November 28, 1942 Lake Charles, Louisiana Toni Jo Henry is executed in the electric chair Henry was 26 when she was executed for murder, carried out to get her husband released from his 50-year jail term. In 1940, Henry devised a plan with Harold Burks to rob a bank to fund a defense team for… Continue reading Toni Jo Henry: first woman executed in Louisiana
Tag: 1940s
Killers Charles Starkweather, Ted Bundy born
November 24, 1938 Lincoln, Nebraska Spree killer Charles Starkweather is born November 24, 1946 Burlington, Vermont Serial killer Ted Bundy is born Starkweather was 20 during his two-month killing spree, accompanied by his 14-year-old girlfriend. He claimed the lives of 11. Bundy confessed to murdering 30 women from 1974 to 1978, decapitating at least 12… Continue reading Killers Charles Starkweather, Ted Bundy born
The collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge
November 7, 1940 Tacoma Narrows straight, Washington The Tacoma Narrows Bride collapses due to structural failure following high gusts of winds The bridge, nicknamed Galloping Gertie due to its intense movement during windy conditions even before its collapse, was a suspension bridge nearly 6,000 feet (more than 1800 meters) in length making it the third… Continue reading The collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge
Man wounds 4, kills 8 and self after argument over an unpaid gambling winning
November 6, 1948 Chester, Pennsylvania Melvin “Bad Boy” Collins (38) goes on a shooting spree, killing 8 and wounding 4 before killing himself The motive behind the attack has been contributed to an argument over numbers, an illegal lottery in which gamblers would place bets on which numbers would be featured in various daily activities… Continue reading Man wounds 4, kills 8 and self after argument over an unpaid gambling winning
Two women killed with axe by serial killer
October 30, 1947 Tacoma, Washington Serial killer Jake Bird kills Bertha Kludt and her 17-year-old daughter Beverly June with an axe Bird was apprehended on the night of October 30, shoeless and covered in blood, when officers Evan “Skip” Davies and Andres “Tiny” Sabutis responded to a call about a woman screaming. When Bird spotted… Continue reading Two women killed with axe by serial killer
