Births

Willem Holleeder

1883 – Tommy Gagliano – Gagliano was an American Mafia member who played a significant role in the development of organized crime in New York City. Born in Corleone, Sicily, Gagliano immigrated to the United States with his family at a young age and eventually became involved in organized crime. Gagliano was a member of the powerful criminal organization known as the Morello crime family, which was one of the most dominant Mafia families in New York City during the early 1900s. He quickly rose through the ranks and eventually became the boss of the family. Under Gagliano’s leadership, the Morello crime family expanded its operations into various illegal activities, including bootlegging, extortion, and gambling. Gagliano was known for his shrewd business sense and his ability to maintain a low profile, which helped him avoid law enforcement attention for many years. In the 1930s, Gagliano was instrumental in the formation of the Commission, a governing body that brought together the heads of all the major Mafia families in the United States. The Commission helped to formalize the Mafia’s organizational structure and establish guidelines for resolving disputes among the families. Gagliano remained a powerful figure in the New York Mafia until he died in 1951. He was succeeded as boss of the Morello crime family by his longtime underboss, Frank Costello.

1947 – Bernard Middleton – an American criminal, was born on May 29, 1947. He has a significant criminal record, including charges for one murder and three aggravated criminal sexual assaults. His criminal activities spanned several years, with notable incidents occurring on September 25, 1995, when a 22-year-old woman was raped; October 16, 1995, when a 32-year-old woman was found murdered; July 25, 1997, when a 34-year-old woman was raped; and October 31, 1998, when a 48-year woman was raped. Middleton was arrested multiple times for various felonies between 1987 and 2002. In 2002, while serving time in prison for a Retail Theft conviction, his DNA sample was entered into a database. This sample matched the evidence recovered from the previous unresolved cases, leading to his sentencing to 50 years in prison in 2003.

1951 – Jack Edward Alderman – Alderman was born in 1951 in Georgia, USA. He grew up in a working-class family and dropped out of high school to join the U.S. Navy. After serving for several years, he was honorably discharged and returned home to Georgia. Alderman had a troubled past that included substance abuse and multiple run-ins with the law. In 1974, he and his friend John Brown were arrested for the murder of Barbara Jean Alderman.  Brown told police that Alderman had offered to pay him for his help in killing his wife. Alderman was convicted and sentenced to death in 1975.  Over the next several decades, Alderman’s case received widespread attention and support from advocates who believed he was innocent. He maintained his innocence throughout his imprisonment and his appeals were denied. In 2008, Alderman’s execution date was set, and he was put to death by lethal injection on September 16, 2008. Despite his execution, Alderman’s case continued to receive attention and sparked debates about the death penalty and the possibility of wrongful convictions. Many supporters and advocates continue to argue that Alderman was wrongly convicted and that he did not receive a fair trial.

1951 – Ricky Eugene Morrow – He is known for a series of crimes that led to his execution. On January 19, 1982, Morrow, then 30, and his girlfriend, Linda Ferguson, purchased two handguns from a Dallas pawn shop. They proceeded to rob Metropolitan Savings and Loan in Dallas at gunpoint. About thirty minutes later, they arrived at First Texas Savings, also in Dallas. Morrow entered the institution and approached an employee, Kathy Crouse, at her desk. Another employee, Mark Frazier, 26, asked Morrow if he needed assistance. Morrow started screaming and announced that it was a robbery. He led Frazier at gunpoint to a teller window and ordered the teller, Tammy Roy, to put all of her money into a bank bag. After taking the bag, Morrow fired a single shot, which hit Frazier in the head. He died instantly. Morrow and Ferguson left with $5,500. Witnesses described the robbers and their vehicle to police. After three days, police tracked Morrow and Ferguson to a hotel in the area. When they surrounded the room, Morrow pushed Ferguson outside and threatened to kill the officers. After an exchange of gunfire, Morrow surrendered. At his trial, Morrow testified that he did not intend to shoot Frazier. He said he was attempting to uncock the hammer of the gun in his right hand while he reached for the money sack with the gun in his left hand, and that one of the guns accidentally discharged. He also said that he was drunk and high during the robbery, and was therefore reckless in handling the guns. However, Kathy Crouse testified that Morrow took the sack and stood back, then raised one hand from waist level to Frazier’s head, then pulled the trigger. Another employee, Jo Brown, testified, “He looked, raised the gun, and shot.” Another witness testified that Morrow was laughing as he left the scene, but Morrow and Ferguson both testified that he was distraught and crying when they left. Ricky Eugene Morrow was executed by lethal injection on October 20, 2004, in Huntsville, Texas.

