November 2, 1853 Louisville, Kentucky Matthew Flournoy Ward fatally shoots a teacher for punishing his younger brother The day prior to the shooting, Matt Ward’s youngest brother, William, had been reprimanded by his teacher. Professor William H. G. Butler had caught William Ward and another high school student named Al Fisher eating chestnuts and causing…
Teen shoots sister after an argument over who would sit in armchair
October 24, 1959 Ann Arbor, Michigan James Vogel shoots and kills his sister Gwendolyn after an argument regarding who would sit in an armchair James (17) got in an argument Gwendolyn (14) over who would sit in an armchair as they watched television. After the argument, James grabbed a bolt-action single shot shotgun. His mother…
Mother shoots teacher in front of students for reprimanding son
October 22, 1920 Chicago, Illinois Carmelita (alt. spelling: Carmila, Carnaletto) Rindoni shoots her son’s teacher for disciplining her son Rindoni had confronted Rosalind Reynolds for punishing her son Herman, who was either 9 or 10 years old. Herman “constantly tried to make life miserable for his teacher,” according to other teachers and students in his…
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…
Man kills children, wife with iron, attempts to kill self with knife to throat
October 14, 1919 Liverpool, England David Caplan kills his wife and children with a clothing iron before slitting his own throat According to The Manchester Guardian (Dec. 3, 1919), Caplan and his wife Freda had an unhappy marriage, one which often resulted in domestic assault against Freda. So common were these occurrences that their neighbor…
