Births

Phillip Testa

1924 – Phillip Charles Testa – commonly known as “Phil Testa” or “The Chicken Man” was an American mobster who rose to prominence within the Philadelphia crime family. He was born on April 21, 1924, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and became involved in organized crime during the mid-20th century. Testa’s criminal career began within the Philadelphia mob, also known as the Bruno crime family, led by Angelo Bruno. Over the years, Testa climbed the ranks and developed a reputation as a capable and ruthless enforcer. In 1980, Angelo Bruno was murdered, and Philip Testa succeeded him as the boss of the Philadelphia crime family. Testa’s reign as boss, however, was short-lived. On March 15, 1981, he met a violent end when a bomb exploded at his South Philadelphia home. The blast, orchestrated by rival mobsters seeking control of the family, killed Testa instantly. The motive behind Testa’s assassination was a power struggle within the Philadelphia crime family, as different factions vied for control and dominance. After Testa’s death, there was a series of power struggles and internal conflicts within the Philadelphia mob. His son, Salvatore “Salvie” Testa, was also involved in organized crime and faced a tragic fate, being murdered in 1984. The Testa family’s connections to the mob and their unfortunate demise highlight the dangerous and often deadly nature of organized crime in Philadelphia during that era. Phil Testa’s life and death remain a part of the criminal history of Philadelphia, providing a glimpse into the complex and violent world of the American Mafia during the late 20th century.

1937 – Charles Lee Herron – is an American former criminal who spent 18 years on the run after being accused of shooting two police officers in 1968. He was eventually captured in 1986 and convicted of the crimes. Herron was born in West Virginia and had a troubled childhood. His father was an abusive alcoholic, and his mother died when he was young. He dropped out of school in the ninth grade and joined the Marine Corps. After being discharged, he worked as a truck driver and a mechanic. In 1968, Herron was pulled over by police in Gary, Indiana, for a traffic violation. He got into an argument with the officers and opened fire, injuring both of them. He then fled the scene and began a life on the run. Herron spent the next 18 years living under assumed names in various parts of the country. He worked as a bartender, a waiter, and a construction worker. He also married and had children.  In 1986, Herron was captured by the FBI in Jacksonville, Florida. He was extradited to Indiana and tried for the 1968 shooting. He was convicted and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Herron was paroled in 2010 after serving 22 years of his sentence. He now lives in West Virginia.

1945 – Harry Franklin Phillips – Phillips was a career criminal and whilst out on parole he had spent the previous two years arguing back and forth with the parole supervisor Bjorn Svenson, who was the direct superior of several of the parole officers who in turn kept Phillips in check.  On their last meeting Phillips was told categorically not to bother or contact the parole officers without an official reason, he was told his parole would be revoked if he did not obey those instructions.  Phillips was furious at this and at the end of August 1982 he went to the parole and probation building and shot Svenson, he managed to run a short distance before Phillips caught up to him and shot him over and over in the head and back.  Phillips may have gotten away with it had he not bragged about it to fellow cellmates on his next visit to the penitentiary.

1947 – Robert Black – was a Scottish serial killer and pedophile who was convicted of the kidnap, rape, and murder of four girls aged between 5 and 11 in a series of crimes committed between 1981 and 1986 in the United Kingdom. Black was born in Grangemouth, Stirlingshire, on 21 April 1947. He was the illegitimate child of Jessie Hunter Black and an unknown father. At six months old, he was placed with a foster couple in Kinlochleven named Jack and Margaret Tulip. He adopted their surname until his foster mother’s death. Black was convicted of the kidnapping, rape, and murder of three girls on 19 May 1994. He was also convicted of the kidnapping of a fourth girl and had earlier been convicted of the kidnapping and sexual assault of a fifth. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a recommendation that he serve a minimum of 35 years. Black was further convicted of the 1981 sexual assault and murder of nine-year-old Jennifer Cardy in 2011. At the time of his death, he was regarded as the prime suspect in the 1978 disappearance and murder of 13-year-old Genette Tate. The nationwide manhunt for Black was one of the most exhaustive UK murder investigations of the 20th century. He died of a heart attack at HMP Maghaberry in 2016 aged 68.

