Births
Squizzy Taylor
1888 – Squizzy Taylor – Joseph Leslie Theodore “Squizzy” Taylor was born in Brighton, a suburb of Melbourne, to Benjamin Isaiah Taylor and Rosina Jones. Raised in a working-class family, Taylor’s early years were marked by poverty and instability, which likely influenced his later turn to a life of crime. Little is documented about his formal education, but it is believed that he left school at an early age. Taylor’s criminal activities began in his teenage years, starting with petty theft and pickpocketing. His small stature and quick wit earned him the nickname “Squizzy.” By the early 1910s, Taylor had graduated to more serious crimes, including armed robbery and assault. His first notable arrest was in 1913 for the robbery of a commercial traveler, marking the beginning of his notoriety in Melbourne’s underworld. During the 1920s, Taylor became a prominent figure in Melbourne’s criminal landscape. He was involved in various illegal enterprises, including bootlegging, prostitution, and drug trafficking. Taylor’s cunning and ruthlessness allowed him to outmaneuver both rivals and law enforcement. He was a master of evading capture, often using disguises and aliases to stay one step ahead. Taylor’s most infamous exploit was his involvement in the “Fitzroy Vendetta,” a violent gang war that erupted between rival factions in the Melbourne underworld. This conflict led to numerous murders and heightened Taylor’s fearsome reputation. His ability to elude the police only added to his legend, making him a media sensation and a figure of public fascination. Despite his criminal success, Taylor’s life was marked by frequent incarcerations. He was arrested multiple times throughout the 1920s for various charges, including burglary, assault, and carrying firearms. However, his knack for intimidation and securing alibis often resulted in acquittals or light sentences. Taylor’s downfall began in the mid-1920s as law enforcement intensified their efforts to dismantle his criminal operations. In 1927, a violent altercation led to his fatal encounter with another notorious criminal, John “Snowy” Cutmore. On October 27, 1927, Taylor was shot during a gunfight at Cutmore’s residence in Fitzroy. He succumbed to his injuries shortly after, marking the end of an era in Melbourne’s criminal history. Squizzy Taylor’s life and exploits have left an indelible mark on Australian criminal folklore. His story has been the subject of numerous books, films, and television series, reflecting the enduring public interest in his character. Taylor’s life epitomizes the turbulent and often violent world of early 20th-century Australian crime, making him a symbol of the era’s lawlessness and the complexities of criminal identity.
1950 – Francis Donald Nemechek – is an American serial killer who committed a series of heinous crimes in Kansas between 1974 and 1976. He was the second of three children born to parents George and Nathalie. Little is known about his upbringing, other than he grew up in Trego County and played football in high school. After high school, Nemechek enrolled at Goodland Area Vocational-Technical school, where he was described as a top student. Upon completing school, Nemechek worked as a traveling service mechanic and later as a truck driver, a job his father helped him obtain. Nemechek was married and had one son, but after some time, the couple filed for divorce. It was reported that mentioning Nemechek’s ex-wife would throw him into rage. In 1974, he pleaded guilty to charges of disorderly conduct. His criminal activities began in December 1974 when he shot out the tire of a car being driven on Interstate 70 near Ogallah, west of Hays, and then abducted its occupants. He kidnapped, raped, and murdered four women and a young boy during this period. His victims included 19-year-old Diane Lovette, 21-year-old Cheryl Young, and Cheryl’s 3-year-old son Guy William Young, all of Fort Madison, Iowa. He also murdered 20-year-old Carla Baker and 16-year-old Paula Fabrizius. Following his arrest, he admitted to committing the murders but claimed to not be criminally responsible for them. He was subsequently tried, found guilty, and sentenced to life imprisonment. As of now, he has been denied parole four times and is serving his sentence at the Lansing Correctional Facility.
