As I type this, I’m trying to pop my ears to rid myself of it. It never works, but it’s a response to the noise I have developed over years.

Can you hear what I hear?

I’d say I’m one of the lucky ones. Tuning it out is second nature. Some cannot do that. Even worse, some experience dizzy spells and headaches because of it. The most it has effected me is keeping me awake at night. I found that to be especially true while living on a small island. With no background noise (cars, people etc), the hum became more noticeable. The first two weeks living there trying to sleep was almost impossible.

And it appears the hum is a modern phenomenon. Early hum attributed reports date back to the 1940’s and 50’s. In London and Southampton, over 2000 people are said to have reported hearing the hum over this period of 2 decades.

David Deming, a hum sufferer and scientist from the USA, investigated the hum in 2004. In his paper, titled: “The Hum: An Anomalous Sound Heard Around the World” he cites not just the early hum reports from London above, but also gathers reports and data from around the globe. It’s a fascinating study but one which ends in frustration. Spoiler alert, David does not pinpoint the source of the hum.

Destination Unknown

While it appears the Hum was originally noticed in the UK, it wasn’t long until other areas of the globe started to report it too. In Taos, New Mexico in 1992, Catanya Saltzman, a trained dancer, wrote a letter to the local newspaper complaining about the sound. The hum was so bad for her, it effected her inner ear balance and career.

Interestingly, the letter met with a small minority of the community agreeing with her. An investigation into the Taos Hum was launched in 1993. This one gets a little sprinkling of conspiracy here. A newsweek article from 1993 claims that “Rep. Bill Richardson, a member of the House intelligence committee, told a packed Taos town meeting that the Hum is defence related and asked the Pentagon to shut it down.”

John Deutch, Under Secretary of Defence at the time responded, “My staff has concluded there is no program, classified or not, which would cause this hum.”

The Windsor Hum tells a similar story. In 2010 the Canadian city of Windsor started getting reports of complaints from residents. Again the same thing. A low rumbling noise heard by a large minority of residents.

Remarkably similar stories have come as far a field as Bondi in Australia, Bristol in the UK and even Hawaii. But the best one has to be from Auckland, New Zealand. Here, Dr Tom Moir investigated the mystery sound and he even managed to record it. You can listen to the sound at around the 1.30 minute mark of this news report.

Research into The Hum

While David Deming’s and others research failed to find a source for the hum, it has been built upon. Dr Glen MacPherson, a science teacher, took up the baton.

He created the website, thehum.info in 2012, Since then it has gathered information from sufferers around the globe. The site includes an interactive map of those effected by the hum that you can click on and see their locations. You can also submit your own data through a survey asking questions and a tone generator to match the noise you hear.

Possible causes of The Hum

Natural phenomena such as volcanoes, meteors, waterfalls and ocean waves have all been discounted by researchers. It has been reasoned that because only a small percentage of the globe hear the hum, it cannot be an acoustic sound.

Others have attributed the hum to urban noise from air conditioning units, ventilation fans, diesel engines or even water pumps. As someone who still heard the hum while living on a remote island, I’m not convinced.

David Deming thought it could have been caused by radio signals used to communicate with submarines. These need really low frequencies and can evoke an auditory response in humans. It would also call back to the Taos Hum and the since denied defence related excuse.

But, no, it’s probably not that either. Why? Dr MacPherson built a box to shield out such radio frequencies and stepped inside. Instead of the hum disappearing, it did the opposite and became louder.

So if it’s not an external source, is it coming from inside of us? Does there seem to be a small percentage of humans that all have this internally generated sound? Personally, I think that this is the likeliest explanation.

The Hum, for now at least, continues to be a truly global mystery.

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A man who killed at least 110 people between 1969 – 1980. The number is thought however to be higher than 300.

The Monster of the Andes – Beginnings

Pedro Alonso López was born 8th of October 1948 to Benilda López De Casteneda in Tolmia, Colombia. Benilda, according to Pedro, was a sex worker. His father, Medardo Reyes, was killed during armed conflict while Benilda was three months pregnant. Reported to be the seventh sibling of thirteen children, Pedro was made to leave the family home at just 8 years old. Why? Some reports say his mother saw him fondling his younger sister, others that he simply ran away from home after being abused by his mothers clientele. Alone in the world, Pedro made his way to Bogota, the capital city of Colombia.

The Monster of the Andes spent most of his childhood on the streets of Bogota as a gamine. A street child. It was here that Pedro started to smoke a cocaine paste known as basuco. Loosely translated it means “dirty trash”. Despite the name, it is highly addictive. More so than crack cocaine.

