THE DARK SIDE OF TRAUMA AND PSYCHIATRIC TREATMENT TO THE LOST SOULS IN MENTAL ASYLUMS, MENTAL HOSPITALS & HOUSES OF CORRECTION …..VERY SAD, DISTURBING AND THOUGHT PROVOKING FOR SURE !!!

HERE IS A BRIEF INTERACTIVE PICTORIAL INSIGHT INTO SOME OF THE VERY THOUGHT PROVOKING  ELECTROCONVULSIVE THERAPY TREATMENT USED ON PATIENTS HOUSED IN LUNATIC AND MENTAL ASYLUMS HERE IN THE UK FROM THE VICTORIAN ERA THROUGH TO THE 1960’S , ALL WHICH ARE ON DISPLAY AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION , LITTLEDEAN JAIL .

ORIGINAL 1930’s LEATHER BODY BELT COMPLETE WITH WRIST RESTRAINTS ACQUIRED FROM THE NOW CLOSED MONICA BRITTON MUSEUM COLLECTION AT FRENCHAY HOSPITAL , BRISTOL AND NOW ON DISPLAY HERE AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION , LITTLEDEAN JAIL , GLOUCESTERSHIRE, UK

ORIGINAL 1930’s LEATHER BODY BELT COMPLETE WITH WRIST RESTRAINTS ACQUIRED FROM THE NOW CLOSED MONICA BRITTON MUSEUM COLLECTION AT FRENCHAY HOSPITAL , BRISTOL AND NOW ON DISPLAY HERE AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION , LITTLEDEAN JAIL , GLOUCESTERSHIRE, UK

ORIGINAL 1930’s LEATHER BODY BELT COMPLETE WITH WRIST RESTRAINTS ACQUIRED FROM THE NOW CLOSED MONICA BRITTON MUSEUM COLLECTION AT FRENCHAY HOSPITAL , BRISTOL AND NOW ON DISPLAY HERE AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION , LITTLEDEAN JAIL , GLOUCESTERSHIRE, UK

ORIGINAL 1930’s LEATHER RESTRAINT STRAPS ACQUIRED FROM THE NOW CLOSED MONICA BRITTON MUSEUM COLLECTION AT FRENCHAY HOSPITAL , BRISTOL AND NOW ON DISPLAY HERE AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION , LITTLEDEAN JAIL , GLOUCESTERSHIRE, UK

ORIGINAL 1930’s LEATHER RESTRAINT STRAPS ACQUIRED FROM THE NOW CLOSED MONICA BRITTON MUSEUM COLLECTION AT FRENCHAY HOSPITAL , BRISTOL AND NOW ON DISPLAY HERE AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION , LITTLEDEAN JAIL , GLOUCESTERSHIRE, UK

ORIGINAL 1930’s LEATHER RESTRAINT STRAPS ACQUIRED FROM THE NOW CLOSED MONICA BRITTON MUSEUM COLLECTION AT FRENCHAY HOSPITAL , BRISTOL AND NOW ON DISPLAY HERE AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION , LITTLEDEAN JAIL , GLOUCESTERSHIRE, UK

ABOVE IS A VERY RARE “GLOUCESTER MENTAL HOSPITAL ” – METROPOLITAN WHISTLE DATING BACK TO THE EARLY 1920’S AS WAS USED BY THE CHIEF WARDEN IN THE INFAMOUS HORTON ROAD MENTAL ASYLUM , GLOUCESTER . USED PRIMARILY AS A FORM OF ALARM … PARTICULARLY SHOULD THEIR BE CAUSE FOR CONCERN WITH THE PATIENTS .

 

The History of the Asylum

This section has been written to ammend the previous history pages of the Asylum, which were in desperately in need of replacing. The Victorian Asylum is a system that has long gone and it is doubtful that such a system will exist again. This section is dedicated to a building system that is now defunct and disappearing fast, planning mix ups and the will of the establishment to abolish the system have prevailed. We don’t hope to cover everything, or answer all your questions.  But this should hopefully answer a few questions you may have. Please note, any phrases used within this page is used within its historical context.

How did the Asylums come about?

The first recorded Lunatic Asylum in Europe was the Bethlem Royal Hospital in London, it has been a part of London since 1247 when it was built as a priory. It became a hospital in 1330 and admitted its first mentally ill patients in 1407. Before the Madhouse Act of 1774, treatment of the Insane was carried out by non-licensed practitioners, who ran their “Madhouses” as a commercial enterprise and with little regard for the inmates. The Mad House act established the licensing required to house insane patients, with yearly inspections of the premises taking place. In 1792, the York Retreat was set up by William Tuke. This was the first establishment in the UK to treat their patients as human beings and offer a therapeutic setting for them. Mechanical restraints were discontinued and work and leisure became the main treatment. In 1808, the County Asylum Act was passed, which allowed counties to levy a rate in order to fund the building of County Asylums. The intention was to remove the insane from within the Work Houses and provide them with more a sufficient and dedicated care system. However, due to the Act deficiencies, only 20 County Asylums were built around the country.

How did the mass construction come about?

Due to deficiencies of the 1808 Act, counties did not begin mass construction of Asylums throughout the country. It was not until the passing of the County Asylum / Lunacy Act in 1845 did the construction begin to take hold. Due to a change in the law, Counties were legally obliged to provide Asylum for their Lunatics. This Act, based on the work of John Conolly and Lord Shaftsbury saw the lunatics being treated as Patients and not prisoners.  It also took into account the moral treatment pioneered by William Tuke and saw the care of the lunatics being funded by the individual County. During this time, the Asylums become vastly overcrowded and rapid expansion of the ensued. Between the passing of the act and 1890, when the next act was passed, over 60 Asylums were built and opened (A further 40 were opened after this date).

What was it like for the Patients?

Without a time machine, it is hard to say! In all honesty, it varied depending on which era you looked at, conditions were ever changing. The most notable condition for the patients was the segregation of the sexes. It was not until the early 20th century that the sexes were allowed to mix, albeit they still slept in same sex wards. Patients lived within the confines of the hospital, privacy was minimal. Wards were able to house up to 50 patients, in very close proximity and little personal space. The daily regime was strictly regimented, with little room for variation and often under the watchful eye of staff. During the early years of the Asylums, wards were locked and security was kept high as attendants were fined for every patient that escaped on their watch. As the years passed, this was more relaxed, and by the time the asylums were coming to a close, patients were allowed much more freedom and were actively encouraged to leave the hospital and visit the local towns. Throughout the entire life of the Asylum system, patients were encouraged to work and undertake recreation. Local artisans were employed to teach skills and aid in the production of goods that were sold and used to fund social events. Sports teams were formed, and inter-hospital rivalries were formed. The able bodied were put to work around the hospital grounds, males running the farms and traditional male activities, and the females the laundry and kitchens. The sick and infirm patients were housed in their own wards and will have spent the majority of their time there. Angry, violent or suicidal patients were housed within the wards, and on occasions, locked within a padded cell. Seclusion rooms were also employed, but these were mainly used for patients who would disturb others during the night, in latter years they were sued for patients as a reward so that they could have some privacy.

What was the Work and Recreation?

