True Crime (History Press)
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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 Witch of Delray
Rose Veres & Detroit's Infamous 1930s Murder Mystery
by Karen Dybis
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
Detroit was full of stark contrasts in 1931. Political scandals, rumrunners and mobs lurked in the shadows of the city's soaring architecture and industrious population. As the Great Depression began to take hold, tensions grew, spilling over into the investigation of a mysterious murder at the boardinghouse of Hungarian immigrant Rose Veres. Amid accusations of witchcraft, Rose and her son Bill were convicted of the brutal killing and suspected in a dozen more. Their cries of innocence went unheeded--until one lawyer, determined to seek justice, took on the case. Author Karen Dybis follows the twists and turns of this shocking story, revealing the truth of Detroit's own Hex Woman.
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(4)
Murder at Rocky Point Park
Tragedy in Rhode Island's Summer Paradise
by Kelly Sullivan Pezza
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
On a summer day in 1893, little Maggie Sheffield was murdered. Maggie's own father did the unthinkable against a backdrop of laughter and barrel organ music at Rocky Point Amusement Park. The tragedy aroused a strange reaction from the peaceable community of Warwick, Rhode Island. Many seemed to be more concerned for the murderer, Frank Sheffield, than for his young victim. Frank was rumored to be insane or addicted to drugs, and after a trial, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity. The murder did not tarnish Rocky Point's reputation as a premier destination, and the park operated until 1995. Investigating official records and newspaper archives, author Kelly Sullivan Pezza uncovers the facts and oddities behind a grim crime in Rhode Island's summer paradise.
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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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Murder in Victorian Dayton
The Tragic Story Of Bessie Little
by Sara Kaushal
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
A sad and shocking story of love betrayed
The murder of Bessie Little and the trial of her murderer rocked Victorian Dayton. Believing herself pregnant and desperate to save her reputation, young Bessie tried to force her boyfriend, Albert Frantz, to marry her quickly. Instead, he took her out for a buggy ride, shot her twice in the head and dumped her body in the river. When she was discovered, he tried to convince everyone that she committed suicide. The dramatic trial brought to light details of Bessie and Albert's secret trysts, and Albert's sanity became a point of contention.
In her third historical book about Dayton, Sara Kaushal delves into a tale of scandal and betrayal to discover the truth.
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Michigan Scoundrels
Rogues, Rascals And Rapscallions
by Norma Lewis
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
The rich history of the Wolverine State has a serious dark side. In the Detroit area, the Black Legion outdid the Ku Klux Klan in hate but remained secret until one of its leaders was implicated in a murder. John Harvey Kellogg of Battle Creek was equal parts physician and quack. Then there were the state's two self-proclaimed kings--James Jesse Strang, the leader of a Mormon group on Beaver Island, and Albert Molitor, the reputed illegitimate son of German royalty who established his own kingdom on Presque Isle. Michigan author and historian Norma Lewis present a gallery of the state's most despicable criminals, crooks, conmen and more.
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(3)
Leavenworth Seven
The Deadly 1931 Prison Break
by Kenneth M. Lamaster
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
The infamous escape from the maximum security federal prison is recounted in gripping detail in this Depression Era true crime history.
On December 11, 1931, chaos erupted behind the limestone walls of Leavenworth Penitentiary as seven desperate men put months of planning into action. Aided by notorious gangsters Frank Nash, George "Machine Gun" Kelly and Thomas James Holden, these convicts enacted one of the most legendary prison breaks in history, blazing a path to freedom with stolen cars and terrorized hostages.
But their audacious escape was only the beginning. Across Kansas, anyone who could carry a gun and knew the terrain quickly picked up the pursuit. In Leavenworth Seven, historian and Kansas native Kenneth LaMaster recounts the incredible story through first-person accounts, news reports, and official FBI files.
