Sunday 30 June 2013

The Murder of Taylor Behl

The murder of this young college freshman was an example of a determined mother not to stand by but get out and be proactive.  Taylor Behl was born in October 1987 in Vienna, Virginia, and later on in life, she and her mother moved to Richmond in Virginia, to make it easier for her to attend university there.  The nightmare began in September 2005 when she vanished from the university campus, one night.  The campus Police did look into it but believed she had just took off like young people were prone to do.  Her mother did not believe it and stated Taylor always phoned her to let her know if she was going off anywhere.  She had not taken any clothes or possessions and her credit card was unused.  The mother started a publicity campaign that was not initially welcomed by the University, but she persevered with flyers, bombarding newspapers and local TV stations in order to drum up publicity.  This paid off with the media asking questions, which after ten days, brought in an outside Police force, consisting of local, state and federal officers.

    The boyfriend of Taylor was questioned and eliminated as a suspect.  Soon, another man came into the frame, an amateur photographer Ben Hawley.  He was seen with Taylor on the day she vanished but denied any involvement with her disappearance.  He failed a polygraph.  He also changed his story a number of times.  A search of his apartment yielded disturbing evidence when his computer was found with numerous child pornography images on it.  Soon, Taylor`s car was found, around a mile and a half away, and taken away for forensic examination.  A former girlfriend of Hawley mentioned to Police an abandoned building many miles away that they used to visit for sex.  A search of the area found the remains of Taylor.  Evidence of bondage was found on her but the Medical Examiner could not discover the actual cause of death.

    The evidence against the 38 year old Hawley was that he changed his story six times, was caught on cctv with Taylor, after he claimed he last seen her.  She was found in a remote location that he knew very well, and a petrol receipt put him in the general area of the crime scene.  Whilst in jail awaiting child porn charges, despite his lawyer`s advice, he decided to tell all to cops.  He claimed that Taylor wanted him to choke her, as in the auto-erotic strangling for sexual gratification.  He said that he did not kill her, yet later said that he did not intentionally kill her.  He either killed her or he did not!  His defence lawyer`s strategy was to present her, basically as a slut, in order to totally discredit her reputation.  Who says that defence lawyers do not try to get an acquittal in any way possible, rather than defend?

     Hawley then entered into a plea bargain with the prosecution, and was sentenced to thirty years for second degree murder, yet incredibly still maintains his innocence.  He cannot tell a true and straight story, says he did not kill her and then did, denied everything to do with Taylor and failed a polygraph.  As for the child porn, what can you say?  What about the bondage he obviously forced on Taylor?  This is looked upon as a sign of sexual deviancy, yet he insists he is an innocent man.  Full marks to the mother of Taylor as her tenacity eventually brought a major investigation and the apprehension of her killer.

Murder of Bob Dorotik

Today, the murder casebook looks at the case of Bob Dorotik and the conviction of his wife, Jane, for his murder.  There is also the accusation in court by defence attorneys that the real murderer was his daughter, Claire.  There are twists and turns in the case, and the actions of some family, raise questions.  Bob was supposed to have gone jogging, and his body was found around the areas that he jogged.  Tyre tracks were found and three tracks were different.  An early suspect arose, a farmhand, but the tracks on his pick-up truck did not match the tracks at the crime scene.  His alibi for the time was thoroughly investigated and confirmed, and he was eliminated.  Two pieces of forensics puzzled the Police, and that was a piece of skull fragment was found inside his jogging top, not under or by his body.  This suggested that he could have been killed and then dressed, moved and dumped.  He had lost a great deal of blood, yet there was little blood around the body.

    Police now looked closer to home and with the permission of Jane, searched the bedroom, where blood spots were found.  A more intensive search found blood all over the bedroom, and blood had seeped through floorboards down below.  The blood was Bob`s.  The tyre tracks matched Jane`s pick-up truck.  She was arrested and charged.  The motive was said by prosecutors to be money.  He had a substantial life insurance policy on him, and their ranch, Charisma Farm, where they had a good number of horses, did eat money.  She earned much more than her husband, and they did earlier go through a possible divorce but reconciled.  Friends said they were closer than ever.  She may have been made to pay alimony to her husband if they divorced, as she earned much more than he.  The defence strategy was that Claire had actually committed the murder.  Astonishingly, Claire chose to take the Fifth Amendment, which protects you against self-incrimination, as did an aunt.  It is quite logical that if somebody accuses you of a heinous crime, you will defend yourself, you will shout from the rooftops of your innocence, not sat there saying nothing.

    In an interview with Paula Zahn, Claire gave very controlled answers to her questions, but my belief is that there was so much more to it.  She did not emphasise her innocence.  It was too deliberate and controlled for my liking.  Jane was convicted and sentenced to 25 years to life.  As for the motive, I agree with the defence; the suggestion was only speculation, but will we ever know the full story?

Saturday 29 June 2013

Robert Berdella - Sick Sadist

This sick, twisted psychotic sadist was known as the "Butcher of Kansas City" who committed six known murders but was probably responsible for many more.  He kidnapped men, then trussed them up, drugged them then tortured them over time.  He then killed them and dismembered their bodies.  Berdellas` disposal of the body parts was not a carefully planned exercise, putting them in all different areas to throw off the Police, he just disposed of in the way of putting your garbage out.  He did keep some parts as trophies.  He also took numerous polaroids of them trussed up and also after torture sessions, so he could relive the moments whilst masturbating.

    He befriended a man named Larry Pearson in 1987, and after some time, Pearson moved into Berdellas` home.  He drugged him, bound him with piano wire, got him down into his basement, and then proceeded to rape him, then torture him over a six week period.  It also involved using a transformer that could produce over 7,000 volts, and he subjected Pearson to numerous electrical shocks, lasting as long as thirty seconds!  After so long, he became sunserviant to Berdella, but was still kept in bondage.  One day, he finally snapped and tried to fight back, and he screamed at Berdella, who was angered by this, as Pearson was not allowed to say one word.  He bit his penis when Berdella demanded oral sex. He beat him unconscious, then placed a bag over his head, suffocating him.  He went to hospital for treatment to his penis.  He then used a chainsaw to dismember the body later.

    His downfall came via a man called Chris Bryson, his latest sex slave.  Whilst out, Bryson managed to get hold of matches and used them to burn through rope that bound him, then he jumped out of a window and ran naked, to a nearby house.  When Berdella returned, he was immediately arrested by the Police, which shocked him as he believed that his victims were people that would not be missed.  He actually believed he had done no wrong.  Sick bastard.

Ian Brady - Is He Still Manipulating?

The recent court case of Brady highlights what I believe is his manipulative nature.  He wants to go to a prison so he can die.  So he can get away from force feeding.  But to the public, is this simply his way of exerting control over all of his situations?  He likened himself to a "Superman", as defined by Nietzshe, and that he was of superior intelligence.  However, as with all meglomaniacs, they are always doomed to failure.  The murder of Edward Evans brought him and Hindley down, and my belief is that she was as twisted as him, and indeed, even worse.  His reading of literature by philosophers, who spout all these psychobabble theories( You have to stand on the edge of the abyss to see hell before you pull back -you get the drift) but he needed somebody who would assist him in his "experiments" to commit "The perfect murder" and show that he was a true superman.  Could he have acted alone?  I do not believe that for one second. 

