True Crime On This Day January 4th

January 4th

On January 4th in true crime, multiple murders, mass shooting, massacre in Jamaica, cold cases, government bribes and a serial killer.

1978

In Jamaica, in the late hours of the 4^th and the early hours of the 5^th, five Jamaica Labour Party supporters were shot dead.

They were tricked into an ambush at the Green Bay Firing Range. The shooting was carried out by members of the Jamaica Defence Force and the event became known as the Green Bay Massacre.

One of the men killed was Norman ‘Gutto’ Thompson who was a former national footballer for the country.

1979

Back on May 4^th 1970, the Kent State Shootings took place when 28 National Guard soldiers opened fire on unarmed college students in Ohio.

Four students died of their wounds, and nine others were injured, including one who became paralysed. They were protesting United States military involvement in Cambodia.

On this day in 1979, the State of Ohio signed off on $675,000 (USD) in compensation for the families of those who were dead or injured.

1980

In Toulouse, France, 24-year-old Monique Rejembeau left her workplace in the city to have lunch with her mother in the residence they shared.

Somewhere between her workplace and home, she disappeared. The following day, her purse was discovered at the Garonne Hydroelectric Station, on the banks of the Garonne river.

Her car was found a week later in the St. Michael alleys of the city. French police closed the case and listed her as missing, despite an investigation reopening in 1985.

In 1996, witnesses claimed to have seen Monique in Barcelona, Spain, in an area of the city known for the sex trade. Despite witnesses and a new investigation, no trace of Monique has ever been found.

1981

In Delmar, Iowa, 34-year-old Bonnie Gilbert and her five young children were found shot to death. They had been murdered by Bonnie’s husband and father to her five children, 28-year-old James Gene Gilbert.

On January 4^th, after leaving the family home, Gene travelled to his father’s residence in South Dakota, 450 miles away. It was there that he took his own life.

It wasn’t until police had gone to the Gilbert’s home to tell Bonnie that her husband had died, did they find the massacre within. It remains one of Delmar’s bloodiest slayings.

1982

In Washington, National Security Advisor to President Reagan, Richard V. Allen, was forced to resign after a series of scandals involving bribes from Japanese businesses.

One year earlier, Allen had taken receipt of $1,000 (USD) along with expensive watches from a Japanese women’s magazine.

The Shufo No Tomo publication gave the items in return for arranging an interview with new First Lady Nancy Reagan. The bribery was exposed when Allen changed offices and the FBI found the $1,000 cheque in his safe.

Allen had not cashed the cheque but was later caught soliciting bribes from Japanese security companies. He was forced to resign on this day in 1982.

1983

In Hyde, England, Harold Shipman, AKA; Doctor Death, ended the life of 90-year-old Percy Ward. It would be one of two victims in 1983, along with the death of 77-year-old Moira Ashton Fox, in June.

Shipman was convicted of 215 murders but linked with 250. He killed himself in prison before his sentencing could begin.

With 215 convictions of murder to his name, he is the most notorious serial killer by the number of convicted murders in history.

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