Eventually taken in by what he thought was a kind stranger, Pedro was led to an abandoned building and raped. This event gave him a resolve. But not a good one. “I decided then to do the same to as many young girls as possible“.

Aged 10, Pedro was given a home by an American immigrant couple and signed up at a school for orphans. Here, according to Pedro, he was molested again.

Jail Time and First Murders

Arrested around the age of 18 for car theft, Pedro is sent to prison for the first time. Not much is known about his time there. Pedro says that while there he was gang raped. He took revenge by slitting the throats of his rapists.

It it not clear if he received extra time on his sentence for these murders. What we do know however, is that by the mid-seventies, he had been released and had relocated to Peru.

Here he began a murder spree that only stopped when he was arrested in March 1980. Primarily he murdered young girls. Pedro claims he had killed over 100 girls by 1978. It was then that he was caught trying to abduct a child from an indigenous tribe. Submitted to tribal law, Pedro was ordered to be executed. By being buried alive.

However, a passing missionary managed to convince the tribal elders to turn Pedro over to the Peruvian police.

The Peruvian police, with no knowledge to the extent of Pedro López’s crimes, wanted nothing to do with him. So they deported him back to Colombia. Where, unbelievably, he faced no consequences.

Ecuador and Capture

Undeterred, Pedro resumed killing. Making his way to Ecuador, he left a trail of destruction. Dozens of girls simply disappeared. Pedro claimed that during this period he killed around three girls every single week.

Finally, in the Ambato region of Ecuador, his luck ran out. Attempting to lure a market traders 10 year old daughter away, he was seen and captured by a group of people.

Unfortunately for Pedro, getting caught happened just 4 days after a river had overflowed nearby. Doing so had washed away soil and revealed the dead bodies of 4 girls. All of them showing signs of having been strangled.

In custody Pedro kept quiet. Refused to co-operate at all.

Pastor Cordova Gudino, an investigator, went undercover as an inmate. Managing to win the confidence of Pedro, he eventually managed to get a confession out him about his crimes, plus the details about where the victims were buried.

Afterwards, Pastor said that he had hardly slept for the last 27 days as he feared being strangled by Pedro.

Police uncovered over 50 bodies. In conjunction with Pedro’s confession, the Monster of the Andes was charged with one hundred and ten murders. He claimed to also be responsible for 200 other murders spread across Peru and Colombia.

1981, July 31st. Pedro López pleads guilty to the murder of 57 girls. He is imprisoned in Ambato for the maximum sentence allowed. Just 16 years. The disgust generated by the Ecuadorian public was so strong, the maximum sentence length is later changed to 25 years.

Window into the Mind of a Killer

I walked among the markets searching for a girl with a certain look on her face. A look of innocence and beauty.

Pedro López to Ron Laytner

1992. The Monster of the Andes is in Prison. Giving an exclusive interview to National Examiner journalist Ron Laytner.

“I followed them. Sometimes for days, waiting for the moment she was alone. I would give her a pretty, shining trinket.” Stalking, waiting. Lurking in the shadows for the right time. It brings to mind a big cat stalking its prey from the long grass. Once the trust was established he would go further. Promising a trinket for their mother, he would lead the girl to the edge of town. Once they were alone, he would lead the girl to where he had prepared a grave. Where they would wait until dawn.

Daylight meant death was near, as Pedro wanted to see into the eyes of his victims. He explains, “At the first sign of light I would get excited. I forced the girl into sex and put my hands around her throat, when the sun rose I would strangle her“. He goes on to make clear that it was only good if he could see her eyes.

“There is a wonderful moment, a divine moment when I have my hand around a young girls throat. I look into her eyes and see a certain light, a spark, suddenly go out. Only those who kill know what I mean“

Pedro describes in the interview how he stayed with each one of them to make sure they were dead. Sometimes using a mirror to see if they were breathing, other times slitting their wrists to see if blood still pumped. If it did, he would strangle them again. He went on remark that they never screamed. They were so innocent, they did not believe anything bad would happen to them.

He also had bizarre tea parties with the bodies. Setting up 3 or 4 dead girls and chatting to them. Soon he would bore of them and want a fresh girl to play with. When asked why he always chose younger girls he gave this answer:

“Why eat old chicken when you can have young chicken?“.

Release and a Return to Colombia

After just 14 years, Pedro is released. Unbelievably, he had 2 years shaved off his sentence for good behaviour.