    Now he has said that he committed four more murders, and that Keith Bennett is not buried on Saddleworth Moor but in Yorkshire.  If he did commit more murders, she had to have helped him, and that would totally demolish the claims of her supporters who said that she was a changed woman.  If Keith is buried elsewhere, then it shows that Brady is still in control and I believe he has strung along the Police and the family to prolong his bargaining position.  If Keith is found, he loses power. Is he mentally ill?  Load of bollocks in my view.  Ok, I am not a shrink, but sometimes logic can come into it.

    Then there was the so-called "Crossbow Cannibal" Stephen Griffiths, who said that he hid the body parts in a place "where a robot or computer would hide it".  Was this a reference to a basement or cellar?  Computers store information in archives, and where are archives kept? In the computer "basement".  Where do people store or put things?  In a basement.  Worth thinking about.

Tuesday 25 June 2013

The Murder of Clive Olive

Another sensational trial from the early seventies that I remember reading about, was the murder of sixteen years old Clive Olive, reportedly a Hells Angel.  Again we look at the time, that any dirty or vicious looking biker was an Angel.  The media never knew the difference.  He was reported missing, and after two months, his body was found in Shoreham Harbour, trussed up and weighted down.  Exposed flesh had been stripped from his body by crabs and other sea creatures.  Police arrested two men and a woman, and they soon found themselves on trial for murder.

    The trio were bikers, again said to have been Hells Angels, Brian Moore, his brother-in-law Albert Dorn, and Christine Dorn.  Moore believed Olive had raped his girlfriend and so revenge was sworn.  Olive was lured in to the back of a van, where he was volently beaten, tied up and driven to Shoreham Harbour, where they threw him in to the water, whilst still alive.  He was not found for two months.  The men were convicted of murder and received life sentences, the woman, ten years for manslaughter, in December 1973.  They were said to have been members of the Mad Dogs MC, based in Sussex, a mob I have not heard of but then again, this was way back in the early seventies.

The Shooting of PC Philip Olds

This was one of the big trials of the early 1980`s as it was for the attempted murder of a uniformed Police Officer, Philip Olds.  PC Olds stumbled across biker Stuart Blackstock and an accomplice robbing an Off-licence(Liquor store) in Hayes, West London, in December 1980.  When challenged, Blackstock produced a handgun, pointed it at the officer and shot him.  Philip Olds was very seriously injured.  The bullet hit him in the spine, crippling him for life.  A manhunt soon had Blackstock in custody, and then put on trial.  To the astonishment of everybody, Blackstock was cleared of attempted murder but convicted of wounding  PC Olds with intent.  I remember the report in the Daily Mirror saying that Blackstock smiled when cleared of attempted murder.  He received a minimum sentence of seventeen years.

    Blackstock twenty years later, received compensation because his parole hearing was delayed at length, and to the disgust of the Police, received around £6,000.  He was paroled in 2002, claiming that he had apologised to the Olds family(Wow!) and wanted to rebuild his life.  PC Olds did not fare so well.  In 1986, he was found dead from a drink and drugs overdose.  It was said that he could not come to terms with his being paralysed, a case eerily echoed recently by the suicide of PC David Rathband, an officer blinded when shot in the face by that alleged "Role Model" Raoul Moat.  Officers having difficulty in adapting to lifetime disabilities by violent gunmen.

    All reports said that Blackstockwas a Hells Angel.  Was he an actual member of The Big Red Machine, or was he one of those labelled a HA because most people did not know the difference?  Whatever, Blackstock can still walk about, an ability he robbed from his victim.

Monday 24 June 2013

Money Laundering

Money laundering is one of the biggest industries in the world today.  This is solely due to the worldwide obsession with drugs.  It has created so much money and created so many multi-millionaires that the mind just boggles at the sheer monies generated.  But these new millionaires have to get the money legalised to avoid the confiscation orders that Police and tax people can serve on them.  After all, criminals regard prison as an occupational hazard but to lose their ill-gotten gains fills them with dread.  If they have nothinh, then others regard them as nothing.

    Despite the astronomical amounts of monies being transferred between countries, you would think that the governments of these countries would work to put a stop to these activities, but no, that will never happen.  For a long time, Switzerland was the favourite destination for fortunes to be hidden, due to it`s strict privacy laws on money.   Now it is only one of many.  Luxembourg, Lichenstein, Panama, Monaco, Antigua, numerous islands in the Carribean, Hong Kong, the Channel Isles, Isle of Man.   Just a small group of the many places you can set up bank accounts, or fake company accounts, or even shell companies.  These companies only exist in cyberspace.  One building on Antigua is home to more than 50,000 shell companies!  But because of it`s money laws, there is no way authorities can get into accounts, to follow the trail.

    You see that very nearly all criminals employ crooked bankers, accountants, lawyers, businessmen.  People who truly understand business, money, and how to hide it successfully and have it appear as legitimate income.  Money is transferred between accounts in different jurisdictions to create a near impossible trail for cops to follow.  When people talk about the Krays being "Supervillains" it is always conveniently forgotten that they employed crooked businessmen such as Leslie Payne & Freddie Gore, to carry out long firm frauds.  They did not have the slightest clue.  That is how intelligent they were.  That also applies to most criminals.   There are those who try laundering their cash through casinos, but the casino has to be in on it, to ensure you get good returns.  You could be the unluckiest gambler in the world!   Others try to put it through businesses.  It can be awkward trying to explain how a business suddenly gets trade and turnover a thousand fold.

    The Muslims have their own banking system known as "Hawala" and is based on trust, not bank accounts, paperwork and computers.  Many of these "Bankers" are just small businessmen or shopkeepers, but it is highly effective.  It has been claimed that white villains are using this system now, as cops are getting much more sophisticated in tracking money.  Read books like "The Laundryman", "The Merger" and "The Sink" by Jeffrey Robinson for better understanding of this.

Sunday 23 June 2013

Chris Little - Northern Gangster

In the annals of northern crime there are plenty of individuals who have never been given widespread publicity unlike various individuals and gangs in both Manchester & Salford.  In Stockport, one man tried to claim that he controlled the town.  This was a hulk of a man called Chris Little and he had the extreme violence to intimidate the townspeople, and tried it with the Police.  As usually happens with these people who think they are "Untouchable" and also walk on water, is they end up crossing up the wrong people and they wind up dead.

    Little was born in 1963 and his criminal path started whilst at school, selling drugs to other pupils.  After leaving school, he graduated to boxing, start ing as an amateur then turning professional under the tutelage of well known promoter Jack Trickett, a close friend of the so-called Quality Street Gang.  Littles` pro career did not add up to much and his best oponent was Johhny Nelson, a Sheffield fighter who ent on to win one of the World Cruiserweight titles.  He turned to running doormen and one night he gathered a contingent of them to invade a club in Mancheter.  In the club, they attacked doormen then escaped as Police arrived.  They were all arrested and taken to court, but only Little was jailed.  He received 18 months.  Whilst inside he worked constantly on the weights, and then once released, went back to violence and crime.  Anybody who crossed him met with extreme violence.  A man was thrown off a bridge by Little and some of his henchmen, on to the M63 motorway, but it was a csase of mistaken identity.  The victim was in a coma for ten weeks.  Another man was thrown from a block of flats.  One man received a ferocious beating at the hands of Little who had it filmed so it could be shown to people in order to intimidate them.

    One day, Little went abroad on vacation but before he left, he arranged for a number of street scallies to firebomb a number of buildings.  This was his attempt to intimidate the Police and also to tell them that Stockport "Belonged to him".  Local journalists and magstrates received threatening phonecalls.  The trouble was, Police could not find anybody willing to testify against him.  But one day, he assaulted a head of a door firm, and a squad of heavies went looking for Little.  He was either going to be very seriously injured or killed.  Luckily for him, the Police got wind of it and stopped the posse on route, charging them all with conspiracy.  Little gave evidence on their behalf, in order to cool the situation down, knowing that it was his only chance of avoiding maimimg or death.

