Throughout history murder and assassinations have dramatically changed the outcome of future events. While dominating the news and writing the history books, these murderers and their victims have became immortal. Whether these murderous acts were done with an ax, a gun, or a large knife, the horrible outcome remains the same.
Listed below in random order are several famous murders which changed the face of history. Several of these murders were committed well over a hundred years ago, and yet they still fascinate the mind. Some of these murders are also still unsolved but not forgotten.
Jack the Ripper
One of the most profiled cases of all times is the story of Jack the Ripper. Over 120 years ago five prostitutes were murdered in a one mile radius. This infamous name became popular from a letter signed in 1888 by someone who claimed to be the killer. These murders took place in the districts of Whitechapel, Spitalfields, Aldgate, and London.
The popularity of Jack the Ripper came at a time when the population was becoming literate, and the press was a demanding “force of change.” The newspapers chronicled the latest activities of the Ripper, while the “political turmoil” of both the liberals and the social reformers used these crimes for their individual purposes. Jack the Ripper terrorized the city and gladly left his mutilated victims in plain sight.
The actual count of the women the Ripper killed will never be known, but most authorities agree that the “known” count is five. Listed below are the known victims of Jack the Ripper.
Mary Ann Nichols – August 31st 1888
Annie Chapman – September 8th 1888
Elizabeth Stride – September 30th 1888
Catharine Eddowes – Also September 30th 1888
Mary Jane Kelly – November 9th 1888
Method of killing
The “modus operandi” of Jack the Ripper was not fully understood until several years ago. Information shows that the Ripper and his victim probably stood face to face as the victim lifted her skirt, which left her hands occupied. This gave Jack time to attack and strangle the victim into unconsciousness, or more than likely death. Autopsies revealed that all of the victims were clearly strangled.
With no bruising showing on the back of the heads, the Ripper then laid the victims down, and cut the throats when these women were on the ground. Blood splatter shows that the pools of blood were “under the neck and head of the victim rather than the front, which is where the blood would flow if they had been standing up.”
By reaching over the right side of the throat to cut from left to right, the killer would be shielded from most of the blood that was splattered. If the victim was already dead the blood would not be pressurized and the blood flow would be much less.
The Ripper made various mutilations throughout the murders, and in one case removed a kidney from the front rather than the side without damaging any other organs. Given the lighting, and also using one eye to watch for witnesses as he worked is pretty impressive. Everyone who examined these bodies agreed that the killer showed some expertise in using a knife.
Suspects
Countless articles, stories, research papers, books, and short stories have been written about the numerous suspected identities of Jack the Ripper. The latest theory on this case is from two years of research by Mei Trow, who used police forensics, along with geographical and psychological profiling. His theory is explored on the Discovery Channel and names Robert Mann (morgue attendant) as Jack the Ripper.
Mann unlocked the doors for the police at the morgue, and was called as a witness to establish the death of the victims. Robert Mann has experience with dissection of the human body, and the anatomy. Also his psychological profile and family background matches the profile of Jack the Ripper.
The summation of the coroner on Robert Mann’s testimony surmised that “It appears the mortuary-keeper is subject to fits, and neither his memory nor statements are reliable.” Mann also undressed the body of Polly Nichols although being under strict orders “not to touch the body.” Possibly this was to admire his handy work.
Possibly someday the true identity of Jack the Ripper will be discovered. Most of the files from the original cases were unfortunately lost or destroyed. Now it’s up to technology to identify who Jack the Ripper really is.
Abraham Lincoln
The assassination of Abraham Lincoln in 1865 was the first of four United States presidents that have been assassinated. Following Lincoln’s assassination there have since been thirteen attempted assassinations on presidents. In July of1865 the CIA was commissioned as the personal security of the United States president. Ironically, the legislation for the CIA was on the president’s desk the night he died.
Back in the 1860’s security for the president was at a minimal. This simple fact was also well known to an actor by the name of John Wilkes Booth. Late in the summer of 1864 Booth planned to kidnap the president and hold him hostage in Richmond VA for the exchange of Confederate prisoners of war.
Booth hated Lincoln. He blamed Lincoln for all of the troubles in the south, and wanted revenge. Soon in 1865 Booth organized a group of conspirators, and began meeting at Mary Surratt’s boarding house. A plan was devised to capture Lincoln at a play in a hospital, but the president decided to remain at the capitol.
Two days later Lincoln spoke at the White House to a crowd that gathered, and Booth was there. Lincoln spoke about granting voting rights to certain blacks, and this infuriated Booth. Now the plans seemed to be changed to assassination instead.
Being an actor Booth dropped by Fords Theatre and found out that the president and General Grant were planning on attending the presentation of “Our American Cousin.” Now everything seemed to be falling in place. A final meeting was held with the conspirators and plans were made to kill Andrew Johnson, and also William Sewerd. All attacks were supposed to take place at exactly 10:15 pm.
