The Yosemite Murders - March 18, 1999

This week (March 16-23) in crime history – Lastania Abarta shot and killed her former lover in Los Angeles (March 16, 1881); Robert Blake was acquitted of murder (March 16, 2005); Judge Roy Bean died (March 16, 1903); Raymond Clark II pleaded guilty to the murder of a Yale University grad student (March 17, 2011); Yosemite Murders (March 18, 1999); Nazi General Friedrich Fromm was executed for helping plot failed assassination of Adolph Hitler (March 19, 1945); Tokyo subway was attacked with nerve gas by terrorists ( March 20, 1995); Alcatraz prison closed (March 21, 1963); Seven teachers were indicted for child abuse at the McMartin preschool (March 22, 1984)

Highlighted crime story of the week -

On March 18, 1999, the bodies of Carole Sund and Silvina Pelosso are found in a charred rental car in a remote wooded area of Long Barn, Califonia. The women, along with Sund’s daughter Juli, had been missing since February when they were last seen alive at the Cedar Lodge near Yosemite National Park. Juli Sund’s body was found thirty miles away a week after the car was found. Compounding the mystery, Carole Sund’s wallet had been found on a street in downtown Modesto, California, three days after they had disappeared.

Police initially focused their investigation on a group of methamphetamine users in Northern California, but this changed in July when Joie Ruth Armstrong, a 26-year-old Yosemite Park worker, was brutally killed near her cabin in the park. The discovery of her body led detectives to Cary Stayner, 37, who worked at the Cedar Lodge motel, where the Sunds were last seen. Stayner was tracked down and caught at a nudist colony in Northern California. He confessed to the murder of Armstrong and then surprised the detectives by admitting that he was also responsible for the murders of the Sunds and Pelosso.

Years earlier, Stayner had been on the other end of another high-profile crime. His younger brother, Steven, was abducted in Merced when Cary was eleven years old. Steven Stayner was held for more than seven years by a sexual abuser, Kenneth Parnell. Following his escape, a television movie, I Know My First Name is Steven, dramatized the incident. Steven Stayner died in a tragic motorcycle accident when he was twenty-four. Cary Stayner pleaded guilty to the Armstrong murder in 2001 and was convicted of the other three murders in 2002 and was sentenced to death. He is currently incarcerated at San Quentin Prison awaiting appeals of his conviction.

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 Murder and 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_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1426520081&sr=8-2&keywords=michael+thomas+barry

FBI Debuted the "Ten Most Wanted List" - March 14, 1950

This week (March 9-15) in crime history – Rapper Notorious BIG was shot and killed (March 9, 1997); James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to assassinating Martin Luther King Jr. (March 10, 1969); Dr. David Gunn was shot and killed at his abortion clinic (March 10, 1993); Terrorists bombed train in Madrid, Spain (March 11, 2004); Teenager Elizabeth Smart was found alive (March 12, 2003); Czar Alexander II was assassinated (March 13, 1881); Impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson began (march 13, 1868); Mass school shooting in Dunblane, Scotland (March 13, 1996); Jack Ruby was sentenced to death for killing Lee Harvey Oswald (March 14, 1964); FBI’s 10 Most Wanted List debuted (March 14, 1950); Birmingham Six were released from prison (March 14, 1991); Julius Caesar was assassinated (March 15, 44 B.C.)

Highlighted Story of the Week -

On March 14, 1950, the F.B.I debuts the “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list in an effort to publicize particularly dangerous criminals. The creation of the program arose out of a wire service news story in 1949 about the “toughest guys” the FBI wanted to capture. The story drew so much public attention that the “Ten Most Wanted” list was given the go ahead by J. Edgar Hoover the following year. As of 2015, 494 criminals have appeared on the list and 463 have been apprehended or located, 153 as a result of tips from the public. The Criminal Investigative Division (CID) of the FBI asks all fifty-six field offices to submit candidates for inclusion on the list. The CID in association with the Office of Public and Congressional Affairs then proposes finalists for approval of by the FBI’s Deputy Director. The criteria for selection is simple, the criminal must have a lengthy record and current pending charges that make him or her particularly dangerous and the FBI must believe that the publicity attendant to placement on the list will assist in the apprehension of the fugitive. Unless a “Top Tenner” is captured, found dead, or surrenders, they are only removed from the list when they meet one of two conditions. First, the federal process pending against the individual is dismissed. Second, they no longer fit “Top Ten” criteria. When a fugitive is removed from the list, another candidate is added. Only eight women have appeared on the Ten Most Wanted list and Ruth Eisemann Schier was the first in 1968.