    He returned to his ways of intimidation and violence.  Nobody, young or old, was safe from him.  Finally, somebody had decided "Enough was enough" and on July 22nd 1994, whilst out in his expensive Mercedes, he was going through the Cheshire village of Marple when a car dew alongside and a shotgun exploded, killing Little.  Three men were later put on trial but were acquitted.  "Live by the sword, die by the sword".  Appropriate isn`t it?

Saturday 22 June 2013

John Stalker & Kevin Taylor

No case brings up accusations of cover-ups and frame-ups more than the case of Deputy Chief Constable of Manchester, John Stalker, and prominent local businessman Kevin Taylor.  Stalker had been given the unenviable task of investigating an alleged "Shoot to kill" policy in Northern Ireland.  It was assumed that Stalker would give a whitewash, considering the political situation there.  But it seems he ruffled many feathers by being completely professional.  Suddenly he was suspended without reason, and his continued complaints was that he was never told why.  How did it start?  Over a game of golf.  There was a change of play at a club, and a top cop was partnered with somebody he did not know.  After the game, in the clubhouse, they talked about their jobs and in particular about Policework.  This guy casually mentioned he heard about a top cop being on the payroll of a prominent Manchester gang.  The cop reported what he had been told and it was clear he meant Stalker and the Quality Street Gang.

    Where did Kevin Taylor come into this?  He was a friend of Stalkers` and was alleged to be the leader of the QSG.  This was complete and utter rubbish but the Police had to come up with something.  Taylor was alleged to have been a major drug importer, and though the Police denied this, it was shown that their enquiries WERE about drugs.  This failed, and so it was his businesses that came under scrutiny.  He was charged with defrauding the Co-op bank, but strangely enough, the bank did not make a complaint.  The Police decided that a deal he was conducting was fraud.  I remember Taylor giving an interview with Granada Reports, the local news programme saying "I do not know what I have supposed to have done.  They will not even tell my Solicitor.  I ask but they say nothing".  Court orders giving Police the authorisation to seize all Taylors` business papers was granted, after an unopened letter with "evidence" in it showing Taylors` criminality, was handed to a judge.

    Taylor effectively lost everything.  His businesses collapsed, he lost his plush home.  He was ruined.  Put on trial, his barrister had been involved in a car accident and was facing charges, but strangely enough, these charges were held off for eighteen months and then served on him on the day of the trial, effectively taking him away.  Not an opportunity to sabotage the defence was it?  Taylors` other barrister took over the case.  He had been investigated by the newish Drug Intelligence Unit, which had amassed files on hundreds of people.  Famous names included football manager Malcolm Allison and  leading barrister George Carmen!  Gave an indication of their abilities!  But the lynchpin was when it was revealed that the envelope handed to the judge contained nothing of value.  The cop formally in charge, was forced to admit, lie after lie after lie.  The case collapsed.  Taylor later received substantial compensation and died in 2001.

    Stalker was reinstated but left under a cloud, and turned to journalism.  Jimmy Donnelly, a leading member of the QSG said Stalker had absolutely nothing to do with them, and was totally innocent.  A former ranking cop told me of the time he was on a course.  Most of the people were Manchester cops and it was at the height of the "Stalker Affair".  He said that all of them had nothing but the highest respect for Stalker and they believed he was the victim of a conspiracy centred on his Ulster enquiry.  "I have never heard of such a high ranking officer spoken about so respectfully than John Stalker" he said.  Enough said.

The Sentence of The Court

In the ever-changing world of crime & punishment, it is astounding what sentences some people can receive in comparison to worse offenders.   As an example, in the most recent of cases, the school teacher whom had ran off with a girl pupil, has just received five and a half years.  She was not abducted; she went willingly.  Of course it was very wrong and he had to be punished but when you line that up against Stuart Hall, a sexual predator on young girls, he received just fifteen months!   No doubt he laughed as he did on "It`s A Knockout".

    Taking a different tack, one guy locally, was handed a two and a half year sentence for being in possession of TWO wraps of heroin.  Then a guy on my round received eight months for possession of FORTY wraps of heroin and cocaine, plus £130 in cash, showing he had been dealing.  Then two young guys were given probation for possession of FORTY PLUS wraps of heroin, crack & cocaine, plus cash of more than £400.  The judge said they had been naive.  Of course they were.  Of course they did not spill their guts to everything and everybody to warrant such unbelievable leniency.  Neither did my former customer.  But the lad with just two wraps must have kept his mouth shut and so paid the price.

    Now let us look at very serious incidents.  A young man murdered a girl on a beach, but he was found to be mentally incompetent, and therefore avoided the gallows.  It has no relevance that his father was the local Police Chief.  What about the murder by Ronald True in 1923?  He was convicted but the judge ordered a psychiatric evaluation, and not surprisingly, three doctors found him to be insane.  The fact that he was the illegitimate son of an Army officer, had nothing to do with it.  A man committed at least three or four murders, and after conviction was examined in a secure hospital.  Three doctors stated he was insane, but the prison doctor, a GP, said he was normal.  Who did the Court of Appeal believe?  That`s right!  The GP.  The man was hanged

    To finish, what about treason?  When you think about spies, you would come up with Burgess, Philby & Maclean.  Even Blake.  But what about the revelation in 1983 that Sir Anthony Blunt had been part of that circle, and had been a Soviet spy?  Was he charged with treason?  Not a chance!  What made it worse was that his role as a spy had been uncovered in 1963, and this had been shrouded in secrecy for twenty years.  Back in 1963, we still had the Death Penalty, and treason fell into that criteria, but naturally, Blunt was in no danger of that punishment, no matter how many people were killed or jailed through his treachery.  He was the Queens` art advisor, so it would have been a shock to Lizzie to see her advisor exposed as a traitor and being hung.  Yep, circumstances can help.

Friday 21 June 2013

Professor David Wilson - Criminologist

Prof. David Wilson is the face of Criminology in the UK, and the author of numerous books on serial killers.  He also looks into whether certain killers have committed more murders than they have been charged or convicted of.  He has studied the case histories of numerous killers in Britain, and discussed them in the documentary series "Murder Casebook" with Fred Dineage.  He has also presented two series entitled "Killers Behind Bars", examining the cases of Peter Tobin, Robert Black, Steve Wright, Robert Hardy, Stephen Griffiths & Levi Bellfield.  Naturally, the Police do not welcome the observations of Prof. Wilson, but it seems that he makes more linking of murders than the Police.  He can also make uncomfortable assumptions.  Levi Bellfield is a case in question.

    Bellfield is a violent and sadistic killer of young girls, and in his investigation into Bellfield, he asked his students at Birmingham University to seek out any cases that had the hallmarks of Bellfields` offending.  One brought up the notorious case of the Russell killings, in which a mother and young daughter were battered to death and another young daughter was extremely lucky to survive the attack.  Michael Stone has been through two trials and convicted both times.  Prof. Wilson said that the girl who survived said the attackers` car was red.  Bellfield owned a red car.  What is strange is that in a documentary on the case, the car was white.  Did Stone have a white car?  Was it changing of the facts to fit Stone?  She also said that the attacker spent time with them.  Hardly the actions of a man having a psychotic episode, as Stone obviously was.  Stone fitted the description of the attacker, but so did Bellfield.  The girl said that the attacker had spiky hair.  Bellfield had more spiky hair than Stone.  Stone was convicted on the "Cor blimey guv, he told me he did it!" scenario but what is always not spoken about was the retraction of a statement by another prison inmate, in which Stone allegedly said things that left it in no doubt he was the culprit.  We never hear about WHY this man retracted his statement.

