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Don’t Talk Bad About My Wife: The Awful Tale of Harry Radcliffe and Andrew Riley
“I shot Andrew Reilly because he insulted my wife” is what Harry Radcliffe told a San Francisco Call newspaper reporter. Harry continued, “My wife was waiting for me at the corner of Ninth and Folsom at 1 o’clock this morning. Reilly approached and insulted her grossly. I followed him and killed him.” Well, that doesn’t…
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Dave Shannon Doesn’t Care For Tattling
Even as we learn more about crimes a hundred and more years ago, something that seems to stay true, is murder is an awful way to communicate your displeasure in someone’s actions. This story takes place on August 25, 1915 at the Oakland, Alameda County, California transit mole. Here is a postcard rendering of the…
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Death Over a Garden Hose…Really…
Today we are going to explore (as much as historical newspapers and such will tell us) the extreme ending to a neighborly feud April 27, 1934. Just South of State Route 1, a group of cottages stood at 1732 and 1740 Molino Avenue in the Whittier neighborhood of Long Beach, California. One cottage was occupied…
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The True Ballad of Alvera Schlosser- Part V
Is it time for Alvera to finally get her day in court? October 19, 1928 Alvera appeared before Justice George W. Holbrook for her preliminary hearing. During this hearing, the two “mystery witnesses”, George Simmonds and L.C. Thomas, retold their stories as did Police Investigator Ed Poppett, neighbor Tekla Merget, and two other witnesses who…
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The True Ballad of Alvera Schlosser- Part IV
Schlosser Headline, The San Bernardino County Sun (San Bernardino, CA), October 3, 1928 We left off in the last part of this series, wondering who the “mystery man’s” identity is and Alvera confessing to the shooting saying she felt threatened by Fred. Well, the “mystery Man” is named George Simmonds, of 1116 1/2 King Street…
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The True Ballad of Alvera Schlosser- Part III
What happened next for Alvera? This is a heavy one, so grab onto your seats. Alvera Schlosser Tells Police…, The San Bernardino County Sun (San Bernardino, CA), September 30, 1928 We left off in Part I with Alvera’s explanation of the murder of her husband, Fred Schlosser. Alvera asserted that Fred had come home drunk…
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The True Ballad of Alvera Schlosser- Part II
A continuation of our true story Before we get into what happened to Alvera, let’s learn a little about Fred and Alvera before the life-changing incident. Very little is known about the personalities of Fred and Alvera, except what came out in trial, which we will get into in a later installment. So, let’s go…
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The True Ballad of Alvera Schlosser- Part 1
On the night of Saturday, September 29, 1928, San Bernardino, California was experiencing a welcome break in the heat. The area had just experienced a month of temperatures above 100°F, however on this particular evening, it was about 85°F. Not uncommon for the area, but hot enough to be jarring to the locals and everyone was enjoying…
CMS Research & Genealogy 