Births
Carl Panzram
1891 – Carl Panzram – was an American serial killer, rapist, and arsonist who carved a path of violence across the early 20th century. His life was a whirlwind of crime, punctuated by stints in reform schools and prisons. Born in Minnesota, Panzram’s troubled childhood likely fueled his descent into criminality. He claimed abuse at a young age and began stealing by his early teens. A string of arrests followed, leading him through various institutions where he reportedly faced harsh treatment. Panzram’s criminal escalation involved burglaries, arson, and a dark undercurrent of violence. He confessed to a shocking number of murders, though only a handful could be verified. These confessions, along with his autobiography written in prison, paint a chilling picture of a deeply disturbed individual. Panzram’s crimes targeted a wide range of victims, but he specifically preyed on young boys and men. His rage extended beyond people, as he admitted to acts of arson and vandalism. He reveled in his defiance of authority and expressed strong anti-social and anti-religious views. In 1930, after a lifetime of criminal activity, Panzram was sentenced to death for the murder of a prison worker. His execution marked the end of a notorious criminal career.
1928 – Cyril Smith – was a British politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Rochdale from 1972 to 1992. He was first active in local politics as a Liberal in 1945 before switching to Labour in 1950. He served as a Labour councillor in Rochdale, Lancashire, from 1950 and became mayor in 1966. Smith entered Parliament as a Liberal in 1972, winning his Rochdale seat on five further occasions. He was appointed the Liberal Chief Whip in June 1975 but later resigned on health grounds. In his later years as an MP, Smith opposed an alliance with the Social Democratic Party and did not stand for re-election in 1992. Throughout much of his career, he maintained a high profile in the media and became a well-known public figure. However, his public esteem was considerably marred by allegations that he had been involved in a cover-up of a health risk at a local asbestos factory. After his death, formal allegations of child sexual abuse were made against him, leading authorities to conclude that he was a prolific sex offender.
1953 – Douglas Ray Meeks – On the evening of November 6th, 1974, Douglas Ray Meeks and Homer Hardwick entered the Jr. Food Store located in Perry, Florida. Meeks brandished a firearm towards the store’s cashier, Diane Allen, while Hardwick seized Lloyd Walker, a teenage patron. After coercing Allen into surrendering approximately $35 from the cash register, Meeks and Hardwick escorted her and Walker to the rear of the store, instructing them to lie facedown in the bottle storage area. Tragically, Meeks discharged several rounds before fleeing the scene with Hardwick. Despite receiving medical attention, Walker succumbed to his injuries sustained from the gunfire, while Allen miraculously survived and provided crucial testimony for the prosecution. Meeks was subsequently apprehended on November 12th, 1974.
1964 – Tommy Lynn Sells – was a prolific American serial killer, though the exact number of his victims remains shrouded in mystery. Born in 1964, Sells’s early life was marked by tragedy, including the death of his twin sister and a troubled family environment. Sells drifted across the country, taking up odd jobs and living on the fringes of society. Authorities believe his killing spree began in the early 1980s and continued for over two decades. Sells himself claimed responsibility for over 70 murders, earning him the nickname “The Coast to Coast Killer.” Despite his claims, Sells was only ever convicted of one murder, receiving the death penalty. However, investigators believe he was responsible for at least 22 killings. Sells’s ability to blend in and his nomadic lifestyle made him a difficult suspect to track. Sells was executed in Texas in 2014.
1965 – Renee Denise Bowman – is a convicted murderer known for the horrific crimes she committed against her adopted children. She is currently incarcerated at the Jessup Correctional Institution for Women in Maryland. Bowman was convicted for the murder of her two adopted children, Minnet and Jasmine Bowman, who were both younger than 10 at the time of their deaths. The children’s bodies were found locked in a freezer. It is believed that she murdered the girls while they lived in Rockville, Maryland, and transported their bodies in a freezer as the family moved across the state. During this time, Bowman continued to collect payments meant for child care, totaling $150,000 since their adoption. The bodies were discovered after a third daughter managed to escape from Bowman’s custody. In 2010, Bowman was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences without parole plus 75 years for the torture and murder of her two foster daughters. Her cold demeanor throughout her trial and sentencing was noted by observers.
