Births
Joseph “Mad Dog” Taborsky
1862 – Nathaniel “Texas Jack” Reed – was a 19th-century American outlaw known for many stagecoach, bank, and train robberies throughout the American Southwest during the 1880s and ’90s. He was born on March 23, 1862, in Madison County, Arkansas, and died on January 7, 1950, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Reed acted both independently and as the leader of a bandit gang, operating particularly in the Rocky Mountains and Indian Territory. He is claimed to have been the last survivor of the “47 most notorious outlaws” of Indian Territory. Reed’s father, Mason Henry Reed, was killed in action fighting for the Union Army during the American Civil War, probably at the Battle of Campbell’s Station on November 16, 1863. After his father’s death, Reed lived with several relatives, including his maternal grandparents, until 1883 when, at the age of 21, he moved to the American frontier. He worked at various jobs in Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and Texas until he reached Oklahoma, where he became a ranch hand for the Tarry outfit. During the summer of 1885, his foreman recruited him to rob a train at La Junta, Colorado. In the course of the robbery, Reed entered the passenger car firing his pistol to keep the passengers under control. He later received $6,000 for his part in the hold-up. Encouraged by this success, Reed gave up working as a cowboy and became an outlaw. During the next nine years, he and his gang robbed trains, stagecoaches, and banks and, on one occasion, captured a large shipment of bullion in California. In his later years, Reed became an evangelist and could often be seen on the streets of Tulsa preaching against the dangers of following a “life of crime”. His memoirs were published in the 1930s, and are considered valuable collectors’ items. He claimed to have ridden with the Dalton gang, Bill Doolin, Henry Starr, and other outlaws and bandits of the old West. He may have also helped Cherokee Bill, a fellow outlaw from the Indian Territory, in his escape from Fort Smith during the 1880s. However, there is no corroborating evidence that he was involved in either of those events. As with many others of the era, Reed’s colorful stories of his almost 10-year career as an outlaw were probably exaggerated by later writers. He claimed to have ridden briefly with the Daltons and participated in their dual bank robberies in Coffeyville in 1892, as well as in the infamous 1893 gunfight at Ingalls. However, there is no corroborating evidence that he was involved in either of those events.
1875 – John Filip Nordlund – also known as “Mälarmördaren”, “Mordlund”, and “Svarte Filip”, was born on March 23, 1875, in Säter, Sweden. He is known as a Swedish mass murderer and was the second to last person to be executed in Sweden, after Alfred Ander in 1910. He was also the last person to be executed through manual beheading in Sweden. Nordlund was born in Övre Stubbersbo, near Säter outside Falun. He had two siblings, Joel, an older brother who was a deafmute, and a younger brother named Rickard. In 1882, the family moved to Falun where Nordlund went to school. However, being of an impatient nature, he never finished school and instead took to the road. For a brief period, one and a half years, he worked at a lumber mill in Korsnäs, which, according to himself, was the only time he tried to live an honest life. Still, he gave in to temptation and forged a bill, which got him fired from the lumber mill. His parents had now moved to Gävle; Nordlund also lived there for a short period. Nordlund had gotten used to thieving during his time on the road and in 1891 he was arrested and sentenced to four months in prison for cattle rustling by a court in Ljusdal. Later the same year he received his first long-term prison sentence, this time for stealing, when he was sentenced to three years in prison. The prison term was served at the county jail in Malmö. In 1895 he received another three-year sentence which was to be served in Långholmen Prison in Stockholm, where he was enrolled as prisoner number two. On April 20, 1900, Nordlund was released from Långholmen, and with the help of his younger brother, who was now living in Stockholm and working as a clerk, he went home to Gävle. As an ex-convict, he had difficulties getting a job, so soon he returned to his old life, but this time with a disastrous plan of one final big hit that would solve his problems. On May 17, 1900, Nordlund committed one of the worst deeds in Swedish criminal history, namely the mass murder on the steamboat Prins Carl. He was executed on December 10, 1900, at the age of 25.
