Births
Frederic Bourdin
1917 – Donald Sherman Staley – He is known for his criminal activities and is classified as a murderer. His crimes involved the sexual assault and murder of two boys. The victims were Garry Billings, aged 11, and Donnie Goss, aged 6. The murders took place on July 5 and July 24, 1946. One of the crimes occurred in August 1946 at a park on the southeast end of St. George’s Island in Calgary. Staley lured six-year-old Donnie Goss away from the park with the offer of candy, then brutalized, raped, and murdered him, abandoning his body in a bush near the Zoo Bridge. This crime shocked the city, and to this day, relatives of Donnie Goss still recall the loss. Staley was arrested on August 17, 1946, and was tried for his crimes in both murder cases. He was sentenced to death and was executed by hanging along with four German prisoners of war at the Lethbridge Provincial Gaol on December 18, 1946. This was the largest public execution in Canadian history.
1946 – John George Spirko Jr – is a figure with a complex and controversial history. He was known for his criminal activities and his unique method of attempting to reduce his time in prison. Spirko would fabricate information for authorities, pretending to have knowledge that would help solve crimes. He grew up in a challenging environment on Toledo’s west side and dropped out of school after the 10th grade. His life took a turn in 1982 when he was arrested for assaulting a woman in a bar near Toledo. Following his arrest, Spirko claimed to have information about the murder of Betty Jane Mottinger, the postmaster general of the small town of Elgin, Ohio. Spirko’s accounts of what he claimed to know were inconsistent and often contradicted known evidence. Despite this, he and one of his former cellmates, Delaney Gibson Jr., were indicted for aggravated murder and kidnapping in September 1983. In November 2005, while on death row, Spirko was granted a reprieve by Governor Ted Strickland. His death sentence for the 1982 murder of Betty Jane Mottinger was later commuted to life in prison without parole. Despite his conviction, significant doubts have emerged over Spirko’s guilt. His case continues to be a subject of debate and examination.
1964 – Dominic Noonan – also known as Domenyk Lattlay-Fottfoy, was born on June 13, 1964. He is a notorious figure in the criminal underworld of Manchester, United Kingdom. Along with his brother Desmond “Dessie” Noonan, Dominic headed a criminal organization or “crime firm” in Manchester during the 1980s and 1990s. The Noonan family first rose to notoriety in the Manchester gang scene after the murder of Anthony “White Tony” Johnson, the leader of the Cheetham Hill Gang, who was gunned down in 1991. Dominic has more than 40 convictions for a wide range of offenses including armed robbery, police assault, possession of firearms, prison escape, and fraud. As of 2013, he had spent 22 years in prisons across Britain. His most recent conviction was for indecent assault and attempted rape. In 2016, Noonan was sentenced to 11 years in prison after being convicted of arson, blackmail, and perverting the course of justice. In May 2018, he was convicted of 13 historic sex offenses against underage males and was given a further 11-year sentence to begin after the completion of his current sentence. Dominic Noonan and his brother Desmond Noonan were the subject of the 2005 documentary “A Very British Gangster” directed by Donal MacIntyre. During the documentary, Dominic openly admitted that he was gay.
1964 – Hugh D. Miller – a 33-year-old maintenance worker from Burlington, received sentencing of three consecutive life terms in prison for the gruesome murders of his former girlfriend, best friend, and mother in 1995, according to prosecutors. In one of the deadliest rampages in Burlington County history, Miller beat and strangled his former girlfriend, Corrine Cochran-Ball, following an argument triggered by the end of their relationship, stated Michael E. Riley, the first assistant Burlington County prosecutor. Subsequently, Miller visited his best friend, Keith S. Tiesman, and fatally shot him in the head after Tiesman taunted him about the failed relationship, Riley added. Miller then drove to his mother Charlotte Simcox’s home, where he confessed to the previous killings. Despite Simcox urging her son to turn himself in, he shot her in the head, as recounted by Mr. Riley. During the sentencing, Judge Donald P. Gaydos of the State Superior Court informed Miller that the consequences of his crimes would haunt him for the rest of his life. Miller had pleaded guilty to the three murders in April, thereby avoiding a potential death sentence, as noted by Mr. Riley.