1951 – Staf Van Eyken – is a name deeply etched in the Belgian consciousness, not for any act of heroism or artistic brilliance, but for a string of horrific crimes that earned him the chilling moniker – The Vampire of Muizen. His life, though tragically brief for his victims, tells a tale of darkness, brutality, and the enduring struggle between justice and rehabilitation. Van Eyken’s early life was far from exemplary. Marked by emotional neglect and violence, he exhibited odd behavior from a young age. As a teenager, he drifted towards petty crime and developed a fascination with the occult. This unsettling mix culminated in a rampage of unimaginable savagery between 1971 and 1972. Three women, Jeanne Van Laar, Yvonne Dhondt, and Marie Claire Daffern, fell prey to Van Eyken’s twisted desires. He lured them, assaulted them, and ultimately strangled them to death. His signature trait, the bite marks left on his victims, fueled the panic that gripped the small town of Muizen. The specter of a blood-thirsty vampire stalked the streets, and fear cast a long shadow. Justice, though delayed, prevailed. In 1974, a court sentenced Van Eyken to death, a penalty later commuted to life imprisonment. He became the longest-serving prisoner in Belgium, spending over 45 years behind bars, a stark symbol of the consequences of unbridled evil. But Van Eyken’s story doesn’t end in a prison cell. His case ignited debates about rehabilitation, capital punishment, and the nature of evil itself. Some saw him as a monster beyond redemption, while others argued for a chance at reform. Whether Van Eyken truly grappled with his demons or remained consumed by darkness, only he knows.

1960 – Randall Eugene Cannon – was a convicted criminal who was executed for his role in the 1985 abduction and murder of an 84-year-old woman named Addie Hawley in Oklahoma City. The crime was committed in collaboration with Loyd Winford Lafevers, who was also executed for the same crime. Cannon and Lafevers broke into Hawley’s home on June 24, 1985, ransacked the place, and then forced her into the trunk of their vehicle. She was later doused with gasoline, set on fire, and left nude and incoherent in a vacant lot. She died early the next day. Cannon and Lafevers were tried jointly, convicted, and sentenced to death. The convictions were later reversed, but they were retried and convicted separately in 1993 and sentenced again to death. Cannon was executed on July 23, 2002. His execution was carried out after his appeal for a stay from the U.S. Supreme Court was rejected.

1960 – Brenda Gail Cutro – Cutro, a former daycare worker and proprietor of Cherokee Hills Day Care in Irmo, South Carolina, whilst in her care several babies would die and doctors simply put it down to SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), however after a third baby was injured the authorities looked into the parents of the children and of course, the daycare providers after an autopsy of the first child discovered he died from shaken baby syndrome authorities ordered the exhumation of the others and found the same diagnosis, in July 1994 Cutro was arrested for the murders and after several trials, she was finally convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Here’s hoping she rots in there! 

1965 – Karen Lynn Tobie – is an American woman who was sentenced to life in prison in Florida for orchestrating the murder of her husband, John Cataneo. John Cataneo was a loving father and husband who owned his own plumbing business. He was shot to death on his front porch in June 2004. The shooter was one of his employees. Karen Tobie was found guilty of hiring a man to shoot her husband to death in 2004. Karen Tobie and her neighbor, Lynne Blake, were found to have orchestrated the shooting. The motive behind the murder was to collect $500,000 in life insurance. After a short hearing, the judge accepted the jury’s recommendation and sentenced Karen Tobie to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The convicted triggerman, Ty Cooper, was also found guilty and is currently serving a 25-year sentence for manslaughter. 

1971 – Hasan Akbar – born Mark Fidel Kools on April 21, 1971, is a former United States Army soldier known for a premeditated attack on fellow soldiers during the early hours of March 23, 2003, at Camp Pennsylvania, Kuwait. Akbar was born and raised in Watts, Los Angeles, California. His father, John Kools, converted to Islam while in prison and changed his surname to Akbar before his release in 1974. Akbar’s mother later converted to Islam before marrying William M. Bilal, also a Muslim convert. She changed her son’s name to Hasan Karim Akbar to reflect his father’s surname and their religion. In 1988, Akbar was admitted to the University of California, Davis. He graduated nine years later in 1997 with Bachelor’s degrees in both Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering. Deeply in debt, he joined the Army as an enlisted member. A few years later, Akbar was a sergeant (E-5) and a combat engineer assigned to Company A, 326th Engineer Battalion, 101st Airborne Division. During the attack at Camp Pennsylvania, Akbar threw four hand grenades into three tents where other members of the 101st Airborne Division were sleeping and fired his rifle at fellow soldiers in the ensuing chaos. Army Captain Christopher S. Seifert was fatally shot in the back, and Air Force Major Gregory L. Stone was killed by a grenade. Fourteen other soldiers were wounded by Akbar, mostly from grenade shrapnel. At trial, Akbar’s military defense attorneys contended that Akbar had psychiatric problems, including paranoia, irrational behavior, insomnia, and other sleep disorders. In April 2005, he was convicted and sentenced to death for the murders of Seifert and Stone. The Army Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the sentence on July 13, 2012, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces affirmed the decision on August 19, 2015. Akbar was the first soldier since the Vietnam War to be convicted for “fragging” fellow soldiers overseas during wartime. He continues to be confined at the United States Disciplinary Barracks awaiting the disposition of his sentence.