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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 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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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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Francis "Two Gun" Crowley's Killings in New York City & Long Island
by Jerry Aylward
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
On a May morning in 1931, Nassau County police officer Fred Hirsch was gunned down by the notorious New York City gangster Francis Crowley. Nicknamed "Two Gun" for tricking and murdering cops with a second loaded firearm, Crowley left a bloody trail from the Bronx to Long Island. He shot and wounded two men at a local dance hall and a New York City police detective and murdered one of Nassau County's finest. Eventually, he was tracked to a hideout in Manhattan, where a two-hour gun battle, including more than two hundred cops and ten thousand spectators, led to his capture. His murder spree involved thousands of law enforcement personnel, stole national media attention and cut across the New York metropolitan area. Author Jerry Aylward presents the murderous life of Francis "Two Gun" Crowley from the streets of New York to the electric chair in Sing Sing.
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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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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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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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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 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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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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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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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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True Crime Northern Virginia in the '50s & '60s
by Zachary G. Ford
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
Discover crimes that made headlines across northern Virginia in the 1950s and 60s. As the suburbs of Washington, D.C. expanded in the mid-twentieth century, growth inevitably led to increasing crime, and grisly murders began to shock local communities. Learn the story of the killer and his victim who are buried only a few yards apart. The truth behind the tale of the murderous toddler and the sad story of the death of an agent at National Airport belie the picture perfect image of those decades. Fairfax, Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church and Prince William witnessed atrocities that grabbed headlines in their day but have since faded from collective memory. Local author Zachary Ford uses detailed research drawn from contemporary accounts to bring these stories to life.
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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 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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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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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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Notorious Memphis Gangster Diggs Nolen
by Mr. Patrick O'Daniel
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
The Memphis Underworld King
Diggs Nolen's name was the byword for crime in 1920s Memphis. As a child, he dreamed of becoming a swashbuckling outlaw. He turned his back on a promising career, his family and consorted with the worst elements of society. Under the tutelage of train robber Frank Holloway, Nolen became a notorious con artist. Later, he and his gun-slinging wife built an empire out of selling narcotics and trafficking stolen goods. Law enforcement caught Nolen, but they could not hold him. Nolen escaped from Leavenworth Prison, led the largest jailbreak in Memphis history and confounded prosecutors with legal wranglings. Author Patrick O'Daniel details Nolen's quixotic quest for criminal fame that earned him the title King of the Memphis Underworld.
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Murder in Marple
The D'amore Family Tragedy
by Thomas George Deitman
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
Benjamin D'Amore abused his wife for the last time on November 29, 1949. That night, his sons John and Nicholas exacted revenge and executed Benjamin with a shotgun and deer rifle. The trial that followed was unlike many before it. Two psychiatrists diagnosed the brothers with "catathymic crisis," which inhibited their judgment during the crime. But despite the defendants' guilty plea, an all-female jury acquitted them. Thomas Deitman and Dawn D'Amore Yankanich unravel the horrific events and conspiracies regarding the shocking patricide case.
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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 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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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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The Cold Case Murder of Fred Wilkerson
Untangling the Black Widow's Web in West Georgia
by Clay Bryant
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
Nearly two decades after the fact, tragedy meets justice. One day in 1987, Fred Wilkerson up and vanished in Troup County, Georgia. It was a mystery beset with suspicious circumstances, but the evidence never led anywhere, and the case went cold, Wilkerson's whereabouts unknown. That is, until a remarkable set of circumstances allowed author and investigator Clay Bryant to breathe life back into the case nearly two decades later. Diving into what had previously been overlooked, Bryant was able to locate and recover Wilkerson's remains and successfully prosecute the killer, who'd crafted a calculating plot to take everything the victim had and murder him in order to keep it. The story concludes with the Wilkerson Family finally getting closure and the killer getting sentenced to life in prison. Join Byrant as he unravels this West Georgia cold case.