1955 – John Hinckley Jr – seemed to have a picture-perfect upbringing. His father was a wealthy businessman, and his family lived in an affluent Texas suburb. However, beneath the surface, John struggled with mental health issues, including depression and obsessive tendencies. These struggles would come to define his life tragically. Hinckley became fixated on actress Jodie Foster, developing an unhealthy obsession that led him to stalk her. This fixation, fueled by mental illness, culminated in a shocking act in 1981. Hinckley attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan, firing six shots outside a Washington, D.C., hotel. Reagan was wounded, along with Press Secretary James Brady, who was left permanently paralyzed. Hinckley’s trial became a national spectacle, raising complex questions about mental illness and criminal responsibility. He was ultimately found not guilty by reason of insanity, a verdict that sparked outrage and debate. Hinckley was sent to a mental health facility, where he spent decades in treatment. Hinckley’s release in 2016, with restrictions, reignited the controversy surrounding his case. Some believe he should remain institutionalized, while others argue he has paid his debt to society and deserves a chance at normalcy. Hinckley, now in his late 60s, continues to live a quiet life, but the shadow of his actions in 1981 remains long. John Hinckley Jr.’s story is a cautionary tale about the devastating consequences of mental illness and obsession. It also raises important questions about justice, rehabilitation, and the ongoing struggle to understand the complexities of the human mind.

1966 – Robert Anderson – A rapist and pedophile who abducted 5-year-old Audra Reeves whilst she was out playing, he then took her to his house where he raped her before beating, stabbing, and drowning the little girl until she was dead. He then dumped her body alongside the general waste inside a fridge, a neighbor told police that he dumped the fridge and he was arrested, he confessed almost immediately. During his trial, he requested to be executed. He was sentenced to death and was executed by lethal injection in Texas on July 20, 2006, at the Huntsville Unit. He is buried at Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery.

1968 – Silvo Plut – was a Slovenian serial killer, born on 29 May 1968 in Novo Mesto, Slovenia. His criminal history began with the murder of his former schoolmate, Marjanca Matjašič, on 16 February 1990, for which he was sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was released on parole in 2003. His second victim was 25-year-old Jasmina Đošić, whom he killed on 18 November 2004 in Aleksinac, Serbia. He escaped to Slovenia, which refused extradition despite a warrant from Serbia. On 24 February 2006, Plut killed his third victim, Ljubica Ulčar, and also wounded her husband Miro Ulčar. For this crime, a court in Ljubljana, Slovenia sentenced him to 30 years in prison on 2 October 2006. On 26 April 2007, a court in Niš, Serbia sentenced him in absentia to 40 years in prison for killing Đošić. Plut committed suicide by overdosing on sleeping pills in his prison cell in Ljubljana on 28 April 2007. He passed away at the age of 38. His life and crimes have been the subject of significant media attention and public scrutiny.