Work and Recreation was central to life within the Asylum. Sport was made available to the patients, but walking within the grounds and woodlands was the most widely available. This started out as being heavily supervised walks, but as time passed, it was realised that other activities such as art, music and dancing were beneficial. The social activities of the hospital progressed with those of society as a whole, and holidays and interaction with outsiders was encouraged, helping to rehabilitate them. Sports became more prevalent as time passed, and many different teams were formed. The Farm was the main centre of employment for the male patients, where they grew food stuff for the hospitals consumption. The farms proved to be one of the most profitable activities the patients undertook, but with the advent of the NHS the farms began to close and the land sold off. The kitchens were also a great source of employment, with food grown and produced by the patients being served. Patients were also employed in the distribution of the dinners, and each patient undertook that task every day. So one patient would make porridge for the entire hospital, everyday! The Laundry was the largest female employer within the Asylums. Clothing and bedding were sorted in the wards, booked out and transported to the laundry for washing. Patients who worked in the laundry were normally housed within the Laundry Ward. There was also various other work departments around the buildings, dealing with trades such as shoe repair, printing, clothing repairs, the libraries and various aspects of the engineering departments. It was known for patients to be paid for the work.

How was it different for the sexes?

The Females

According to case notes, most women came in for short periods only simply to recover from the stress and exhaustion of their domestic lives – once rested and relaxed they were sent on their way.  Women were also admitted from problematic marriages or as a result of giving birth to illegitimate children – even if a result of rape.  Post natal depression was also a common reason for a women admittance. The females wards differed vastly from the male wards; they were based around Victorian ideals of femininity with little opportunity for them to go outside and even fewer opportunities to play games.  It was only later that this changed.  As with the tradition at the time the women’s activities were confined to the indoors, which led to a strong bond being formed between both female patients and staff.  The women were put to work throughout the asylum, mainly undertaking jobs in the needle room, the laundry and general housekeeping duties around the ward – the latter was kept for problematic patients. The daily routine of the ward remained unchanged for many many years, patients would rise at 7am for breakfast which would consist of coffee, tea or cocoa with porridge and bread as the main.  After breakfast the ‘good’ patients would have been taken to there respective jobs in the laundry or needle room – the others would have waited around until the airing courts were opened later in the morning.  Lunch would have been served at around 12:30 and would have consisted of food produced on the local farm; this was the main meal of the day.  The airing courts were then opened up again in the middle of the afternoon for just over an hour.  Tea was served in the early evening and was known to consist of bread and cake.  Due to staff shortages on the female side of the hospitals, nurses were known to have dosed the patients with paradehyde in the evenings to ease the load.

The Males

The majority of male patients within the asylum system before the first world war were often poor and without spouses to look after them.  After WWI, ‘Shell Shock’ was a prevalent condition among men admitted to the Asylums. At the time of this condition being diagnosed it cause controversy due to the condition being similar to the female psychosis.  Alcoholism and the delusion related with it were also common reasons for certification. Unlike the female sides of the asylums, the male sides were smaller in numbers.  Escape was more common with male patients than females; but due to the smaller numbers of males in some hospitals it was noted that they had a more stable time within the ward. The males wards had the same daily schedule as the female wards and instead of being involved with the laundry and needle rooms, they worked the kitchen and the bakehouse.  They were also involved in the daily housekeeping of the wards.  Other than the difference in activities the male wards were normally run with a stricter discipline; which most of the patients would have been used to given their backgrounds within the military.  The male population of the Asylums received a wider range of activities for their recovery; they were allowed to join sports teams and the hospital band (if there was one); there were also inter-hospital leagues fort hem to compete in.  Rational patients were also employed on working the farms and the upkeep of the grounds and gardens; they were also employed in various workshops and engineering practices.  One such example is an account from Severalls of a male patients were used to lay 2-inch piping to the cricket ground, and build a band stand.

What were the treatments that were used?

The treatments used throughout the history of the Asylums have varied massively. When the Asylums first opened, there was little knowledge of the psychiatric conditions or how to treat them. The lunatics were kept calm and occupied as much as possible, and when the need arouse then restraint was employed. The first therapy that was employed throughout the Asylum system was the treatment of General Paralysis of the Insane, caused by Syphilis, with Malaria infected mosquitoes. This treatment was used through until the 1950’s when a new drug was developed. The next treatment that was developed was the Deep Insulin Therapy, where it was believed that Schizophrenia was caused by a high blood sugar in the brain. Insulin would be administered until the body went into shock and then the patient was revived with a sugary dose of tea. In the 1930’s, two major treatments were developed in Europe, these were the Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) and the Lobotomy. Both these treatments involved stresses to the brain. ECT involved passing a current through the brain and induce an epileptic fit, which was known to cause injury to the patient. ECT proved to be very effective for patients suffering with depression and still used in very rare cases today. The lobotomy involved cutting the brain tissue within the frontal lobes of the brain. This had mixed results and was discontinued in the 50’s. The big breakthrough in the psychiatric treatments was the introduction of drugs to the Asylum system. The first drug to be used, discovered by a French Naval Surgeon was  (Largactil) and was the first antipsychotic to be developed and it had a huge impact on the condition of patients. This development led to the rapid introduction of drugs within the psychiatric world. The next large development was talking through patients problems, and occupational therapy.

Were mechanical restraints used?

In short, yes. Before the advent of drugs and other treatments, manic, aggressive and suicidal patients were dealt with through restraint. Padded cell were also used to house patients who were self harming, or violent towards other (see our padded cell section). The most common restraints were the “straight jacket” and fingerless gloves. Both of these inhibited the movement of the patient. Less common forms were the used of continuous baths – patients were placed in a warm bath and a sheet affixed over the top, with their head and shoulders coming through it – and bed restraints. In the early years of the Asylums, restraints were common place, and their used recorded. After the 1890 Act, the use of restraints was severely limited and had to be approved by a medical officer and each use recorded.

Why did they close?

They had become to large, unwieldy and the system had opened itself up to abuse.  In 1961 the Minister of Health, Enoch Powell was invited to speak at the AGM of the National Association for Mental Health.  In his speech he announced that it the government of the day intended to “the elimination of by far the greater part of the country’s mental hospitals.”  At the same time, regional boards were asked to “ensure that no more money than necessary is spent on upgrading and reconditioning”.  This announcement had stunned the medical professions as there had been no indication that the government was going to head in this direction; only a handful of experimental community care programmes existed around the country.  It would take 25 years for these plans to take afoot and the closures to start. There were two reasons for the decline in the large institutions, the advancement in psychiatric treatment meant that a standard hospital was able to provide care to acute cases that required immediate attention, and the drugs available meant that patients did not need twenty-four hour care.  This meant that the traditional asylum was left with fewer long term patients to care for – patient numbers reduced from over 150,00 in 1950 to 80,000 in 1975.  The second reason for the closure of the mental hospitals was the passing of the Mental Health Act 1983 – this saw the people being committed to the large asylums being given back their full rights and having the ability to appeal their certification; it also saw the mentally deficient being moved back into the community under the care in community projects. The first hospital to close due to the shift in medical treatment and public perception was Banstead Hospital in 1986, others followed suit over the next twenty years, with only a handful remaining open today.  The medical staff at many hospitals still keep in contact with their old patients to make sure that the arrangements are working for them.   The hospitals themselves either stand empty and derelict, or have been demolished and converted to cheap affordable housing, with only a few reminders to the residents of the previous history there. The Victorian Asylums are now a long forgotten memory, however in a recent NHS study, they have found that people suffering from mental illnesses recover when they are in a safe environment and are involved in their treatment, rather than being allowed to fend for themselves.  In speaking with a number of retired nurses who had worked within the system, they were unsure as to whether the mass closures and the entire move to the care in the community method was the right one.  One even felt that the number of hospital that closed shouldn’t have been so high, with a few being kept as regional specialists that could provide a more comprehensive support system.  At the grounds of Horton Hospital, two of the old villas have recently been refurbished to act as a care home for the mentally ill.

