True Crime On This Day April 5th

Last Updated on September 23, 2022 by Ben Oakley

April 5th

On April 5th in true crime, the playing card killer, serial killer Jacobus Hertogs, murder in Louisiana, vanished without a trace, and mass murder.

1978

In Madrid, Spain, serial killer Alfredo Galan Sotillo, AKA: The Playing Card Killer was born. He would go on to kill six people and use playing cards to mark the scenes of his murders.

He was arrested in 2003 and sentenced to 142 years in prison for his crimes. He remains one of Spain’s most notorious serial killers.

1979

In Sacramento, California, the 42^nd victim of the East Area Rapist was attacked in her own home. The rapist had already broken into the residence and waited for her to come home. When she returned with her husband, they were both attacked at knifepoint.

The attacker forced the woman to stack dishes on her husband’s back before taking her to another room and raping her. He told the husband that if he heard the dishes fall then he would kill them both.

Although remaining a cold case for decades, a new investigation linked serial killer Joseph James DeAngelo to the rapes. DeAngelo’s DNA was a 100% match for him being the East Area Rapist, The Original Night Stalker, and the Golden State Killer.

In Mid-2020, DeAngelo pleaded guilty to 13 murders, 13 kidnappings and 161 other crimes including up to 80 rapes.

1980

In the Netherlands, the body of 18-year-old Emy den Boer was discovered by a hiker in a forest near Nistelrode. She had gone missing two days earlier and had been shot dead.

She had been murdered by Dutch serial killer Jacobus Dirk ‘Koos’ Hertogs who was caught in October 1980.

He also killed another two girls, one in 1979 and another in late 1980. He is one of the Netherland’s most notorious criminals and was sentenced to life in prison for the murders.

1981

In Louisiana, 25-year-old Tulane University medical student, Kathy Newman, was abducted, raped, and shot dead by Willie Watson Jr.

He claimed that he killed her because of his drug addiction while growing up in the New Orleans housing projects. He was arrested the same day and charged with the crime.

Despite claims of mental instability, Watson was sentenced to death, and executed in the electric chair in Louisiana, on July 24^th 1987.

1982

In Galveston, Texas, after being released from police custody, 42-year-old Richard Lloyd Barnett vanished without a trace.

His family last heard from him when they were told by a law enforcement officer that Richard had tried to call but didn’t leave a message. His family confirmed it would have been out of character for him to have left without saying where he was going.

Despite theories of a car accident, and links to multiple John Doe’s, no trace of Barnett has ever been found. Investigators have long suspected foul play but are unsure whether it may be connected to his arrest. His case remains open and unsolved.

1983

In Delft, Netherlands, Cevdet Yilmaz, AKA: Ted de Turk, shot dead six people at a crowded café, after an argument erupted.

Witnesses claimed that a fight happened between Cevdet and another man which caused Cevdet to storm out of the café. He returned twelve minutes later and opened fire.

Despite his motives never being made clear, Cevdet left five people wounded and six dead, including a couple and their 12-year-old daughter.

He was arrested shortly after and subsequently sentenced to life in prison, even though his lawyers had claimed he was suffering from mental illness. In January 2021, Cevdet was officially pardoned and released from prison.

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