Births

Robert Hansen

1746 – Bathsheba Ruggles Spooner – She was the daughter of Timothy Ruggles, a prominent Loyalist brigadier general and jurist, and Bathsheba Bourne. Bathsheba had an arranged marriage to Joshua Spooner, a wealthy farmer, on January 15, 1766. They lived in relative affluence in a two-story house in Brookfield and had four children between 1767 and 1775.  Spooner is known for being the first woman in American history to be executed following the Declaration of Independence. After becoming pregnant by her lover, Continental Army soldier Ezra Ross, she enlisted the assistance of Ross and two others to murder her husband. On the night of March 1, 1778, Joshua Spooner was beaten to death and his body was deposited in a well. Bathsheba and the three conspirators were soon arrested, tried, and convicted of Spooner’s murder and sentenced to death.  Bathsheba petitioned to have her execution delayed because of her pregnancy, which was first denied and then supported by some members of a group charged with examining her to verify the pregnancy. After the four were executed, a postmortem examination revealed that she was five months pregnant. Historians have pointed out that the trial and execution may have been hastened by anti-Loyalist sentiment. Bathsheba Ruggles Spooner was executed on July 2, 1778.

1876 – Rev. Clarence Virgil Thompson Richeson – He was the son of a tobacco farmer and his first wife. Richeson left home at the age of 13 and moved to Lynchburg, Virginia, where he worked at several jobs. He was ambitious from an early age and aspired to be a clergyman.  Richeson prepared for college at Amherst Academy and continued his studies at the academy in Carrollton, Missouri. He joined the Trotter Baptist Church of Carroll County. At the age of 17, he experienced a health scare that led him to consult a doctor. Throughout his life, he had a history of similar attacks, many of which he attributed to nocturnal emissions, and he was obsessively concerned about his own sexuality.  Before he turned 18, he was engaged to two girls at the same time. They broke off the engagements when they learned of a third fiancée in Kansas City. In 1895, at the age of 19, he was affiliated with the Third Baptist Church in Saint Louis. In 1896, he took a brief “vacation” in southern Missouri where he met a girl and again became engaged. This engagement was soon broken off.  He fell seriously ill in 1896 and went to stay with a cousin in Potosi, Missouri. One night, he became quite delirious and was walking around outside. A doctor was sent for and stayed through the night. He gave Richeson some sedatives and declared him insane. On the advice of the doctor, the cousin took Richeson to Missouri Baptist Sanitarium (now Missouri Baptist Medical Center) where he remained for several weeks. There are no medical records of his stay there except that “he apparently had some kind of mental derangement.” He then returned home to Virginia and stayed there for three years.  In 1899, he entered William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri. While living in Missouri, he matriculated at The Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He was ordained as a Baptist minister at the Third Baptist Church. As a student residing in Liberty, he became a preacher at the Budd Park Baptist Church in Kansas City from 1901 to 1904. The trustees wrote for his resignation after he allegedly proposed to three girls, ending what may have been his longest preaching tenure.  Reverend Clarence Virgil Thompson Richeson was executed on May 21, 1912, for the murder of his fiancée Avis Willard Linnell. Avis Linnell died on October 14, 1911, at the YWCA in Boston. The story of her death and Richeson’s subsequent trial and execution was widely covered in the media at the time.

