Births
Arthur Barker
1899 – Arthur Barker – wasn’t destined for a quiet life. As the son of the infamous “Ma Barker” and brother to fellow bank robbers Fred and Herman, crime seemed woven into his DNA. By his teenage years, Doc was already involved in petty theft and carjacking, earning his first prison sentence in 1918. But bars couldn’t hold him for long – he escaped two years later and began a violent rampage across the Midwest. Doc joined forces with Alvin Karpis and his brother Fred to form the notorious Barker-Karpis Gang. This ruthless outfit terrorized the country during the Depression era, responsible for a string of bank robberies, kidnappings, and murders. Doc, known for his trigger-happy demeanor and icy stare, became the gang’s muscle, carrying out the most dangerous tasks with cold efficiency. The gang’s infamous exploits included the brutal 1933 kidnapping of wealthy brewer William Hamm Jr., the daring robbery of the South St. Paul Stockyards National Bank, and a shootout with police in St. Paul that left three officers dead. Doc’s involvement in these violent acts cemented his reputation as a public enemy, plastered across newspapers and wanted posters. After years of eluding capture, the FBI finally closed in on the gang in 1935. Fred and Ma Barker were gunned down in a Florida shootout, while Doc and other gang members were sentenced to long stretches at Alcatraz, the infamous island prison. Doc, ever the restless outlaw, attempted a daring escape from Alcatraz in 1939. Along with four other inmates, he meticulously sawed through bars, scaled the prison walls, and swam towards the mainland. Tragically, his escape was cut short when guards opened fire, killing Doc and two of his accomplices. Doc Barker’s life may have been short and violent, but it left an indelible mark on American history. He remains a symbol of the ruthless criminals who plagued the Depression era, his story a cautionary tale of the allure and tragic consequences of a life of crime. His legacy, however, is complex. While his criminal acts are undeniable, some portray him as a victim of circumstance, raised in a dysfunctional family and pushed towards a life of crime by the harsh realities of the Depression. Whether villain or victim, Doc Barker’s story continues to fascinate and inspire debate, forever etched in the annals of American criminal history.
1908 – Fredrik Von Sydow – was born into a privileged Swedish family, and wasn’t destined for infamy. His early life unfolded like a typical upper-class upbringing – prestigious schools, law studies at Uppsala University, and seemingly secure prospects. However, beneath the veneer of normalcy lurked a troubled personality, shrouded in whispers of financial anxieties and mounting pressure. The turning point came on a fateful March day in 1932. In a shocking episode that etched itself onto Swedish criminal history, Fredrik became infamous as the perpetrator of the “von Sydow murders.” In his Stockholm apartment, he brutally killed his father, the prominent industrialist Hjalmar von Sydow, along with the household staff. The details of the crime remain unconfirmed, but suspicion points towards a heated altercation escalating into violence. Driven by unknown motives, perhaps financial desperation or simmering family resentments, Fredrik fled the scene with his wife Ingun. Their getaway ended tragically in Uppsala, where he committed suicide with a borrowed pistol, leaving Ingun as the sole surviving member of the shattered family. The trial that followed was sensational, capturing the nation’s attention. Public fascination grew not only due to the brutality of the crime but also due to Fredrik’s privileged background and seemingly inexplicable descent into violence. Theories and speculations flourished, with some attributing his actions to mental illness or financial woes, while others saw it as a chilling display of upper-class ruthlessness.