Major Victor Lascano, Governor of Ambato Jail, where Pedro spent most of his sentence, had this to say on his release:

“God save the children. He is unreformed and totally remorseless”.

Garcia Moreno Prison, where he stayed and was released from, is now a museum. It was shut down in 2014 due to overcrowding.

Deported back to Colombia, The Monster of the Andes faced even more legal trouble. The authorities tried to convict him with a murder from 20 years before. However, rather than being imprisoned, he was declared insane.

Pedro was sent to a psychiatric hospital in Bogota. Then in 1998, Pedro López, prolific killer, is declared sane. And released on a $50 bail.

In 2002 Interpol released an advisory for his re-arrest in relation to a fresh murder. Currently he is wanted by police for questioning.

His whereabouts are unknown but he is thought to be still active. There has been numerous sightings of him, none confirmed to be true. He is thought to have gone into the mountains between Ecuador and Colombia. Let me leave you with a quote from him:

“The moment of death is enthralling and exciting. Someday, when I am released, I will feel that moment again. I will be happy to kill again. It is my mission“

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On April 22nd, 1974, Stanley went to work at the Hi-Fi Store. As he did most other days. Unfortunately for Stanley, today wouldn’t be like most other days. It would be his final day.

The Hi-Fi Murders – Robbery

Dale Selby Pierre, William Andrews, Keith Roberts and three unidentified men arrived at the Hi-Fi shop in two vehicles. It was almost closing time when they arrived. Keith Roberts and an unidentified man remained with the getaway vehicles while the rest swarmed into the store.

Hostage taking began immediately.

Pointing handguns at the stunned employees of Stanley Walker and Sherry Michelle Ansley (18 years old) the gang bound and gagged them in the basement. And began ransacking the store.

As they did so they were disturbed by a 16 year old boy. Cortney Naisbitt had popped in to thank Stanley for allowing him to park in the Hi-Fi stores car park while he ran an errand. Quickly he joined the others, bound and gagged.

While robbing the store the attackers were disturbed twice more. Once by Stanley Walkers father Orren. Orren wondered why his son had not returned home and went to the store to look for him. The same happened to Cortney Naisbitt’s mother Carol.

The hostage count had grown to five.

The Hi-Fi Murders – Descent Into Madness

Pierre and Andrews conspired to try to kill their hostages using drain cleaner. Wrapped in a brown paper bag, they told the hostages it was vodka laced with sleeping pills. Orren Walker refused to administer the drink for them and was bound, gagged and thrown into the corner face down.

Pierre and Andrews then sat the victims up and started to force them to drink. No sooner had the liquid touched their tongues, burns and blisters formed around their mouths. Not satisfied that their victims were taking in enough drain cleaner, they attempted to duct tape their mouths shut while they were full of drain cleaning fluid.

Tiring of their screams and how long it was taking them to die, Pierre shot Carol and Cortney Naisbitt in the backs of their heads. Carol died immediately, Cortney somehow survived.

Next he turned his attention to the Walkers. Firing at Orren first, he missed. Stanley was not as lucky. The bullet that struck him was fatal. Turning back to Orren, the next shot grazed the top of his head.

Not yet satisfied with his trail of destruction, Pierre forced Ansley to undress at gunpoint then took her to the corner. Where he raped her repeatedly. Finished with her, he dragged her back to the others, still naked, and shot her in the back of the head.

At the trial, Orren Walker testified that the last words of Sherry Michelle Ansley, 18 years old, were “I am too young to die”.

The Hi-Fi Murders – Torture of Orren Walker

Pierre and Andrews then focused their murderous rage on Orren Walker. Pierre wrapped a wire around his throat and tried to strangle him. When this didn’t work, he got creative. Grabbing a pen, he inserted it into Orrens ear and stomped down on it. It went through his ear drum and came to rest poking out of his throat.

Finally done, Pierre, Andrews, Roberts and their unnamed accomplices (that have never been brought to justice) left. The victims would not be discovered for another three hours.

The Hi-Fi Murders – Brought to Justice

Within hours of the crime being reported, the police had an anonymous tip. An Air Force employee called the Ogden Police and said that William Andrews had told him a few months before:

“One of these days I’m going to rob that Hi-Fi shop, and if anyone gets in the way, I’m going to kill them.”

A few hours later, two teenage boys found the victims wallets and purses in a dumpster near Hill Air Force Base, where Pierre and Andrews were stationed.

