Doc Barker was Killed Trying to Escape from Alcatraz - January 13, 1939

This week (January 12-18) in crime history – Malcolm X’s daughter was arrested for conspiracy to kill Louis Farrakhan (January 12, 1995); Doc Barker was killed while attempting to escape prison (January 13, 1939); Old West lawman Wyatt Earp died (January 13, 1929); Notorious traitor Benedict Arnold was born (January 14, 1741); Bill Cosby’s son was murdered (January 16, 1997); Moon Maniac, Albert Fish was executed (January 16, 1936); The Great Brinks Robbery (January 17, 1950); Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry was arrested in drug sting (January 18, 1990). 

Highlighted Crime Story of the Week -  

On January 13, 1939, Arthur "Doc" Barker was killed while trying to escape from Alcatraz Prison in San Francisco Bay. Barker, of the notorious "Bloody Barkers" gang, was spotted on the rock-strewn shore of the island after climbing over the walls. Despite the fact that guards were ordering him to surrender, Barker continued tying pieces of wood together into a makeshift raft. As he waded into the water, the guards shot and killed him. Doc Barker, along with his brothers Herman, Lloyd, and Fred, and their mother, the infamous Ma Barker, formed one of the more formidable criminal gangs of the 1920s and 1930s. Carrying out a series of bank robberies and kidnappings throughout the Midwest, Ma shrewdly paid off officials in towns all over the region, allowing the gang to avoid the law for long stretches of time. 

In 1934, with their pictures in all of the newspapers, Doc and Fred Barker tried to change their appearance through plastic surgery. They enlisted Dr. Joseph Moran to conduct the operations, including removing their fingerprints. But the plan was a disaster, and each ended up with terrible scars and infected fingers. Dr. Moran was adopted into the gang as a matter of necessity, but when he started to talk about their activities to a prostitute, the Barkers killed him. On January 8, 1935, FBI agents, led by Melvin Purvis, captured Doc Barker in Chicago, Illinois. As he searched Barker, Purvis reportedly asked, "Where's your gun?" Barker replied, "Home—and ain't that a place for it?" Eight days later, Fred and Ma Barker were pinned down at their hideout in Florida. A massive gun battle left both of them dead. 

Check back every Monday for a new installment of “This Week in Crime History.” 

Michael Thomas Barry is a columnist for www.crimemagazine.com and is the author of Murder & Mayhem 52 Crimes that Shocked Early California, 1849-1949. Visit Michael’s website www.michaelthomasbarry.com for more information. His book can be purchased from Amazon through the following link:

 

 http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Mayhem-Shocked-California-1849-1949/dp/0764339680/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1421080134&sr=8-3&keywords=michael+thomas+barry

Hillside Strangler Angelo Buono was Sentenced to Prison - January 8, 1984

This week (January 5-11) in crime history – United Mine Worker’s murders (January 5, 1970); Ice skater Nancy Kerrigan was attacked (January 6, 994); Suzanne Degnan was kidnapped from her Chicago area home (January 7, 1946); Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot (January 8, 2011); Hillside Strangler Angelo Buono was sentenced to life in prison (January 9, 1984); Old west outlaw Frank James was born (January 10, 1843); Joran Van der Sloot admits to Peru murder (January 11, 2012). 

Highlighted crime story of the week -  

On January 9, 1984, Angelo Buono, one of the Hillside Stranglers, was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the rape, torture, and murder of 10 young women in Los Angeles. Buono's cousin and partner in crime, Kenneth Bianchi, testified against Buono to escape the death penalty. Buono, a successful auto upholsterer, and Bianchi began their serial crime spree in 1977 when Bianchi moved from New York to live with his cousin. They started talking about how the prostitutes that Buono often brought home would hardly be missed by anyone if they disappeared. Idle speculation quickly led to action and the pair raped and strangled their first victim, Yolanda Washington, on October 17. 

Within a month Buono and Bianchi had attacked three other women and developed a trademark method of operation. They picked up the women in their van, drove them back to Buono's house where they were sexually assaulted in all manners, tortured, and strangled to death. The duo then thoroughly cleaned the bodies before taking and posing them in lascivious positions on hillsides in the Los Angeles area, often near police stations. Thus, they earned the nickname the "Hillside Strangler." The press assumed that it was the work of one man. 

