An Almanac of Infamy

Charles Howard 'Smitty' Schmid, Jr. On this day in 1964 Charles Howard 'Smitty' Schmid, Jr. lured 15-year-old Alleen Rowe into the desert outside of Tucson, AZ and murdered her with the assistance of John Saunders and Mary French. Schmid, 22, had been telling his friends that he had always wanted to kill someone and later bragged that he had. Before he was apprehended by police, he also murdered 17-year-old Gretchen Fritz and her younger sister Wendy. Schmid was known as the Pied Piper of Tucson because he had captivated a certain crowd of teenagers with his tales of mafia connections and sexual exploits. He was sentenced to death for his crimes but in 1972 the Supreme Court invalidated most death sentences. He was murdered by his fellow inmates in 1975. Related Reading: Pied Piper of Tucson: Twisted 1960s killings by Charles Howard Schmid, Jr. Vicious ‘Pied Piper’ butchered in prison in ’75 Long-Lost Manuscript Contains First-Hand Account of the 'Pied Piper

Indianapolis police  are asking the public for assistance in tracking down the murderer of an 18-year-old man whose shooting death was captured on surveillance tape. The victim, Elijah Lacey, was set to graduate next week and tragically his death is not the only murder that his family is dealing with. In May 2013 his father Jason was shot to death as he stepped outside his home to investigate a strange noise. His killers were also caught on surveillance tape but his murder was never solved. The Lacey family hopes that Elijah's case has a different outcome. Anyone who has any information has been asked to call Crime Stoppers at 317-262-TIPS. Another unsolved murder case that police are looking for assistance in is the 30-year-old murder of  Jay Cook and Tanya Van Cuylenborg , a Canadian couple who were traveling to Seattle when they were killed. A suspect, William Earl Talbott II, has been arrested through the same DNA technology used to capture the Golden State Killer. Now Snohom

Jonathan Levin On this day in 1997, English teacher Jonathan Levin was tortured and murdered by a former student, Corey Arthur, and accomplice Montoun Hart. The popular teacher, who was also the son of Time Warner chairman Gerald Levin and known to be wealthy, was tortured with a kitchen knife in an attempt to get his debit card pin and then shot to death. Arthur tried to claim that he and Hart had been smoking crack with Levin when two other men burst into Levin's apartment and murdered him. However, his fingerprints were on the duct tape used to bind Levin and he was the one who pulled the trigger. He was sentenced to 25 years to life for second-degree murder. Montoun Hart was acquitted after convincing jurors that he made a coerced confession while drunk. Five years after his murder, the Jonathan Levin High School for Media and Communications was opened in the same building where he taught. Unfortunately, as of 2013, the school was set to be shut down to due to decreased stud

Phillip Powers, of Dixon, CA , believes that his grandfather was the Zodiac Killer and has provided the Solano County Sherriff's Office with photos, writing samples and other items that he hopes can help solve the case. He and his mother have also provided DNA samples. Detective Sgt. Dax West says the items will be shared with the Vallejo police department so they can compare the DNA to samples that they believe belong to the killer. Powers believes his grandfather, Kenneth Lester German, is Zodiac based on a confession German made to his youngest daughter Kay, who took it as a joke. Powers, however, takes the confession seriously and is motivated in part by his own diagnosis of bipolar disorder. “I want to know if I got it from him” Powers says. Sgt. Dax West says that Powers is not the only one who believes that he has the key to the Zodiac Killer's identity. The Solano County Sherriff's Office receives calls every week from people claiming to have solved the case. Me

The Connecticut Supreme Court has been notified by State prosecutor James Killen that he plans to appeal their decision, made earlier this month, to overturn Michael Skakel's conviction in the murder of Martha Moxley. The appeal has already generated some controversy as the state missed the deadline, by two days, to request that the state Supreme Court issue a stay on their decision pending a "final decision" by the US Supreme Court. Killen, however, says the missed deadline should have no effect on whether a stay is granted. Skakel has been out of prison on bail since 2013 while the state court was considering his latest appeal. The chances of his case going before the US Supreme Court are small, considering that they receive hundreds of appeals request each year and only choose to hear a handful. Skakel's lawyer, so far, has issued no comment.

