An Almanac of Infamy

Sydney Smith What started as an ordinary summer day in June 1913 for two Scottish farmers ended in a gruesome discovery as they were walking along a quarry right outside of Edinburgh. Floating in the water were two small bodies that were so water-logged that the men couldn't tell if they were human. The bodies were tied together, and it soon became the task of forensics pioneer Sydney Smith to determine who they were and how they met their horrible fate. At the time of the discovery, Sydney Smith was working as an assistant to Professor Harvey Littlejohn at Edinburgh University. He was able to identify the bodies as belonging to two young boys. Using specimens taken from the bodies, Smith was also able to determine that the bodies contained adipocere, body fat that is hard and white. When exposed to water, it takes several months for adipocere to form in a human body. Based on the levels of adipocere that Smith found, he determined that the boys' bodies had been placed i...

On this day in 1968, Bernard Josephs arrived at his Bromley, England, home to find the body of his wife Claire under the couple's bed. Her throat had been cut so deeply that it was severed to the spine. Defensive wounds on her hands indicated that she had been attacked with a serrated knife. When police arrived at the scene, they could find no murder weapon, and it appeared that there was no other evidence to go on. However, this brutal murder would be solved, and Claire Josephs' killer would be convicted within four months of the crime, thanks to police determination and forensic evidence. As investigators examined the Josephs home, they noticed that Claire Josephs had been in the middle of preparing a meal. They could find no signs of forced entry and observed a half-empty cup of coffee on the kitchen table. Clearly, Claire knew her attacker. As detectives began to focus on Bernard and Claire's relatives and circle of friends, one man stood out. Roger Payne had met Clai...

Annie and James Richardson On this day in 1989, James Joseph Richardson was released from a Florida prison after serving 21 years for the murders of his seven children, for which he was wrongfully convicted. His ordeal started on the afternoon of October 25, 1967. While Richardson and his wife Annie were working as fruit pickers in Arcadia, Florida, their neighbor, Betsy Reese, came over to heat up a pot of rice and beans that Annie had prepared the night before for the children's lunch. After the four oldest Richardson students returned to school they began to fall ill, foaming at the mouth and exhibiting other disturbing symptoms. When a teacher arrived at the Richardson house to check on the younger children, she found that they had fallen ill as well. All seven children were rushed to the hospital. By the time James and Annie Richardson were made aware of the situation, six of their children had already passed away. After Joseph H. Minoughan of the Arcadia Police Departme...