1951 – Gary Grant – grew up in poverty with alcoholic parents in a trailer park. Dropping out of school in the mid-1960s, he joined the Army but was discharged shortly after due to bullying and mental health issues. Upon returning to Renton, he embarked on a killing spree. On December 15, 1969, Grant murdered 19-year-old Carol Adele Erickson near the Cedar River. In September 1970, he attacked and killed 17-year-old Joanne Mary Zulauf, taking a wristwatch from her as a trophy. His final crime occurred on April 20, 1971, when he kidnapped, beat, and killed two 6-year-old boys, Scott Andrews and Bradley Lyons. Evidence at the crime scene, including a blood-stained knife and shoe prints, led to his arrest on April 30, 1971. Grant confessed to the murders, but his lawyers tried to dismiss the charges due to illegal wiretapping, which was overruled. Grant’s trial began on August 12, 1971, where he was found guilty and sentenced to four life terms without parole. In 2020, he gained renewed notoriety through Cloyd Steiger’s book “Seattle’s Forgotten Serial Killer: Gary Gene Grant.” As of December 2020, Grant is serving his sentence at the Monroe Correctional Complex.
1953 – Randall Lee Smith – He is known as a convicted murderer who pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder. The victims were Robert Mountford Jr. and Laura Susan Ramsay, both 27-year-old social workers from Maine. They were murdered by Smith while hiking the Appalachian Trail in May 1981. Smith was sentenced to two concurrent 15-year terms in a plea bargain and was released in 1996 on mandatory parole after serving 15 years. His sentence and early release were met with anger by the victims’ families as well as the hiking community. His probation ended in 2006. On May 6, 2008, Smith attempted to kill Scott Johnston, 38, and Sean Farmer, 33, on a fishing trip near Dismal Creek, less than two miles from the site of the 1981 murders. He was befriended by the two men, who shared their dinner with Smith, before he opened fire on them without warning. Both Johnston and Farmer survived their wounds. Smith was arrested that day after attempting to escape in Johnston’s truck and subsequently crashing. He died in jail four days later as a result of injuries sustained in the crash. His life and crimes have been depicted in various media, including the novel “Murder on the Appalachian Trail” (1985) by Jess Carr, and in episodes of the Investigation Discovery series “Dead Silent: The Curse of Dismal Creek” and “Criminal Minds”.
1957 – Gary Lawrence – Brenda and Gary Lawrence separated shortly after their marriage. Michael Finken moved in with Brenda and her two daughters, Kimberley and Stephanie Pitts, as well as Rachel Matin, Stephanie’s friend. On July 28, 1994, the day of the murder, Gary and Michael drank beer together at a friend’s house after driving Brenda to work. They later picked up Brenda from work and returned to the friend’s house to drink more beer. Back at Brenda’s apartment, Gary discovered that Michael and Brenda had been sleeping together, leading to an argument during which Gary hit Michael. Despite this, Gary and Michael appeared to resolve their dispute, and Michael went to sleep on the couch. Later, Brenda and Gary spoke, and Brenda began gathering weapons, including a pipe and a baseball bat. Brenda and Gary informed Rachel and Kimberley of their plan to “knock off Mike.” Gary also instructed Kimberley to stay in her bedroom no matter what she heard. From their bedroom, Rachel and Kimberley heard pounding sounds. Rachel heard the victim plead, “Stop it, if you stop, I’ll leave,” repeating the statement several times. Kimberley heard the victim say, “Please don’t hit me, I’m already bleeding.” After the noises stopped, the girls were required to help clean up around the victim. At trial, both girls described the mutilation of the victim’s face. Even after the beatings, the victim was still alive. Kimberley saw Brenda emerge from the kitchen with an object resembling a dagger and witnessed her mother making a stabbing motion towards the victim. Brenda then asked the girls to get Chris Wetherbee for help. When Chris arrived, he saw the victim’s crushed skull, indistinguishable face, and a mop handle shoved down his throat. When Chris asked Gary what was happening, Gary responded by kicking the victim and saying, “This is what’s going on.” When the mop handle was removed, Chris heard the victim take three or four ragged breaths before he stopped breathing and died. Gary told Chris he had beaten the victim with a baseball bat after bending a pipe on him. Gary and Brenda took a small amount of money from the victim’s pockets. They wrapped the body in a shower curtain, placed it in the victim’s car, and Gary drove to an isolated area to set the body on fire. Upon returning to the apartment, Gary and Brenda danced. Gary was arrested later that day while driving the victim’s car. He confessed to the murder, stating he had beaten the victim because Brenda and Michael had been sleeping together. The medical examiner testified that the victim’s death was caused by blunt trauma and possible asphyxia, noting the victim was alive when the mop handle was forced into his throat. The victim had a high blood alcohol level, and one or more blows to his head could have caused a loss of consciousness.
