This is another one of those puzzling cases in which a suspect is acquitted of murder leaving the questions of just who was responsible for another person`s death and more importantly, why? The victim in question was 21 year old Bella Wright, whose body was found in a lane close to Long Stretton, in Leicestershire, on July 5th 1919. Bella had a nasty bullet wound to her head and Police discovered a spent bullet near to her body. The Police enquiry established that Bella, who worked in a factory, had left the home of her uncle, three miles away, and was witnessed riding her bicycle in the company of a man whose bicycle was green. The man was later spotted in the immediate vicinity of where Bella was found deceased. The investigation ran cold, but was reawakened seven months later, when the frame of a green bicycle was pulled from a canal. But there was much more discovered in the canal. A holster for a revolver and some ammunition. The serial number was still visible but identifying features had been removed. The serial number led Police to Ronald Vivian Light.
Light, a former officer in the Army, was now a teacher at Cheltenham School. He had reason to be in the area. His disabled mother lived in Leicester. Light was charged with the murder of Bella. He went on trial at Leicestershire Assizes in June 1920, and finally had to admit that the green bicycle found in the canal was his own. He had previously told Police that the bicycle was not his, despite the serial number linking him to it. The reason for this deception, he told the court, was he feared the effect of the case and he being arrested, would have on his disabled mother. He empathically denied the charge. Light had a formidable attorney fighting his corner. None other than Sir Edward Marshall Hall. The prosecution's case was that the holster and ammunition belonged to Light. These, said the prosecution, were the same calibre of the round that killed Bella. But Marshall Hall said that a .45 calibre bullet would have made a larger exit wound. His hypothesis was supported by a firearms expert who stated that the fatal wound could have been caused by a rifle shot.
Hall maintained that Bella could have been hit by a shot from a nearby field. There was no known motive for the murder, and there were no signs of attack on Bella. Hall brought up Light`s excellent war record, and he gave a good account of himself in the trial, so the jury voted for an acquittal.
Monday, 8 June 2015
Sunday, 7 June 2015
Triple Killer Finally Gets His Just Desserts
How many times does somebody have to kill before the authorities decide to take a firm stance? We have had a couple of cases where people stood in court facing a third charge of taking somebody's life. Over here, you will have all the usual suspects spouting the usual load of bollocks about childhood, poverty, alienation and all kinds of excuses. Yet, despite the extremely heavy sentences handed out stateside, there are cases where convicted killers do not serve much time. Randy Gay was one of those people. 56 year old Gay was finally condemned for the murder of a girlfriend Connie Snow, 49, in May 2011. He drove to a worksite he previously worked at, a logging site, in Garland County, Arkansas. They had an argument, and in return he shot her in the face with a shotgun! In front of witnesses! He wrapped her body in a plastic sheet, loaded it on to a truck and drove it away to Ouachita National Forest and dumped the body. He was helped in putting the body into his truck by one of the witnesses. Unsurprisingly, he was quickly arrested and charged.
But what of Gay`s murderous past? It was back in 1978 that Gay murdered his father-in-law with a shotgun. He took a guilty plea in return for ten years. Yet five years of this was suspended, and incredibly, he was released after nine months!! He struck yet again in 1992, killing his father. With what else but a shotgun. This time he was sentenced to twenty years. Yet again, the authorities set him free after less than half of his sentence. Just eight years. He was up in court again in 2008 for making "terroristic threats." Three years later, he committed his third shotgun killing, but now authorities decided to wake up. He was sentenced to death. His lawyer pleaded with the jury not to nominate death, but if you keep killing people with firearms, how long can you expect to keep getting away with it?
But what of Gay`s murderous past? It was back in 1978 that Gay murdered his father-in-law with a shotgun. He took a guilty plea in return for ten years. Yet five years of this was suspended, and incredibly, he was released after nine months!! He struck yet again in 1992, killing his father. With what else but a shotgun. This time he was sentenced to twenty years. Yet again, the authorities set him free after less than half of his sentence. Just eight years. He was up in court again in 2008 for making "terroristic threats." Three years later, he committed his third shotgun killing, but now authorities decided to wake up. He was sentenced to death. His lawyer pleaded with the jury not to nominate death, but if you keep killing people with firearms, how long can you expect to keep getting away with it?
