October 20, 1931 Chester, Illinois Merle (alt. spelling: Merley, Murley) Johnson is executed for the murders of his live-in girlfriend and her two sons On May 20, 1931, Johnson (25) shot Carrie Bowers (38) before he strangled her sons, Joseph (6) and Delmar (19 months). The boys were also bludgeoned with a car crank and… Continue reading Man executed for murdering girlfriend and her young sons
Category: Newspaper clippings
Man kills estranged wife, 3 young children in jealous rage
October 19, 1991 Concord, New Hampshire James Colbert strangles his estranged wife and smothers their three young daughters Colbert and his wife, Mary Jayne Jenovese, had married three years before the murders, though their marriage became strained almost immediately. In August of 1991, Jenovese reported Colbert had cut her with a razor blade. Colbert allegedly… Continue reading Man kills estranged wife, 3 young children in jealous rage
Man who had been hiding in attic for weeks kills friend, “haunts” house for 9 more months
October 17, 1941 Denver, Colorado Theodore Coneys, later called the “Denver Spider Man,” kills 73-year-old Philip Peters after being caught stealing from Peters’ ice box Coneys had fallen on hard times and was desperate for food. He and Peters had been friends and Coneys visited his home in hopes of being invited to dinner as… Continue reading Man who had been hiding in attic for weeks kills friend, “haunts” house for 9 more months
The Illustrated Police News: attacking octopus
October 17, 1896 The Illustrated Police News publishes a story about a group of bathing ladies being attacked by an octopus The story accompanying the illustration relates an account of bathers in America being grabbed by an octopus, an animal which the artist of the illustration had apparently never seen. The startled women screamed, alarming… Continue reading The Illustrated Police News: attacking octopus
Chicago gangster Hymie Weiss killed in hit
October 11, 1926 Chicago, Illinois Gangster Hymie Weiss (born Henry Earl J. Wojciechowski) is killed in a gangland hit Weiss, sometimes called “the only man Al Capone feared,” was with Sam Peller (his bodyguard), Paddy Murray (another gangster), William O’Brien (an attorney), and Benjamin Jacobs (an investigator working for O’Brien) when two men shot at… Continue reading Chicago gangster Hymie Weiss killed in hit
