehired Hoyt and within months both Ben Hoyt and Arvilla Wallis were dead. Did Ben Hoyt murder Arvilla in cold blood or did John C. Wallis kill both of them?
Author James M. Greiner investigates a mysterious case of marriage, infidelity and multiple murders in turn of the century Herkimer County.
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The Ruthless Northlake Bank Robbers: A 1967 Shooting Spree That Stunned the Region
by Edgar Gamboa Návar
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
Automatic gunfire hammered police arriving at Northlake Bank in response to a silent alarm on the morning of October 27, 1967. The shootout killed two officers and injured two others. One of the robbers lay wounded as the other two fled in a getaway car. The ensuing manhunt tore across state lines and thrust the quiet Illinois community into a national debate over rehabilitated prisoners--two of the men were fresh out of jail for bank robbery. Local author Edgar Gamboa Navar traces this violent midwestern crime saga from the initial grocery store holdup in Ohio before the bank job to the capture of the murderous gang in Indiana, as well as the conviction and imprisonment.
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Texas Pistoleers
The True Story Of Ben Thompson And King Fisher
by G. R. Williamson
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
The Vaudeville Theater Ambush of 1884 went down in history as one of the most famous gunfights in San Antonio, but the killing that night of Ben Thompson and John King Fisher, two of the most notorious pistoleers of the day, became something of a mystery. The two men entered the theatre just before midnight on March 11, and less than an hour later, both lay dead, shot down in what for all accounts was a true massacre. The responsible gunmen never were prosecuted for their crimes, and Thompson and Fisher--a mere mention of either man's name was enough to put the fear of death in any opponent--have been widely ignored since. Now, historian G.R. Williamson brings to light the mystery and the myths surrounding these men and their infamous deaths in Texas Pistoleers.
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The Rio Grande Sniper Killings
Caught In The Sights Of A Drug Conspiracy
by John Primomo
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
Untangle the complex conspiracy that led to the tragic deaths of Charlotte Kay Elliott and Kevin Edwin Frase on the banks of the Rio Grande. On the night of July 13, 1980, a hitman fired a high-powered rifle into the crowd at Pepe's On the River, an outdoor bar in Mission, Texas. He missed his target, a witness in the Loop 360 drug case, but killed two young bystanders. While state court prosecutions for capital murder inexplicably faltered, a federal court gave the assassin a life sentence for attempted murder of a grand jury witness. A member of the judge's staff who was present throughout the trial, author John W. Primomo revisits the dramatic twists and turns surrounding this murder on the Rio Grande.
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The Counterfeit Prince of Old Texas
Swindling Slaver Monroe Edwards
by Lora-Marie Bernard
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
After Monroe Edwards died in Sing Sing prison in 1847, penny dreadfuls memorialized him as the most celebrated American forger until the turn of the century. With a bizarre biography too complicated for easy history, his critical contributions to Texas settlement, revolution and annexation were inextricably mired in his activities as a slave smuggler and confidence man. Author Lora-Marie Bernard unravels the unbelievable story of one of the most notorious criminal adventurers ever to set foot on the soil of the Lone Star State.
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Bedlam on the West Virginia Rails
The Last Train Bandit Tells His True Tale
by Wilson Casey
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
In 1949, two bandits from Youngstown, Ohio, boarded a B&O passenger train from Washington, D.C., to Detroit. In the West Virginia mountains near Martinsburg, Luman "Lu" Ramsdell and his gang stopped the train to rob and terrorize nearly 150 people on board. They pistol-whipped several and shot at others before exiting the train to next rob a tavern and hijack getaway cars. National headlines likened the event to the exploits of Jesse James and the infamous days of the Wild West. Lu and the gang led authorities on a chase that ended with a harrowing shootout five blocks from the White House. Climb aboard with author Wilson Casey for a firsthand account from the head bandit himself in this true tale of America's last moving train robbery.
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Pittsfield's Fosburgh Murder Mystery
Scandal in the Berkshires
by Frank J. Leskovitz
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
Shots rang out in a prominent Pittsfield family home on the morning of August 20, 1900, ending the life of young socialite May Fosburgh. Who pulled the trigger was unclear, and the scandal captivated attention well beyond the Berkshires. Her brother was a top suspect, but the distraught family claimed an intruder was to blame. Investigators, media and the public struggled to make sense of conflicting details, including suspicious gunpowder residue, as the mystery remained unsolved. Author Frank J. Leskovitz unravels the tale that still lingers in the hills generations later.
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The Corpsewood Manor Murders in North Georgia
by Amy Petulla
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
In 1982, Tony West and Avery Brock made a visit to notorious Corpsewood Manor under the pretense of a celebration. They brutally murdered their hosts. Dr. Charles Scudder and companion Joey Odom built the "castle in the woods" in the Trion forest after Scudder left his position as professor at Loyola. He brought with him twelve thousand doses of LSD. Rumors of drug use and Satanism swirled around the two men. Scudder even claimed to have summoned a demon to protect the estate. The murders set the stage for a trial vibrant with local lore. Author Amy Petulla uncovers the curious case that left two men dead and the incredible story still surrounded by controversy, speculation and myth.
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The Ruthless Northlake Bank Robbers
A 1967 Shooting Spree that Stunned the Region
by Edgar Gamboa Návar
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
Automatic gunfire hammered police arriving at Northlake Bank in response to a silent alarm on the morning of October 27, 1967. The shootout killed two officers and injured two others. One of the robbers lay wounded as the other two fled in a getaway car. The ensuing manhunt tore across state lines and thrust the quiet Illinois community into a national debate over rehabilitated prisoners-two of the men were fresh out of jail for bank robbery. Local author Edgar Gamboa Návar traces this violent midwestern crime saga from the initial grocery store holdup in Ohio before the bank job to the capture of the murderous gang in Indiana, as well as the conviction and imprisonment.
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Murder in Lexington
VMI, Honor and Justice in Antebellum Virginia
by Daniel S. Morrow
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
In 1853 Lexington, Virginia, Mary Evelyn Anderson, one of the most beautiful women in the Commonwealth, spurned the advances of a young law student named Charles Burks Christian. Humiliated and heartbroken, Christian confronted, stabbed and killed the man he believed responsible for Anderson's decision. The man was her cousin, Thomas Blackburn, a VMI cadet and student of Stonewall Jackson. What followed was a circus of inept and brilliant lawyers dragging members of the most prominent families in antebellum Virginia through an all-too-public discussion of seduction, courtship, honor and self-defense. Author and historian Daniel S. Morrow chronicles the history of the events that led to Blackburn's death, the trials that followed and the impact on Lexington, its two colleges and the men and women who would soon find themselves engaged in a great Civil War.