Lincoln arrived at 8:30 pm, and Booth arrived about 9:30 pm with a “single shot Derringer, and a hunting knife.” Booth then went next door to a saloon and had a drink. After the drink he entered the Fords theatre again at 10:07 pm and slowly made his way to the “state box” which the Lincoln’s occupied.
John Parker of the “Metropolitan Police Force” had left his post just at the wrong time. At around 10:15 pm, Booth entered the state box, shot Lincoln in the head at point blank range, and began to struggle with Henry Rathbone who was Lincoln’s bodyguard. Booth then stabbed Rathbone and jumped off of the 11 foot balcony into history.
Lincoln passed away at 7:22 AM April 15th 1865, across the street from the Ford Theatre. John Wilkes Booth was later shot by federal authorities on April 26th near Port Royal, Virginia.
Charles Manson
Over forty years have passed since the murders of the Manson family on August 8, 1969. Six members of the family were convicted for the murders of seven people including: Sharon Tate who was a Hollywood starlet, and also 8 months pregnant at the time of the murders. These horrendous murders left the public in a state of shock.
In 1968 Charles Manson established a home base for his “family” at the Spahn Ranch. Manson kept George Spahn happy by having Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme act as the eyes for the old man, while other girls sexually satisfied him. Soon Charles Watson joined Manson and the family was now complete.
Manson was obsessed with the Beatles and the “White Album,” and told the family that he could surpasses the popularity of this group. He then convinced the family that racial tension was growing and that he had plans to rectify the situation. But first he must give everything a kick start.
On the night of August 8th Manson directed: Tex Watson, Susan Atkins, Linda Kasabian, and Patricia Krenwinkle to the house which Terry Melcher used to occupy. This is the house were helter skelter began.
After the telephone lines had been cut, the group parked at the bottom of the hill and climbed a brushy embankment and entered the grounds. A car’s headlights broke through the night on the far side of the property; Tex Watson stopped the car and shot dead Steven Parent the driver.
Once inside the house: Jay Sebring, Sharon Tate, Abigail Folger, and Wojciech Frykowski were rounded up into the living room. Jay Sebring was stabbed 7 times by Watson, and Sharon Tate was stabbed 16 times by Susan Atkins. Abigail Folger fled out of the house towards the pool area and was chased down in the front yard where she was stabbed 28 times by Krenwinkle.
As Frykowski struggled for his life across the lawn Watson ended his life with a final stab wound. Frykowski was stabbed a total of 51 times. Five people were brutally murdered that night. Manson instructed the group to “leave a sign… something witchy.” Susan Atkins grabbed a towel and wrote “pig” on the front door of the house.
The next night, Leon and Rosemary LaBianca were killed in the same brutal manner. Leon was stabbed 12 times with a bayonet, 14 wounds with a carving fork which was left in his stomach, and a steak knife was also left in his throat. Rosemary LaBianca was stabbed a total of 41 times.
The cold brutality of these murders still invokes fear in the public eye more than 40 years later. The mass coverage of these crimes, along with the repeated overkill makes this one of the most heinous crimes committed in the 20th century. Listed below is an update on those who were convicted for these murders.
Charles Manson: 74.Manson is currently incarcerated at the California State Prison in Corcoran. After being turned down for parole 11 times, Manson has even failed to show up for the last two parole hearings. His next parole hearing is 2012.
Susan Atkins: 61.Susan is currently suffering from brain cancer, and was again denied parole in November 2009. She is the confessed murderer of Sharon Tate, and will more than likely not survive until her next chance of parole.
Patricia Krenwinkle: 61.Patricia is considered a”model” inmate at the California Institution for women, and has been denied parole 12 times. Her next chance for parole is 2010.
Leslie Van Houton: 60.Leslie is also serving her time in California, and was denied parole for the 14th time in 2002. Her next parole hearing is 2010.
Charles “Tex” Watson: 64.Considered Manson’s “right hand man,” Tex participated at both murder sites, and was convicted for seven counts of murder. His next parole hearing is scheduled for 2011.
On August 8th 1892, Andrew and Abby Borden were hacked to death by an ax in their home. Abby was struck 19 times from the back, while Andrew received 11 blows of the ax in the face. It appeared to the coroner that Andrew had been struck from “above and behind” as he slept on the sofa.
This murder case in Fall River Massachusetts was the “first national prominent murder case in the United States.” The only other people in the house at the time of the murders were the maid Bridget Sullivan, and of course Lizzie Borden, the daughter of Andrew Borden. Lizzie’s sister Emma was away from the home at the time.
