Births

Earl Conrad Bramblett

1940 – Mike Debardeleben – He was the second of three children born to James Mitchell DeBardeleben Sr. and Mary Lou DeBardeleben. His family was a military one, and they moved frequently due to his father’s service in the United States Army.  DeBardeleben had a troubled childhood. His parents’ marriage was unstable, and both had many extramarital affairs. His mother was a sexually promiscuous and emotionally unstable alcoholic, who often neglected the children when her husband was away. This neglect led to DeBardeleben developing a deep hatred of his mother, which eventually crystallized into a hatred of women in general.  As an adult, DeBardeleben became known as the “Mall Passer” due to his practice of passing counterfeit bills in shopping malls bordering interstate highways across the United States. He was convicted of kidnapping, rape, and counterfeiting, and he was suspected of being a serial killer.  Although he was never brought to trial for murder, he was the principal suspect in two homicides and remains a suspect in several others. The Secret Service found evidence linking him to much more serious sex crimes after his arrest for counterfeiting. He was sentenced to 375 years in federal prison.  DeBardeleben died of pneumonia at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina, in early 2011. FBI profiler Roy Hazelwood described DeBardeleben as the best-documented sexual sadist since the Marquis de Sade, and one of America’s most dangerous known criminals.

1942 – Earl Conrad Bramblett – was an American mass murderer. He was born in Sweetwater, Texas, and died at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarratt, Virginia. His cause of death was execution by electrocution.  Bramblett was convicted for the killing of four members of the Hodges family in August 1994 in Vinton, Virginia. He murdered each family member in their residence before setting it on fire. The victims were Teresa Hodges, 37, her husband, Blaine Hodges, 41, and their daughters, Anah, 3, and Winter, 11. The authorities initially theorized that Blaine had killed his family and then himself, as he was about to serve six months in federal prison for embezzlement. However, further investigation revealed that the barrel of the murder weapon had been removed after Blaine had been killed and that Blaine had been killed before the rest of his family.  Bramblett, a close friend of the Hodges family, became a prime suspect when he showed prior knowledge of the violence during a police interview. Additional incriminating evidence against Bramblett included a witness who had seen a vehicle similar to Bramblett’s driving past the Hodges home during the fire, without stopping, and drawings of stick figures with arrows that corresponded to the Hodges’ bullet wounds found at Bramblett’s place of employment.  In 1997, Bramblett was sentenced to death for the murders. He maintained his innocence and chose electrocution as a form of protest. He was executed by electric chair on April 9, 2003.

1945 – Reginald Brooks – was an Ohio man who was executed for the murder of his three sons in 1982. He shot his sons, aged 11, 15, and 17, shortly after their mother filed for divorce. The Ohio Supreme Court rejected a request to halt the execution because Brooks suffers from schizophrenia. Prosecutors said his mental illness did not cause the murders. Beverly Brooks found her sons dead when she returned from work. On Tuesday, she and her family sat silently during the execution. They wore white t-shirts bearing photos of her children, who were 11, 15, and 17 years old when they were killed. The Supreme Court’s decision came hours after a state appeal court denied Brooks a chance for a new trial. Ohio Governor John Kasich denied clemency, and the US Supreme Court refused to block the execution. Reginald Brooks has since passed away as the state of Ohio executed him for the murders in 2011. After the murders, it did not take long for the police to hone in on Reginald as the main suspect.

1955 – Thomas Martin Thompson – His parents divorced when he was five and he moved with his mother and sister to New York. The family later moved to Orange County, California. Thompson attended Villa Park High School but moved back to Chicago to be with his father in his senior year. He joined the army and received letters of commendation. He was later given an honorable discharge. He returned to California and went to California State University, Fullerton, and Santa Ana College on the GI bill and became a photographer. Two former girlfriends of Thompson testified to his kindness and other good qualities and stated that Thompson had never been abusive or violent towards them. Thompson had also not previously been in trouble with the law.  On September 11, 1981, Thompson and Ginger Fleischli, joined by Thompson’s roommates, David Leitch, and Afshin Kashani, spent an evening in Laguna Beach, California visiting bars and smoking marijuana. Fleischli was subsequently reported missing, and three days later the authorities found Fleischli’s body buried in a field 10 miles from Thompson’s apartment. The corpse had been wrapped in rope along with a sleeping bag and blanket, both taken from Thompson’s apartment. Fleischli had been stabbed multiple times in the head, and her body and clothing showed signs of sexual assault. Fleischli’s blood was later found on a carpet in Thompson’s apartment, approximately six feet from his bed. Both Thompson and Leitch were arrested several days after the murder. Fleischli was Leitch’s former girlfriend. According to Thompson’s account, he had consensual sex with Fleischli before he passed out. He said he woke up in the morning and Fleischli was gone, but her blood was on the carpet near his bed. Both men were convicted of the murder in separate trials. The prosecution however accused Thompson of raping and killing Fleischli. Crucial evidence came from two previously convicted fellow inmates, John Del Frate and Edward Fink, who claimed to have heard Thompson admit while in jail to the rape and murder.  Thompson was executed on July 14, 1998, by the state of California for the 1981 killing of Ginger Fleischli. His execution was controversial; some believe him to have been innocent of the charges, while others thought Thompson’s guilt was clear.

