True Crime On This Day August 23rd

August 23rd

On August 23rd in true crime, mystery disappearance, cop killer, the Hilltop Rapist, bomb attack, military aircraft theft, cold cases.

1978

In Shasta County, California, serial killer and rapist Darrell Keith Rich, AKA: The Hilltop Rapist, was caught after the murders of four young women from June to August of 1978.

He had raped and murdered 19-year-old Annette Fay Edwards, 26-year-old Linda Diane Slavik, 17-year-old Patricia Ann Moore and 11-year-old Annette Lynn Selix.

He killed by beating them to death with a rock or shooting them, he was also convicted of another four sexual assaults. Rich was sentenced to death and executed by lethal injection in March 2000.

1979

In Colombia, a recently fired airline mechanic stole a military aircraft. 23-year-old Armando Nieto Jaramillo stole an HS-748 transport plane from Bogotá-Eldorado Airport.

Shortly after taking off, he crashed the plane, killing himself and three people who were on the ground.

1980

In Santiago, Chile, a bomb exploded near a bank and injured a 14-year-old boy who was in the vicinity. The bomb had not exploded as intended and would have caused more damage and potentially have claimed lives.

The attack had been carried out by the Revolutionary Left Movement (MIR), a Chilean far-left political organization and former urban guerrilla organisation who were advocates for Communism and Guevarism.

They carried out numerous attacks in the early 1980s during the Armed Resistance in Chile which lasted from 1973 to 1990.

1981

In Odessa, Texas, the body of 18-year-old Carmen Croan was found in an oilfield 12 miles north of where she had gone missing the night before.

She had been out with friends on the 22^nd and frequented bars and clubs for most of the evening. She was last seen at the Graham’s Night Club in the city but vanished shortly after.

She had been brutally attacked and had suffered knife wounds to her throat. A suspect was arrested in October 1981 but there turned out to be a lack of evidence against him.

Despite a lengthy investigation with multiple leads, Croan’s death remains unsolved.

1982

In Lillooet, Canada, 18-year-old Roxanne Elaine Fleming vanished without a trace. She was last seen at the Lillooet District Hospital, where she was treated for a broken finger.

There have been unconfirmed sightings since then, but the hospital visit was the last time Fleming was confirmed to have been seen.

Years went by before Fleming was reported missing to police and as a result, many memories of the then 18-year-old had faded. Since her disappearance, police have followed up on several leads and possible sightings but no trace of her has ever been found.

Roxanne was from the First Nations people, who are the predominant Indigenous peoples in Canada south of the Arctic Circle.

1983

In Baltimore, Maryland, 71-year-old Corporal Samuel Snyder, with the Baltimore County Police Department, was shot dead during a shoot-out at a local restaurant.

Officers were already on scene breaking up a fight between a man and woman. They placed the man in his own car while they questioned witnesses. Just as Snyder arrived, the man pulled a gun from under his seat and opened fire.

While Snyder was walking into the restaurant, he was shot in the back. The other officers opened fire and wounded the man before arresting him.

Snyder was helicoptered to hospital but died of his wound two weeks later. He had been with the agency for 30 years. The suspect was later convicted of attempted murder.

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