1974 – Reginald Lenard Reeves – He is known for a heinous crime that took place on September 5, 1993. On this day, Reeves murdered a 14-year-old girl named Jenny Lynn Weeks. The crime involved rape and the method of murder was strangulation. The incident occurred in Red River County, Texas, USA. Weeks had run away from a group foster home along with another girl, Sharon Forte. They were befriended by Reeves, who offered Weeks a place to stay at his apartment. A few days later, Weeks’ body was discovered in the closet of an abandoned home in Clarksville, Texas. She had been bitten, raped, beaten, and strangled to death. Evidence from the crime scene, including saliva, blood, pubic hair, head hair, and teeth impressions, were consistent with Reeves. Reeves was arrested 5 days after the murder. He was sentenced to death for the capital murder of Jenny Lynn Weeks on October 5, 1994. He was executed by lethal injection in Texas on May 9, 2002. His final words were an apology to the family of his victim.

1977 – Ronald James Hamilton Jr – An American drug addict and thief with a previous rap sheet for drug possession, in November 2001 Hamilton and an accomplice entered a convenience store with the intention of robbery, two Iranian men were working in the store, both were shot, one fatally and Hamilton and friend left with the cash register.

Deaths

Peter Milano

1831 – Gesche Gottfried – was a German serial killer born on March 6, 1785. She murdered 15 people by arsenic poisoning in Bremen and Hanover, Germany, between 1813 and 1827. She was the last person to be publicly executed in the city of Bremen. Gesche was born into a poor family in Bremen and had a twin brother, Johann Timm, Jr. At age 21, she married Johan Mittenberg, a saddler in Bremen, and they had three children together. After Johan’s father died and they inherited some money, Johan’s behavior changed and he began drinking and gambling. In 1813, he told Gesche that they were destitute and all the money was spent. A couple of months later, after a short period of stomach pain, he died. A few months later, she met Michael Kristof Gottfried, a relatively rich wine merchant. Her mother, Gesche Timm, died following stomach pain, in May 1815. Her daughters then died, and the scope of victims widened. Coincidentally a cholera epidemic hit Germany around 1815 and helped to obscure her crimes. Moreover, Gesche helped greatly in the town during the epidemic, gaining the nickname the “Angel of Bremen”. In 1826, she sold her house to Johan and Wilhelmina Rumpff and they asked her to stay on as a housekeeper. This led to Wilhelmina’s death. A maid left saying that illness and death followed Gesche. Johan Rumpff became ill but was now suspicious. He analyzed his food and found specks of white powder, which he took to local chemist Dr. Luce. He decided it was arsenic and notified authorities. Gesche found out and fled to Hanover, where she started killing again. She was captured by authorities on March 6, 1828, her 43rd birthday. News of her arrest quickly spread. She confessed to killing 15 people and to trying to kill many more. The reasons behind Gottfried’s crimes remain unclear and widely debated, but the emotional deprivation she suffered during her childhood and her modus operandi lead to the assumption that she suffered from Munchausen syndrome by proxy, a very common disorder among female serial killers. Gottfried’s victims included her parents, her two husbands, her fiancé, and her children.

1868 – Henry James O’Farrell – was the first person to attempt a political assassination in Australia. Born in Arran Quay, Dublin, Ireland, he was the youngest child of William O’Farrell, a butcher. The family moved to Liverpool and later migrated to Victoria, Australia. O’Farrell had a troubled life, marked by alcoholism and mental health issues. He had been released from a lunatic asylum immediately before the attempted assassination. His most recent occupation was selling fruit and vegetables in Ballarat’s Haymarket. On 12 March 1868, he shot and wounded Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the second son and fourth child of Queen Victoria. The assassination attempt took place during the Prince’s world tour, which included the first royal visit to Australia. O’Farrell was immediately apprehended and later tried in Sydney on 30 March 1868. He was found guilty of attempted murder and was executed at Darlinghurst Gaol on 21 April 1868.