1961 – Jerald Wayne Harjo – was a 40-year-old man who was executed in Oklahoma in 2001. He was convicted for the murder of Ruth Porter, a 64-year-old woman, in her rural Seminole County home on January 16, 1988. Harjo broke into Porter’s home, strangled her, and then stole her car. He confessed to the crime after investigators found his muddy tennis shoe prints on Porter’s floor. Harjo had been smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol the night of the crime. He was executed on July 17, 2001. His execution was the 14th that year and the 44th since the state resumed the death penalty in 1976.

1962 – Andre Crawford – was an American rapist, serial killer, and necrophile, infamously known for his heinous crimes in Chicago. Born in 1962, Crawford’s criminal spree spanned six years, culminating in 1999. His victims, numbering 11, were predominantly sex workers or drug addicts, targeted in the Englewood neighborhood.  Crawford operated concurrently with another serial killer, Hubert Geralds, amplifying the climate of fear in Chicago during that period. His modus operandi involved preying on vulnerable women, committing acts of sexual violence, and ultimately taking their lives.  The Englewood Slasher, as Crawford came to be known, left a trail of terror and despair. The victims, often marginalized and overlooked, faced additional challenges in seeking justice. The crimes, initially unsolved, generated fear and speculation, leaving the community on edge.  In 1999, Crawford’s reign of terror ended when he was apprehended and linked to the gruesome murders through forensic evidence. The victims’ families, after years of uncertainty, finally found closure as Crawford faced the legal consequences of his heinous acts.  Andre Crawford’s trial shed light on the plight of marginalized communities and the challenges they face in seeking justice. The revelations surrounding his crimes underscored the need for improved support systems and awareness to protect vulnerable individuals from falling prey to such brutality.  In 2009, Andre Crawford passed away, leaving a dark legacy in the annals of Chicago’s criminal history. His story serves as a chilling reminder of the importance of addressing systemic issues that contribute to the victimization of the most vulnerable members of society.

1962 – Faunce Levon Pearce – was convicted of first-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder. The murder took place on September 14, 1999, and Pearce was sentenced to death on February 14, 2002.  On the evening of September 13, 1999, Pearce sought to obtain LSD gel tablets. He gave a group of teenagers $1,200 to purchase the drugs from a supplier. However, the supplier took the money without providing the drugs. When the teenagers returned without the drugs or the money, Pearce was informed that his money had been stolen by the supplier.  The victim of the murder was Robert Crawford. Pearce was also convicted of the attempted second-degree murder of Stephen Tuttle. Pearce was sentenced to death for Crawford’s murder and sentenced to life for Tuttle’s attempted murder. His convictions and sentences were affirmed on direct appeal.

1964 – Jane Reth – is an American woman who was sentenced to 36 years in prison in Alaska in 2011 for the murder of her husband, Scott Coville. The crime took place on April 12, 1988, when Reth and Coville were living in Sitka, Alaska. They had been married for six months when Coville went missing around the time of his 26th birthday. Reth shot Coville in his sleep, then dismembered his body with an ax, putting the pieces into garbage bags and disposing of them. The crime was particularly gruesome and showed a level of calculation and callousness. Blood stains were found on the walls and sub-floor of the trailer where Coville and Reth lived, which matched the DNA from Coville’s mother and from some of Scott Coville’s wisdom teeth his mother had saved. Reth was known as Jane Limm while living in the Fox Valley, before her arrest by Kendall County sheriff’s deputies at her Oswego apartment in January 2010. She pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in November of the same year. Despite the severity of her crime, Reth was described by a co-worker as a caring, service-minded person who donated to various charities. She was active in her Seventh-Day Adventist Church, donated to the Red Cross, and went on mission trips overseas. However, the court found no evidence that domestic violence was a factor in the murder, and Reth’s actions were deemed among the more serious types of its kind.