1924 – Joseph “Mad Dog” Taborsky – was a notorious serial killer who was sentenced to death after a series of brutal robberies and murders in Connecticut during the 1950s. This period of violence, which resulted in the deaths of six people, became known as the “Mad Dog Killings”. Many other victims were shot, beaten, or pistol-whipped but survived. Taborsky was born on March 23, 1924, in Hartford, Connecticut. His criminal career began in earnest on his 25th birthday, when he and his younger brother Albert robbed a West Hartford liquor store, during which the owner, Louis Wolfson, was shot and killed. Albert later confessed to the crime, resulting in both brothers being convicted. Albert was sentenced to life in prison, while Joseph was sentenced to death. However, before Joseph’s execution could be carried out, Albert had a mental breakdown and was transferred to a mental health facility. This led to Joseph’s lawyers requesting a new trial, and the courts decided that Albert’s confession was not sufficient evidence to convict his brother. After 52 months on death row, Joseph Taborsky was a free man. Despite vowing to go straight, Taborsky soon returned to his criminal ways. He met another felon, Arthur “Meatball” Culombe, who would become his accomplice during the “Mad Dog Killings”. Over 10 weeks, they embarked on a killing spree that terrified Connecticut residents and made them think twice before leaving their homes. Taborsky was eventually apprehended and confessed to all the murders, including that of Louis Wolfson back in 1950. Once again, he was sentenced to death. His execution in 1960 was the last in Connecticut (and in New England) until that of Michael Bruce Ross in 2005. Taborsky donated his body to Yale School of Medicine, and his ashes were later buried in the garden of Christ Church Cathedral. He remains the only convict in the state sentenced to death row twice, for different crimes.
1956 – Byron Lewis Black – An American man who was sentenced to death for the murder of his girlfriend, Angela Clay, he also received two life sentences for the murders of her two children 9-year-old Latoya and 6-year-old Lakeisha
1957 – Robert Karl Hicks – Hicks, a previously convicted rapist, had been out on parole for less than a year after serving a portion of his 15-year sentence for assaulting a 16-year-old girl. One day, he noticed 28-year-old Toni Strickland Rivers conversing with her boyfriend on a pay phone at a local grocery store. Unbeknownst to Rivers, Hicks followed her as she left the store. An attempt was made by Hicks to kidnap Rivers, but she managed to escape. However, Hicks pursued her, eventually catching up to her. In a horrific act, he stabbed Rivers and nearly severed her head with a knife. Despite the violent nature of the crime, Rivers was not sexually assaulted, although she was found undressed from the waist down. Hicks was apprehended near the scene of the crime after his vehicle ran out of fuel. A knife, later identified as the murder weapon, was discovered in his pocket, stained with blood. His clothing and car seat were also found to be stained with Rivers’ blood. Additionally, a pair of women’s shorts, sandals, and a key ring bearing the initials “T.R.” were discovered in his vehicle. Initially, Hicks confessed to the authorities that he had killed Rivers. At his trial, he pleaded insanity, with his doctor testifying that he suffered from a disorder that inhibited his ability to control his impulses. However, in a recent turn of events, Hicks has claimed his innocence, alleging that the murder was committed by a drug dealer and another individual.
1960 – Colin Pitchfork – is a British double child murderer and rapist. He was the first person convicted of rape and murder using DNA profiling. His crimes took place in neighbouring Leicestershire villages: Lynda Mann in Narborough in November 1983, and Dawn Ashworth in Enderby in July 1986. Pitchfork lived in Newbold Verdon, attending school in Market Bosworth and Desford, until his marriage in 1981 to a social worker. The Pitchforks had two sons. Before his marriage, Pitchfork had been convicted of indecent exposure and had been referred for therapy. He worked in Hampshires Bakery in Leicester, starting in 1976 as an apprentice. He continued to work there until his arrest for the murders. He became particularly skilled as a sculptor of cake decorations and had hoped to start his own cake-decorating business. In 1979, Pitchfork forced a 16-year-old girl into a field and sexually assaulted her. On 21 November 1983, 15-year-old Lynda Mann took a shortcut on her way home from babysitting instead of taking her normal route home. She did not return and her parents and neighbors spent the night searching for her. The next morning, she was found raped and strangled on a deserted footpath known locally as the Black Pad. He was arrested on 19 September 1987 and was sentenced to life imprisonment on 22 January 1988 after pleading guilty to both murders, with the judge giving him a 30-year minimum term (reduced to 28 years on appeal). He was granted parole in June 2021 and was released on license on 1 September that year. On 19 November of the same year, he was recalled to prison for breaching his license conditions. Pitchfork was granted parole a second time in June 2023, but after intervention from the Lord Chancellor Alex Chalk the Parole Board reviewed its decision and decided not to release him.