1933 – Audrey Marie Hilley – a name synonymous with cunning deception and chilling poisonings, weaved a life as tangled as the lies she spun. Born in 1933 in Anniston, Alabama, her seemingly ordinary existence harbored a darkness that would come to light in horrifying ways. Hilley’s early life hinted at the turmoil to come. Married young to Frank Hilley, her extravagant spending clashed with his blue-collar income, fueling tensions. Unbeknownst to Frank, she sought solace and financial favors in extramarital affairs. This duplicity laid the foundation for a future marked by manipulation and lethal intent. In 1975, tragedy struck the Hilley household. Frank succumbed to a mysterious illness, his death raising eyebrows due to their life insurance policy. Whispers of foul play turned into screams when, four years later, their daughter Carol fell ill with similar symptoms. Thankfully, doctors intervened, saving Carol’s life and exposing the arsenic poisoning. With suspicion swirling, Hilley vanished, adopting the alias Robbi Hannon and embarking on a three-year fugitive spree. Living under a web of lies, she even convinced a new man, John Homan, to marry her as her “twin sister.” This bizarre charade masked a desperate woman, forever running from the ghosts of her past. In 1983, however, justice caught up. Apprehended and put on trial, Hilley was unmasked as the murderer of her husband and attempted murderer of her daughter. Sentenced to life plus twenty years, her story seemed concluded. However, a bizarre twist awaited. Granted a weekend furlough in 1987, Hilley seized the opportunity to escape once more. But freedom tasted fleeting. Exposed to the harsh winter elements, she succumbed to hypothermia. Hilley’s life and crimes cast a long shadow. More than just a murderer, she was a master manipulator, blurring the lines between truth and deception. Her story, with its chilling details and unsolved questions surrounding other suspicious deaths in her family, continues to intrigue and horrify, serving as a grim reminder of the darkness that can lurk beneath the surface of seemingly ordinary lives.
1946 – John Wesley Brown – On June 10, 1990, in their Philadelphia home, John Wesley Brown was engaged in a heated dispute with his seventy-seven-year-old father, Wesley Brown, over the unauthorized use of his father’s car for an unlicensed taxi service, known as “hacking.” Amid the argument, John Brown resorted to violence, shooting his father four times with a .38 caliber pistol, resulting in his father’s tragic demise. Leaving his father to succumb to the injuries, Brown callously abandoned the crime scene. A concerned neighbor, upon hearing the gunshots, contacted the victim’s granddaughter, who in turn reached out to her grandfather. When Brown answered the phone, he callously deceived his niece by falsely stating that her grandfather was outdoors. In a further attempt to cover up his crime, Brown strategically placed a .38 caliber revolver next to his father’s lifeless body and pilfered $400 from his father’s wallet. Subsequently, he fled the scene in his father’s car, disposing of the murder weapon by tossing it out of the car window in Maryland as he made his way to Georgia. Two days later, Brown encountered a road check in Georgia, leading to the revelation that his driver’s license was expired, the car he was driving was stolen, and he was a wanted fugitive in Pennsylvania for the murder of his father. During subsequent legal proceedings, Brown confessed to the act of shooting his father but asserted a claim of self-defense, contending that he resorted to lethal force after his father allegedly brandished a .357 magnum pistol at him.
1948 – Roger Mark Scott – is a convicted criminal in the United States. He was convicted in 1990 for his involvement in the 1989 murder of 4-year-old Christopher Milke. The crime was orchestrated by Debra Jean Milke and carried out by James Styers, with Scott acting as a lookout. Scott has been on death row in Arizona since his conviction. He was reported to be frail at 67, with hollow cheeks and a perpetually trembling right arm. Despite three juries concluding without reasonable doubt that Milke planned Christopher’s murder, Milke was exonerated in 2015. Scott’s case has been controversial due to the exoneration of Milke and the fact that he has been described as brain-damaged. Despite these circumstances, as of 2023, Scott remained on death row.
1948 – Robert Henry Moorman – He is known for his criminal activities and his execution in Arizona on February 29, 2012. Moorman was serving a sentence of 9 years to life for kidnapping when he committed the crime that led to his execution. In January 1984, during a 3-day furlough from prison, his adoptive mother Roberta traveled to Florence to see him. They stayed at the Blue Mist Motel. On the morning of Friday, January 13, Moorman bought a buck knife, a steak knife, and some food. Later that day, he killed and dismembered his mother, disposing of the body parts in dumpsters throughout Florence. Despite last-minute appeals over his mental disabilities, Moorman was executed. Just before he was put to death, he used his last words to apologize to his family and to the family of an eight-year-old girl he had kidnapped and molested in 1972. He said: “I hope this brings closure and they can start healing now. I just hope that they will forgive me in time.”