Following the death of the 10th victim in February 1978, the murders suddenly stopped. Buono and Bianchi were no longer getting along, even with their common hobby. Bianchi moved to Washington and applied for a job at the Bellingham Police Department. He didn't get the job, but became a security guard instead. However, he couldn't keep his murderous impulses in check and killed two college students. A witness who had seen the two girls with Bianchi came forward and the case was solved. 

Bianchi, who had seen the movies Sybil and The Three Faces of Eve many times, suddenly claimed to have multiple personalities. He blamed the murders on "Steve," one of his alternate personalities. Psychiatrists examining Bianchi quickly dismissed his ruse and Bianchi then confessed to the Hillside Strangler murders, testifying against Buono to avoid the death penalty in Washington. During his trial, Buono fiercely insisted on his innocence, pointing to the fact that there was no physical evidence tying him to the crimes. Buono's house was so clean that investigators couldn't even find Buono's own fingerprints in the home. But after more than 400 witnesses testified, Buono was convicted and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Angelo Buono died from a heart attack on September 21, 2002 at the age of 67. Kenneth Bianchi was denied parole in September 2005 and remains in prison. 

Check back every Monday for a new installment of “This Week in Crime History.” 

Michael Thomas Barry is a columnist for www.crimemagazine.com and is the author of six nonfiction books that include the award winning Murder & Mayhem 52 Crimes that Shocked Early California, 1849-1949. Visit his website www.michaelthomasbarry.com for more information. His book can be purchased from Amazon through the following link:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Mayhem-Shocked-California-1849-1949/dp/0764339680/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1420486284&sr=8-3&keywords=michael+thomas+barry

Boston Strangler Committed Final Murder - January 4, 1964

This week (December 29-January 4) in crime history – London’s “Railway Rapists” commits first murder (December 29, 1985); Rasputin was murdered (December 30, 1916); John Salvi goes on murderous rampage at two Massachusetts abortion clinics (December 30, 1994); Subway Vigilante Bernie Goetz surrendered to police (December 31, 1984); Real “Looking for Mr. Goodbar” murder (January 1, 1973); Yorkshire Ripper was captured (January 2, 1981); Jack Ruby died (January 3, 1967); Boston Strangler committed his last murder (January 4, 1964). 

Highlighted story of the week -  

On January 4, 1964, Mary Sullivan was raped and strangled to death at her Boston apartment. The killer left a card reading "Happy New Year" leaning against her foot. Sullivan would turn out to be the last woman killed by the notorious Boston Strangler, Albert DeSalvo, who terrorized the city between 1962 and 1964, raping and killing over a dozen women. 

DeSalvo's serial-killing career was shaped at an early age. His father would bring home prostitutes and have sex with them in front of the family, before brutally beating his wife and children. On one occasion, DeSalvo's father knocked out his mother's teeth and then broke her fingers one by one while she lay unconscious on the floor. DeSalvo himself was sold by his father to work as a farm laborer, along with two of his sisters. In the late 1950s, as a young man, DeSalvo acquired the first of his criminal nicknames. He knocked on the doors of young women, claiming to represent a modeling agency. He told the women that he needed to take their measurements and proceeded to crudely fondle the women as he used his tape measure. His stint as the "Measuring Man" came to an end with his arrest on March 17, 1960, and he spent nearly a year in prison. When DeSalvo was released, his next series of crimes were far worse. For nearly two years, he broke into hundreds of apartments in New England, tied up the women and sexually assaulted them. He always wore green handyman clothes during his assaults and became known as the "Green Man." 

In 1962, DeSalvo started killing his victims. He strangled Anna Slesers with her own housecoat and tied the ends in a bow, which would become his trademark. Throughout the summer of 1962, DeSalvo raped and killed elderly women in Boston. However, by winter he began attacking younger women, always leaving the rope or cord used to strangle the victim in a bow. Police, who were thwarted in their attempts to stop the newly dubbed "Boston Strangler," even brought in a psychic to inspect the clothes of the victims. However, it was DeSalvo himself who enabled the police to close the case. On October 27, 1964, after raping another young woman, he suddenly stopped before killing her. When the victim called police and gave a description of her attacker, police arrested DeSalvo. DeSalvo confessed the murders to his cellmate George Nasser. Nasser told his attorney, F. Lee Bailey, about DeSalvo, and Bailey took on DeSalvo as a client. Under a deal with prosecutors, DeSalvo was never charged with the Boston Strangler crimes, getting a life sentence instead for the Green Man rapes. Still, DeSalvo's life term was short. He was stabbed to death by an unidentified fellow inmate at Walpole State Prison on November 26, 1973. 