1949 – Harry Lewis – Lewis was wandering past 50-year-old Harry Saul Michaelson’s flat when he noticed a window open, being a thief, Lewis did not want to let this opportunity pass so he climbed in the window and started looking for money and valuables but he woke Michaelson and when he confronted Lewis, Lewis beat him with a steel chair, Michaelson would survive long enough to be taken to hospital and being operated on but that was about it. When Lewis was taken to court he insisted that it wasn’t the beating with the chair that killed him but the operation to try and save him. The jury didn’t believe a word of it and he was sentenced to death. 

1988 – Stanislaw Czabanski – Czabanski who also used the forename Andrzej was a Polish rapist and murderer who in 1988 was convicted of the brutal rape and murder of a woman, he was sentenced to death, at the time of his crimes he was married and his wife was nine months pregnant after he had taken her to the hospital to give birth, Czabanski went out with friends for drinks, once he got home he would take Iwona Nowak to a field and raped her then beat her to death with a heavy wrench, after the murder he went to Nowak’s home to kill her two teenage daughters but they started screaming and he ran off. He was later caught and convicted and sentenced to death and when the death penalty was carried out he became the last person in Poland to be executed before the death penalty was abolished. His last request was for a cigarette. 

1990 – Jerome Butler – An American man with an extensive rap sheet that included crimes such as attempted robbery, attempted sexual assault, and rape who added murder to that list when he hailed a taxicab driven by 67-year-old Nathan Oakley after Oakley had driven a short distance Butler shot him several times in the back of the head, he then proceeded to empty his pockets and steal all his money. Prosecutors stated that Oakley may have recognized Butler as the man who killed his friend A.C. Johnson and this is why he was killed, the cash was just a bonus. 

1992 – Robert Harris – was an American criminal born on January 15, 1953, in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. His early life was troubled, marked by abuse and frequent encounters with law enforcement. His criminal activities escalated over time, leading to the 1978 murders of two teenage boys in San Diego. Harris and his younger brother hijacked a car occupied by the two boys, forced them to drive to a remote location, and then killed them. The brothers used the stolen car as their getaway vehicle during a bank robbery in San Diego. Harris was arrested less than an hour after the robbery and was charged with multiple crimes, including murder, auto theft, kidnapping, burglary, and bank robbery. He was convicted and sentenced to death on March 6, 1979. After a series of appeals and stays of execution, Harris was executed in San Quentin’s gas chamber on April 21, 1992. His execution was the first in the state of California since 1967.

2012 – Peter Milano – was a Los Angeles-based, American mobster, and former boss of the Los Angeles crime family. Milano was born in 1925 in Cleveland, Ohio to Anthony and Josephine Milano. His father was underboss of the Cleveland crime family from the 1930s until his retirement in 1976. Many members of the Milano family were involved in organized crime, including his uncle Frank Milano, who was the boss of the Cleveland family. Milano moved with his family to Beverly Hills, California in the late 1930s or early 1940s as a teenager. After graduating from high school, Milano became a part of Mickey Cohen’s syndicate and was involved in illegal gambling. After switching allegiance to the Los Angeles crime family, Milano became a made man in 1970. Soon after, he was promoted to caporegime (captain) in the family. In March 1973, Milano and six others were charged with running a rigged gambling operation in Los Angeles that brought in up to $250,000 a month. Milano served four years for both indictments. In 1981, Milano stepped up and became acting boss of the Los Angeles crime family. With Brooklier’s death in 1984, Milano was made boss of the family and named his brother Carmen his underboss. Milano took charge of a depleted family and was successful in having illegal bookmakers pay tribute to his family. In March 1988, Milano pleaded guilty again to racketeering charges and received a six-year prison sentence. He never acknowledged being a part of the Mafia. On April 4, 1991, Milano was paroled from prison. He was able to avoid any jail time from the Las Vegas indictments brought on by the murder of Herbert Blitzstein in 1997. His legitimate businesses were in real estate properties and a vending company called “Rome Vending Company”. Milano was active in organized crime from the 1950s until his death.

Events

Fire at Ohio State Penitentiary

1930 – A fire at Ohio State penitentiary kills 322

1986 – Geraldo Rivera opens Al Capone’s vault on live tv & finds nothing

2021 – The Manhattan District Attorney’s office announces it will no longer prosecute prostitution, dismissing 914 open cases as part of a growing movement to change the approach to prostitution

2022 – Ex-President of Honduras Juan Orlando Hernandez is extradited to the US to face drug trafficking & weapons charges