1966 – Delmart Vreeland – He became notable for claiming to predict the events of September 11, 2001. Vreeland was wanted by police in eight Michigan jurisdictions for crimes like fraud and burglary. He was arrested in Iowa’s Franklin County on October 20, 2004. According to Sheriff’s Deputies, Vreeland ran an identity theft ring in the Detroit area for a few years and had felony convictions for breaking and entering and receiving stolen property. Shortly after the September 11 attacks, Vreeland claimed that he wrote a note that foreshadowed those events while he was in prison.  Vreeland is reported to be a folk hero among conspiracy theorists who believe he is a spy for the Office of Naval Intelligence. However, government officials denied that Vreeland ever served in the Navy. Vreeland’s various claims have included knowing the cause of death of a Canadian Embassy employee before it was officially released, working as an undercover American naval officer, and being the victim of a conspiracy of government officials attempting to keep him quiet. Police officers have reportedly characterized Vreeland as “a skilled con”.  In 2008, Vreeland was sentenced in Colorado to 336 years to life in prison after he was convicted of inducement of child prostitution, sexual assault, sexual exploitation of children, and distribution of cocaine following his luring of two boys to perform sexual acts on camera in exchange for cocaine, money, and the promise of a drum kit.

1969 – Thang Thanh Nguyen – is a Vietnamese convicted murderer who was once on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List. He was one of four men who robbed and murdered businessman Chung Lam in Irondequoit, New York, on January 26, 1992. After the murder, Nguyen fled the country for five years, while his three accomplices were arrested.  Nguyen was added to the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List on August 3, 1996, and was arrested on December 22, 1997. He was initially sentenced to 37 1⁄2 years to life in prison, but that was later reduced to 25 years in 2003.  Nguyen is a native of Sóc Trăng, Vietnam, having been born there on March 20, 1969. He first entered the United States in 1984 and became a citizen. He worked as a restaurant cook and was an active gambler. One establishment he worked at was the Saigon Vietnamese and Chinese restaurant, owned by 39-year-old Vietnamese immigrant Chung Lam in Irondequoit, New York. Lam had fled to the U.S. to seek refuge after the Vietnam War. Nguyen worked there until he was fired. He then moved to Fort Worth, Texas, where he befriended Thoan Van Luc and brothers Vu Ngo and Sang Ngo of Wichita, Kansas.  On January 26, 1992, the four broke into Lam’s Irondequoit home at 72 Veronica Drive. Lam shared the home with his wife, four daughters, and two brothers. The men stormed to the second floor, where Lam was standing on the patio, and Nguyen proceeded to shoot him in the head. One of the other men shot one of Lam’s brothers. The four then ransacked the whole house stealing money and jewelry. During the gunfire, Sang Ngo was shot accidentally. All four fled the home while Sang went to the hospital. Police were called and Lam was rushed to the Rochester General Hospital, but he died at 4:52 a.m. from his wound.  Sang, suffering from a bullet wound he could not explain, was immediately implicated in the crime and arrested. He confessed, with Vu and Thoan being arrested not long after. In early 1992, having still not been arrested by police, Nguyen fled to his home country Vietnam. Later in 1993, Vu Ngo was put on trial for second-degree murder. After deliberating for two days, the jury acquitted him. All three were convicted of burglary and given lengthy prison terms. Nguyen was indicted on a murder charge by a Monroe County grand jury. Investigators had accused Nguyen of being the ringleader of the murder. 

