Historic Crimes

Police shootouts, are about the closest thing to warfare as U.S. citizens typically experience. They terrorize both the lawmakers and the civilians who find themselves witnessing gunfire and even explosions. Here are a few shootouts that are infamous in the collective memory of this country. The 1985 MOVE Shootout and Subsequent Fire MOVE is a commune style group that preaches against technology and for living in harmony with the Earth. However, they were not averse to using violence. Their name is not an acronym for anything, though their members do all adopt the last name "Africa." The group is still active as of 2016. On May 13, 1985, police approached the home of the MOVE group on Osage Ave. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Neighbors had been complaining of loud preaching and anti-American sentiment being broadcast from the house. They also complained of trash strewn in the yard for making compost and that there were nude children walking around the property. ...

The Bender family was a group of killers that settled in Labette County, Kansas in the late 1800's. Witnesses say that they were from Germany or Holland, but that is uncertain. There were four of them altogether. John, “Pa” or William Bender was the father; Ma Bender (real name unknown), was the mother, John Jr. or John Bender the adult son and Kate Bender the adult daughter. At least, it assumed that this was the family dynamic and those were their names, but even that is unknown. Some sources claim that the only two who were actually related were Ma and Kate and that the last name Bender was taken from Ma’s first husband. Whether “Pa” Bender was really her husband and who John Jr. was is a matter of speculation. “Pa” and John Bender placed a claim in Labette County in the early 1870's and subsequently built a house there, which was one story and consisted of a single large room. The women soon followed and the house was crudely split into two portions by hanging a piece ...

Wanted Poster Charles Lindbergh is an American aviation legend. At the height of his career, he was a record-breaking hero. History remembers him as such, but he was more than that. Charles Lindbergh was the father of a boy who was not even two years old when he was stolen from his family and murdered. Charles and his wife Anne endured months of ransom notes and searching for their child only to find that he had probably been dead before they realized he was missing. The horrible crime created a media frenzy that drove the Lindberghs from the United States. On the night of March 1, 1932, the Lindbergh family was relaxing in their Hopewell, New Jersey home. Charles Lindbergh Jr. was tucked away in his crib. The rest of the household was going about business as usual. At around 10 o'clock, the Lindberghs' nanny went to check on her charge. He was not in his room. She informed the baby's parents immediately. A search was conducted and the police w...

More than half of the United States still use the death penalty. It is also still used in federal and military cases. However, there are strict laws regarding when the use of the death penalty is appropriate, legally speaking. It is not something that is handled lightly, in most cases. It is also reserved for the most heinous of crimes. The death penalty is considered for nothing short of murder. Nonetheless, there are times when there is doubt as to whether the death penalty was the right punishment or if the party was even guilty of the crimes that resulted in the death penalty. Such was the case with Johnny Frank Garrett. Johnny Frank Garrett was 17-years-old when he allegedly raped and murdered a 76-year-old nun in a nunnery. He reportedly broke into the convent, entered Sister Benz's room, raped her and killed her. One piece of evidence against him was an alleged confession that he never signed and of which there are no audio recordings. Other evidence included ...

Richard Davis and Dena Riley were drug-crazed serial killers willing to do the unthinkable. They were the classic killer couple, feeding off each other's depravity and, in the case of Dena, willing to do anything to please her partner. There were few lines this duo did not cross, even though their killing spree was relatively short and included comparatively few victims. Richard "Ricky" Davis was a repeat sex offender and general lawbreaker who was raised in Kansas City. He was institutionalized as a teenager. Later, he was imprisoned for stealing. Within months of his release, he was back in prison for raping a woman at knifepoint. He was sentenced to 25 years but was released in May of 2005 after roughly 18 years. For nine months after his release, Ricky Davis catered to a bondage, strangulation and sexual murder fetish with pornography. At the same time, he attended sex counseling, drug counseling and kept in touch with his parole officer religiously. ...

Any time a murder occurs it is shocking and frightening. However, when the person who perpetrates the murder is the person you would least expect, it is even more shocking and scary. It is often hard to imagine that we would have to protect ourselves and our loved ones from the murderous intentions of a child, but there are children out there who are very dangerous. The following are some infamous murders where the murderer or murderers turned out to be shockingly young. The Murder of Shanda Sharer: Melinda Loveless and Toni Lawrence Melinda Loveless was sixteen-years-old in 1992, when she instigated and participated in the murder of twelve-year-old Indiana native Shanda Sharer. Melinda was a lesbian who was in a relationship with a younger girl, fourteen-year-old Amanda Heavrin. Amanda Heavrin began a relationship with Shanda while she was still going out with Melinda. When Melinda found out, she was enraged. On Friday, January 10, 1992, Melinda Lovele...

The street on which the couple lived. Photo by Gene Hunt (Mikey) The Moor Murders were some of the most horrific serial killings ever committed by a couple. The monsters behind these murders were IanBrady and Myra Hindley. The bulk of their murders were committed in Saddleworth Moor near Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. They were the sort of couple that fed off each other's sadistic, dark and brooding characteristics to the point where neither could see the evil in the other's actions. They were child torturers and murderers–sexually sadistic pedophiles who murdered at least five children. Myra would have had people think that she had little to no hand in the killings. Ian asserts that she was just as involved as he was. The evidence suggests that Ian was telling the truth. Myra led a relatively normal life. She was raised by her mother the first few years of her life, but later went to live with her doting grandmother. She was not abused. S...