Births
Jerry Scott Heidler
1953 – Larry Eugene Mann – was a convicted criminal known for his involvement in a heinous crime that took place on November 4, 1980. He abducted 10-year-old Elisa Nelson as she rode her bicycle to school in Palm Harbor, Florida. Mann, who had previously served time in prison for sexual battery, took the young girl to an orange grove where he brutally ended her life. Mann was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 1981. After a federal court granted him a re-sentencing, he received the death penalty again in 1990. Despite numerous appeals, all were rejected, including one by the U.S. Supreme Court. Mann was one of Florida’s longest-serving death row inmates. On April 10, 2013, at the age of 59, Mann was executed via lethal injection at the Florida State Prison in Starke. His case had been reviewed by dozens of judges and justices over the years. It’s worth noting that there were suspicions that Mann may have been involved in other unsolved murders. However, authorities were never able to definitively link him to any other cases.
1958 – Theodore Maher – He is a former Green Beret turned registered nurse. Maher was raised in Maine and California before his family settled in Upstate New York when he was 12 years old. After serving in the U.S. Army in the mid-1970s, he received nursing degrees from Dutchess County Community College and Pace University. While studying at Dutchess County Community College, Maher met his third wife, Heidi Wustrau. They started dating in 1991 while both attended Pace and worked at Columbia Medical Center of New York Presbyterian Hospital. They got married on December 12, 1993, and this marriage produced two children. The family lived in Stormville, New York. Maher worked as a registered nurse at the neonatal unit at the Columbia Medical Center. He was offered a job by the Safras, a billionaire family based in Monaco, who required private nursing care for Parkinson’s and other ailments. The Safras liked that Ted was a former Green Beret and thought he could be both a bodyguard and a nurse. They offered him a contract at $600 per day. On the night of December 3, 1999, Theodore Maher was scheduled to work the overnight shift caring for Edmond Safra along with another nurse, Vivian Torrente, at Safra’s Monaco penthouse. Maher claimed that two intruders had gained access to the apartment and that he had fought them off, receiving stab wounds. He informed Torrente of the assailants and gave her his cell phone to call for help. He ordered her to take Safra into the secure dressing room while he went to the nearby nursing station, where he lit toilet paper in a trash basket to set off a smoke alarm, intending to alert outside people that there was a problem. However, the prosecution described how Maher cut himself with a knife and then set a fire in a wastepaper basket. He called for rescue and told authorities that two masked intruders were in the apartment. But rather than extinguish the fire, Maher let it spread, leading to the deaths of Safra and Torrente. Maher eventually confessed to setting the fire but maintains that the deaths of Safra and Torrente would have been averted if police had not blocked firefighters from launching a rescue attempt until long after Maher was rushed to a hospital. He was convicted of arson and served eight years in jail.
1964 – David Clayton Hill – was a man from South Carolina, USA, who gained notoriety for his involvement in a high-profile criminal case. He was sentenced to death in 1995 for the murder of a police officer in 1994. On March 7, 1994, Major Spencer Guerry, the 37-year-old Deputy Police Chief of Georgetown on the South Carolina coast, was shot after he stopped the car David Hill was driving. Despite being shot in the face, the officer managed to radio for help. Major Guerry died two days later, becoming the first police officer to die in the line of duty in Georgetown for almost a century. The crime gained a high profile in this small community – the officer’s memorial service was attended by 1,000 law enforcement officers and hundreds of residents. There was also widespread local media attention to the case. David Hill was scheduled to be executed in South Carolina on March 3, 2004. He died quietly by lethal injection.
1967 – Richard Cooey – He lived in Stow with his parents until they divorced when he was 11. He spent his junior high years and high school years between Stow, with his father, and Akron, with his paternal grandmother. Cooey graduated from Stow High School in 1985 and enlisted in the U.S. Army. On September 1, 1986, Cooey, along with Clinton Dickens and Kenneth Horonetz, Jr., were involved in a tragic incident. They were throwing chunks of concrete off the Stoner Street Bridge onto U.S. Interstate 77 in Akron. One of the chunks struck the vehicle of a University of Akron student, 21-year-old Wendy Offredo. Also in the vehicle was another student, 20-year-old Dawn McCreery. Pretending to rescue both students, the three men ended up kidnapping them. Cooey and Dickens took the women to a field behind the Rolling Acres Mall where they raped, stabbed, and tortured them for three and one-half hours, eventually choking and bludgeoning them to death and abandoning their bodies. Cooey was convicted on November 14, 1986, and sentenced to death. He became notable for his argument that, with his weight of over 275 lb (125 kg), he was too obese to be executed – an argument ultimately rejected by the courts. He died on October 14, 2008, at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility, Lucasville, Ohio, due to execution by lethal injection.
