True Crime On This Day April 8th

April 8th

On April 8th in true crime, the Mafia, Miami drug war murder, mystery disappearance, cold case in New Hampshire, multiple serial killers.

1978

Powerful Mafia member, Giuseppe Di Cristina, ordered the murder of Mafia boss Francesco Madonia. Di Cristina was nicknamed ‘The Tiger’ for his violent nature. On May 30^th 1978, Di Cristina was killed by a rival Mafia faction, in retaliation for Madonia’s death.

His death was considered the starting point of the infamous Second Mafia War, which saw violence from rival Mafia factions continue until 1983.

1979

In Miami, another drug runner involved in the rising cocaine trade was murdered in a public location. Angelo Colon was shot to death in the bathroom of The Sportsman’s Bar.

His killer was never found. His murder was part of a rising level of violence that led to the Dadeland Mall Massacre on July 11^th 1979 which subsequently kicked off the Miami Drug Wars.

1980

In Glynn County, Georgia, 77-year-old Catherine B. Romer and her husband Charles, disappeared shortly after checking into the Holiday Inn on I-95.

They were travelling from New York to their second home in Miami. In the evening, a Georgia Highway Patrolman noted he had seen their car near a group of restaurants.

They were reported missing on April 11^th when hotel staff noticed that the room had been unoccupied ever since they had checked in. It meant that the patrolman had been the last person to see their car.

A large search began involving helicopters and divers for the local swamps. Despite investigators meticulously checking a 120-mile route and employing private detectives, no trace of the Romer’s or their vehicle were ever found.

Investigators suspected that the couple had been victim of a robbery and their bodies and car were hidden in the swamplands surrounding the area. Catherine was declared legally dead in 1985. Their sons continue to make annual trips to Georgia to keep the case in the spotlight.

1982

In New York, Deborah Osbourne was stabbed to death by serial killer Richard Biegenwald, AKA: The Thrill Killer. He buried Osbourne’s body on top of another victim, inside his mother’s residence.

Biegenwald was an American serial killer who murdered at least six people over a 25-year period from 1958 to 1983 and is suspected of two other murders in the same period.

He would mostly shoot his victims, but some were stabbed. Biegenwald was arrested in 1983 and sentenced to death which was later commuted to life. He died in 2008 of natural causes in prison.

1983

In Lake County, Illinois, the body of 28-year-old Gustavo Herrera was found by construction workers on the side of a highway.

Herrera was a father of two and a resident of Chicago’s uptown district who had disappeared. He was also known to have frequented gay bars on many occasions. Herrera had been stabbed to death with multiple knife wounds along with his right hand being cut off and removed from the scene.

It was suspected that Herrera had been murdered by gay serial killer Larry Eyler, AKA: The Highway Murderer, who was convicted of two murders and positively linked to at least 21, though it is claimed he had killed a total of 24 gay men.

Eyler was arrested on August 21^st, 1984 and sentenced to death on October 3^rd, 1986. He died of AIDS in prison on March 6^th, 1994.

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