UNIDENTIFIED: August 1845 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Jane Doe

In August of 1845, a woman would die in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. There is little information in this case.

She was of African descent and was around 54-years-old.

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

Murder of Ida Crummell

In  1896 New Castle, Delaware 19-year-old Edward Wright (colored) and 23-year-old Ida Crummell (colored) were sweethearts. It was said that the two were practically married and even got furniture together, but the relationship would sour by July. It's not stated why Ida wanted to separate from Edward, but Edward was furious. He confronted Ida when she was with Mrs. Boyer and told her along the lines if he can't go with her that he would kill her. Ida did not want anything to do with him. After this altercation, he went and bought a revolver to kill her with.

On July 30th  Ida and Mrs. Boyer would go to the Wilmington and Northern Railroad Station on Water and French St. They had gone to see the colored excursion from Reading. While waiting for the train the two would walk to the P W & B station. This was when Edward would try to speak to Ida, but she would turn away and ignore him. The two would return to W&N.

Edward would leave and see Mr. Boyer and talk to him. He told him that he had a present for Ida and if he saw her tell her. He also told him that if he caught her with another man he would fix her. 

After the excursion train arrived Ida, Mary Thomas, and Joe Welch would walk along the railroad to Market St. Mrs. Boyer was not with them because she went to look for her husband. Mrs. Boyer would pass by Edward who walking the same way Ida and her group was. 

Edward would approach the group and call out to her. While Ida turned to her name being called Edward would shoot. The first bullet would hit her behind the ear and then the second would hit her in the forehead. She would fall down face first and as she lay there he would shoot her for the third time hitting her at the base of the brain. Edward would then walk away. 

Captain Champers was in the vicinity and had her carried to Front and Market Streets. She would then be taken to Delaware Hospital where she would pass away as she passed through the doors. 

Officers were quick to respond and found Edward near Water and Shipley Streets. He would be arrested for the murder. He had no remorse for the murder. After he was locked up he stated that he had killed her and planned on doing so since Saturday. He was extremely jealous and did not care to live without her. He was satisfied when he heard that she had died. 

In September Edward would go to trial. He would plead guilty due to insanity. Witnesses would come forward saying in 1895 he became ill and afterward complained of pain in the head. On October 2nd he would be found guilty of first-degree murder and would be set to hang.

On January 1, 1897, Edward would hang at 10:30 a.m. He was welcoming to the execution as he wanted to be with Ida. 

SOURCES:

Legal Executions in Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia Page 10

The News Journal July 31, 1896

Delaware Gazette and State Journal January 7, 1897

Murder of Nels Pedersen Lourving

At 11 p.m. on July 29, 1933, 51-year-old Nels Louvring left his filling station at Dixie Oil Co. or also known as Nels Louvring Filing Station. He would arrive at his family's home on 315 Water St. in Fayette, Iowa. When he left his garage he was shot. The bullet would hit him on the left side right above his waste and exited his shoulder. He would then stagger through the yard towards the kitchen door where he collapsed.

His wife and stepdaughter's family would find him collapsed at the kitchen door. When he collapsed he dropped the cigar box of cash and receipts and his keys. He was dead by the time the family got to him. 

A .38 caliber gun was used, and from the angle of the shot the killer had to of been kneeling or laying down when he shot. Meaning that they waited to ambush Nels to kill him. It doesn't seem like robbery was the crime as the killer did not try to take the cash box from Nels right after shooting him. 

Bloodhounds were used and they brought officers to the Volga River, but that brought nothing up. 

SOURCES:

Iowa Cold Cases

UNIDENTIFIED: 1590 Chislet, England

   In 1590 an unknown "poore waygoing" woman died and was buried at the St. Mary The Virgin Churchyard in Chislet, Kent, England. There is little information in this case. 

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

Murder of Daniel Kenneth Wood

 

In July of 1954 12-year-old Daniel "Danny" Wood Jr. left his home in South Gray, Maine. He was planning on fishing with his friends. His friend only lived a mile down the road. Later he phoned from the Gray Center and told his Mom of his plans that day. He said he was going to Lewiston and help a man with door-to-door calls for 50 cents per hour. She warned her son not to get into a car with a stranger. He then responded everything was alright and to see her later. This was the last time she heard from her son. 

