Crime did not take a holiday during the Civil War, far from it. As Tobin Buhk shows in this fast-paced narrative, the war created new opportunities to gain profits from illegal activities, to settle old scores against personal enemies under the cover of fighting the nation's enemies, to pillage, plunder, and murder amid the carnage and destruction that seemed to offer license to legitimize such crimes. Students of the Civil War will find new information in this readable account. --James M. McPherson,Author of Battle Cry of Freedom • Examines criminal cases during the conflict • Cases include currency counterfeiting, tyrannical actions of Gen. Benjamin Butler, the murder of Gen. Earl van Dorn, raids by William Quantrill's Bushwhackers, the Fort Pillow Massacre, the horrific prison conditions at Andersonville, the fate of Lincoln the assassination conspirators, and more
While the River City is known for its history of furniture making, it also has a sinister side. Jennie Flood was a widow with a get-rich scheme that involved a shotgun and an insurance application. Reverend Ferris went undercover in his war against the city's purveyors of vice. The police rounded up the usual suspects in an attempt to solve the infamous 1921 bank heist that led to the slaying of two detectives. And the death of a teenager exposed "Aunty" Smith and her dangerous side business conducted in the shadows. Author Tobin T. Buhk delves into the colorful characters of Grand Rapids' past and the heinous crimes they committed.
“A historically accurate picture of the characters involved in the complicated frontier-era poisoning investigation” (MLive.com). The spring of 1903 proved disastrous for the Murphy family. On April 22, the infant Ruth Murphy died in her crib. Within an hour, her mother, Gertrude, experienced a violent spasm before she, too, died. Ten days later, John Murphy followed his wife and child to the grave after suffering from a crippling convulsion. While neighbors whispered about a curse and physicians feared a contagious disease, Kalkaska County sheriff John W. Creighton and prosecuting attorney Ernest C. Smith searched for answers. As they probed deeper into the suspicious deaths, they uncovered a wicked web of intrigue. And at the center stood a widow in a black taffeta dress. Includes photos
The author of True Crime: Michigan “tells the tale of an alleged World War I German spy and love-ad bandit from Royal Oak who killed to cover up his work” (C&G News). In the fall of 1916, New York housemaid Augusta Steinbach fell in love with a man she met through a matrimonial advertisement in her local newspaper. She traveled to Detroit to marry her correspondent, but in March 1917, she mysteriously disappeared. What began as a routine search for a missing person turned into a baffling case of deception, bigamy, and murder. Follow detectives as they unravel the tangled web spun by Michigan’s original lonely-hearts killer—a criminal mastermind the Detroit News dubbed “one of America's master outlaws.” Includes photos
“A historically accurate picture of the characters involved in the complicated frontier-era poisoning investigation” (MLive.com). The spring of 1903 proved disastrous for the Murphy family. On April 22, the infant Ruth Murphy died in her crib. Within an hour, her mother, Gertrude, experienced a violent spasm before she, too, died. Ten days later, John Murphy followed his wife and child to the grave after suffering from a crippling convulsion. While neighbors whispered about a curse and physicians feared a contagious disease, Kalkaska County sheriff John W. Creighton and prosecuting attorney Ernest C. Smith searched for answers. As they probed deeper into the suspicious deaths, they uncovered a wicked web of intrigue. And at the center stood a widow in a black taffeta dress. Includes photos
Crime did not take a holiday during the Civil War, far from it. As Tobin Buhk shows in this fast-paced narrative, the war created new opportunities to gain profits from illegal activities, to settle old scores against personal enemies under the cover of fighting the nation's enemies, to pillage, plunder, and murder amid the carnage and destruction that seemed to offer license to legitimize such crimes. Students of the Civil War will find new information in this readable account. --James M. McPherson,Author of Battle Cry of Freedom • Examines criminal cases during the conflict • Cases include currency counterfeiting, tyrannical actions of Gen. Benjamin Butler, the murder of Gen. Earl van Dorn, raids by William Quantrill's Bushwhackers, the Fort Pillow Massacre, the horrific prison conditions at Andersonville, the fate of Lincoln the assassination conspirators, and more
The shocking series of crimes committed by lovers Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez dominated the front pages in 1949. Caught for the double homicide of a widow and her young daughter in Michigan, the first couple of crime became the focus of an intense debate over the death penalty and extradition. Their story climaxed in a sensational trial in New York City and concluded two years later inside Sing Sing's notorious "Death House." Pulp fiction era reporters, who followed every step taken by the accused slayers, christened Beck and Fernandez the "Lonely Hearts Killers"--a nickname that stuck and has since been used to describe an entire category of criminal behavior. Despite the sensationalization of the killer couple's exploits, the story of the Michigan crime that ended their spree has until now remained largely untold. Drawing on rare archival material, this book presents, for the first time anywhere, a detailed account of this lost chapter in the saga of the "Lonely Hearts Killers." Both biography and analysis, this book also attempts to deconstruct the myths and misconceptions and to provide answers to a few unanswered questions about the case.