1958 – Robert Anthony Martinez Perez – He was involved in the Mexican Mafia in the San Antonio area. During an internal power struggle within the organization, Perez was implicated in the double-murders of Jose Travieso, 34, and Robert Rivas, 27, on April 17, 1994. Perez was convicted of Voluntary Manslaughter in 1990 and was released on parole in 1992. Before being tried for the Travieso and Rivas murders, Perez was a co-defendant in a federal trial for the murders of 5 people at the West French Place apartments. He was convicted of racketeering and conspiracy and was sentenced to life in federal prison – a sentence he never served since he received the death penalty in his state trial. On March 6, 2007, at the age of 48, Perez was executed by lethal injection in the Walls Correctional Facility in Huntsville, Texas. His final meal consisted of five pieces of fried chicken, one double meat hamburger with cheese and onion, onion rings, three cheese and onion enchiladas, one onion, french fries, hot sauce, pico de gallo, jalapeno peppers, and two cokes. His final words were a message of love to his family and friends.
1959 – Larry Parham – is known for his involvement in a series of crimes related to the New York Zodiac Killer case in the early 1990s. He was one of the victims targeted by the infamous criminal Heriberto “Eddie” Seda, who the original Zodiac Killer from Northern California inspired. Parham, whose astrological sign was Cancer, was attacked while he was sleeping in Central Park. Despite being shot, he survived the attack. His survival and subsequent description of the attacker were crucial in the investigation. The police found a note at the park with the killer’s mark and a fourth sign in the zodiac wheel — Cancer, which matched Parham’s astrological sign. Parham’s case was part of a series of attacks carried out by Seda, who targeted his victims based on their astrological signs. Seda’s reign of terror lasted from 1990 through 1993, during which he fatally shot three people and wounded six others, four of them critically. Despite the traumatic event, Parham’s survival story stands as a testament to his resilience. His contribution to the case played a significant role in the eventual capture of Seda in 1996. Today, the story of Larry Parham serves as a reminder of the strength of the human spirit in the face of adversity.
1961 – David J. Lawrie – He is known for a tragic event that took place on August 6, 1992, in Kent County, Delaware, USA. On this day, Lawrie upset over his estranged wife filing for divorce, walked to their house, doused it with gasoline, and set it ablaze. He then broke into a bedroom where his estranged wife, Michelle Lawrie, their daughters, and two children Mrs Lawrie was babysitting were hiding. He stabbed Michelle Lawrie in the chest and escaped through a window. The fire resulted in the deaths of Michelle Lawrie, their two daughters, 4-year-old Fawn and 2-year-old Tabitha, and a neighbor’s child, 3-year-old Charles Humbertson. Only Lisa Humbertson, then 8 years old, survived the incident. She testified that Michelle Lawrie handed her out the window to her estranged husband, but when Mrs. Lawrie tried to escape, he shoved her back inside. Lawrie was arrested on the same day of the incident and was convicted of four counts of murder on July 8, 1993. He confessed to the killings and did not request a pardon in the days leading up to his execution. He was executed by lethal injection in Delaware on April 23, 1999. His last words were, “I would like to thank my family and friends for being by my side all the way. I would not have made it this far without my family.” His last meal included two bacon cheeseburgers, french fries, and a chocolate milkshake.
