True Crime in the Civil War

True Crime in the Civil War PDF Author: Tobin T. Buhk
Publisher: Stackpole Books
ISBN: 0811745856
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 338

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Book Description
Crime did not take a holiday during the Civil War, far from it. As Tobin Buhk shows in this fast-paced narrative, the war created new opportunities to gain profits from illegal activities, to settle old scores against personal enemies under the cover of fighting the nation's enemies, to pillage, plunder, and murder amid the carnage and destruction that seemed to offer license to legitimize such crimes. Students of the Civil War will find new information in this readable account. --James M. McPherson,Author of Battle Cry of Freedom • Examines criminal cases during the conflict • Cases include currency counterfeiting, tyrannical actions of Gen. Benjamin Butler, the murder of Gen. Earl van Dorn, raids by William Quantrill's Bushwhackers, the Fort Pillow Massacre, the horrific prison conditions at Andersonville, the fate of Lincoln the assassination conspirators, and more

True Crime in the Civil War

True Crime in the Civil War PDF Author: Tobin T. Buhk
Publisher: Stackpole Books
ISBN: 0811745856
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 338

Get Book Here

Book Description
Crime did not take a holiday during the Civil War, far from it. As Tobin Buhk shows in this fast-paced narrative, the war created new opportunities to gain profits from illegal activities, to settle old scores against personal enemies under the cover of fighting the nation's enemies, to pillage, plunder, and murder amid the carnage and destruction that seemed to offer license to legitimize such crimes. Students of the Civil War will find new information in this readable account. --James M. McPherson,Author of Battle Cry of Freedom • Examines criminal cases during the conflict • Cases include currency counterfeiting, tyrannical actions of Gen. Benjamin Butler, the murder of Gen. Earl van Dorn, raids by William Quantrill's Bushwhackers, the Fort Pillow Massacre, the horrific prison conditions at Andersonville, the fate of Lincoln the assassination conspirators, and more

Those Damn Horse Soldiers

Those Damn Horse Soldiers PDF Author: George Walsh
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 0765312700
Category : United States
Languages : en
Pages : 479

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Book Description


Goat Castle

Goat Castle PDF Author: Karen L. Cox
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 1469635046
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 240

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Book Description
In 1932, the city of Natchez, Mississippi, reckoned with an unexpected influx of journalists and tourists as the lurid story of a local murder was splashed across headlines nationwide. Two eccentrics, Richard Dana and Octavia Dockery—known in the press as the "Wild Man" and the "Goat Woman"—enlisted an African American man named George Pearls to rob their reclusive neighbor, Jennie Merrill, at her estate. During the attempted robbery, Merrill was shot and killed. The crime drew national coverage when it came to light that Dana and Dockery, the alleged murderers, shared their huge, decaying antebellum mansion with their goats and other livestock, which prompted journalists to call the estate "Goat Castle." Pearls was killed by an Arkansas policeman in an unrelated incident before he could face trial. However, as was all too typical in the Jim Crow South, the white community demanded "justice," and an innocent black woman named Emily Burns was ultimately sent to prison for the murder of Merrill. Dana and Dockery not only avoided punishment but also lived to profit from the notoriety of the murder by opening their derelict home to tourists. Strange, fascinating, and sobering, Goat Castle tells the story of this local feud, killing, investigation, and trial, showing how a true crime tale of fallen southern grandeur and murder obscured an all too familiar story of racial injustice.

Between Two Wars: A True Crime Collection

Between Two Wars: A True Crime Collection PDF Author: Cheyna Roth
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1646045645
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 129