FROM THE HANDS OF DEATH AND UNDOUBTEDLY ONE OF AMERICA’S MOST EVIL SERIAL KILLERS … JOHN EDWARD ROBINSON aka “THE SLAVEMASTER”

FROM THE HANDS OF DEATH 

HERE ON DISPLAY AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION, LITTLEDEAN JAIL , FOREST OF DEAN , GLOUCESTERSHIRE, UK , WE HAVE THE LARGEST PRIVATE COLLECTION OF WHAT IS DEEMED TO BE POLITICALLY INCORRECT   MURDERABILIA , TRUE CRIME, SLEAZE ,SCANDAL, THE TABOO AND BEYOND EXHIBIT MATERIAL ON VIEW TO THE PUBLIC.

WE WOULD ALSO HOPE THAT THIS PROVIDES A HISTORICALLY INTRIGUING AND EDUCATIONAL INSIGHT INTO THE WORLD OF TRUE CRIME AND BEYOND .

HERE BELOW IS A BRIEF INSIGHT INTO ONE OF THE MANY SERIAL KILLERS THAT WE  FEATURE HERE .

IF EASILY OFFENDED , DISTURBED OR OF A SENSITIVE NATURE PLEASE AVOID VISITING LITTLEDEAN JAIL ….. AS CRIME IS IN ITSELF AN UNPLEASANT SUBJECT MATTER TO COVER … AND AS SUCH IS NOT PRESENTED HERE IN A PLEASANT WAY EITHER

JOHN EDWARD ROBINSON ..aka ” THE SLAVEMASTER “

 Robinson, a grandfather, was convicted in 2003 after a murder spree that lasted 15 years and included the murders of at least eight women. He met several of his victims in chat rooms, and has been dubbed “The Internet’s First Serial Killer.”

ABOVE : OFFICIAL POLICE MUGSHOT OF SERIAL KILLER JOHN EDWARD ROBINSON

 ABOVE.: IMAGES OF 8 OF HIS KNOWN VICTIMS

ABOVE: A BRIEF GLIMPSE INTO VARIOUS HAND-DRAWN PENCIL SKETCHES ALONG WITH A THREE PAGE HANDWRITTEN AND SIGNED LETTER TO HIS WIFE NANCY PLEADING HIS INNOCENCE … DATED 8 SEPTEMBER 2002, PRIOR TO THE COMMENCEMENT OF HIS TRIAL ON OCTOBER 7, 2002 WHERE UPON HE PLEADED NOT GUILTY . IN JANUARY 2003 HE WAS FOUND GUILTY AND SENTENCED TO A LIFE TERM ALONG WITH 2 DEATH SENTENCES FOR THE MURDER OF 3 OF HIS VICTIMS

John Edward Robinson (born December 27, 1943) is a convicted serial killer, con man, embezzler, kidnapper, and forger who was found guilty in 2003 of three murders and received the death sentence for two of them. He subsequently admitted responsibility for five additional homicides, and investigators fear that there might be other, undiscovered victims as well.

Because he made contact with most of his post-1993 victims via on-line chat rooms, he is sometimes referred to as “the Internet’s first serial killer”

Like many other serial killers, Robinson became increasingly careless over time, and did a progressively poorer job of covering his tracks. By 1999 he had attracted the attention of authorities in both Kansas and Missouri as his name cropped up in more and more missing persons investigations.
Robinson was arrested in June, 2000 at his farm near La Cygne, Kansas after a woman filed a sexual battery complaint against him, and another charged him with stealing her sex toys. The theft charge, in particular, finally gave investigators the probable cause they needed to obtain search warrants. On the farm, a task force found the decaying bodies of two women, later identified as Izabela Lewicka and Suzette Trouten, in two 85-pound chemical drums.

Across the state line in Missouri, other members of the task force, searching a storage facility where Robinson rented two garages, found three similar chemical drums containing corpses subsequently identified as Beverly Bonner and Sheila and Debbie Faith. All five women were killed in the same way, by one or more blows to the head with a hammer or other blunt instrument.

The bodies in barrels ….

Some of the sex toys he liked to use on his victims 

One of the victims, a picture he took, it was found on his computer:

 

FLIPPING HELL !!! …NO THESE ARE NOT VINTAGE HAIRDRYERS OR POWER TOOLS..BELIEVE IT OR NOT…THESE ARE ORIGINAL & CERTAINLY WELL USED … “VICTORIAN VIBRATORS ” ETC

HERE IS A BIT OF INTERACTIVE TITILLATING  …. “TONGUE IN CHEEK” INSIGHT  INTO SOME OF OUR  INTRIGUING AND THOUGHT PROVOKING TOOLS OF THE TRADE USED ON LADIES SUFFERING FROM HYSTERIA DURING THE VICTORIAN ERA THAT ARE ON DISPLAY AT THE JAIL … IN AND AMONGST OUR VERY CLUTTERED, DIVERSE CURIOSITIES AND OTHER COLLECTIONS

 

 

Female hysteria was a once-common medical diagnosis, made exclusively in women, which is today no longer recognized by medical authorities as a medical disorder. Its diagnosis and treatment were routine for many hundreds of years in Western Europe. Hysteria was widely discussed in the medical literature of the 19th century. Women considered to be suffering from it exhibited a wide array of symptoms, including faintness, nervousness, sexual desire, insomnia, fluid retention, heaviness in the abdomen, muscle spasm, shortness of breath, irritability, loss of appetite for food or sex, and “a tendency to cause trouble”. In extreme cases, the woman would be forced into the asylum and undergo surgical hysterectomy.

 

Are these power tools? Medieval torture devices? Ancient hairdryers? Vintage egg whisks? No, they are Victorian, er, personal massagers (including one you had to handcrank)

• Late 19th, early 20th century self-vibrators on display in Gloucestershire
• Were originally created by Victorian doctors to cure women of hysteria
• Female patients were treated with ‘pelvic massage’ using plug-in vibrators
• On display at Littledean Jail, former courthouse, in the Forest of Dean
  

By MARTHA DE LACEY

PUBLISHED: 14:18, 26 September 2013 | UPDATED: 18:44, 26 September 2013

Take a look at these pictures and consider for a moment what these rather brutal looking metal contraptions might be.

Are they power tools? Medieval torture devices? The world’s first hairdryers? Archaic egg whisks? Nope, these are actually Victorian vibrators, a collection of vintage self-massagers currently on display at Littledean Jail in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, a former house of correction, police station and courthouse-turned-visitor attraction.

And exhibits include Dr Macaura’s Pulsocon Hand Crank Vibrator, which dates back to 1890 and resembles an old-fashioned egg whisk.