    The Police have dismissed the allegation that Steve Wright may have committed a murder in Norwich before his killing spree in Ipswich.  Prof. Wilson also believes that Peter Tobin is none other than the notorious killer "Bible John" whom had murdered three women in Glasgow in the late sixties. He also puts him in the frame for the 1980 murder of Jessie Earl in Brighton.  Remember, Tobin boasted to a prison psychiatrist that he had committed 48 murders, and his appearances over the years and his manipulative skills, that made you think "This man cannot be a killer!" makes it a possibility.

    Reading an on-line list of unsolved UK murders, and using Prof. Wilsons`reasoning, one stood out to me as possibly being committed by John Taylor, the abductor and killer of Leanne Tiernan.  I will do a post on the Leanne Tiernan case.

Donald Urquhurt - Victim of An Assassin

The murder of businessman Donald Urquhurt sparked off a huge manhunt for a professional killer, in January 1993.  Straight away, speculation was that his murder had to have been a result of his business dealings, and so, many associates were investigated but none have been charged with murder.  Fifty five years old Mr Urquhurt had left a building in Marylebone Street in London, with his girlfriend, when a motorcycle drew up to him, and the rider produced a gun and then shot him dead, before speeding away.  This was a new approach to committing a contract murder, which had been supposedly devised in Colombia, and had been exported around the world. 

    Events changed when a former builder, Graeme West, was charged with his murder, tried and convicted.  He went from the building trade to being a doorman, which led to the world of debt collecting, and from that, he accepted a murder contract.  What brought him down, was the usual trait criminals possess, and that is talking too much.  Was he trying to make himself feared through what he had done, or was it boasting?  Whatever it was, he told a friend, who then told the Police.  Cue the cries of "The grassing bastard!"  He accepted money to kill a man whom had done absolutely nothing to him.  Does that make him a hero or a star?  Does it fuck!  You commit the crime, you do the time.  Simple as.  Would you look the other way if somebody boasted that they had murdered somebody?  Only those who obviously want everybody to see that they do not stand for what is right.  I believe these retards would allow members of their own families be viciously hurt or murdered, just to be seen to be "staunch".  Murder is murder and it IS a crime.

Thursday 20 June 2013

The Murder of Girly Chew and the Alien Conspiracy

This case from the late 90`s is the perfect example of people taking conspiracy theories and out and out bullshit as truth.  This happened in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where extreme views were the norm and nobody considered you as a nut.  Girly Chew, a young woman born in 1963 in Malaysia, was visiting the States when she met a young physician named Diazien Hossencofft, quickly fell in love and married him.  She worked at a local bank, making a name for herself as a very reliable employee.  Diazien continued his work on the cutting edge of cancer treatment, believing he had developed an alternative treatment for sufferers.  They were happy for six years, but she left him due to domestic violence.  What brought this on?  She went into his study, which he always forbade her to do, and looked at his papers.

    Dazien Hossencofft was born in Houston, Texas, in 1965, but now his life was about to unravel.  His name was actually Armand Chavez, and he was not a physician, as he was expelled from medical school for falsifying his works.  He was a conman taking many thousands from cancer sufferers with what they thought was revolutionary treatments but were in fact anti-ageing injections.  He met a woman, Linda Henning, a former model and fashion designer, born in Hollywood in 1953 and they became engaged, despite the fact that he had other women on the go.  She fell in with his views on conspiracies, and even believed his claims that he was in fact an alien!!!

    Girly Chew did not show up for work, concerning her colleagues.  Police checked her apartment and discovered blood, using luminol, a spray that detects blood.  Enquiries led them to Henning, who was supoenaed to appear before a Grand Jury, where she denied knowing her.  This was disproved by Police and she faced perjury charges.  Hossencofft claimed she had simply left.  But a bloody tarpaulin was found on a highway with Girly`s blood on it.  More evidence linked her to Henning.  Both Henning and Hossencofft were charged with murder.  To avoid the Death Penalty, he pled guilty and received life plus 61 years in January 2002.  Later in the year, Henning faced a number of charges with the Death Penalty being sought.  In court, Hossencofft claimed that he planted all the evidence in order to frame her, and he did not care if they executed her!  She was convicted and sentenced to 73 years.  In 2010, on appeal, her perjury conviction was overturned but her others stood.

    It is amazing what people want to believe, and let`s face it, the States is the place for cuckoo beliefs.  Henning even claimed that she ate Girly`s body, so there was no evidence.  Her body has never been found, and only two people know the truth but we will never know.  

Monday 17 June 2013

Susan Smith - Evil Child Killer

This is a notorious case from the States in 1994, in which a woman claimed that she had been the victim of a carjacking.  What made it even more horrendous, was that she had her two young children in the car.  Police were called and a manhunt began, and the woman, Susan Smith, made emotional pleas on TV, along with her husband, David, appealed for their safe return.

    But a grisly discovery was made; the car was found in a river.  The two young children were still inside, strapped in their car seats.  Suddenly, Susan Smith went from receiving the sympathy of the nation, to being the most reviled woman in the nation.  There was no carjacking.  She had let the car run into a river with her children secured in seats, and let them drown.  The reason was she wanted to be with another man, and he did not want her children cluttering up their relationship.  This truly sick and twisted crime was a Death Penalty case, and so the defence brought in a woman to assist, who was a vocal opponent of the Death Penalty.  They brought in various mental disorder scenarios as it was the only way to avoid the chair.

    She was convicted and now it was down to the Jury to decide whether she went to jail or to Death Row.  The Prosecution had a re-enactment of the car going into the river and just how long it took to sink.  The filmed footage was shown to the judge, in the presence of both Prosecution and Defence but no Jury.  During this, Smith was giggling which shocked the Prosecutor.  The Judge allowed the film to be shown to the Jury, and this time, Smith was in tears!  All for the benefit of the Jury.  The Prosecutor was not allowed to reveal to the Jury, this behaviour of Smith.  She was given life, with parole possible after thirty years.  Her husband has moved on with his life and has two more children.

    Do you decide to kill your children simply to be with somebody else?  Is being with a man far more important than raising your kids?  Can somebody so cold-bloodedly drown their own kids because a man does not want them in his life?  Are they worth absolutely nothing and then suddenly become a massive burden to you sharing another mans` bed?  Why could she not let her husband take them, as he was a devoted father?  There is something missing inside when you can take such an horrific step.  She giggled when when the Jury was excluded, then turned on the tears when they were there.  Tells you all you need to know about her.  She should have gone to Death Row.

The Murders of Channon & Chris - Latest

An horrific double murder that happened in Knoxville, Tennessee, saw four defendants receive extremely long prison sentences, and the leader of the four, received the Death Penalty.  As always, these kind of sentences invoke appeals and they successfully appealed and received new trials.  The abduction and rape and murder of Chris Newson & Channon Christianson provoked outrage throughout the state, saw racist groups try and use the case for their own purposes, and the truly unbelievable defence put forward by defence lawyers that saw the father of Channon, very nearly explode in the court with rage.

    In the first retrial last November, the sole woman of the quartet, Vanessa Coleman, was found guilty again, but her sentence was less than her original.  Thirty seven years, down from fifty three.  Information from Tennessee crime reporter Jamie Satterfield stated that defendant number two, George Thomas had his retrial.  Originally his sentence was life without parole, but now he received life, plus life, plus twenty five years.  Now it is left for Lemaricus Davidson & Latalvas Cobbins to face their trials, and if there is justice, they will receive their original sentences. 

