The Vampire of Sacramento Claimed his Final Victims (January 27, 1978)

This week (January 25-31) in crime history – The BTK Killer sent message to Kansas TV station (January 25, 2005); Charles Manson and three followers were convicted of murder (January 25, 1971); The Mad Butcher of Cleveland claimed his third victim (January 26, 1936); Richard Chase, The Vampire of Sacramento claimed his final victims (January 27, 1978); Spree killers Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate murdered three victims in Nebraska (January 28, 1958); Teenager Brenda Spencer opened fire at San Diego school killing two and injuring dozens (January 29, 1979); Mohandas Gandhi was assassinated (January 30, 1948); The McMartin Preschool molestation trial began (January 31, 1990)

Highlighted Crime Story of the Week -

On January 27, 1978, serial killer Richard Chase, murdered his final victims Evelyn Miroth, Daniel Meredith, as well as Miroth’s 6-year-old nephew in Sacramento, California. Chase who would be nicknamed “The Vampire of Sacramento “sexually assaulted Miroth with a knife before killing her and mutilating her body. He removed some of the organs of the body and filled them with blood before taking them with him. Meredith was found shot in the head.

The previous year, the 28-year-old Chase had been found in a Nevada field, naked and covered in cow’s blood. His behavior did not come as a complete surprise to those who knew him. As a child, he had been known to kill animals. He had been in and out of psychiatric hospitals for most of his life. A year prior to the killings, Chase was released because his psychiatrist found that Chase had a handle on his problems.

Upon his arrest, several days after the triple homicide, police found that Chase’s apartment was filled with human blood that suggested he had been drinking it for some time. His other murder victims included Ambrose Griffin (December 29, 1977) and Terry Wallin (January 23, 1978). In 1979, Chase’s trial began and his defense attorney argued insanity but the jury found him to be sane and convicted him of six counts of first-degree murder and sentenced him to death in the gas chamber. On December 26, 1980, Chase killed himself in his cell at San Quentin with an over dose of prescription medications.

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 seven nonfiction books that includes the soon to be released In the Company of Evil Thirty Years of California Crime, 1950-1980 and 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 books can be purchased from Amazon through the following links:

http://www.amazon.com/Company-Thirty-Years-California-1950-1980/dp/076435003X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453742117&sr=8-1&keywords=michael+thomas+barry

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Alger Hiss was Convicted of Perjury (January 21, 1950)

This week (January 18-24) in crime history – Washington DC mayor Marion Barry was arrested on drug charges (January 18, 1990); Nazi Klaus Barbie, the Butcher of Lyons was arrested in Bolivia (January 19, 1983); Notorious World War II traitor, Tokyo Rose was pardoned by President Ford (January 19, 1977); NFL Pro football player and convicted murderer Rae Carruth was born (January 20, 1974); Carl Switzer, who played Alfalfa in the “Our Gang” series was killed (January 21, 1959); Alger Hiss was convicted of perjury (January 21, 1950); Murder of Garrison, Texas police officer was filmed on dash board camera (January 23, 1991); Confession of Emmit Till’s murderers was published in Look magazine (January 24, 1956)

Highlighted Crime Story of the Week -

On January 21, 1950, former State Department official Alger Hiss was convicted of perjury. He was convicted of having perjured himself in regards to testimony about his alleged involvement in a Soviet spy ring before and during World War II. Hiss served nearly four years in jail, but steadfastly protested his innocence during and after his incarceration.

The case against Hiss began in 1948, when Whittaker Chambers, an admitted ex-communist and an editor with Time magazine, testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee and charged that Hiss was a communist in the 1930s and 1940s. Chambers also declared that Hiss, during his work in the Department of State during the 1930s, had passed him top secret reports.

Hiss appeared before HUAC and vehemently denied the charges, stating that he did not even know Chambers. Later, after confronting Chambers face to face, Hiss admitted that he knew him, but that Chambers had been using another name at the time. In short order, Chambers produced the famous “Pumpkin Papers,” copies of the documents he said Hiss passed him during the 1930s. They were dubbed the “Pumpkin Papers” because Chambers kept them hidden in a pumpkin in his pumpkin patch.