As Joseph James DeAngelo made another court appearance on Tuesday, this time in a cage instead of a wheelchair, Judge Michael Sweet indicated that at least part of the court documents detailing how police identified DeAngelo as the GSK will be unsealed. The documents include a list of items, possibly trophies from GSK crime scenes, seized from DeAngelo's property. They also include notes from lead investigators. However, according to the defense, they do not include many details about the genealogical methods used to identify DeAngelo. While many investigative details are expected to be released to the public, both the prosecution and defense teams are reviewing the documents line by line in an effort to determine which parts should be redacted. All sides are reluctant to include names and other details identifying victims of GSK's many sexual assaults. The defense also has concerns about unsealed information affecting their client's chance at receiving a fair trial. How

Updated May 29, 2020 On this day in 1979, Charles Harrelson (estranged father of actor Woody Harrelson) was arrested for the murder of Judge John Wood, aka "Maximum John." The judge was shot to death outside his San Antonio home, and evidence later revealed that Harrelson was hired to carry out the murder by drug kingpin Jimmy Chagra, whose case was about to come before Judge Wood. Charles Harrelson, who had a prior conviction for a murder committed in 1968, was sentenced to two life sentences for Wood's murder. His wife Jo Ann was convicted of conspiracy and perjury and later paroled. Charles Harrelson passed away from a heart attack in Colorado's Supermax federal prison on March 15, 2007, at the age of 69. On May 5, 2020, a new podcast, Son of a Hitman , debuted. It explores the murder of "Maximum John" at the hands of Charles Harrelson and the conspiracy theories surrounding the hitman. While Woody Harrelson did not participate in the production, h

It's that time of year again when we have a little more time for reading, whether it's riding on a plane to some exotic locale or lounging by the pool once we get there. So today we take a look at some must-reads for true crime fans, each taking place in a different era in American history. We start in 1894 with “The Infamous Harry Hayward: A True Account of Murder and Mesmerism in Gilded Age Minneapolis" . Hayward, a real Gilded Age dandy, was described by detective William Pinkerton as “one of the greatest criminals the world has ever seen,” as well as a “Svengali,” “a lunatic” and “a man without a soul.” Not someone I'd like to run into in a dark alley, but I'm looking forward to reading Shawn Francis Peters's account of him. While we enjoy reading about sensational true crimes I don't think many of us would care to live through one, but that's exactly what Pamela Everett found out happened to her father when he was 13 years old. Everett shares her

Once again it's time to take a look at happenings in the true crime world. If you live in or are visiting the Garden City, KS area, the current exhibit at the Finney County Historical Museum sounds like a must-see. “True Crime, Solving Notorious Cases from Finney County’s History” tells the stories of the Fleagle Gang and the Clutter murders and contains several amazing artifacts. Over at Film School Rejects , Anna Swanson fills us in on a variety of upcoming true crime film and tv projects. I'm especially looking forward to Lost Girls , which is partly based on Robert Kolker's book about the "Long Island Serial Killer" and Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile , in which Zac Efron portrays Ted Bundy. TV OverMind has suggestions for fans of Unsolved Mysteries looking for similar shows. I'm not sure about the inclusion of Ancient Aliens on the list, but Disappeared and The Hunt are worth checking out, especially in this new era of crowdsourced cr

Fans of the podcast "My Favorite Murder" got an extra special treat when Paul Holes showed up on this week's episode to discuss the Golden State Killer. Holes, who has gained a lot of admiration in true crime circles because of his work on the case, revealed that a towel caught his attention during a search of the GSK suspect's house. The towel was draped over a computer screen, similar to how GSK would drape a towel over the tv in his victims' homes while he committed his crimes. Holes wonders if Joseph James DeAngelo used the glow from the computer screen to recreate the glow from his crime scenes. He says that the GSK took souvenirs from his victims and that DeAngelo may have been admiring them still in his own home. He also believes that the wheelchair that DeAngelo appeared in during his first few court appearances was just an act and that officers tasked with surveilling him said he was very agile for a 72-year-old. Since DeAngelo's arrest, more detai