“Traces the footsteps of poisoner Arthur Waite from his marriage to Clara Peck . . . in 1915 to his death by electrocution at Sing Sing Prison in 1917” (MLive.com). With his boyish good looks, Arthur Warren Waite charmed into marriage the daughter of wealthy Grand Rapids business tycoon John E. Peck in 1916. He then wasted no time executing what he believed to be a flawless scheme to hijack his wife’s inheritance. The plot went awry when a mysterious telegram set off a sequence of events that ultimately exposed his immoral ambition to poison all other Peck heirs. Follow Waite’s fingerprints of indiscretion around Grand Rapids and New York City as author Tobin T. Buhk details this audacious plan of staggering complexity. Includes photos! “Follow Waite’s trail around Grand Rapids and New York City as the author, Tobin Buhk details his complex plan meant to make him a rich man.” —Holland Sentinel
Author Tobin T. Buhk recounts the thrilling tales of Detroit's most violent, clever and misunderstood female criminals. "Queen of the Underworld" Sophie Lyons faced off with detective Teresa Lewis in court three times, and twice in the street, rendering both women battered and bloodied. Nellie Pope goaded her lover to axe her husband in what the press called "one of the most atrocious, cold-blooded, and deliberately-planned murders" in city history. Mother Elinor L. Mason, "High Priestess of the Flying Roller Colony," was no holy roller but a criminal chameleon who changed personas as easily as some people change clothes. And a feud between Delray madams Julia Toth and Annie Smith exposed widespread graft in the thriving red-light industry and led to one of the worst police scandals in Motor City history. These stories and more await in this deliciously entertaining collection.
In January 1889, as London constables hunted for Jack the Ripper and theaters around the world presented theatrical renditions of the Jekyll and Hyde story, Jackson, Michigan, Police Captain Jack Boyle searched for the murderer of Mary Latimer. This book follows Captain Boyle to the bordellos of gaslight-era Detroit--populated by madams, pimps, prostitutes and gamblers. It describes the investigation that led him to a pharmacist that prowled the streets, akin to a real-life Jekyll and Hyde. Ultimately, the book delves into the mind of Robert Irving Latimer, known as the most dangerous prisoner in Michigan and the man who inspired talk about resurrecting the state's long-dead death penalty.
Blanketed by forests, dotted by lakes, crisscrossed by rivers and surrounded by Great Lakes, Michigan is a good place to hide secrets, bury bodies and stash evidence. Dig deep enough and you will unearth something sinister. Is the suicide note of a prominent Detroit physician also a confession of murder? Were inmates unlawfully released from Jackson State Penitentiary to carry out a contract killing on a politician before he could turn state's evidence? Who silenced a fiery radio personality known as the "Voice of the People"? Did a notorious serial killer stalk women in Lansing during the 1970s? Join true crime author Tobin T. Buhk as he excavates some of the most vexing unsolved crimes in the history of the Great Lake State.
A mother calls 911 because her child, despite a fetal monitor, stopped breathing. She didn't know it, but the fetal monitor her doctor prescribed had a memory chip. Would the monitor's memory chip preserve evidence of a tragic accident or a murder?A young couple's marriage is crumbling, but they decide to take one last family trip. She will never return home. A pool of blood suggests she died from injuries caused by an accidental fall from a boat dock. So how did she wind up face down in the lake?For more than two decades, Dr. Stephen D. Cohle has been solving vexing forensic mysteries as the medical examiner for Kent County, Michigan. As a whole, the cases he considers represent a cross-section of crime in mid-America, often committed by a macabre cast of characters: Jekyll and Hyde alcoholics who turned homicidal; killers who resorted to the most bizarre methods in concealing their crimes; and the rarest species in the zoo of criminology, a two-woman team of serial killers.Based on his work with Dr. Cohle, true-crime writer Tobin T. Buhk recounts twenty-one riveting, real-life stories, each with a unique forensic twist. Offering a glimpse into the strange sights, sounds, and smells of the county morgue, these tales of intrigue, deception, and murder will fascinate true-crime buffs, fans of CSI, and readers of mystery and detective stories.Tobin T. Buhk (Grand Rapids, MI) is a freelance writer and the coauthor (with Stephen D. Cohle, MD) of Cause of Death. In preparation for writing this book, he observed and assisted Dr. Cohle and his forensic team in more than thirty-five autopsies.Stephen D. Cohle, MD (Grand Rapids, MI), a nationally recognized figure in the community of forensic medicine, is the chief medical examiner for Kent County, Michigan, and a forensic pathologist for Laboratory Pathologists, PC. He is the author (with Tobin T. Buhk) of Cause of Death and (with R. Byard) of Sudden Death in Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence.
In the 1890s, Amos Lunt served as the San Quentin hangman, tying the nooses that brought the most dangerous criminals in the Wild West to their deaths. A former police chief who became the hangman of San Quentin due to an unfortunate turn of events, Lunt stood on the gallows alongside bank robbers, desperadoes and assassins for five years. This book follows Lunt's trail from the Santa Cruz police department to the State Prison. Covering his interesting friendship with a series of death row inmates and the gradual deterioration of his sanity, it is a one-of-a-kind biography that details an American executioner. Also profiled are his subjects--20 of the West's most heinous criminals--as well as Lunt's preparations for their hangings and their final moments on the gallows.
While the River City is known for its history of furniture making, it also has a sinister side. Jennie Flood was a widow with a get-rich scheme that involved a shotgun and an insurance application. Reverend Ferris went undercover in his war against the city's purveyors of vice. The police rounded up the usual suspects in an attempt to solve the infamous 1921 bank heist that led to the slaying of two detectives. And the death of a teenager exposed "Aunty" Smith and her dangerous side business conducted in the shadows. Author Tobin T. Buhk delves into the colorful characters of Grand Rapids' past and the heinous crimes they committed.
In March 1863, news of a controversial draft law hit the streets of Detroit as local saloonkeeper William Faulkner stood trial for raping two young girls. The sensational trial and accompanying lurid coverage in local newspapers inflamed festering racial animosities, resulting in an event dubbed "the bloodiest day that ever dawned upon Detroit." The Detroit riot of 1863 permanently altered the city's social landscape and later spurred the establishment of Detroit's first metropolitan police department. This history of the Detroit riot of 1863 illustrates the unique and complex social dynamic of Detroit during the Civil War. Featuring eyewitness testimonies from rare and seldom seen court records and trial transcripts, the book identifies the ringleaders, examines factors leading to the riot, and analyzes Faulkner's trial in the context of political events.
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