The next part is quite clever. A crowd of had gathered around the dumpster as the detectives searched. Believing the killers to be in the crowd, the detectives made a big show of each piece of evidence pulled out. As the crowd stood silently watching, the only two animated were Pierre and Andrews. Both of whom paced and shouted.

Because of the above, a search warrant was issued for their barracks. Police found a rental contract for a storage place. There they found all the stolen Hi-Fi property, plus the half empty bottle of drain cleaner.

The Hi-Fi Murders – Trial and Convictions

At trial it was revealed that Pierre and Andrews had every intention of killing anyone who stood in the way of robbing the Hi-Fi store. They had mistakenly thought drain cleaner would kill someone quickly after watching a scene from the movie Magnum Force.

William Andrews – The brains behind the operation.

Just 19 at the time of the crime, he was convicted of 3 counts of first degree murder and two counts of aggravated robbery. He was executed by lethal injection at the age of 37 on the 30th of July, 1992.

Dale Selby Pierre – The Enforcer

Pierre was just 21. He too was convicted of 3 counts of first degree murder and two counts of aggravated robbery. At the age of 34 he was put to death by lethal injection. The date was August 28th, 1987.

Keith Roberts – The Getaway Driver

19 at the time he was acquitted of the murders. Sentenced to 5 years to life in prison for two counts of aggravated robbery, he was paroled on May the 12th, 1987. He had been inside for 12 years. Took his own life on August the 8th, 1992, just after the execution of William Andrews.

As for the three unidentified assailants, we will never know.

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In the movie, saying Candyman’s name three times into a bathroom mirror summons the killer, who rather predictably, murders you. It’s not the greatest of movies, but it had a whole generation egging each other on to shout Candyman into their bathroom mirrors. Usually while their friends turned off the lights and locked them alone inside the bathroom, scared stiff.

The movie is based on a short story by Clive Barker called The Forbidden. Set in a high rise block of flats in the 70’s, the book details a supernatural killer terrorising the residents by entering through their bathroom mirrors.

What if I was to tell you that their actually is a grain of truth in all of this. That there was a real life Candyman. Or maybe even several. All located at the same place and same time.

Let me explain.

The Real Life Candyman

Built in the middle part of the last century, the Grace Abbott Homes high rises in Chicago were home to a melting pot of people. All of whom were not doing so well. You had drug addicts, those down on their luck, the mentally unwell and career criminals to name a few.

The ABLA housing projects as it was known wasn’t exactly a good place to live.

On April 22nd, 1987 at 8.45pm Ruthie Mae McCoy called the police in a panic. She told the operator that an intruder had “throwed the cabinet down”. She was fearful that this intruder was out to get her and wanted police to intervene.

The operator, not able to really make any sense of Ruthie’s call, logged it as a disturbance with a neighbour and had a car attend the scene.

Between 9.02pm and 9.04pm, two other neighbours called the police, both reporting hearing gunshots at 1109. Ruthie’s apartment number.

Police arrived at 9.10pm. They knocked on Ruthie’s door and called her phone. No answer. So what did they do? They left. Yes really. It wasn’t until two days later that the door was broken down and Ruthie Mae McCoy was found dead. She had been shot 4 times. Also, her bathroom cabinet was missing, revealing a large crawlspace behind. This was how the real life Candyman entered apartments in this high rise.

Design Flaw

When the ABLA projects had been designed and built they did a strange thing. All of the pipe runs were connected through a crawl space behind the bathrooms walls. These were accessed by removing the bathroom cabinets. Making it really easy for repairs.

But it also made it really easy for people to break in. Especially once the less scrupulous residents found out about this “one weird trick”.

In fact, it had become such a problem with the ABLA high rise units that residents would barricade their own bathrooms from the outside before going to bed at night.

Not great if you have a small bladder.

I can only imagine the fear as you hear someone shuffling through the walls at night. It must have been awful to endure.

Of course, it also led to the real life Candyman. It had to really. A bunch of desperate people all locked in together with an easy way to break into your surrounding apartments? What else was going to happen? It’s no wonder the myth of the Candyman arose this way.

But who killed Ruthie Mae McCoy?

Apartment 1108

The apartment next to Ruthie Mae McCoy’s. Fellow residents Edward Turner and John Hondras had been there that day, hanging out. A friend allegedly showed them how easy it was to break into the apartment next door, using the bathroom cabinet as access.

Tim Brown, the main witness during the trial against Turner and Hondras in 1990 told the court that he had seen them break into apartment 1109 and then heard several gunshots.

