Births
Luigi Manocchio
1835 – Cullen Montgomery Baker – was a violent figure who carved a bloody path through the American frontier following the Civil War. Born in Tennessee, Baker was known for his quick temper and brutality. Details of Baker’s early life are sketchy, but historical accounts portray him as a heavy drinker and someone prone to conflict. After a brief marriage, Baker fled after nearly beating a boy to death. This incident marked the beginning of a pattern of violence that would define him. Baker joined the Confederate Army during the Civil War. After the war’s end, refusing to surrender, he resorted to guerilla warfare. He targeted Union soldiers and civilians alike, particularly in Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Some accounts claim his gang was responsible for hundreds of deaths, but historians believe the actual number is closer to fifty or sixty. Baker’s cruelty extended to African Americans, especially those who were recently freed. He reportedly killed multiple Black individuals, including a woman and a boy. His reign of terror ended in 1869 when a group of his former neighbors, led by a man Baker once threatened to hang, killed him. Cullen Baker remains a symbol of the lawlessness that plagued the post-Civil War frontier. His story offers a glimpse into a time of social and political upheaval, where violence and vengeance ran rampant. While the exact number of his victims may be debated, there’s no doubt Baker left a trail of fear and bloodshed across the Southwest.
1844 – Tom Dula – also known as Thomas C. Dula, was a Confederate soldier who became embroiled in a sensational murder case that captured national attention and inspired a lasting folk legend. Born in 1844 in Wilkes County, North Carolina, Dula grew up in poverty. Details of his early life are scarce, but he likely interacted with the Foster sisters, Laura and Pauline, during his youth. In 1862, at the age of 18, Dula enlisted in the Confederate Army, serving as a private and later a drummer. After the war, Dula returned to Wilkes County and rekindled a relationship with Ann Melton, a woman he had known since his teenage years. However, he also became involved with Laura Foster, and the two began a relationship. This tangled web of relationships culminated in Laura Foster’s brutal murder in 1866. Dula became the prime suspect in Laura’s murder. The trial was a media spectacle, with newspapers like The New York Times reporting on the case. Despite circumstantial evidence, Dula was convicted and sentenced to hang. The case remains shrouded in controversy, with some believing Dula was innocent and others questioning the motives of other potential suspects. Dula’s story resonated with the public, particularly in the South. A folk song, “Tom Dooley,” emerged shortly after his execution, portraying him as a tragic hero. The song’s enduring popularity cemented Dula’s place in American folklore. Tom Dula’s life and death offer a glimpse into the social and emotional upheaval of the post-Civil War South. The enduring mystery surrounding the case and the haunting melody of the folk song continue to intrigue audiences today.
1920 – Forrest Tucker – was an American career criminal who spent the majority of his life in and out of jail. He was first imprisoned at the age of 15. Tucker is best known as an escape artist, having escaped from prison “18 times successfully and 12 times unsuccessfully”, by his own reckoning. His most famous escape was in the summer of 1979 from San Quentin State Prison in California, when he and two confederates built a kayak and paddled away in full view of the guards. Born in Miami, Florida, to Leroy Morgan Tucker and Carmen Tucker, Forrest was raised in Stuart, Florida by his grandmother Ellen Silva after his father left the family when he was six years old. His first escape from detention happened in the spring of 1936, after he was incarcerated for car theft. Throughout his life, Tucker married three times and had two children, a boy and a girl; none of his wives knew of his criminal career until they were informed by police. His crimes of choice were bank robberies, and law enforcement estimates that Tucker stole over $4 million from banks during his career. In his later years, while living in a retirement community in Pompano Beach, Florida, at the age of 79 and married for the third time, Tucker by himself robbed an estimated four banks in the local community. In 2000, law enforcement apprehended Tucker; the Court sentenced him to 13 years in prison at the Federal Medical Center, Fort Worth. Tucker’s life story was adapted into the 2018 film “The Old Man & the Gun”, starring Robert Redford as Tucker.