1988 – Itzcoatl Ocampo – He was the eldest in a family of three children. Shortly after his birth, his family emigrated to the United States, settling in Yorba Linda, California. His father, a qualified lawyer, found a job as a vacuum repair man and rented an apartment. After living in the state for 12 years, Ocampo and the rest of his family went through all the legal procedures and obtained American citizenship.  Ocampo attended Esperanza High School in Anaheim, graduating in 2006. During his school years, he was known as a friendly and approachable guy, thanks to which he befriended many and was popular among his peers. The September 11 attacks had a strong effect on the formation of his personality, as a result of which in subsequent years he became interested in politics. Ocampo supported the Republican Party and George W. Bush’s foreign policies. During his time at Esperanza High School, he was severely bullied for his height. He was jumped by several teens, for the lack of length in his jeans and contemptuously referred to as “High Waters” by classmates.  After leaving school, Ocampo, along with several school friends enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. Since July 2006, he served at Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, where he was attached to the 15th Regiment of the Medical and Sanitary Battalion. In 2008, he was deployed with and attached to CLR-15, 1st Supply Battalion to Iraq, but did not partake in combat: his main responsibility was to provide transportation of water and fuel to the base of TQ. He spent eight months in the country, for which he was subsequently awarded the standard deployment awards; the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal. While in Iraq, Ocampo pointed his weapon at an ally and received a Non-Judicial Punishment, subsequently being demoted to PFC, reduction in pay, and was assigned extra duty assignments which included filling sandbags.  Itzcoatl Misael Ocampo was a Mexican-American suspected serial killer and veteran assumed to be responsible for murdering at least men, four of whom were homeless, in the Orange County, California, area from October 2011 to January 2012. Following his arrest, Ocampo was detained at the Orange County Jail, but on November 27, 2013, he ingested a large dose of Ajax, poisoning himself and losing consciousness. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died of acute intoxication the following day before he could be put on trial.

Deaths

Martha M. Place News Report

1776 – Elizabeth Boardingham – was a woman from 18th-century England who was involved in a notorious crime. She was married to John Boardingham, a man who frequently served prison sentences and left Elizabeth to raise their children alone. Elizabeth became increasingly frustrated with her unreliable husband and in October 1775, she ran away with her lover, Thomas Aikney, to Lincolnshire, leaving her husband and children.  Although she returned to them three months later, Elizabeth could stand her husband no longer. She pressured Aikney to kill him. On the night of 13 February 1776, Aikney came to the Boardingham house and stabbed John twice. Aikney ran off, leaving the knife stuck in John’s body. John died the next day. Elizabeth and Thomas were soon arrested. In the court at Flamborough, Aikney admitted murdering John Boardingham and accused Elizabeth of repeatedly urging him to do so.  The pair were found guilty and taken to York to die. Thomas Aikney was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death by hanging. However, Elizabeth, by killing her husband, was thought to have broken the ‘natural hierarchy’ which ranked men above women. Her crime, therefore, was not simply murder but petty treason, which carried the more severe sentence of death at the stake.  Elizabeth Boardingham was burnt at the stake at Tyburn in York on 20 March 1776. She was the last person to be executed in this way in Yorkshire. Elizabeth Boardingham, portrayed in the newspapers at the time as a broad, tough woman, suffered a traitor’s death. Some observers claimed that she shook Aikney’s hand as they parted at Tyburn. Some said she asked him for a kiss and he refused. 

1809 – Mary Bateman – also known as the Yorkshire Witch, was born in 1768 in Asenby, North Riding of Yorkshire, England. Her father was a farmer and she learned to read and write from a young age. At the age of 13, she began working as a servant girl in Thirsk, North Riding of Yorkshire. She moved to York at the age of 20 and worked as a dressmaker, but fled to Leeds the next year after being involved in a burglary.  During the next four years, she worked as a mantua maker and began to build a reputation as a fortune-teller and ‘wise woman’. In 1792, she married John Bateman, a wheelwright. During these early years of her marriage, she undertook several robberies and was caught several times, but managed to avoid prison by bribing those who witnessed her activities.  In 1796, John joined the Army, and Bateman accompanied him away from Leeds, however within one year they had returned to Leeds. Amongst other crimes, she is reported to have once roamed the streets of Leeds after a major fire begging for money and goods for victims but instead retained the charitable gifts for herself.  In 1806, Bateman joined the followers of the prophetess Joanna Southcott and attended meetings. As part of a Southcottian sect, she created the hoax known as The Prophet Hen of Leeds, in which eggs laid by a hen were purported to have written on them ‘Christ is coming’ – a message believed to precede end times. Three of these eggs were displayed by Bateman and members of the public were charged a penny to see them. When the hen was taken away from her, it laid no more prophetic eggs. It was later found that she had written on the eggs using ink and reinserted them into the hen’s oviduct.  In the same year, Bateman was approached by William and Rebecca Perigo – Rebecca was suffering from chest pains and Bateman diagnosed that she had been put under a spell. However, over the next several months, Bateman began feeding them pudding which was laced with poison. Rebecca’s condition worsened and she finally died in 1808. In October 1808 William Perigo accused Bateman of poisoning his wife, as well as defrauding money from them for the two years preceding to pay for “charms” and cures.  Mary Bateman was tried and executed for murder during the early 19th century. Most of the details of Mary Bateman’s life are known from The Extraordinary Life and Character of Mary Bateman, published soon after her trial and death.

