Scott McCabe

Published: Wed, Mar 20, 2013

On this day, March 21, in 1976, singer and actress Claudine Longet was arrested for the death of Olympic alpine skier Vladimir "Spider" Sabich. Longet was best-known as a French-born singer who co-starred with Peter Sellers in "The Party." Longet had been living with Sabich in Aspen, Colo.,...

Scott McCabe

Published: Tue, Mar 19, 2013

On this day, March 20, in 2000, a former Black Panther once known as H. Rap Brown was captured on charges that he killed one sheriff's deputy and wounded another in Georgia. Brown had been a radical figure in the 1960s and famously said, "Violence is as American as cherry pie." In 2000, Brown...

Scott McCabe

Published: Mon, Mar 18, 2013

On this day, March 19, in 1831, Edward Smith committed the first recorded bank heist in the United States in New York City. Smith, who ran a shoe shop, used a duplicated set of keys to enter the City Bank on Wall Street -- now known as Citibank SEmD after the establishment closed. He made off...

Scott McCabe

Published: Sun, Mar 17, 2013

On this day, March 18, in 1980, a neighbor of Mafia leader John Gotti accidently ran over and killed a young son of the mobster in Queens, N.Y., a tragedy that would lead to the unlucky man's disappearance. Investigators ruled the death of 12-year-old Frank Gotti an accident, but the driver...

Scott McCabe

Published: Thu, Mar 14, 2013

On this day, March 15, in 1982, actress Theresa Saldana was stalked and stabbed repeatedly by a crazed fan. Arthur Richard Jackson had become obsessed with the actress, then best-known for her role as boxer Jake La Motta's sister-in-law in "Raging Bull." Jackson hired a private investigator...

Scott McCabe

Published: Wed, Mar 13, 2013

On this day, March 14, in 1912, in Virginia, five people -- including a judge, prosecutor and sheriff -- were shot to death in what is known as the "Carroll County Courthouse Tragedy." Judge Thornton Massie had sentenced Floyd Allen, the patriarch of a mountain family, to a year in prison for...

Scott McCabe

Updated: Tue, Mar 12, 2013

On this day, March 13, in 1964, Catherine "Kitty" Genovese was raped and stabbed to death in Queens, N.Y., while dozens of people failed to respond, leading to a study of the "bystander effect." Genovese was returning home from her job as a bar manager at about 3 a.m. The assault lasted 35...

Scott McCabe

Published: Mon, Mar 11, 2013

On this day, March 12, in 2003, police found missing Utah teenager Elizabeth Smart nine months after she was abducted from her bed at knifepoint by a street preacher. Elizabeth, then 14, was taken from her Salt Lake City bedroom by Brian David Mitchell, a homeless man who once worked for...

Scott McCabe

Published: Sun, Mar 10, 2013

On this day, March 11, in 1924, cabaret singer Belva Gaertner allegedly shot and killed her married boyfriend in a sensational case that became the stuff of Hollywood legend. Gaertner's lover Walter Law was found in the front of her car with a bottle of gin and gun lying beside him. She was...

Scott McCabe

Published: Thu, Mar 7, 2013

On this day, March 8, in 1951, the "Lonely Hearts Killers" were electrocuted at Sing Sing prison in New York. Martha Beck was overweight and unattractive. Raymond Fernandez was a petty criminal who believed he could charm women into being his sex slaves. They met through a "Lonely Hearts...