House in Philadelphia

 A frightening case in Philadelphia USA 

A letter from Jack the Ripper

 On 27 September 1888, Central News Agency in London received a letter signed 'Jack the Ripper'. It was probably a hoax. It's unlikely it was from the murderer but it gave him his name. It's almost certain now that we will never know the killer's real name, too much time has passed and things like the victim's clothes that might contain evidence were destroyed long ago because at that time they didn't see any point in keeping it. Obviously, they had no concept of DNA or other modern forensic techniques.

The first murderer caught by DNA evidence

 On 19 September 1987 Colin Pitchfork was arrested at his home in Leicestershire, England. He was the first murderer to be caught by DNA evidence. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in January 1988.

Beheaded in Denmark

  In Denmark beheading with an axe was the traditional method of execution. The last person in Denmark to be beheaded with an axe was Jens Nielsen in 1892. The guillotine was never used in Denmark but it was used just once in Sweden, in 1910.

True Crime Trivia

 I wrote another article. It's called True Crime Trivia.

Fingerprints

 On 13 September 1902 a burglar named Harry Jackson became the first person in Britain to be convicted by fingerprint evidence. He left a his prints on a freshly painted windowsill. Jackson was sentenced to 7 years in prison.

DNA

 On 10 September 1984 Alec Jeffreys discovered DNA fingerprinting. It has proved to be a vital tool for law enforcement. Colin Pitchfork was the first murderer caught by the new technology.

The last person guillotined

 On 10 September 1977, Hamida Djandoubi became the last person in France to be guillotined. The French abolished capital punishment in 1981.

History of Prisons

 I wrote a history of prisons. 

In 1885 a journalist bought a girl

 In London, in 1885 a journalist called W T Stead purchased a 13-year-old girl from a woman for prostitution. (At that time the age of consent was 13). The girl’s mother sold her for 5 pounds (several weeks' wages for many people). The buyer made it clear that the child must be ‘pure’ i.e. a virgin. But Stead took the girl to safety in France. Stead then wrote about it to show how easy it was to buy a child. Partly as a result, the age of consent was raised to 16.

Tudor Sex Trafficking

 In the 16th century carting was a punishment. A person was made to sit in a cart and ride through the streets to be mocked by the crowd. Someone would bang a basin to attract attention. In 1560 a woman in London was convicted of being a 'bawd' (procuring girls for prostitution). She procured an 11-year-old girl and 'sent her off to be a whore'. So sex trafficking is nothing new. As a punishment, the woman was carted.

An innocent man was hanged

 On 3 September 1952, an unfortunate British Somali man named Mahmood Hussein Mattan was hanged for the murder of a shopkeeper. His conviction was quashed in 1998. I dread to think how many other innocent people were executed.

The Last Woman Beheaded in England

 On 2 September 1685 Alice Lisle became the last woman to be beheaded in England. She was executed in Winchester. 

Covering up the Holodomor

 This YouTube video shows how Communists covered up the Holodomor, a genocide in Ukraine.

Jack the Ripper's First Victim

 Mary Ann 'Polly' Nichols was murdered on 31 August 1888. Many people believe she was the first victim of the Whitechapel murderer.

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Maartje Tamboezer

 I wrote about Maartje Tamboezer, a Dutch girl living in England. In 1986 she was the victim of a horrific murder in East Horsley in Surrey. She was only 15 years old. The two men who killed her are still in prison. Their names are John Duffy and David Mulcahy. They are known as the Railway Killers because they committed terrible crimes near railway stations. 

John Duffy and David Mulcahy

 This article by Courtroom News discusses two men, John Duffy and David Mulcahy who raped a number of women and murdered three of them.

Ed Gein

 Infamous murderer Ed Gein was born on 27 August 1906. He is supposed to have been the inspiration for Norman Bates.

Polly Nichols

 Mary Ann (Polly) Nichols, who many believe was the first victim of Jack the Ripper, was born on 26 August 1845. She died in 1888.

The Pillory