In the 19th century, New York City became a center for immigrants that had come to the city looking for a better life. Most of them settled on or near ‘Five Points,’ the intersection of five streets in Lower Manhattan. This area became associated with some of the deepest levels of poverty in the entire… Continue reading New York City Underworld – 19th Century Corruption
Many people think that locked room mysteries only happen in fiction. Whether inspired by books, or their warped imaginations, there have been real killers that bring these stories to life. The Laundry Killer On March 9, 1929, Isidore Fink was locked in his laundry on 5th Avenue, New York. A neighbor heard screams and the… Continue reading True Locked Room Mysteries
Born in the northern town of Oswego in Mexico, Raymond C Schindler’s life was not initially exciting. Raymond struggled with odd jobs ranging from a salesman to an insurance agent, to working as a gold-miner. However, little did Raymond know what the future held for him. After finishing his studies at high school in Wisconsin,… Continue reading Raymond C Schindler
Scottish immigrant, Allan Pinkerton was responsible for starting The Pinkerton Detective Agency in the 1850s. He unintentionally became involved in the search for a gang of counterfeiters, while running a barrel making company, and displayed leadership abilities and a high level of investigative skills. After the arrests, he was offered the position of deputy sheriff… Continue reading The Pinkerton Detective Agency
Elizabeth van Valkenburgh On January 22, 1846, Elizabeth van Valkenburg was arrested and charged with the murder of her second husband, John van Valkenburgh. She was tried, found guilty and sentenced to be hanged by the neck until dead. The killer confessed to adding arsenic to her husband’s tea, and waiting as he died slowly… Continue reading Female Killers from the Big Apple
Juana Barraza is a criminal in Mexico who is also known as the old lady killer due to the murders she committed. She was sentenced to 759 years in prison for killing 42 to 48 older women. Barraza was born in Hidalgo, which is the rural part of Mexico City, in Mexico. Her mother was… Continue reading Juana Barraza – The Old Lady Killer
Judy Buenoano, whose birth name was Judias Welty, was a notorious murderer in America known as the Black Widow. She killed many of her loved ones in the name of greed. She was imprisoned for a total of 3 murders, placed on death row and became one of the first women to ever be executed… Continue reading Judy Buenoano, the Black Widow
The number of men that commit murder is significantly higher than the number of women that do. There are some females that have been responsible for crimes that are so horrific, however, that there can be no comparison. Like many other big cities, New York has had its fair share of horror, and the female… Continue reading Mistresses of Murder
Henry Howard Holmes was born Herbert Webster Mudgett, but changed his name and moved to Chicago in 1886. Described as charming, fashionable and intelligent, Holmes was well liked by everybody he met. He soon started working at a drugstore and purchased an empty lot across the street. Here he began to construct a three storey… Continue reading The Murder Hotel
Ironic situations are one of the most gripping parts of any detective story. One of these occurred in real life in December 1926, when popular mystery writer, Agatha Christie, disappeared under suspicious circumstances. The author wrote a note stating that she was going on vacation and drove away from her home in Berkshire, England. Shortly… Continue reading Agatha Christie – An Author’s Mysterious Disappearance