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This may look like an early hair dryer with different attachments, but it is actually a vintage ‘self-massager’, used by women as a vibrator in the late 19th and early 20th centuries

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Dr. Macaura’s Pulsocon Hand Crank (1890) Vibrator, which resembles an archaic egg whisk, is now on display at Littledean Jail, Forest of Dean,

According to Philip Larkin, sex began in 1963, between the end of the Lady Chatterley ban and the Beatles’ first LP.

But this collection of Victorian vibrators shows self-pleasuring has been going on for a whole lot longer than that.

Littledean Jail owner and curator Andy Jones, 51, described the assortment of sex toys as ‘a fascinating insight into women’s pleasure during Victorian times’.

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The ‘ACME’ hand-held vibrator shows self-pleasuring has been going on for a whole lot longer than we originally believed

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When compared to today’s vibrators such as the pink plastic rampant rabbit, the ACME is certainly a lot less… girly

But despite its pleasurable connotations, the modern-style vibrator was actually invented by respectable Victorian doctors.

‘Pelvic massage’ was a common treatment for female hysteria during the Victorian era.

However, doctors found the process of administering the massage by hand tiring and time-consuming, and so devised a device to do the job for them.

Dr Joseph Mortimer Granville patented an electromechanical vibrator around 1880, a story told in the 2011 film Hysteria, featuring Maggie Gyllenhaal.

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Despite its pleasurable connotations, the modern-style vibrator was actually invented by respectable Victorian doctors

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‘If you plug them in, the force is incredible. They’re loud and some of them look like hairdryers’

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The vibrators come packed neatly in cases with a number of different attachments, and resembles an old-fashioned drill and its bits

While some of these contraptions now look like they belong more in a torture chamber than beneath the sheets, they serve as testament to the ingenuity of Victorian inventors.

The sex toys also offer a fascinating insight into the supposedly ‘prim and proper’ Victorian world, in which some families would supposedly cover up table legs since they were seen as suggestive and risque.

‘If you plug them in, the force is incredible,’ Jones said. ‘They’re loud and some of them look like hairdryers.

‘I would imagine it would have been quite a painful exercise, judging by what I’ve seen of them, like having a kango hammer pressed against your body.’

THE BOSTON STRANGLER …. ALBERT De SALVO

  TRUE CRIME , MURDERABILIA AND MUCH , MUCH MORE , HERE AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL …..

 Albert DeSalvo – The Boston Strangler

The Boston Strangler operated in the Boston, Mass. area during a two-year span in the early 1960s. The “Silk Stocking Murders” is another epithet given to the same series of crimes. Though Albert DeSalvo confessed to the murders, many experts and investigators have doubts as to his involvement in the crimes.

POLITE WARNING……. THIS PAGE CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGE OF ONE OF THE VICTIMS 

 

ABOVE IS ARE A FEW IMAGES OF  A HAND MADE NECKLACE MADE BY ALBERT De SALVO , THE BOSTON STRANGLER WHILST IN WALPOLE PRISON, USA AND NOW ON PERMANENT DISPLAY AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION , HERE AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL ALONG WITH OTHER HANDWRITTEN AND SIGNED LETTERS ETC.

The Boston Strangler is a name attributed to the murderer (or murderers) of several women in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, in the early 1960s. Though the crimes were attributed to Albert DeSalvo after his confession to the murders was revealed in court during a separate case,^[1]parties investigating the stranglings have since suggested the murders (sometimes known as the silk stocking murders) were not committed by one person.

The initial sobriquet for the perpetrator or perpetrators of the crimes was “The Mad Strangler of Boston”^[2] The July 8, 1962 edition of the Sunday Herald, in an article entitled “Mad Strangler Kills Four Women in Boston,” declared in its opening paragraph, “A mad strangler is loose in Boston.”^[3]The killer (or killers) also was known initially as “The Phantom Fiend”^[4] or “The Phantom Strangler”^[5] due to the uncanny ability of the perpetrator (or perpetrators) to get women to allow him into their apartments. By the time DeSalvo’s confession was aired in open court, the name “The Boston Strangler” had become part of crime lore.

Victims

[edit]First Stage (1962)

• Anna E. Slesers, 55, sexually molested with unknown object and strangled with the cord on her bathrobe; found on June 14, 1962 in the third-floor apartment at 77 Gainsborough St., Back Bay (source: Boston Globe Archives)
• Mary Mullen, 85, died from a heart attack, but in the confession was said to have collapsed as the strangler grabbed her; found on June 28, 1962
• Nina Nichols, 68, sexually molested and strangled with her nylon stockings; found on June 30, 1962
• Paula Lepro, 57, sexually molested with a table paddle and strangled with her nylon stockings; found on June 22, 1962 in her apartment in Stoughton, Mass.
• Helen Blake, 65, sexually molested and strangled with her nylon stockings; found on June 30, 1962 in her apartment at 73 Newhall Street, Lynn, Mass.
• Ida Irga, 75, sexually molested and strangled; found on August 21, 1962 at 7 Grove Street in Boston
• Jane Sullivan, 67, sexually assaulted and strangled with her nylon stockings; found on August 30, 1962 at 435 Columbia Road, Dorchester

[edit]Second Stage (1962-1964)

• Sophie Clark, 20, sexually assaulted and strangled with her nylon stockings; found on December 5, 1962, Boston Back Bay
• Patricia Bissette, 23, sexually assaulted and strangled with her nylon stockings; found on December 31, 1962, Boston Back Bay
• Mary Brown, 69, stabbed, strangled and beaten, found on March 9, 1963 in Lawrence, Mass.
• Beverly Samans, 23, stabbed to death on May 8, 1963 at 4 University Road in Cambridge, Mass.
• Evelyn Corbin, 58, sexually assaulted and strangled with her nylon stockings; found on September 6, 1963 in Salem, Mass.
• Joann Graff, 23, sexually assaulted and strangled on November 23, 1963 in Lawrence, Mass.
• Mary Sullivan, 19, sexually assaulted and strangled with dark stockings; found on January 4, 1964

Albert DeSalvo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Albert DeSalvo
DeSalvo after escaping Bridgewater State Hospital and being caught in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1967.
Background information
Birth name	Albert Henry DeSalvo
Also known as	The Boston Strangler The Measuring Man The Green Man
Born	September 3, 1931 Chelsea, Massachusetts, United States
Died	November 25, 1973(aged 42)
Cause of death	stabbed to death
Sentence	Life imprisonment
Killings
Number of victims	13
Country	United States
State(s)	Massachusetts
Date apprehended	October 27, 1964

Albert Henry DeSalvo (September 3, 1931 – November 25, 1973) was a criminal in Boston, Massachusetts who confessed to being the “Boston Strangler“, the murderer of 13 women in the Boston area. DeSalvo was not imprisoned for these murders, however, but for a series of rapes. His murder confession has been disputed, and debate continues regarding which crimes DeSalvo actually committed.

DeSalvo was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts to Frank and Charlotte DeSalvo. His father was of Italian ancestry and his mother was of Irish ancestry. His father was a violent alcoholic who at one point beat all of his wife’s teeth out and bent her fingers back until they broke. He also forced his children to watch him have sex with prostitutes he brought home. DeSalvo tortured animals as a child and began shoplifting and stealing in early adolescence, frequently crossing paths with the law.[edit]Early life

In November 1943, the 12-year-old DeSalvo was first arrested for battery and robbery. In December of the same year he was sent to the Lyman School for Boys. In October 1944, he was paroled and started working as a delivery boy. In August 1946, he returned to the Lyman School for stealing an automobile. After completing his second sentence, DeSalvo joined the Army. He was honorably discharged after his first tour of duty. He re-enlisted and, in spite of being tried in a court-martial, DeSalvo was again honorably discharged.

