February 27, 1890 Paris, Kentucky Thomas O’Brien is hanged for killing his pregnant wife O’Brien had married Betty Shea in secret, using assumed names in the process. After some time, Betty insisted O’Brien make the marriage public. O’Brien gave various reasons for not wanting to, though he left out the probable real reasons: he was… Continue reading Man executed for killing his pregnant wife, likely to continue his relationships with two other women
Tag: strangle
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… Continue reading Woman strangles baby she was babysitting
Woman strangles neighbor’s toddler for being accepted into prestigious kindergarten
November 22, 1999 Tokyo, Japan Mitsuko Yamada (35) brings her neighbor’s 2-year-old daughter into a public restroom and strangles her with a scarf A total of 550 students had applied to a prestigious kindergarten; Haruna Wakayama had been one of 20 applicants to be admitted. This reportedly angered Yamada, whose daughter did not make the… Continue reading Woman strangles neighbor’s toddler for being accepted into prestigious kindergarten
After argument over noise, woman strangled, body posed to look like a suicide
November 1, 2006 Greenwich Village, New York, New York Actress/screen writer/director Adrienne Shelly is killed in her apartment and hanged to appear as a suicide after she complained to construction workers about noise Shelly (40) had been working in an apartment which she used as an office, and found noise from a construction crew in… Continue reading After argument over noise, woman strangled, body posed to look like a suicide
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