1930 – Sara Jane Moore – born Sara Jane Kahn on February 15, 1930, in Charleston, West Virginia, is known for her attempt to assassinate U.S. President Gerald Ford in 1975. She was born to Ruth and Olaf Kahn and was one of five children in the family. Her family had German roots and were devout Christians, though Sara later began practicing Judaism.  Moore had a humble upbringing and led an ordinary early life. She was described as a quiet child who had a fondness for music and drama. She was an active member of the drama club in school and took part in plays. She studied at Stonewall Jackson High School.  Moore had a string of disastrous marriages and flitting careers which eventually led her to San Francisco. Here, she grew attracted to the ideas of radical leftists in the San Francisco Bay area. After joining as a member of the radical underground, Moore also worked as a volunteer bookkeeper for People in Need and as a paid informant for the FBI. However, as her politics grew more intense, the need for change engulfed her and she decided to do something revolutionary.  On September 22, 1975, Moore attempted to kill President Ford outside a San Francisco hotel while posing as a bystander. Her attempt to kill the president failed as the bullet narrowly missed the president, and Moore was immediately pinned down to the ground. Soon enough, she was put on trial and sentenced to prison. She attempted an escape in 1979 but was captured within hours. She resigned herself to a life in prison and worked as an accountant in the drapery factory. After serving her sentence for over 30 years, she was released on parole in 2007 and has since lived a quiet life.

1939 – Robert Christian Hansen – known in the media as the “Butcher Baker”, was an American serial killer. He was born on February 15, 1939, in Estherville, Iowa, USA, to Edna and Christian Hansen. His father was a Danish immigrant who owned a bakery in the town, a profession that Hansen himself would adopt later in life.  As an adolescent, Hansen was shy and timid. He suffered from severe acne, which left scars on his face, and he also spoke with a stutter. These factors made him a social outcast, and he was often shunned by girls in his school. This led him to develop a deep resentment towards them, and he found solace in solitude and in plotting revenge against those who rejected him.  Hansen developed a deep interest in hunting and archery during his childhood, skills that would later play a significant role in his crimes. In 1957, Hansen joined the US Army Reserve and served for a year. He later worked as an assistant drill instructor at a police academy in Pocahontas, Iowa. He got married for the first time in the summer of 1960. However, his wife divorced him while he was serving a 20-month prison sentence for arson, a crime he committed in December 1960.  Between 1971 and 1983, Hansen abducted, raped, and murdered at least seventeen women in and around Anchorage, Alaska. He hunted many of his victims down in the wilderness with a Ruger Mini-14 and a knife. His crimes earned him the nickname “Butcher Baker”. He was arrested and convicted in 1983 and was sentenced to 461 years in prison without the possibility of parole.  Hansen died on August 21, 2014, of natural causes due to lingering health conditions at the age of 75.

1957 – Nathaniel Bar-Jonah – born David Paul Brown on February 15, 1957, in Worcester, Massachusetts, was an American convicted child molester and suspected cannibalistic serial killer. He was the youngest of three children born to Phillip Brown, an aircraft mechanic, and Tyra Brown, a housewife.  Bar-Jonah’s early life was marked by unusual behavior and incidents. As an infant, he was described as being inactive and having an insatiable appetite, which led to significant weight gain. He also experienced hydrocephalus when he was only 3-weeks-old. His family moved to Lantana, Florida for six years before returning to Worcester, Massachusetts in 1964. Bar-Jonah claimed that he was frequently beaten by his father, who feared that he would grow up to be ‘queer’ and was concerned about Bar-Jonah’s kleptomania.  His criminal history began at a young age. At the age of 7, he lured a 5-year-old neighbor into his basement under the pretense of trying out his new Ouija board and attempted to choke her. His mother intervened and saved the girl. In 1970, he lured another neighbor, a six-year-old boy, to a secluded area under the promise of going sledding, where he sexually assaulted him. This pattern of luring and assaulting children continued into his adulthood.  In 1975, Bar-Jonah, posing as a police officer, abducted an eight-year-old boy on his way to school and began to sexually assault and strangle him. A neighbor witnessed the abduction and called the police, leading to Bar-Jonah’s arrest. However, he was only sentenced to a year’s probation. Emboldened by the light sentence, he abducted two more boys from a movie theatre three years later, again posing as a police officer. He sexually assaulted the boys and attempted to strangle one of them. The boy survived the attack and managed to get help, leading to Bar-Jonah’s arrest.  Bar-Jonah was charged with attempted murder and sentenced to 18-20 years in prison. While in prison, he began meeting with a psychiatrist and revealed his fantasies, which revolved around murdering, dissecting, and eventually eating children. The psychiatrist recommended that he be moved to a mental hospital.  Bar-Jonah was sentenced to 130 years in prison without the possibility of parole after being convicted of the kidnapping, aggravated assault, and sexual assault of various children. He died on April 13, 2008, at the Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge, Montana.