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Book Description
Discover the most fascinating crimes committed between two of the greatest wars ever fought, from America’s first train robbery by the Reno brothers in 1866, to alleged killings at the H. H. Holmes Murder Castle in 1893, to the Rumrich Nazi spy case in 1938, and much more. The era from the end of the Civil War to the beginning of World War II was a dynamic and evolving time for murderers, thieves, gangsters and more. Train robberies, presidential assassinations, high-profile heists, and serial murders are just a selection of what occurred between the 1860s and the 1930s. Between Two Wars: A True Crime Collection includes a curated mix of both familiar and less-infamous cases. Tour through the carnage of 1880s Chicago as H.H. Holmes builds his Murder Castle. Learn about the significance of the less famous presidential assassination of the 1800s—of President James Garfield. At the turn of the century, find out why the theft of the Mona Lisa made the piece the famous work of art it is today, and discover the impact of the Black mafia with John “Mushmouth” Johnson, the infamous “Negro Gambling King of Chicago.” The full list of cases includes: - (1866) The Reno brothers and the first train robbery in America - (1878) George Leslie, a high society bank robber - (1881) Assassination of President James Garfield - (1893) H.H. Holmes Murder Castle and the Columbian Exposition - (1890s –1907) John “Mushmouth” Johnson, the “Negro Gambling King of Chicago” - (1911) The theft of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa - (1926) Disappearance of Agatha Christie - (1933) Kansas City Massacre - (1938) Rumrich Nazi Spy Case Written for murderinos, true crime junkies, and history buffs, Between Two Wars reads like you’re having a conversation with a friend or listening to your favorite true crime podcast.

Bloody Crimes

Bloody Crimes PDF Author: James L. Swanson
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0061989851
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 486

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Book Description
In Bloody Crimes, James L. Swanson—the Edgar® Award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of Manhunt—brings to life two epic events of the Civil War era: the thrilling chase to apprehend Confederate president Jefferson Davis in the wake of the Lincoln assassination and the momentous 20 -day funeral that took Abraham Lincoln’s body home to Springfield. A true tale full of fascinating twists and turns, and lavishly illustrated with dozens of rare historical images—some never before seen—Bloody Crimes is a fascinating companion to Swanson’s Manhunt and a riveting true-crime thriller that will electrify civil war buffs, general readers, and everyone in between.

The Insanity Defense and the Mad Murderess of Shaker Heights

The Insanity Defense and the Mad Murderess of Shaker Heights PDF Author: William Louis Tabac
Publisher: True Crime History
ISBN: 9781606353523
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
They have no witnesses. They have no case. With this blunt observation, Mariann Colby--an attractive, church-going Shaker Heights, Ohio, mother and housewife--bet a defense psychiatrist that she would not be convicted of murder. A lack of witnesses was not the only problem that would confront the State of Ohio in 1966, which would seek to prosecute her for shooting to death Cremer Young Jr., her son's nine-year-old playmate: Colby had deftly cleaned up after herself by hiding the child's body miles from her home and concealing the weapon. Thus, this "highly intelligent" woman, as she would be described at her trial, had hedged a little on her wager. Not only were there no witnesses to the crime, but there was not a shred of physical evidence to pin the slaying on her. Under the usual forensic standards, her wager was spot on; the probabilities were that she would get away with it. But as the Shaker Heights police found themselves stymied by an investigation that was going nowhere, Mariann Colby upped the ante a bit. Under intense questioning, she broke down, claiming the gun had accidentally discharged. The state thought it had its capital murder case, but Mariann Colby's bet against it would be right on the money. As her trial unfolds in the book, the imprecision of her insanity defense confounds the judges, and psychiatrists disagree about her diagnosis. To make matters worse, the panel of judges that initially tried Colby was so confused by what they'd heard that they did not reach a decision consistent with the law of the state. This led to a second trial and more conflicting psychiatric opinions, another controversial judgment, and clashing trial outcomes. After reading The Insanity Defense and the Mad Murderess of Shaker Heights, readers--and the many childhood friends of the slain boy whose painful reminiscences are set forth in the book--will contemplate whether Mariann Colby did indeed get away with murder. In addition, those interested in legal history will find much of value in Tabac's discussions of the case and its use of an insanity defense strategy.

I Had Rather Die

I Had Rather Die PDF Author: Kim Murphy
Publisher: Kim Murphy
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The American Civil War is often regarded as a "low-rape" war, due to gentlemanly "restraint." Nearly thirty Union soldiers were executed for the crime. As a result, rape is perceived to have been dealt with harshly. On the surface, the numbers reflect the view that rape was indeed far from widespread. In reality, few soldiers received harsh punishment for a crime considered a capital offense in the nineteenth century. I Had Rather Die is the first book dedicated to the topic of rape during the war. Through newspapers, Official Records, diaries, letters, and court-martial documents, Kim Murphy exposes the misrepresentations about the topic of rape during the war. Not only were women raped during times of battle, but those who bravely stepped forward to name their attackers were interrogated in the justice system, often by their assailants. Courts-martial revolved around a woman's consent and her degree of resistance against a man's force. Poor and black women frequently had their reputations called into question. For far too long, women's claims have been dismissed as hearsay and propaganda. Behind the brother-against-brother war lurks the hidden war of brother against sister.