A search for the boy began. 16 states were notified of his disappearance and to be on the lookout for him. His family had to be careful with the male in case a ransom letter came. People called in many tips on where the boy was, but none of them were true. 

It wasn't till nine days after his disappearance fishermen found his body in Little Androscoggin River. He was nude and severely beaten, and it was unknown if it was a sex crime. His clothes were found hidden beneath a rock at the end of a secluded lane and his glasses and belt were tossed into a tree. It could be possible the killer was familiar with the area. 

Danny had been severely beaten by his killer. There was a shoelace on one wrist showing his hands had been bound. His skull bore seven wounds about four inches long the weapon used was never found. It's unknown where the crime scene of the murder was as there was no evidence it had happened there. It's believed the killer tossed him in after Danny died. 

They did have a suspect named Herman Barmore. Police asked if he about Daniel, but he stated anything he knew was going to the grave with him. He had served a life sentence for the murder of another boy named Peter Gorman in 1955. He initially said it was an accident he shot the boy, and then he redacted saying the Sheriff offered a deal. He was convicted of the murder. He would only serve 11 years as he died in prison in 1966. He denied killing either boy though. 

SOURCES:
Maine State Police 
Find A Grave
The Owosso-Argus Press
Ludington Daily News
Google Groups 
Lewiston Daily Sun

Bloodstains in J.D. Smith's Home

On July 22, 1912, J.D. Smith returned to his home at No. 420 East Forty-first street in Los Angeles, California. He had returned home from a trip through the state and his home was not how he had left it. It was in a way that he never would have thought of coming back to.

 He first noticed a mysterious pencil checkmark on the front door when he entered the front porch. When he entered the parlor he notice a light grey hat covered in blood. This however was not the only thing covered in blood. There were stains on the carpet, and streaks on the piano. The piano itself was even broken as the lid had been cracked from one end to the other. Oddly enough even though there was obviously a break in there were no signs of anything being stolen.

When he asked his neighbors to see what had happened in his home no one knew. No one stated that they had seen any men or boys about his home. One thing J.D. did note is that his neighbor's doors also had strange pencil marks.

Police investigating inclined to believe that boys had entered the home and started a fight near the piano resulting in blood and broken piano.


SOURCES:
Strange Company

Murder of Frances Levin

Photo of the Crime Scene

On the afternoon of July 19, 1933, 61-year-old Frances Levin was at home her home at Cheetham Hill Rd. in Manchester, England, with her maid Ms. Phillips. Frances was reading a novelette in the living room and her maid went to sew her bedroom around 2:30 p.m. Before going upstairs she opened the back door to let fresh air in. There was no one else in the home at the time. When the maid saw a man walking along the side passage of the house she figured it was the same man asking about the chickens Frances's brother kept behind the house. 

Ms. Phillips knew something was wrong when she came down around 4:20. She would go downstairs to the kitchen and see the poker on the hearthrug. There was blood on it and then she saw a bloodied cricket shirt on the table. Instead of staying investigating she left the home to an electrician, Samuel Woodcock, working on a car next door. He would find Frances in the living room on the settee. She had been bludgeoned but was still alive at the time. When Samuel tried to speak to her she would open her eyes and move her head, but nothing else. She would later die that evening.

Frances was a wealthy widow. Just before her death, she counted 9 shillings in her purse in front of her solicitor. Someone likely saw the door open and took the opportunity to rob the place. There was no evidence of a fight over her purse, but the money was gone. It could have been that she spooked the intruder and they killed her in surprise or fear of being caught. The man was described as of average height and weight. 

Hundreds of people were Police would come upon a suspect who matched the subscription that the maid had given. 47-year-old William Burtoft. He had one eye, a stocky build, and was white-haired. He was an unemployed seaman with no fixed address. He had a history of theft, in 1924 he attacked a woman during a robbery. He was an alcoholic and was addicted to meth. 