1966 – Norman Richard Cleary – Wanda Neafus was employed as a housekeeper in a high-end Maple Ridge neighborhood residence in Tulsa when she encountered Norman Richard Cleary and his accomplice, Kenneth Chandler. The duo had previously attempted to break into at least two other homes before they arrived at this one. However, their plan took a drastic turn when Neafus noticed a gun slipping out of Chandler’s coat. In a state of panic, Cleary held Neafus hostage at gunpoint, leading her around the house. When she failed to provide the combination to a safe in the basement, Cleary shot her. Neafus was later discovered on December 6, 1991, slumped over in a chair, having been shot five times in the face, neck, and head. The medical examiner’s report indicated that several of the shots were fired at close range.  The only items reported missing from the house were Neafus’ purse and a cane that the homeowners had bought from the Smithsonian Institution. Chandler reportedly fled the scene just as Cleary was about to fire the fatal shots. For his involvement in the crime, Chandler received a life sentence.  Prior to this incident, Cleary had a criminal record that included convictions for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, robbery, and first-degree burglary. These charges were related to an attack on an eighty-seven-year-old woman in her home. Additionally, Cleary had multiple convictions for first-degree burglaries.

1972 – Peter Lundin – is a Danish serial killer who later changed his name to Bjarne Skounborg and most recently to Thomas Kristian Olesen. He was the son of Ole Bostrøm Lundin and Anna Lundin, a German-born woman. His family migrated to the United States when he was seven years old.  Lundin’s criminal history began in April 1991, when he strangled his mother to death in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. With the help of his father, he buried her body on a beach at Cape Hatteras, where it was found eight months later. In 1992, Lundin was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment for the murder, while his father, Ole Lundin, was sentenced to two years as an accomplice.  In 1999, Lundin was released from prison due to capacity reasons and deported back to Denmark. After returning to Denmark, he moved in with his wife in Måløv, but she kicked him out because he was violent with her. He then met a woman named Marianne Pedersen, who worked in a brothel. Pedersen and her two sons were declared missing on July 3, 2000. Police discovered blood traces in Pedersen’s car and the basement of her house on July 5, 2000, leading to Lundin’s arrest. Further examinations of the house led to the conclusion that Pedersen and her sons had been killed and dismembered.  On March 15, 2001, Lundin was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Østre Landsret for the triple murder. Despite his claims that it was an accident, the evidence pointed to murder. The case is one of Denmark’s most horrifying and most talked about murders in recent times. Lundin is currently serving his life sentence at the Institution of Herstedvester.

1976 – Michael Gargiulo – is a convicted American serial killer who moved to Southern California in the 1990s. He gained the nickname “The Hollywood Ripper” due to the nature of his crimes.  Gargiulo’s criminal history began in the 1990s when he was suspected of stabbing his neighbor, 18-year-old Tricia Pacaccio, to death on her back doorstep. Her body was found the next morning on August 14, 1993. Gargiulo moved to Los Angeles in 1998, allegedly to escape the scrutiny of the police in Illinois.  In Southern California, he committed two murders and an attempted murder between 2001 and 2008. On February 21, 2001, he murdered 22-year-old Ashley Ellerin, stabbing her 47 times in her home in Hollywood. Ellerin’s injuries included a neck wound that nearly severed her head and deep punctures to the chest, stomach, and back. Some of her wounds were up to six inches deep.  On December 1, 2005, Gargiulo stabbed 32-year-old Maria Bruno, his neighbor, to death at her home in El Monte, California. She was stabbed 17 times. Gargiulo attempted to murder another neighbor, 26-year-old Michelle Murphy, in her home in Santa Monica on April 28, 2008. She fought off the attack, and blood matching Gargiulo’s DNA was found at the scene.  Gargiulo was arrested by the Santa Monica Police Department on June 6, 2008. He was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to death on July 16, 2021. He is currently incarcerated in San Quentin State Prison.