On this day in 1989, 19-year-old Lori Ann Auker disappeared from Northumberland County, PA. Her car was found in the mall parking lot where she worked but she had failed to report for duty at the mall pet shop. Her body was found two and a half weeks later and it was apparent that she had been stabbed to death. Her husband, who had taken out an insurance policy on her and was battling her for custody of their son, was the main suspect in the case but police had little to go on. Then they realized that the crime may have been caught on an ATM camera. They were correct in their assumption and Robert Auker was convicted of his wife's murder in 1992. He is still sitting on death row. Related Reading: Surveillance camera helped shatter Northumberland County killer's alibi THE DISAPPEARANCE OF LORI ANN AUKER: A SINGLE ATM CAMERA FRAME CAUGHT HER KILLER The Forensics Library: Robert Donald Auker The Lori Ann Auker case as covered by Forensic Files

Once again, it's time to take a look at some unsolved crimes that deserve attention and justice for the victims and their families. One segment of society that has been ravaged by unsolved murders and disappearances is America's Native population. In the city of Anchorage, AK there are at least 20 unsolved homicides of Native women. Pretty unsavory for a city that has been awarded the title of "All-American City" four times. Journalist John Tepton argues that because of the way murdered and missing Native cases have been handled in the city, it is far from deserving of that honor. Another vulnerable population that is targeted in the most brutal of crimes is children. In the state of Virginia alone, there are over 300 unsolved missing child cases. This article highlights the work being done by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and gives tips on abduction prevention. With Summer coming up and the school year ending, it's important to note t

On this day in 1934, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow died in a shootout with Texas and Louisiana police outside of Sailes, Louisiana. Parker had met Barrow four years earlier and when Barrow was paroled for robbery in 1932, they began a crime spree that spanned Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, New Mexico, and Louisiana. Related Reading: 5 things you many not have know about Bonnie and Clyde Read a Chilling Letter From Bonnie and Clyde 50 Years Later: How Bonnie and Clyde Violently Divided Film Critics The Ongoing Quest to Reunite Bonnie and Clyde

While visiting my family in the Jacksonville, FL area last week, the case of Joleen Cummings was all over the local news. Cummings was reported missing after she failed to pick up her kids to spend time with them on Mother's Day. Her car was found in a Home Depot parking lot, and while surveillance videos did not show Cummings in the parking lot, they did show another woman. That woman was Jennifer Sybert. Sybert worked at Tangles Salon. The same salon where Jolene Cummings worked. Only Jennifer Sybert is not really Jennifer Sybert. According to the Nassau County Sherriff's Office, Jennifer Sybert is actually Kimberly Kessler , a woman who went missing under suspicious circumstances from Butler County, PA in 2004. Kessler has now been charged with theft of Cummings' car and possession of a fake passport. The Sherriff's office has said that there is evidence that Cummings is not alive and the family is pleading for anyone who knows anything to come forward.

True crime fans in Sacramento are in for a very special treat next week as Patton Oswalt is set to visit a Citrus Heights Barnes and Noble to discuss "I'll Be Gone In The Dark", written by his late wife Michelle McNamara. Oswalt has mentioned that he would love to sit down with Joseph James DeAngelo, the suspected Golden State Killer, and ask him all of the questions that McNamara will never have the chance to ask. I think that would be amazing. If you're in the Toronto area, mark your calendars for the Toronto True Crime Film Festival on June 8th and June 9th. Five movies based on true crimes (including one of my favorites, Monster, starring Charlize Theron) will be screened and there will be three symposiums for discussion of the true crime genre. Sounds like a blast! If you'd prefer to Netflix and chill, the streaming service has got you covered in terms of true crime. These eight true crime shows are worthy of a rewatch if you've already seen them.

"She can't say, 'Me Too.' I'm saying it for her." - Susan Levy, mother of Chandra Levy. In December of last year , she gave an interview in which she spoke out about sexual conduct in Washington, D.C. and said she believes her daughter's murder may have been a result of said misconduct.

