Famous Crimes

Does evil reside within the individual? Or is it a force which can be as powerful when applied to more than one person, as in a couple, a gang, or even an army? For cases involving more than one individual, the fact that neither found the other's deeds reprehensible enough to report or question is enough to make anyone wonder about the true nature of evil. In any case, the individuals profiled in the infographic below all showed the same amount of hatred and FAMOUS RIME sadism by torturing their victims and showing no compassion or remorse. THE MURDER OF ELIZABETH SHORT aka The Black Dahlia (January 17, 1947) It's the most famous murder case in Los Angeles that remains unsolved, particularly for the gruesome nature of the crime. UNSOLVED The moniker "Black Dahlia" came from her black hair and penchant for wearing all black. CASE There's argument over whether she had the nickname prior to her grisly murder or after as an act of sensationalism by the press. Adding to the notoriety of the case, it has attracted several false confessions. WILLIAM HEIRENS aka The Lipstick Killer (1945-1946) Reputedly the world's longest serving prisoner in Illinois, 63 years and counting. EVIDENCE Got the name because his 2nd victim had, "For Heaven's sake, catch me before I kill more I cannot control myself." scrawled in lipstick on the livingroom wall. A confession from a convicted child molester in Arizona was quickly dismissed as a suspect by Chicago police because the police had already made their investment in Heirens. Chicago Tribune staff reporter, George Wright, wrote a piece on the case that manufactured details and cited "unimpeachable sources" that said Heirens had confessed; The Tribune devoted 38 columns for the story. THE ZODIAC KILLER (1968-1969) This the Zodia speakin I ha +he elak very pet ith A- es kare set complind with SAH Fran B The California Department of Justice has maintained an open case file on the Zodiac murders since 1969. * button Pur D Jedi .. The Zodiac killer coined the name "Zodiac" in a series of I shat ma- sitting in - Parked taunting letters that included 4 cryptograms/ciphers, 3 of which have yet to be solved, and were sent to the local Bay Area press. The Mas cmeled wde CAZIEOpAAAMTA AORTO Although the Zodiac claimed 37 murders in letters to newspapers, investigators agree on only seven confirmed victims, two of whom survived. ERIC HARRIS AND DYLAN KLEBOLD aka The Trench Coat Mafia (April 20, 1999, Columbine High School Massacre) EVIDENCE This was the fourth-deadliest school massacre in the U.S., and was the deadliest massacre for any American high school. Brought to the forefront discussion centered on the nature of high school cliques, subcultures and bullying, as well as the role of violent movies and video games in American society. The Columbine Effect: new security measures in schools such as see-through backpacks, metal detectors, and security guards and police departments reassessed their tactics and training for Columbine-like situations after criticism over the slow response and progress of the SWAT teams during the shooting. JOHN COUEY (February 2005) Sentenced to death for the kidnapping, rape and murder of 9 year old Jessica Lunsford. JOHN COUEY His case led to the creation of Jessica's Law in Florida and adopted in 42 other states, the key provisions of which are a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison and lifetime electronic monitoring of adults convicted of lewd or lascivious acts against a victim less than 12 years old. Shortly after, Jessica's Law was introduced at the federal level as the Jessica Lunsford Act but was never enacted into law by Congress. RAY AND FAYE COPELAND EVIDENCE Beginning their killing spree in their 70s, they were the oldest couple ever sentenced to death in the United States. EVIDENCE Faye Copeland was the oldest woman ever on death row (her sentence was commuted to life in prison in 1999). They would hire drifters to pay for cattle at auction with bad checks, then kill them once they were no longer of any use, with a single bullet to the back of the head. Faye made a quilt out of the clothing of their victims. WILLIAM HALE (1920s) Known as the "King of the Osage Hills", Hale and his nephews, Ernest and Roy Burkhart, had migrated from Texas to Osage County to find jobs in the oil fields, and discovered the immense wealth of the Osage Nation due to its having oil-rich lands. LIFE INSURANCE POLICY Hale had organized the deaths of Mollie Kyle (a full blooded Osage he convinced his nephew Ernest Burkhart to mary), her sister Anna Brown, her cousin Henry Roan, Mollie's mother Lizzie Q Kyle, and Mollie's other sister, Rita Smith and Rita's husband, Bill, to cash in on the insurance policies and oil head rights of each family member. It was one of the first high-profile cases of the newly formed FBI. CHARLES CHI-TAT NG (1983-1985) Kidnapped, participated in sadistic torture, slavery, rape and murder of 12-25 victims, including babies. One of the most lengthiest and costly cases in U.S. history, 6 yrs, and $6.6 million of