Charges and countercharges about the spy accusations soon filled the air. Defenders of Hiss, such as Secretary of State Dean Acheson, declared that President Truman’s opponents were making a sacrificial lamb out of Hiss. Truman himself declared that HUAC was using “red herrings” to defame Hiss. Critics fired back that Truman and Acheson were “coddling” communists, and that Hiss was only the tip of the iceberg. They claimed that communists had penetrated the highest levels of the American government.

Eventually, Hiss was brought to trial. Because the statute of limitations had run out, he was not tried for treason. Instead, he was charged with two counts of perjury, for lying about passing government documents to Chambers and for denying that he had seen Chambers since 1937. In 1949, the first trial for perjury ended in a deadlocked jury. The second trial ended in January 1950 with a guilty verdict on both counts. The case would also propel congressmen and future President Richard Nixon into the spotlight for his dogged persecution of the case.

The battle over the Hiss case continued long after the guilty verdict was handed down. Though many believed that Hiss was a much-maligned official who became a victim of the anticommunist hysteria of the late-1940s, others felt strongly that he was a lying communist agent. Until his death at the age of 92 on November 15, 1996, Hiss never deviated from his claim of innocence.

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 the author of seven nonfiction books that includes the soon to be released In the Company of Evil Thirty Years of California Crime, 1950-1980 and 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 books can be purchased from Amazon through the following links:

http://www.amazon.com/Company-Thirty-Years-California-1950-1980/dp/076435003X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453135374&sr=8-1&keywords=michael+thomas+barry

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Albert Fish, the Infamous "Moon Maniac" was Executed (January 16, 1936)

This week (January 11-17) in crime history – Joran van der Sloot confessed to murder in Peru (January 11, 2012); Arthur “Doc” Barker was killed while attempting to escape Alcatraz (January 13, 1939); Old West lawman Wyatt Earp died (January 13, 1929); America’s most notorious traitor Benedict Arnold was born (January 14, 1741); Isle Koch, the infamous Witch of Buchenwald was sentenced for war crimes (January 15, 1951); Bill Cosby’s son was murdered (January 16, 1997); Albert Fish, the notorious Moon Maniac was executed (January 16, 1936); The Great Brinks Robbery (January 17, 1950); Gary Gilmore was executed (January 17, 1977)

Highlighted Crime Story of the Week -

On January 16, 1936, Albert Fish was executed at Sing Sing prison in New York. Dubbed the “Moon Maniac,” Fish was one of America’s most notorious serial killers. Authorities believe that Fish killed as many as 10 children and then ate their remains. Fish went to the electric chair with great anticipation, telling guards, “It will be the supreme thrill, the only one I haven’t tried.”

Fish was convicted of the 1928 murder of 10-year-old Grace Budd in Westchester County, New York. He strangled the girl and then carved up her body with a saw. Six years later, Fish wrote Budd’s mother a letter in which he described in detail killing the girl and then preparing a stew with her flesh that he ate over the next nine days. The letter was traced back to Fish.

A psychiatrist who examined Fish stated, “There was no known perversion that he did not practice and practice frequently.” Most disturbingly, Fish was obsessed with cannibalism. He carried writings about the practice in his pockets. After his arrest, Fish confessed to the murders of other young children whom he claimed to have eaten. Although nearly everyone agreed that he was insane, including the jury deciding his fate, he was nevertheless sentenced to death in the electric chair. Reportedly, his last statement was a handwritten note filled with filthy obscenities.

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 award winning author of seven nonfiction books that includes the soon to be released In the Company of Evil Thirty Years of California Crime, 1950-1980 and 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 books can be purchased from Amazon through the following links:

http://www.amazon.com/Company-Thirty-Years-California-1950-1980/dp/076435003X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452533433&sr=8-1&keywords=michael+thomas+barry

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Hillside Strangler - Angelo Buono was Sentenced (January 9, 1984)

This week (January 4-10) in crime history – The Boston Strangler claimed his final victim (January 4, 1964), United Mine Workers Union leader Jock Yablonski and his family were found murdered (January 5, 1970), Olympic skater Nancy Kerrigan was attacked (January 6, 1994), Six-year-old Suzanne Degnan was kidnapped from her home in Chicago (January 7, 1946), Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and 13 others were shot at a rally in Tucson (January 8, 2011), Hillside Strangler – Angelo Buono was sentenced to life in prison (January 9, 1984), Old West outlaw Frank James was born

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 dumped the bodies along freeways and hillsides in the Los Angeles area. Thus, they earned the nickname the “Hillside Strangler.” The press erroneously assumed that the murders were 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 Sept. 21, 2002 at the age of 67. Kenneth Bianchi was denied parole in September 2005 and remains in prison in Washington state.