    Chris and Channon have not been forgotten, as Knoxville hosts a memorial motorcycle run in their name, every year.

Sunday 16 June 2013

Leopold & Loeb

This case from Chicago in 1924, is the most notorious for the "thrill to kill" and for attempting the "perfect murder".  Naturally, the attempt fails miserably, and the work of legendary lawyer, Clarence Darrow, saved them from the Death Penalty.  The case inspired the films "Rope" and "Compulsion".

    Nathan Freudenthal Leopold was born November 19th 1904, to an affluent Jewish family and showed himself to be extremely gifted and intelligent.  He was said to have had an IQ of over 200 and spoke numerous different languages.  After graduating from Chicago Law School, he was lined up to attend Harvard Law School after he returned from a trip to Europe.  Richard Albert Loeb was born on June 11th 1905 to an affluent Jewish family in Chicago, and like Leopold, he was also exceptionally intelligent.  Loeb was the youngest ever graduate in the history of the University of Michigan.

    Both boys lived in the wealthy Kenwood area of Chicago, as did the family of the victim, Bobby Franks.  In fact, Franks was the second cousin to Loeb!  Both met at the University of Chicago, where they both found a liking to the works of philosopher Nietzsche.  Both believed they were "Supermen", far superior to everybody else due to their hyper intelligence.  They worked together committing petty crimes, gradually increasing in seriousness, until they decided to do the ultimate; commit the perfect murder.  It was put into operation on May 21st 1924, and they decided upon young bobby Franks.  He was lured into a car, and driven away.  It was never established who drove and who sat in the back, but a witness seeing the car around the time, saw Leopold sat in the rear.  Also, as Leopold was clearly the dominant of the two, it stands to reason that he would be the one chauffeured.  Franks was killed and driven out to Wolf Lake, in Indiana.  Here they stripped the body, discarding the clothes at the side of the road, and they dumped the body by a drain tunnel, near the Pennsylvania Railroad,by 118th Street.  The body also had hydrochloric acid poured on it.

     The family of Franks received a message that their son had been kidnapped, and then they received a ransom note.  Franks` father was millionaire Jacob Franks.  Events then started spiralling out of control.  A Polish immigrant worker named Minske discovered the body, and on examination of the crime scene, a pair of spectacles was discovered near the body. Upon hearing these developments, the pair destroyed the typewriter and the blanket that they wrapped the body in.  The spectacles were a specially made set and soon traced to Leopold, and upon arrest, both denied any involvement.  They gave an alibi that they were with two young ladies, whose names they never knew.  But when questioned, Leopolds` chauffeur said that at the time they were supposed to have been with the girls and dropped them off somewhere, the car was in fact in the garage, a fact confirmed by his wife.  Loeb then confessed, shortly by Leopold.

    Put on trial, they were defended by Clarence Darrow, who rejected the idea of an insanity plea, and persuaded them to plead guilty, thus avoiding a jury and a probable Death Sentence.  Darrow gave what was regarded as the finest speech of his career, in getting them life, instead of death.  On |January 28th, Loeb was attacked by inmate James Dayt, who claimed self-defence from a sexual attack from Loeb.  Despite the fact that it was clear that one knife to Loebs` throat, had come from behind, it was decided that it WAS self-defence.  It was widely believed that Day was a jail sex predator, and was upset that the generous money Loeb received from his family, and shared out with some inmates, stopped going to him.  He had gotten away with murder.

    Leopold was released in 1958, and died on August 29th 1971, in Puerto Rico from a heart attack.

Regina Hartwell -Live Fast Die Young

there is an obsession with living these days, and that is the "live fast, die young" syndrome, in which young people want to live a twenty four "party" lifestyle.  Unfortunately, most people cannot do this, as they have families to provide for, keep a roof over their heads, and save themselves from financial ruin.  But there are people who will latch onto somebody who has a well stocked wallet or purse, and inevitably, that object will run dry, and that is when the trouble begins.

    One such person was Regina Hartwell, who tragically lost her mother when she was in her schoolgirl.  Her father remarried but decided to move away and leave Regina when she was sixteen.  When she turned eighteen, she received part of the insurance payout, from her mother`s death.  She received $400,000.  Regina had discovered she was a lesbian and had hit the gay bars and clubs in Austin, Texas.  She always made sure everybody noticed her and became known for buying people drinks, and thinking she was making friends.  In reality, she was attempting to buy friends.  She was too busy "partying" to actually make friends with people.  Naturally, she was into drugs; cocaine, lsd, ecstasy.  In a club, she seen a young eighteen year old girl named Kim, and instantly fell in love.  Soon, they were a couple and Regina lavished money, gifts and drugs on Kim.  Whatever she wanted, Regina paid for.  Even a trip to New York.  But soon, Kim admitted that she was not a lesbian.  Desperate to keep her, Regina paid for an apartment and bought her a car.

    Kim then met a man, Justin Thomas, who had claimed to be a hitman for a Mexican drug cartel, and she introduced him to Regina, who on the outside was very friendly towards him, but was angry and hurt inside.  Kim would start making out with Justin in front of Regina, whom simply had to tolerate it.  Kim was now sharing two beds.  But Justin had introduced Kim to Crystal Meth and soon she was hooked very heavily.  Regina, one night made a tearful phonecall to Kim, and after an arguement, Justin took the phone and Regina, allegedly threatened to report him and his drugs to the Police.  He made his way over to Regina`s apartment, gained entry, and Regina was asleep on the sofa.  She awoke to see Justin kneeling in front of her, and he produced a knife and stabbed her.  But Regina fought him, and it took some time before he was able to silence ger forever.

    He dragged her body into the shower, and washed the blood draining from her down the drain. He wrapped her in a blanket or similiar, and carried to her car.  He drove out to a remote location, poured gasoline all over the car and set it ablaze.  When he told Kim what he had done, she did not care.  However, friends of Regina reported her missing, the burnt out car with her body inside was found, and Police quickly went to Kim`s door.  She was totally wasted, as was Justin.  She turned against him and both were convicted, Justin for the murder of Regina.  All Regina wanted was to be loved, but you cannot do this by buying love(as the Beatles sang), and you cannot drink,drug and screw 24/7.  Sooner or later, you have to slow down.

Saturday 15 June 2013

The Scopes Monkey Trial

This case from Tennessee in 1925, inspired a famous play and two films about the trial of a school teacher, John Thomas Scopes, for breaking a state law that forbade any teachings about evolution.  The facts are that Scopes allegedly broke the Butler Act, the State Law that was introduced by Governor Peay, after intense pressure from a farmer, John. W. Butler.  Butler knew nothing about evolution but heard stories of how children were taught that the Bible was inaccurate.  Butler was leader of the World Christian Fundalmentalists.  The ACLU(American Civil Liberties Union) proposed to challenge this law in the courts, and so Scopes agreed to deliberately break the law.

    On April 24th, Scopes committed his heinous deed by reading from a chapter in a book about evolution, genes and science.  He was arrested and charged with violation of the Butler Act.  There were a number of changes to the teams representing both prosecution and defence.  At one point, even famous author, HG Wells was approached to join the defence team, but declined for obvious reasons;  he was not a lawyer.  Eventually, both teams were ready, and history has concentrated on the two main protagonists;  William Jennings Bryan and legendary defence lawyer, Clarence Darrow, the man who had saved young thrill killers Leopold & Lobe from the Death Penalty.