1973 – Arnold Prieto – was a convicted murderer who was sentenced to death for his involvement in a brutal attack that resulted in the deaths of three people. Born on June 9, 1973, Prieto was involved in a robbery at a home in San Antonio, Texas, USA, on September 11, 1993. The victims of this crime were Rodolfo Rodriguez, 72, his wife, Virginia, 62, and Paula Moran, their 90-year-old former nanny. Each victim was stabbed or cut multiple times with an icepick, screwdriver, or knife. The attackers took jewelry and about $300. Prieto was arrested in suburban Dallas seven months after the September 1993 killings. He was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death on June 2, 1995. Despite being offered a plea deal for a sentence of less than life in prison if he would testify against a companion, Prieto chose not to take it. On January 21, 2015, at the age of 41, Prieto became the first prisoner to receive a lethal injection that year in Texas. His final statement was, “There are no endings, only beginnings. Love y’all. See you soon.”
1974 – James Edward Martinez – was a man known for his involvement in a tragic crime. He was involved in the murders of Michael Humphreys, a 19-year-old described as a funny and happy-go-lucky guy with lots of energy, and Sandra Walton, a 29-year-old woman who was his pool partner. The incident occurred on the evening of September 20, 2000. Martinez had briefly dated Sandra Walton, and after their breakup, he claimed that she owed him money — about $1000. This led to some animosity between them, which was captured in audiotapes found at Sandra’s home. The authorities soon learned about this and started investigating Martinez as a suspect. The evidence against Martinez included a black canvas bag containing the murder weapon, magazines of ammo, black clothing, and body armor. His DNA was found on the clothing, connecting him to the murders. A search of his storage unit revealed more ammunition, guns, illegal knives, and books on ways to kill and dispose of a body. In January 2002, James was found guilty of capital murder and was sentenced to death by lethal injection. On March 10, 2009, he was executed at a prison in Huntsville, Texas. He was 34 years old at the time.
1977 – Brian Wakefield – was sentenced to death for the brutal murder of an elderly couple during a robbery at their suburban home near Atlantic City. The victims, Richard and Shirley Hazard were described as doting grandparents and helpful neighbors. Wakefield, a stranger to the Hazards, forced his way into their home in a midday burglary and robbery. On January 18, 2001, Richard Hazard, a retired military man, answered a knock at the door and unknowingly let in his killer. Wakefield later confessed to police that it was easier to kill Richard, whom he savagely beat, stabbed, and left with severe injuries including brain contusions and a fractured skull. Shirley Hazard, a retired postal employee, returned home after work and was ambushed by Wakefield. He subjected her to a brutal assault, stabbing her in the neck, hitting her in the head, throwing her down the basement steps, and kicking her in the ribs. Wakefield callously recounted how Shirley lived long enough to turn and face her assailant, her swollen eye bearing witness to the lifeless body of her 70-year-old husband. Following the murders, Wakefield set five fires throughout the house, including on the bodies of the victims, before stealing Mrs. Hazard’s car to make his getaway. In a disturbing twist, he also beat the couple’s collie with a wooden spoon during the murders. After abandoning the stolen car near the Hamilton Mall, Wakefield went on a spending spree with the Hazards’ money and credit cards, buying jewelry, compact discs, new clothes, and expensive liquor. He called for a cab, driven by Olin Caldwell, whom he knew as “B-Love.” Caldwell, noticing Wakefield’s animated demeanor, later alerted the police and provided them with the bloody clothes Wakefield changed out of in a casino parking garage. By 6 a.m. on January 19, 2001, police arrested Wakefield in his room at the Tropicana Casino and Resort, where he had rented three rooms to throw a party for a friend. Found asleep in the Jacuzzi, Wakefield admitted to the murders. Now convicted by a jury, he awaits execution on New Jersey’s death row.
1977 – Jerry Scott Heidler – is known for a tragic incident that occurred in December 1997 in Santa Claus, Georgia. At the age of 20, he committed a horrific crime that shocked the peaceful city. Heidler was charged with the murder of the Daniels family, which included Kim Daniels, Danny Daniels, and their children. The method of mass murder was shooting. This crime was committed in the early morning hours of December 4, 1997, when Heidler broke into the Daniels household and stole a shotgun from their cabinet before shooting Danny and Kim as they slept in their bed. The gunshots woke Jessica and Bryant up, and they were brutally gunned down in cold blood as they came to investigate what had happened. Heidler had developed a particular interest in the teenage Jessica, much to Danny’s disapproval. The worried father did not like the significant age gap between the two, and Heidler resented him for such a view. After the murders, Heidler kidnapped three other children, including one foster child, from the same household. The crime was later featured in an episode of the American television series ‘Homicide for the Holidays’. Heidler is currently awaiting execution for crimes such as hijacking and murder.