1964 – David Ray Camm – is a former trooper of the Indiana State Police (ISP). He spent 13 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted twice for the murders of his wife, Kimberly, and his two young children at their home in Georgetown, Indiana, on September 28, 2000. Camm told police that he returned home from playing basketball at a nearby church and found his wife and children shot to death in the garage of their home. The initial investigation led to Camm’s arrest and subsequent conviction. However, both convictions were reversed, and after a third trial, Camm was acquitted in 2013. The case was marked by numerous false leads and hampered the investigation of the murders. The theory of the crime at the time of the arrest was that Camm returned home from playing basketball, shot his family, and attempted a clean-up before abandoning this and calling the Sellersburg State Police post for help. After his release, Camm has managed to rebuild his life. As of 2023, he is 59 years old. Despite the hardships he faced, his story serves as a stark reminder of the fallibility of the justice system and the importance of thorough and unbiased investigations.
1964 – Charles Anthony Nealy – was a man with a history of robberies and an extensive juvenile record for shoplifting, burglary, and theft. He 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 was killed by a shotgun blast to the heart. The other man shot an employee, Vijay Patel, in the head. Patel died a few days later. The robbers took a briefcase containing $4,000 in cash, money from the cash register, and some wine and beer before leaving the store. 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. The man with the shotgun was identified as Charles Anthony Nealy. 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.
1966 – Jack Foster Outten Jr – is known for his involvement in a high-profile criminal case. He, along with his cousins Nelson and Steven Shelton, were convicted of first-degree murder. The victim was Wilson “Willie” Mannon, a 62-year-old man they met at a bar. After a day of drinking, the three men and Nelson’s girlfriend, Christina Gibbons, left the bar with Mannon. Mannon’s body was later found on a deserted road in East Wilmington. Outten Jr. was initially sentenced to death for his role in the crime. However, after a series of appeals and post-conviction claims, his sentence was reduced to 38 years imprisonment as part of a plea agreement. As of now, he is incarcerated at the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center. It’s worth noting that this case drew attention when Steven Shelton donated one of his kidneys to his ailing mother. Initially, Nelson Shelton wanted to donate his kidney, but it was found to be incompatible. Therefore, Steven donated his kidney in his brother’s place. This act of familial love amidst a grim criminal case added a unique dimension to their story.
1970 – Steven Van McHone – He was convicted of killing his mother, Mildred Johnson Adams, and stepfather Wesley Dalton Adams Sr. on June 3, 1990, in Surry County, North Carolina. The crime occurred when McHone’s stepbrother Wesley Adams Jr. and his wife Wendy were visiting Wesley Adams Sr. and his wife, Mildred. After an argument, McHone shot both his mother and stepfather. McHone was sentenced to death on March 7, 1991. His appeals centered on the fact he was under the influence of alcohol and possibly other drugs at the time of the murders. Voluntary intoxication is a defense to a capital indictment under North Carolina state law. Also, the trial counsel had failed to object to inappropriate statements of the prosecutor and unsatisfactory jury instruction. Despite the appeals, McHone was executed by the U.S. state of North Carolina on November 11, 2005. His case remains a significant part of North Carolina’s criminal justice history.
