In 1914, Poland, New York, was a picturesque slice of small-town America. But that innocence was shattered with the shocking murder of beloved schoolteacher Lida Beecher at the hands of her former student Jean Gianini....
Henry Debosnys: madman? Genius? Murderer? The truth, incredibly, is still out there. A pictographic language inspired by Egyptian hieroglyphics. A blend of six languages, among them Latin, Portuguese, and Greek. A collection of strange and mournful sketches,...
A Rogue’s Gallery of Ravishing Rascals Let’s be honest: who doesn’t love a great mug shot? Posters of Frank Sinatra’s face as a rakish young man in lockup adorn countless college dorm room walls, charming us...
May 1992, Morris Township, northern New Jersey. What would normally be a sunny late-spring is instead a season chilled and overshadowed with the news of a heinous crime. In late April, Sidney Reso, an executive at Exxon, was kidnapped from...
Building Criminal Empires in Galveston, Texas In the Lone Star State, Texans have always prided themselves on their resourcefulness and resilience, topped off with a dash of down-home humor. It’s just a part of the...
Klan-Approved, Voter-Recalled How bad, really, can you be? America has had its fair share of terrible leaders, from corrupt Congressmen to brothel-frequenting senators to arrogant governors who have claimed the only way they can...
What Captain Kidd Left Behind Who doesn’t love a good pirate? Whether it’s Blackbeard with his smoking hair and glowing eyes, or the Gentleman Pirate Stede Bonnet whose own crew ditched him on a...
And what on earth is a curbie? Brothels, bribes, and bagmen—throughout the 1960s, Butte, Montana, had it all. A mining city that in some ways was more suited to the Old West than to...
Celebrating California’s Capital City The state of California has long been known for its independent spirit and the many colorful characters that have called it home. While Los Angeles and San...
The Creative Titles of Historic Crime Journalism So much of good crime writing, and good journalism generally, begins at the beginning: the headline. Each day, newspapers have the chance to showcase succinct, smart, even...