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

1972: The Brooklyn Bank Siege That Inspired Dog Day Afternoon

On August 22, 1972, John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturile attempted to rob a branch of Chase Manhattan Bank at 450 Avenue P in Gravesend, Brooklyn. A third accomplice fled before the robbery began after spotting a police car. Rather than escaping with the cash, Wojtowicz and Naturile held seven bank employees hostage for fourteen hours. Wojtowicz, a former bank teller, had working knowledge of bank operations, but the plan unravelled completely.

Naturile was shot and killed by an FBI agent during the final moments of the standoff. Wojtowicz was arrested and sentenced to 20 years at Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary, serving five. The story became the basis for the 1975 film Dog Day Afternoon, starring Al Pacino.

ID 164823257 © Photovs | Dreamstime.com

⬅ See all events from 22 August

Kidnapping Organised Crime Prison Robbery USA

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

1962: De Gaulle Survives a Hail of Bullets at Petit-Clamart

On the evening of 22 August 1962, Lieutenant-Colonel Jean Bastien-Thiry led a carefully planned ambush on the presidential motorcade at Petit-Clamart, south of Paris. Acting under the banner of the Organisation armee secrete (OAS), his team opened fire with automatic weapons as de Gaulle’s car passed, riddling the vehicle with bullets. The president and his wife escaped without injury.

The attack, code-named Operation Charlotte Corday, triggered a massive manhunt that swept up nearly all participants within months. Bastien-Thiry was brought before a military court, where he justified the attempt by declaring de Gaulle a tyrant who had betrayed French Algeria. He was sentenced to death and executed by firing squad in March 1963, the last person to die by that method in France.

⬅ See all events from 22 August

Assassination Europe Execution France Political Crime Terrorism Trial

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

1854: Hanged at Brisbane Gaol for the Killing of a Station Manager

In March 1852, Adolphus Henry Trevethan, a station manager at Rawbell in the Burnett District, was killed during a tense confrontation with a large group of armed men on his property. He had gone out to negotiate and was returning with tobacco and pipes when he came running back, hand pressed to his chest, crying ‘I’m a dead man’ before dying of multiple stab wounds within hours.

The accused was tried at the Brisbane Circuit Court, where witness James Carney testified against the accused. Found guilty and sentenced to death, the condemned man walked to the scaffold on 22 August 1854, ascending it without resistance and dying without a struggle.

Noose at historic Tombstone courthouse courtyard, Arizona

⬅ See all events from 22 August

Australia Brisbane Burnett District Execution Murder QLD Trial

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

1829: John Holmes Hanged for Arson at Campbelltown

John Holmes was convicted of maliciously setting fire to a barn belonging to James Benn at Campbell Town on 29 May 1829, with intent to injure and defraud the owner. The jury returned a verdict of guilty and a sentence of death was passed.

Holmes was executed at Campbelltown on 21 August 1829. On the scaffold, Reverend Mr. Therry sought and received permission to address the assembled crowd, relaying the condemned man’s confession before Holmes himself spoke, earnestly urging spectators to take warning from his fate and avoid the bad company that had brought him to his end.

Holmes acknowledged his guilt and the justice of his sentence, expressing hope that God had forgiven him as he freely forgave all who had wronged him.

⬅ See all events from 21 August

Arson Australia Campbelltown Execution NSW Sydney Trial

1972: The Brooklyn Bank Siege That Inspired Dog Day Afternoon

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

1962: De Gaulle Survives a Hail of Bullets at Petit-Clamart

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

1854: Hanged at Brisbane Gaol for the Killing of a Station Manager

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

1829: John Holmes Hanged for Arson at Campbelltown

Spread the word on your favourite platform!

Subscribe to Dark Stories