1982 – Tiffany Hall – Ms. Hall is a sick, twisted, and possibly mentally disturbed woman who murdered her friend, 23-year-old, Jimella Tunstall so that she could take her unborn baby from her womb which she did and the baby died. Three days later she would murder Miss. Tunstall’s remaining three children
1987 – Kim Wall – was a Swedish freelance journalist who had traveled the world from her home and worked for various publication houses like The Guardian, The New York Times, Slate, and Time. She was an award-winning reporter who had reported from Uganda, Cuba, the Marshall Islands, Kenya, and the United States. Kim Wall was born on July 2, 1969 in Atlanta. She had a taste of the stage as a member of the national champion Mountain Shadow Precision Clogging Team. As a teenager, she began working in commercials and was scouted by modeling agents in Paris and Milan. On August 10, 2017, Kim Wall boarded the midget submarine UC3 Nautilus, in Køge Bugt, Denmark, with the intent of interviewing its owner, Danish entrepreneur Peter Madsen. She was reported missing after the submarine failed to return to the harbor at Refshaleøen, Copenhagen. The submarine was found sunken the following morning and Madsen was arrested upon being rescued from the water. Between August 21 and November 29, parts of Wall’s dismembered body were found in different locations around the area. Charged with her murder, Madsen was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment on April 25, 2018, by Copenhagen City Court following a widely publicized trial. Kim Wall was 30 when she died. She was about to move to Beijing, China with her Danish partner, Ole, and this was to be her final story before leaving. The 40-tonne submarine that the inventor had built in 2008 was, after all, not far from Ole’s flat in Refshaleoen, a harbor area of the capital. Her mutilated torso was discovered on a beach by a passing cyclist on August 21. Her head, legs, and clothing were found by police divers on October 6. Kim Wall’s death became an international cause celebre, with Peter Madsen ultimately going on trial and being convicted of premeditated murder and aggravated sexual assault. Her life and tragic death left a significant impact on the world of journalism.
Deaths
Hung Thanh Le
1860 – Ann Bilansky – born Mary Ann Evards Wright around 1820 in Fayetteville, North Carolina, was an American housewife who was convicted in 1859 of poisoning her husband with arsenic. She holds the unfortunate distinction of being the only woman in Minnesota to receive the death penalty and the first white person in the state to be executed by hanging. Ann was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, where she resided for several years with her first husband who later died in a railroad incident. She then moved to Pleasant Hill, Illinois, and finally to St. Paul, Minnesota in April 1858 at the request of her nephew, John Walker, who was ill with typhoid fever. Shortly after, Ann married Stanislaus Bilansky, one of the first Polish immigrants to settle in St. Paul. Stanislaus was a poor man who drank heavily, but he owned a small cabin that doubled as a bar and grocery store. He had custody of his three young children left in his care after his second wife divorced him, and Ann frequently took care of the children when Stanislaus was ill or working. In 1859, Stanislaus was sick between March 6 and March 11 with what was thought to be indigestion, but his condition worsened rapidly as he consumed both alcohol and Graffenburg pills. Ann was seen crying at his bedside asking what she should do with the kids in case anything happened. Stanislaus died on March 11. The trial began as the funeral procession was leaving the Bilansky residence to bury Stanislaus at the cemetery, officials from the Ramsey County coroner’s office arrived to conduct an inquest. A doctor examined the body and a coroner’s jury was assembled to hear testimony. The coroner’s jury found that Stanislaus died of natural causes, but questioned why Ann had not called a doctor toward the end of his illness. Stanislaus was then buried on March 12, but that evening a visiting neighbor named Lucinda Kilpatrick changed her testimony to claim she saw Ann buying arsenic from a drugstore on February 28. Ann claimed the purchase was at Stanislaus’ urging, so they might kill rats in the cellar. After taking Kilpatrick’s new testimony, Stanislaus’ body was exhumed for an examination and on March 13, Ann was arrested for the murder of her husband. A second coroner’s jury convened to hear testimonies, and the jury concluded that Stanislaus died of arsenic poisoning, a grand jury indicted Ann for the murder of her husband, and a trial date was set for May 23. Ann Bilansky was executed by hanging on March 23, 1860. She remains the only woman ever to be executed in Minnesota state history.
1926 – Lock Ah Tam – was born in Canton in 1872 and came to England as a ship’s steward. He settled in Birkenhead and became an organizer of Chinese dockyard labor, rising to a position of some importance and standing. He was often involved in fights with sailors due to the violent nature of the docks in the early twentieth century. At 54, he had been a successful and well-respected man who ran the European branch of the Jack Ah Tai organization for Chinese dock workers, the Chinese Progress Club, and was superintendent of Chinese sailors for three steamship companies in Liverpool. However, in February 1918, he was hit over the head while drinking and went to the hospital. This incident altered his personality completely, leading him to become irritable and start to drink heavily, exhibiting violent mood swings. His life took a tragic turn on December 2, 1925, when he shot his wife and his two daughters, Catherine Ah Tam (42), Doris Ah Tam (19), and Cecilia Ah Tam (17) at their home after a party. After the killings, he rang the police and told them to come and arrest him. He was tried at Chester Assizes in February 1926 and was defended by Britain’s foremost counsel, Sir Edward Marshall Hall. The defense was one of insanity due to automatism caused by an epileptic seizure brought on by the blow to the head seven years earlier. However, this defense failed as it could be shown that Tam did know what he had done and that it was wrong because he had telephoned the police immediately afterward. The jury returned a guilty verdict after 12 minutes of deliberation and Lock Ah Tam was sentenced to die. He was executed by hanging at Walton gaol on March 23, 1926.
