True Crime On This Day March 13th

March 13th

On March 13th in true crime, the mad killers of Brabant, flying dragons murder, hostage situation, military coup, and serial killers.

1978

In the Netherlands, three Indonesian Molluccan men took over the Province Hall in Assen. They held 16 women and 55 men hostage as they demanded the release of 21 prisoners who were involved in previous hijackings.

One hostage was executed in front of a window, and another later died in hospital. A raid the following morning seized back control of the building.

1979

In Grenada, revolutionary and leader of the New Jewel Movement, Maurice Rupert Bishop, successfully carried out a military coup.

The New Jewel Movement was a party made up of different groups that focused on education, socio-economic development and black liberation.

Bishop became the head of the People’s Revolutionary Government of Grenada. His leadership lasted four years until 1983 when he was killed in an attack by paramilitaries from his own party.

1980

In Ventura, California, 33-year-old Charlene Smith and 43-year-old Lyman Smith were found murdered in their home.

Charlene had been raped and both were beaten to death with a log from a woodpile at the side of their house. Due to the way a knot had been tied; the killer briefly became known as the Diamond Knot Killer. It was a knot that had been used in the Sacramento East Area Rapist attacks from 1976 to 1979.

Although remaining a cold case for decades, a new investigation linked serial killer Joseph James DeAngelo to the murders.

DeAngelo’s DNA was a 100% match for him being the East Area Rapist, The Original Night Stalker, and the Golden State Killer.

In Mid-2020, DeAngelo pleaded guilty to 13 murders, 13 kidnappings and 161 other crimes including up to 80 rapes.

1981

In Atlanta, Georgia, 13-year-old Timothy Hill disappeared. On March 30^th, his body was found in the Chattahoochee River.

He had been strangled to death. Hill was a victim of the infamous Atlanta Murders. They were a series of murders committed in Atlanta from July 1979 to May 1981 and included the deaths of at least 30 children and adults.

Despite investigators attributing many of the victims to Wayne Williams, he was only convicted on two of the adult murders. In 2019, Atlanta police reopened all the Atlanta murder cases so that they could re-test the evidence available and begin a new investigation.

Investigators still believe that Williams was responsible for most of the murders but there are some that remain unsolved.

1982

In Brabant, Belgium, two men stole a 10-gauge fowling shotgun from a local store. They were witnessed running away from the scene but could not be identified. The same shotgun was used in numerous robberies and murders in the months and years that followed.

The two men were suspected to be part of the Brabant Killers, known as the Mad Killers of Brabant. They were a small group of three men who killed 28 people between 1982 and 1985. They also seriously wounded another 22 and carried out numerous attacks and robberies.

The attacks mainly took place in the Belgian province of Brabant. The identity of the three men remain a mystery but they were referred to as The Giant, The Killer, and The Old Man.

Despite a large investigation that continues to this day, and a raft of conspiracies, the case remains unsolved and is one of Belgium’s most infamous unsolved crime sprees.

1983

In Chinatown, Manhattan, notorious leader of the Flying Dragons gang, Michael Chen, was shot dead in the middle of the night. Chen was a Chinese-born American gangster who led the violent gang from the late 1970s until early 1980s.

He was awoken in the middle of the night by a mystery phone call. He then left his apartment and went to a nearby coffee shop.

There, an unidentified gunman shot him 14 times, four of which entered his eyes. His body was found the next day by a rival gang member.

Despite a large investigation, the murder has never been solved. Though it is suspected he was murdered by Flying Dragons members for skimming money from their receipts.

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