1971 – Scott Watson – is a New Zealander who was born on June 28, 1971. He came into the public eye due to his involvement in a high-profile criminal case. Watson was convicted in May 1999 for the murders of Ben Smart and Olivia Hope, which occurred on his boat, the Blade, on January 1, 1998. The case was notable as the bodies of Smart and Hope were never found. Despite this, the evidence presented at trial led to Watson’s conviction after an 11-week trial. Prior to this case, Watson had 48 prior convictions, including some for theft and assault. He was subsequently convicted for one more assault while in prison. Watson is currently serving a life sentence with a non-parole period of 17 years. His case has been the subject of significant media attention and public debate in New Zealand.
Deaths
Lizzie Halliday
1776 – Thomas Hickey – was a soldier in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He holds the unfortunate distinction of being the first person to be executed by the Continental Army for “mutiny, sedition, and treachery”. Hickey was born in Ireland and initially came to America as a soldier in the British Army. He fought in the Seven Years’ War before the American Revolution broke out. When the revolution began, Hickey switched sides and joined the Patriot cause. He became part of the Life Guard, a special unit tasked with protecting General George Washington, his staff, and the Continental Army’s payroll. However, Hickey’s loyalty was called into question when he was implicated in a plot to assassinate General Washington. The plot was uncovered, and Hickey was arrested and tried by a court-martial. He was found guilty and sentenced to death. Thomas Hickey was executed by hanging in June 1776, marking the first time the Continental Army carried out such a sentence. His execution was intended to serve as a warning to other soldiers about the serious consequences of disloyalty. Despite his treachery, Hickey’s story is an integral part of the complex history of the American Revolutionary War.
1898 – Walter Horsford – was a well-off farmer living in Spaldwick, England in the late 19th century. He is most known for his conviction and execution for the murder of his cousin, Annie Holmes. In 1897, at the age of 26, Horsford was in an intimate relationship with his cousin, Annie Holmes, a widow with three children. In October of that year, Horsford married another cousin of his, Bessie Mash. Shortly after this marriage, Holmes left Spaldwick and lodged in an inn in St Neots. In December, she wrote to Horsford claiming she was pregnant. On 7 January 1898, Holmes received a postal packet from Horsford, and went to bed. An hour later her daughter heard Holmes screaming and found her in agony. Holmes died within a few minutes of a doctor arriving. When medical evidence pointed to strychnine poisoning, the police searched her bedroom and found two packets. One contained 30 grains of strychnine with the words “one dose, take as told” and the other was empty with “take in a little water, it is quite harmless” written on it. On 10 January, Horsford was arrested for perjury at the inquest, and later that day further arrested for murder. The trial took place on 2 June 1898. At the trial, it was stated that the impression of handwriting on the packages could be traced on a blotter on a desk in Horsford’s home. Horsford had also purchased strychnine from a local chemist on 28 December 1897, claiming he was overrun with rats, and signed the register with his name. The jury did not retire but returned a guilty verdict immediately after the judge’s summing up. Horsford was sentenced to death and executed on 28 June in Cambridge prison. Horsford was suspected of three other murders. The first was his former fiancée Fanny James who died in 1890 after claiming she had become pregnant, and after receiving a letter from Horsford. According to her family, her symptoms were consistent with strychnine poisoning. However, the inquest at the time recorded a verdict of death through eating a hearty meal. The second was a “girl from Peterborough” with whom he had been intimate, and who died after receiving a letter from him. The third case involved a man with the surname James who was a relative of Fanny James. Horsford supplied the usual beer to a group of men after working a day threshing wheat. He took James aside and gave him an extra quart, and he died in agony later that night.