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 Murder and 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_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1425920900&sr=8-2&keywords=michael+thomas+barry

Charlie Chaplin's Body was Stolen - March 2, 1978

This week (March 2 – 8) in crime history – Charlie Chaplin’s body was stolen (March 2, 1978); Congress banned sending obscene material through the mail (March 3, 1873); LAPD officers are videotaped beating Rodney King (March 3, 1991); Louis “Lepke” Buchalter was executed (March 4, 1944); Martha Stewart was released from prison (March 4, 2005); Jim Morrison was charged with lewd conduct in Miami (March 5, 1969;); Trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg began (March 6, 1951); Defense rested in the trial of Andrea Yates (March 7, 2002); Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez “The Lonely Hearts Killers” were executed (March 8, 1951); Old west outlaw and bank robber, Emmett Dalton was sentenced to life in prison (March 8, 1893)

Highlighted Story of the Week -

On March 2, 1978, two men steal the corpse of silent film actor Charlie Chaplin from a cemetery in the Swiss village of Corsier-sur-Vevey, located in the hills above Lake Geneva, near Lausanne, Switzerland. A comic actor who was perhaps most famous for his alter ego, the Little Tramp, Chaplin was also a respected filmmaker whose career spanned Hollywood’s silent film era and the momentous transition to “talkies” in the late 1920s.

After Chaplin’s widow, Oona, received a ransom demand of some $600,000, police began monitoring her phone and watching 200 phone kiosks in the region. Oona had refused to pay the ransom, saying that her husband would have thought the demand was preposterous. The callers later made threats against her two youngest children. Oona Chaplin was Charlie’s fourth wife and the daughter of the playwright Eugene O’Neill. She and Chaplin were married in 1943, when she was 18 and he was 54; they had eight children together. The family had settled in Switzerland in 1952 after Chaplin was accused of being a Communist sympathizer.

After a five-week investigation, police arrested two auto mechanics, Roman Wardas, of Poland, and Gantscho Ganev, of Bulgaria. On May 17 they led authorities to Chaplin’s body, which they had buried in a cornfield about one mile from the Chaplin family’s home in Corsier. Political refugees from Eastern Europe, Wardas and Ganev apparently stole Chaplin’s body in an attempt to solve their financial problems. Wardas, identified as the mastermind of the plot, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years of hard labor. As he told it, he was inspired by a similar crime that he had read about in an Italian newspaper. Ganev was given an 18-month suspended sentence, as he was believed to have limited responsibility for the crime. As for Chaplin, his family reburied his body in a concrete grave to prevent future theft attempts.

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 Murder and Mayhem 52 Crimes that Shocked Early California. 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_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1425312147&sr=8-2&keywords=michael+thomas+barry

The Lindbergh Baby Kidnapping - March 1, 1932

This week (February 23 – March 1) in crime history – Abraham Lincoln avoided assassination attempt (February 23, 1861); Jean Harris was convicted of murdering Dr. Herman Tarnower (February 24, 1981); Actor Robert Mitchum was released from jail after serving sentence for drug possession (February 25, 1949); World Trade Center in New York City was bombed for first time (February 26, 1993); Trayvon Martin was shot and killed (February 26, 2012); Federal agents raided the Branch Davidian compound in Waco (February 28, 1993); Baby Lindbergh kidnapping (March 1, 1932); Salem Witch hunt began (March 1, 1692)

Highlighted Crime Story of the Week -

On March 1, 1932, the young son of famed aviator Charles Lindbergh was kidnapped from the family's home in Hopewell, New Jersey. Anne Lindbergh discovered a ransom note in their child's empty room. The kidnapper had used a ladder to climb up to the open second-floor window and had left muddy footprints in the room. The ransom note written in poor English, demanded $50,000. The crime captured the attention of the entire nation and the Lindbergh family was inundated by offers of assistance and false clues. For three days, investigators found nothing and there was no further word from the kidnappers. Then, a new letter arrived which demanded $70,000.

Dr. Condon, a retired teacher and coach from the Bronx who had volunteered, acted as the go-between. After Condon and Lindbergh delivered the ransom money on April 2, the kidnappers indicated that the child was on a boat off the coast of Massachusetts. However, after an exhaustive search of every port, there was no sign of either the boat or the child. Soon after, a renewed search of the area near the Lindbergh home turned up the baby's body. He had been killed the night of the kidnapping. The heartbroken Lindbergh’s eventually donated the home to charity and moved away.