Check back every Monday for a new installment of “This Week in Crime History.”

 

Michael Thomas Barry is a columnist for www.crimemagazine.com and is the author of six nonfiction books that includes the award winning Murder & Mayhem 52 Crimes that Shocked Early California, 1849-1949. Visit Michael’s website www.michaelthomasbarry.com for more information. His books can be purchased from Amazon through the following link: 

http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Mayhem-Shocked-California-1849-1949/dp/0764339680/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1419868769&sr=8-3&keywords=michael+thomas+barry

John Wayne Gacy Confessed to Murdering Dozens of Young Men in Suburban Chicago - December 22, 1978

This week (December 22-28) in crime history – Serial killer John Wayne Gacy confessed to killing over two dozen men and young boys (December 22, 1978); Bernie Goetz shot four black men in the New York Subway (December 22, 1984); French officer Alfred Dreyfus was convicted of treason (December 22, 1894); Japanese Premier Hideki Tojo and other war criminals were executed (December 23, 1948); Terrorists hijacked Air France flight 8969 in Algiers (December 24, 1994); JonBenet Ramsey was murdered (December 25, 1996); Countess Bathory’s torturous activities were discovered in Hungry (December 26, 1610): Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto was assassinated (December 27, 2007); Thomas Paine was arrested for treason on France (December 28, 1793). 

Highlighted Crime Story of the Week – 

On December 22, 1978, John Wayne Gacy confessed to police to killing over two dozen boys and young men and burying their bodies under his suburban Chicago home. Two years later, Gacy was convicted of 33 sex-related murders, which had been committed between 1972 and 1978, and given the death penalty. At the time, he was the worst serial killer in modern American history.  

Outwardly, Gacy appeared to have a relatively normal middle-class upbringing; however, by some accounts, he had an abusive alcoholic father and also experienced health issues in his youth. In 1964, he married and moved with his wife to Iowa, where he managed his father-in-law’s Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants. The couple had two children. However, Gacy’s wife divorced him after he was charged with sexually assaulting one of his male employees in 1968. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but was released due to good behavior after serving only a fraction of his sentence. 

Gacy moved back to Chicago, where he started a contracting company and remarried. However, the seemingly respectable businessman, who became involved in local politics and once had his photograph taken with then-first lady Rosalynn Carter, was leading a double life as a sexual predator. He committed his first known murder in 1972. Gacy’s victims included male prostitutes as well as teenagers who worked for his company. Typically, he lured his victims back to his home and tricked them into being handcuffed or having a rope tied around their necks. Afterward, he’d knock them out with chloroform and then rape, torture and murder them. As he was a well-known community figure, who sometimes dressed up as a clown to entertain sick children, his crimes initially went undetected. 

The heavy-set serial killer came under suspicion in December 1978 when authorities investigating the disappearance of teenager Robert Piest discovered that the boy was last seen with Gacy. After learning of Gacy’s sex-crime conviction in Iowa, police searched his Norwood Park home. They noticed a strong odor coming from a crawl space but at first thought it was from a damaged sewage pipe. Several items, including a store receipt, were later found at Gacy’s home that linked him to Piest and other young men who had been reported missing. After Gacy confessed, investigators recovered 29 corpses buried on his property, as well as four more that he’d dumped in nearby rivers when he ran out of room at home. 

After his conviction, Gacy spent 14 years on Death Row, during which time he drew paintings of clowns and other figures that sold for thousands of dollars. On May 10, 1994, having exhausted all his appeals, the 52-year-old Gacy, who the media dubbed the Killer Clown, was put to death by legal injection at Stateville Penitentiary in Joliet, Illinois. 

Check back every Monday for a new installment of “This Week in Crime History.”