1965 – Juha Veikko Valjakkala – also known as Aslak Valdemar Ahonen, Nikita Joakim Fouganthine, and Nikita Bergenström, was born on June 13, 1965, in Pori, Finland. He is known for the triple murder of a family in the northern Swedish community of Åmsele. In 1988, after being released from prison in Turku, he started wandering through Sweden and Finland with his then-girlfriend, Marita Routalammi. On July 3, they arrived in Åmsele, where Valjakkala stole a bicycle. He was pursued by Sten Nilsson and his 15-year-old son Fredrik. The chase ended at a cemetery where Sten and Fredrik Nilsson were both shot by Valjakkala with a shotgun. Later, Ewa Nilsson, Sten’s wife, and Fredrik’s mother, went looking for the two and was chased into the woods and had her throat slit by Valjakkala outside the cemetery. Valjakkala and Routalammi were caught in Odense, Denmark just over a week later. At the trial, the two defendants blamed each other for the murders, but the court believed Routalammi’s story. A psychiatric evaluation found both to be mentally competent for trial. However, the statement by a forensic psychiatrist found that Valjakkala suffered from a psychopathic personality and was very aggressive. Valjakkala was given a life sentence on three counts of murder, while Routalammi received two years for complicity in assault and battery. Valjakkala tried to escape from prison multiple times. He passed away on February 27, 2023.
1970 – Charles Victor Thompson – is currently an inmate on Texas Death Row. He was sentenced to death in April 1999 for the murder of his girlfriend, Dennise Hayslip, and her other boyfriend, Darren Cain, which occurred on April 30, 1998. Thompson made national headlines in 2005 when he escaped from Harris County Jail in Houston, Texas, after a re-sentencing hearing where he was sentenced to death for a second time. His freedom was short-lived, however, as he was captured four days later outside a liquor store in Shreveport, Louisiana. Thompson continues to appeal his death penalty conviction, maintaining that there was insufficient evidence to support his capital murder conviction. His case continues to be a subject of legal debate and public interest.
1970 – Pauline Zile – is a woman who gained notoriety due to her involvement in a tragic case of child abuse and murder. She was convicted of first-degree murder and child abuse after prosecutors charged that she stood by while her husband, John Zile, beat her daughter, Christina Holt, until the girl went into convulsions and died. The case drew national attention because of the elaborate hoax the Ziles concocted to cover up the slaying. A month after the girl’s death, Pauline Zile, then 24, went on television clutching a doll Christina never owned and tearfully claiming the child disappeared from a restroom at a Fort Lauderdale flea market. However, surveillance cameras had no footage of the daughter. As news coverage of the girl’s purported abduction intensified, the story unraveled, and her husband eventually led police to Christina’s grave in a sandy field behind a Kmart store. Pauline Zile was sentenced to life in prison for murder and child abuse.
1974 – Frederic Bourdin – is a notorious French serial impostor who has been nicknamed “The Chameleon” by the press. He began his impersonations as a child and claims to have assumed at least 500 false identities, three of which were teenage missing people. Bourdin was raised by his grandparents in Nantes until he ran away and eventually went to Paris. His most infamous impersonation was of Nicholas Barclay, a 13-year-old boy from Texas who went missing in 1994. Despite having brown eyes and a French accent, Bourdin convinced Barclay’s family that he was their blue-eyed son, claiming that his eye color had been altered by a child prostitution ring from which he had escaped. He lived with the family for almost five months until his true identity was revealed. Bourdin has also impersonated Léo Balley, a 14-year-old French boy who had been missing since 1996, and Francisco Hernandez-Fernandez, a 15-year-old Spanish orphan. His impersonations have led him to be sentenced to prison multiple times. Despite his criminal activities, Bourdin has stated in interviews that his actions were driven by a search for “love and affection” and the attention he never received as a child.