Turner and Hondras then left through the front door of 1109 carrying a TV and rocking chair before disappearing with their ill gotten gains.

A few hours later, they allegedly returned to clear up the spent shell casings from the apartment.

Turners girlfriend testified that later that night, he had bragged to her about shooting someone. Hondras girlfriend admitted that they had come to her apartment and left with a rocking chair and tv there for safe keeping.

Slam dunk case, right?

Sadly not.

Edward Turner testified in his own defence. He stated that he was in 1108 when he heard gunshots and ran down to the lobby. 30 minutes later, John Hondras came down alone.

Going back to 1108, they saw a TV sitting outside 1109 and a third man carrying a rocking chair out of Ruthie Mae’s apartment. Turner took a look in and saw a dead body in the bedroom.

At this point the third man left the rocking chair and went away. Leaving the TV and rocking chair with Turner and Hondras.

Neither denied trying to stash the stolen items with others. But they sure denied killing Ruthie.

With no physical evidence to tie them to the crime, they were acquitted and found not guilty.

To this day, the real life Candyman has never been caught. Thankfully, the ABLA projects have all been torn down.

Apart from one at 1322 – 24 West Taylor Street. There are talks of it being incorporated into plans for a new National Public Housing Museum.

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Oakville Blobs – 7th August 1994

On Sunday the 7th of August 1994 a deluge started. But this rain was unlike any other the residents had ever seen. A gelatinous blob rained down over a 20 square mile area.

Police Officer David Lacey, on patrol at 3 am described it as “mushy”. Rather than clearing his windscreen, it smeared across it. He immediately thought that something was wrong.

In the following days, people reportedly became sick. A flu-like illness enveloped the community. One resident reported that both her and her mother became ill because of it. She even stated that the Oakville blobs had killed her kitten.

Still. No explanation could be given for where this rain came from. Or, more crucially, what it contained.

Theories for the Oakville Blobs

A sample taken of the substance was at first reported to contain white blood cells. Human white blood cells. However, upon further investigation by the Washington States Hazardous Spill Response Unit, this was found to be untrue.

Speculation then turned to how the Oakville blobs came to rain down upon them.

The military had been performing bombing exercises around 50 miles (80 km) away in the ocean. It was theorised that vaporised jellyfish could have been the cause of the “jell-o” like substance that had rained down upon them.

Not many believed this theory. It did become popular enough for there to be talk of a Jellyfish festival. The local bar even created a new cocktail in its honour, called predictably, the Jellyfish.

Another theory was that the rain was waste from a passing aircraft, although this was quickly rebuffed by the FAA.

Even now, nearly 30 years later there has been no satisfactory explanation for what fell from the sky that night. The Washington Department of Health claims to have no record of any samples taken.

Could it have been vaporised jellyfish? Or something more sinister? An attempt at wide scale administering of a virus by the nearby Military as theorised by some maybe. It wouldn’t be the first time the United States has tested chemical weapons out on it’s own citizens.

It seems we may never know. It’s an enduring mystery. One that was covered in a fascinating episode of Unsolved Mysteries. You can watch the segment below.

Unsolved Mysteries – The Oakville Blobs

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He resurfaced on October the 3rd in Baltimore. Delirious, he was at first mistook for a drunk. Joseph W. Walker, the man who found Poe lying in the gutter, described him as semi-conscious and dressed in shabby second hand clothes.

Patiently, he pried out of Poe his identity and the name of a friend who could help him.

Dr J.E. Snodgrass. A magazine editor with medical training. A letter was penned and dispatched to the good doctor. The Doctor duly arrived and started to treat Poe. Poe, despite the help, never regained consciousness again. He died on October the 7th. Just four days after being found. His death has remained a mystery ever since.

Strange Death of Edgar Allan Poe – Theories

Edgar Allan Poe is known for his dark poems and stories. The Raven and the Tell Tale Heart are two that always stood out to me in their beauty and horror. Poe’s death could so easily have been written by him.

It is thought that Poe’s death certificate listed the cause of death as swelling of the brain. But we cannot know for sure. Primarily because it has been lost. Over the years, speculation has grown as to what actually killed one of the greatest story tellers of all time.

Cooping

Cooping is a form of voter fraud used during the 19th century. A group would kidnap an unlucky chap and force them to vote multiple times for their candidate. Also at the time it was a common practise to give voters alcohol after they voted.