1926 – Kenneth Halliwell – was a British actor, writer, and collagist. Born in Bebington near Liverpool, Halliwell was very close to his mother; tragically, he witnessed her death from a wasp sting at their family home when he was 11. He was a classics scholar at Wirral Grammar School, where he gained his Higher School Certificate in 1943. In 1944, he registered as a conscientious objector and was sent to work as a coal miner. After discharge in 1946, he acted for a time in Scotland and then returned home to act in Birkenhead. In 1951, he met fellow Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) student Joe Orton. Both men were struggling actors who became struggling writers; their common interests led to a lengthy romantic relationship. Halliwell, in the early years, seems to have been something of a mentor to Orton, who had had a rather cursory education, and helped to mould the writing style that would later be called “Ortonesque”. The two men collaborated on several novels, including The Boy Hairdresser, which were not published until after their deaths. From January 1959, Orton and Halliwell were involved in the theft and defacement of public library books. Halliwell became an illicit collage artist, while Orton wrote the fake blurbs for the flyleaf of the dust jackets. After their trial in 1962 the two men were given custodial sentences. Orton’s eventual success as a writer, which began not long after their release from prison, put a distance between the two men that Halliwell found difficult to handle. Towards the end of his life, Halliwell was on regular courses of anti-depressants. On 9 August 1967, Halliwell mortally injured Orton with nine hammer blows to the head, then overdosed on pentobarbital (Nembutal) sleeping pills. Halliwell died first. Their bodies were discovered late the following morning, when a chauffeur arrived at the door of their Noel Road flat in Islington to collect Orton for a meeting with director Richard Lester to discuss filming options on Up Against It, an unproduced script by Orton, written in 1967 for the Beatles.
1927 – Luigi Manocchio – He is an American mobster and the former boss of the New England-based Patriarca crime family, which is part of the American Mafia. Manocchio has a criminal record dating back to the 1940s. In November of 1967, he was shot in the neck and seriously wounded during a running gun battle on Federal Hill in Providence. In 1969, Manocchio was indicted for participating in the murders of Rudolph Marfeo and Anthony Melei. He fled to France, but later returned to the United States, living undercover in New York City for most of the 1970s. In 1979, Manocchio finally surrendered to law enforcement and pleaded guilty to several lesser charges. He was sentenced to 30 months in prison. In July 1996, Manocchio was indicted with 43 others in a burglary ring. Prosecutors claimed that this Patriarca-sanctioned gang was responsible for stealing $10 million in merchandise. When his trial began in April 1999, Manocchio pleaded guilty to reduced charges and was sentenced to three years of probation. Manocchio was promoted to boss of the Patriarca family following the imprisonment of many of the organization’s other leaders. He has been described as a “shrewd, opportunistic old-school leader who excels at keeping a low profile” and “tough and capable”. In November 2009, Manocchio reportedly ceded control of the Patriarca family to mobster Peter Limone. In 2011, Manocchio was indicted on charges of extorting payments from the owners of the Cadillac Lounge and Satin Doll club, both adult entertainment establishments in Providence. In 2012, Manocchio pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five and a half years in prison. He was released in 2014 and is now living in Rhode Island. Manocchio is known for his low-key approach to running the family. He was rarely seen in public and rarely gave interviews. He was also known for his loyalty to his associates and his willingness to help them out in times of need.
1930 – Ensio Koivunen – was a Finnish individual who became infamous for his criminal activities. He was born in Impilahti, Finland. Koivunen is known for poisoning three female hitchhikers using carbon monoxide in the summer of 1971. This led to him earning the nickname Häkä-Enska, which translates to “Carbon monoxide-Enska”. The victims were Salme Helena Metsänikula, a 23-year-old university student who disappeared on 11 July 1971, and two teenagers, Ritva Anneli Raijas and Pirjo Marjatta Laiho, who went missing on 17 August 1971. Koivunen was apprehended in September 1971 and was found guilty on all charges of assault, false imprisonment, and negligent homicide. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison. He was pardoned by Mauno Koivisto, the President of Finland at the time, in the fall of 1981. Koivunen passed away on 27 May 2003.
