True Crime Atlas

Located on an island in the San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary was long considered to be America's most notorious prison. Nicknamed "The Rock," it operated from 1934 to 1963 and held prisoners that had caused too much trouble at other prisons. 

This included gangsters like Al Capone, Mickey Cohen, and Whitey Bulger, bank robbers "Machine Gun" Kelly and Floyd Hamilton, and Societ spy Morton Sobell. 

It was the site of riots and violence as well as 14 escape attempts, all believed to have been unsuccessful, usually ending in capture, shots, or drowning. One of the most famous stories is of the escape in 1962 when Frank Morris, John Anglin, and Clarence Anglin made paper mache heads with hair from the barbershop and escaped through a hole dug with a spoon. They were never seen again and are presumed dead. 

The prison closed in 1963 because it became too expensive to operate, compared with other federal prisons like Atlanta and Leavenworth. Not long after, a group of Native Americans occupied the then-abandoned island as a political protest.  

Alcatraz Island, National Parks System

Alcatraz, Federal Bureau of Prisons

Opened in 1886 atop a mountain in the Ozarks, the Crescent Hotel was the peak of luxury for travelers passing through Eureka Springs on the Frisco Railroad. People came to town to take advantage of the "healing" springs, seeking treatment for a variety of ailments. 

Con man Norman Baker bought the hotel in 1937 after it had fallen into disrepair, operating a "cancer treatment center," despite having zero medical training. He began experimenting on patients in 1929, ending in their deaths.  He injected people with a mix of alcohol, glycerine, and a mix of seeds and leaves.   

But he continued to claim his "cures" were in fact successful. The treatments yielded him over $500,000 per year from people desperate for help. Forty people are believed to have died at his hands, ultimately kept in the hotel's morgue. 

Baker was eventually arrested for his crimes but was released a few years later. He moved to Florida and tried to start over. The Crescent Hotel is believed to be one of America's most haunted hotels, offering paranormal tours. 

Con Man: The Fraud Who Claimed To Have a Cure For Cancer, History Collection

Unexplained Happenings at America's Most Haunted Hotel, Crescent Hotel

Williamsburg and its surrounding Virginia communities are steeped in history, bringing in countless travelers every year to learn about what life was like during America's founding. But between 1986 and 1989, it was a breeding ground for terror. An unknown attacker preyed on couples in lovers lane settings on the Colonial Parkway, a 23-mile scenic road between the James and York rivers. 

The first two victims were found dead at the Cheatham Annex Overlook in Williamsburg with their throats slashed and burn marks. There was no evidence of a robbery. The second two victims included a 14-year-old girl found near Smithfield. 

The third pair were local university students reported missing from Newport News. Their abandoned car was found at the York River Overlook, but their bodies have never been found. The final pair's bodies were discovered on a logging road after they got lost on the way to Virginia Beach. No suspects have ever been named in this series. 

Colonial Parkway, Real Crime Profile (podcast)

UNSOLVED: Colonial Parkway Murders, Hunt a Killer

Parkway, Daily Press

People flock to White Point Garden, also known as The Battery, to take engagement photos and picnic under the majestic oak trees. It has views of the Charleston Harbor, where the Ashley and Cooper rivers converge at the Atlantic Ocean. But the space has a sinister past. 

The park is at the southernmost point of the peninsula atop a sea wall. It’s steps away from Rainbow Row, one of the most photographed places in the city. But between 1718-9, pirates Stede Bonnet and Richard Worley, along with their crews, were hung for their crimes at the gallows among the oaks. 

Credit: Wikipedia

For years, pirates (including the infamous Blackbeard) has sailed the coast, robbing passing ships and generally terrorizing people along the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean. State governors had enough and offered bounties for their capture, including £700 in Bonnet’s case. 

Bonnet escaped from capture and hid on Sullivan’s Island before his trial, but was ultimately re-captured. After his execution, he was buried in the marsh with his crew. 

Stede Bonnet, NCPedia

Richard Worley, Charleston Pirates

Santa Cruz, California was once known as the murder capital of America. The reputation started in 1970 with the murder of the Ohta family. John Linley Frazier, a mentally ill man that lived nearby, was arrested for the crimes. 

But that was far from the end. Herbert Mullin started hearing voices as a teenager, later being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. In 1972, he beat a homeless man to death. His murder spree continued with a hitchhiker, a priest, four teenagers, and an elderly man before he was finally arrested.

