Births

Gordon Wardell

1928 – Gregory Scarpa – known as both the Grim Reaper and the Mad Hatter, was a notorious figure in the underbelly of New York City. His life was a twisted tapestry woven from loyalty to the Colombo crime family, ruthlessness as a hitman, and a double life as an FBI informant. Born in 1928 to Italian immigrants, Scarpa grew up in Brooklyn’s working-class Bensonhurst, a crucible that toughened him and exposed him to the burgeoning mob scene. By his teens, he was already immersed in the Colombo family, climbing the ranks through sheer fearlessness and brutality. Scarpa earned his grim nickname through his unwavering devotion to Carmine Persico, the Colombo boss. He became Persico’s go-to enforcer, eliminating rivals and silencing dissent with chilling efficiency. Scarpa’s murders were often as swift as they were merciless, earning him a reputation as one of the most feared hitmen in the city. He carried out his deeds with a disconcerting calm, earning him the moniker “Mad Hatter” for his seemingly unaffected demeanor amidst the bloodshed. In a move that shook the Mafia world, Scarpa began secretly cooperating with the FBI in the 1960s. Motivated by personal gain and a desire to protect his family, he became a valuable source of information, providing insights into the inner workings of the Colombo family and even thwarting planned attacks. The double life Scarpa led was a precarious dance, walking a tightrope between loyalty and betrayal. He constantly navigated the threat of exposure by both the FBI and his fellow Mafiosi, living in a constant state of paranoia. Scarpa’s duplicity inevitably caught up with him. Arrested in 1986, he faced multiple murder charges and a possible death sentence. He turned state’s witness, testifying against former associates and offering a glimpse into the dark heart of the Mafia. Although his cooperation earned him leniency, it also solidified his place as a pariah in the underworld. Scarpa died in 1994 while still in prison, a testament to the dangerous double game he played throughout his life. He was a ruthless killer who reveled in violence, yet also an informant who helped bring down dangerous criminals. His life highlights the moral ambiguity of the Mafia world, where loyalty and betrayal blur in a ruthless pursuit of power. Scarpa remains a reminder of the darkness that can lurk beneath the surface of seemingly ordinary lives, a testament to the chilling allure and perilous consequences of a life entwined with organized crime.

1944 – Gary Glitter – is a British pop singer who rose to fame in the 1970s with hits like “Rock and Roll Part 2” and “Do You Wanna Touch Me? (Oh Yeah).” Born Paul Francis Gadd on May 8, 1944, in Banbury, England, Glitter adopted his stage name in the 1960s while playing with a group called the Boston Showband. During the 1970s, Glitter rose to international superstardom, earning a reputation as a flamboyant and energetic performer. However, as the years went on, Glitter’s career began to unravel. In 1997, he was arrested on charges of possessing child pornography and was subsequently convicted and sentenced to prison. Glitter’s reputation was further tarnished in 2015 when he was convicted of multiple charges of sexual assault against young girls. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison and remains incarcerated as of 2021. Despite his contributions to the world of pop music, Glitter’s legacy has been forever marred by his criminal behavior, and he is widely reviled as a predator and a danger to children.

1953 – Gordon David Wardell – Gordon & Carol Wardell had been married for 12 years and Carol had a great job as a branch manager of their local Woolwich building society in Nuneaton.  On the 12th September 1994, a motorist traveling down the Weddington Road in the Warwickshire countryside spotted Carol’s body, she was found to have been strangled and further investigation found that £15,000 had been stolen from the strong room at her place of work.  The police immediately went to the Wardell home where they discovered Gordon bound and gagged, in his distressed state they took him to the local hospital where he was treated and questioned.  He stated that he had been tied up by a man wearing a clown mask and that Carol had been kidnapped. After a thorough investigation, Wardell was arrested and charged with both his wife’s murder and the theft of £15,000, in December 1995, Wardell was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 18 years. After serving 26 years, Wardell was released in September 2023. 

