A mother once took her child for a walk in a Los Angeles neighborhood and stumbled upon a gruesome sight: the body of a young naked woman sliced clean in half at the waist. This was the start of one of Hollywood’s most notorious unsolved cases in history. The case has been passed down from detective to detective, searching for answers and clues to find the missing killer. The woman was named Elizabeth Short and she was a young actress from a small town in Massachusetts. There were hundreds of people that came forward trying to claim they were the one that had committed the killing of “The Black Dahlia” but only a few had stood out as actual possible suspects. Initially, George Hodel was framed as the missing killer. His son, Steve Hodel, was going through his dad’s belongings when he noticed two photos of a …show more content…
The police concluded through a “handwriting test comparing his writing and the killer’s letter that it was unidentifiable” (DeMaria). While searching through his fathers belongings, Steve found a large bag of concrete, the same size, and brand as a concrete bag found near Elizabeth Short’s body. Steve’s research has even gained some attention from law enforcement. In 2004, Stephen R. Kay, the head deputy for L.A. County’s district attorney office, said, “if George Hodel was still alive we would have enough to indict him for the Elizabeth Short murder” (DeMaria). In the end, the Los Angeles Police Department had a bigger suspect on their hands. Secondly, in 2017 British author Piu Eatwell announced that she had finally solved the case. She claimed that, “the real culprit was Leslie Dillon, a man who police briefly considered the primary suspect but ultimately let go” (DeMaria). Her theory was that Dillon, who worked as a bellhop, murdered Short at a local nightclub and carried her to the park where she was
Christine Jessop was a nine year old girl who after bring dropped off by the school bus at her home in Queensville, decided to ride her bike to the park nearby to meet with her friends. After stopping to buy some gum at the local store, she was last seen walking her bike up her driveway by her friend Kim Warren. She did not keep her appointment with her friend at the park, and would never be seen alive again (Anderson & Anderson, 2009). This small town instantly became involved in the search for the missing girl, but with very little evidence to go on time passed, and hope began to diminish for the safe return home of Jessop. On New Year’s Eve 1984, eighty-nine days after Jessop went missing, her body was found badly decomposed in a bush by Fred Patterson fifty-five kilometers from Queensville. An autopsy would later revival that she was raped and mutilated (Anderson & Anderson, 2009). The police still did not have a suspect in the case nor did they have any leads, but now that her body was found the police and the small town were the topic of media, increasing pressure on the police to figure out what had happened to this little girl.
On August 23, 1980 in Conroe, Texas, is 40 miles north of Houston, a 16-year-old girl, Cheryl Fergeson, disappeared while searching for a women’s restroom at Conroe High School (Gores, 1991). Cheryl was the manager of the Bellville High girls’ volleyball team visiting Conroe High School for a preseason scrimmage. Later that day while searching for the girl two janitors, Clarence Brandley who is black, and Henry Peace who is white, found the girl’s body hidden under some scenery flats in the loft above the auditorium stage. Cheryl has been raped and strangled to death. Clarence and Henry were interrogated and made to sign statements. The two janitors were then taken to the hospital and made to give sperm, blood, and hair samples from their head
Scott Peterson was an educated man from California Polytechnic State University where he graduated with a B.A. in Agricultural Business. He was married to his wife Laci Peterson who was also pregnant with their unborn son. In December of 2002 Laci Peterson went missing in the Modesto, California area where she shared a home with Scott. Once the investigation of Scott’s missing wife started authorities began to suspect Scott as a suspect in her disappearance. In April of 2003 a fetus and a female torso that was missing hands, feet, and a head were found on the shoreline of San Francisco Bay. The San Francisco Bay area was where Scott was boating the day of Laci’s disappearance. The body was later identified as Laci Peterson and the fetus as Laci and Scott’s unborn son. Scott was also arrested in the month of April shortly after the discovery of Laci and their son’s body and was later sentenced to the death penalty. Over the course of this paper I will cover the whole event of the disappearance of Laci Peterson, relating it to a sociological theory, the impact the event had on our society and how the media had influence over this national event.
In November of 1980 A young girl, 12 years old, named Christine Weller went missing. She would later prove to be one of Olson's first murder victims. Christine was abducted from her home in Surrey, BC. Her mutilated body ...
Nothing is clear cut whether it is a murder or a trial. There is emanating possibilities of who committed the crime, and what the reasoning was behind this horrific, world renowned murder. This life changing event occurred in the morning of July 4th 1954. The night before the murder nothing seemed out of place in the Sheppard family. Sam and Marilyn were cuddled up together, Marilyn sitting on Sam's lap my while having company over. The Sheppard family was very involved in their community and seemed to be the perfect family. After the company left Marilyn put her son to bed as she did every night, with the same rituals. That night Marilyn slept upstairs while Sam slept on the day bed downstairs. After everyone was asleep, that was the last of this perfect family. The murderer positioned Marilyn as if a position of sexual assault and after DNA testing it was confirmed. Marilyn Sheppard was raped and also bludgeoned to death. Two sets of semen were found inside this pregnant women. Her Skull was fractured, and suffered from several blows to the head. Looking at possible suspects, one individual sticks out from all the rest, Richard Eberling.