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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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Unsolved Indiana
Murder Mysteries, Bizarre Deaths & Unexplained Disappearances
by Autumn Bones
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
Enduring mysteries from the Hoosier State
Crime and tragedy have all too often disturbed the peace and stained the memory of Indiana's bucolic countryside. The small town of Dupont was thrust into the nation's spotlight in 1947 after a series of suspicious deaths were blamed on a well-known local housekeeper-suspected serial killer Lottie "Tot" Lockman. On a fall day in 1976, a Benton County farmer found an unusual package in his cornfield-a corpse. Dubbed "The Box Lady of Benton County," her identity remains a mystery. On September 13, 1989, Joseph Bova was killed outside of his Merrillville home when a pipe bomb rigged to his truck's ignition exploded. With no witnesses, suspects, or motive, his case remains unsolved.
Author Autumn Bones explores some of Indiana's least-known unsolved cases.
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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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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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Chicago's First Crime King
Michael Cassius McDonald
by Kelly Pucci
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
This true crime biography details the remarkable rise of the 19th century mob boss who ran Chicago from the streets to the mayor's office.
Michael Cassius McDonald arrived in Chicago as a teenage gambler and scam artist who quickly hustled his way into running the city through its criminal underworld. Long before the reign of Al Capone, McDonald was Chicago's original mob boss. He procured presidential pardons, fixed juries, stuffed mayoral ballot boxes, and operated the city's most popular-and most crooked-gambling parlor.
But McDonald also maintained a reputation as a decent man. He was a philanthropist who befriended Clarence Darrow, promoted the World's Fair, ran the Chicago Globe newspaper-where he employed Theodore Dreiser-and funded the Lake Street L. Meanwhile, he had multiple marriages mired in love triangles and murder trials. His remarkable story comes to life in this.
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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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The Downfall of Galveston's May Walker Burleson
Texas Society Marriage & Carolina Murder Scandal
by T. Felder Dorn
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
"The story of May Walker Burleson's murder of her ex-husband's second wife ... A meticulously researched work, {it} captures its era perfectly."-Galveston County Daily News
Jennie May Walker Burleson was envied for having everything a woman of her time could want-the privileged upbringing, the dazzling good looks, and the dashing war hero husband. She was admired for demonstrating that a woman could want more, from the front of the 1913 Woman Suffrage Procession to the bottom of a Mesoamerican archaeological dig. But as she stood over the body of her husband's second wife, gun in hand, society's envy and admiration quickly hardened into pity and scorn. T. Felder Dorn examines the complicated trajectory of her life as socialite, suffragist and shooter.
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The Hunt for the Last Public Enemy in Northeastern Ohio
Alvin "Creepy" Karpis and his Road to Alcatraz
by Julie Thompson
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
This Depression Era true crime biography chronicles the notorious gangster's life, eventual capture by the FBI, and long stay in Alcatraz.
Growing up in Topeka, Kansas, Alvin Karpis started his life of crime at age ten. By the early 1930s, he was a hardened criminal and leader of the Barker-Karpis Gang. He reportedly committed fifteen bank robberies, fourteen murders, three jailbreaks and two kidnappings. One of only four outlaws to be named Public Enemy No. 1, Karpis was the last-and the only one taken alive.
His criminal career came to an end when J. Edgar Hoover and his famed G-Men apprehended him in New Orleans. From there, Karpis found himself confined on Alcatraz Island, where he spent nearly twenty-six years-more than any inmate in the prison's history. This riveting tale of his life takes readers from the rural Midwest to the bustling streets of the Big Easy and into the bleak innards of "the Rock."
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A Jazz Age Murder in Northwest Indiana
The Tragic Betrayal of Nettie Diamond
by Jane Simon Ammeson
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
Nettie Herskovitz was wealthy and widowed. Her suitor, Harry Diamond, was a dashing young bootlegger a decade and a half her junior. At first, she resisted his advances, but soon the two were married with an infant daughter. Disinterested in a domestic life, Diamond shot Nettie on Valentine's Day 1923 while riding in their Hudson sedan. He tried to pin the crime on the fleeing chauffeur, but Diamond made a mistake. Though mortally wounded, Nettie lived long enough to identify her attacker to police and change her will. The sensational Diamond murder became tabloid fodder--a Roaring Twenties story of roadhouse floozies, illegal booze, orphaned children, trust funds and legal acrobatics.