1899 – Martha M. Place – was born Martha “Mattie” Garretson on September 18, 1849, in Readington Township, New Jersey. She was the daughter of Ellen (née Wyckoff) and Isaac V. N. Garretson. At the age of 23, she was struck in the head by a sleigh, an accident that her brother claimed left her mentally unstable.  Before moving to New York, she lived in New Jersey and worked as a dressmaker. She was previously married to a man named Wesley Savacool, who abandoned her after the birth of their son, Ross Savacool. After Wesley left, Martha found herself in hardship and gave Ross up for adoption to the Ashenbach family of Newark, who had recently lost a son. They renamed him William.  In 1893, Martha started working as a housekeeper for a man named William W. Place, at 598 Hancock Street in Brooklyn. She later married him in the same year. William had a daughter named Ida from a previous marriage. It was rumored that Martha was jealous of Ida, and William had to call the police at least once after his wife threatened to kill Ida.  On the evening of February 7, 1898, William arrived at his Brooklyn home and was attacked by Martha, who was wielding an axe. William managed to escape and ran for help. When the police arrived, they found Martha in critical condition, lying on the floor with clothes over her head and gas from burners escaping into the room. Upstairs, they discovered the body of 17-year-old Ida Place lying on a bed, with blood coming from her mouth. The evidence later indicated that Ida Place died from asphyxiation.  Martha Place was hospitalized and arrested. She proclaimed her innocence while awaiting trial. However, she was found guilty of the murder of her stepdaughter Ida and was sentenced to death. Her husband was a key witness against her.  Martha M. Place was executed on March 20, 1899, at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, becoming the first woman to die in the electric chair. The governor of the state of New York, Theodore Roosevelt, was asked to commute Place’s death sentence, but he refused.

1933 – Giuseppe (Joe) Zangara – was born on September 7, 1900, in Ferruzzano, Calabria, Italy. After serving with the Italian Royal Army in the Tyrolean Alps during World War I, he did a variety of menial jobs in his home village before emigrating with his uncle to the United States in 1923. He settled in Paterson, New Jersey, and became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1929. Zangara had little education and worked as a bricklayer. He suffered severe pain in his abdomen, which doctors told him was chronic and incurable.  On February 15, 1933, Zangara attempted to assassinate the President-elect of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, 17 days before Roosevelt’s inauguration. During a night speech by Roosevelt in Miami, Florida, Zangara fired five shots with a handgun he had purchased a couple of days before. He missed his target and instead injured five bystanders and killed Anton Cermak, the Mayor of Chicago.  Zangara was convicted of first-degree murder and attempted murder (4 counts), and was executed by electrocution on March 20, 1933, at Florida State Prison, Raiford, Florida, U.S. His life and actions have been the subject of much debate regarding his mental state, with arguments being made that Zangara was mentally ill, incapable of distinguishing right from wrong, and ought to have had an insanity defense presented on his behalf while others have contended that he was sane.

1985 – John C. Young – On the fateful night of December 7, 1974, a quiet neighborhood in Macon, Bibb County, Georgia, was shattered by a series of brutal attacks. Six elderly residents were assaulted in their homes, and subjected to severe beatings, kicks, and stomps.  Three of the victims lived to describe their attacker, while the other three, Coleman Brice, Gladys Brice, and Katie Davis, tragically lost their lives due to the severity of their injuries.  The perpetrator, John Young, was linked to these heinous crimes through various pieces of evidence. Items of jewelry and watches stolen from the crime scenes, a fingerprint, and chilling confessions to his friends all pointed toward Young’s guilt. When questioned if he was responsible for the attacks, Young chillingly responded, “Yeah, man and I’m going to get me some more.” He further revealed that his victims were white, and when asked why he committed these crimes, he simply stated, “I don’t know. The only thing that I am sorry is that they caught me before I got through.”  In an attempt to evade justice, Young pleaded insanity before his trial. However, on June 30, 1975, a jury rejected his plea. A retrial was granted on the issue of insanity, but on October 21, 1975, a second jury also dismissed his plea, standing firm on the verdict of his guilt.