Execution of Cop Killer
March of this year saw the State of Missouri put to death a cop killer. 74 year old Cecil Clayton was the oldest person to be executed in that particular state since 1944. What brought Clayton to the death chamber was the completely senseless murder of 29 year old Deputy Chris Castetter in November 1996. It all that sparked it off was an argument with his girlfriend. Clayton had a row with her at a convenience store in Barry County, and she went off. Clayton started to look for her, and decided to see if she was at her mother's house. The Police were called and Officer Castetter drove to the residence. Clayton was still there as the officer pulled up. He wound down his window to speak to Clayton who responded by drawing a firearm and cold bloodedly shot the officer in the head.
The POlice car was found collided with a tree, it`s engine running and the wheels still spinning. The stricken officer was rushed to hospital but died hours later. Clayton had disappeared but started telling a friend about what he had done. It was not long before the Police arrested him. His death was delayed for some hours due to a final appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, however, they voted five to four in favour of the sentence of death. Clayton`s lawyer argued that an injury to his head in the 1970`s working at a sawmill, made him mentally incompetent. This was rejected and he was executed on March 17th 2015 by lethal injection.
The POlice car was found collided with a tree, it`s engine running and the wheels still spinning. The stricken officer was rushed to hospital but died hours later. Clayton had disappeared but started telling a friend about what he had done. It was not long before the Police arrested him. His death was delayed for some hours due to a final appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, however, they voted five to four in favour of the sentence of death. Clayton`s lawyer argued that an injury to his head in the 1970`s working at a sawmill, made him mentally incompetent. This was rejected and he was executed on March 17th 2015 by lethal injection.
Friday, 5 June 2015
Tales of Bradford`s Past
I have been living here for over ten years now and I do like to dig up tales of a dark past for this city. But this is not going to be a comprehensive look at a case or two, but more, a montage of events and people. Bradford produced the most famous hangmen in British history. The Pierrepoint family lived in the Clayton district(BD14), whilst James Berry, before becoming an executioner, was a Bradford Policeman. After he quit his job, he ran a pub on Cutler Heights Lane, The Travellers Rest. A private investigator and former Policeman in Bradford, William Lane, had the ultimate downfall. He was hanged for murdering his lover, Elizabeth Dyson. She worked in theatres around London, but as her jobs dried up, she worked as a pianist in pubs around Bradford. But Lane was married with two children and lived in one of the better districts of the city. But, as ever, events get out of hand and Lane slashed the throat of Elizabeth, resulting in an appointment with executioner James Billington. He was hanged at Stafford Prison on August 11th 1902. Lane had moved his family to West Bromwich and Elizabeth showed her private eye skills by turning up on his doorstep.....
Doing some research, I discovered four unsolved murders from decades gone by. A young girl of 11 was murdered in Little Horton Green in 1938, taxi driver Harry Graham in 1944, Catherine Ogden in Bowling park in 1953, and one that happened in Garner Street in 1955. Bradford Police had a good detection rate for murder but since the 70`s there have been 40 unsolved cases - I have covered a number of them. We know the famous cases such as Sutcliffe, Sams, Griffiths, but we have had Ernie Wright, Mark Rowntree, Neal Adamson. The cops who fitted up Stefan Kisko for the murder of Lesley Molseed, were from here.
But what about tough guys? The most well known is actually a shock to people; wrestler Les Kellett. Everybody knew he was a clown in the ring, but in reality, he took no shit from anybody. Inside the ring and out of it. He was the man you avoided trouble with. He was a real hard man. Other names include Frank Birkin, a former rugby player and later, pub landlord. He was convicted a number of times for violence whilst running the Blue Lion. He hospitalised one of his barmen, for the audacious crime of kissing his sister. I have heard a couple of tales about Birkin trying his hand at boxing but could not find any evidence of it. Birkin was about 6`4" and built like a tree trunk. Ken Jubb was another former rugby player who ran pubs in town. He had a reputation as a hard nut. Then there was Big John Amelia. He was an old style, hard punching doorman. If you started trouble where he was on the door, you got a smack. Simple as that. But this did not make him very popular. Later on, I was told that he became a minder for a popular tenor of the 40`s and 50`s, Josef Locke, and moved to Blackpool. Locke had a regular seasonal spot there in the 50`s.