Edmund Kemper displayed signs of mental illness early on, killing the family cat. His parents later divorced and he was sent to live with his grandparents. At age 15, he murdered them and was sent to a mental institution. There he was praised for his high IQ and was released on good behavior. 

He started picking up hitchhikers around UC Santa Cruz, where his mom was an employee, and murdering them. He continued this routine many times before killing his mother and her friend. Kemper confessed soon after and was taken into custody. 

'Murder capital of the world': The terrifying years when multiple serial killers stalked Santa Cruz, SF Gate

Edmund Kemper, Murderpedia

It was a Sunday morning in September of 1963. Families were gathering at their local church to worship, dressed in their best. It had been an tense summer as civil rights groups fought for integration in Birmingham. 

Around 10 am, an anonymous caller phoned the church, giving a warning. A few minutes later, a blast tore through the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, shattering all but one of  the stained glass windows. 

Five children were in the bathroom basement changing into choir robes, close to where 15 sticks of dynamite were placed. Four of the young girls were killed and another 22 churchgoers were injured. 

The tragedy greatly impacted the movement, making nationwide news. Suspicion immediately turned to local white supremacist groups and the Ku Klux Klan. Ultimately the investigation was closed in 1968 by the FBI without any arrests. 

In 1977, the case was reopened and led to the arrest of Robert Chambliss, the accused ringleader of the attack. He claimed his innocence for the rest of his life, dying in the hospital in 1985. Two other co-conspirators were found guilty in 2001 and 2002 while the fourth man died in 1994 without prosecution. 

The church continues to operate and offers tours. The window that wasn’t destroyed is still there, along with other panels sent by well wishers from around the world, including the Welsh Window, pictured above. 

"16th Street Baptist Church bombing," Encyclopedia Britannica 

16th Street Baptist Church Bombing (1963), National Park Service

As Church Bombing Trial Begins in Birmingham, the City's Past Is Very Much Present, The New York Times

Local philanthropist and art collector Isabella Stuart Gardner befriended artists like John Singer Sargent and James McNeill Whistler. On trips to Europe, she collected the works of Botticelli and Velázquez. 

After the sudden death of her husband, she created a museum modeled after an Italian palazzo to hold her treasures that dated back to the Renaissance. It opened to the public in 1903 and Gardner lived upstairs until her death in 1924.

Credit: Federal Bureau of Investigation/Public Domain

In 1990, the museum was robbed, taking with it thirteen of its most valuable works. The robbers posed as police officers and tied up the museum’s security guard. Over the course of 81 minutes, they took pieces from the Dutch Room and Blue Room, cutting some paintings from their frames. 

None have ever been found but there is still a $10 million dollar reward for information leading to the artwork’s safe return. The empty frames are put on display as a reminder of the crime. 

Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum website

American History's Biggest Art Theft Hits 25 Years Unsolved, Time

The Gardner Heist: The True Story of the World's Largest Unsolved Art Theft by Ulrich Boser

Last Seen podcast

The eyes of the world were on Atlanta, Georgia as it hosted the 1996 Summer Olympics, the 100th anniversary of the first modern games. Security was already high as crowds from around the world made their way to the city. 

A crowd had gathered for a concert when three pipe bombs filled with nails exploded. A warning call was made to 911 a few minutes beforehand but couldn’t stop the events. 

A woman from Albany, Georgia was killed in the blast. The shock of the events led to the fatal heart attack of one of the cameramen. Over 100 others were injured. 

Security guard Richard Jewell discovered one of the bags and alerted the Georgia Bureau of Investigation but quickly became a suspect himself. Local newspapers spread misinformation about him.

Credit: NY Daily News

In 1997, ingredients from the bombs were connected to other attacks at a lesbian club in the Atlanta suburb of Sandy Springs and at an abortion clinic in Alabama. 

Eric Robert Rudolph was determined to be the perpetrator, who was hiding out in the North Carolina mountains. He was finally discovered in 2003 and was found guilty of murder. He is currently serving four life sentences in Colorado. 

The park remains a fixture in Atlanta with the bomb blasts still visible in one of the sculptures. A memorial to the victims is set to be unveiled in the coming months.

