The Crime Book

338

Released in 1981, Lucas went back to jail in 1984, receiving a seven- year sentence for drug offences. Since his release in 1991, Lucas has worked to repair the damage his drugs did to the New York neighbourhood of Harlem. See also: The Medellín Cartel 166 – 67 ■ “Freeway” Rick Ross 16 8 –171

MURDER OF KITTY GENOVESE 13 March 1964

The stabbing of 28-year-old bar manager Catherine “Kitty” Genovese outside her apartment block in Queens, New York, is often cited as the classic case of the so-called “bystander effect”. A report after her death claimed that more than 30 of her neighbours had witnessed the attack and failed to intervene. Recent researchers have cast doubt on how much “onlookers” actually saw or heard, and blamed The New York Times for misreporting the situation. Days after the attack, while under arrest for burglary, Winston Moseley confessed to stalking, raping, and murdering Genovese, as well as two other women. See also: Craig Jacobsen 252–53

JACQUES RENÉ MESRINE 1965–79

Good at disguises, Mesrine became known as the “man of a thousand faces”. He committed hundreds of crimes, in a repertoire ranging from robbery to burglary and kidnapping – not only in his native France, but also in Venezuela, the Canary Islands, and Canada. Mesrine gained a wide reputation

as a Robin Hood-like figure. Famed for his prison escapes, he was shot and killed in 1979 by a special task force dedicated to stopping him. See also: Escape from Alcatraz 80–85 ■ Ted Bundy 276–83

BANDIDOS MOTORCYCLE CLUB 1966–

Originally established in Texas by Vietnam War veteran Donald Chambers, this biker gang soon had affiliated chapters across the United States and Europe – and as far afield as Australia and southeast Asia. Club members across the world have been arrested for many crimes, notably drug-trafficking, assault, and murder. The bikers proudly identify themselves as “one percenters”, a reference to the idea that 99 per cent of bikers are law-abiding citizens, but the rest are “outlaws”. The Bandidos are frequently involved in “biker wars” with rival gangs, such as the Cossacks and Hells Angels, for territorial control. See also: The Wild Bunch 150–51 ■ Hells Angels 160–63

ASSASSINATION OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR 4 April 1968

The famous Civil Rights leader was shot on a Memphis motel balcony by white supremacist James Earl Ray. King’s assassination led to one of the biggest FBI manhunts in history, and set off a spate of race riots across the country. Ray was caught in London, England, in July 1968, and extradited to the United States. Almost a decade later, on 10 June 1977, Ray was among half

a dozen inmates who escaped from Tennessee’s Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary. The fugitives were quickly recaptured. See also: Escape from Alcatraz 80–85 ■ The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln 306–09

DONALD HARVEY 1970–82

This Ohio-born serial killer carried out his crimes in the course of his duties, first as a medical orderly and then as a nurse – during which time he is believed to have killed more than 50 patients. Eclectic in his methods, Harvey used everything from sophisticated poisons to crude suffocation to murder his victims. See also: Dr Crippen 216 ■ Harold Shipman 290–91

EDWIN JOHN EASTWOOD AND ROBERT CLYDE BOLAND 6 October 1972

Guns drawn, these two plasterers walked into the rural Faraday School, in Victoria, Australia. They ordered six girls and their teacher into a van. The men left a ransom note threatening to kill their captives if they did not receive AUD $1 million (about £6 million today), but the plan did not work: 20-year-old teacher Mary Gibbs escaped with her charges, and their abductors were captured. Boland received a 17-year sentence, while Eastwood received 15 years. The latter committed a second mass kidnapping in 1977. See also: The Kidnapping of John Paul Getty III 186–87 ■ The Chowchilla Kidnapping 190–95

DIRECTORY

332-343_Directory.indd 338 13/01/2017 15:20

339

Sallins, County Kildare, and made off with around £200,000 (£1.3 million today). Although three men – Osgur Breatnach, Nicky Kelly, and Brian McNally – were found guilty, the authorities relied too heavily on the men’s confessions. Allegations of coercion saw their convictions overturned. See also: The Great Train Robbery 30–35 ■ The Wild Bunch 150–51

ALAIN LAMARE 1978–79

The case of the “Killer of l’Oise” rocked France – and not just because of his attacks on young women. He ran over several victims with his car, and also picked up and murdered several female hitchhikers. The killer, Alain Lamare, was discovered to be one of the very gendarmes involved in the investigation. Diagnosed as schizophrenic, he was declared unfit for trial, and now resides in a French mental hospital. See also: John Leonard Orr 48–53 ■ Daniel M’Naghten 204–05

JONESTOWN MASSACRE 18 November 1978

More than 900 men, women, and children died after drinking a soft drink laced with cyanide. The massacre took place at a settlement established by cult leader Jim Jones in Guyana, South America. The leader of the “Peoples Temple” died along with his followers, having persuaded many to commit “revolutionary suicide”. Others were forced to swallow the poison. See also: Sadamichi Hirasawa 224–25 ■ The Manson Family 230–37

DENNIS NILSEN 1978–93

Nilsen brought homeless young men and gay men that he picked up in bars back to his flat in Muswell Hill, London, to murder them. He strangled his victims until they became unconscious, and then drowned them in his bathtub. The “Muswell Hill Murderer” engaged in necrophilia with his victims after ritualistically bathing and dressing them. He dissected and disposed of the bodies: some were burned, others hidden under the floorboards or in drainpipes. Nilsen’s crimes were discovered when the remains blocked his building’s drains. See also: Andrei Chikatilo 292 ■ Jeffrey Dahmer 293

ASSASSINATION OF GEORGI MARKOV 11 September 1978

After his defection to the UK in 1969, Bulgarian writer Georgi Markov became a major irritant to his country’s Communist regime. Markov was standing at a bus stop in London, England, when he felt a sharp jab in his leg; he died four days later. Forensic experiments determined the cause of death was a ricin pellet that had been shot into his thigh. Markov said he saw someone with an umbrella at the scene, which led investigators to theorize that a modified “umbrella gun” had been used to inject Markov with the pellet. Although the killer was never caught, many suspect he was a KGB member who worked with the Bulgarians. See also: The Murder of Roberto Calvi 241 ■ The Poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko 326–31

PETER SUTCLIFFE 1975–80

Lorry-driver Peter Sutcliffe prowled Bradford, Leeds and other towns in the north of England, attacking and killing women. His victims were often prostitutes, and in many cases the so-called “Yorkshire Ripper” also mutilated their dead bodies. West Yorkshire Police were criticized for attaching too much importance to a tape, purportedly recorded by the “Ripper”, that was subsequently discovered to be a hoax. Nonetheless, Sutcliffe was apprehended in January 1981 and convicted on 20 counts of murder. See also: Jack the Ripper 266–73 ■ Andrei Chikatilo 292

PATRICK HENRY 1976–77

Seven-year-old Philippe Bertrand was snatched by Henry as he left school in Troyes, France, in January

Henry called Philippe’s
mother to demand a ransom but
garrotted the boy soon after, all the
while continuing to seek money
from his parents. Henry’s trial made
history in January 1977, when his
lawyer, Robert Badinter, persuaded
the court not to insist on the
guillotine, which heralded the end
of capital punishment in France.
See also: The Lindbergh Baby
Kidnapping 178–85 ■ The
Abduction of Aldo Moro 322–23

SALLINS TRAIN ROBBERY 31 March 1976

Members of the Irish Republican Socialist Party waylaid and robbed a Cork–Dublin mail train outside

The Crime Book

Get our desktop app

Company

Features

Documentation

Resources