Deaths

Leonardas Zavistonovicius

1940 – Frederick Henry Thompson – an Australian man, is known for his infamous criminal history. He was the last man to be hanged in Tasmania, maintaining his innocence until the end. His execution took place at 6:00 am on February 14, 1946, inside Hobart Penitentiary. The execution was carried out two hours earlier than usual to avoid anti-capital punishment protesters.  Thompson was implicated in the disappearance of seven-year-old Evelyn Maughan, who went missing while walking from her West Hobart home to attend church at St Joseph’s on Macquarie Street on July 8, 1945. Despite extensive search efforts and public appeals, Evelyn remained missing for several months.  A breakthrough in the case came when a member of the public reported seeing Thompson carrying a body in a bath. A search of Thompson’s house yielded several stolen items, but no evidence directly linking him to Evelyn’s murder. However, Thompson was known to the police for other matters, including a charge of indecent exposure the previous year, which led to him being described as a “sexual maniac”.  Evelyn Maughan’s body was eventually found at the disused Queenborough Cemetery. Despite the lack of concrete evidence, Thompson was charged and convicted for the murder of Evelyn Maughan. His execution marked the end of capital punishment in Tasmania.

1998 – Leonardas Zavistonovicius – born in 1940, was a mass murderer from Lithuania. He is infamous for the Draučiai shooting spree that occurred on February 15, 1998, in Draučiai, a small village in the Širvintos District Municipality, Lithuania.  On that fateful day, the 58-year-old Zavistonovicius, armed with a Russian hunting rifle IZH-12 and a Czech carbine ZKK-601 with a telescopic sight, went on a rampage, killing nine of his neighbors and wounding another within half an hour. His victims included Jonas Bareikas, Marytė Rutkauskienė, Leonas Garbatavičius, Dalia Kalibatienė, Vilius Kalibatas, Vanda Raudeliūnienė, Jadvyga Vrubliauskienė, Vytautas Vrubliauskas, and Zofija Vrubliauskaitė. All of them were killed with single shots to the head or chest.  Zavistonovicius was beaten to death by survivors on the same day, marking a tragic end to one of Lithuania’s most horrifying shooting sprees.

1999 – Big L – Lamont Coleman, known professionally as Big L, was an American rapper born on May 30, 1974, in New York City. He emerged from Harlem in 1992 and quickly gained recognition among underground hip-hop fans for his exceptional freestyling ability.  Big L’s interest in rap was sparked at a young age. He was introduced to the world of hip-hop when his elder brother took him to a Run-DMC concert at the Beacon Theatre when he was about 7 years old. By the age of 12, he became a big hip hop fan and started freestyling with other people in his neighborhood. He began writing rhymes in 1990 and founded a group known as Three the Hard Way, which was later renamed Two Hard Motherfuckers.  In the summer of 1990, Big L met Lord Finesse at an autograph session in a record shop on 125th Street. After impressing Finesse with a freestyle, the two exchanged numbers. Big L attended Julia Richman High School and graduated in 1992. While in high school, he regularly engaged in freestyle battles.  Big L was eventually signed to Columbia Records, where, in 1995, he released his debut album, Lifestylez ov da Poor & Dangerous. His lyrics were noted for their use of wordplay, and he was praised for his lyrical ability by writers at AllMusic, HipHopDX, and The Source. Even Nas, in an interview with Funkmaster Flex, claimed Big L “scared me to death.”  Tragically, Big L’s life and career were cut short when he was fatally shot nine times in his East Harlem neighborhood on February 15, 1999. Despite his untimely death, Big L’s influence on the hip-hop scene continues to be felt, and he is remembered as one of the most talented poets in hip-hop history.

