Axeman of New Orleans

The subject of the book “The Midnight Assassin” by Skip Hollandsworth is focused on uncovering the truth behind who is truly at fault for the murders of Mollie Smith and, several other victims. The murders occurred in Austin, Texas during the 19th century. Based on the first three chapters, three prominent characters have been introduced. All three characters are currently prime suspects. At the time, Austin was a prestigious town, equipped with the finest law enforcement made first hand by god himself, the Texas Rangers. When the young yellow skinned slave Mollie Smith was murdered, terror truly struck Austin. News reporters from all over Texas came to cover the story, thus creating conspiracies about each suspect. Evaluation of each suspect and their motives to perpetrate such a gruesome murder-Walter Spencer, a hardworking slave, who had never done any harm; Tom Chalmers, the brother of the land owner where the murder took place; Lastly, Dr. Ralph Steiner, the esteemed doctor.

It was a time in the city’s history to get the perpetrators of the crime committed and to be recognized as solving the greatest crime of time. Media and public presence played a huge role in pressuring law enforcement to figure out this awful incident. The demand from the public was pushing from all sides of this story to get answers.

    During the 1893 Columbian Exposition, H.H. Holmes was one of the first serial killers of America. Holmes would lure his victims into his building which he transformed into his “murder castle.” First he would manipulate his victims by coming off as a

On Saturday, December 1, 1900, a man named John Hossack was killed in his sleep with a hatchet by his wife, Margaret Hossack. The story told by Margaret was that she had heard what sounded like two boards banging together and by that time the attacker had fled and she didn’t catch a glimpse of him. The next thing she saw was her extremely wounded husband, John, who had a five-inch cut into his head and a fractured skull. A doctor, who came and examined John, and said there was no hope and John died the next morning. As an investigation started, a burglary was thought of as the first motive but the idea flawed because nothing was stolen so the idea was quickly abandoned. In the 4 days between the murder and the funeral, the police talked to

By 1925 there were at least 3200 speakeasies and stores who sold liquor in order to get some extra income in New York. The smuggling of alcohol was a very good business that involved money. Some of the direct distilling and home brewing were secretly installed in garages, tenements, and warehouses. With the fear of being hijacked, the bootleggers hired gunmen to protect the goods; so illegal gun market was a side effect of the Prohibition that brought big amounts of money. The illegal alcohol and gun market brought gangs to everywhere, these gangs fought constantly to maintain the territory and respect. Chicago and New York where the cities where the Mafia gain more power, gang wars and assassination became an everyday thing. On May 11th, Jim Colosimo was the first of the Chicago mafia bosses to be assassinated.

The murder of Jose Williams to place at Sleep Lagoon in the year of 1942. When the victim was discovered, it was as if the cops already knew who

John Norman Collins committed the “Michigan Murders” as it was named by media and locals, between 1967 and 1969, during this period of time he committed eight murders of women ranging from 13 to 23 years old. The murders were committed in the “Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area of Southeastern Michigan” (Crime One). Collins “was arrested based on a tip provided by his uncle” (Ejk), who was a Michigan State Trooper. Collins was “six feet tall and weighed 224 lbs” (Mylifeofcrime), he was a student at Eastern Michigan University as were several of his victims. Collins was staying at the Leik’s home while they were on vacation, and evidence found in their home lead to his eventual arrest in “Washtenaw County, Michigan 1970” (Mylifeofcrime).

During the early 1980’s, crime rate in New York was at its peak. To prove this point, Gladwell gives an example of the Bernard Goetz shooting. Gladwell also highlights that Goetz was viewed as a hero and people celebrated when he was easily acquitted on charges of assault and attempted murder. Gladwell mentions this to give us an example of the incidents that used to take place on the subways

According Florida Gulf Coast University Serial Killer Database, there has been 2,625 serial killers so far in the United States, the most of any country in the world. However, this trend all started out with H.H. Holmes: America’s first serial killer. H.H. Holmes was born in New Hampshire as Herman Webster Mudgett in 1861. He was extremely bright in school and excelled beyond the other kids in his class. Because of this, he was bullied a lot by his jealous schoolmates. One incident stands out among all others, which was when Mudgett was dragged into the town doctor’s office and forced to confront a skeleton which he had previously found revolting. Despite the bully’s intentions, this cured Mudgett of his fear of skeletons, and made him more curious about the study of the human body and medicine, which piloted the rest of his career. Mudgett studied at the University of Michigan, where he finished college and medical school. Mudgett then moved to Chicago and changed his name to Henry Howard Holmes (H.H. Holmes) in 1886, where his torturous fantasies all began. Although this criminal mastermind only made one small mistake to make investigators red hot on his trail, H.H. Holmes should’ve been caught sooner because of his suspicious activities including the building of his castle and being involved in scams at the same time numerous people he was affiliated with went missing while selling copious amounts of skeletons shortly after they went missing.

In the case of the three murdered eight-year olds, West Memphis police department’s investigative work led to a numbered list of suspects. Some of the suspects were quickly ruled out while others took a little more investigative work. In the end, the list of suspects was shortened until all who remained were Christopher Morgan, Mr. Bojangles, John Mark Byers, Terry Hobbs, and the

Many of these murders happen spontaneously and are not organized. Some of these scenes are shocking, primeval, and appalling. These moments leave the viewers stunned and disoriented.

It was May 22, 1918, and Joseph Maggio was coming home from his grocer job but he didn't know that was his last day at work. When he arrived home him, and his wife Catherine Maggio got ready for bed and he laid aside her in the bed. What they didn't know is that someone was coming for them and walking up on the corner of Upperville and Magnolia streets. When the killer broke in the Mr. and Mrs. Maggio were dead asleep and the killer crept up the stairs and proceeded to watch them until it was time. He proceeded to cut the couple’s throat with a straight razor, and when he was done he continued and bashed their heads in with an axe. Maybe in fact to conceal the fact of their real death (Axeman).

Bell witnesses the progression of evil around his own county and the way things have taken a turn for the worse when he says: “This county has not had a unsolved homicide in forty-one years. Now we got nine of em in one week” (216).

Aileen Wuornos is believed to be Americas first female serial killer. She was sentenced to death for killing seven men (Thefamouspeople). Wuornos was born on February 9th, 1956 and was executed on October 9th 2002 (Thefamouspeople). Although Wuornos was her real name, she was also known as “Sandra Ketsch, Susan Lynn Blahovec, Lee Blahovec, Cammie Marsh Greene, and Lori Kristine Grody” (Thefamouspeople, p. 1). Wuornos life had been affected by criminal behavior from birth. Her father, Leo Dale, was a psychopath and a child molester who was incarcerated at her birth (Thefamouspeople). In addition to her father's lifestyle, Wuornos had been molested by her father, grandfather, and had sexual relations with her brother (Thefamouspeople). Wuornos was not able to rely on the females in her life either. After her father died, her mother, Diana Wuornos, abandoned

Murder in the city occurs due to different reasons, and there is an interconnection of various factors that motivate individuals to commit crimes. Key factors for this phenomenon are social, economic, and political. Murder in the city can be analyzed or investigated from sociological approach since those who commit the crimes have to undergo a decision-making process for them to identify who to commit their heinous crime or whether they are justified to do.