On this day in 2002, the skeletal remains of Chandra Levy were found in Rock Creek Park, Washington, D.C. Levy, a native of Modesto, CA, was working in Washington, D.C. as part of her Master's Degree program. She was reported missing in May of 2001 and it was later revealed that she was having an affair with Congressman Gary Condit, who at that time represented Modesto. While police never named Condit as a suspect in her murder, he soon became a suspect in the minds of the public and he lost his re-election bid in March of 2002. Levy's parents have always believed that he withheld information from her family and investigators. With few leads to go on the case soon went cold. The investigation was reopened in 2006 and in 2010 Ingmar Guandique, a man who had originally been questioned in 2002, was convicted of murdering Chandra Levy. His conviction was overturned in 2015 due to questions about a jailhouse informant's credibility. He was soon deported to El Salvador for bei

Hello, good readers! I'm back from vacation and it's time to catch up on the major cases that are captivating the nation, starting with the Golden State Killer. While GSK suspect Joseph James DeAngelo's lawyers continue to fight in court to suppress evidence from being brought into trial, police all over California are reviewing old cold cases. In Tulare County , where the "Visalia Ransacker" operated in the 1970s, police are focusing on the 1975 slaying of College of the Sequoias journalism professor Claude Snelling. Snelling was shot while trying to save his 16-year-old daughter from a masked abductor. Police have long suspected that the "Visalia Ransacker" was involved in the homicide and while the burglaries cannot be prosecuted due to the statute of limitations, officials plan to bring the Snelling case before the Tulare County District Attorney to see if a 13th murder charge can be made against DeAngelo. Another possible charge could be brought a

While Michael Skakel and his Kennedy relations are celebrating the recent decision by the Connecticut Supreme Court to overturn his 2002 murder conviction in the death of Martha Moxley, Martha's mother Dorothy is vowing to devoting the rest of her life to making sure that Skakel returns to prison. In an interview with Daily Mail Online, she stated "I was 43 years old when my Martha was murdered. I was 70 years old when her killer was convicted. I am going to be 86 in a month. Actually, half of my life has been spent on this case, and I guess I'll spend the rest of my life on it." She says she was floored by Court's decision and suspects that judges were heavily influenced by Skakel's cousin Bobby Kennedy Jr. Kennedy had written articles and a book insisting that Skakel was innocent. Moxley says she has spoken to prosecutors since the Court's decision and they have told her that no decision has been made about whether Skakel should be retried. She believ

On December 16, 2000 Mike Williams disappeared. According to his wife Denise, he had gone duck hunting on Lake Seminole in Leon County, FL and it was long suspected that he had fallen out of his boat and been eaten by alligators. Even though his body was never recovered, Denise Williams was able to have her husband declared dead within six months of his disappearance and cashed in on $2 million worth of insurance policies. One of those policies was written by Mike Williams' best friend Brian Winchester. By 2005, Denise Williams and Winchester were married. Flash forward to August 5, 2016. Denise and Brian Winchester's marriage had gone downhill and the couple had, by this time, been separated for four years. Winchester, after learning that his mother had cancer and his son from a previous marriage wanted to live with his mother, snuck into Denise's car and held a gun to her ribs for an hour. He was sentenced to twenty years for kidnapping. On the day after Winchester'

As more and more details emerge in the Golden State Killer case, one of the most intriguing is that he may have had an accomplice. "It's a possibility," investigator Paul Holes told the crowd at Crimecon on Monday. According to Holes, the possible accomplice didn't aid and abet in any of the murders and only served as a lookout/getaway driver during the infamous killer's "East Area Rapist" phase. The theory stems from at least one rape victim's statement that she heard her attacker talking to someone else but Holes does admit he could have been talking to himself as part of a self-preservation technique. There are other investigators who disagree with the possibility of an accomplice. Joseph James DeAngelo’s Accomplice: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know In other GSK news, prosecutors from Ventura, Sacramento and Santa Barbara counties will be meeting over the next few days to determine where to try Joseph James DeAngelo for his crimes. Since his mu