1965 – Phillup Allan Partin – He is an American convicted murderer currently on Florida death row at Union Correctional Institution. Partin was sentenced to death by a 9–3 vote in favor of the sentence by a jury on December 1, 2008, for the July 31, 2002 murder of 16-year-old hitchhiker Joshan Ashbrook. Evidence at Partin’s trial showed that he picked up Ashbrook as she hitchhiked along U.S. Highway 19 in Florida on July 31, 2002. He and Ashbrook spent the day fishing and swimming with Partin’s daughter, then 6, before returning to the New Port Richey house where he and his daughter were living. Prosecutors think Ashbrook was killed between 9 p.m. and midnight. The next morning, workers found her body in woods off Shady Hills Road. She had been strangled, her throat gashed and her neck broken. Partin was a fugitive for more than a year before investigators tracked him to Fayetteville, North Carolina. He was arrested there on October 28, 2003. Prior to Ashbrook’s death, Partin had sole custody of his daughter, Patrisha Windham, whom he had with Martha Windham.
1974 – Brett Xavier Hartman – was a man from Ohio, USA, who was convicted for the murder of Winda Snipes in 1997. Hartman was seen with Snipes, with whom he had a sexual relationship, in the hours before her death. Snipes was murdered in her apartment in Akron, Ohio, on September 9, 1997. She had been stabbed multiple times, her throat had been slit, and her hands had been cut off after her death. Hartman, then aged 23, claimed to have found her mutilated body and called the police. He maintained that he did not kill Snipes. Hartman was brought to trial for the murder, convicted on April 30, 1998, and sentenced to death the following month. An issue of contention during the appeals process was the quality of his legal representation during the sentencing phase of the trial. While on death row, Hartman earned a paralegal qualification and was ordained as a minister. He also taught himself to paint. Despite his accomplishments in prison, the Board concluded that “no amount of good deeds can mitigate against the horrors and brutality of this crime”. Hartman was executed on November 13, 2012. He went to his death still claiming he was innocent. His last words were “I’m good, let’s roll,” and he gave a “thumbs up” to his sister, a friend, and his attorney.
1978 – Robert Gene Will II – is a man of many facets. He is known for his case which has drawn significant attention due to its circumstances. On the morning of December 4, 2000, Will, then 22 years old, was involved in an incident that led to the death of a Harris County Deputy. The incident began with Will and others stripping cars for parts in a suburban Houston neighborhood. When two deputies arrived, the men fled. Will was caught, searched, and handcuffed by one of the deputies. Shortly after, shots were heard over the radio. Will claims that his co-defendant shot the deputy and wounded him in the process. The co-defendant then unlocked Will’s handcuffs, and both men fled in different directions. Despite being handcuffed before the murder and the lack of forensic evidence supporting the charge, Will was tried and convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. His case has been controversial, with several witnesses available to testify that the co-defendant admitted to the murder. Beyond the case, Will is also an artist, poet, and published writer. He has a deeply spiritual side, with an integrated practice of yoga and meditation. Despite the harsh conditions he has endured, Will has used this opportunity to better himself and positively influence the lives of those he is incarcerated with. His story continues to unfold as he maintains his innocence and fights for justice.
