True Crime On This Day July 28th

Last Updated on September 27, 2022 by Ben Oakley

July 28th

On July 28th in true crime, assassination, Maudsley prison murder, mob disappearance, priest killing, cold cases, and unsolved crimes.

1978

In the United Kingdom, convicted murderer Robert Maudsley killed a fellow inmate in prison. His case is a unique one in that he would kill more people in prison than he did on the outside.

He was considered such a dangerous killer that a special isolation cage was built purely to house him. His story would go on to influence the fictional character of Hannibal Lecter.

1979

In County Armagh, Northern Ireland, 20-year-old Catholic civilian James McCann was shot dead. He had been walking along Obins Street when he was attacked.

Although no one was convicted of his murder, the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) claimed responsibility. It was one of many murders during the 1970s and 1980s troubles in Northern Ireland.

1980

In New York, John Favara went missing and was presumed murdered. He had been involved in the accidental death of 12-year-old Frank Gotti just a few months before.

Favara was a neighbour of Gambino crime family crime boss John Gotti, whose son he killed. Gotti was suspected to have been involved in Favara’s disappearance.

Favara’s body has never been found but was linked to Richard Kuklinski, AKA: The Iceman, a serial killer who kidnapped, tortured, and murdered for various crime families in the city.

1981

In Sololá, Guatemala, American Roman Catholic priest, Stanley Francis Rother, was murdered in his Guatemalan mission rectory.

Rother had been ordained in Oklahoma City in 1963 and was assigned as a missionary priest to Guatemala in 1968. Just after midnight, three gunmen broke into the rectory and shot Rother twice in the head.

Rother had been warned that his name was on a hitlist just six months earlier, after an increase in violence against the Catholic Church.

He was one of 10 priests murdered in Guatemala in 1981. At the request of his Guatemalan parishioners, his heart was removed and buried under the altar of the church where he had served.

Three men were later arrested and convicted but had their convictions overturned by a Guatemalan appellate court.

In 2017, after a Pope Francis decree confirming that Rother had been killed in hatred of the faith, he was beatified during a mass at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City.

Beatification is recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person’s entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name

1982

In Tennessee, Gary Bradford Cone was sentenced to death for a crime spree that ended with the deaths of an elderly couple. In 1980, Cone robbed a jewellery store in Memphis and eloped with over $112,000 (USD) of watches, rings, and stones.

The owner gave a description to police, and a few moments later, they were involved in a high-speed car chase. Cone abandoned the car in a residential area of the city and opened fire on police. He shot and wounded one officer and one citizen before making his escape.

The following morning, in the same residential area, after pulling his gun on more people, he broke into the home of 93-year-old Shipley Todd and his wife, 79-year-old Cleopatra Todd.

Over the next few hours, the Todd’s were beaten and mutilated by Cone. He stole enough cash to catch a flight from Memphis to Florida, where he was arrested shortly after.

Despite pleading insanity, Cone was sentenced to death on this day in 1982.

1983

In Wolfratshausen, West Germany, 56-year-old Croatian political dissident and businessman Stjepan Đureković was assassinated.

He was shot dead by gunmen belonging to the Yugoslavian State Security Administration (UDBA). Đureković had recently defected to West Germany and was granted political asylum.

He began associating with Croatian nationalist groups that were active in the country and it became the reason why he was killed by the government of Yugoslavia.

Two of the people involved in his murder, Josip Perković, and Zdravko Mustač, were found guilty in 2016 and sentenced to life in prison.

It had taken so long due to the extradition laws between the two countries and influence from high-ranking officials.

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