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 seven nonfiction books that includes In the Company of Evil Thirty Years of California Crime, 1950-1980 and 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 books can be purchased from Amazon through the following links:

http://www.amazon.com/Company-Thirty-Years-California-1950-1980/dp/076435003X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1451926329&sr=8-2&keywords=michael+thomas+barry

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Lynette Squeaky Fromme was Sentenced for Attempting to Assassinate Presdient Ford (December 17, 1975)

This week (December 14-20) in crime history – Mass shooting at Newtown, Connecticut elementary school (December 14, 2012); Nazi Adolf Eichmann was sentenced to death for war crimes (December 15, 1961); Federal Judge Robert Vance was killed by terrorist bomb (December 16, 1989); Lynette Squeaky Fromme was sentenced for attempting to assassinate President Ford (December 17, 1975); The Howard Beach hate crime (December 20, 1986)

Highlighted Crime Story of the Week -

On December 17, 1975, a federal jury in Sacramento, California, sentenced Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, to life in prison for her attempted assassination of President Gerald R. Ford. On September 5, a Secret Service agent wrestled a semi-automatic .45-caliber pistol from Fromme, who brandished the weapon at the President as he walked through the grounds of the California State Capitol in Sacramento. Fromme, was a follower of convicted murderer Charles Manson.

Seventeen days later, Ford escaped injury in another assassination attempt when 45-year-old Sara Jane Moore fired a revolver at him as he left the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. Moore, a leftist radical who once served as an informant for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, had a history of mental illness. She was arrested at the scene, convicted, and also sentenced to life in prison.

In trial, Fromme pleaded not guilty to the “attempted assassination of a president” charge, arguing that although her gun contained bullets, it had not been cocked, and therefore she had not actually intended to shoot the president. She was convicted, sentenced to life in prison, and sent to the Alderson Federal Correctional Institution in West Virginia.

Fromme remained a dedicated disciple of Charles Manson and in December 1987 escaped from Alderson Prison after she heard that Manson, also imprisoned, had cancer. After 40 hours roaming the rugged West Virginia hills, she was caught on Christmas Day, about two miles from the prison. Five years were added to her life sentence for the escape. She was eventually released on parole in August 2009.

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

Michael Thomas Barry is a columnist for www.crimemagazine.com as is the author of seven nonfiction books that includes the soon to be released In the Company of Evil Thirty Years of California Crime, 1950-1980 and 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 books can be purchased from Amazon through the following links:

http://www.amazon.com/Company-Thirty-Years-California-1950-1980/dp/076435003X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1450114401&sr=8-2&keywords=michael+thomas+barry

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Bernie Madoff was Arrested and Charged with Investment Fraud (December 11, 2008)

This week (December 7-13) in crime history – Colin Ferguson killed six and wounded 19 on a Long Island commuter train (December 7, 1993); First execution by lethal injection in Texas (December 7, 1982); John Lennon was murdered (December 8, 1980); Frank Sinatra Jr., was kidnapped in Lake Tahoe (December 10, 1963); Bernie Madoff was arrested (December 11, 2008); Singer Sam Cooke was shot to death (December 11, 1964); Leona Helmsely was sentenced for tax evasion (December 12, 1989); Texas Seven prison break (December 13, 2000)

Highlighted Crime Story of the Week -

On December 11, 2008, Bernard Madoff was arrested at his New York City apartment and charged with masterminding a long-running Ponzi scheme later estimated to involve around $65 billion, making it one of the biggest investment frauds in Wall Street history.

Madoff, who was born in Queens, New York, in 1938, founded a small trading firm bearing his name in 1960. The business was established, in part, with money he earned working as a lifeguard. Two decades later, Madoff’s firm, which helped revolutionize the way stocks are traded, had grown into one of the largest independent trading operations in the securities industry, and he and his family lived a life of luxury, owning multiple homes, boats and expensive artwork and jewelry.

Based on the success of his legitimate operations, Madoff launched an investment-advisory business as part of his firm, and it was this business that by the 1990s had become a Ponzi scheme, in which he paid his earlier investors with funds received from more recent investors. For years, clients of this business were sent account statements showing consistently high and fraudulent returns. Potential new customers clamored for Madoff to invest their money. However, in 2008, with the U.S. economy in crisis, Madoff’s financial swindle began to fall apart as his clients took money out faster than he could bring in fresh cash.

