Frank McManus: King of the Irish Hill
True crime from 1800's San Francisco. As “King of the Potrero,” Frank McManus was known for his drunkenness, saloon fights and political power alongside his ability to evade the law.
Tag: Guest Posts
A Career of Crime: The Hair-Raising True Tale of John “Chicken” Devine
Devine’s capacity for alcohol and mayhem were legendary. Between 1865 and 1871, he was a one-man crime wave.
Talking with Serial Killers
Former detective Geoffrey Barton reviews two books by author Christopher Berry-Dee focusing on his conversations and interviews with convicted serial killers.
Elton John’s “Ticking” As The Soundtrack for a School Shooting
On the afternoon of December 30th, 1974, seventeen year old Anthony Barbaro entered his high school in upstate New York armed with guns, explosives and a recording of Elton John’s ...
The Early Executioners of France: Les Bourreaux, ‘Executors of High Works’
Public displays of torture carried out by executioners were popular events in France, yet the executioners themselves, 'Les Bourreaux' were hated and shunned by society.
France’s Lonely Hearts Serial Killer and the Strange Case of the Missing Notebook
The intriguing case of French serial killer Henri Désiré Landru and how police misinterpreted a crucial piece of evidence allowing the secrets it contained to remain untold.
The Baby Bandits of San Francisco
In San Francisco in 1936 a series of holdups escalated into armed robbery and eventually murder, all carried out by a trio of teens that the newspapers dubbed the "Baby ...
California’s Queen of Grudges, Isabella J. Martin
With outlandish antics inside the courtroom and a taste for revenge, by the turn of the 20th Century, Isabella Martin was a name California's legal system had come to loathe.
The Real-Life American Raskolnikov
San Francisco's William Sanford was Rodion Raskolnikov’s 20th-century embodiment, a man whose murderous path in 1948 paralleled that of Crime and Punishment's most famous character.
Impacts of School Shootings on Student Achievement and Enrollment
Extensive research suggests that exposure to violence can affect children’s health and well-being for years into the future. It also can desensitize them, leading them to see violence as an acceptable way to ...
Blaming Violent Video Games For Violence: It’s Time To End The Debate
Christopher J. Ferguson, Professor of Psychology at Stetson University states that there is no evidence to support claims that violent video games and real-world violence are connected.
‘Call Me Mr. Brown’ – The Story of the Qantas Bomb-Hoax, Australia’s Greatest Heist
This is the story of extortionist Peter Macari and what became known as the “Qantas Bomb Hoax” – Australia’s greatest-ever heist.