The kidnapping looked like it would go unsolved until September 1934, when a marked bill from the ransom turned up. The gas station attendant who had accepted the bill wrote down the license plate number of the car. It was tracked back to a German immigrant, Bruno Hauptmann. When his home was searched, detectives found $14,000 of Lindbergh ransom money. Hauptmann claimed that a friend had given him the money to hold and that he had no connection to the crime. The resulting trial was a national sensation. The prosecution's case was not particularly strong and the main evidence, apart from the money, was handwriting experts and Hauptmann’s connection with the type of wood that was used to make the ladder. Still, the evidence and intense public pressure was enough to convict Hauptmann. In April 1936 he was executed in the electric chair. In the aftermath of the case kidnapping was made a federal offense.

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 and Mayhem 52 Crimes that Shocked Early California. 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_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1424709790&sr=8-2&keywords=michael+thomas+barry

Gunslinger John Wesley Hardin was Released from Prison - February 16, 1894

This week (February 16-22) in crime history – Old west gunslinger John Wesley Hardin was released from prison (February 16, 1894); Union leaders are arrested in connection with the assassination of former Idaho governor Frank Steuenberg (February 17, 1906); Arsonists sets fire to South Korean subway train killing nearly 200 (February 18, 2003); Green River Killer Gary Leon Ridgway pleaded guilty to killing his 49^th victim (February 18, 2011); Murder of rancher John Tunstall ignited the Lincoln County War (February 18, 1878); Former U.S. Vice-President Aaron Burr was arrested for treason (February 19, 1807); Chicago Seven were sentenced for inciting riots during the 1968 Democratic National Convention (February 19, 1970); Reg Murphy, editor of The Atlanta Constitution was kidnapped (February 20, 1974); Malcolm X was assassinated (February 21, 1965); Double agent Aldrich Ames was arrested for leaking secrets to the Soviet Union (February 21, 1994); The Securitas Bank depot in Kent, England was robbed of 53 million pounds (February 22, 2006).

Highlighted Crime Story of the Week -

On February 16, 1894, old west gunslinger John Wesley Hardin was pardoned and released from a Texas prison after spending 15 years in custody for murder. Hardin, who was reputed to have shot and killed a man just for snoring, was 41 years old at the time of his release. During his lifetime, Hardin probably killed in excess of 40 people beginning in 1868. When he was only 15, he killed an ex-slave in a fight and became a wanted fugitive. Two years later, he was arrested for murder in Waco, Texas. Although it was actually one of the few he had not committed, Hardin did not want to run the risk of being convicted and fled to Abilene, Kansas. Luckily for him Abilene was run by a good friend, Wild Bill Hickok. However, one night Hardin was disturbed by the snoring in an adjacent hotel room and fired two shots through the wall, killing the man. Fearing that not even Wild Bill would stand for such a senseless crime, Hardin moved on again.

On May 26, 1874, Hardin was celebrating his 21st birthday when he got into an altercation with a man who fired the first shot. Hardin fired back and killed the man. A few years later, Hardin was tracked down in Florida and brought to trial. Because it was one of the more defensible shootings on Hardin's record, he was spared the gallows and given a life sentence. After his pardon, he moved to El Paso and became a successful attorney. But his past eventually caught up with him, and on the night of August 19, 1895 he was shot in the back of the head by former outlaw and Constable John Selman Sr., as revenge for a petty argument.

Check back every Monday for 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 true crime book, Murder and 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=1424107025&sr=8-3&keywords=michael+thomas+barry

Actor Sal Mineo was Murdered - February 12, 1976

This week (February 9-15) in crime history – Adolph Coors III, grandson of the Coor’s founder was kidnapped and murdered (February 9, 1960); Former Boxing Champion Mike Tyson was convicted of rape (February 10, 1992); Nelson Mandela was released from prison (February 11, 1990); Radical Emma Goldman was arrested for distributing birth control information (February 11, 1916); Actor Sal Mineo was murdered (February 12, 1976); War crimes trial of former Yugoslavian President Slobodan Milosevic began (February 12, 2002); Serial Killer Tom Luther attacked first known victim (February 13, 1982); The St. Valentin’s Day Massacre (February 14, 1929); President-elect Franklin Roosevelt narrowly escaped assassination in Miami (February 15, 1933)

Highlighted Crime Story of the Week -

On February 12, 1976, actor Sal Mineo was stabbed to death in West Hollywood, California. Mineo was parking his car behind his apartment when neighbors heard his cries for help. Witnesses described seeing a white man with long brown hair fleeing the scene. Sal Mineo was a famous teen actor in the 1950s and co-starred with James Dean in Rebel without a Cause and Giant. His transition to adult roles was not easy, but he later appeared in films such as The Longest Day and Escape from the Planet of the Apes, and was a regular guest actor on television series. On the night of his murder, Mineo was returning from a play rehearsal.

