July 25, 1785 Durham, England John Winship is hanged for the murder of his maid/lover When Winship was informed by his maid and lover Grace Smith that she was with child, he convinced her to drink a concoction of corrosive mercury sublimate (now called mercuric chloride) in an attempt to induce abortion. She dutifully drank…
Man kills and decapitates wife, dogs then mutilates himself
July 25, 2015 Phoenix, Arizona Kenneth Dale Wakefield is found naked and covered in blood after decapitating his wife and their dogs and mutilating himself Wakefield had a history of mental illness; he and his wife Trina Heisch had met while serving 10 year terms in a mental health facility, both for stabbing relatives. He…
Voice behind “Ducky” in The Land Before Time and her mother killed, set on fire by her father
July 25, 1988 Los Angeles, California 10-year-old Judith Barsi and her mother are shot and killed by Judith’s father during a double murder-suicide Judith, voice actor of Ducky from The Land Before Time and Anne-Marie from All Dogs Go to Heaven, started showing signs of severe mental distress shortly before her murder, including plucking out…
Pop bottle suicide note found, later determined to be hoax
From The Chicago Daily Tribune July 25, 1896 A story appears concerning an apparent suicide note held within a glass bottle signed by a Harry Svensgaard. The following day, The Saint Paul Globe published a follow-up story, revealing the supposed suicide note was a hoax, either meant to be a joke or a malicious rumor.
Today in Horror History: July 25
Birthdays:Illeana Douglas (July 25, 1965), who starred in Goodfellas (1990), Cape Fear (1991), Stir of Echoes (1999), Otis (2008), Mega Shark vs. Kolossus (2015), and Return to Sender (2015), and directed the segment “Supermarket” in Stories Of Lost Souls (2005). David Denman (July 25, 1973), who starred in The X-Files (episode: Field Trip), When a…