1992 – Larry Gene Heath – was born on October 5, 1951. He is known for a notorious case that reached the United States Supreme Court. In 1981, Heath traveled from Russell County, Alabama to Troup County, Georgia, where he met with two individuals whom he had hired to kill his pregnant wife, Rebecca.  The murder led to a significant legal case, Heath v. Alabama, which was argued in the Supreme Court on October 9, 1985, and decided on December 3, 1985. The case revolved around the issue of double jeopardy, as Heath was prosecuted for the same crime in two different states, Alabama and Georgia.  The Supreme Court ruled that the Fifth Amendment rule against double jeopardy does not prohibit two different states from separately prosecuting and convicting the same individual for the same illegal act. This decision was based on the doctrine of “dual sovereignty”, which holds that the United States and each state possess sovereignty.  Heath’s case is one of several that established that the Fifth Amendment does not forbid the U.S. federal government and a state government, or the governments of more than one state, from prosecuting the same individual separately for the same illegal act. Heath passed away on March 20, 1992.

1995 – Thomas J Grasso – was born on November 23, 1962, in West Babylon, New York. He was an American convicted murderer who was executed by the state of Oklahoma for the murder of 87-year-old Hilda Johnson, whom he strangled in Tulsa in December 1990. He also murdered 81-year-old Leslie Holtz in New York in July 1991.  Grasso’s early life was marked by tragedy. Before his birth, his older brother, who was named Joseph Thomas Grasso, was killed at the age of 4 when a neighbor backed a car over him. Thomas was intended to be named after his deceased brother, but his mother instead named him Thomas Joseph after a psychic warned her that the child would die if she named him Joseph. The Grasso family moved to Tampa, Florida while Thomas was still young. In Tampa, he built up a lengthy rap sheet of offenses, mostly for theft, and stole from two of his employers. In October 1990, he left the area and went with his girlfriend, Lana, to stay at her grandma’s house in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  On December 24, 1990, Grasso strangled Hilda Johnson, an 87-year-old woman, using her Christmas tree lights in her Tulsa home. He stole $8 from her purse, $4 in loose change, and her television set which he sold for $125. Six months later, after moving to New York with Lana, his now wife, he murdered Leslie Holtz, an 81-year-old man from Staten Island, on July 4, 1991, stealing his Social Security check.  New York detectives investigating the murder of Leslie Holtz arrested Grasso and within two weeks he had confessed to police. He first told investigators about the Staten Island killing, then about the murder of Hilda Johnson. Grasso pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years to life on April 21, 1992, for the murder of Holtz. On September 28, 1992, Grasso pleaded guilty to murdering Johnson and was sentenced to death in Oklahoma.  Grasso was executed by lethal injection at Oklahoma State Penitentiary, McAlester, Oklahoma, United States, on March 20, 1995. He has become posthumously well-known for his last words regarding his last meal, “I did not get my SpaghettiOs, I got spaghetti. I want the press to know this.”

2005 – Astini Sumiasih – also known by her pseudonym Mrs. Astini, was born on September 22, 1955, in Jombang, Indonesia. She was a mother of three living in Malang with her husband and children. Known as a friendly yet temperamental woman, she frequently borrowed large amounts of money from her neighbors, which she often failed to repay. Between 1992 and 1996, Sumiasih killed three of her neighbors from whom she had borrowed money. The victims were Rahayu (or Ibu Sukur), Sri Astutik Wijaya, and Puji Astutik. Each of these murders occurred when the victims demanded repayment and insulted Sumiasih when she was unable to pay. In response, Sumiasih killed them and dismembered their bodies. Her crimes were discovered when a severed head was found in Wonorejo and reported to the police. The head was identified as that of Puji Astutik, one of the missing neighbors. Upon questioning, the relatives of Astutik revealed that she was last seen visiting Sumiasih’s house.  Sumiasih was arrested and during interrogation, she confessed to the murders. She was brought to trial before the Surabaya District Court and was sentenced to death on October 17, 1996. She was sent to the Women’s Correctional Institution in Malang to await execution. Sumiasih was executed by firing squad on March 20, 2005, in Surabaya, Indonesia.