[edit]Strangler murders

Between June 14, 1962, and January 4, 1964, 13 single women between the ages of 19 and 85 were murdered in the Boston area; they were eventually tied to the Boston Strangler. Most of the women were sexually assaulted in their apartments, and then strangled with articles of clothing. The eldest victim died of a heart attack. Two others were stabbed to death, one of whom was also badly beaten. Without any sign of forced entry into their dwellings, the women were assumed to have either known their killer or voluntarily allowed him into their homes.

Gainsborough Street site of the first murder attributed to The Boston Strangler

The police were not convinced all of these murders were the work of a single individual, especially because of the wide gap in the victims’ ages; much of the public believed the crimes were committed by one person, however.

On October 27, 1964, a stranger entered a young woman’s home in East Cambridge posing as a detective. He tied his victim to her bed, proceeded to sexually assault her, and suddenly left, saying “I’m sorry” as he went. The woman’s description led police to identify the assailant as DeSalvo and when his photo was published, many women identified him as the man who had assaulted them. Earlier on October 27, DeSalvo had posed as a motorist with car trouble and attempted to enter a home in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. The homeowner, future BrocktonPolice Chief Richard Sproles, became suspicious and eventually fired a shotgun at DeSalvo.

DeSalvo was not initially suspected of being involved with the murders. Only after he was charged with rape did he give a detailed confession of his activities as the Boston Strangler under hypnosis induced by William Joseph Bryan and sessions not induced by hypnosis with Assistant Attorney General John Bottomly. He initially confessed to fellow inmate George Nassar; he then reported to his attorney F. Lee Bailey, who took on DeSalvo’s case. Though there were some inconsistencies, DeSalvo was able to cite details which had not been made public. However, there was no physical evidence to substantiate his confession. As such, he stood trial for earlier, unrelated crimes of robbery and sexual offenses. Bailey brought up the confession to the murders as part of his client’s history at the trial as part of an insanity defense, but it was ruled as inadmissible by the judge.

The motive for DeSalvo confessing to the crimes remains the same whether he actually committed them or not. He believed that he would be spending the rest of his life in jail for the Green Man attacks and wanted to use the confession to raise money to support his wife and children. Plus, to a braggart like DeSalvo, being the notorious Boston Strangler would make him world famous. Dr. Robey testified that “Albert so badly wanted to be the Strangler.”^[1]

For the 1967 trial, DeSalvo was mentally evaluated by Dr. Harry Kozol, also of Eugene O’Neill and Patty Hearst fame.^[2]

Bailey engaged a plea bargain to lock in his client’s guilt in exchange for the lack of a death penalty and a desire for an eventual insanity verdict.^[3] With the jury decision of life in prison, Bailey was very angry: “My goal was to see the Strangler wind up in a hospital, where doctors could try to find out what made him kill. Society is deprived of a study that might help deter other mass killers who lived among us, waiting for the trigger to go off inside them.”^[4]

[edit]Imprisonment and death

DeSalvo was sentenced to life in prison in 1967. In February of that year, he escaped with two fellow inmates from Bridgewater State Hospital, triggering a full scale manhunt. A note was found on his bunk addressed to the superintendent. In it, DeSalvo stated he had escaped to focus attention on the conditions in the hospital and his own situation. The day after the escape, he turned himself in to his lawyer in Lynn, Massachusetts.^[5] Following the escape, he was transferred to the maximum security prison known at the time asWalpole where he was found murdered six years later in the infirmary. Robert Wilson, who was associated with the Winter Hill Gang was tried for the murder of DeSalvo, but the trial ended in a hung jury. No one was ever found guilty of the murder.

In 1971, the Texas legislature unanimously passed a resolution honoring DeSalvo in an April Fool’s Day joke made by Waco Representative Tom Moore, Jr.. Moore admitted to the joke–made to prove his colleagues were not putting due diligence into researching legislation they were passing–and withdrew the resolution.^[6]

[edit]Controversy

Lingering doubts remain as to whether DeSalvo was indeed the Boston Strangler. At the time he confessed, people who knew him personally did not believe him capable of the crimes. It was also noted the women allegedly killed by “The Strangler” were of widely varying ages, social strata and ethnicities, and that there were different modi operandi.

Susan Kelly, an author who has had access to the files of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts‘ “Strangler Bureau”, argues the murders were the work of several killers rather than a single individual.^[7] Another author, former FBI profiler Robert Ressler, said “You’re putting together so many different patterns [regarding the Boston Strangler murders] that it’s inconceivable behaviorally that all these could fit one individual.”^[8]

In 2000, Elaine Whitfield Sharp, an attorney specializing in forensic cases based in Marblehead, Massachusetts, represented the DeSalvo family and the family of Mary A. Sullivan. Sullivan was publicized as being the final victim in 1964, although other murders occurred after that date. Former print journalist Whitfield Sharp assisted the families in their media campaign to clear DeSalvo’s name, to assist in organizing and arranging the exhumations of Mary A. Sullivan and Albert H. DeSalvo, in filing various lawsuits in attempts to obtain information and trace evidence (e.g., DNA) from the government, and to work with various producers to create documentaries to explain the facts to the public. Whitfield Sharp pointed out various inconsistencies between DeSalvo’s confessions and the crime scene information (which she obtained). For example, Whitfield Sharp observed, contrary to DeSalvo’s confession to Sullivan’s murder, there was no semen in her vaginaand she was not strangled manually, but by ligature. Forensic pathologist Michael Baden observed DeSalvo also got the time of death wrong — a common inconsistency with several of the murders pointed out by Susan Kelly. Whitfield Sharp continues to work on the case for the DeSalvo family.^[9]

In the case of Mary Sullivan, murdered January 4, 1964 at age 19, DNA and other forensic evidence — and leads from Kelly’s book — were used by the victim’s nephew Casey Sherman to try to determine her killer’s identity. Sherman wrote about this in his book A Rose for Mary (2003) and stated DeSalvo was not responsible for her death. For example, DeSalvo confessed to sexually penetrating Sullivan, yet the forensic investigation revealed no evidence of sexual activity. There are also suggestions from DeSalvo himself he was covering up for another man.^{[citation needed]}

The results of a 2001 forensic investigation has cast doubts over whether DeSalvo was the Boston Strangler. The investigation raised the possibility the real murderer could still be at large. The investigation revealed DNA evidence found on Sullivan does not match DeSalvo. James Starrs, professor of forensic science at George Washington University, told a news conference DNA evidence could not associate DeSalvo with the murder. Sullivan’s and DeSalvo’s bodies were exhumed as part of the efforts by both their families to find out who was responsible for the murders. Professor Starrs said an examination of a semen-like substance on her body did not match DeSalvo’s DNA.^[10]