 

Michael Thomas Barry is a columnist for www.crimemagazine.com and is the author of six nonfiction books that include the award winning Murder & Mayhem 52 Crimes that Shocked Early California, 1849-1949. Visit Michael’s website www.michaelthomasbarry.com for more information. His book can be purchased from Amazon through the following link: 

http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Mayhem-Shocked-California-1849-1949/dp/0764339680/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1419264109&sr=8-4&keywords=michael+thomas+barry

Socialite Sunny von Bulow was Found Unconscious - December 21, 1980

This week (December 15-21) in crime history – Singer John Brown began serving prison term for assault and other crimes (December 15, 1988); Adolf Eichmann was sentenced to death for war crimes (December 15, 1961); Federal Judge Robert Vance was killed by mail bomb (December 16, 1989); Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme was sentenced to life in prison for attempted assassination of President Ford (December 17, 1975); John Kehoe, last of the Molly Maguires was executed (December 18, 1878); Three black men are beaten by group of white teens in Howard Beach (December 20, 1986); Socialite Sunny von Bulow was found unconscious at her Rhode Island mansion (December 21, 1980).  

Highlighted crime story of the week -  

On December 21, 1980, wealthy socialite Martha "Sunny" von Bulow was found unconscious on the marble bathroom floor of her Newport, Rhode Island, mansion; the result of what appeared to be an insulin overdose. Following a long investigation, Sunny's husband, Claus von Bulow, was charged with two counts of attempted murder and was convicted in a sensational trial in 1982. But the conviction was later overturned, and Claus was acquitted at a second trial in 1985. 

Sunny Crawford, the only daughter of a wealthy oil and gas businessman, married Danish social climber Claus von Bulow in 1966. The couple enjoyed a glamorous lifestyle together, but the marriage apparently hit troubled times, particularly after daughter Cosima was born, and the two began sleeping in separate bedrooms. Claus, who had no independent source of income, was reportedly angry that Sunny was sitting on a $75 million fortune. 

After Sunny fell into the coma, her personal secretary came forward, alleging that Claus kept a black bag containing insulin in his closet. With this information, Sunny's children pressed for a deeper investigation into Claus' involvement and eventually convinced authorities that there was enough evidence to prosecute. In fact, her coma on December 21 was not Sunny's first brush with death. Less than a year earlier, she had mysteriously lapsed into a coma but eventually recovered. At the time, friends and family noted that Claus seemed strangely unconcerned. He had tried to blame the coma on Sunny's alleged alcoholism, despite the fact that there were no traces of alcohol found in her system, and medical officials had no explanation for the coma. 

During the investigation, police discovered that Claus had been having an affair with a former soap opera actress. The actress testified that she had issued Claus an ultimatum date that closely corresponded to the date of Sunny's first coma. Many believed the circumstances surrounding both of Sunny's comas undeniably implicated Claus. The case was boosted into the public's consciousness by the second trial, which was televised and the bestselling book Reversal of Fortune, which focused on the efforts of Claus' defense team to get his conviction overturned. 

After Claus was convicted in 1982, he hired famous defense attorney Alan Dershowitz to handle his appeal. Dershowitz, who uncovered evidence suggesting that Sunny's coma may have been self-induced, also found enough discrepancies in the secretary's testimony to have Claus' conviction overturned. Soon after, Sunny's children filed suit against Claus, who settled the suit by agreeing to renounce all claims to Sunny's fortune. He then promptly relocated to London. Sunny remained in a persistent vegetative state until her death in 2008. 

Check back every Monday for a new installment of “This Week in Crime History.” 

 

 

Michael Thomas Barry is a columnist for www.crimemagazine.com and is the author of six nonfiction books that includes the award winning Murder & Mayhem 52 Crimes that Shocked Early California, 1849-1949. Visit Michael’s website www.michaelthomasbarry.com for more information. His book can be purchased from Amazon through the following link: 

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Mayhem-Shocked-California-1849-1949/dp/0764339680/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1418660319&sr=8-3&keywords=michael+thomas+barry

Mark David Chapman Murdered John Lennon - December 8, 1980

This week (December 8-14) in crime history – John Lennon was murdered (December 8, 1980); Frank Sinatra Jr. was kidnapped (December 10, 1963); Bernie Madoff was arrested for masterminding a Ponzi scheme (December 11, 2008); Singer Sam Cooke was shot and killed (December 11, 1964); Leona Helmsley was sentenced for tax fraud (December 12, 1989); The Mona Lisa was recovered two years after it was stolen from the Louvre (December 12, 1913); Texas Seven escape from a maximum security prison (December 13, 2000). 

