Crime Capsule

The last Public Enemy No. 1 of the Depression era, Alvin “Creepy” Karpis reportedly compiled a record of fifty-four aliases, fifteen bank robberies, fourteen murders, three jailbreaks and two kidnappings. His criminal career came to an end when J. Edgar Hoover and his famed G-Men apprehended the man they wanted more than any other in New Orleans. From there, Karpis found himself confined on Alcatraz Island, where he spent nearly twenty-six years - more than any inmate in the prison’s history. Historian Julie Thompson tells the true story of Karpis’s life and career, a riveting tale taking readers from rural Kansas and Ohio to the bustling streets of the Big Easy and into the bleak innards of “the Rock.”

A lifelong native of Northeast Ohio, historian Julie Thompson completed her history degree at Hiram College, where she graduated with distinction. She has volunteered at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and worked extensively with the Library of Congress Publishing Office on four of its substantial published works. Julie remains an active member of the Freedom Township Historical Society and has served on the board of trustees for the James A. Garfield Historical Society, where she engaged with Hiram College to develop the society’s first internship program and served as a member of her area’s Inter-Museum Council.

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Fascinating characters filled the history of the Twin Territories as it became the state of Oklahoma. For some, it represented the end of a hard trail, while others sought a new beginning in a land of opportunity. Whatever their reason for coming to this heartland of America, those early Oklahomans left an indelible mark on the landscapes and streetscapes of the state today. From explorers and settlers of the early nineteenth century to oil tycoons and social activists in the first years of the twentieth century, Oklahoma saw a wide variety of men and women march across the stage during its formation. Author Jonita Mullins presents more than eighty unique stories of doctors, lawyers and chiefs, with a few outlaws, cattlemen and beauty queens thrown in for good measure.

Jonita Mullins grew up in the small town of Haskell, Oklahoma. A passionate preservationist who serves on the board of directors for the Oklahoma Historical Society, she contributes a weekly history column for the Muskogee Phoenix and is working with the Founders’ Place Historical District to restore the home of Congresswoman Alice Robertson. Her other writing, including her award-winning book The Jefferson Highway in Oklahoma, can found on her website (okieheritage.com).

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Tracing Route 66 through Missouri represents one of America's favorite exercises in nostalgia, but a discerning glance among the roadside weeds reveals the kind of sordid history that doesn't appear on postcards. Along with vintage cars and picnic baskets, Route 66 was a conduit humming with contraband and crackling with the gunplay of folks like Bonnie and Clyde, Jesse James and the Young brothers. It was also the preferred byway of lynch mobs, murderous hitchhikers and mad scientists. Stop in at places like the Devil's Elbow and the Steffleback Bordello on this trip through the more treacherous twists of the Mother Road.

Lisa Livingston-Martin is a lifelong resident of Missouri, living in Webb City with her children. She has practiced law in Southwest Missouri for more than 20 years, and has longstanding interests in history and the paranormal. She is the author of Civil War Ghosts of Southwest Missouri and Haunted Joplin, also published by The History Press.

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Tracing Route 66 through Missouri represents one of America's favorite exercises in nostalgia, but a discerning glance among the roadside weeds reveals the kind of sordid history that doesn't appear on postcards. Along with vintage cars and picnic baskets, Route 66 was a conduit humming with contraband and crackling with the gunplay of folks like Bonnie and Clyde, Jesse James and the Young brothers. It was also the preferred byway of lynch mobs, murderous hitchhikers and mad scientists. Stop in at places like the Devil's Elbow and the Steffleback Bordello on this trip through the more treacherous twists of the Mother Road.

Lisa Livingston-Martin is a lifelong resident of Missouri, living in Webb City with her children. She has practiced law in Southwest Missouri for more than 20 years, and has longstanding interests in history and the paranormal. She is the author of Civil War Ghosts of Southwest Missouri and Haunted Joplin, also published by The History Press.

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On February 2, 1963, a tanker with thirty-nine men aboard departed Beaumont and never returned. In the mid-spring of 1882, Billy the Kid’s friend, foe and equal escaped Huntsville Penitentiary and vanished. On December 9, 1961, a young boy in Wichita Falls disappeared without a trace. On November 18, 1936, a father and son were swallowed by a “Walled Kingdom.” On December 23, 1974, three girls went to a Fort Worth mall and were never seen or heard from again. This collection explores twenty baffling disappearances that investigators have studied for decades, to no avail. Homicide, patricide, filicide, genocide, devil worship, the Devil’s Triangle, the Devil’s River, the assassination of JFK, UFO abductions, legal limbo, literal limbo—oblivion. Award-winning author E.R. Bills drags the facts of these mystifying cases back from the void.