2007 – Charles Anthony Nealy – was a man with a history of robberies and an extensive juvenile record for shoplifting, burglary, and theft. He was born on March 23, 1964, and was executed by lethal injection on March 20, 2007, in Huntsville, Texas, for the robbery and murder of a convenience store owner.  On August 20, 1997, two men, one armed with a shotgun and the other with a pistol, entered a Dallas convenience store. The man with the shotgun went into the back office, where the owner, Jiten Bhakta, was taking a nap. Bhakta called out and was killed by a shotgun blast to the heart. The man with the pistol then shot an employee, Vijay Patel, in the head. The robbers took a briefcase containing $4,000 in cash, money from the register, and some wine and beer before leaving the store. Patel died a few days later.  Four video cameras in the store recorded the robbery. They showed a man in a dark hat, carrying a shotgun, and a man in a light hat. Neither of the murders were recorded, but the tape did show both men stealing money from the cash register. Bhakta’s brother, who was also in the store at the time of the holdup, identified Charles Nealy as the robber with the shotgun.  Nealy was convicted of Bhakta’s death. His nephew, Claude Nealy, 17 at the time of the slayings, is serving life in prison for Patel’s killing. A third man charged in the case, Reginald Mitchell, testified he was with the pair that evening and waited in a car as Nealy and his nephew went into the store. He said Charles Nealy admitted the slayings to him, explaining later that night the two men were shot because they refused to sell him a cigar known as “Blackie mounds.” Mitchell also testified Charles Nealy threatened to kill him if he told anyone about the robbery and shootings.

2012 – Larry Matthew Puckett – was a 35-year-old man who was executed for the sexual battery and murder of Rhonda Hatten Griffis in 1995. He was condemned to death for the brutal assault and beating death of his boss’ wife, Rhonda Hatten Griffis. Puckett maintained his innocence until his death, claiming there was more to the story of Griffis’ death.  On October 14, 1995, Griffis’ mother heard a scream coming from her daughter’s house next door and found Puckett inside the mobile home holding a club. Puckett allegedly went after the mother with the club, but Griffis’ husband had just arrived and Puckett fled after a struggle. The husband found his wife’s bloody and battered body in the living room when he went to get a gun. She was wearing a shirt but the only clothing on her lower body was around her left foot. Her injuries included trauma and gashes on her head, back, chest, and neck. She was also bleeding from her genital area. Rhonda Hatten Griffis was 28-years-old.  Puckett, who was about 18 at the time, was captured two days later. Investigators said he confessed to being at the Griffis’ home to burglarize it, but he claimed Griffis’ husband killed her. Court documents said that Puckett told authorities he and Griffis had a previous sexual relationship and his only intention that day was to burglarize the house to find money to pay his truck note. He said when he saw Griffis’ car outside, she let him in and they talked and later began kissing. Puckett claims that when Griffis heard her mother coming, Griffis picked up her clothes and ran into the bedroom. When her husband, David came in, Puckett said David went into a jealous rage and beat Griffis to death. Puckett’s claims were all disputed by Griffis’ mother’s testimony during the trial. A jury found Puckett guilty and he was sentenced to death on Aug. 5, 1996. Puckett was the second inmate to be executed that year and he was pronounced dead at 6:18 p.m.

2014 – Robert L. Henry – was an American criminal who committed a heinous crime in Broward County, Florida, USA. Born on May 1, 1958, Henry was involved in a robbery on November 2, 1987. During this robbery, he brutally murdered two store employees, Phyllis Harris, 53, and Janet Thermidor, 35. He attacked them with a hammer and then set them on fire.  Henry was sentenced to death on November 9, 1988. He was executed by lethal injection in Florida on March 20, 2014. Before his execution, Henry read a three-minute statement in which he apologized for his crimes and expressed hope that his death would comfort the families of the victims. However, he also criticized the death penalty.

Events

Jean Harris

1868 – Jesse James gang robs a bank in Russellville, Kentucky of $9,000

1974 – There is an attempted kidnap of Britain’s Princess Anne

1976 – Patricia Hearst is convicted of armed robbery

1981 – Jean Harris is sentenced to 15 to life for the murder of Herman Tarnower, the creator of the acclaimed “Scarsdale Diet”.

1992 – Manuel Noriega’s wife Felicidad arrested for stealing buttons from dresses

1995 – Members of the Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo released sarin gas on three lines of the Tokyo subway, killing 13 people & injuring over 1,000

1996 – Eric & Lyle Menendez found guilty of killing their parents

2000 – Robert Wayne Harris entered his former place of work and shot and killed 5 people

2020 – India hangs four men for the 2012 gang rape & murder of a woman on a bus in New Delhi it was the country’s first hanging since 2013