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Murder in Linn County, Oregon
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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Murder & Mayhem in Central Massachusetts
by Rachel Faugno
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
The bucolic image of central Massachusetts belies a dark and sometimes deadly past. Grisly crimes and grim misdeeds reach back to colonial settlement in Worcester County, from an escaped slave hanged for rape in 1768 at the Worcester jail to the Sutton choir singer convicted of drowning his wife in 1935. Henry Hammond's 1899 suicide and the others that followed shook Spencer residents to their cores. Some crimes still grip the imaginations of residents, while others have faded from collective memory. Author Rachel Faugno investigates this sinister history.
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Mad Madame LaLaurie
New Orleans' Most Famous Murderess Revealed
by Victoria Cosner Love
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
On April 10, 1834 Firefighters smashed through a padlocked attic door in the burning home of Creole society couple Delphine and Louis Lalaurie. The horrible discovery of chained and mutilated slaves spawned a legend that has endured for over 150 years. But what really happened in the Lalaurie home? Who was 'Mad Madame Lalaurie,' and what motivated her to commit such ghastly atrocities, if in fact she really did? Historian Victoria Cosner Love and author Lorelei Shannon uncover the truth behind one of New Orleans' most famous stories and one of America's most haunted houses.
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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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Mississippi Moonshine Politics
How Bootleggers & the Law Kept a Dry State Soaked
by Janice Tracy
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
A Mississippi historian chronicles the rise and fall of The Magnolia State's moonshine empire in this revealing true crime history.
For most states, the repeal of prohibition meant a return to legally drunken normalcy, but not so in Mississippi. The state had gone dry more than a decade before the rest of the nation. In that time, a lucrative black market for moonshine and bonded liquor became a way of life for many Mississippians. By the time Prohibition was lifted, bootleggers and state politicians were unwilling to give up their hold on the sale of alcohol.
For nearly sixty years, Mississippi was known as the "wettest dry state in the country." Until statewide prohibition was finally repealed in 1966, illegal booze fueled a corrupt political machine that intimidated journalists who dared to speak against it and fixed juries that threatened its interests. Author and native Mississippian Janice Branch Tracy offers an intimate and authoritative look inside Mississippi Moonshine Politics.
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Francis "Two Gun" Crowley's Killings in New York City & Long Island
by Jerry Aylward
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
On a May morning in 1931, Nassau County police officer Fred Hirsch was gunned down by the notorious New York City gangster Francis Crowley. Nicknamed "Two Gun" for tricking and murdering cops with a second loaded firearm, Crowley left a bloody trail from the Bronx to Long Island. He shot and wounded two men at a local dance hall and a New York City police detective and murdered one of Nassau County's finest. Eventually, he was tracked to a hideout in Manhattan, where a two-hour gun battle, including more than two hundred cops and ten thousand spectators, led to his capture. His murder spree involved thousands of law enforcement personnel, stole national media attention and cut across the New York metropolitan area. Author Jerry Aylward presents the murderous life of Francis "Two Gun" Crowley from the streets of New York to the electric chair in Sing Sing.
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The 1868 St. Bernard Parish Massacre
Blood in the Cane Fields
by C. Dier
Part of the True Crime (History Press) series
The slaughter of newly liberated African Americans just days before a Reconstruction Era election is recounted in this true crime history.
Louisiana, 1868. With the Civil War over, a victorious Ulysses S. Grant was riding a wave of popularity straight to the White House. But former Confederates across the South feared what Reconstruction might look like under President Grant. Days before the tumultuous election, Louisiana's St. Bernard Parish descended into chaos.
As African American men gained the right to vote, white Democrats of the parish feared losing their majority. Armed groups mobilized to suppress these recently emancipated voters. Freed people were dragged from their homes and murdered in cold blood. Many fled to the cane fields to hide from their attackers. The reported number of those killed varies from 35 to 135. Though efforts were made to cover up the tragedy, its implications reverberated throughout the South and lingered for generations. In this authoritative chronicle, historian Chris Dier reveals the horrifying true story behind the St. Bernard Parish Massacre.