1955 – Danny Barber – was an American serial killer and necrophile who operated in Dallas County, Texas, during the late 1970s and early 1980s. He is confirmed to have murdered four women, but some suspect the true number could be higher. Born in Torrance, California, in 1955, Barber had a troubled childhood marked by violence and instability. He dropped out of school early and developed a criminal record for petty theft and assault. In 1978, he moved to Texas and began a string of brutal murders. Barber’s victims were all women, ranging in age from 39 to 50. He typically targeted them in their homes, attacking them with blunt objects and sometimes engaging in necrophilia. His crimes were characterized by extreme violence and a lack of remorse. In 1980, Barber was arrested for a burglary, and a fingerprint match linked him to the Ingram murder. During interrogation, he confessed to all four murders and was subsequently sentenced to death for the Ingram case and life imprisonment for the others. Barber spent nearly two decades on death row before being executed by lethal injection in 1999. His case remains a chilling reminder of the darkness that can lurk within seemingly ordinary individuals.

1966 – Jaroslav Stodola – is a Czech serial killer who, along with his wife Dana Stodolová, murdered and robbed eight elderly people between 2001 and 2002. In total, they were convicted of committing 17 serious crimes, for which they were both sentenced to life imprisonment. Stodola was born in Brno, a small village in Moravia. His childhood was marked by violence and alcohol. His father was an alcoholic who often abused his mother. Stodola himself began to exhibit aggressive behavior and was first convicted of theft at the age of 15. In 1988, Stodola married Dana Bábiková, who, like him, came from a troubled family. Together they moved to Slavošov, where they made a living through petty crime. In 2001, the Stodolas decided to start robbing pensioners. Their first victim was Alois Miškovský, who gave them 160,000 Kč. This was followed by other murders, in which the Stodolas used various methods, including strangulation, stabbing, and suffocation. The Stodolas’ killing spree ended in 2002 when they were arrested based on the testimony of one of their victims. During the investigation, Stodola confessed to all the murders but tried to minimize his wife’s guilt. In 2003, the Stodolas were sentenced to life imprisonment. Stodola is serving his sentence in Valdice Prison. Jaroslav Stodola is described as intelligent, but also cruel. He is capable of cold-bloodedly planning and carrying out murders. During interrogations, he often behaved arrogantly and refused to express remorse for his victims. Stodola is considered one of the most dangerous serial killers in the Czech Republic. His case caused great public outcry and contributed to the introduction of stricter sentences for serial killers.

1967 – Alex Kelly – was an American convict who gained notoriety in the 1990s for a series of sexual assaults. Kelly was born on May 8, 1967, in Darien, Connecticut, and grew up in the nearby town of New Canaan. He attended the prestigious New Canaan Country School and Darien High School. In 1986, while still in high school, Kelly was accused of sexually assaulting two girls at a party. He fled to Europe before he could be arrested and remained a fugitive for several years. In 1989, he was arrested in Switzerland and extradited to the United States to stand trial. Kelly was convicted of the sexual assault charges and sentenced to 16 years in prison. He served ten years before being released on parole in 2007. While in prison, Kelly maintained his innocence and claimed that the sexual encounters were consensual. After being released from prison, Kelly moved to Ireland and became a personal trainer. He also wrote a book called “Framed: Why Michael Skakel Spent Over a Decade in Prison for a Murder He Didn’t Commit,” which argued that Michael Skakel, a relative of the Kennedys, was wrongly convicted of murder. However, Kelly’s newfound freedom was short-lived. In 2018, he was arrested in Ireland on charges of sexually assaulting another woman. He was extradited to the United States to face trial and was found guilty in 2021. Kelly was sentenced to 10 years in prison, where he remains incarcerated as of 2023.