Sue Grafton once stated: “Except for cases that clearly involve a homicidal maniac, the police like to believe murders are committed by those we know and love, and most of the time they're right.” This is clearly the thought the Boulder Colorado police conceived in the case of little beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey. As many have observed from the onslaught of media coverage, the day after Christmas 1996, six year old Jon Benet Ramsey was found buried under a white blanket, bound, beaten, and strangled to death in the wine cellar of their Boulder home. With such a strikingly rare and glamorous story of a six year old beauty queen dead, who was a part of a “perfect American upper-middle class family”, combined with a lack of a lead and ever mounting suspicion piling up against the parents it was no surprise to find that it was fuel to the media and soon stories sold and became a matter of competition between the press. So, like wildfire, this heart-breaking story spread, stretching across the nation, shattering the souls of the world. News broadcasts, magazine and newspaper articles, and television specials all shaped and molded peoples perceptions of this beautiful child’s murder, especially her parents, John and Pasty Ramsey’s involvement or lack there of. The police and FBI’s merciless quest to connect Jon Benet’s murder to her parents, seemed to cause the them to overlook important evidence, or at the very least dismiss suspicious findings that would otherwise send red flags to investigators. There are many contributors as to why this case remains unsolved including lack of investigative expertise, failure to protect valuable evidence, and focusing too much on the parents as suspects but, ultimately, the over involvement of...
A little over 100 years ago, a gruesome double murder was committed at the Borden residence. For example, Lizzie Borden and her sister Emma’s childhoods were awful. Their mom died when Lizzie was just three years old (Allard, 2013). Their father got remarried, but Lizzie and Emma did not like their step-mother, Abby Borden, because they thought she was just using their father for his wealth. Furthermore, people think Lizzie did it because she hates Abby. Both, Emma and Lizzie greeted her as Mrs. Borden (Biography, 2017). Abby was also very mean to
"The True Story of The Black Dahlia Murder." About.com Crime / Punishment. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2014. .
Ramsland, K. (2008, n/a n/a). The Bottom Falls Out. Retrieved june 15, 2008, from www.crimelibrary.com: http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/women/andrea_yates/index.html
On July 27th, 2015 a young woman named Maylin Reynoso went missing. She was last seen leaving her job at a gas station and after this her friends and family went to social media to ask people if they had any information about where Maylin could be. Other than these posts on Instagram, Tumbler, and Facebook there was no news coverage about her disappearance. Sadly, Maylin’s body was found three day later in the Harlem River, she was only 20 years old; although she had been found dead there was still no news coverage about her (Blay, 2016). The worst part of her death was that her family did not know about her body being found until a week later. The family was only able to identify Maylin’s body because of her tattoos. During that same week
The Boston Strangler was probably the most notorious criminal that Boston, Massachusetts has ever known. But who was the Boston Strangler? Was he Albert DeSalvo, the person who confessed and went to jail for these crimes? Is he someone that took his secret to the grave and let an innocent man take the blame for his crime? Or is he still walking the streets of Boston, or even the streets of another city?
(Ellroy, 318) In chapter 35, Bucky finally admitted that Lee had been murdered by Madeline, the Black Dahlia had been forgotten, no case anymore, “No mention of the Black Dahlia case at all” (Ellroy 318). Simply gone. Not solved. Jennifer Latson wrote an article in TIME magazine, titled as “Black Dahlia Murder Case Hits 68 Years Unsolved”. Latson exclaimed that there had been several suspects, but the police were not able to pinpoint the murder case on anyone, “There’s never been a shortage of suspects in the Black Dahlia murder — but police have never been able to pin the crime on any of them” (Latson, Black Dahlia Murder Case Hits 68 Years Unsolved). The article not only included the background information about the case, but also inserted links to the list of suspects- which had an abundant amount names on the published
As if molded directly from the depths of nightmares, both fascinating and terrifying. Serial killers hide behind bland and normal existences. They are often able to escape being caught for years, decades and sometimes an eternity. These are America’s Serial Killers (America’s Serial Killers). “Even when some of them do get caught, we may not recognize what they are because they don’t [sic] match the distorted image we have of serial killers” (Brown). What is that distorted image? That killers live among everyday life, they are the ones who creep into someone’s life unknowingly to torture and kill them. The serial killers that are in the movies, Norman Bates, Michael Myers, and the evil master mind of SAW, these characters are just that characters. They have been made up as exaggerated fictional characters from the Hollywood imagination.
On the morning of July 4, 1954, Marilyn Sheppard was violently beaten in her home in Bay Village, Ohio, on the shore of Lake Erie. She was four months pregnant and had been felled by 35 vicious blows (Quade). Right away Sam Sheppard was accused of being the victim to do this. Sheppard had told investigators that he had been asleep downstairs and was awakened by his wife’s screams. Sheppard said when he went upstairs and entered the room he was knocked unconscious by the intruder. He denied any involvement and described his battle with the killer he described as “bushy-haired” (Linder). After a police investigation, Dr. Sam Sheppard was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. With the hectic media covering it, they were quick in decision that it was him that committed the murder. This was an unfair trial, ruined a man’s life, and gave him no time for a career.
It could be argued that the term “Scottish” is problematic. This is because its definition arguably changes depending on who you ask. For example, the term “Scottish” will have a different meaning to those who live in Scotland to those who live outside of Scotland. This essay will discuss the notion of “Scottishness” and will explore the factors which cause a piece of music to be deemed as “Scottish” and what caused these factors to have changed between the eighteenth century and present-day. Throughout this essay, I will also explore the use of Scottish stereotypes presented in music to increase marketability and how these stereotypes have made it difficult for us to determine what is authentically “Scottish” and what is not.