Deaths
Michele Genna
1906 – Hadj Mohammed Mesfewi – also known as the “Marrakesh Arch-Murderer”, was a Moroccan serial killer who murdered at least 36 women. Mesfewi worked as a cobbler and trader in Marrakesh. Aided by a 70-year-old woman named Annah, he targeted young women who came to his shop to dictate letters. He would drug his victims before decapitating them with a dagger. Moroccan authorities found the remains of 20 mutilated bodies in a deep pit under his shop and another 16 in the garden outside. He was caught after the parents of one young victim traced her movements back to his shop. Annah died under torture, and Mesfewi confessed that he killed the women for their money; often the sums were very small. Mesfewi was originally sentenced to crucifixion for his brutal murders, but foreign diplomats condemned it as too cruel and archaic. The Moroccan government instead opted to entomb him alive. Mesfewi was whipped for days before the entombment, and a cavity the size of his body was prepared in the Marrakesh bazaar. On June 13, 1906, Mesfewi was sealed alive in this cavity. The story of Hadj Mohammed Mesfewi is still remembered in Morocco. He is considered one of the most brutal serial killers in the country’s history.
1925 – Michele Genna – better known as “Mike the Devil,” was born in Marsala, Sicily, in 1895. He was one of eight children born to Antonino Genna Sr. and Maria Concetta Utica. Around 1910, he immigrated to the United States with several of his brothers, settling in Chicago’s Little Sicily neighborhood. Chicago during Prohibition offered fertile ground for criminal activity, and the Genna brothers were quick to capitalize. They established themselves in bootlegging, extortion, and other illegal operations. Michele, known for his ruthlessness and violent temper, earned the nickname “Mike the Devil.” He rose through the ranks of the family, eventually becoming its leader alongside his brother Angelo “Bloody Angelo” Genna. The Genna brothers clashed with other prominent Chicago gangs, particularly the North Side Gang led by Al Capone. The rivalry between the two gangs resulted in numerous violent incidents, including the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre of 1929, which targeted the Genna brothers. Although not present at the massacre, Mike was deeply affected by the deaths of his brother Angelo and several other Genna associates. In 1925, police officers cornered Mike Genna, his brother Sam, and their associates after a shootout with North Siders. A gunfight ensued, resulting in the deaths of two police officers. Genna and his companions were killed in the exchange, making him one of the few major American mob figures to be directly killed by law enforcement. Michele “Mike the Devil” Genna remains a chilling figure in Chicago’s history. His violent reign during the Prohibition era represents the ruthlessness and chaos that characterized organized crime at the time. His story serves as a reminder of the human cost associated with gang violence and the enduring struggle against organized crime.
2001 – John L. Wheat – Angela Anderson lived in an apartment with her 3 children: Edwardo Ochoa (8), Ashley Ochoa (6), and Lacey Anderson (19 months). Wheat was a church maintenance man and lived in the same apartment complex, often babysitting for Angela while she was at work. On July 30, 1995, Angela delivered a note to Wheat, indicating that she was going to call the police because Ashley had told her that she was molested by Wheat. Wheat became enraged, went to the apartment and shot Angela, then shot and killed each of the children. Angela survived with brain damage. Three others, including a security guard and a police officer, were also shot and wounded by Wheat during the rampage.
Events
Elena Skordelli
1966 – The US Supreme Court rules in Miranda vs Arizona that the police must inform suspects of their rights before questioning
1981 – Tom Snyder interviews Charles Manson on “Tomorrow”
1977 – James Earl Ray is recaptured after escaping 3 days earlier
1981 – At the Trooping of the Color ceremony in London, England, a teenager, Marcus Sarjeant, fires six blank shots at Queen Elizabeth II
1994 – Nicole Brown Simpson & Ron Goldman are found stabbed to death
1997 – A jury sentences Timothy McVeigh to death for his part in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing
1997 – American fugitive Ira Einhorn is arrested in France for the murder of Holly Maddux after 16 years on the run, though he would not return for another 4 years
2000 – Italy pardons Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turkish gunman who tried to kill Pope John Paul II in 1981
2005 – A jury in Santa Maria, California acquits pop singer Michael Jackson of molesting 13-year-old Gavin Arvizo at Neverland
2013 – Elena Skordelli is sentenced to life imprisonment
2015 – A man opens fire at policemen outside the police headquarters in Dallas, Texas, while a bag containing a pipe bomb is also found. He was later shot dead by police.