Deaths

Ampon Tangnoppakul

1893 – Carlyle W. Harris – Carlyle W Harris was an American murderer who gained notoriety in the late 19th century for the murder of his wife, Helen Potts. He was born on May 21, 1869, in New York City and grew up in a wealthy family. Harris attended various prestigious schools, including Harvard University, where he studied medicine. In 1890, Harris married Helen Potts, a young woman from a wealthy family. However, their marriage was fraught with difficulties, and Harris began having an affair with a chorus girl named Alice Bowlsby. In January 1891, Harris poisoned his wife with chloroform, and she died a few days later. The murder investigation quickly focused on Harris, who had recently purchased chloroform and had been seen arguing with his wife shortly before she fell ill. Despite his attempts to cover his tracks, Harris was eventually arrested and tried for murder. Harris’s trial was sensational, with the media covering every detail of the case. During the trial, Harris’s defense team argued that he was insane at the time of the murder, but the jury found him guilty of first-degree murder, and he was sentenced to death. Harris’s case was the first in the United States to use the new method of fingerprinting as evidence. However, this did not change the outcome of the trial. On May 8, 1893, Carlyle W. Harris was executed by the electric chair at Sing Sing correctional facility in New York, becoming one of the most infamous murderers of his time.

1922 – J. Frank Hickey – was an American child molester and serial killer. He was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, to Irish immigrants Michael J. Hickey and Mary Ann Magrath. He was baptized Roman Catholic at St. Patrick’s Church. In his early teens, Hickey joined Lowell’s First Congregational Church on Kirk Street. He also became an official of the Lowell YMCA and the Christian Endeavor. Hickey committed his first murder on September 1, 1883, when he was 18 years old. He murdered 34-year-old pharmacist Edwin W. Morey with laudanum. He later admitted to the murder, stating that he had been afraid that if their employer had found Morey intoxicated, he might fire them both. In 1887, Hickey applied for and received membership in Lowell’s William North Masonic Lodge. He became a Master Mason in 1889. However, he was expelled from the Masons in June 1895 after being arrested for stealing 20 gallons of alcohol from his employer. Hickey committed his second murder in 1902. He encountered Michael R. Kruck, an eleven-year-old newspaper vendor, and lured him into Central Park. Hickey left Lowell in 1896 and would never live there again. Between then and 1902, he drifted around Canada and the Northeastern United States, working various industrial jobs. Due to the postcards he mailed to the police and media, he was dubbed The Postcard Killer. He was apprehended in 1912 and died in Auburn Prison, Auburn, New York, on May 8, 1922.

1933 – Ray Elmer Miller – Miller didn’t have the best of relationships with his wife, on several occasions he had threatened her with physical harm and she’d had enough so she was filing for divorce on the 1st December 1932 as she was going to her lawyer’s office to apply for a restraining order, Miller was there, as she climbed the stairs Miller shot her twice. Funnily he plead not guilty but would later state “If my wife could be brought back to life, I’d do the same thing over, under the circumstances”.

1951 – James Inglis – A Scotsman who was living in Kingston upon Hull in the East Riding of Yorkshire and partaking with the services of prostitutes, on the 1st February 1951 Inglis met 50-year-old prostitute, Alice Morgan, he needed her services, they had a furious argument over the price and in a moment of madness Inglis strangled Morgan. At his trial, he attempted an insanity defense but the jury did not buy it and he was sentenced to death.

1959 – Ronald Henry Marwood – is known for his involvement in a tragic event in the late 1950s. On December 14, 1958, after a day of heavy drinking, Marwood was involved in a street fight. During the altercation, he stabbed and killed Police Constable Raymond Henry Summers, who was 23 years old at the time. Marwood was initially questioned but released due to lack of evidence. However, he later returned to the police station and confessed to the murder. He was convicted of capital murder at the Central Criminal Court on March 19, 1959. Marwood was sentenced to death and was executed by hanging at Pentonville on May 8, 1959. The executioner was Harry Allen.

1993 – Larry Joe Johnson – Johnson was a Vietnam veteran who was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, he had fallen on hard times as many veterans do and he attempted to rob a service station, as he did the attendant, 67-year-old James Hadden tried to stop him and during the squabble, Johnson shot Hadden and made his getaway, he didn’t get far as he was arrested the same day. Eventually, Johnson was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death, he was executed on this day in 1993.

1998 – Steven Allen Thompson – He had gone AWOL from the Navy when he went to the home of 25-year-old Robin Balarzs who had been dating a friend of Thompson’s for a long time. For whatever reason, whether it be mental health, drug use, or just because he snapped he tied Balarzs up and gagged her whilst he brutally raped her, once he was finished he beat her before stabbing her, shockingly he was not finished and he would tie Balarzs to the back of his car and dragged her for over 3000 feet. He got away with $1 and an engagement ring, happily, this sick bastard was caught, convicted, and executed.