Centennial Olympic Park bombing memorial to be unveiled in May, Atlanta Business Chronicle

Full Text of Eric Rudolph's Confession, NPR

American Nightmare: The Ballad of Richard Jewell, Vanity Fair

New Orleans, Louisiana has been the site of many dark occurrences but perhaps none is as well known as the Axeman that trolled the French Quarter and beyond in the early 1900s.

The still-unknown perpetrator would break into the black door of someone’s home and attack them with an axe or straight razor, including ones found within the house. The attacks weren’t originally seen as connected by the police. 

In March of 1919, the attacker sent a letter saying that he or she wouldn’t attack homes where a jazz band was playing, leading to packed crowds at the city’s dance halls. 

The sensationalism in local newspapers included false accusations and tales of adultery, espionage, and possible Mafia ties. Six people were killed, including a child in her mother’s arms. Mostly Italian immigrants, six others were injured. 

The Axeman of New Orleans Preyed on Italian Immigrants, Smithsonian Magazine

The Axe Murderer Who Loved Jazz, WBUR

'A peculiar turn' in the Axeman investigation of 1918, NOLA.com

Matthew Shepard was born in nearby Casper in 1976. His family moved around due to his father’s work. After a traumatic experience being assaulted abroad as a high schooler, he changed schools a few times before settling at the University of Wyoming.  

In October of 1998, Shepherd went to the Fireside Lounge, a local bar on East Custer Street. There he met Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, who he believed were also gay. 

The pair offered him a ride home, but instead they took him down a dirt road outside of town, pistol whipped him within an inch of his life, and tied him to a fence, left for dead. The attackers would later claim it was a robbery gone wrong. 

Photo Credit: Adam Lederer

Eighteen hours later, a cyclist found him and called an ambulance. He was in the hospital in Colorado in a coma for a few days before succumbing to his injuries.

Following the brutal crime, attention turned to the town. McKinney and Henderson were charged with first degree murder and national hate crime legislation was passed. There is now a memorial bench on the university campus. Shepard is interred at Washington National Cathedral. 

Matthew Shepard's murder: Laramie's open wound 20 years later, Coloradoan

The Laramie Project (film and play)

Fireside Bar, Finding Brokeback 

The Meaning of Matthew, Judy Shepard

“The Ballad of Tom Dooley” is one of the most well-known folk ballads to come out of Appalachia but it’s based on a real murder. Tom Dula was a Confederate soldier and rumored ladies man who had a fling with his neighbor Anne when he was only 12. 

After the war, he met Anne’s cousin Laura and began a relationship with her. She got pregnant and they made plans to elope. In 1866, Laura was found stabbed in the chest. Dula fled the state before being captured. 

He was held in the Wilkes County Jail, pictured above, leading up to his trial. The former governor Zebulon Vance represented him pro bono and maintained that Dula was innocent. But Dula was ultimately convicted and executed two years later. The curious can now visit the cell where he was held and his grave nearby.

There are a few theories about what truly happened including Laura being killed by a jealous Anne. Another claims that Dula killed Laura for giving him syphilis. Whatever the case, the events inspired the song, which was recorded by The Kingston Trio in 1958. 

Tom Dooley by The Kingston Trio, Songfacts

There are a lot of places that are associated with the Black Dahlia murder but most are just rumored. But there’s one place that may just be the site of the murder. 

The Sowden House, also known as the Franklin or Jaws house, was built in 1926 in the Loz Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles. It was designed by Lloyd Wright, son of famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and was inspired by a Mayan temple. He had previously worked on sets for Paramount movies. 

John Sowden, the home’s original owner, hosted his Hollywood friends there. It was sold a few times before being bought by Dr. George Hodel in 1945. He threw wild sex parties here. 

It was also reported that Hodel raped his daughter in this house. Hodel’s son Steve claims that the murder of Elizabeth Short, also known as the Black Dahlia, took place here along with many others. 

It’s been featured in a number of films, tv shows, and photoshoots including LA Confidential, The Aviator, and I Am the Night, a fictionalized version of Hodel’s life. The home sold most recently in 2018 for $4 million and now operates as an event facility. 

Sowden House

In 1692, rumors spread around Salem Village in Massachusetts that a number of young girls were possessed by the Devil or participating in witchcraft after experiencing outbursts and fits. Within a few months, a special council was convened to determine the truth to these claims.

