me in the paper?” he asked. Terrified,
Ralph squeaked, “Yes.” Red grinned,
“You did a good job,” and walked away.
Ralph claimed his spot in history
as scriptwriter for The Green Hornet
radio series (1943). He progressed to
writing for The Lone Ranger on radio
(1947-56). As in “The Werewolf” article,
his writing was so visual that many of
the scripts were adapted for the TV
series. Ralph battled with alcohol and
depression for most of his life and left
us – far too soon – at the age of 56.
Andrew Stephenson, NewhavenSad Poisoning Tale Of The Bravos
Thank you for this incredibly
fascinating and complex story of a
Victorian poisoning case in high society
(“The Poison Mystery To End Them All”- MMF 110). Of course manipulative,
scheming Jane Cox was responsible for
Charles Bravo’s excruciating death.
Charles resented his wife’s connection
to this leach although I understand
Jane Cox’s reluctance to leave her
cushy, opulent life at the
Priory, and return to her
previous existence. Life
was hard for unattached
women in the days
before the Welfare State.
Mrs. Cox’s yearly
salary of £100 as
companion to Florence
Bravo came from
Florence’s own purse, so
I feel Charles’s hostility
towards this woman was
not for financial reasons.
He may have suspected
an unhealthy attachment
between the two women
(they shared Florence’s
bedroom after her two
miscarriages whilst
Charles was “dismissed”
to an adjoining room – a
bizarre arrangement).
Florence’s tragic
premature death was caused by the
grief of losing Charles, the stress caused
by the two inquests, the scandal stirred
up by the revelation of her previous
association with Dr. Gully – and of
course her body would have been
weakened by the miscarriages.
A truly sad story and one more
example of how astronomical wealth
does not always make for happiness.
B. Waters, Inverness
Murder Of Queensland’s Leanne
Has Murder Most Foul ever featured
the wrongful imprisonment of Graham
Stafford who was convicted in 1992 of
the murder in Queensland, Australia, of
12-year-old Leanne Sarah Holland?
Iris Ann Dutton, TelfordNo, we’ve never featured the case. Would
other readers like to know more about it?OPINION
Write to: Opinion, Murder Most Foul, PO Box 735, London SE26 5NQ
or email [email protected] (please put your
address on emails). We pay £8 each for any letters that are publishedOpinion Murder Most Foul 9refused to go public with the facts. I
found an old newspaper report online
but it would only say coyly that she was
murdered and “criminally attacked,”
doubtless a euphemism for some form
of sexual mutilation
or cannibalism. Her
co-workers were so
incensed that they
offered a sizeable reward
for the capture of her
killer.
It’s evident that Stanley
Hoppe was addicted
to bloodshed yet he
somehow lay low for
three years after the
Toledo Clubbings. Did he
perhaps suffer a severe
depression that robbed
him of his energy or did he content
himself with torturing animals? We
will never know. What’s certain is that,
when his deviant lust and a brief period
of opportunity coincided, he stripped,
raped, battered and bit his child victim
before strangling her to death.
He has been described as a sadist
but a true sadist would have taken his
victims to a safe house where he could
torture them at length, whereas Stanley
Hoppe’s main modus operandi was to
strike quickly then flee the scene.
C. Davis, Weston-super-MareRalph And The Purple Gang
I enjoyed “The Werewolf Killer of Little
Poland” by Ralph Emerson Goll (MMF
110). An award-winning journalist,
Ralph (1900-57) wrote for the Detroit
Free Press and Toledo Free Press. He
supplemented his income with a hotel/
tavern in Nettle Lake. He
wrote battle fiction for
Fawcett’s Battle Stories,
Liberty and Esquire – as
well as true crime in
magazines such as True
Detective (including
“The Inside on the Jerry
Buckley Mystery” – May
1931), Startling Detective
and Daring Detective.
At that time, the
1930s, the Detroit-
Toledo underworld was
dominated by the Purple
Gang. Ralph wrote freely
about them – so freely
that the local sheriff
thought he was one of
them!
He was once visited by
a gangster called Red at
his tavern. Red slapped
him on the shoulder.
“Are you the --- who
wrote that story aboutFIND US
ONLINE AT http://www.truecrimelibrary.comWhen Sandy Met Killer Paul
What a great read your case report
“Sandy’s Affair With A Serial Killer”
(MMF 110) was. It’s almost like a
novel or a grisly Hollywood movie.
It’s hard to believe that Sandy Fawkes,
an experienced newspaper reporter,
just could not see through Paul John
Knowles, a sadistic serial killer of
the late 70s who roamed America
murdering at will, just for pleasure.
Sandy came across as a woman of the
world and soon got fed
up with Knowles. She
had to know that there
was something seriously
wrong with him and all
the signs he was giving
her about his dark
secrets. He as good as
told her he was a killer,
yet she acted as if this
was just a casual affair.
She was extremely lucky
to remain alive – this
was down to Knowles’s
ego, as he wanted his
story to live forever and
for himself go down
in history as a mass
murderer. Her being
a reporter who could
tell his story worldwide
surely saved her neck.
Was there ever a
movie made of Sandy’s
story? I am definitely
going to read Sandy’s
book In Love With a Serial Killer. Also,
you state that a judge ordered that tapes
which Knowles made about his life and
gave to his lawyer should stay unopened
for 30 years. This was in 1975. Were
they ever opened and what did they
reveal? Knowles was shot dead by an
FBI agent while trying to escape. He
avoided sure death by legal means in
doing so. Undoubtedly, had he escaped,
there would have been more bodies for
the morgue.
Michael Minihan, LimerickAs far as we’re aware, there hasn’t ever
been a film made about Sandy’s adventure.
And, sadly, we’ve drawn a blank about
those tapes, too. Can any readers help
further?Deviant Lust Of “The Werewolf”
It’s understandable that many people
attributed Stanley Hoppe’s atrocious
crimes to a supernatural entity (“The
Werewolf Killer Of Little Poland” – MMF
110) After all, several of his Toledo
Clubber victims were bludgeoned
about the face until they were virtually
unrecognisable, and schoolteacher Lily
Croy was so brutalised that the courtsAbove,
journalist
Sandy
Fawkes.
Below,
Paul John
KnowlesAddicted to
bloodshed:
Stanley
HoppeAbove,
Ralph
Emerson
Goll. Below,
an edition
of Daring
Detective
featuring
his workAbove,
Charles
Bravo.
Below,
his wife
Florence