2001 – Clay King Smith – was an American mass murderer. He was born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. On March 25, 1998, he murdered Misty Erwin (age 20), Shelley Sorg (24), Shelley’s two children Sean Sorg (5) and Taylor Sorg (3), and babysitter Samantha Rhodes (12) at his home near Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Smith’s girlfriend, Misty Erwin, had reported that Smith battered her and requested police assistance to move out of the house. However, when the police arrived, she withdrew her complaint and decided to stay with Smith. Her body was found in the house with a cousin, two small children, and a babysitter two days later. All were shot to death with a rifle. Smith was arrested the day after the bodies were discovered. His capture followed a shootout with authorities near Star City in Lincoln County, Arkansas. Smith fled into a wooded area when police tracked him down to a house belonging to a local hunting club. Smith held police at bay for an hour with a rifle, which later proved to be the murder weapon. During the stand-off, he yelled at the police, “I sent three of them to Hell, and two to Heaven.”. He claimed that the murders were drug-induced. Smith quickly waived all rights to appeal his sentence. A judge ruled in November 1999 that Smith was competent enough to waive his appeal rights. At the hearing, Smith told the court he was sorry for the pain he had caused and added, “I don’t want to do any more harm.”. Smith said he decided because he didn’t want to put his family or the victims’ families through a lengthy appeal process. In his final days, Smith wrote letters to the families of each of his victims asking for forgiveness and telling them he would waive his right to appeal unless they asked him to do otherwise. No one did. In a letter dated April 22, Smith told Misty Erwin’s father, Randy, her mother Lula, and her three sisters, Tabitha, Margo, and Frances, that he was waiving his right to appeals so that they could move on with their lives. Smith was executed by lethal injection on May 8, 2001.

2009 – Thomas Treshawn Ivey – Ivey was in prison in Alabama on a murder charge when he and cellmate Vincent Neuman escaped and went on the run, they stole a vehicle and fled to South Carolina where they kidnapped businessman Robert Montgomery with the intention of robbing, however, that went awry and Montgomery ended up dead. The men went on their way and this time tried to pass a stolen check in a mall in Orangeburg County, the police were called and 38-year-old officer Tommy Harrison responded, Ivey ended up shooting and killing Harrison. Ivey & Neuman were arrested and Neuman flipped and received a life sentence whereas Ivey received the death penalty.

2012 – Ampon Tangnoppakul – also known as Ah Kong or Uncle SMS, was a Thai man who gained international attention for his involvement in a controversial lese majeste case. Tangnoppakul was born on October 24, 1946, in Thailand and grew up in the capital city of Bangkok. Tangnoppakul worked as a driver and a motorcycle taxi driver in Bangkok for many years. He was not involved in politics or activism and was known mainly for his jovial personality and for his love of music. In 2010, Tangnoppakul became the subject of a high-profile lese majeste case after he was accused of sending four text messages containing critical comments about the Thai royal family. The messages in question had been sent to a member of the country’s National Security Council. Tangnoppakul denied the allegations and claimed that he did not know how to send text messages. However, he was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison, sparking outrage from human rights advocates who argued that the case was politically motivated. Tangnoppakul’s health declined rapidly while he was in prison, and he was diagnosed with stage-four cancer in July 2011. Despite appeals from human rights groups and his family, Tangnoppakul was not granted a royal pardon and died in a prison hospital on May 8, 2012, at the age of 65. Tangnoppakul’s case reignited longstanding debates about the use of lese majeste laws in Thailand, which are among the strictest in the world. Advocates argue that the laws are necessary to protect the monarchy, while critics claim that they are used to silence political dissent and to violate basic human rights.

Events

Denis Lortie

1794 – Branded a traitor during the reign of terror, French chemist Antoine Lavoisier, who was also a tax collector with Ferme Generale is tried, convicted & guillotined in one day in Paris.

1968 – London gangland twins, Ronnie & Reggie Kray are arrested

1984 – Corporal Denis Lortie enters the Quebec National Assembly and opens fire killing 3 people and wounding 13.