1940 – George Feigley – was a figure shrouded in controversy. Described as a church leader, he is more accurately remembered as a sex cult leader who preyed on children. Feigley’s legacy is one of manipulation and abuse. In 1971, he founded the Neo American Church and its associated school in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. This seemingly religious organization served as a facade for Feigley’s dark agenda. Prosecutors described the church and school as a “cult-like operation.” Feigley’s charisma masked a sinister intent. He reportedly lured young girls into sexual acts under the guise of religious teaching. In 1975, this facade crumbled. Feigley was arrested on multiple counts of statutory rape, indecent assault, and corrupting the morals of minors. He was found guilty and sentenced to a 10 to 20 year prison term. Feigley’s crimes extended beyond the initial conviction. News reports detail escape attempts, including one where two followers drowned trying to help him flee through a sewer system. Feigley ultimately served over 32 years behind bars before his death in 2009. George Feigley’s story serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of cult manipulation and the importance of vigilance in protecting children.
1957 – Charles Francis Rumbaugh – He began his criminal activities at a young age, committing armed robbery at the age of 12. At the age of 17, Rumbaugh committed a crime that would change his life forever. On April 4, 1975, during a jewelry store robbery, he shot and killed the store owner, Michael Fiorillo. This crime took place in Amarillo, Texas. Rumbaugh was arrested the next day and pulled a gun on an officer. In December 1975, Rumbaugh and two other inmates escaped from the Potter County Jail. However, they were recaptured when a routine traffic stop revealed that a girlfriend of one of the escapees did not have a driver’s license. Rumbaugh was convicted and sentenced to death in 1976. He later won a new trial, but the results were the same. In 1983, during a competency hearing, Rumbaugh lunged at a US Deputy Marshal with a makeshift weapon, but was shot and subdued. On September 11, 1985, Rumbaugh was executed by lethal injection in the Texas death chamber. His execution marked the first in more than two decades for a crime committed by someone under the age of 18. His last words were: “D.J., Laurie, Dr. Wheat, about all I can say is goodbye, and for all the rest of you, although you don’t forgive me for my transgressions, I forgive yours against me. I am ready to begin my journey and that’s all I have to say.”
1957 – Thomas Edward Luther – also known as “Tom”, is a convicted criminal with a history of violent offenses. Luther was born on June 23, 1957, in Hardwick, Vermont. He was the oldest of five siblings. His childhood was marked by traumatic experiences, including physical abuse and early exposure to alcohol and drugs. Luther’s criminal history includes a series of violent offenses. In 1982, he was suspected in the disappearance of Cher Elder. In 1993, he attacked Heather Smith, stabbing her five times. He was later convicted for this attack. Luther was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 1983 for first-degree and second-degree sexual assault. In 1995, he was sentenced to 17 years in prison for the rape of Bobbi Joe Jones. In 1996, he was found guilty of second-degree murder and sentenced to 48 years for the murder of Cher Elder. He was also sentenced to 50 years for the rape and attack on Heather Smith. As of now, Luther is serving his sentences in prison. He is not expected to be eligible for parole until 2083.
1959 – Austin Perry Allen – His life took a dark turn when he committed a heinous crime that would forever stain his name. In Harris County, Texas, on August 19, 1992, Perry Allen Austin murdered David Karim Kazmouz, a 9-year-old boy. The details of the crime are chilling: David disappeared after leaving his neighbor’s yard, heading toward his home in the 6400 block of Leader. Despite extensive efforts by Houston police and the FBI, David remained missing for months. Tragically, David’s skeletal remains were discovered on April 24, 1993, in a wooded area approximately six miles from his home. Perry Austin had befriended David’s teenage brother, and during the investigation, incriminating statements emerged. Austin admitted that he had David in his car on the day the boy vanished, claiming he dropped David off at a nearby convenience store. However, the truth was far more sinister. Austin was also involved in a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old girl, which led to additional charges of aggravated sexual assault of a child. His criminal history included a prior prison sentence for aggravated rape and aggravated robbery in Dallas County. He was released on mandatory supervision in 1991 but continued down a dark path. In January 2001, while serving a 30-year sentence for sexual assault, Austin reached out to a police officer. During their meeting at the Hughes Prison Unit in Gatesville, TX, he confessed to abducting and murdering David Kazmouz. His admission sealed his fate, and on April 25, 2002, Perry Allen Austin was sentenced to death for his horrific crimes.