1951 – Barbara Ann Burns – devoted four decades to caring for her mentally disabled sister, Debbie, making numerous sacrifices to meet her sibling’s needs, despite Debbie’s challenging behavior. However, in a tragic turn of events on an August night two years ago, Burns reached a breaking point and fatally shot her sister on her 40th birthday using a .38-caliber revolver. In an unusual legal move, prosecutors allowed Burns to plead guilty to manslaughter, resulting in a 15-year prison sentence. Following the shooting, Burns lived with her sister’s body for six weeks in their St. Petersburg mobile home before fleeing the state. The discovery of Debbie’s badly decomposed remains occurred six months later when the bank foreclosed on their home. Detectives traced Burns to Virginia, where she was arrested on a first-degree murder charge. During sentencing, Pinellas Circuit Judge Doug Baird questioned Burns, who, with credit for time served, could potentially be released in less than 12 years. Michael Hays, the assistant public defender, highlighted the unusual and compelling nature of the case, emphasizing Burns’ lack of prior criminal history. The prosecution, represented by Kendall Davidson, believed that Burns would not pose a future threat to society, a factor influencing the plea deal. Letters from the Burns sisters’ siblings supported a lighter sentence, describing Barbara as a gentle person who wouldn’t thrive in a prison environment. The family detailed the sisters’ challenging circumstances, born 13 years apart in Maryland, with Debbie suffering brain damage at a young age, leaving her with the mental capacity of a 6-year-old. Barbara Burns had been the primary caregiver for Debbie, and financial struggles intensified when their mother passed away, and a brother died, leaving them with a substantial estate that eventually dwindled. The conflict leading to the fatal shooting erupted over financial disputes and Debbie’s persistent demands. The case drew public attention after a two-part series in the St. Petersburg Times. Despite the tragic outcome, the complexities of the Burns sisters’ challenging life circumstances were acknowledged, shedding light on the nuanced factors contributing to this unfortunate incident.
1956 – Romell Broom – was an American death row inmate who was convicted of murder, kidnapping, and rape. Born in Muskegon, Michigan, Broom moved to Ohio with his mother when he was 5 years old. He committed numerous non-violent crimes as a juvenile, for which he was repeatedly committed to the Ohio Youth Commission. On October 25, 1974, Broom and another person entered a man’s car, robbed him at gunpoint, and forced him out. On January 11, 1975, he raped a 12-year-old girl who was babysitting his niece. Broom was sentenced to die for the 1984 murder of 14-year-old Tryna Middleton. He was scheduled to be executed on September 15, 2009, but after executioners failed to locate a vein he was granted a reprieve. A second execution attempt was scheduled for June 2020, which was delayed until March 2022. Broom died from COVID-19 in prison before the sentence could be carried out. Broom’s case was notable as he survived an execution attempt in 2009, only to live with the ever-increasing fear and distress that the same process would be used on him at his next execution date. His attorneys argued that he should be spared a second attempt.
1964 – Andrew Urdiales – was an American serial killer who was convicted of killing eight women between 1986 and 1995. Little is known about his childhood, but it is known that he joined the United States Marine Corps after completing high school. Between 1984 and 1991, he was stationed at the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in California. Urdiales committed his first murder on the evening of January 18, 1986. He was convicted in Illinois in 2002 of killing three women and convicted in California in 2018 of killing five women. His victims were abducted, raped, and shot before their bodies were dumped. In addition to his eight known victims, Urdiales also attacked another woman in 1992, but she managed to escape. According to Urdiales, she is the only woman ever to escape him. Urdiales was sentenced to death in California and died by suicide a few months later in California’s San Quentin Prison.
