Archives: Dark Stories: On This Day In True Crime History - Page 28
1981: Hinckley Pleads Not Guilty to Shooting President Reagan
In March 1981, John Hinckley Jr. fired six shots at President Ronald Reagan outside a Washington D.C. hotel, wounding Reagan and three others. The attack was later revealed to be motivated by an obsession with actress Jodie Foster.
On 28 August 1981, Hinckley entered a plea of not guilty to charges of attempted assassination. He was ultimately found not guilty by reason of insanity in 1982 and was committed to St. Elizabeths Hospital, a psychiatric facility in Washington D.C.
1808: Broughton and Cheeseman Hanged in Sydney for Cattle Theft at Hawkesbury
Stockmen, Richard Broughton and John Cheeseman, conspired to steal two head of cattle from their employer’s flock at Hawkesbury in April 1808.
Cheeseman paid off Broughton for the two heads of cattle, which were then driven through Parramatta and on to a farm near the Brickfields in Sydney. A king’s evidence witness revealed he had overheard the deal being struck and later spotted the cattle in a herd at the Nepean River.
Broughton and Cheeseman were tried, found guilty and hanged in Sydney. A third accused, Joseph Tilson, was found to have been an unwitting hired drover and escaped the same fate.
1808: Charles Flynn Hanged in Sydney for Theft Aboard a Ship
In August 1808, Charles Flynn stood before the Court of Criminal Jurisdiction in Sydney, charged with stealing from aboard the ship Hero, anchored in Sydney Cove. The stolen items were modest: two brass spy-glasses valued at 40 shillings and a table cloth valued at 10 shillings.
The jury returned a verdict of guilty. In the harsh legal climate of early colonial New South Wales, the theft was enough to send Flynn to the gallows. He was hanged on 28 August 1808.
1925: Murder On The Dance Floor: Audrey Jacob Shoots Fiance Dead in Perth
At a charity ball in the Government House Ballroom in Perth on the night of 26 August 1925, Audrey Jacob, a 20-year-old art student, shot her former fiance Cyril Gidley through the heart in front of hundreds of revellers.
Gidley, a 25-year-old ship’s engineer, had ended their engagement months earlier, dramatically throwing the engagement ring into the sea. Audrey had attended the ball in costume as Pierrette, a lovesick clown; when Gidley ignored her all evening, she slipped away, changed into a striking blue evening gown, and returned. As the orchestra struck up an encore dance number, she approached him on the floor. A single shot rang out and Gidley collapsed without a word.
Audrey stood over the body, smoking gun in hand, and declared to the stunned crowd: ‘I did it. Take me away. It’s all right. I know what I’ve done.’ She claimed the gun discharged accidentally during a confrontation. The case became a media sensation and led to a landmark trial in which she was found not guilty.