Deaths
Melbert Ford
1896 – Albert Milsom – The name Albert Milsom can evoke starkly contrasting images. To some, he is a notorious villain, forever etched in the annals of English criminal history for his gruesome involvement in the 1896 murder of Mr. Henry Smith. To others, he is a soldier who served his country during the tumultuous years of World War I, his wartime record shrouded in the mists of time. Born into a humble background, Milsom’s early life remains largely obscure. We know he was known as the “black sheep” of the family, hinting at a rebellious streak that would later manifest in his criminal exploits. By 1896, he had fallen into the company of Henry Fowler, a fellow petty criminal. Together, they devised a plan to rob the elderly and wealthy Mr. Smith. Their scheme turned deadly, ending in a brutal murder that sent shockwaves through London. The ensuing trial became a media spectacle, with Milsom and Fowler engaging in a desperate game of blame, each accusing the other of wielding the fatal razor. Ultimately, both men were convicted and sentenced to death. Yet, fate took a surprising turn. Fowler, desperate to escape the hangman’s noose, attempted to strangle Milsom in a chilling scene within the confines of their cell. The attempt failed, but it further cemented their infamy as a pair of ruthless killers.
1911 – Carrie Nation – often referred to as Carry Nation, Carrie A. Nation, or Hatchet Granny, was born on November 25, 1846, in Garrard County, Kentucky, U.S., and died on June 9, 1911, in Leavenworth, Kansas. She was a radical member of the temperance movement, which opposed alcohol before the advent of Prohibition. Nation is noted for attacking alcohol-serving establishments, most often taverns, with a hatchet. She was also concerned about tight clothing for women; she refused to wear a corset and urged women not to wear them because of their harmful effects on vital organs. She described herself as “a bulldog running along at the feet of Jesus, barking at what He doesn’t like” and claimed a divine ordination to promote temperance by destroying bars. In her early life, Nation experienced poverty, her mother’s mental instability, and frequent bouts of ill health. She held a teaching certificate from a state normal school. In 1867, she married a young physician, Charles Gloyd, whom she left after a few months because of his alcoholism. In 1877, she married David Nation, a lawyer, journalist, and minister, who divorced her in 1901 on the grounds of desertion. Nation published a few short-lived newsletters and her autobiography, The Use and Need of the Life of Carry A. Nation, in 1904. Her “hatchetation” period was brief but brought her national notoriety. She was for a time much in demand as a temperance lecturer.
1961 – Nathaniel Lipscomb -was an American serial killer who terrorized Baltimore, Maryland between 1958 and 1959. Known as “The Dawn Strangler,” Lipscomb was responsible for three rape-murders, along with several sexual assaults. There is also a possibility of a previous murder committed in Charlotte, North Carolina. His heinous crimes led to his conviction and subsequent execution at the Maryland State Penitentiary.
2010 – Melbert Ford – was born on December 9, 1960, in Austell, Georgia, United States. He worked as a grocery store employee. Ford was convicted in 1987 for the murders of his former girlfriend, Martha Chapman Matich, and her 11-year-old niece, Lisa Chapman. The murders occurred during a robbery at Chapman’s Grocery store in Georgia on March 6, 1986. Ford had previously told a friend that he intended to kidnap Matich, make her beg, and then shoot her in the forehead. He was sentenced to death on October 23, 1986. His execution was initially delayed due to a vacancy on the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles, as proceeding without a full five-member board was deemed a violation of the Georgia Constitution. However, his appeal for a stay of execution was unanimously denied by the Georgia Supreme Court. Ford was executed by lethal injection on June 9, 2010. He was the 24th inmate to be put to death by lethal injection in the U.S. state of Georgia. For his last meal, he requested fried fish and shrimp, a baked potato, salad, boiled corn, ice cream, cheesecake, and soda.
Events
Melanie Hall
1923 – Brinks unveils the first armored security vans
1930 – Chicago Tribune reporter Jake Lingle is killed during rush hour at the Illinois Central train station by the Leo Vincent brothers, allegedly over a USD 100,000 gambling debt owed to Al Capone
1945 – Following an 8-7 win over the Phils, Brooklyn manager is arrested on a complaint by a fan that Durocher slugged him
1975 – A fire in the prison hospital at Sanford, Florida kills 10 prisoners and 1 guard
1976 – David Arthur Stack was murdered while hitchhiking and remained unidentified for 39 years
1983 – Tammie Charlene Liles is murdered by the Green River killer
1991 – Jack La Lanne, 76, arrested on suspicion of DUI
1996 – Melanie Hall disappeared
2013 – Edward Snowden publicly makes his identity known as the leaker of the NSA documents
