True Crime On This Day February 21st

Last Updated on September 21, 2022 by Ben Oakley

February 21st

On February 21st in true crime, battle of Gayaza Hills, cold case in Colorado, unidentified body, vanished without a trace, murder.

1978

In Florida, Freddie Lee Hall killed two people during robberies over the course of one day. He was arrested in the evening along with his accomplice.

The first victim was 21-year-old Karol Hurst who was seven-months pregnant at the time. Hurst was bundled into a car, driven to a wooded area then beaten, raped, and shot dead. Her body was then dragged further into the woods and left in the open.

The same evening, Hall and an accomplice walked into a convenience store with an intention to rob it but the counter staff called the sheriff as they were acting suspicious.

Deputy Lonnie Coburn responded to the call but was disarmed and shot dead with his own gun. Hall was sentenced to death in June 1978.

1979

In Uganda, the Battle of Gayaza Hills took place. It happened during the Uganda–Tanzania War which lasted from October 1978 to June 1979 and led to the overthrow of Ugandan leader Idi Amin.

The battle took place around the Gayaza Hills and Lake Nakivale regions in Southern Uganda. The hills were occupied with retreating Ugandan troops when the Tanzanians secretly surrounded them before attacking.

A day-long battle began and left at least 24 Tanzanian soldiers dead alongside an unknown number of Ugandans. By the end of the day, the Tanzanians had captured the town of Mbarara.

1980

In Brighton, Colorado, the body of 19-year-old Cynthia Mae Boyd was discovered near a roadway exiting the city. She had been strangled to death in the early hours of the morning by an unidentified assailant.

Despite evidence of murder being found at the scene, no suspect has ever been caught and it remains an open cold case to this day.

1981

In Los Angeles County, California, the decomposing body of an unidentified white female between the ages of 25 to 35-years-old was discovered in a remote area.

She had been dead for at least two weeks and was found with no personal belongings or clothing. The circumstances surrounding her death and the identity of the victim have long remained a mystery. The case is still open with the Los Angeles authorities.

1982

In Georgia, 11-year-old Jenny Ann Wright was found by paramedics lying face down on her mother’s bed with foam coming out of her mouth.

An autopsy showed that she had died of asphyxia. Her mother was Martha Ann Johnson, an American female serial killer convicted of smothering to death three of her children over a five-year period.

Even by 22-years-old, she was already married for the third time and had children from each of her three marriages.

In 1977 she killed her 23-month-old son by smothering him. She would do the same in 1980, 1981 and 1982 to her other daughters and eldest son.

Martha was linked to all four murders, including Jenny Ann’s, but convicted of only three. She horrifically killed them by rolling her 250LB (113kg) body on them as they slept.

She was arrested in 1989 and sentenced to death in 1990, later commuted to life. Martha is currently detained at Pulaski State Women’s Prison in Georgia.

1983

In Erie, Pennsylvania, 16-year-old Bryan Keith Fisher disappeared after he left home to go fishing. He has never been heard of again and no trace of him has ever been found.

He has a scar on his right hand between his ring and middle finger, a tattoo of a cross on his right arm, and a tattoo of a skull. Foul play has long been suspected and he remains listed as an endangered missing person.

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