Poe was indeed found in the gutter outside of Gunner’s Hall, a polling station, on election day. He also very famously could not handle his alcohol. In fact, he supported the temperance movement after struggling with alcohol all his life. Could this combination have proven a deadly cocktail? Had Poe just been in the wrong place at the wrong time and found himself an unwilling pawn in a voting fraud scheme? It would certainly explain his shabby clothes as the fraud gang would dress you in different outfits before sending you back in to vote.

Brain Tumour

After his death, Poe was buried in an unmarked grave. Realising that this would never do for such a prolific and well loved author, a statue was commissioned to stand with his grave. This necessitated digging up his coffin and moving it. This action came nearly three decades after Poe’s death. As you can imagine, little was left of his coffin or body.

A strange feature was noted by the workers though. Inside his skull, a lump rolled around. At the time it was speculated that even after being dead for so long, his brain had yet to rot away.

Matthew Pearl, an author picked up on this many years later. After discussions with a pathologist, he concluded that while brains do in fact rot rather quickly, brain tumours calcify into hard lumps. Could this be the reason for Poe’s dishevelled and confused last few days on earth?

Alcohol and a Fight

As mentioned above, Poe struggled with alcohol his entire adult life. Drinking was a demon he tried to shake many times. Couple this with his genetic ability to get drunk really quickly and you have a powder keg. His friends believe that this is what happened to him when he disappeared the last week of his life. He met a woman and slipped into a drinking stupor. Add to this the 1867 article from Elizabeth Oakes Smith, writing in Beadles Monthly, she wrote that Poe was cruelly beaten to a pulp on the instigation of a woman who he had apparently offended.

It might be that the mystery of Poe’s death is that there is no mystery. He got drunk, offended someone and was beaten for it. A tale as old as time and one that is still repeated every single day across most of the world.

Other theories have ranged from carbon monoxide poisoning, murder and rabies. But in all honesty they have all been largely dismissed so I won’t cover them here.

It seems to me that the author of the first detective story will never really have the case of his own death solved.

Maybe it’s better that way.

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When young Engla did not arrive home on time, her mother called her. No answer. Beginning to worry, she set off looking for her daughter. During her search she discovered Engla’s bicycle thrown into the woods, set back from the road.

Immediately she called the police. A search began. Nothing else was found, so the police appealed to the public for witnesses.

Pictures from an amateur photographer

Tomas Langton was excited to try out his new digital camera. With April 5th being such a nice day, he decided to go for a walk and snap some pictures.

As fate would have it, he took this picture of Engla cycling home.

Less than a minute later, he took this picture of a red Saab following behind her.

At the time, Tomas thought nothing of it. Just a couple of pictures in the dozens of others he took that day. Once news hit about the missing girl and her bicycle, Tomas stepped forward and offered the pictures to the police. Hoping that they may assist in finding her.

Anders Eklund

The photo led back to Anders Eklund, the owner of the red Saab 900. He was arrested and brought in for questioning. Having already been reported in connection with a killing in 2000, he was immediately a suspect.

Just 8 days after the disappearance, Anders Eklund admitted to the murder of Engla Hoglund and told detectives where to find her body.

Investigators then hit him with some more news. His DNA had come back as a match in the raping and killing of Pernilla Hellgren in 2000. He admitted his guilt immediately but maintained he had not meant to kill her.

The news of Englas death caused a national outpouring of grief. The whole of Sweden had hoped that Engla would turn up safe and sound. Her funeral on May 10th, 2008 was broadcast live on television.

Trial and Punishment

In addition to 2 counts of rape and 2 counts of murder, Eklund was also charged with numerous counts of child pornography.

He was found guilty in October 2008 and sentenced to life imprisonment. He now resides in the Norrtalje Correctional Facility, a high security prison near Stockholm.

In 2014 he was assaulted by other inmates and had to be hospitalized.

Eklund is also a person of interest in the suspected murder of 6 year old Jasmina Jasharaj. She disappeared in 1997. Her body has never been found.

Without those two well timed pictures, he may never have been caught.

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The Dating Game Killer – Rodney Alcala appearance

Early Beginnings

Alcala started committing his crimes from a relatively young age. At just 25 he had to flee Los Angeles. A concerned citizen had seen him lure an 8 year old girl into his apartment. When police arrived, they found the young girl had been beaten and raped, but thankfully still alive.

Alcala fled to New York state, took the alias John Berger and enrolled in film school. In 1971 he managed to land a counselling job at an arts camp for children. While there two children recognized him from an FBI poster. Alcala was arrested and extradited to California to stand trial.