    Bryan was a three times Presidential candidate for the Democratic Party and a vocal supporter of the Butler Act, and as the trial wore on, Darrow veered from the strategy decided by the defence team, and went on the offensive over the Bible and it`s supposed historical accuracy.  He even had Bryan testify about the Bible, on the condition that he could put Darrow in the witness box.  However, this did not happen, due to rulings by the judge over issues that arose from Darrows` questions to Bryan.  The jury found him guilty and he was fined $100.  In the film "inherit The Wind" Darrow was played by Spencer Tracy, and Bryan by Fredric March.  A remake starred Jason Robards as Darrow and Kirk Douglas as Bryan.  My favourite part in the Tracy/March version, is when a reporter, played by Gene Kelly, approaches some people with a monkey who are saying "This is what we are supposed to have come from" or something similar.  He shakes the monkeys` hand and says "Hi Grandpa!"

Thursday 13 June 2013

Linda Lovelace - "The Queen of Porn"

Linda Lovelace was the first internationally known adult film star whose reputation centred on THAT film "Deep Throat" but opinions are divided on her subsequent claims over the years that she was forced to make porn films by a violent and extremely controlling husband.  So who was she?

    She was born Linda Susan Boreman in the Bronx in New York City on January 10th 1949, where her father was a cop.  She attended good schools and earned a reputation at school as being very chaste with the boys, and as being holier than thou.  She and her family moved away from New York, and her chaste manner changed dramatically as she bore a child at the age of 19.  She met a man called Chuck Traynor, married him and moved back to New York.  This is where it all changed.  She appeared in short films known as "Loops" that appeared in peep show theatres.  She later denied appearing in some but stills proved it was her.  Then she made "Deep Throat" directed by Gerard Damiano which was a huge mainstream success and made her a household name around the world.

    She also made a sequel "Deep Throat 11" and even a soft core film "Linda Lovelace for President" but after this she renounced the adult industry, becoming an anti-porn campaigner.  She eventually divorced Traynor and married another man.  This ended in divorce in 1996 but they remained on good terms. She was involved in a car crash in 1970 and needed a transfusion but was given tainted blood.  Years later it turned into hepatitis and she needed a liver transplant.  She also gave birth to two more children.  Feminist writers such as Andrea Dworkin championed her in their fight against exploitation of women but she felt that they used her, and were never around when she needed help.  She died on April 22nd 2002 at the early age of 53 in Denver, Colorado.

    Linda claimed that she was forced into pornography by Traynor whom she claimed kept a gun pointed at her head.  If she did not do as he ordered, then she was severely beaten.  A claim made was that the film was financed by the Mafia and they kept people in line with guns.  Also that she was paid virtually nothing for the films she made.  There are people who support her claims and there are those who say she was a willing participant.  In that industry, there will always be two sides to an arguement.  The film L.L.F.P. she said was made up, and they spliced in clips not used in "Deep Throat", but if this is untrue, and there are people who say she was a liar, she did not object to showing her wares off in a soft core film.  What do you think?

Monday 10 June 2013

The Norma Levy Scandal

Way back in the seventies when the News of The World reigned supreme about who was screwing who and other sex scandals, some remain in the public consciousness. Joyce McKinney and the Manacled Mormon, is one in particular.  But the scandal that nearly rivalled that of the  Profumo Affair, was that of Lord Lambton, the then Under-Secretary of Defence, responsible for the RAF.

    The NOTW obtained a photo of Lambton in bed with a prostitute named Norma Levy, which caused the Security Services to question Lambton a number of times, fearing a possible repeat of the scandal ten years before, in 1963, when Minister For War, John Profumo was sharing the bed of prostitute Christine Keeler, who was also servicing at the same time, a Russian Naval Attache.  Lambton gave a number of different reasons as to why he consorted with prostitutes.  He was thought to have been a happily married father of six.  The resulting publicity brought his resignation and the end of his marriage.  During the investigation, it emerged that the Leader of The House of Lords, Lord Jellicoe, was also using prostitutes.  A third member of the Heath Government was allegedly a regular client, but has never been publicly named.

    Levy had married a taxi-driver called Colin Levy, and it was he who was supposed to have set up a camera and microphone, to record Lambton in bed with his wife.  The only logical reason for such actions would be blackmail, though this view, as far as I am aware, has never surfaced.  A grainy picture of Levy topless beside a sleeping Lambton, became iconic.  When the scandal broke, the Levys fled the country, and after divorcing, Norma herself has had drug problems, been convicted for running prostitutes and served time, been deported numerous times from the USA, and flits between the States and Canada. 

Sunday 9 June 2013

The Murder of Gurcham Landa

Another unsolved murder was that of Gurcham Landa, a 33 years old Taxi driver and father of eight, from Nottingham.  It was on 14th August 1982 that he recived a call to pick up a client from Peel Street called "Shelton" whom had phoned from a payphone.  He was working through the night.  It was speculated that he may have picked up a fare on the way, and at 4.05am, a woman in Cyprus Road, in the Mapperley area of Nottingham, was awoken by the sound of a car suddenly braking.  The car statred rocking as if a great struggle was taking place inside the car, and she witnessed a man searching around the dashboard of the vehicle.  She immediately called the Police and then went out to the car.  The man had gone and Mr Landa had been subjected to a brutal and appalling attack.  Mr Landa died shortly after the Police arrived on the scene.

    Autopsy showed that Mr Landa had been stabbed 87 times!  During the investigation, Police had arrested eleven people in connection with the crime but all were later released without charge. The case was reopened in 2012.  What can we deduce from this case?  Obviously it had to be robbery, but to stab somebody 87 times for money is a massive overkill.  Why? Straight away you think of familiarity with the victim and this was simply to obliterate him through rage, or was it somebody suffering mental health problems?  Could it have been racial hatred, and it just happened to be him?  Nobody should ever get away with murder.

Who Killed Jackie Ansell-Lamb & Barbara Mayo?

The killer of both Jackie Ansell -Lamb & Barbara Mayo still walks free, though his DNA was established in 1990, and even today it is possible that a match will be found on the national database.  The killer will be of an older age but that does not matter;  he ruthlessly murdered two young women.  What had happened to the victims?

    Jackie was hitch-hiking from London to Manchester, and the 18 years old vanished on 18th March 1970.  She was discovered by a farmer six days later, in a copse known as Square Wood, near Knutsford.  She had been raped and murdered.  Chief Superintendent Arthur Benfield took charge of the investigation, and through the media, initially received a good response from the public, but it did not generate any good leads.  One person reported seeing a girl matching her description, getting into a car at Keele Services, between 4.00 & 5.00pm.  She was distinctive in her dress;  she wore a blonde wig, a dark blue maxi coat and maroon shoes.  This lead did not yield any more information.  That weekend, Manchester City had been playing at Wembley in a European match, and it was speculated that the killer may have been to the match, so appeals were made by loudspeaker at the next home match, but again, no leads came.  The Police then had 4,000 posters printed up and distributed them, but to no avail.  Detectives and plainclothes officers then mingled with punters at discos and nightclubs in Manchester, hoping to catch any possible gossip.  The case eventually ran cold.

    Then in October 1970, another woman, 24 years old Barbara Mayo, set off from London to hitch-hike north.  Six days later, her body was discovered in a wood, not far from Mansfield.  She too, had been raped and strangled.  This case too, ran cold.  But with the advent of DNA testing, it was established through swabs being kept, that a match was made in 1990. They had been murdered by the same man.