1918 – Lizzie Halliday – born Eliza Margaret McNally around 1859 in County Antrim, Ireland, was an Irish-American serial killer. Her family moved to the US when she was young. She was responsible for the deaths of four people in upstate New York during the 1890s. In 1879, Halliday married a man known by the alias Charles Hopkins, whose real name was Ketspool Brown. They are said to have had one son who ended up institutionalized. After Hopkins’ death, she married pensioner Artemus Brewer, but he also died less than a year later. Her third husband, Hiram Parkinson, left her within their first year of marriage. Halliday went on to marry George Smith, a war veteran who had served with Brewer. After a reported failed attempt to kill Smith by putting arsenic in his tea, Lizzie fled to Bellows Falls, Vermont. In 1894, she became the first woman to be sentenced to death by the electric chair. However, Halliday’s sentence was commuted and she spent the rest of her life in a mental institution. She killed a nurse while institutionalized and is speculated to have killed her first two husbands. Halliday’s life of crime also included arson. While living in Vermont, she opened a shop and burned it down for the insurance money. This crime landed Halliday in prison for two years. After her first stint in prison, Halliday took a job as a housekeeper for Paul Halliday, a twice-widowed 70-year-old farmer living in Burlingham, New York, with his sons. Their marriage was marred by what Halliday described as Lizzie’s sporadic “spells of insanity”. After Paul Halliday’s son’s death, Paul vanished. Wary of Halliday, neighbors asked after Paul, while Lizzie insisted that her husband was simply away from the farm on travel. When Halliday wasn’t looking, the neighbors searched the farm and discovered the bodies of two women hidden under a haystack in the Halliday barn. Lizzie Halliday died on June 28, 1918, at the Matteawan State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, Fishkill, New York, United States.
1966 – David Curtis Stephenson – was an American Ku Klux Klan leader, convicted rapist, and murderer. Born in Houston, Texas, on August 21, 1891, Stephenson moved as a child with his family to Maysville, Oklahoma. After some public schooling, he started work as a printer’s apprentice. During World War I, he enlisted in the Army and completed officers’ training. In 1923, Stephenson was appointed Grand Dragon of the Indiana Klan and head of Klan recruiting for seven other states. Later that year, he led those groups to independence from the national KKK organization. He amassed wealth and political power in Indiana politics, becoming one of the most prominent national Klan leaders. Stephenson was tried for and convicted of the abduction, rape, and murder of Madge Oberholtzer, a state education official. His trial, conviction, and imprisonment severely damaged the public perception of Klan leaders as law-abiding. This case destroyed the Klan as a political force in Indiana and significantly damaged its standing nationally. Denied a pardon by Governor Jackson, in 1927 Stephenson started talking with reporters for the Indianapolis Times and released a list of elected and other officials who had been in the pay of the Klan. This led to a wave of indictments in Indiana, more national scandals, the rapid loss of tens of thousands of members, and the end of the second wave of Klan activity in the late 1920s. Stephenson served a total of 31 years in prison for Oberholtzer’s murder and for violating his parole after being released. Stephenson died on June 28, 1966, in Jonesborough, Tennessee. His burial in USVA Mountain Home National Cemetery in Johnson City, Tennessee, led to Congress passing restrictions barring serious sex offenders or those convicted of capital crimes from burial in veterans’ cemeteries.
1971 – Martha Wise – born Martha Hasel on April 18, 1883, in Hardscrabble, Ohio, USA, was the daughter of Sophia Elizabeth Gienke and Wilhelm Carl Hasel, both farmers. Martha had three brothers and a sister. In 1906, Martha met Albert Wise, who was significantly older than her, at a box social. They got married, but the marriage was not a happy one. Martha moved onto Albert’s 50-acre farm, where she was expected to do farm work that was generally male-oriented, such as plowing fields and slopping hogs, in addition to the usual household chores of baking and cleaning. The couple had five children, but their first child, Walter Austin, did not survive infancy. Martha had an unusual fascination with funerals and seldom missed any funeral held in or near Hardscrabble. After Albert’s sudden death in 1922, Martha’s odd behavior and fixation on funerals became more noticeable. Within a year of Albert’s death, Martha found new companionship in the form of Walter Johns, a farmhand on property adjacent to her farm. However, her relationship with Walter was frowned upon by her family. By the end of 1924, Martha had ended the relationship. In a shocking turn of events, Martha retaliated against her family’s interference in her personal life by poisoning seventeen family members, of whom three died, in 1924. Despite defense claims that she was mentally ill and that her lover had ordered her to poison her family, she was convicted of one of the murders. This case is considered one of the most sensational of the era in Ohio. Martha Wise passed away on June 28, 1971.