1967 – James Erin McKinney – is known for his involvement in two separate burglary incidents that resulted in two deaths. In 1993, McKinney, along with his half-brother Charles Michael Hedlund, was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder. During the burglaries, McKinney and Hedlund brutally beat and shot 40-year-old Christine Mertens in her home. Mrs. Mertens’ son found her dead, lying face down on the living room floor. In another incident, they burglarized the home of 65-year-old James McClain and shot him in the head while he was asleep in his bed. McKinney was sentenced to death under judge-only penalty procedures that were later declared unconstitutional. His case for life included the presentation of mitigating evidence of chronic, severe childhood abuse and neglect that left McKinney suffering from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The sentencing judge found McKinney’s childhood to be so horrific that it was “beyond the comprehension of most people”. However, the trial judge did not consider that evidence when it sentenced McKinney to die. In 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit granted habeas corpus relief because of Arizona’s unconstitutional use of this “causal nexus” restriction. On remand, at the request of the State, the Arizona Supreme Court chose not to send the case back to the trial court for a new sentencing hearing. Instead, the Arizona Supreme Court conducted an “independent review” and affirmed McKinney’s death sentence.
1970 – John Mills – On October 18, 1996, in Knox County, a death sentence was handed down to the individual responsible for the fatal stabbing of Arthur Phipps at his Smokey Creek, Kentucky residence. The crime occurred on August 30, 1995, when Mills stabbed Phipps 29 times using a pocket knife and proceeded to steal a small sum of money ($4.60). The perpetrator was promptly apprehended on the same day at a residence he had rented from Mr. Phipps, situated on the property where the heinous crime took place.
1985 – Kersean Ramey – is a convicted criminal who was sentenced to death on January 31, 2007. He was born on June 4, 1985, in Victoria, Texas. Ramey had completed 11th grade and worked as a general laborer before his conviction. On August 24, 2005, in Jackson County, Texas, Ramey and a co-defendant went to the residence of three individuals: an 18-year-old white female, a 24-year-old white male, and a 38-year-old Hispanic male. They fatally shot each of the victims in the head with a .22 caliber handgun. Ramey was 20 years old at the time of the offense. Ramey was found guilty of capital murder in the shooting deaths of Samuel Roberts, 24, Tiffani Peacock, 18, and Celso Lopez, 38, inside their Edna home. The trial was moved from Jackson County to Victoria County on a change of venue request. Ramey is a black male, with black hair, and brown eyes, standing 5’10″ tall, and weighing 152 lbs. He had no prior prison record before his conviction. His co-defendant in the case was Norman LeJames. The victims were a white male, a white female, and a Hispanic male.
Deaths
Travis Alexander
1997 – Davis Losada – was a man who was convicted of a serious crime in the United States. Born on April 28, 1965, Losada was involved in a tragic event that took place in Cameron County, Texas, USA in 1984. At the age of 19, he was the oldest among four teenagers who were convicted of the brutal assault, rape, and murder of Olga Lydia Perales. The body of Perales, a 15-year-old junior high student, was found in a brushy area between San Benito and Harlingen, Texas on Christmas Eve. Losada’s trial began on June 14, 1985, and lasted through June 18, 1985. He did not testify on his behalf. In less than an hour, on June 19, 1985, Losada, then 20 years old, was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. Despite several appeals to the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas and the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, his death sentence was not revoked. Losada was executed on June 4, 1997. His last words were a proclamation of his innocence and expressions of love for his family.
2001 – Dipendra of Nepal – was the King of Nepal for a brief period from 1 to 4 June 2001. He was born in Kathmandu, Nepal, as the eldest child of King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya. Known as “CP” within his family and “Dippy” among his friends, Dipendra received his early education from Kanti Ishwori High School and Budhanilkantha School in Kathmandu. He later attended Eton College in the United Kingdom and pursued further studies at Tri Chandra College affiliated with Tribhuvan University in Nepal. He also received military training from the Academy of Royal Nepalese Gurkha Army and pilot training from the Civil Aviation Department. Dipendra was known for his interests in social service and sports. He attended various national and international sports ceremonies where Nepalese players participated. He was a karateka and received a black belt at around the age of 20. He was a patron of the National Sports Council and Nepal’s Scouts. Dipendra also wrote articles that were published in Nepalese periodicals, often on the motifs of nationhood and nationality. However, Dipendra’s life took a tragic turn on 1 June 2001. In an event known as the Nepalese royal massacre, Dipendra opened fire at a house on the grounds of the Narayanhity Royal Palace, where a party was being held. He shot and killed his father, King Birendra, his mother, Queen Aishwarya, his younger brother and sister, and other members of the royal family before shooting himself in the head. He was declared King of Nepal while in a comatose state after the death of his father. He died in the hospital three days after the massacre without regaining consciousness. His paternal uncle Gyanendra then became king.