Local history has shown a proliferation of brothels in the 19th century. We even had female boxing just before WW1. I found this out doing research in the archives, looking into the fight career of Jerry Delaney. He and his boxing brothers lived in what was then called Broomfields, but is now called East Bowling. A century ago, this was an extremely rough area where Police walked in twos and threes. Poverty was very rife so kids growing up either turned to crime or as the Delaneys did, turned to boxing. Jerry was thought to be a potential World Champion but died in France in 1916. There has been bare knuckle fighting throughout the centuries and it still goes on. There was a fight behind the disused Delacey pub on the corner of Prince Street, a couple of years ago. Fights can be for money or to settle an argument. Just a few tales from the darkside. Enjoy.
Doing some research, I discovered four unsolved murders from decades gone by. A young girl of 11 was murdered in Little Horton Green in 1938, taxi driver Harry Graham in 1944, Catherine Ogden in Bowling park in 1953, and one that happened in Garner Street in 1955. Bradford Police had a good detection rate for murder but since the 70`s there have been 40 unsolved cases - I have covered a number of them. We know the famous cases such as Sutcliffe, Sams, Griffiths, but we have had Ernie Wright, Mark Rowntree, Neal Adamson. The cops who fitted up Stefan Kisko for the murder of Lesley Molseed, were from here.
But what about tough guys? The most well known is actually a shock to people; wrestler Les Kellett. Everybody knew he was a clown in the ring, but in reality, he took no shit from anybody. Inside the ring and out of it. He was the man you avoided trouble with. He was a real hard man. Other names include Frank Birkin, a former rugby player and later, pub landlord. He was convicted a number of times for violence whilst running the Blue Lion. He hospitalised one of his barmen, for the audacious crime of kissing his sister. I have heard a couple of tales about Birkin trying his hand at boxing but could not find any evidence of it. Birkin was about 6`4" and built like a tree trunk. Ken Jubb was another former rugby player who ran pubs in town. He had a reputation as a hard nut. Then there was Big John Amelia. He was an old style, hard punching doorman. If you started trouble where he was on the door, you got a smack. Simple as that. But this did not make him very popular. Later on, I was told that he became a minder for a popular tenor of the 40`s and 50`s, Josef Locke, and moved to Blackpool. Locke had a regular seasonal spot there in the 50`s.
Local history has shown a proliferation of brothels in the 19th century. We even had female boxing just before WW1. I found this out doing research in the archives, looking into the fight career of Jerry Delaney. He and his boxing brothers lived in what was then called Broomfields, but is now called East Bowling. A century ago, this was an extremely rough area where Police walked in twos and threes. Poverty was very rife so kids growing up either turned to crime or as the Delaneys did, turned to boxing. Jerry was thought to be a potential World Champion but died in France in 1916. There has been bare knuckle fighting throughout the centuries and it still goes on. There was a fight behind the disused Delacey pub on the corner of Prince Street, a couple of years ago. Fights can be for money or to settle an argument. Just a few tales from the darkside. Enjoy.
Wednesday, 3 June 2015
Richard Cooey & Clinton Dickens - Murderers
What exactly drives young men to abduct, rape and torture, then murder two young women for absolutely no reason whatsoever. Are we regressing backwards to a caveman mentality? Is it that the world is full of psychotic people that believe that they have to kill or are entitled to do that, just because they feel like it? Richard Wade Cooey and Clinton Dickens did just that, and the end result is that it saw Cooey finish up on a gurney in a death chamber. Cooey was born in 1967 in Akron, Ohio, and saw himself shunted between his father and grandmother. The usual story of a troubled and violent upbringing have been aired - though many thousands endure unpleasant childhoods but rise above it, and after leaving school in 1985, Cooey joined the Army. The following year, in September 1986, Cooey was on leave in Akron, when he was with a friend, 17 year old Clinton Dickens, they were on Stoner Street Bridge, throwing lumps of concrete at passing cars that were travelling on Interstate 77.