1972 – Rogelio Reyes Cannady – He had a troubled life and was involved in several criminal activities from a young age. At the age of 17, Cannady assaulted a fellow teenager while attempting to steal a bicycle. On June 29, 1990, the day he was released on bond, Cannady committed a horrific crime. He killed Ricardo Garcia, 16, and Ana Robles, 13, both of whom were runaways from a youth home. Garcia was stabbed 13 times, and Robles was raped and strangled. Following these crimes, Cannady was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for murder, as well as a concurrent 20-year sentence for the earlier robbery. He was transferred from the Cameron County Jail to the McConnell Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in Beeville. While serving his sentences, Cannady committed another murder. On October 10, 1993, inside a medium custody housing area at the McConnell Unit in Beeville, Cannady attacked his cellmate, fifty-five-year-old Leovigildo Bonal, with a steel lock attached to a belt and kicked him repeatedly in the head. Bonal, who was serving a 15-year sentence for murder, died two days after the attack. Cannady was executed by lethal injection on May 19, 2010, in Huntsville, Texas, for killing his fellow prison inmate. He was 37 years old at the time of his execution.

1973 – Douglas Christopher Thomas – was a controversial figure in the history of the American justice system. Born to a divorced mother, he was left alone at the age of 2 to be adopted by his grandparents. He lived a somewhat normal life until the age of 12 when his grandparents and uncle passed away. After a brief period of living with his mother, he was sent to live with his aunt and uncle on his father’s side. Thomas met Jessica Wiseman when he was a teenager. Her parents did not approve of their relationship, leading the two to devise a plan to murder them. There is some controversy as to who fired the final shot that killed Kathy Wiseman; however, Thomas was sentenced to death for the murder of Kathy and received a 65-year sentence for the murder of James Wiseman. Jessica, who was only 14 years old at the time of the murders, was tried as a juvenile and given a 7-year sentence in a juvenile facility. Thomas was one of the last juvenile offenders to be put to death before the Supreme Court ruled that the execution of juveniles constituted cruel and unusual punishment. His life and death have been the subject of several books and documentaries, including “Anatomy of an Execution: The Life and Death of Douglas Christopher Thomas” by Todd C. Peppers and Laura Trevvett Anderson.

1975 – John Joe Amador – An American thief who along with his 16-year-old co-defendant hailed a taxi cab in San Antonio, Texas with the intention of robbery, once inside the cab they forced the driver to a secluded area where Amador shot him in the back of the head killing him. He was convicted of the murder and sentenced to death, being executed in 2007.

Deaths

William Tucker

1987 – William Boyd Tucker – An American thief who in August 1977 had been drinking heavily and smoking marijuana when he went to the Majik market convenience store, where he had several more beers whilst playing pinball. Using his finger he pretended to have a gun and demanded money from the clerk, 19-year-old Kathleen Perry who complied with everything he asked, he then forced her into his car and they drove to a secluded area where Tucker stabbed Perry four times, Perry was pregnant at the time of her death. He was found guilty and sentenced to death. 

2001 – Vincent Allen Johnson – was a convicted murderer involved in a murder-for-hire plot. He was born on September 1, 1952. His most notorious crime was the murder of Shirley Mooneyham on February 8, 1991. Johnson was allegedly hired by Mooneyham’s estranged common-law husband, Ted Holt, for $100,000. On the day of the murder, Johnson visited Mooneyham’s residence, smoked marijuana with her, and then shot her six times with a .38-caliber weapon. Johnson was arrested for DWI and later confessed to the murder. Despite his confession, Holt was acquitted at trial. Johnson was executed by lethal injection in Oklahoma on May 29, 2001. In addition to the murder of Mooneyham, Johnson was also implicated in the 1987 murder of Haskell County Commissioner, Leo Boyd Reasoner. However, details of his involvement in this case are not clear.

Events

Jesse Timmendequas

1987 – Twilight Zone: Director John Landis found innocent of involuntary manslaughter in the death of actor Vic Morrow and two child actors during filming.

1997 – Jesse Timmedequas is found guilty of the rape and murder of 7-year-old Megan Kanka.

2012 – Indonesian police make the biggest drug bust in 10 years after seizing over a million ecstasy pills valued at $45 million.

2017 – Tiger Woods is arrested and charged with DUI in Jupiter, Florida.

2019 – Sixteen people are charged with setting fire to and murdering a teenager who reported sexual harassment at an Islamic School in Bangladesh.