For two years, Los Angeles police detectives searched in vain for clues to the killer's identity. At first, they suspected that Mineo's work for prison reform had put him in contact with a dangerous ex-con. Then their focus shifted to Mineo's personal life. Investigators had discovered that his home was filled with pictures of nude men, but the homosexual pornography also failed to turn up any leads.

Then, out of the blue, Michigan authorities reported that Lionel Williams, arrested on bad check charges, was bragging to everyone that he had killed Mineo. Although he later retracted his stories, at about the same time, Williams’ his wife back in Los Angeles told police that he had come home the night of the murder drenched in blood. However, there was one major discrepancy in the case, Williams was black with an Afro and all of the eyewitnesses had described the perpetrator as a white man with long brown hair.

Fortunately, the police were able to unearth an old photo of Williams in which his hair had been dyed brown and processed so that it was straight and long. In addition, the medical examiner had made a cast of Mineo's knife wound and police were able to match it to the description of the knife provided by Williams' wife. Lionel Williams was eventually convicted and given a sentence of life in prison. He was paroled in the early 1990s but rearrested after committing other crimes. Today, Williams whereabouts is unknown.

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 and 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_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1423498700&sr=8-2&keywords=michael+thomas+barry

Old West Outlaw Belle Starr was Murdered - February 3, 1889

This week (February 2-8) in crime history – Film director William Desmond Taylor was murdered (February 2, 1922); Details of the FBI’s ABSCAM operation were revealed to the public (February 2, 1980); Barnett Davenport committed mass murder in Revolutionary era Connecticut (February 3, 1780); Outlaw Belle Starr was murdered (February 3, 1889); Patty Hearst was kidnapped by members of the Symbionese Liberation Army (February 4, 1974); Medgar Evers assassin was convicted (February 5, 1994); Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega was indicted on drug charges (February 5, 1988); Josh Powell kills himself and his two sons at his Graham, Washington home (February 5, 2012); Mary Kay Latourneau was sent to prison for violating terms of her sentence (February 6, 1998); Dalton Gang committed its first train robbery (February 6, 1891); Nevada carry’s out first execution by lethal gas in the United States (February 8, 1924).

Highlighted Crime Story of the Week -

On February 2, 1889, Belle Starr was murdered, when an unknown assailant fatally shot the famous old west outlaw with two shotgun blasts from behind. As with the lives of other famous outlaws like Billy the Kid and Jesse James, fanciful accounts printed in newspapers and dime novels made Belle Starr's harsh and violent life appear far more romantic than it actually was.

Born Myra Mabelle Shirley on February 5, 1848 on a small farm near Carthage, Missouri. She received an education in the classics and became a competent pianist. Seemingly headed for an unexciting but respectable middle-class life, her fate was changed by the outbreak of the Civil War, which ruined her father's business as a Carthage innkeeper and claimed the life of her brother Edwin. Devastated, the Shirley family abandoned Missouri for a fresh start in Texas.

In Texas, Belle began her life-long pattern of associating with men of questionable character. In 1866, she met Cole Younger, a member of the James-Younger gang that was gaining notoriety for a series of daring bank and train robberies. Rumor had it that Younger fathered Belle's first child, Pearl, though the father might have actually been another outlaw, Jim Reed. Regardless, Belle's relationship with Younger was short-lived, and in 1866 she became Reed's wife. Belle was apparently untroubled by her new husband's reputation and she had become his partner in crime by 1869. She joined him in stealing cattle, horses, and money in the Dallas area. Riding her mare, Venus, and sporting velvet skirts and plumed hats, Belle played the role of a "bandit queen" for several years.

In 1874, a member of his own gang killed Reed, and Belle was suddenly on her own. Pursued by the law, she drifted into Oklahoma Indian Territory, where she led a band of cattle and horse thieves. There she met a handsome young Cherokee named Sam Starr, who eventually became her common-law husband and new criminal partner. The Starr’s managed to elude capture for nearly a decade, but in 1883 they were arrested for horse theft and both served five months in the Detroit federal prison.

Freed from prison, the couple immediately resumed their criminal careers. In 1886, Belle again lost a husband to violent death when Sam Starr was killed in a gunfight with an old enemy. Belle wasted no time in finding a third companion, a Creek Indian named Jim July, an outlaw who was 15 years her junior. In 1889, July was arrested for robbery and summoned to Fort Smith, Arkansas, to face charges. Belle accompanied her young lover for part of the journey but turned back before reaching Fort Smith. On her way home, someone ambushed and fatally wounded her with two shotgun blasts to her back. No one was ever arrested or convicted of the crime.

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 author of six nonfiction books that includes Murder and 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=1422896878&sr=8-3&keywords=michael+thomas+barry&pebp=1422896891850&peasin=764339680