True Crime On This Day June 18th

June 18th

On June 18th in true crime, London mystery murder, Bible smuggling, serial killer, murder by arson, and a cold case solved.

1978

Jeffrey Dahmer, AKA: The Milwaukee Cannibal, killed his first victim. He would go on to rape, mutilate, murder and dismember a total of 17 boys and men from 1978 until his arrest in 1991.

He remains one of history’s most notorious serial killers with multiple books and films still being made about him today.

1979

In Georgia, James Pierre Chastain killed his wife, Teresa Gail Chastain, by burning their trailer to the ground while she was inside sleeping

Witnesses claimed that even though James knew his wife was inside, he seemed unconcerned about it. Almost 10 years later, Chastain became a suspect in an arson attack on his brother-in-law’s home.

He was arrested in 1990 and charged with multiple arson attacks and the murder of Teresa Gail Chastain. He was sentenced to life in prison for the murder and 20 years for the arson attacks.

1980

In Ventura County, California, the body of an unidentified pregnant teenager was found in a high school parking lot. She had been raped, strangled, and then stabbed 16 times.

She had been killed in a different location the day before and transported to the car park where her body was dumped.

The case remained unsolved until 2012, when new DNA technology led to Wilson Claude Chouest. He was already serving a life sentence for abduction, robbery, and rape when he was identified as the killer.

In 2018, Chouest was found guilty of three murders of unidentified women, including the Kern County Jane Doe.

1981

In Shantou, Southern China, the Open Doors organisation delivered one-million Chinese Bibles to the beach area in an operation entitled Project Pearl.

10,000 Chinese Christians were waiting on the beach as the international operation arrived on a 137-foot barge named Gabriel.

A tugboat named Michael towed Gabriel to the beach, through a maze of Chinese Navy ships. On board Gabriel, were 232 one-ton packages full of bibles.

China was and still is considered high on the Open Doors watchlist when it comes to countries who persecute Christians.

Open Doors is an active organisation who work with local partners to distribute Bibles and literature to countries where Christians are persecuted. The operation managed to depart the Chinese seas before being caught.

1982

On Blackfriars Bridge, London, At 7.30am, a postal worker was crossing when he noticed a body hanging from the scaffolding beneath.

It was the body of Italian banker Roberto Calvi, who had been killed a day earlier. He had eloped from his Rome apartment on June 10^th, after the Banco Ambrosiano, where he was the chairman, collapsed.

He had allegedly fled to Venice before taking a private plane to London. His clothing was loaded with bricks, and he was carrying around $15,000 (USD) in cash, in multiple currencies.

Despite many conspiracies surrounding his death, no one has ever been convicted of his murder. Though, five people were acquitted in Rome in June 2007.

Some theories have linked the Vatican bank and the Mafia to his death.

1983

In La Porte County, Indiana, two 15-year-old boys were camping when they came across Frank R. Davis in the woods.

After smoking marijuana for a couple of hours, Davis left the boys, who returned to their camp. Unbeknownst to the boys, Davis had followed them back to the camp and waited for them to fall asleep.

He went to the tent and forced one of the boys, Jeff Lopez, out at knifepoint into the woods where he tied Lopez to a tree and sexually assaulted him. He then wrapped wire around his neck and strangled him to death.

Davis returned to the camp and tied the other boy up with wire before abusing him and hitting him over the head with an axe.

Just two days earlier, Davis had raped and strangled to death 14-year-old Darrin Reed. Lopez’ body was found two days later but his friend survived to give a detailed description of Davis, who was arrested shortly after.

Davis was sentenced to death on January 25^th 1984 but was resentenced to 220 years in 1996.

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