The morning of the murders Andrew went into town to run a few errands at the bank, and the post office. After returning home at 10:45 AM, his dead body was found by Lizzie thirty minutes later. Several days before the murders a huge argument had broken out at the Borden home. The two sisters had left on a vacation, but Lizzie then decided to return early.
Lizzie had been refused the purchase of prussic acid (hydrogen cyanide) by the local druggist. Lizzie claimed she was using this to clean a coat. However, right before the murders everyone in the household became “desperately” sick. Mr. Borden feared that they were being poisoned, but the doctor diagnosed it as bad food.
Lizzie Borden was arrested on August 11th 1892, and charged with three counts of murder. A hatchet was discovered in the basement with most of the handle broke off. But the prosecution was hindered because the Fall River Police gave no credence to the new technology of fingerprinting, and refused to check for prints on the hatchet.
There was also no blood soaked clothing found in the home. However, a few days after the murders Lizzie burned a blue dress in the stove claiming that she had rubbed against some fresh paint. Regardless of the incriminating circumstances Lizzie was acquitted of the charges on June 20th 1893. With no murder weapon, and no “blood evidence” found just minutes after the second murder, this pointed to reasonable doubt. Lizzie and her sister Emma moved to a new home shortly after the trail.
Theories:
Bridget Sullivan (the maid) has been suggested as the killer. Speculations have been repeated about Sullivan having a relationship with Lizzie and furious over the way Lizzie was treated by her stepmother. An argument had also ensued between Bridget and the stepmother about Bridget cleaning the windows on the hottest day of the year.
Another theory is that Lizzie Borden planned to kill the stepmother, and had to silence the father. She undressed and killed them both in the nude, then cleaned up downstairs (where it was wet) and put her clothes back on before she yelled for Bridget upstairs.
Lizzie was also an epileptic and some theories stated that Lizzie could have killed them while she was having a seizure. Lizzie did seem to be handy with an ax, as she had decapitated a cat with an ax for bothering some quests at the home. She had also threatened a scared delivery man, and asked him if he wanted her to get an ax for him also.
The sexual orientation of Lizzie Borden led to a reported affair with an actress named Nance O’Neil, which eventually broke up the relationship between Lizzie and her sister. Lizzie Borden died of pneumonia on June 1st 1927, in Fall River. There have been no ax murders since her death, so you decide who the killer is in this one.
At her death JonBenet was just six years old. A child beauty queen who was made famous by her murder and the national media coverage when she was found strangled in the basement of her home. Her body was found eight hours after she was reported missing. Now over ten years later, and several grand jury hearings later, the case still remains unsolved.
Patsy Ramsey testified that on December 26th 1996, she discovered that her daughter was missing after she found a ransom note on the kitchen staircase. This note demanded $118,000 for the return of her daughter which was the exact amount of the bonus John Ramsey had received earlier in the year.
Dismissing the instructions of the ransom note, Patsy immediately contacted the police and several friends. A police search was done on the house but nothing was found. Forced entry to the home was also not evident.
During the afternoon of the same day, detective Linda Arndt asked a friend of the family to go with John Ramsey and search the house. While searching the basement John Ramsey found JonBenet’s body in the “wine cellar” room covered in a white blanket.
The investigation of the JonBenet Ramsey case in Boulder was a mess. The crime scene was not petitioned off, and friends and family were let in to contaminate the entire area. Critics have also claimed that officers did not “sufficiently” collect forensic evidence either before or after the body was found. Very soon the Ramseys were suspected of the murder when things didn’t add up.
Autopsy
The results of the autopsy showed that JonBenet had died due to strangulation, and a skull fracture. A tweed cord garrote and a paintbrush handle were used in the strangulation. All of these tools were made from articles located in the house; including the ransom note. What intruder would invade this type of home with no weapons or plan? The skull of JonBenet had received blunt force trauma, but the official cause of death was ruled asphyxiation due to strangulation.
Patsy Ramsey had been suspected of killing JonBenet in a fit of rage, and trying to cover up the killing. John Ramsey had been suspected of molesting JonBenet and also trying to cover it up with the killing. Even the son Burke who was nine at the time of the murder was subject to investigation.
In 2003 DNA was found from a blood sample in JonBenet’s underwear which belonged to an unknown male. This DNA sample was compared to 1.6 million DNA profiles for matches. So far the database has yet to find a match.
Two lead investigators of the Ramsey case later resigned. One commented that he quit because the intruder theory was never checked out thoroughly, and the other investigator reportedly quit because the Ramseys had not been prosecuted properly. Suspects are still being sought in this case. May your soul rest in peace JonBenet.
Sources of information:
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JonBene_Ramsey
www.casebook.org/info.html
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln_Assassination
www.telegraph.co.uk/…/Jack-the-Rippers-identity-finnaly-uncovered.html
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/jack_the_ripper
www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lizzie_Borden
www.people.com/people/article/0,,20296856,00.html