Deaths
Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle
1933 – Roscoe Arbuckle – On Labor Day weekend, September 1921, Arbuckle, a popular silent film comedian, threw a party at his suite in the St. Francis Hotel, San Francisco. Actress Virginia Rappe was among the guests. Accounts differ on what happened next. During the party, Rappe became ill. The details are murky, but it involved her experiencing severe pain. She died four days later from a ruptured bladder and peritonitis. The press sensationalized the story, accusing Arbuckle of assault and rape, leading to his manslaughter trial. There were three trials in total, each ending in a hung jury. While witnesses corroborated that Arbuckle wasn’t alone with Rappe, the cause of her injury remained unclear. Though acquitted, Arbuckle’s career was ruined. The scandal tarnished his reputation, and Hollywood ostracized him. While he eventually made some films under a pseudonym, he never regained his former stature. The truth behind Rappe’s death and the extent of Arbuckle’s involvement remain debated to this day. Some believe Arbuckle was innocent, while others suspect foul play or a violent encounter.
1993 – Thomas Dean Stevens – was a former GI who was involved in a notorious crime in 1977. As a teenager, he and his accomplice, Christopher Burger, committed a heinous act against a cab driver who was moonlighting as a soldier at Fort Stewart. The victim was kidnapped at knifepoint, robbed, assaulted, and forced into the trunk of his cab, which was then driven into a pond, leading to the victim’s death. Stevens and Burger were convicted of the crime on September 26, 1978, and both were sentenced to death. Stevens was executed in Georgia’s electric chair on June 28, 1993. He was 36 years old at the time of his execution. His case was appealed to the Supreme Court, but the appeal was refused.
1994 – Jack Unterweger – was a chilling paradox. Born in 1950, the Austrian national became a notorious serial killer, yet managed to cultivate a facade of rehabilitation through literary acclaim. Unterweger’s early life was marred by instability. He was an illegitimate child and spent much of his youth in and out of prison for petty crimes. In 1974, he was convicted of murdering a prostitute in Linz, Austria. But behind bars, a transformation (or so it seemed) began. Unterweger poured his energy into writing, producing poems and prose that captivated the Austrian literary scene. His work, some believe embellished or even fabricated, earned him the support of influential figures who championed his supposed redemption. This facade tragically fooled the authorities. In 1986, after a mere 12 years behind bars, Unterweger was paroled. It was a decision that would unleash a new wave of terror. During his freedom, Unterweger is believed to have committed a string of murders across Europe and the United States, targeting prostitutes. The victims were strangled, often with their own bras. The murders remained unsolved for a time, but suspicion eventually fell back on Unterweger. In 1994, while awaiting trial for these crimes, he committed suicide in his prison cell. Jack Unterweger’s story is a disturbing reminder of the ability of some criminals to manipulate and deceive. It remains a cautionary tale of misplaced trust and the chilling intersection of creativity and violence.
2000 – Jessy Carlos San Miguel – was a convicted criminal known for his involvement in a tragic event that took place on January 26, 1991. On this day, San Miguel, along with his 17-year-old friend Jerome Green, committed an armed robbery at a Taco Bell restaurant in Irving, Texas. The restaurant was closed and locked for the night when San Miguel and Green waited outside. When an employee opened the door to take out the trash, the pair went inside and forced the assistant manager, Michael John Phelan, to wait for a time-lock safe to open. They then herded Phelan, employee Theresa Fraga, 16, and Theresa’s cousin, Frank Fraga, 23, into a walk-in freezer. Theresa Fraga was also pregnant at the time. The robbers noticed Son Trang Nyugen, 35, a friend of the Fragas who was waiting to take them home, sitting in a vehicle outside and also forced him into the freezer with the other victims. San Miguel and Green then left the restaurant with the money. A few minutes later, San Miguel decided to go back inside the restaurant and the freezer where his hostages were. In a confession to police, San Miguel said he “asked them to give him a good reason why he shouldn’t kill them”, then shot them each in the head at close range with a 9 mm pistol. San Miguel was pulled over in his car later that morning and police found bundles of money in a Taco Bell sack and a pistol later determined to be the murder weapon. Accomplice Jerome Green pled guilty and was sentenced to 50 years imprisonment. San Miguel was convicted of the capital murder of Michael Phelan and three others. He was sentenced to death and was executed by lethal injection in Texas on June 29, 2000.