George Nassar, the inmate DeSalvo reportedly confessed to, is among the suspects in the case.^[11] He is currently serving a life sentence for the 1967 shooting death of an Andover, Massachusetts gas station attendant. In February 2008, the Massachuetts Supreme Judicial Court denied Nassar’s appeal of his 1967 conviction.^{[citation needed]} Claudia Bolgen, Nassar’s attorney, said Nassar, 75 at the time, denied involvement in the murders.^{[citation needed]} In 2006, Nassar argued in court filings he could not make his case in a previous appeal because he was in federal prison in Leavenworth, Kansas in the 1980s and therefore did not have access to Massachusetts legal materials.^{[citation needed]} The court noted Nassar was back in Massachusetts in late 1983 and did not inquire about the case then or for more than two decades.^{[citation needed]} Bolgen said she was disappointed in the decision, but said Nassar had a pending motion for a new trial inEssex County that she was confident would be granted.^{[citation needed]}

Ames Robey, a former prison psychologist who analyzed both DeSalvo and Nassar, has said Nassar was a misogynistic, psychopathic killer who was a far more likely suspect than DeSalvo.^[11]Some followers of the case said Nassar was the real strangler and fed DeSalvo details of the murders so DeSalvo could confess and gain notoriety or through Nassar get the reward money to help support DeSalvo’s family of wife and two children.^[11] In a 1999 interview with The Boston Globe, Nassar denied involvement in the murders, but said the speculation killed any chance he had for parole. “I had nothing to do with it,” he said. “I’m convicted under the table, behind the scenes.”^{[citation needed]}

Nassar had previously been convicted of the May 1948 murder of a shop owner. Nassar was sentenced to life in prison in that case, but through his friendship with a Unitarian minister he was paroled in early 1961, less than a year before the Boston Strangler murders were believed to have begun.^[12]

As his name suggests, the serial killer known as Boston Strangler operated in Boston, Massachusetts area and murdered his victims by strangulation. He is believed to have murdered as many as 13 women, even though there are still many unanswered questions and guesses. It is possible that only (if you can really use that word) 11 women were actually murdered by the Boston Strangler. The killing started with strangulation of a 55 year old Anna Slesers on June 14, 1962 who was sexually molested by vaginal insertions of foreign objects and then strangled to death with her bathrobe cord. The last victim of Boston Strangler was murdered on January 4, 1964, which means he only operated for one and half year. Her name was Mary Sullivan – she was 19 year old and she is the woman in the crime scene photo above.

Mary Sullivan was found naked, bloodied with a broom inserted up her vagina. Boston Strangler left a Happy New Year card by her feet. She was strangled with her own stocking.

Is Albert DeSalvo Boston Strangler

One year after murder of Mary Sullivan a man named Albert DeSalvo came forth and confessed that he was the murderer known as Boston Strangler. Albert DeSalvo was a convicted rapist who was serving time at Bridgewater State Hospital. His confession remains questionable and many forensic specialists doubt that he was the real Boston Strangler. While he provided many accurate details regarding all Boston Strangler murders, there were also many serious inconsistencies. For example in case of above pictured Mary Sullivan, Albert DeSalvo confessed to raping her and strangling her manually. However forensic evidence proves that Mary Sullivan was strangled by ligature and there were no signs of sexual intercourse taking place anytime before or after she was strangled to death. Albert DeSalvo also got date of her murder wrong and there was no semen, nor other DNA evidence that would link him to this murder.

Albert DeSalvo died in 1973. He was murdered by fellow inmates at Walpole State Prison. The Boston Strangler case has never been officially closed and the more evidence is brought forth, the more it becomes doubtful that Albert DeSalvo committed any of the Boston Strangler murders. Now, half century later, it is possible we will never know who the real murderer responsible for atrocious killings of 13 women, including Mary Sullivan seen in photo above was.

DAMSEL OF DEATH ….. HIGHWAY HOOKER AND SERIAL KILLER … AILEEN WUORNOS.

FROM THE HANDS OF DEATH

HERE ON DISPLAY AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION, LITTLEDEAN JAIL , FOREST OF DEAN , GLOUCESTERSHIRE, UK, WE HAVE THE LARGEST PRIVATE COLLECTION OF WHAT IS DEEMED TO BE POLITICALLY INCORRECT   MURDERABILIA , TRUE CRIME, SLEAZE ,SCANDAL, THE TABOO AND BEYOND EXHIBIT MATERIAL ON VIEW TO THE PUBLIC.

WE WOULD ALSO HOPE THAT THIS PROVIDES A HISTORICALLY INTRIGUING AND EDUCATIONAL INSIGHT INTO THE WORLD OF TRUE CRIME AND BEYOND .

HERE BELOW IS A BRIEF INSIGHT INTO ONE OF THE MANY SERIAL KILLERS THAT WE  FEATURE HERE .

IF EASILY OFFENDED , DISTURBED OR OF A SENSITIVE NATURE PLEASE AVOID VISITING LITTLEDEAN JAIL ….. AS CRIME IS IN ITSELF AN UNPLEASANT SUBJECT MATTER TO COVER … AND AS SUCH IS NOT PRESENTED HERE IN A PLEASANT WAY EITHER

TRUE CRIME , MURDERABILIA AND MUCH , MUCH MORE , HERE AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL …..

Below is a brief interactive  background insight into the the life and crimes of former lesbian prostitute and serial killer Aileen Wuornos who was executed October 9, 2002 by Lethal Injection in Florida .

ABOVE IS A BRIEF PICTORIAL INSIGHT INTO VARIOUS HANDWRITTEN AND SIGNED MURDERABILIA ITEMS FROM AILEEN WUORNOS HERE ON DISPLAY AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION , LITTLEDEAN JAIL

 

 

 

 

56th murderer executed in U.S. in 2002
805th murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
10th female murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
2nd murderer executed in Florida in 2002
53rd murderer executed in Florida since 1976
2nd female murderer executed in Florida since 1976

Summary:
Between December 1989 and September 1990, the bodies of several men were found murdered along the highways of northern and central Florida, including Richard Mallory, Dick Humphreys, Troy Burress, David Spears, Walter Gino Antonio, Peter Siems, and Charles Carskaddon. Items belonging to Mallory and Antonio were pawned near Daytona Beach and the alias names used were traced to Wuornos through thumbprints left on the pawn shop cards. Wuornos confessed to the murder of all six men, claiming that she was picked up by the men when she was working as a highway prostitute, and shot them in self defense after they attempted to sexually assault her. Wuornos was convicted of the murder of Richard Mallory after a jury trial in Volusia County and was sentenced to death. At trial, the State was allowed to introduce similar crimes evidence about Wuornos’ commission of several other murders. While on death row, it was discovered that Mallory had previously served time for Attempted Rape. Wuornos pleaded no contest to the murders of the other 5 men and was sentenced to death in each case.

Within two weeks of her arrest, Wuornos and her attorney had sold movie rights to her story. Investigators in her case did likewise. The case resulted in several books and movies, and even one opera on the life of “America’s first female serial killer.” Wuornos’s father, Leo Dale Pittman, was a child molester and a sociopath who was strangled in prison in 1969. Wuornos was pregnant at age fourteen. Shortly thereafter, she dropped out of school, left home and took up hitchhiking and prostitution. Wuornos had a prior conviction for armed robbery in 1982.

 

Final Meal:
Wuornos declined the traditional last meal, which could have been anything she wanted for under $20, and instead was given a cup of coffee.