On December 10, 2008, Madoff revealed to his brother and two sons, who worked for the legitimate arm of his firm, that his investment-advisory business was a fraud and nearly bankrupt. Madoff’s sons turned in their father to federal authorities, who arrested him the next day. Madoff was freed on $10 million bail, and placed under 24-hour house arrest at his penthouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

The fallout from Madoff’s scam was widespread: The victims included everyone from his wealthy country-club acquaintances, Hollywood celebrities, banks and hedge funds to universities, charities and ordinary individual investors, some of whom lost their life savings. The charitable foundation of Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel lost more than $15 million, and Wiesel also lost his personal savings. Public outrage was further stoked when it was revealed that since the late 1990s a private financial fraud investigator, Harry Markopolos, had repeatedly warned the Securities and Exchange Commission about his suspicion that Madoff was operating a massive investment scam.

On March 12, 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty to the 11 felony counts against him, including securities fraud, money laundering and perjury. On June 29 of that year, a federal district court judge in Manhattan sentenced Madoff to 150 years behind bars, calling his actions “extraordinary evil.”

On December 11, 2010, the second anniversary of Madoff’s arrest, his 46-year-old son Mark was found dead in his Manhattan apartment after committing suicide. Bernard Madoff, who is serving his sentence at the Butner Federal Correctional Complex in North Carolina, has maintained that his family members knew nothing about his crimes and although they have faced intense scrutiny, none have been charged with any wrongdoing. Several of Madoff’s former employees, including his accountant and chief financial officer, have pleaded guilty in connection with the long-running fraud.

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 seven nonfiction books that include the soon to be released In the Company of Evil Thirty Years of California Crime, 1950-1980 and 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 books can be purchased from Amazon through the following links:

http://www.amazon.com/Company-Thirty-Years-California-1950-1980/dp/076435003X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1449509523&sr=8-2&keywords=michael+thomas+barry

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Serial Killer Jeffrey Dahmer was Murdered in Prison (November 28, 1994)

This week (November 23-29) in crime history – Robert Stroud, the Birdman of Alcatraz was released from solitary confinement (November 23, 1959); Billy the Kid was born (November 23, 1859); Ira member Thomas McMahon was sentenced for murdering Lord Louis Mountbatten (November 23, 1979); Jack Ruby killed Lee Harvey Oswald (November 24, 1963); Author and IRA member Robert Erskine Childers was executed (November 24, 1922); Vigilantes storm a jail in San Jose, California and lynched two murder suspects (November 26, 1933); San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Harvey Milk were murdered (November 27, 1978); Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was murdered in prison (November 28, 1994); Conrad Murray was sentenced in Michael Jackson death case (November 29, 2011); President Lyndon Johnson established the Warren Commission (November 29, 1963)

Highlighted Crime Story of the Week -

 

 

On November 28, 1994, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, who was serving 15 consecutive life sentences for the brutal murders of 15 men, was beaten to death by a fellow inmate while performing cleaning duty in a bathroom at the Columbia Correctional Institute gymnasium in Portage, Wisconsin.

During a 13-year period, Dahmer, who lived primarily in the Midwest, murdered at least 17 men. Most of these men were young, gay African Americans who Dahmer lured back to his home, promising to pay them money to pose nude for photographs. Dahmer would then drug and strangle them to death, generally mutilating, and occasionally cannibalizing, their bodies. Dahmer was finally arrested on July 22, 1991, and entered a plea of guilty but insane in 15 of the 17 murders he confessed to committing. In February 1992, the jury found him sane in each murder, and he was sentenced to 15 consecutive life sentences.

Two years later, Dahmer was killed at the age of 34 by fellow inmate Christopher Scarver, who also fatally beat the third man on their work detail, inmate Jesse Anderson. Scarver’s motive in killing the two men is not entirely clear; however, in his subsequent criminal trial he maintained that God told him to kill Dahmer and the other inmate. Scarver, already serving a life term for murder, was sentenced to additional life terms and transferred to a federal 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 seven nonfiction books that includes the soon to be released In the Company of Evil – Thirty Years of California Crime, 1950-1980 and 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 books can be purchased from Amazon through the following links:

 

 

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