January 1, 1961Dunmow, Essex, EnglandWillis Boshears (29) strangles 20-year-old Jean Constable, ostensibly while he sleeps Boshears’ wife and children were away on holiday in Scotland at the time of the murder, and he decided to celebrate the New Year by drinking at a tavern. There, he met a man named David Salt (or Sault) who…
Man executed for rape “15 minutes after the arrival of the new year”
January 1, 1926 Huntsville, Texas Melton Carr is executed for rape Carr and another man, Elbert Kitchens, had been arrested for “criminal assault” (rape). The victim was Elbert’s wife Fannie Kitchens, and Elbert hired Carr to commit the crime for reasons the press did not divulge or speculate upon. Initially, both Carr and Elbert were…
Woman strangles baby she was babysitting
January 1, 1963 Phoenix, Arizona Betty Smithey (20) strangles the 15-month-old baby she was babysitting Four years before the murder, Smithey (then 16) kidnapped a child she was babysitting. She took 18-month-old Mitchell Johnson from his home in Albuquerque, New Mexico, hitchhiking or taking buses along the way. She and the toddler were found in…
