Centenaries - whole and half

[sdreid]

50 years ago - 1967 August 21 - When Samuel Ledgerwood stops to help eighteen-year-old spree killers Thomas Braun and Leonard Maine change a tire, they shoot him in the head beside an Oregon road and steal his car. The two killers have now slain their second victim and will contiue this spree in yet a third state. Both criminals were captured in a matter of days, convicted and sentenced.

[sdreid]

50 years ago - 1967 August 23 - In California, eighteen-year-old spree killers Thomas Braun and Leonard Maine pick up hitchhikers Timothy Luce and his girlfriend. They shoot both after repeadedly raping the girlfriend. The victims were left for dead and Luce did die becoming the pair's third killing. Although crippled for life, the girlfriend did survive. Both criminals were captured in a matter of days, convicted and sentenced.

[c.d.]

100 years ago - 1914 September 8 - Nineteen-year-old Thomas Highgate is executed by firing squad in France. Private Highgate was the first British soldier executed for disertion in the Great War. He was found hiding in a barn wearing civilian clothing so there was little doubt of his guilt, however, this didn't stop him from being granted a posthumous pardon in 2006.

There is a segment in the Civil War diary "Company Aytch" by Sam Watkins where a deserter is executed and placed in a coffin. Watkins describes how all the men had to line up and file past. Officers were present to ensure that no one looked away.

c.d.

P.S. That is a great book if you have an interest in the American Civil War. Highly recommended.

[sdreid]

150 years ago - 1867 August 24 - Eight-year-old Fanny Adams is savagely murdered by Frederick Baker, a clerk in a nearby law office. The little victim was decapitated, dismembered and otherwise grotesquely mutilated. Fanny's head was left stuck on the top of two hop poles in the garden where she was slain. Variuos organs, including her eyes, heart, vagina and intestines, were removed and scattered about the English countryside. Two other young girls reported seeing Fanny with Baker earlier and he was arrested this same day when blood was found on his clothing. Despite a plea of insanity, Baker will be convicted and hanged before this year is out.

[sdreid]

150 years ago - 1867 August 30 - In New Jersey, maid Bridget Durgan is hanged for the murder of her former employer Mary Ellen Coriel. The motive for the stabbing was revenge.

[sdreid]

250 years ago - 1767 September 14 - Elizabeth Brownrigg goes to the gallows in England. She had been convicted of beating her servant girl, 14-year-old Mary Clifford, to death with a switch and bullwhip.

50 years ago - 1967 September 14 - In Warsaw, Maria Galecka, 87, is murdered and left in her bathtub. She was the seventh and last known victim of serial killer Stanislaw Modzelewski who was hanged in 1969 for his crimes.

[GUT]

250 years ago - 1767 September 14 - Elizabeth Brownrigg goes to the gallows in England. She had been convicted of beating her servant girl, 14-year-old Mary Clifford, to death with a switch and bullwhip.

Beating servants to death...... an offence????

Surely not.

[Ginger]

Beating servants to death...... an offence????

Surely not.

It was a less-enlightened time.

[sdreid]

50 years ago - 1967 September 18 - En route to an Arizona court hearing, Gary Tison kills prison guard Jim Stiner. He received a life term but in 1978, along with another murderer, was broken out of prison by his sons. The group then embarked on a killing spree that ended with all but the elder Tison either captured or killed. Gary Tison escaped into the desert where he died of thirst.

[Mayerling]

50 years ago - 1967 September 18 - En route to an Arizona court hearing, Gary Tison kills prison guard Jim Stiner. He received a life term but in 1978, along with another murderer, was broken out of prison by his sons. The group then embarked on a killing spree that ended with all but the elder Tison either captured or killed. Gary Tison escaped into the desert where he died of thirst.

Sorry to say this but I can only say, too bad so many innocent people were killed before Tilson died of thirst in that desert.

Jeff

[sdreid]

50 years ago - 1967 October 9 - Marxist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara is executed in Bolivia with multiple gunshots from one weapon.

[sdreid]

50 years ago - 1967 October 12 - Shortly after taking off from an Athens airport and over the Mediterranean, Cyprus Airlines Flight 284 is blown apart by a bomb. All 66 on board are killed. The case is still unsolved.

[sdreid]

100 years ago - 1917 October 15 - In France, Mata Hari is executed by firing squad after she'd been found guilty of spying for the Germans.

[Mayerling]

100 years ago - 1917 October 15 - In France, Mata Hari is executed by firing squad after she'd been found guilty of spying for the Germans.

And the question is now was she really just a spy for the Germans, or a double agent for the Allies who got double-crossed?

Jeff

[sdreid]

50 years ago - 1967 October 28 - Janie Gibbs kills her eldest son, Roger, with rat poison. She had previously murdered her husband, a grandson and her two other sons with the same substance. Eventually, Ms. Gibbs was convicted of the five murders and sent to a Georgia prison. She was paroled in 1999 due to poor health and died in 2010.