Donald Neilson aka The Black Panther
On January 14, 1975 Donald Neilson aka the Black Panther, kidnaps his last victim, 17 year old Lesley Whittle from her bedroom at her family home in Highley, Shropshire, England. Donald Neilson , (who was born Donald Nappey) was a British murderer and armed robber. He turned to crime when a business he owned failed.
Doc Barker
On January 13, 1939, Arthur "Doc" Barker is killed while trying to escape from Alcatraz Prison. Barker, of the notorious "Bloody Barkers" gang, was spotted on the rock-strewn shore of the island after climbing over the walls. Despite the fact that guards were ordering him to surrender, Barker continued tying pieces of wood together into a makeshift raft.
The Harrisburg Seven
On January 12, 1971, U.S. Attorneys charge “the Harrisburg Seven” with conspiracy to kidnap national Security Advisor Henry Kissinger and bomb steam tunnels. The Harrisburg Seven were a group of religious anti-war activists led by former Roman Catholic priest Philip Berrigan. The "Seven" included Berrigan, Elizabeth McAlister, Neil McLaughlin, Joseph Wenderoth, Eqbal Ahmed, Anthony Scoblick, and Mary Cain Scoblick.
Joran van der Sloot
On January 11, 2012, Joran van der Sloot, a longtime suspect in the unsolved 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba, pleads guilty to the murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores, in Lima, Peru. Flores was killed on May 30, 2010, exactly five years to the day after Holloway went missing while on a high school graduation trip to the Caribbean island.
Frank James
Outlaw Frank James, the lesser-known older brother of Jesse, was born on Jamuary 10, 1843 in Clay County, Missouri. Frank and Jesse James were both legends in their own time, though Jesse is better remembered today because of his more dramatically violent death. The two Missouri brothers drifted into a life of crime after serving in Confederate guerilla forces during the Civil War.
Angelo Buono, Hillside Strangler co-defendant
On January 9, 1984, Angelo Buono one of the co-defendants in the Hillside Strangler case is sentenced to life in prison for his role in the rape, torture, and murder of 10 young women in Los Angeles. Buono's cousin and partner in crime, Kenneth Bianchi, testified against Buono to escape the death penalty.
Gabrielle Giffords
On January 8, 2011, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is critically injured when a man goes on a shooting spree during a constituents meeting held outside a Tucson-area supermarket. Six people died in the attack and another 13, including Giffords, were wounded.
On the night of November 29, 1988, near the impoverished Marlborough neighborhood in south Kansas City, an explosion at a construction site killed six of the city’s firefighters. It was a clear case of arson, and five people from Marlborough were duly convicted of the crime. But for veteran crime writer and crusading editor J. Patrick O’Connor, the facts—or a lack of them—didn’t add up. Justice on Fire is OConnor’s detailed account of the terrible explosion that led to the firefighters’ deaths and the terrible injustice that followed. Also available from Amazon