2008 – Curtis Osborne – was an American convicted murderer on death row in Georgia from Spalding County. He was born in March 1970 in Spalding County, Georgia. On August 7, 1990, Osborne murdered Arthur Lee Jones and Linda Lisa Seaborne to avoid paying a $400 debt. The bodies of the victims were found in an abandoned car on a dirt road in Spalding County, Georgia. Both victims had been shot in the head. Osborne was indicted on two counts of malice murder and two counts of felony murder in October 1990. On August 14, 1991, a jury found Osborne guilty, and he was sentenced to death the following day. His case for clemency was championed by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former Deputy U.S. Attorney General Larry Thompson, who wrote letters to the clemency board pleading for mercy. Former U.S. Attorney General Griffin Bell also spoke on his behalf. Despite these appeals, his execution was carried out. On June 4, 2008, Osborne was executed via lethal injection. He refused any special last meal and made no final statement.
2008 – Travis Alexander – was born on July 28, 1977, in Riverside, California, to Gary David Alexander and Pamela Elizabeth Morgan Alexander. He had seven siblings: Gary Alexander, Dennis “Greg” Alexander, Tanisha Sorenson, Samantha Alexander, Hillary Wilcox, Steven Alexander, and Allie Iglesias. At the age of 11, Travis moved in with his paternal grandparents, and his siblings joined him after their father’s death in a car accident in July 1997. Travis was known for his aspirations to be a motivational speaker and held various jobs early in his career, like in telemarketing and retail sales. He was also a devout Mormon. He performed stand-up comedy under the alter ego “Eddie Snell” and was a salesman and motivational speaker for Pre-Paid Legal Services (PPL). Travis met Jodi Arias in September 2006 at a work conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. Arias converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, of which Alexander was a member, and was baptized by him on November 26, 2006, in a ceremony in Southern California. They began dating in February 2007, and Arias moved to Mesa to live closer to Alexander. However, in April 2008, she moved to Yreka, California, and lived there with her grandparents. Tragically, Travis Alexander was murdered by Jodi Arias on June 4, 2008, in his house in Mesa, Arizona. He sustained 27 stab wounds, a slit throat, and a single gunshot wound to the forehead. Arias was convicted of first-degree murder on May 8, 2013, and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on April 13, 2015.
Events
1918 – David Lawrence Anderson who rode with Billy the Kid and then lived a reformed life as a Sheriff, died in the line of duty
1962 – Lee Harvey Oswald departs Rotterdam on SS Maasdam to the United States
1965 – Duane Earl Pope robs the Farmers State Bank of Big Springs, Nebraska killing 3 people execution-style and severely wounding a 4th. The crime later puts Pope on the FBI’s ten-most-wanted list
1983 – Gordon Kahl, who killed two US Marshalls in Medina, North Dakota on February 13th is killed in a shootout in Smithville, Arkansas along with a local Sheriff after a 4 month manhunt.
1986 – Jonathan Pollard pleads guilty to espionage for selling top-secret military intelligence to Israel
1990 – American serial killer Tony Ables is arrested
1990 – Dr.Jack Kevorkian assists an Oregon woman in committing suicide beginning a national debate on the right to die
1993 – The West Memphis Three are arrested
1998 – Terry Nichols is sentenced to life in prison for his role in the Oklahoma City bombings
2008 – Jodi Arias kills Travis Alexander just after they’d had sex
2010 – 7-year-old Kyron Horman disappears on his way to class after a science fair
2019 – Former US school security guard Scot Peterson is arrested and charged with neglect of a child and culpable negligence for not confronting gunman during Parkland School massacre in a landmark case