1993 – Carlos Santana – No, not the American guitarist! This Santana was a thief and took part in an armored car robbery in April 1981, during that robbery Santana shot and killed 29-year-old security guard Oliver Flores and according to witnesses, he shot Mr.Flores even though he hadn’t put up any argument or offensive moves
1998 – Gerald Stano – born Paul Zeininger on September 12, 1951, in Schenectady, New York, was an American convicted serial killer. He was the fifth child born to his biological mother, and the third she put up for adoption. At six months old, he was adopted by a nurse named Norma Stano, who legally changed his name. Despite his foster parents being described as loving, Stano continued to have behavioral problems throughout his childhood. In school, he earned Cs and Ds in all subjects except music in which he excelled. He was a compulsive liar and was once caught stealing money from his father’s wallet. During his youth, Stano was often bullied. At the age of 14, he was arrested for a false fire alarm and later for throwing rocks at cars from a highway bridge. Stano did not graduate high school until he was 21. After receiving his diploma, he enrolled in a computer school, graduated, and began working in a local hospital. However, he was soon fired for stealing from co-workers. Stano was arrested on March 25, 1980, after attacking a woman named Donna Hensley, who escaped a hotel room and contacted authorities. Officially, Stano admitted that he began killing in the early 1970s when he was in his twenties; however, he also claimed to have begun killing in the late 1960s, at the age of 18. He murdered at least 22 young women and girls and confessed to 41 murders, and the police say the number of his victims may be closer to 88. Stano was executed by electrocution on March 23, 1998, at Florida State Prison. His final statement before being executed was to give the location of the last body.
2000 – Kelly Lamont Rogers – was a convicted criminal who was executed for the rape and murder of a 21-year-old Oklahoma State University student, Karen Marie Lauffenburger. The crime occurred on December 19, 1990, after Lauffenburger delivered a pizza to the apartment of Rogers’ girlfriend. Rogers followed her out of the apartment, robbed her at knifepoint, forced her to drive him to her apartment to get her ATM card, and had her withdraw $175 from her bank account. He then forced her to return to her apartment where he stabbed and raped her. Rogers was 31 years old at the time of his execution, which took place at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary. He received a lethal mix of drugs and was pronounced dead at 12:27 a.m. Before his execution, Rogers acknowledged his crimes and asked God to heal the family of his victim. He had previous convictions for armed robbery, forgery, and escaping from a penal institution. He had been out of prison for just five weeks when he committed the murder. Rogers spent fewer than 10 years on death row, with his final appeal being rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court and the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board denying him clemency.
2004 – Hung Thanh Le – a Vietnamese foreign national, was convicted in the death of his business associate, Hai Nguyen, in 1992. He was scheduled for execution on February 26, 2004, in Oklahoma. However, an hour before the scheduled execution, Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry, a Democrat, granted a stay of execution at Hanoi’s request. Vietnam wanted more time to review the case. Despite a unanimous recommendation from the Oklahoma Board of Pardon and Paroles to reduce Le’s death sentence to life in prison, Governor Brad Henry rejected it. Le’s appeal noted that he was not informed of his right to contact the Vietnamese consulate when he was arrested and may have been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from the Vietnam War. Leaders of the Vietnamese-American Community of Oklahoma City urged Henry to consider the clemency petition, and others asked for at least a 30-day stay of execution.
Events
Daniel Prude
1882 – The Edmunds Act (Edmunds Anti-Polygamy Act) is adopted by the United States to suppress polygamy. 1300 men are later imprisoned under the act.
1989 – Joel Steinberg is sentenced to 25 years for killing his adopted daughter
1991 – Charles Albright is arrested
1994 – Amy Fisher’s lover Joey Buttafuoco is released from jail after 4 months & 9 days
2020 – African American Daniel Prude dies after being physically restrained by police in Rochester, New York, including having a hood put over his head