Centenaries - whole and half

[sdreid]

150 years ago - 1866 January 19 - Mrs. Martha Grinder is hanged in Pittsburgh for the poisoning murders of two women in a 15 month period. She is also suspected of murdering several other individuals. Grinder's motive seemed to purely be sadism which makes her rather unusual among female serial killers.

[sdreid]

50 years ago - 1966 January 12 - In England, the bodies of two missing girls, Margaret Reynolds, 6, and Diana Tift, 5, are found in a ditch. They had both vanished, 16 weeks apart, last year. Raymond Morris is believed to be responsible although he was only convicted of a later murder. He died imprisoned in 2014.

[Mayerling]

I wonder if Dahmer was in any way related to Jeffrey?

Anything is possible, but given that Jeffrey Dahmer's victims tended to be from minority groups, he and Vernon appear to be in opposite sides on the issue of Civil Rights.

Jeff

[GUT]

50 years ago - 1966 January 11 - Civil rights activist Vernon Dahmer dies from burns he's received when his Mississippi home was fire bombed. Shortly afterward, four men with KKK ties were convicted for the attack but all were out of prison within four years due to light sentences and pardons. In 1998, the instigator of the attack, Sam Bowers was convicted for the crime and sent to prison for life. He died in 2006 while still serving his sentence

I wonder if Dahmer was in any way related to Jeffrey?

[sdreid]

50 years ago - 1966 January 11 - Civil rights activist Vernon Dahmer dies from burns he's received when his Mississippi home was fire bombed. Shortly afterward, four men with KKK ties were convicted for the attack but all were out of prison within four years due to light sentences and pardons. In 1998, the instigator of the attack, Sam Bowers was convicted for the crime and sent to prison for life. He died in 2006 while still serving his sentence

[Mayerling]

100 years ago - 1916 January 10 - In New York, Hannah Peck is served a meal by her son-in-law, Dr. Arthur Warren Waite, that he has seasoned with lethal bacteria. Mrs. Peck will become ill as a result and die in a few weeks. The doctor will repeat the process with the woman's husband and then attempt to do likewise with his wife before he is found out. Waite's plan was to inherit the riches of his wife's family. A jury found him guilty of the two murders and he went to the electric chair in 1917.

There is some question as to the medical qualifications of Dr. Waite. He would go to the hospital he was supposed to work at in the morning, but when he arrived he'd take another cab to go wherever he wished to (usually for gambling purposes). In appearance he was quite good looking, in a way not too dissimilar to Ted Bundy. After his death an autopsy revealed some damage due to possible meningitis to his brain.

Jeff

[sdreid]

100 years ago - 1916 January 10 - In New York, Hannah Peck is served a meal by her son-in-law, Dr. Arthur Warren Waite, that he has seasoned with lethal bacteria. Mrs. Peck will become ill as a result and die in a few weeks. The doctor will repeat the process with the woman's husband and then attempt to do likewise with his wife before he is found out. Waite's plan was to inherit the riches of his wife's family. A jury found him guilty of the two murders and he went to the electric chair in 1917.

[Rosella]

The details of some of Phillipe's murders are quite sketchy, aren't they? I believe some were committed for profit. I wonder whether JTR ever read of his French predecessor's exploits when he was growing up.

[sdreid]

150 years ago - 1866 January 8 - A serial killer strangles and slashes the throat of Marie Bodeux in her Paris apartment. The killer, Joseph Philippe fled the residence leaving the razor that was the murder weapon behind. He is believed to have killed at least eight people in the area starting as early as 1861. The majority of his victims were prostitutes. In a few days, he will try to murder another woman but will fail and then be captured. After a trial and conviction, he will be executed on the guillotine in July of this year.

[sdreid]

50 years ago - 1965 December 30 - Diana Tiff, 5, disappears while on a short walk to her grandmother's house. In two weeks, her body will be found along with that of another little girl who had vanished in the previous September. Both girls are believed to be victims of English serial child killer Raymond Morris. He was, however, only convicted of a later slaying and died incarcerated during 2014.

[sdreid]

100 years ago - 1915 December 25 - In France, Anne Collomb, 44, vanishes after visiting the home of Henri Landru. She is believed to be the sixth victim of this serial killer. Landru's ploy was to seduce lonely older women then murder them once he gained access to their financial resources. He's thought to have killed at least eleven after which he burned their remains in his stove. Eventually he was arrested and found guilty then sent to the guillotine in 1922.

100 years ago - 1915 December 25 - Journalist Huang Yuanyong is gunned down in San Francisco. The murder is unsolved but some suspect that it was related to some differences he had with the new Republic of China state, even though, he was generally in support of the government in his home country.

[sdreid]

200 years ago - 1815 December 22 - Jose Morelos, a former Catholic priest, is executed by firing squad in Mexico. He had been convicted of treason due to his participation in the war to free Mexico from Spanish rule.

[sdreid]

50 years ago - 1965 December 17 - Ivor Pearce, an English taxi driver, is found deceased in his cab. The victim had been shot in the back of the head and robbed by someone he'd picked up. This murder is still unsolved but police have received some correspondence that indicates that the killing may only have been staged to look like a robbery.

[sdreid]

50 years ago - 1965 December 13 - In a New Jersey hospital, Carl Rohrbeck dies mysteriously after checking in for a relatively minor matter. He was the first of nine patients to die under similar circumstances over the next ten months. Dr. Mario Jascalevich was found to have curare in his possession and was charged with this and four other murders but was acquitted. The case remains unsolved.

[GUT]

Thanks GUT. I think I started this in January 2008 so I will complete the full 50 year cycle in December 2057 when I'm 111.

Well you will just have to do as much as you can young man.