This article has been updated since it was originally published on May 8, 2018. On this day in 1988, Stella Nickell was convicted on two counts of murder after her husband Bruce and Seattle resident Susan Snow died from ingesting cyanide-laced Excedrin capsules. She was also the first person to be found guilty of violating the Federal Anti-Tampering Act. According to her daughter from a previous marriage, Stella started planning Bruce's murder right from the start of their marriage and had been inspired by the Chicago Tylenol case, in which seven people died from ingesting cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules. That case has never been solved. Nickell became eligible for parole in 2018 but so far that parole has not been granted. She and her supporters have continued to proclaim her innocence, saying that her daughter falsely testified against her in order to receive $300,000 in reward money that was offered for information on the case. Related Reading: Killing Her Husband Wasn'

“I was born with the devil in me. I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than a poet can help the inspiration to sing.” - Serial killer H.H. Holmes, who was hanged on this day in 1896

On this day in 1896, Herman Mudgett aka H.H. Holmes, was hanged for the murders of several tourists who had disappeared after staying in his "Castle" during the 1893 World's Fair. It's rumored that authorities discovered the remains of over 200 victims on the property. Related Reading: The Master of the Murder Castle Serial Killer H.H. Holmes' Body Exhumed: What We Know 9 Things You Didn't Know About America's First Serial Killer, H.H. Holmes This New ‘Horror Hotel’ Was Inspired by an American Serial Killer

The town of Collierville, TN is still haunted by its only unsolved homicide . On Dec. 9, 2001 George T. Walker called 911 stating that he had been shot by a masked man who attempted to rob him in the grocery store that he owned. He later died of his wounds in a Memphis hospital. The mountain of documents related to his case is mandatory reading for all new officers of the Collierville Police Department's criminal investigations division and Crimestoppers is still offering a $20,000 reward for information. Crimestoppers is also seeking information related to the murder of Alicia Jackson . The young mother was found stabbed to death in her Columbus, OH apartment seven years ago and the case is inactive. An even older Ohio case that remains unsolved is the 1968 murders of William, Ann, and 12-year-old Patricia Cassidy . The Erie County Sheriff's Office is still on the hunt for the perpetrator. Russell and Shirley Dermond were supposed to be enjoying their golden years in a

Elizabeth Vargas , who recently stepped down from her post at 20/20, is kicking off her new gig at A&E by examining some pretty high-profile cases. On May 28, the network is set to air her two-hour interview with Casey Anthony's parents, Cindy and George. For the first time ever, the couple will reveal how their differing opinions about Casey have affected their relationship. It's interesting that they agreed to do this interview, since they refused to participate in Marcia Clark's examination of the case, which aired on the same network. Vargas is also debuting her new A&E series "Cults and Extreme Belief". If you're looking for yet another true crime podcast to listen to and haven't checked out Hollywood & Crime , it's one I highly recommend. It combines two of my favorite subjects, true crime and Old Hollywood. Their first season examined the Black Dahlia Murder and the similar murders that occurred around the time of Elizabeth Short&#

Today the Connecticut Supreme Court, in a 4-3 vote, vacated Michael Skakel's conviction in the 1975 murder of Martha Moxley. The court cited inadequate counsel as the basis for its decision, which is a reversal of the ruling the court made just 16 months ago when judges voted 4-3 that Skakel's conviction should stand. Many experts believe that it's highly unlikely that prosecutors will retry Skakel. Martha Moxley was just 15 years old, when on the night of October 30, 1975, she was bludgeoned and stabbed to death. Initially, even though the Greenwich, CT police had a few prime suspects in mind, no arrests were made and the case remained cold for decades. Then, in 1991, during the rape trial of William Kennedy Smith, a rumor surfaced that Smith was at the Skakel house the night of the murder and might have been involved. Although the rumor proved to be untrue it led to a new investigation into the case. Rushton Skakel, father of Michael, hired his own investigators and wh