1962 – Peter J. Miniel – On May 9, 1986, Miniel, then 23 years old, and his accomplice, James Russell, were at the Houston-area apartment of Paul Manier, who was just 20 years old. Miniel suggested to Russell that they rob Manier. Russell then lured Manier outside by claiming he was going to get cocaine from his car. Meanwhile, Manier was busy cleaning a mirror to use for snorting the cocaine. While Manier was distracted, Miniel attacked him from behind, striking him on the head with a beer mug. Russell joined in, using an automobile shock absorber to hit Manier. When that failed to subdue the victim, Miniel stabbed him several times with a knife. Desperate to incapacitate Manier, Miniel attempted to slit his throat but found the knife too dull. Finally, he asphyxiated Manier by stuffing a blanket down his throat. The brutal assault left Manier with six blunt trauma injuries to his head, 39 stab wounds, and ten cuts. Miniel and Russell then stole Manier’s wallet (containing $20) and his stereo equipment. They cleaned the knife, hid it, and went out to eat. Miniel fled to Indiana and later to Illinois. He was eventually arrested in Chicago two weeks after the crime. Russell was also apprehended in Brookshire, Texas. Miniel had a prior felony conviction in Illinois for aggravated battery and misdemeanor convictions for shoplifting and weapons violations. During his trial, Miniel pleaded innocent, but Russell testified against him. The prosecution presented evidence that some of the victim’s stereo equipment was recovered from a neighbor of Miniel’s in Chicago. Despite being offered a plea bargain that would spare him from execution, Miniel chose to face a jury trial. In his own words, Miniel later expressed remorse: “Years ago, when I first went to trial, I said I was not guilty of the crime. I lied. I want to tell the truth. I am guilty. I was wrong. I want to pay the price I was supposed to.” On that fateful day in Huntsville, Texas, Peter J. Miniel met his fate through lethal injection, paying the ultimate price for his heinous actions
Deaths
Vlado Taneski
2008 – Vlado Taneski – was a Macedonian journalist who took a dark turn, transitioning from his career in journalism to becoming a serial killer. Born in 1952 in Kičevo, SFR Yugoslavia, Taneski initially studied journalism in Croatia and worked as a reporter for Skopje-based newspapers. His life changed tragically when he committed gruesome crimes against poor, uneducated cleaners—women who personally knew his mother. These victims became known as the “Kičevo Monster”. Taneski’s chilling crimes included the torture, rape, and murder of three women: Mitra Simjanoska, Ljubica Licoska, and Zivana Temelkoska. His downfall came when he wrote freelance articles about these very murders, containing information not yet released to the public. Suspicion grew, and DNA tests eventually connected him to the crimes. He was arrested in June 2008 but was found dead in his cell the next day, an apparent suicide. Vlado Taneski’s story serves as a haunting reminder of the darkness that can hide behind seemingly ordinary lives.
Events
Mikhail Popkov
1970 – Chubby Checker is arrested for marijuana possession
1973 – A fire at a house in Hull, England which kills a six-year-old boy is passed off as an accident, it later emerges as the first of 26 deaths by fire caused over the next 7 years by serial arsonist Peter Dinsdale
1982 – Chinese American Vincent Chin dies in a coma after being beaten in Highland Park, Michigan on June 19th by two auto workers who had mistaken him for Japanese and who were angry about the success of Japanese auto companies
1989 – Sean Flanagan is executed for the murder of 2 gay men claiming he was doing “good for society”
1990 – Police find marijuana at Chuck Berry’s home
1992 – John Gotti is convicted of racketeering charges and was sentenced in New York to life in prison
1993 – Lorena Gallo Bobbitt amputates husband John Wayne Bobbitt’s penis with a food knife whilst he was sleeping
2012 – Russian serial killer Mikhail Popkov is captured