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

1950: Ethel Rosenberg Arrested as the Atom Spy at the Heart of a Nuclear Secrets Scandal

Ethel Rosenberg, a 34-year-old mother of two, was arrested in New York on 11 August 1950 in connection with the Harry Gold and Klaus Fuchs atom spy case. She and her husband Julius, both lifelong Communist sympathisers with Russian-born parents, were accused of passing atomic secrets to the Soviet Union. The trail had begun with the unravelling of a network stretching from British physicist Klaus Fuchs to the heart of the American nuclear program.

Convicted at trial in March 1951, both Rosenbergs were sentenced to death. On 19 June 1953, Julius was executed first at Sing Sing prison, followed by Ethel at 8.11 p.m. Five electric shocks were required before doctors pronounced her dead.

In her final letter to her lawyer Emanuel Bloch, Ethel wrote: ‘I am not alone, and I die with honor and dignity, knowing my husband and myself will be vindicated.’

Ethel Greenglass Rosenberg under escort after spy charge arrest

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Espionage Execution New York Political Crime Trial USA

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991: Ealdorman Byrhtnoth Killed as Vikings Crush the Saxons at Maldon

On 11 August 991, a Viking force under Norwegian king Olaf Tryggvason met the Anglo-Saxon fyrd of Essex at Maldon, on the Essex coast. Ealdorman Byrhtnoth, around sixty years old and said to stand nearly seven feet tall with swan-white hair, commanded the Saxon defence. In a fateful act of chivalric pride, he permitted the Vikings to cross a tidal causeway to fight on open ground. The decision proved catastrophic: Byrhtnoth fell in the battle, reportedly taking three men to kill, one of them nearly severing his arm.

The defeat became one of the defining disasters of late Anglo-Saxon England, accelerating the payment of Danegeld to Viking raiders. Byrhtnoth was buried at Ely Abbey, a monastery he had richly endowed with villages and lands. His widow presented the abbey with an embroidered tapestry commemorating his deeds. The battle inspired a celebrated Old English poem, and when his remains were examined in 1781, his skeleton confirmed the legendary stature: 6 feet 9 inches in height.

The Statue of Byrhtnoth at the end of Maldon Promenade in Essex, England | ID 211153857 © Jonathanritchie1990 | Dreamstime.com

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Battle England Essex Europe Maldon Massacre Political Crime UK War Crime

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1873: Oscar Wallace Hanged at Ballarat for Armed Assault at Mount Beckworth

Oscar Wallace, known also by the aliases James and Hasker, had only been free for six weeks when he committed a brutal armed assault on Mary Cook at her isolated farmhouse near Mount Beckworth, outside Clunes, on 4 August 1873. Her husband was away, and Wallace, disguised with a bran bag over his head and a sack about his body, entered the property, seized a double-barrelled gun, locked the children in an adjoining room, and attacked the homeowner at knifepoint. He then fled through the district, robbing several men, firing at a Mr Prentice near Beaufort, and reportedly heading toward a hotel to settle an old score. He had served two years in Pentridge for larceny and had openly threatened the life of a witness from that trial.

Senior Constable Woods disguised himself as a digger and tracked Wallace to a store near Beaufort, where he overpowered him before Wallace could use the butcher’s knife he still carried. Wallace was tried, convicted, and hanged at Ballarat on 11 August 1873. He reportedly showed complete indifference to his fate from the moment of his capture.

James Wallace (tried as Oscar Wallace), prisoner no. 8775. PROV, VPRS 515/P0000, Volume 13, p. 167

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Australia Ballarat Beaufort Clunes Execution Mount Beckworth Murder Prison Robbery Trial VIC

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1977: A Parking Ticket Brings Down the Son of Sam

David Berkowitz, a 24-year-old postal clerk from Yonkers, was arrested and charged as the Son of Sam, the .44-caliber killer who had terrorised New York City across 13 victims and more than a year of terror. The break came not from the massive task force that had spent several million dollars and chased hundreds of suspects, including a priest, freelance journalists, and ex-cops, but from a $35 parking ticket issued by Officer Michael Cataneo on the morning of July 31, 1977, the same night Berkowitz claimed his final victim. The ticket was traced to his 1970 Ford Galaxie.

Neighbours in Yonkers had long suspected something was wrong. Sam Carr, who lived on the street behind Berkowitz, believed Berkowitz had shot his black dog Harvey and had complained to police just days before the arrest. Berkowitz later claimed Harvey the dog had issued him mysterious commands to kill. After more than a year of dead ends, the Son of Sam was undone by a piece of cardboard.

Parking ticket placed on a car windscreen close-up

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Arrest Investigation Murder New York Police Serial Killer USA

1950: Ethel Rosenberg Arrested as the Atom Spy at the Heart of a Nuclear Secrets Scandal

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991: Ealdorman Byrhtnoth Killed as Vikings Crush the Saxons at Maldon

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1873: Oscar Wallace Hanged at Ballarat for Armed Assault at Mount Beckworth

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1977: A Parking Ticket Brings Down the Son of Sam

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