2006 – Eurus Kelly Waters – also known as the “Bear Man”, was born on October 13, 1944. He was a convicted criminal from Georgia, USA, known for his involvement in a horrific crime that took place on Jekyll Island, Georgia.  On a fateful day, Waters kidnapped two women, Anita Paseur, aged sixteen, and Kathryn Culpepper, aged thirty-five, who had been fishing on Jekyll Island. He forced them at gunpoint to march into the woods, where he handcuffed them together. Waters then committed a series of violent acts against the women, culminating in their murders. Waters was apprehended and faced trial for his crimes. His case, Waters v. State, was heard by the Georgia Supreme Court, which affirmed his convictions and death sentences for both murders. He sought habeas corpus relief in state court, which was denied after an evidentiary hearing. His appeal to the United States Court of Appeals was also denied.  Eurus Kelly Waters passed away on February 15, 2006, at the age of 61. He was buried at Boney Bluff Cemetery in Echols County, Georgia

2011 – Michael Wayne Hall – was a man from North Texas who was convicted for the 1998 torture-slaying of a 19-year-old mentally challenged woman named Amy Robinson. The crime took place on February 15, 1998, and Hall was arrested on March 3, 1998. He was 18 years old at the time of the crime.  Hall and his accomplice, Robert Neville, a 23-year-old paroled burglar, had previously worked at the same grocery store where Amy was employed. They abducted Amy while she was riding her bicycle to work. They took her to a remote field in Fort Worth where she was shot repeatedly with a pellet gun, then killed with shots from a .22-caliber rifle as she begged for her life. The two men referred to the act as “target practice.”  Hall was executed on February 15, 2011, exactly 13 years after the murder. Just minutes before his execution, Hall apologized profusely for his actions. He received lethal injection less than an hour after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to stop his punishment. He was pronounced dead at 6:23 p.m. at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.  His lawyers had unsuccessfully argued that he was mentally impaired and ineligible for the death penalty under a Supreme Court ruling that bars capital punishment for those with an IQ under 70. However, these appeals failed in various courts. The second man convicted in Robinson’s death, Robert Neville, was executed five years prior to Hall.

2012 – Robert Brian Waterhouse – was a man from Florida who was convicted for the brutal murder and rape of a 29-year-old woman named Deborah Kammerer. The crime took place on the night of January 2, 1980. Waterhouse was arrested and found guilty of first-degree murder and rape in 1980.  Deborah Kammerer’s body was found in the tidal flats of Tampa Bay. She had been beaten, raped, and left to drown in the surf. Waterhouse and Kammerer had been seen leaving a bar together on the night of the crime, and evidence such as blood, hair, and fibers found in his car linked Waterhouse to the slaying.  Waterhouse was sentenced to death and spent 31 years on death row, which was longer than any inmate previously executed in Florida. His execution was delayed by two hours due to a last-minute appeal. However, the appeal was unsuccessful, and Waterhouse was executed by lethal injection at 8:22 p.m. on February 15, 2012, at Florida State Prison near Starke.  His lawyers had argued that he was mentally impaired, but these appeals failed in various courts. Waterhouse apologized for his actions just minutes before his execution.

Events

Ted Bundy

1967 – The 1st anti-bootleg recording laws were enacted

1978 – Escaped mass murderer, Ted Bundy is recaptured in Pensacola, Florida

1992 – Serial killer & cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer is found to be sane and guilty of killing 15 boys

2012 – A fire at Comayagua prison in Honduras kills 361 people. The prison has been nicknamed “The Prison of Hell”

2019 – Gary Montez, a 45-year-old former employee of Henry Pratt company in Aurora, Illinois carries out a mass shooting that ended with 6 people dead including Montez who was killed by responding police