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Crime History: Gunmen execute 5 in 'Wendy's Massacre'
Scott McCabe
Published: Thu, May 23, 2013
On this day, May 24, in 2000, five employees of a Wendy's restaurant in New York were killed and two seriously wounded during a robbery. The killings were dubbed the "Wendy's Massacre." John B. Taylor, a former employee at the Queens fast-food restaurant, herded the seven workers into a...
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Crime History: Southern congressman beats Northern senator with cane
Scott McCabe
Published: Tue, May 21, 2013
On this day, May 22, in 1856, Rep. Preston Brooks of South Carolina beat Sen. Charles Sumner with a cane in the hall of the United States Senate for a speech Sumner had made attacking Southerner sympathizers of pro-slavery violence in Kansas. Sumner's "Crime Against Kansas" speech mocked the...
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Crime History: Teens kill 14-year-old in attempt to commit 'perfect crime'
Scott McCabe
Published: Mon, May 20, 2013
On this day, May 21, in 1924, rich University of Chicago graduates Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb kidnapped and killed 14-year-old Bobby Franks in one of the most notorious "thrill killings" in American history. Leopold, 19, who graduated from college the year before, spoke several languages...
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Crime History: Two-year FBI probe finds 'Louie Louie' unintelligible
Scott McCabe
Published: Thu, May 16, 2013
On this day, May 17, in 1965, after a nearly two-year investigation, the FBI Laboratory declared the lyrics of "Louie Louie" to be unintelligible. The Kingsmen's 1963 cover about a Jamaican sailor who missed his girlfriend had caused a countrywide panic. Rumors spread that the incoherent...
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Crime History: Troubled son of Marlon Brando kills visitor at actor's Hollywood home
Scott McCabe
Published: Wed, May 15, 2013
On this day, May 16, in 1990, Christian Brando, the son of Hollywood legend Marlon Brando, shot and killed his half sister's boyfriend at the actor's home in Los Angeles. It was Marlon Brando who called the police from the estate on Mulholland Drive. Christian Brando, 32, met Cheyenne...
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Crime History: Prison escapee shoots Pope John Paul II
Scott McCabe
Published: Sun, May 12, 2013
On this day, May 13, in 1981, Pope John Paul II was shot and seriously wounded in St. Peter's Square by a Turkish assailant. Mehmet Ali Agca, who had escaped from a Turkish prison where he was awaiting trial on murder charges in the killing of prominent journalist in 1979, fired at the pope as...
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Crime History: Former slave becomes legendary Old West lawman
Scott McCabe
Published: Thu, May 9, 2013
On this day, May 10, in 1875, former slave Bass Reeves was sworn in as a deputy U.S. Marshal in Fort Smith, Ark., becoming one of the most feared and fearless lawmen in the Old West. Reeves was hired by "the Hanging Judge," Isaac Parker, to help bring justice to the vast Indian Territory, a...
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Crime history: Wife kills husband, stranger with cyanide-laced Excedrin
Scott McCabe
Published: Wed, May 8, 2013
On this day, May 9, in 1988, a Seattle woman was found guilty of killing her husband and another person by lacing Excedrin capsules with cyanide. Stella Nickell, 44, had plotted to kill her husband Bruce Nickell for years, checking out library books about poison and talking about hiring a hit...
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Crime History: Congressman kills Willard waiter in breakfast brawl
Scott McCabe
Published: Tue, May 7, 2013
On this day, May 8, in 1856, U.S. Rep. Philemon T. Herbert shot and killed a headwaiter who refused to serve him breakfast at the Willard Hotel in downtown Washington. Herbert arrived at D.C.'s most fashionable hotel after breakfast had closed, but he demanded that he be served anyway....