Unfortunately, not before he had committed murder for the first time. In June 1971, a flight attendant by the name of Cornelia Crilley was found raped and strangled at her apartment in Manhattan. This murder would not be attributed to the Dating Game Killer until decades later.

At his trial back in California, it was revealed that his 8 year old victim and their family had moved to Mexico and refused to testify.

Not able to convict him of rape and attempted murder, Alcala was jailed for the crime of assault. By 1974, he was a free man. Within two months he had re-offended, assaulting a 13 year old girl. Back to prison he went.

Murder Spree

Alcala was released from prison in 1977. He wasted no time in returning straight to his old ways. Jill Barcomb, a runaway was found in a ravine in 1977. Not long after, Georgia Wixted was beaten to death in her Malibu apartment.

Showing no signs of slowing down, Alcala moved back to New York and murdered Jane Hover. Working as a “professional photographer” during this time, Alcala persuaded hundreds of men and woman to pose for him in sexually explicit poses. Some of the pictures are of teenage boys, others could be cold case victims. Most have never been identified.

Dating Game Rejection and Capture

He may have won the show and been picked, but the date never happened. As well as Cheryl finding him creepy, a fellow contestant also attested that he was a “very strange guy”.

In June 1978, he murdered Charlotte Lamb and followed that up by murdering Jill Parenteau in 1979. Not all of his victims died, 15 year old Monique Hoyt was knocked out and raped in 1979, but managed to escape.

On June the 20th, 1979, Robin Samsoe, a 12 year old girl went missing from Huntington Beach, California. Her body was found twelve days later. Friends told police that a man had approached them and asked to take their pictures.

Detectives had a sketch of the suspect drawn up. Pretty soon, Alcala’s parole officer saw the picture and recognized him. Police searched Alcala’s mothers house and found a receipt for a storage locker in Seattle. In the storage locker they found a pair of earrings belonging to Samsoe.

It was enough to bring the whole house of cards tumbling down on Rodney. In 1980 he was found guilty of the murder of Robin Samsoe, this conviction was overturned in 1984, in 1986 he was re-convicted and sentenced to death (currently there is a moratorium on the death penalty in California).

Since then, he has been found guilt of killing Jill Parenteau, Charlotte Lamb, Georgia Wixted and Jill Barcomb, all due to advancements in DNA. He has also plead guilty to the murders of Jane Hover and Cornelia Crilley.

Other Possible Victims

Antoinette Wittaker, a 13 year old girl was murdered in 1977 and Joyce Gaunt, 17, in 1978. Both murders occurred in Seattle, where Alcala rented his storage locker.

San Francisco police announced they were confident that the Dating Game Killer was responsible for the 1977 murder of Pamela Jean Lambson. However, without any DNA or fingerprints to go on, no charges can be filed.

In 2010, Police released a batch of photographs taken by Alcala. In 2013, a relative of a murdered woman in Wyoming came forward to state they recognised her from one of the pictures. Christine Ruth Thornton had gone missing in 1977 and her body had not been found until 1982. Alcala admits he took the photo, but denies killing her.

Alcala toyed with all of his victims. It seems evident that he enjoyed the power he held over them. In some cases he would strangle them until they lost consciousness, revive them and start all over again. Several times. Until he decided to kill them. Steve Hodel, a retired detective who investigated Alcala has described him as “a killing machine” and stated that be believes that Alcala is “good for a lot of crimes between anytime he was out of prison”.

Rodney Alcala is still alive. And thankfully, still imprisoned. The 77 year old currently resides on Death Row at California State Prison, Corcoran. His true victim count may never be known. Steve Mack, a retired homicide detective who worked on the case believes it could be as high as 50, adding that Alcala is “a sexually sadistic serial killer”.

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It would all soon come crashing down.

Imprisonment

In 1935, Thomas E. Dewey was named special prosecutor. His job was to investigate organised crime. Luciano at first resolved to have him killed, but changed his mind, reasoning that killing him would only lead to more efforts to stop the crime syndicate.

Luciano was arrested in Hot Springs, Arkansas, April 3rd 1936. By June 18th, he had been convicted on 62 counts of compulsory prostitution. The sentence? 30 – 50 years. If not for the outbreak of war, he likely would have died in prison.

World War 2 – Operation Underworld

1942. The American authorities are troubled. They believe that German and Italian spies are entering the US through the New York ports. Lucky Luciano might be in jail, but has kept control of his crime family.