Final Words:
“I’d just like to say I’m sailing with the rock, and I’ll be back like Independence Day, with Jesus June 6. Like the movie, big mother ship and all, I’ll be back.”

THE WORLDS MOST EVIL CULTS CHARLES MANSON & DISCIPLES (updated)

Charles Manson is a convicted serial killer who has become an icon of evil. In the late 1960s, Manson founded a hippie cult group known as “the Family” whom he manipulated into brutally killing others on his behalf.

Here’s more interactive information , a brief photo gallery  and video footage relating to the infamous cult leader Charles Manson and The Manson Family

FROM THE HANDS OF DEATH

Here on display at the Crime Through Time Collection at Littledean Jail , Forest of Dean,  Gloucestershire, UK ………..we have a number of handwritten and signed letters etc from Charles Manson and some of his disciples along with various other American and UK serial killers.

November 12, 1934 –

Also Known As:

Charles Milles Maddox, Charles Milles Manson

Overview of Charles Manson:

Charles Manson was born in Cincinnati, Ohio to 16-year-old Kathleen Maddox. Kathleen had run away from home at the age of 15 and spent the next few decades drinking too much, with periods of time spent in jail.

Since his mother couldn’t take care of him, Charles spent his youth at the homes of various relatives and often at special reform schools and boys homes. By age nine, Charles Manson had already started stealing and soon added burglary and stealing cars to his repertoire.

Manson Gets Married

In 1954, at age nineteen, he was released on parole after an unusual bout of good behavior. The next year, he married Rosalie Willis, a waitress, and they had a son together, Charles Manson Jr. (born March 1956). Even while married, Manson had continued making extra money by stealing cars. In April 1956, he was again sent to prison. After Manson had been in prison for a year, his wife found someone new and divorced Manson in June 1957.

Manson the Con Man

In 1958, Manson was released from prison. While out, Manson began pimping, stealing checks from mailboxes, and conned a young woman out of money. He also married again, to a woman named Leona, and fathered a second son, Charles Luther Manson. Manson was again arrested on June 1, 1960 and sent to the McNeil Island Penitentiary off the coast of Washington. His wife soon divorced him.

Music in Prison

Manson spent the next six years in prison. It was during this time that he befriended the infamous Alvin “Creepy” Karpis, former member of Ma Barker’s gang. After Karpis taught Charles Manson to play the steel guitar, Manson became obsessed with making music. He practiced all the time, wrote dozens of original songs, and started singing. He believed that when he got out of prison, he could be a famous musician.

Manson Gets a Following

On March 21, 1967, Manson was once again released from prison. This time he headed to San Francisco where, with a guitar and drugs, he began to get a following. In 1968, he and several followers drove to Southern California.

Manson was still hoping for a music career. Through an acquaintance, Manson met and hung out with Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys. The Beach Boys did record one of Manson’s songs, which appeared as “Never Learn Not to Love” on the B-side of their 20/20 album.

Through Wilson, Manson met Terry Melcher, Doris Day’s son. Manson believed Melcher was going to advance his music career but when nothing happened, Manson was very upset.

During this time, Charles Manson and some of his followers moved into the Spahn Ranch. Located northwest of San Fernando Valley the Spahn Ranch had been a popular location to film westerns in the 1940s and 1950s. Once Manson and his followers moved in, it became a cult compound for “the Family.”

Helter Skelter

Charles Manson was good at manipulating people. He took pieces from various religions to form his own philosophy. When the Beatles released their White Album in 1968, Manson believed their song “Helter Skelter” predicted an upcoming race war. “Helter skelter,” Manson believed, was going to occur in the summer of 1969 when blacks were going to rise up and slaughter all the white people. He told his followers that they would be saved because they would go underground, literally, by traveling to an underground city of gold located in Death Valley.

However, when the Armageddon that Manson had predicted did not occur, he said he and his followers must show the blacks how to do it.

Manson Orders the Murders

Manson told four of his followers to go to 10050 Cielo Drive in Los Angeles and kill the people inside. This house once belonged to Terry Melcher, the man who had not helped Manson with his music career. However, Melcher no longer lived there; actress Sharon Tate and her husband, director Roman Polanski, had rented the house. On August 9, 1969, four of Manson’s followers brutally murdered Tate, her unborn baby, and four others who were visiting her (Polanski was in Europe for work). The following night, Manson’s followers brutally killed Leno and Rosemary LaBianca in their home.

Manson’s Trial

It took the police several months to determine who was responsible. In December 1969, Manson and several of his followers were arrested. The trial began on July 24, 1970. On January 25, Manson was found guilty of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. On March 29, 1971, Manson was sentenced to death.

Life in Prison

Manson was reprieved from the death penalty in 1972 when the California Supreme Court outlawed the death penalty. Charles Manson now serves a lifetime sentence and periodically comes up for parole.

Though he’s been in prison for over three decades, Charles Manson has received more mail than any other prisoner in the U.S. Charles Manson is currently being held in California’s Corcoran Prison.

THE WORLDS MOST EVIL AND DANGEROUS SERIAL KILLERS … HERE ON DISPLAY AT THE CRIME THROUGH TIME COLLECTION, LITTLEDEAN JAIL (UPDATED)

FROM THE “HANDS OF DEATHS” …. ORIGINAL DISTURBING ARTWORK DRAWN  AND SIGNED BY THE NIGHT STALKER – RICHARD RAMIREZ  HERE ON DISPLAY AT LITTLEDEAN JAIL.

Richard Ramirez Dies: ‘Night Stalker’ died of natural causes In San Quentin Before Execution Date

Richard Ramirez, a convicted serial killer who had been awaiting execution on California’s death row, died of natural causes in San Quentin State Prison on Friday morning. He was 53 years old.

Ramirez, who was dubbed the “Night Stalker,” was convicted for 13 murders that left much of Southern California in fear in 1984 and 1985.

Satanic symbols were often left at the homes that he entered at night through unlocked doors and windows — a tactic that gave him his nickname.

The Night Stalker: Satanic Serial Killer ………. Richard Ramirez

True crime and much more here at  Littledean Jail….. including various insights, artwork, handwritten correspondence etc etc from some of the worlds most evil men and women .

Below is an interactive  video background into Richard Ramirez and also a gallery of images of various items sent to Andy Jones owner and curator of The Crime Through Time Collection here at Littledean Jail . some of which having been sent to the museums former home in Newent.

Richard Ramirez

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Richard Ramirez
2007 mugshot of Ramirez
Background information
Birth name Ricardo Muñoz Ramirez Also known as The Night Stalker The Walk-In Killer The Valley Intruder Born February 29, 1960 El Paso, Texas Died June 7, 2013 (aged 53) Greenbrae, California Cause of death Liver failure Conviction 13 counts of murder 5 counts of attempted murder 11 counts of sexual assault 14 counts of burglary Penalty Death penalty

Ricardo “Richard” Muñoz Ramirez (born February 29, 1960 in El Paso, Texas) is a convicted serial killer awaiting execution on California‘s death row at San Quentin State Prison. Prior to his capture, Ramirez was dubbed the “Night Stalker” by the news media.