2015 – Glenn Ford – was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. He was convicted of murder in 1984 and spent nearly 30 years on death row. Ford was known to be the longest-serving death row inmate in the United States to be fully exonerated before his death. Ford was convicted for the murder of Isadore Rozeman, a Shreveport jeweller and watchmaker for whom Ford did occasional yard work. A series of unfortunate events and questionable decisions marked the case. Ford was represented by two attorneys who were inexperienced in criminal cases. The lead attorney was an oil and gas lawyer who had never tried a case, criminal or civil, before a jury. The second attorney had been out of law school for only two years and worked at an insurance defense firm on slip-and-fall cases. The jury was all Caucasian, despite Ford being African American and living in a community that was at least half African American. In March 2014, Ford was released from Angola Prison after a full exoneration. New evidence revealed that Ford wasn’t at the scene of the 1983 robbery and murder for which he was wrongly convicted. However, the tragedy of Ford’s case didn’t end with his release. He was diagnosed with lung cancer shortly after his release from prison. Despite his wrongful imprisonment, Ford was denied compensation by the state of Louisiana. Ford passed away on June 29, 2015. His case brought much-needed attention to the injustice of wrongful convictions and the additional injustice that often follows exonerees out of prison as they are forced to fight to hold the state accountable. His story continues to serve as a stark reminder of the flaws in the American legal system.
2015 – Ivan Roubal – was a Czechoslovak serial killer who was convicted of five murders. Roubal was born in Czechoslovakia and studied at an agricultural school, graduating in 1970. He held various jobs, including a junior railroad engineer, train operator, worker at a heat-only boiler station, woodcutter, and zootechnician for the Czechoslovak State Railways. He married in 1973 and had a son the following year, who tragically died in a traffic incident in 2012. In the late 1980s, Roubal briefly worked for the Jehovah’s Witnesses but left due to unfulfilled expectations. He then devoted himself to mysticism and occultism, later extending his religious engagement to the Catholic Church. Roubal’s criminal activities spanned from 1991 to 1994. During this time, he rented a farmhouse at Čachrov, where he kept hens and pigs. This is where he met František Heppner, who disappeared in December 1991, along with his Russian girlfriend Natasha. Roubal was acquitted of these murders due to lack of evidence. In July 1992, taxi driver Vladimir Strnad disappeared. He was last seen leaving Prague with Roubal, each driving separate cars. Strnad’s body was later found in a septic tank in Božíkov, Zákupy. In December 1992, jewellery seller Václav Horký disappeared and was later declared dead in absentia in 1995. In May 1993, Roubal met Josef Suchánek through an ad. He killed him and dumped his body in a pond in Veselí nad Lužnicí. Roubal was eventually convicted of five murders and sentenced to life imprisonment. He died in Karviná Prison, Czech Republic, on 29 June 2015.
Events
Sir Robert Peel
1850 – British ex-Prime Minister & founder of the Metropolitan Police Service, Sir Robert Peel falls off his horse and dies 3 days later
1914 – Jina Guseva attempts to assassinate Grigori Rasputin in his hometown in Siberia
1916 – British diplomat turned Irish nationalist Roger Casement is sentenced to death for his part in the Easter Rising
1967 – Keith Richards is sentenced to 1 year in jail on drugs charges
1972 – The US Supreme Court rules in the case of Furman vs Georgia, that arbitrary & inconsistent imposition of the death penalty violates the 8th & 14th Amendments and constitutes cruel & unusual punishment
1977 – The Supreme Court rules out the death penalty for rapists of adults
1981 – David Matthews murders his estranged wife & mother in law for which he later received the death penalty
2009 – Bernie Madoff is sentenced to 150 years in a US maximum security prison for conducting a massive Ponzi scheme
2020 – Golden State killer and former police officer Joseph DeAngelo Jr pleads guilty to 12 murders and dozens of rapes