The authorities approach him about providing intelligence about anyone coming through the waterfront. In an effort to show that they are sincere, Luciano is moved from Clinton Prison to Great Meadow Correctional Facility. Situated in Comstock, Great Meadow is much closer to New York.

Eventually a deal is struck between Luciano, the Navy and the State of New York.

Albert Anastasia, who controls the docks for Luciano, promises no strikes during the war. Luciano also allegedly provides Sicilian mafia contacts to the military, in advance of the 1943 invasion of Sicily.

On January 3rd, 1946, Thomas E. Dewey (now Governor) reluctantly agrees to commute Luciano’s sentence. But on one condition.

As soon as Lucky leaves jail, he is to be deported to Sicily. Never to return. Federal agents escort Luciano to his ship while deportation proceedings are concluded. On February 9th, 1946, Lucky Luciano has a celebratory meal with 6 guests. One of who is Albert Anastasia, the dock boss.

Aftermath

It has been widely debated whether Lucky’s contribution amounted to anything at all during the war. Reportedly, the enemy threat to the docks, started by the sinking of the SS Normandie in New York harbour, was supposedly masterminded by Albert Anastasia’s brother. Although no evidence of sabotage was found.

In 1947, the Naval Officer in charge of Operation Underworld stated that Luciano’s contribution was minimal. Governor Dewey disagreed, he felt that Luciano’s contribution was significant.

Whatever the truth, Luciano’s efforts earned him release from jail. He spent some time in Italy before a brief sojourn in Cuba. From 1947 onwards, he was confined to Naples by the Italian authorities. He died in 1962, at Naples airport, of a heart attack.

His ashes are flown back to the United States and interred in the family vault in St John’s Cemetery, Queens, New York.

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She used to be joined in this activity by her mother, Patty Doel. Until her mother felt she was being stalked by a motorist. Tara laughs off the suggestion, ignoring her mothers insistence to carry mace. After all, what could happen in broad daylight, cycling on the roads around their home?

Disappearance

Tara never returns. Her mother Patty, along with her step-father John Doel, check the route Tara cycles. She cannot be found. They inform the police.

A thorough check of the area finds parts of her Walkman and a cassette tape scattered on the road. Several witnesses remember seeing a light coloured pickup truck with a camper shell following closely behind. No-one saw her being kidnapped.

The Photograph

8 long agonising months pass. Despite the FBI becoming involved, silence. No leads, no sightings.

Then in July of 1989, a photo is shown on A Current Affair. Maury Povich hosts as the show shines a light onto stories that were overlooked or ignored by the large news networks.

The picture shows a woman and a young boy, bound and gagged in the back of a white van. It was found in a parking lot in Florida, well over 1000 miles away.

Patty and John Doel are convinced the woman is Tara Calico. Patty notes that a visible scar on the woman’s leg is identical to Tara’s. Additionally, a copy of Calico’s favourite book, My Sweet Audrina can be seen next to her. The FBI are less sure. Their analysis comes back inconclusive. A second analysis by Scotland Yard concludes that it is Calico.

The boy is also identified by his parents. Michael Henley also disappeared in New Mexico, just before Tara in April, 1988.

The lady who found the polaroid picture said it was near where a white, windowless Toyota van had been parked when she arrived. She stated that the van was driven by a 30 something year old man with a moustache.

Despite national attention, the man or the van has never been identified.

Ongoing Case

Over the years, the FBI has released pictures showing what Tara would look like now. There has even been a reward of $20,000 offered. So far nothing has surfaced. Patty Doel, Tara’s mother, died in 2006. She had relocated to Florida with her husband after a number of strokes. She never gave up hope of seeing Tara again. Near the end of her life, unable to speak or move properly, she would see a girl riding a bike, point at her and write down “Tara”. John would have to reassure her and say “No, that’s not Tara”. It must have been heart-breaking for the pair of them.

Tara Calico Kidnapping – Another Possibility

In 2008, the Sheriff of Valencia County reported that he had received a tip off about the case. He stated that two teenage boys had struck Calico with their car. She had died from her injuries and they had buried her.

He also stated that he knew the names of the boys but without a body, there was nothing he could do. John Doel, Tara’s step-father stated that the Sheriff should not have made these comments unless he was willing to arrest the accused and that strong circumstantial evidence should be enough to prosecute them.

Neither Tara nor Michael have ever been found.

Sources:

Tara Leigh Calico (fbi.gov)

Tara Calico Polaroid (people.com)

Mystery of Tara Calico (abqjournal.com)

Disappearance of Tara Calico (wikipedia.org)

Header Image (pixabay.com)

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