Julian and Mercedes Ramirez had five children, the fifth being Richard Ramirez. The mother was a Catholic and his father was a former policeman who later became a laborer on the Santa Fe railroad. Richard’s father was also abusive and believed in corporal punishment.Early life

Ramirez may have been influenced into killing by his cousin, Mike, a Special Forces Vietnam War veteran who boasted of killing and torturing his Vietnamese enemies and showed him Polaroid pictures of his victims. These included pictures of the severed heads of Vietnamese women, who in other pictures had been shown fellating Mike.Ramirez was present the night Mike shot and killed his wife, and her blood splattered on Ramirez’s face. Ramirez was 13 years old at the time.

“Night-stalker” crimes

On March 17, 1985, Ramirez attacked 22-year old Angela Barrios outside her home. He shot her before entering her house. Inside was Dayle Okazaki, age 34, whom Ramirez immediately shot and killed. Barrios survived. The bullet had ricocheted off the keys she held in her hands, as she lifted them to protect herself. Within an hour of killing Okazaki, Ramirez struck again in Monterey Park. He jumped 30-year-old Tsai-Lian Yu and pulled her out of her car onto the road. He shot her several times and fled. A policeman found her still breathing, but she died before the ambulance arrived. The two attacks occurring on the same day bolstered media attention, and in turn caused panic and fear among the public. The news media dubbed the attacker, who was described as having long curly hair, bulging eyes and wide-spaced rotting teeth, “The Walk-in Killer” and “The Valley Intruder”.

On March 27, Ramirez shot Vincent Zazzara, age 64, and his wife Maxine, age 44. Mrs. Zazzara’s body was mutilated with several stab wounds and a T-carving on her left breast, and her eyes were gouged out. The autopsy determined that the mutilations were post-mortem. Ramirez left footprints in the flower beds, which the police photographed and cast. This was virtually the only evidence that the police had at the time. Bullets found at the scene were matched to those found at previous attacks, and the police realized a serial killer was on the loose. Vincent and Maxine’s bodies were discovered in their Whittier home by their son, Peter.

By this time, a multi-county police investigation was in operation. The law enforcement agencies worked through the month of April with no additional attacks by Ramirez. Two months after killing the Zazarra couple, Ramirez attacked a Chinese couple: Harold Wu, age 66, who was shot in the head, and his wife, Jean Wu, age 63, who was punched, bound, and then violently raped. For unknown reasons, Ramirez decided to let her live. Ramirez’s attacks were now in full throttle. He left behind more clues to his identity, and was named ‘The Night Stalker’ by the media. Survivors of his attacks provided the police with a description of a tall Hispanic man with long dark hair.

On May 29, 1985, Ramirez attacked Malvial Keller, 83, and her disabled sister, Blanche Wolfe, 80, beating each with a hammer. Ramirez attempted to rape Keller, but failed. Using lipstick, he drew pentagrams on Keller’s thigh and on the wall in the bedroom. Blanche survived the attack. The next day, Ruth Wilson, 41, was bound, raped, and sodomized by Ramirez, while her 12-year old son was locked in a closet. Ramirez slashed Wilson once, and then bound her and her son together, and left.

In June and July, three more women were killed. Two had their throats slit, one was beaten to death, and all three had their homes invaded. On July 5 Whitney Bennett, age 16 of La Cañada, survived being beaten with a tire iron. On July 7 Linda Fortuna, 63, was attacked and Ramirez tried to rape her, but failed. On July 20 he again struck twice. In Sun Valley he shot and killed a 32-year-old man, Chitat Assawahem, and his wife Sakima, 29, was beaten and forced to perform oral intercourse. Ramirez then collected valuables and proceeded to leave. Later in the same day aGlendale couple, Maxson Kneiding, 66, and his wife Lela, also 66, were shot and their corpses mutilated.

On August 6 Ramirez shot both Christopher Petersen, 38, and his wife, Virginia, 27, in the head. Miraculously, they both survived. On August 8 Ramirez attacked a Diamond Bar couple, fatally shooting Ahmed Zia, 35, before raping, sodomizing, and forcing Zia’s wife, Suu Kyi, 28, to perform fellatio on him. The description of their attacker fit the previous ones given for “The Walk-in Killer”.

Ramirez then left the Los Angeles area, and on August 17, he shot to death a 66-year-old man in San Francisco, also shooting and beating his wife. The wife survived her wounds and was able to identify her attacker as “The Walk-in Killer” from police sketches. Since “The Walk-in Killer” no longer fit the modus operandi of the attacker, the news media re-dubbed him the “Night Stalker”.

The Ramirez mug shot that was circulated to the media.

The next big break in the case came on August 24, 1985, Ramirez traveled 50 miles south of Los Angeles to Mission Viejo, and broke into the Mediterranean Village apartment of Bill Carns, 29, and his fiancée, Inez Erickson, 27. Ramirez shot Carns in the head and raped Erickson. He demanded she swear her love forSatan and afterwards, forced her to perform oral intercourse on him. He then tied her and left. Erickson struggled to the window and saw the car Ramirez was driving. She was able to give a description of both Ramirez and his orange Toyota station wagon. A teenager later identified the car from news reports and wrote down half its license plate number. The stolen car was found on August 28, and police were able to obtain one fingerprint that was on the mirror of the vehicle. The prints belonged to one Richard Muñoz Ramirez, who was described as a 25-year-old drifter from Texas with a long rap sheet that included many arrests for traffic and illegal drug violations.

Capture

Two days later, his mugshots were broadcast on national television and printed on the cover of every major newspaper in California.The next day Ramirez was identified, surrounded, and severely beaten by an angry mob in East Los Angeles as he was trying to steal a car. Police had to break up the mob to prevent them from killing Ramirez.

Trial and conviction

Jury selection for the case started on July 22, 1988, and on September 20, 1989, he was found guilty of 13 counts of murder, 5 attempted murders, 11 sexual assaults and 14 burglarie During the penalty phase of the trial on November 7, 1989, he was sentenced to die in California’s gas chamber. The trial of Richard Ramirez was one of the most difficult and longest criminal trials in American history, taking over four years to finalize. Nearly 1,600 prospective jurors were interviewed. More than one hundred witnesses testified, and while a number of witnesses had a difficult time recalling certain facts four years after the crimes, others were quite certain of the identity of Richard Ramirez.

On August 3, 1988 the Los Angeles Times reported that some jail employees overheard Ramirez planning to shoot the prosecutor with a gun, which Ramirez intended to have smuggled into the courtroom. Consequently, a metal detector was installed outside of the courtroom and intensive searches were conducted on people entering. On August 14, the trial was interrupted because one of the jurors, Phyllis Singletary, did not arrive to the courtroom. Later that day she was found shot to death in her apartment. The jury was terrified; they could not help wondering if Ramirez had somehow directed this event from inside his prison cell, and if he could reach other jury members. However, Ramirez was not responsible for Singletary’s death; she had been shot and killed by her boyfriend, who later killed himself with the same weapon in a hotel. The alternate juror who replaced Singletary was too frightened to return to her home.

By the time of the trial, Ramirez had fans who were writing him letters and paying him visits Since 1985, freelance magazine editor Doreen Lioy wrote him nearly 75 letters during his incarceration.In 1988 he proposed to her, and on October 3, 1996, they were married in California’s San Quentin State Prison.Lioy has stated that she will commit suicide when Ramirez is executed.

Appeals

On August 7, 2006 his first round of state appeals ended unsuccessfully when the California Supreme Court upheld his convictions and death sentence On September 7, 2006, the California Supreme Court denied his request for a rehearing.