They detained him in Hyde a town about 7 miles away. William was questioned for many hours in the third degree. At one point police offer would allegedly offer a bottle of whisky to him in order to ease a confession. Police would deny that they had done this. William will give a confession as follows:

"I admit being the murderer of Mrs. Levin. Owing to drinking methylated spirit and also to the maid being where she was the old lady lost her life. I was cool, calm, and collected. Of course, when I got in the front room there the old lady got up and asked who was this. And I went back and get the poker off the fire range and struck her repeatedly.

I was not three minutes or so in the house. I was selling discharged soldiers' cards. Big Bertha will tell you I left her to sell some. I had no intention to do it, but—well I did it. I was sorry when I thought about it after. After I did it I took the poker back into the kitchen and wiped it on a shirt to remove any fingerprints""

There was an identification parade for her to pick out who she thought had done the crime. She had to do it by the way the walked because she did not see the man's face. She did not pick William and picked someone else.

On November 12, 1933, William went on trial and plead not guilty. The trial would last for two days and he was found guilty. The police used the "voluntary statement" from him in court, and William was never called up to give evidence to defend himself. This lonely and what today would be considered incompetent evidence condemned him. He was set to be executed by hanging. After he was convicted he protested from his cell that it was a false confession and even wrote to Home Security for help.  His appeal on December 4th was rejected. On December 19, 1933, William was hanged at the Strangeway Goals in Manchester.

It's unknown if William had done the crime, but it's known that he did not get a fair trial. On March 6, 2018, the show Murder, Mystery, and  My Family looked at the case. Using a present-day analysis the confession was deemed to have been manufactured by the police and was written in a style as if it was a story. It was unethical for William to be offered an alcohol incentive and unethical for the Judge to direct the jury and praise the police for the confession showing bias.

Photo of William Burtoft

SOURCES:

British Executions

Find a Grave

Midland Daily Telegraph July 19, 1933

Evening Dispatch August 3, 1933

Western Morning News  August 4, 1933

The Western Daily Press and Bristol Mirror August 4, 1933

The Guardian November 29, 1933

The Western Daily Press and Bristol Manor December 30, 1933

The Daily Mail

INFANTICIDE: 16 Jul 1786 London, England Baby Boy Doe

On 16 Jul 1786, the body of a newborn baby girl was found on the side of London Bridge in London, England. It's not stated whether or not she was born alive.

SOURCES:

Unsolved Murders UK

INFANTICIDE: July 14, 1959 Surrey, England Baby Boy Doe

 On July 14, 1959, the body of a baby boy was found in two carrier bags at a railway station in Surrey, England. The infant was found in a sanitary bin in the ladies room. It's believed that the child had been strangled to death. 

SOURCES: 

Unsolved Murders UK

GHOSTS: The Golden-Haired Girl

Pine Barrens, New Jersey holds many legends. One includes a blonde-haired girl wearing white mourning her lover's death. She is usually seen staring out at the sea by herself, but after a while, the Jersey Devil sometimes joins her. 

Another legend says that the Jersey Devil's son, who was strangely human, fell in love with a girl. She was from a rich family and her family did not agree with their love. They would take her away and this would result in her killing herself. Heartbroken from his loss this caused him to become the next Jersey Devil just like his dad. She would become a ghost that now follows him and this is why the two are seen together. 

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Academic

NJ Pines Barrens

Frst Hand

Ballgudden Woman and Infant

 In 1831 the body of a woman and an infant were found in a bog in Northern Ireland. The woman was determined to have had blonde hair. The infant was skeletonized next to her body. It's unstated or unknown if the bodies were related. The bodies are now either lost or destroyed. 

SOURCES:

Wikipedia

Irish Central

Mummipedia

GHOSTS: Brides of Trivale Forest in Pitești

Photo by Andres Molina

 

In the Trivale Forest in Pitești, Romania there are two brides that haunt it. Both women have met their own demise in their own sad and terrible ways.

The first bride was the daughter of a rich landowner. She had fallen in love with a poor servant, but her father had other arrangements. He had found an old rich man for her to marry. The maiden decided that she could not marry someone she did not love. On the wedding day, she and the servant would run into the Trivale Forest. Her father not far behind would find the couple and in his anger kill the servant and then behead her. It's said that she would give her father nightmares by visiting his dreams in her wedding dress. It's believed that this is what led to his death. It's said that she haunts an abandoned home, possibly her own that's in the forest.