Highlighted Crime Story of the Week - 

On December 8, 1980, singer John Lennon was shot and killed by Mark David Chapman outside his apartment building in New York City. After committing the murder, Chapman waited calmly outside, reading a copy of The Catcher in the Rye. Chapman was a troubled individual who was obsessed with Holden Caulfield, the protagonist of the J.D. Salinger's novel about a disaffected youth, and with various celebrities. While working as a security guard in Hawaii, he decided that Lennon was a phony and, while listening to Beatles tapes, Chapman decided to plan his murder. Chapman purchased a gun and traveled to New York. Although he called his wife to tell her that he was in New York to shoot Lennon, she ignored his threats. Unable to buy bullets in New York due to strict laws, Chapman flew to Atlanta and purchased hollow-nosed rounds. 

On the day of the murder, Chapman bought an extra copy of The Catcher in the Rye and joined fans waiting outside The Dakota, Lennon's apartment building. That evening, as Lennon walked by on his way into the building, Chapman shot him in the back and then fired two additional bullets into his shoulder as the singer wrenched around in pain. On June 8, 1980, just two weeks before he was scheduled to present an insanity defense at trial, Chapman pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 20 years-to-life. Ironically, Chapman was sent to Attica prison, where 10 years earlier, rioting had inspired Lennon and wife, Yoko Ono, to record a benefit song to "free all prisoners everywhere." In prison, Chapman became a born-again Christian and spends his time writing evangelical tracts for publication. 

Check back every Monday for a new installment of “This Week in Crime History.”

 

Michael Thomas Barry is columnist for www.crimemagazine.com and is the author of six nonfiction books that include Murder & Mayhem 52 Crimes that Shocked Early California, 1849-1949. Visit Michael’s website www.michaelthomasbarry.com for more information. His books can be purchased from Amazon through the following link:

 http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Mayhem-Shocked-California-1849-1949/dp/0764339680/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1418055382&sr=8-2&keywords=michael+thomas+barry

Boston Belfry Murderer Claimed First Victim - December 5, 1873

This week (December 1-7) in crime history – Russian revolutionary Sergey Kirov was murdered (December 1, 1934); Defense presents case in the Hamptons Murder trial (December 1, 2004); Rape trial of William Kennedy Smith began (December 2, 1991); John Brown was hanged for treason (December 2, 1859); Five-year-old Melissa Brannen disappeared from Christmas party (December 3, 1989); Amanda Knox was found guilty of murder (December 4, 2009); Black Panther members Fred Hampton and Mark Clark were killed in a shootout with police (December 4, 1969); Boston Belfry Murderer claimed first victim (December 5, 1873); Colin Ferguson kills six on Long Island Commuter train (December 7, 1993). 

Highlighted Story of the Week -  

On December 5, 1873, Bridget Landregan was found beaten and strangled to death in the Boston suburb of Dorchester. According to witnesses, a man in black clothes and a flowing cape attempted to sexually assault the dead girl before running away. In 1874, a man fitting the same description clubbed another young girl, Mary Sullivan, to death. His third victim, Mary Tynan, was bludgeoned in her bed in 1875. Although she survived for a year after the severe attack, she was never able to identify her attacker. 

Residents of Boston were shocked to learn that the killer had been among them all along. Thomas Piper, the sexton at the Warren Avenue Baptist Church, was known for his flowing black cape, but because he was friendly with the parishioners, nobody suspected his involvement. But when five-year-old Mabel Young, who was last seen with the sexton, was found dead in the church's belfry in the summer of 1876, Piper became the prime suspect. Young's skull had been crushed with a wooden club. Piper, who was dubbed "The Boston Belfry Murderer," confessed to the four killings after his arrest. He was convicted and sentenced to die, and he was hanged on May 26, 1876. 

Check back every Monday for a new installment of “This Week in Crime History.” 

 

 

Michael Thomas Barry is a columnist for www.crimemagazine.com and is the author of six nonfiction books that include the award winning Murder & Mayhem 52 Crimes that Shocked Early California, 1849-1949. Visit Michael’s website www.michaelthomasbarry.com for more information. His books can be purchased from Amazon through the following link: 

Amazon - http://www.amazon.com/Murder-Mayhem-Shocked-California-1849-1949/dp/0764339680/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1417449102&sr=8-3&keywords=michael+thomas+barry