Dark Stories: On This Day In True Crime History - Dark Stories True Crime Tours

1996: The Ivan Milat Verdict: Seven Murders, Life Without Parole

Ivan Robert Marko Milat, known as the Backpacker Murderer, was found guilty on 27 July 1996 of seven counts of murder, the worst serial killing case in Australian history. His victims, mostly young backpackers travelling the Hume Highway between Sydney and Melbourne between 1989 and 1992, were lured under the pretence of a lift before being taken into the Belanglo State Forest in New South Wales and murdered.

Milat was sentenced to life imprisonment without possibility of parole and spent 25 years appealing his sentence. Police remained confident he was responsible for more killings than those proven at trial. He died in custody on 27 October 2019.

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Australia Belanglo State Forest Hunter Valley Melbourne Murder NSW Serial Killer Sydney Trial

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1890: Van Gogh Falls to a Self-Inflicted Wound in a French Wheat Field

On 27 July 1890, Vincent van Gogh walked into the wheat fields near Auvers-sur-Oise, France, and shot himself in the chest with a revolver. The wound was not immediately fatal; he staggered back to his lodgings at the Auberge Ravoux, where a doctor attended to him.

Van Gogh died two days later, on 29 July 1890, aged 37, with his brother Theo at his side. He had produced more than 2,000 works in a decade of furious creativity, yet sold only one painting during his lifetime.

Vincent van Gogh - Stairway at Auvers

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1793: Robespierre Joins the Committee of Public Safety

On 27 July 1793, Maximilien Robespierre was elected to the Committee of Public Safety, the twelve-man body that effectively governed France during the most turbulent phase of the Revolution. His appointment marked a turning point: within months, the Committee would become the engine of the Terror, overseeing the execution of thousands deemed enemies of the Republic.

Robespierre’s influence on the Committee was profound and lethal. Under his direction, the Revolutionary Tribunal accelerated its work, sending nobles, clergy, political rivals, and ordinary citizens to the guillotine. His own end came almost exactly a year later, when the Thermidorian Reaction turned the machinery of the Terror against its architect.

Portrait of Robespierre by Louis Boilly

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Europe Execution France Paris Political Crime Terrorism

1996: The Ivan Milat Verdict: Seven Murders, Life Without Parole

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1890: Van Gogh Falls to a Self-Inflicted Wound in a French Wheat Field

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1793: Robespierre Joins the Committee of Public Safety

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