The second bride story would happen in the 1970s to 2000s. A taxi driver would take a fair and the woman would ask him to drop her off at an abandoned site in the forest. The woman told the driver that she would go inside and get the money and come back out. For reassurance, she would wrap her wedding ring in a handkerchief and give it to him. Tired the taxi driver would fall asleep and when he woke up he was elsewhere. He was in a nearby housing estate and he drove around confused. He would find ask around about the woman and would find out that yes she used to live in the area, but died 10 years before. Her husband had died in a car crash (or trampling) and she killed herself. Taxi driver would find that the ring was attached to a rotting finger.

SOURCES:
Wikipedia
POV21st
Steemit

Murder of Harry Ecklind Blochman

 

Harry Ecklind was born on May 12, 1888, to Swedish parents in Santa Maria, California. His father, a musician, would die as when he infant and a few years later his mother would join him. Knowing her son would become an orphan, before her death, his mother would come in contact with the Blochmans. The childless couple would take in the boy and treat him as if their own.

Lazar and Ida Bolchman were known as charitable people. They would take homless and less unfortanate people in. Lazar was both a businessman and columnist for the Santa Maria Times where he would write about economic and sociological issues.Ida was the vice president of the Santa Maria Union high School, and a member of the Board of Education of Santa Barbra County. She also was a a high regarded Botonist in Santa Barbra County.  

Harry's name would be changed to Harry Ecklind Blochman was known as a happy, handsome and smart child. He seemed to inherit some of his father's artistic abilities and the Bolchmans wanted to nurture those talents. 

On the night of July 3, 1901 Harry stayed out late that night. At 8:30 he was seen heading home, and at 9 he was seen talking to two men a block away from home. The two men seemed to have been threshers and one of them seemed to be drunk and this was the last time anyone saw Harry alive. 

While the town celebrated the 4th the Bolchmans worried about their young son. The same night he went missing the Strong boys reported that their horse and buggy had been stolen from in front of Haslam's store around 9:30 pm. It was found in Guadalupe the next day with the horse exhausted. 

Police suspected that Harry may have been abducted. The police kept asked about the trains leaving the Guadalupe area. Police found out that a man had been on a train about 11:30 he pretended to be asleep and his his face. When the conductor asked for a ticket he didn't have a ticket, but did pay to go San Luis Obsipo. This led nowhere though.

On July 6th around 7 p.m. two children were playing in their back yard. They noticed something a bean field not far from the Bolchman's home. They would stumble upon Harry's body about 1/8 of a miled from the road. The children's father notified the Blochman's before the police.

He was greatly decomposed and there was a struggle in the bean field. There were 9 knife wounds 4 of which could have caused his death. Two in the brain and two in the heart. It appeared that he tried to crawl towards his home before he died.

A man named William Kelso was believed to be the one who was seen speaking to Harry the night he died. Police would bring in a man named Kinkaid and arrested him as an accomplice. He allegedly knew that Kelso was the one that stole the horse and buggy that night, but he was released. 

William would be found in Templton under the name Jackson working on a ranch. Sheriff Ivans would come up and arrest him. He would take him by train back to Santa Maria, but because there was rumors of a lynching he had William hide behind several large trunks in the baggage compartment. There was no lynch mob waiting for them. 

William would be charged and would go to trial for the murder. On October 9, 1901 William would be found not guilty of the murder. It only took the jury less than 45 minutes which was unexpected as many believed that it would take longer.

 There were no other suspects in the case. It's unknown if William Kelso had done the crime and if not the real culprit will remain unknown. 

SOURCES:

Find a Grave

SMV Historical Society Museum

The Fresno Morning Republic July 7, 1901

San Fransisco Chronicle July 8, 1901

Santa Maria Times July 13, 1901

San Fransisco Chronicle October 10, 1901

Hanford Kings County Sentinel October 17, 1901

Santa Maria Times November 21, 2010

Santa Maria Times November 9, 2014