    What conclusions can we draw from these cases

Saturday 8 June 2013

The Diappearance of Juanita Neilsen

If you ever get the chance to see an Australian film entitled "The Killing of Angel Street", give it a view as it is a very good story that is actually based on truth.  This was the diappearance on July 4th 1975, of activist campaigner Juanita Neilsen, and the subsequent theories, changing of stories and the mystery of her disappearance.  She has never been found.  Troubles began when a developer named Frank Theeman wanted to evict many residents from their homes in Victoria Street in the Kings Cross area of Sydney.  He had plans for a multi-million dollar apartment complex for that street but the residents refused to move.

    Neilsen was one of the residents herself, and used the independent newspaper she published, to bring the problem to wide attention.  Men started intimidating the residents, and the man who led them was none other than notorious former cop, Fred Krahe.  Local Police heroically stood by and did nothing whilst Krahe led thugs to harass and threaten people.  One man was abducted, taken to a motel, and threatened with death for three days, unless he backed off with his support for the residents.  He was released and then left the area.  There was an attempt to abduct Neilsen from her home, but her boyfriend was there with her and the attempt was dropped.  The claim made by one of the proposed abductors, was to take her to people who wanted to talk to her about her campaign.  The only person suffering was Frank Theeman, and he was losing a lot of money because they could not start the redeveloping.

    It was on July 4th 1975, that she went to a meeting at a club owned by Sydney gangster Abe Saffron, the so-called "King of sin",  the owner of strip clubs, gambling joints, and other vices.  She was never seen again.  A receptionist at the club gave, over the years, differing acounts of what supposedly happened in the club and who was there.  Nobody has ever been charged with any offence over the disappearance.  There have been four suspects, but there was no evidence linking them to anything.  The obvious suspect was Theeman, who was losing a great deal financially.  Abe Saffron, the club owner.  The manager of the club, James Anderson, and finally, Fred Krahe.  One allegation was that he and two others raped and then murdered her, but there is no proof of this.  The case resurfaces over the years, as dedicated reporters still try to dig up evidence as to what happened. 

    In the film, "The Killing of Angel Street", the woman campaigner is supported by a journalist(Played by John Hargreaves) but he is murdered by the gangster developer to show her how serious he is.  She is abducted by heavies who take her to the top of a tower block, and continously held over the side, as if she is going to be thrown.  Then they take her to a Police Station and hand her to Police who then thoroughly humiliate her, indicating that they can get the Police to do anything for them.  Looking at the long history of corruption in Australian Police, this is most certainly not as far-fetched as you might think.  She backs off.

Fred Krahe - Was He Bad?

Fred Krahe was one of the allegedly most corrupt cops in the history of Australian Law Enforcement.  It has been long alleged that he was a killer, extortionist, and out and out criminal.  He was born in 1919 and joined the New South Wales Police, in Sydney, in 1940.  It has been claimed that Krahe was the cop who refused entry to Australia in 1955, of London gang boss Billy Hill, who wanted to retire there.  Krahe was been rumoured to have murdered prostitute and madam, Shirley Brifman in 1972, a villain named Burton, campaigner Juanita Neilsen, and a cop under investigation for corruption.

    Sydney gang boss Lennie McPherson was allegedly heavily involved with Krahe, though he strongly denied the allegation.  The Varley- Burton gang, were car thieves who prolifically stole, rung and sold cars, making $1.5 million.  Varley alleged in court that Krahe took most of the money, along with another detective, Cyril Edwards.  But Varley claimed that Krahe dragged Burton away and shots rang out.  This was because Burton had stolen money due to Krahe.  The court found Varley guilty of manslaughter and he received a very heavy sentence, which he was extremely angry about for the rest of his days.  He later committed suicide.  Edwards was later found dead with a bullet to the head.

    Juanita Neilsen was a campaigner who mysteriously disappeared in 1975.  One claim was that Krahe and two others kidnapped her, gang raped her then killed her, though there has been no proof of this.  A cop under investigation was found with a supposedly self-inflicted fatal bullet wound.  Krahe was rumoured to have pulled the trigger.  Prostitute Shirley Brifman was co-operating with NSW & Queensland Police, saying that she paid protection money to Krahe, that he was extorting from other brothels, abortionists, and that she relied on Krahe to protect her from "Standover Men".  These are extortionists who rob other criminals of their ill-gotten gains.  In this country, they were long called "Thieves Ponces".  Shirley was found dead, supposedly from a barbiturate overdose, but Krahe allegedly forced the pills down her throat.  Krahe died in 1972.

Thursday 6 June 2013

Dennis Allen - Psycho Killer

Dennis Allen has the reputation of being one of the worst and most savage murderers in Australian history.  Allen was the eldest son, born in 1951, to Melbourne crime matriarch Kath Pettingill.  Her family consisted of different names, Pettingill, Allen, Pierce and Ryan.
Dennis Allen had his first major conviction in the seventies, when he received ten years for rape.  But this was the least of his accomplishments, which is not to play down the act of rape.  He committed, it is thought, more than a dozen murders, was a major drug smuggler, involved in numerous criminal rackets, and to top it off, was allegedly a Police informer.  His involvement with a notorious detective, was probably a two-way deal, in which they helped each other out.

    Allens` most savage killing was of a biker.  It was claimed that the body would not fit into a drum or box because of rigor mortis, so Allen solved the problem by cutting the legs off with a chainsaw.  He was charged with drug offences along with Roger Rogerson, the notorious Melbourne cop.  Rogerson was convicted but had the verdict overturned on appeal.  Allen died in prison in 1987 with heart problems brought on by heavy drug use.  The other notorious killer in the Australian Underworld was Chris Flannery, known as "Rent a kill" who was murdered in a huge and long running gangland war, but there are different versions and theories as to how and why he was killed.

Monday 3 June 2013

Evil Bastards!

When you hear of people being sent to Death Row in the United States, you wonder about what crimes they have committed to receive such a sentence.  But there most certainly are people on Death Row that deserve to be there, and deserve to die.  Three such people are Michael Jackson, Alan Wade and Tiffany Cole.  The kidnapping, mental torture and hideous murder of two elderly people, solely for money, beggars belief.  One of the gang turned State`s Evidence, Bruce Nixon, and his plea deal avoided a Death Sentence for him, though he did not get off lightly.  He received forty five years.

    The victims were Reggie and Carol Sumner, who were originally childhood sweethearts who met up again, much later in life and married.  Carol Alford was horrifically shot numerous times by her ex-husband, with a number of head shots.  He then later committed suicide.  Against the odds, she survived, but needed many years of help to get her to walk and co-ordinate her movements.  She was aided through all this by her daughter, Rhonda, who witnessed the attack on her mother by her father.  Years later, Carol received a phone call from a man named Reg, who turned out to be her old flame.  They picked up where they had left off and eventually married.  During Carols` hospitalisation, she received a blood transfusion with blood that was contaminated.  Years after, it turned into Hepatitus C, but she did not let this affect her life.  Reg had diabetes, yet they lived a very happy life until Cole and company arrived on the scene.  She knew them from old and decided that they would be a good target for money.  Her boyfriend was Jackson.  They brought in Wade and Nixon to help them abduct them.  They dug a grave first, supposedly to "scare them" into giving their bank details.  But these bastards did not stop at "scaring them", they buried them alive.

    But using their credit cards put the Police on their trail and they were arrested.  Nixon cracked under pressure and made a full statement and took them to the burial site.  Jackson received a phone call in prison from his grandmother who told him that the newspapers were full of the story.  She sounded more concerned for him than what he had put the victims through.  All were convicted and sent to Death Row, minus Nixon who received a very long sentence.  Rhonda Alford has forgiven her mothers` killers, which very nearly most people would not, but as in the Ridgeway case, the father of one of the victims did forgive him in court.

