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

1985: The Night Stalker’s begins His FInal Strike in Mission Viejo, California

In the late hours of August 24, 1985, Richard Ramirez drove to Mission Viejo in Southern California, intending to break into the Romero family home. Thirteen-year-old James Romero III spotted him and recorded the car details, alerting police. Ramirez moved on to the nearby home of Bill Carns and Inez Erickson, shooting Carns three times in the head before assaulting Erickson. Remarkably, both victims survived.

The car details noted by James Romero III proved critical. Police traced the vehicle, leading directly to the identification and arrest of Ramirez, bringing the reign of one of California’s most feared serial killers to an end.

Hooded hooligan with obscured face walking city streets at night

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Attempted Murder Murder Serial Killer USA

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1572: The Red Wedding in St Bartholomew

On August 18, 1572, Protestant Henry of Navarre married Catholic Margaret of Valois in Paris, a union designed to end the bloody civil war between France’s Catholics and Huguenots. The peace did not hold. Just days later, on August 24, King Charles IX, acting under the influence of Catherine de’ Medici, authorised a wave of targeted killings against Protestant leaders in Paris.

What began as a series of assassinations spread into mass mob violence across France. Estimates of the death toll range from thousands to as many as 50,000, as Catholic mobs hunted down Huguenots in city after city. The wedding that was meant to unite a fractured nation had become the prelude to one of the worst religious massacres in European history.

Blood-soaked bride in lingerie holding knife lying on floor

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Assassination Europe France Massacre Paris Political Crime Religious Persecution

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1981: Mark David Chapman Sentenced to 20 Years to Life for Killing John Lennon

In December 1980, Mark David Chapman shot John Lennon four times in the back outside the Dakota apartment building in New York City, killing the former Beatle as he returned home. Chapman had waited hours for Lennon, who had earlier autographed a copy of his album ‘Double Fantasy’ for him, and remained at the scene until police arrived.

On 24 August 1981, Chapman was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder, against the advice of his attorneys. He has been denied parole multiple times and remains incarcerated.

John Lennon Statue in Liverpool. A statue of John Lennon situated opposite the historic Cavern Club in Liverpool. | ID 40019847 © Chris Dorney | Dreamstime.com

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Murder Trial USA

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1939: The Last Judicial Execution in New South Wales History

John Trevor Kelly, 24, was hanged at Long Bay Gaol near Botany Bay, Sydney, shortly after eight in the morning of 24 August 1939. He had been convicted of the axe murder of Marjorie Constance Sommerlad at Hillcrest farm near Tenterfield, where he had been working alongside her and her brother Eric. During the attack, Kelly also struck Eric Sommerlad with the same axe, though Eric survived. Appeals to the Court of Criminal Appeals and the High Court both failed.

Kelly became the last person judicially executed in New South Wales. His father, a well-known figure in Lismore and northern New South Wales, mounted a public appeal arguing that other killers had received commuted sentences, and that his son had no control of himself when drinking. Authorities refused to intervene.

John Trevor Kelly axe murderer.

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Australia Execution Malabar Murder NSW Sydney Tenterfield Trial

1985: The Night Stalker’s begins His FInal Strike in Mission Viejo, California

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1572: The Red Wedding in St Bartholomew

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1981: Mark David Chapman Sentenced to 20 Years to Life for Killing John Lennon

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1939: The Last Judicial Execution in New South Wales History

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