The Beauty Defense

The Beauty Defense PDF Author: Laura James
Publisher: Kent State University
ISBN: 9781606353943
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Justice is blind, they say, but perhaps not to beauty. In supposedly dispassionate courts of law, attractive women have long avoided punishment, based largely on their looks, for cold-blooded crimes. The Beauty Defense: Femmes Fatales on Trial gathers the true stories of some of the most infamous femmes fatales in criminal history, collected by attorney and true crime historian Laura James. With cases from 1850 to 1997, these 32 examples span more than a century, across cultures, ethnicities, and socioeconomic status. But all were so beautiful, as James demonstrates, that they got away with murder. When Madeline Smith, a Glasgow socialite, tried to end a relationship with one man to date another, her jilted lover proved difficult to shake. She solved the problem, James writes, with arsenic-laced chocolates. And in Warrenton, Virginia, mild-mannered heiress Susan Cummings gunned down her polo-playing boyfriend, Roberto, following a disagreement. While these two women lived in different centuries and on different continents, both of their lawyers argued that they were too beautiful to be killers. And in both cases, the juries bought it. In telling the stories of Madeline Smith and Susan Cummings--and 30 others--James proves the existence of the so-called Beauty Defense and shines a spotlight on how gender bias has actually benefited femmes fatales and affected legal systems across the world.

The Shocking Story of Helmuth Schmidt

The Shocking Story of Helmuth Schmidt PDF Author: Tobin T. Buhk
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1625840950
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Book Description
The author of True Crime: Michigan “tells the tale of an alleged World War I German spy and love-ad bandit from Royal Oak who killed to cover up his work” (C&G News). In the fall of 1916, New York housemaid Augusta Steinbach fell in love with a man she met through a matrimonial advertisement in her local newspaper. She traveled to Detroit to marry her correspondent, but in March 1917, she mysteriously disappeared. What began as a routine search for a missing person turned into a baffling case of deception, bigamy, and murder. Follow detectives as they unravel the tangled web spun by Michigan’s original lonely-hearts killer—a criminal mastermind the Detroit News dubbed “one of America's master outlaws.” Includes photos

The Carlton Smith True Crime Collection

The Carlton Smith True Crime Collection PDF Author: Carlton Smith
Publisher: Open Road Media
ISBN: 1504053761
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 974

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Book Description
Four chilling, true stories of murder from the Pulitzer Prize finalist and coauthor of New York Times bestseller, The Search for the Green River Killer. As an investigative journalist for the Seattle Times, Carlton Smith covered the Green River Killer case for over a decade. Smith, along with his coauthor, fellow reporter Tomas Guillen, were named Pulitzer Prize finalists for their New York Times bestseller, The Search for the Green River Killer, which was published ten years before Gary Ridgway was finally arrested for his crimes. Gathered here in this volume are four of Smith’s most engrossing accounts of serial killers, pathological liars, and shockingly cold-blooded murderers. Fatal Charm: When handsome, charming Randy Roth’s fourth wife drowned in a speedboating accident just weeks after their first anniversary, authorities began to look at a pattern of suspicious behavior, uncovering the lies of a serial wife killer. Dying for Daddy: Jack Barron’s wife died mysteriously in her sleep. Soon after, his two young children were also found dead in their beds. But only when his fifty-two-year-old mother died, also of asphyxiation in her sleep, did law enforcement officials finally take action against a man driven to commit the most unspeakable of acts. Cold-Blooded: When lawyer Larry McNabney disappeared, his wife claimed he joined a cult. By the time his body was found in a shallow grave three months later, Elisa McNabney was speeding toward a new life in Florida—and a brand-new identity. Beautiful, seductive, and ruthless, she had thirty-eight aliases and a rap sheet a mile long, but her run was about to end. Killing Season: Over the course of seven months in 1988, eleven women disappeared off the streets of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Nine turned up dead. Two were never found. And the perpetrator remains unknown. Smith provides a riveting account of the unsolved murders—and the botched investigation that let the New Bedford Highway Killer walk away.