    What I do not agree with is the excuses put forward for the monstrous behaviour.  Alleged abuse and neglect at home, etc, etc. They make a conscious decision to do whatever they do.  I do not accept that childhood events make you do anything.  You can make a moral decision, you can say that you will not do anything heinous.  It is your decision.  They are where they deserve to be.

Sunday 2 June 2013

Tales of Bikers.

Remembering my stint as a roadie for a rock band that played pubs and clubs in the North West of England, was the tales told by the bands` bass player when a few years earlier they played some biker gigs.  Tommy, the bassist, was telling the young singer of the band, Kevin, that the bikers up around Chorley were a different breed to the ones around the general area we all came from.  "You do get them around Chester and Wrexham, but those guys in Chorley, would kill you if you crossed them!"  Tommy was referring to a club known as the Renegades, that hung around Chester and some small clubs around Wrexham and Mold.

    There always has been the thought that a scruffy biker in leathers and cut-offs, is an Hells Angel.  This goes back to the sixties.  How many people realise that the Hells Angels name and logos are copyrighted worldwide, and to be an official HA chapter, you have to receive your charter from the Mother chapter, in Oakland, California.  There were just thirteen official Angel chapters in England, though there may have been three or four more added over recent years.  Back in the late sixties and up to the mid-70`s there were numerous bike clubs referred to as Hells Angels.  One tale is of one gang that rode into New Brighton during a Bank Holiday weekend, in 1971, and how they tried to take over a pub.  The barman was a man whom had fought as a mercenary in Africa, and during a scuffle, he chopped off the thumb of the gang leader with a meat cleaver.  Police fortunately arrived in force and hauled off the gang.  Rumour had it that the leader of this mob, hanged himself because the loss of his thumb from his left hand, impaired his riding.

    There was a book I had many years back, and do I regret giving it away, that dealt with a vicar that helped a club in Birmingham between 1967 and 1972.  One tale was a rival gang led by a huge young man wanted to do him in, as he had seen off a number of other leaders of rival gangs.  He and six others walked in, all clutching sawn-off shotguns.  The vicar talked his way out of the dangerous situation, and some time later on, his car broke down and a car pulled up to help him out.  The driver was only the huge guy who wanted to kill him!  But water was allowed to flow under the bridge and the big guy held no grudges.  It would be interesting to do some research to see if these murders did occur.

Maurice "Mom" Boucher

Maurice "Mom" Boucher rose to become one of the powerfulest Hells Angels in Canada in the nineties but ultimately lost his freedom to a very long prison sentence for arranging the murder of two prison guards, one a woman.  He led the war against the rival Rock Machine MCC, that became known as the Quebec Biker War, that saw many murders, maimimgs, shootings and the death of an innocent bystander, a young boy.

    Boucher was born in June 1953 in Caucaspal in Quebec.  His family moved to Montreal in the mid-50`s, where he dropped out of school at around 14 or 15 years of age.  He quickly moved into petty crime to support a drug habit, that saw him caught and sent to prison in 1974.  A year later he was arrested for armed robbery and jailed for three and a half years.  In 1987, Salvatore Cazzetta had his own bike club, The SS ,but this club dissolvedand he formed the Rock Machine.  Joining him was his brother who quit the Outlaws MCC.  Boucher was said to have wanted to join the Hells Angels with Cazzetta, but Cazzetta was disgusted by the actions of the Angels, who slaughtered five fellow Angels and dumped their bodies in the St. Lawrence River.  Boucher joined the Montreal Hells Angels and quickly rose through the ranks, eventually becoming Chapter President.  His power grew as he fought against the Rock Machine for control of their drug territories, and ultimately, control of the entire Montreal drug market.  He foiled assassination attempts, Police investigations into him fell apart, and whilst President of Montreal Angels, he helped form a Nomads Chapter, that had no clubhouse or fixed base, making them ideal to wander about and carry out actions against rival gangs.

    His downfall came when he ordered the murder of two prison guards, chosen at random, in an attempt to cause fear and disruption to the Prison Service in Quebec.  His original trial saw his acquittal but the Court of Appeal ordered a new trial and he was convicted, receiving a minimum term of twenty five years.  He is held in the only Super Max Prison in Quebec.

Saturday 1 June 2013

Robert Black - Who Else Did He Murder?

In the annals of child murder, the name of Robert Black is one of the most reviled.  Convicted of four sickening child abductions and murders, it has been wondered by Prof. David Wilson, a criminology tutor at Birmingham University, and author of fifteen or more books on serial killers, crime and aspects of criminology, how many more unsolved murders have been committed by convicted serial killers.  He has made studies of Peter Tobin, Stephen Wright, Stephen Griffiths, Robert Black, Hardy(Camden Ripper) and others.  My focus is on Robert Black and the conclusions brought by Prof. Wilson.

    The first case he looked at was the disappearance of a young girl, April Fabb in 1969.  She lived in Norfolk but vanished whilst riding her bicycle - circumstances eerily the same as a notorious abduction in 1978, of a young girl, Genette Tate, in Devon.  Aprils` bicucle was found on the side of a road, and of her there was no sign.  She has never been found.  Years later, they did look at Black, but could not find any proof that he was in Norfolk at that time.  Also, it was thought that another point ruled out Black, and that he did not obtain a driving licence until 1976.  Since when did that stop anybody driving?  Black was travelling all over the UK as a courier, so has it been established that Black did NOT do cash in hand work for delivery firms before he had to obtain a licence?  One of Prof. Wilson`s pupils is a Policeman, and he said that he does not consider Black a suspect because it has not been proven that Black was in that part of the country at the time.  Typical British Police tunnel vision.  As I have pointed out, just how much courier work did Black do before he received his driving licence?  When they can prove that he was never in the area, then he is not a suspect.

    Now we look at the disappearance of Genette Tate in 1978, not far from Exeter.  She was riding her bicycle down a country lane, when she suddenly vanished.  Her bike was found with one wheel still slowly rolling, indicating she had just been snatched.  Poor Genette has never been found.  Black WAS in the vicinity of the abduction at the time - he had been making deliveries in Exeter.  Black is considered THE prime suspect but refuses to admit to other abductions and murders.  These girls have long vanished and you have to accept that they are deceased.  Both scenarios are exact. But the most sickening saga about Genette was in one of the Sunday papers that printed the conclusions of a "Psychic" and printed things that would have been devastating to her family.  Being a Sunday rag, articles usually centred around sex, so it was not difficult to realise what they printed.  The "Psychic" said that the spirit of Genette was saying to her "It hurts!"  This implies very loudly; rape!  Does a family of an abducted child need to see that and the mental images it conjures up?  Why did a newspaper listen to the complete and utter shit and bollocks these con artists spout?  Obviously the feelings of the family were outweighed by bringing sex into the equation when that is the very last thing they would want to read.

    The question is, just when did Black start his sick regime of paedophilia and how many other victims are there that are not known about?  How many crimes have not been connected to Black because some circumstances do not fit his Modus Operandi?  When you forget about the profiling in "Criminal Minds" where the perpetrators perfectly fit their profiles.  Ramirez certainly did not.  Nor did the Washington snipers, BTK or the Green River Killer.  With April & Genette, Black fits the pattern because he drove vans.  Far easier to throw a young girl into a van rather than struggle to get them inside a car.  Simple logic.