Browsing: Crime

A Brief History On December 20, 1968, the killer later known as “The Zodiac Killer” shot and murdered two victims in Vallejo, California, the first confirmed victims of this still unidentified killer.  Along with a few other murderers, Zodiac remains unidentified and is the topic of numerous articles, books and speculation.  Today we list a few of those perplexing murders and murderers that have not been solved definitively.  What other crimes and criminals would you add to this list?  (Tupac and Biggie?) Digging Deeper Zodiac murders, 1960’s-1970’s. At least 5 deaths are attributed to this mysterious and taunting murderer, with…

A Brief History On December 11, 2012, an Alawite village in Syria, Aqrab, was the scene of horrific tragedy as terrorist bombs went off and killed about 125 people and injured an additional 200.  Known as the Aqrab Massacre, this sad series of events were but a smaller part in the ongoing Syrian Civil War that began in 2011.  Other estimates of fatalities in the Massacre range up to 300 dead.  In the West, the Islamic religion is often portrayed as a monolithic entity, and when differences in Islamic theology are recognized it is usually in the context of the…

A Brief History On December 6, 2019, we reflect back on our marathon movie watching experience of the previous night, namely the 209 minute long epic blockbuster film from Netflix, an historical crime film supposedly based on real events.  Not only is the movie a long one (3 hours and 29 minutes), it is also an expensive one, with a budget of $159 million, an incredible amount for a streaming app film. Digging Deeper Directed by Martin Scorcese, he of such notable films as Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas, Cape Fear (remake), The Aviator, Casino, Shutter Island and The Wolf…

A Brief History On December 5, 1847, Jefferson Finis Davis of Mississippi was elected to the United States Senate.  He had been appointed to the Senate by the Governor of Mississippi in August of 1847.  Davis went on to serve as the US Secretary of War (1853-1857) and was reelected to the Senate in 1857, serving until he resigned in 1861 due to the onset of the American Civil War.  Davis went on to the notoriety of being the only President of the Confederate States of America, the leader of a movement that would see the United States torn apart. …

A Brief History On November 30 1016, Edmund Ironside, also known as Edmund II or even Ēadmund Isernside (in Old English), was murdered on his “throne,” stabbed to death as he attended to “business.” Digging Deeper Why the quotation marks around “throne” and “business?” Because the poor guy was trying to go to the bathroom at the time of his assassination!  What a “crappy” way to die!  In fact, Edmund had only been king since April 23, 1016, so he barely got to enjoy the benefits of his time as king.  Other chroniclers have claimed the doomed king was done…