2000 – Sid Ahmed Rezala – was an Algerian-born French serial killer, often referred to as “The Killer of the Trains”. Born in El Biar, Algeria, Rezala moved with his family to Marseille, France in 1994. He quickly fell into a life of truancy and petty crime, often spending time around the Marseille St Charles Train Station. Rezala’s criminal history began in earnest in early 1995 when he was arrested for the rape of a 14-year-old boy. He was sentenced to four years in a juvenile court but was released after 18 months. In 1998, he was sent to a young offenders institution for threatening a French railway employee with a knife. Rezala is suspected of murdering at least three women between October and December 1999. His victims included British student Isabel Peake, who was thrown from a train, and Corinne Caillaux, a French mother. He was arrested in Portugal in early 2000 after confessing his crimes to a reporter from the Figaro Magazine. While awaiting extradition to France, Rezala committed suicide in his cell in the psychiatric wing of the Caxias Prison Hospital near Lisbon. He died of asphyxiation after intentionally setting fire to his mattress.
2000 – Bert Leroy Hunter – was an American serial killer. He was born in Rushville, Missouri. His criminal life began in 1963 when he was arrested on a burglary charge at the age of 16. After a lenient sentence due to his juvenile status, he was released a few years later. In 1968, Hunter and a friend named Carl W. Paxton committed a robbery at a tavern in Amazonia, Missouri, during which they shot and killed the owner. They were found guilty of the murder, and Hunter was sentenced to life imprisonment. He attempted to appeal his sentence, claiming his confession had been obtained under duress, but his appeal was dismissed. While serving his life term at the Missouri State Penitentiary, Hunter befriended Tomas Grant Ervin, a fellow murderer. In 1988, they committed the double murder of an elderly woman and her son in Jefferson City, Missouri. Hunter pleaded guilty to the murders and expressed his willingness to be put to death. Despite later attempts to withdraw his plea, the judge refused.Hunter was executed by lethal injection on June 28, 2000, at the Potosi Correctional Center, Mineral Point, Missouri.
2005 – John Rodney McRae – was an American murderer and suspected serial killer. Born in Belleville, Michigan, to John Alexander and Josephine Smith McRae, he had a younger sister. In the early 1940s, his family moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana, where McRae attended a military school for some time before they returned to Michigan in 1946. The McRae family lived in suburban St. Clair Shores, Michigan, where they were known for leading law-abiding, honest lives. McRae attended Lakeview High School, where he was involved in sports and was on the football team. However, he also began to engage in small-time crime. At the age of 15, he was unpopular in school due to his aggressive and disruptive behavior towards other children and students. He was frequently disciplined by the school administration and earned a reputation as a bully. During this period, he also stole money from his parents and other people’s property and exhibited signs of an apparent sexual disorder. McRae was officially convicted of two sexually-motivated murders of young boys, one committed at age 15, but is the prime suspect in at least three more. He never admitted his guilt, and died in prison while serving a life sentence. His crimes spanned from 1950 to 1987, and he was apprehended on October 15, 1997. Despite the severity of his crimes, McRae maintained his innocence until his death in 2005. His life serves as a stark reminder of the dark side of human nature.
Events
Joel Rifkin
1762 – The first reported counterfeiting attempt takes place in Boston, Massachusetts
1880 – Australian bushranger Ned Kelly is captured at Glenrowan
1967 – George Harrison is fined £6 for speeding
1969 – Police carry out an early morning raid on the gay bar, the Stonewall Inn, Greenwich Village, New York. About 400-1000 patrons rioted against police, and it lasted 5 days, beginning the modern LGBT rights movement
1983 – Kelly Kay McGinness is murdered by the Green River killer
1994 – Joel Rifkin is sentenced to 203 years in prison
2001 – Slobodan Milosevic is deported to the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia to stand trial
2015 – David Sweat was shot and captured near the Canadian border after escaping maximum security Clinton correctional facility on June 6th
2018 – A lone gunman, later named Jarrod Ramos attacks the offices of Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland killing nine people
2018 – An employee is charged with attempted poisoning of a colleague’s sandwich in Schloss Holte-Stukenbrock, Germany, leading authorities to investigate 21 other suspicious deaths