They managed to smash the windscreen of one car, and they made a show of running to help the occupants, but had other ideas. The driver was 21 year old Wendy Offredo and her friend, 20 year old Dawn McCreery. They were abducted, taken to a field close by, where they were systematically raped, tortured and then murdered, over a prolonged period of time. They had an X carved into their bodies. But it all came unstuck due to the fact that Cooey could not stop bragging about what they had done and soon they were arrested by Police. Then the finger pointing began, with one claiming the other was the instigator. But it did them no good. Cooey was sentenced to death in November 1986, whilst Dickens, classed as a minor, received life. Soon Cooey was saying that he was an innocent man, but later admitted the attacks on the victims but claimed "duress" and had consumed drugs and alcohol.
In an attempt to stave off his execution, he claimed he was too fat to be humanely executed. Not by the chair, but by lethal injection. His appeals process eventually ran out and he lay on the gurney in October 2008.
They managed to smash the windscreen of one car, and they made a show of running to help the occupants, but had other ideas. The driver was 21 year old Wendy Offredo and her friend, 20 year old Dawn McCreery. They were abducted, taken to a field close by, where they were systematically raped, tortured and then murdered, over a prolonged period of time. They had an X carved into their bodies. But it all came unstuck due to the fact that Cooey could not stop bragging about what they had done and soon they were arrested by Police. Then the finger pointing began, with one claiming the other was the instigator. But it did them no good. Cooey was sentenced to death in November 1986, whilst Dickens, classed as a minor, received life. Soon Cooey was saying that he was an innocent man, but later admitted the attacks on the victims but claimed "duress" and had consumed drugs and alcohol.
In an attempt to stave off his execution, he claimed he was too fat to be humanely executed. Not by the chair, but by lethal injection. His appeals process eventually ran out and he lay on the gurney in October 2008.
Tuesday, 2 June 2015
Charles Ponzi - Conman
In the world of financial crime where the money illicitly gained dwarfs all avenues of crime, bar, probably, drugs, it is not a generally well covered subject. In the last few decades, we have heard about Bernie Madoff, the so-called "Wolf of Wall Street," the stealing of pension funds, most famously by Robert Maxwell, though most certainly not limited to him. There are the numerous companies registered offshore, for no other reason than tax avoidance, but it runs much deeper if you trace financial crime throughout history. One man, a pint sized Italian, in less than nine months, became synonymous with one particular type of crime; Charles Ponzi. He originated a simplistic form of fraud that quickly turned him into a millionaire, but as with all scams, inevitably they crumble.
Ponzi emigrated to the U.S.from Italy, hoping to make it in the land of opportunity. But despite his later "reputation" as a financial "genius" Ponzi, in all sense and purposes, was as thick as pigshit! How did he gravitate to such heights? Simple. Telling people what they want to hear and letting talk of money override any suspicions. When he arrived in the States, the only job he could acquire was that as a waiter, which he was not very good at. So he moved on to Montreal in Canada, where he started acquiring a taste for the better things in life. His first scam was persuading people that he could send money to their relatives in Italy at cheaper rates than the postal service. Naturally, he spent all the money entrusted to him and it earned him his first prison sentence.
Ponzi had turned 36 when he moved to Boston, married a girl called Rose and somehow managed to persuade his father-in-law to let him run his grocery business. Ponzi soon ran it into the ground. Then he got a job at an import/export firm because he could speak Italian. He had no interest in the job but in 1919, a letter from abroad changed his outlook. It contained a postal reply coupon. Abroad, they cost one cent, redeeming in the U.S. brought five cents. He had found his niche. So he thought. He resigned his job, and made big plans to have people buy them en masse abroad and send them to him in the States. Big money was waiting. Except this was scuppered by postal regulations. But he was not deterred. With a number of these coupons to show off to people, he made a promise he could make them 50% profit in 90 days, adding that the Rockefeller empire was built on the same principle. The suckers could not resist. Soon he was getting thousands of dollars and paying 50% interest on the repayment date. He urged them to keep reinvesting and tell their friends. More and more people "invested." Soon he formed his own company, Financial Exchange Company, and bought himself into the Hanover Trust Company, having enough clout to get the President`s job. Everybody seemed to love this guy who could not stop making people profits. Except one. The newspaper the Boston Post openly questioned where Ponzi acquired his money. But Ponzi was vain and wanted the adulation, so he hired a PR man to rebuild his image. But it backfired. The Pr man, Bill McMasters discovered Ponzi had absolutely no head for mathematics. Everything in finance and foreign exchange bedazzled him. So he insisted on examining the books. They resembled gobbledy gook. His millionaire lifestyle was about to topple.