Award-winning writer E.R. Bills is the author of Texas Obscurities: Stories of the Peculiar, Exceptional and Nefarious (The History Press, 2013), The 1910 Slocum Massacre: An Act of Genocide in East Texas (The History Press, 2014), Black Holocaust: The Paris Horror and a Legacy of Texas Terror (Eakin Press, 2015), Texas Far & Wide: The Tornado with Eyes, Gettysburg’s Last Casualty, the Celestial Skipping Stone and Other Tales (The History Press, 2017) and The San Marcos 10: An Antiwar Protest in Texas (The History Press, 2019). Bills has also written for the Austin American-Statesman, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas Co-Op Power magazine and the Fort Worth Weekly. He currently lives in North Texas with his wife, Stacie.

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On February 2, 1963, a tanker with thirty-nine men aboard departed Beaumont and never returned. In the mid-spring of 1882, Billy the Kid’s friend, foe and equal escaped Huntsville Penitentiary and vanished. On December 9, 1961, a young boy in Wichita Falls disappeared without a trace. On November 18, 1936, a father and son were swallowed by a “Walled Kingdom.” On December 23, 1974, three girls went to a Fort Worth mall and were never seen or heard from again. This collection explores twenty baffling disappearances that investigators have studied for decades, to no avail. Homicide, patricide, filicide, genocide, devil worship, the Devil’s Triangle, the Devil’s River, the assassination of JFK, UFO abductions, legal limbo, literal limbo—oblivion. Award-winning author E.R. Bills drags the facts of these mystifying cases back from the void.

Award-winning writer E.R. Bills is the author of Texas Obscurities: Stories of the Peculiar, Exceptional and Nefarious (The History Press, 2013), The 1910 Slocum Massacre: An Act of Genocide in East Texas (The History Press, 2014), Black Holocaust: The Paris Horror and a Legacy of Texas Terror (Eakin Press, 2015), Texas Far & Wide: The Tornado with Eyes, Gettysburg’s Last Casualty, the Celestial Skipping Stone and Other Tales (The History Press, 2017) and The San Marcos 10: An Antiwar Protest in Texas (The History Press, 2019). Bills has also written for the Austin American-Statesman, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas Co-Op Power magazine and the Fort Worth Weekly. He currently lives in North Texas with his wife, Stacie.

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On the morning of May 27, 1896, the peaceful township of Campbell awoke to shocking news. Six people were brutally murdered at the home of Colonel Richard P. McGlincy, one of the town's most respected citizens. The suspect, James Dunham—the colonel's son-in-law—fled the scene and disappeared into the hills of Mount Hamilton overlooking Santa Clara County. This heinous crime triggered a massive, nationwide manhunt while investigators pieced together the details. Author Tobin Gilman examines the mind and motives of the killer, the sensational media coverage and the colorful personalities associated with the protracted and unresolved pursuit of justice.

As a teenager, Tobin Gilman spent weekends working at a building located at the corner of McGlincy Avenue and Union in Campbell, California. At the time, he was unaware of the grisly crime that occurred in the vicinity more than a century earlier. Tobin has spent over thirty years as a marketing professional in the information technology industry, and his hobbies include antique bottle collecting, motorcycling and shooting sporting clays. He is the author of 19th Century San Jose in a Bottle.

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On the morning of May 27, 1896, the peaceful township of Campbell awoke to shocking news. Six people were brutally murdered at the home of Colonel Richard P. McGlincy, one of the town's most respected citizens. The suspect, James Dunham—the colonel's son-in-law—fled the scene and disappeared into the hills of Mount Hamilton overlooking Santa Clara County. This heinous crime triggered a massive, nationwide manhunt while investigators pieced together the details. Author Tobin Gilman examines the mind and motives of the killer, the sensational media coverage and the colorful personalities associated with the protracted and unresolved pursuit of justice.

As a teenager, Tobin Gilman spent weekends working at a building located at the corner of McGlincy Avenue and Union in Campbell, California. At the time, he was unaware of the grisly crime that occurred in the vicinity more than a century earlier. Tobin has spent over thirty years as a marketing professional in the information technology industry, and his hobbies include antique bottle collecting, motorcycling and shooting sporting clays. He is the author of 19th Century San Jose in a Bottle.

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Crime Capsule will be back with a brand new episode next Thursday!

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