On this day in 2007, Madeleine McCann went missing from a Portugal hotel room. Related Reading: 'We couldn't bear for Madeleine to be forgotten': Kate and Gerry McCann mark 11th anniversary What happened to Madeleine McCann? Six key theories Unanswered Prayers

A judge ruled today that prosecutors can collect DNA, fingerprints, and body photographs of Joseph James DeAngelo, the Golden State Killer suspect. DeAngelo's attorneys had argued that the search warrant should not be executed because it was issued before DeAngelo's arrest but the judge said there was no basis for stopping the execution of the warrant. Prosecutors had planned to collect the evidence yesterday but were halted by the defense motion. Another hearing is planned for May 14 to determine if the arrest and search warrants should be unsealed and released to the press. Much publicity has been given to the original DNA evidence that was submitted to various genealogy websites in order to catch the GSK. It turns out that Paul Holes, an investigator who spent years tracking down the killer, was inspired by another cold case that was solved using that method. And Holes himself had a previous connection to the case, which involved the brutal murders of women and girls in N

The Officer's House scene of the murder of Emily Kaye. Demolished in 1953. On this day in 1924, Patrick Mahon was arrested on suspicion of murder after the bag he tried to claim at the Waterloo train station in London was found to contain a bloody knife. Mahon confessed that his pregnant mistress had slipped and hit her head, shortly dying afterwards. In a panic to save his marriage, he claimed, he tried to hide the body. Police found Emily Kaye's dismembered remains hidden among various biscuit tins and suitcases and after the medical examiner painstakingly pieced her body back together, with the exception of her head that Mahon had burned in the oven, it was determined that her death was not an accident and that Mahon was responsible. Mahon was executed in September 1924. This grisly case is particularly notable because it led to rubber gloves becoming standard equipment at murder scenes.

It looks like Joseph James DeAngelo, better known as the Golden State Killer, is expected to appear in court today as his defense attorneys file a motion to suppress evidence obtained from a search warrant. And speaking of evidence, several privacy and civil rights experts have shown concern over the methods used to catch the GSK. Some of those concerns may be legit as it turns out that police were originally focused on the wrong man after issuing a subpoena to the genealogy website Gene-To-Gene, Ltd. While there's a lot of hype around the killer's capture, it's important to not forget his victims. For living victims and the families of those he murdered, the GSK's capture has brought back a lot of painful memories to the forefront but also, thankfully, some hope for the future . And there may even be more victims than originally suspected. Detectives hope that GSK's arrest leads to clues in other cold cases . They also admit that they can't be sure that h

On this day in 2002, Former NBA All-Star Jayson Williams was indicted on several charges related to the shooting death of limousine driver Costas Christofi. Before the incident, Williams had been well-regarded for his charity work and for taking in his nephews after two of his sisters died of AIDS. That all changed on the night of February 14, 2002. Christofi had been hired to drive Williams and a group of friends to a restaurant. After a night of heavy drinking by Williams, he drove the group back to the Williams estate, where he was offered a tour of the house, that unfortunately included a viewing of Williams' gun collection. Christofi ended up dead from gunshot wounds and Jayson Williams, after many years of trial delays, was eventually sentenced to 5 years in prison for aggravated assault with possibility of parole. He started his sentence in February of 2010 and was released in April of 2012. Related Reading: J ayson Williams says he was a 'coward' on night he sh

To say that the capture of the Golden State opened up a can of worms is an understatement. It's more like an entire worm farm. In addition to the canonical 50 rapes and 12 murders attributed to GSK, police departments across the state of California are looking at other unsolved cold cases to see if they are connected to the infamous killer. Some of these crimes go far beyond the GSK's operating years of 1976 to 1986. In 1964, Johnny Ray and Joyce Swindle were murdered by a sniper on the Ocean Beach Boardwalk. While it's been confirmed that Joseph James DeAngelo was in the area, many experts say the case fits more with the Zodiac Killer's MO than GSK's. And speaking of the Zodiac, there's been a lot of speculation about whether the same DNA techniques used to capture DeAngelo could also capture that other infamous California killer. It isn't just unsolved murders that detectives are hoping to clear now that DeAngelo has been arrested. Unfortunately, som