He took $2 millon dollars from the company vault and went to gamble it, in the hope of winning more millions to keep afloat. He blew the lot. It was estimated he received $20 million and paid back $15 million. He had a shortfall of $5 million. It was the simple task of paying back with other people`s money. The Government got him first, giving him a five year stretch, then the state of Massachusetts gave him another seven years for Grand Larceny. After release from prison, Ponzi went back to Italy but achieved nothing. He died in Rio de Janeiro in poverty in 1949. But in less than nine months, December 1919 to August 1920, the five foot two inch Ponzi was on top of the world and his name lives on with this type of fraud.
Ponzi emigrated to the U.S.from Italy, hoping to make it in the land of opportunity. But despite his later "reputation" as a financial "genius" Ponzi, in all sense and purposes, was as thick as pigshit! How did he gravitate to such heights? Simple. Telling people what they want to hear and letting talk of money override any suspicions. When he arrived in the States, the only job he could acquire was that as a waiter, which he was not very good at. So he moved on to Montreal in Canada, where he started acquiring a taste for the better things in life. His first scam was persuading people that he could send money to their relatives in Italy at cheaper rates than the postal service. Naturally, he spent all the money entrusted to him and it earned him his first prison sentence.
Ponzi had turned 36 when he moved to Boston, married a girl called Rose and somehow managed to persuade his father-in-law to let him run his grocery business. Ponzi soon ran it into the ground. Then he got a job at an import/export firm because he could speak Italian. He had no interest in the job but in 1919, a letter from abroad changed his outlook. It contained a postal reply coupon. Abroad, they cost one cent, redeeming in the U.S. brought five cents. He had found his niche. So he thought. He resigned his job, and made big plans to have people buy them en masse abroad and send them to him in the States. Big money was waiting. Except this was scuppered by postal regulations. But he was not deterred. With a number of these coupons to show off to people, he made a promise he could make them 50% profit in 90 days, adding that the Rockefeller empire was built on the same principle. The suckers could not resist. Soon he was getting thousands of dollars and paying 50% interest on the repayment date. He urged them to keep reinvesting and tell their friends. More and more people "invested." Soon he formed his own company, Financial Exchange Company, and bought himself into the Hanover Trust Company, having enough clout to get the President`s job. Everybody seemed to love this guy who could not stop making people profits. Except one. The newspaper the Boston Post openly questioned where Ponzi acquired his money. But Ponzi was vain and wanted the adulation, so he hired a PR man to rebuild his image. But it backfired. The Pr man, Bill McMasters discovered Ponzi had absolutely no head for mathematics. Everything in finance and foreign exchange bedazzled him. So he insisted on examining the books. They resembled gobbledy gook. His millionaire lifestyle was about to topple.
He took $2 millon dollars from the company vault and went to gamble it, in the hope of winning more millions to keep afloat. He blew the lot. It was estimated he received $20 million and paid back $15 million. He had a shortfall of $5 million. It was the simple task of paying back with other people`s money. The Government got him first, giving him a five year stretch, then the state of Massachusetts gave him another seven years for Grand Larceny. After release from prison, Ponzi went back to Italy but achieved nothing. He died in Rio de Janeiro in poverty in 1949. But in less than nine months, December 1919 to August 1920, the five foot two inch Ponzi was on top of the world and his name lives on with this type of fraud.
Keith Jesperson - "The Happy Face Killer"
Keith Jesperson is a notorious serial killer incarcerated for the rest of his life in the U.S. He has a known tally of eight victims, but has boasted of in excess of one hundred victims, but this seems to be an example of playing games with the Police and the media. He has said to have given details of other murders but nothing has been substantiated at present. The huge truck driver has had one book written about him by Jack Olsen - "The Happy Face Killer" - but now it seems that a new one is to emerge by a renowned crime writer. I have just been informed by a contact in the U.S. that a book and a documentary are being readied for release, written and hosted by Matthew W. Phelps. a prolific researcher and author on serial killers and murder cases. He is the host of the tv series "Dark Minds." My contact said that I could announce it on this blog for UK readers. Some press releases have gone out Stateside. So now it is just waiting for it`s official release.
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