which were spent on extradition from Canada alone. Apprehended in 1985, in October 1998, after 13 years of various delays and $10 million more in costs, Ng's trial BEGAN. FO SAN FRANCISCO CHAT S2A NEW At the end of Ng's trial, it cost taxpayers approxi- mately $20 million, which at the time of the trial, was the most expensive trial in California state history, and Ng currently awaits execution at San Quentin State Prison. KARLA HOMOLKA (1११0-19१2) Gained worldwide attention when she was convicted of manslaughter following a plea bargain in the 1991 rape-murders of two Ontario teenage girls, Leslie Ma- haffy and Kristen French, as well as the rape and death of her own sister Tammy. Her plea bargain is now called the "Deal with the Devil" because she portrayed herself as an innocent victim of her partner Paul Bernardo but videotapes discovered after her plea bargain had been entered showed her to be a more than willing participant in the crimes. Her case and subsequent short prison term for her crimes have provided inspiration for movies and epi- sodes of Law & Order, and Law & Order: SVU. MARY BELL (1968) EVIDENCE Convicted of manslaughter of Martin Brown, Brian Howe, aged 4 and 3, respectively. She was 10 at the time of the first killing, and 11 years old for the second killing. She was released in 1980 after 12 years of imprisonment, and in 2003, Bell won a High Court battle to have her own anonymity and that of her daughter extended for life. Any court order permanently protecting the identity of someone is consequently known as a Mary Bell Order. TED BUNDY (1974-1979) Ted Bundy is the inspiration for the term "serial killer". On January 24, 1989, Theodore Bundy died at around 7:13 a.m. from electrocution as crowds outside cheered his death. SERIAL KILLER In her book, former police officer Ann Rule suggests Bundy's resentment towards his first girlfriend and later fiancee "Stephanie Brooks" (a pseudonym) was a moti- vating factor in his string of murders as most of Bundy's victims had long straight hair parted in the middle. In 1980, Bundy would dismiss this speculation: "[t)hey... just fit the general criteria of being young and attrac- tive... Too many people have bought this crap that all the girls were similar -- hair about the same color, parted in the middle... but if you look at it, almost everything was dissimilar...physically, they were almost all different." DAVID BERKOWITZ (1976-1977) Known as the Son of Sam, he claimed the howling dogs in his neighborhood were messages from demons ordering him to kill women. It was the neighbor and his dog who Berkowitz moved next to later on that gave birth to his nickname, Son of Sam (The neighbor's name was Sam Carr and Berkowitz believed him to be possessed by the most powerful demon of all, possibly Satan). The task force assigned to capture the Son of Sam was called Operation Omega and would become the single largest operation ever mounted by the NYPD: led by Deputy Inspector Timothy J. Dowd, it would eventually involve over 300 detectives, and cost over $90,000 per day. OPERATION OMEGA NY.C 4 17635 In 1979, in an interview with FBI veteran Robert Ressler, Berkowitz admitted the Son of Sam persona was created as a plausible insanity defense when he got caught. Today, Berkowitz is a born-again Christian, and by all accounts, a model prisoner and has denied any parole hearings, stating he is happy with his life in jail. information provided by: CourtReporter.net SOURCES: http://www.bestforensicscienceschools.com/2009/25-most-infamous-crimes-in-moden-history/ http://crime.about.com/od/murder/Infamous_Murders.htm http://www.bethshort.com/dahhome.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Heirens http://www.zodiackillerfacts.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zodiac_Killer http://www.crimefilenews.com/2007/07/chicagos-lipstick-killer-up-for-parole.html http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,887101.00.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbine_High_School_massacre#Impact_on_school_policies http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbine_High_School_massacre#Long-term_results http://articles.cnn.com/1999-08- 16/us/9908_16_school.safety_1_safe-schools-metal-detectors-or-security-school-officials-and-authorities?_s=PM:US http://www.cnn.com/US/9908/18/columbine.SWAT.01/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica's Law http://crime.about.com/od/murder/p/copelands.htm http://crime.about.com/od/murder/p/osagehils.htm http://crime.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=crime&cdn=newsissues&tm=388&f=11&tt=11&bt=0&bts=1&z u=http://foia.fbi.gov/foiaindex/osageind.htm http://crime.about.com/od/murder/p/charlesng.htm http://crime.about.com/od/murder/p/homolka.htm http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/famous/bell/index_1.html?sect=7 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Bell http://crime.about.com/od/serial/p/tedbundy.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Bundy http://www.altereddimensions.net/crime/SonOfSam.aspx . $20,880,000