The first woman was hanged for being an alleged witch that summer but 18 others would follow. Some would die in prison and a man was pressed to death by stones. Over 100 women and men were also accused, with friends and neighbors turning against one another.

Today the graves are marked in the Salem cemetery, along with a memorial to the lives lost. There’s also a museum that educates visitors on this time period.

The story was fictionalized in Arthur Miller’s classic play The Crucible. The trials were the forerunner to the Satanic Panic cases of the 1980s and 90s like the West Memphis Three in Arkansas and the Martensville Nightmare in Canada.

Salem Witch Trials, History.com

A Brief History of the Salem Witch Trials, Smithsonian

Salem Witch Museum

The Louisiana State Capitol’s impressive tower was built in 1930 in Baton Rouge to replace one from the 1800s. The 34 story building was the brainchild of Governor Huey Long, nicknamed the “Kingfish,” as a symbol of the state’s power. 

In 1935, Long was assassinated at the capitol by Dr. Carl Weiss, before he himself was killed. Weiss was shot 61 times by Long’s bodyguards. There are a number of conspiracy theories surrounding the event as Weiss had no clear motive. 

A fictionalized account of Long’s life is the book “All the King’s Men” by Robert Penn Warren. The gun that killed long is now on display at the Capitol Park Museum, just steps away from where Long was killed. 

Huey Long Legacy Project

All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren

Capitol Park Museum

Louisiana Capitol Tours

In August 1955, a young man from Chicago visited his family in Money, Mississippi, a small town in the then-segregated South. Till and his cousins went to a nearby store to pick up snacks. The owner’s wife later said Till had made a move on her. 

That night, a group of men drove to Till’s relatives' house and pulled him from his bed. He was brutally beaten and thrown into the Tallahatchie River. The men who were accused of his murder were later acquitted. 

His funeral was highly attended and his body was shown in the open casket as a stark reminder. Photos were published in national magazines, increasing nationwide scrutiny on the region and its treatment of African Americans. 

Later, the woman came forward and admitted to lying about her interaction with Till. Little remains of the store where it took place, now overgrown with ivy. Historic markers are placed at the site of the store as well as where his body was pulled from the river. Both have been vandalized. 

Emmett Till is murdered, History.com

This Emmett Till memorial was vandalized again. And again. And again. Now, it’s bulletproof., The Washington Post

In 1966, the iconic tower at the University of Texas Austin was the site of a horrific crime. Former Marine (and sharpshooter) Charles Whitman made his way to the Texas Tower after killing his wife and mother the night before. He brought with him seven rifles and handguns as well as over 700 rounds of ammunition. 

He arrived at UT, his alma mater, and couldn’t access the elevator but an employee helped him get inside. Upon reaching the tower’s 27th floor, Whitman killed the receptionist and fired at a family who was coming towards the observation deck. 

Then he began firing upon the plaza below, injuring 31 and killing 14, mostly young college students on their way to class. It was one of the first crimes to unfold live on television. 

Police officers were eventually able to stop him, ending the over 90-minute rampage. After Whitman’s death, an autopsy revealed that he had a brain tumor but it was not believed to have impacted his actions.  

The tower remained closed for a few years and in the 70s was the site of a number of suicides. It opened again in 1999 but today tours are only available by appointment and following thorough metal detector screenings. The Tower Garden serves as a memorial to the victims. 

Texas Tower Shooting of 1966, Encyclopedia Brittanica

Wild West legend “Wild Bill” Hickok was one of many people to call Deadwood, South Dakota home. It was where gunslingers, outlaws, and gamblers spent their days at the brothels and casinos. Hickok served as a sheriff and US marshal known for his sharpshooting. Rumors of his skill made the rounds in Harper’s and other magazines. 

In 1876, Hickok was playing poker at Saloon No. 10 in Deadwood when he was shot from behind. His assassin, Jack McCall, was a man he’d argued with during a game of poker. Hickok was killed instantly with his cards still in his hand. McCall was tried for the crime and hung. 

The hand, two pair of aces and eights, is now called the “dead man’s hand.” He’s buried at Mount Moriah Cemetery alongside Calamity Jane, following her request. Visitors can visit one of two saloons that claim to be the one where Hickok was shot and the chair he sat in on that fateful night.

Wild Bill Hickok is murdered, History.com

Saloon No. 10 (modern one)