True Crime On This Day March 15th

March 15th

On March 15th in true crime, protests, cop killer, war uprising, chicken man mob murder, mystery disappearances, and serial killer death.

1978

After the Texas arrests of over 200 farmers on March 1^st, the American Agriculture Movement staged a rally in Washington D.C.

More than 50,000 farmers turned up and it remains the largest farmer-organised protest in the history of the United States. More farmers were arrested during the protests and the protest failed to bring the change needed to the farming industry.

So, in 1979, over 3,000 tractors drove to Washington, some travelling thousands of miles and then parked them on the streets. It became known as the Tractorcade.

1979

In Afghanistan, the Herat Uprising began, and lasted five days. The uprising was labelled a mutiny, as Afghan Army troops went against the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA).

After the Soviets failed to intervene, the city was captured by the rebels, until the DRA carried out a large aerial bombing campaign.

The city of Herat was re-captured on March 29^th 1979, but not before 25,000 people had lost their lives.

1980

In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Deputy Sheriff Joe Edwards was shot dead while questioning suspects attempting to sell weapons.

Edwards was off duty and talking to a friend when a car pulled up nearby with three occupants. His friend told him that the occupants had recently tried to sell him guns.

Edwards identified himself, just before 19-year-old Ricky Eugene Washington exited the vehicle and shot Edwards multiple times in the back, killing him.

Washington was arrested shortly after and sentenced to death in the electric chair. In 1983, the sentence was commuted to life in prison.

1981

In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philip Charles Testa, AKA: The Chicken Man, was killed in a nail-bomb explosion as he was walking into his home.

The bomb had been placed under his porch and was designed to detonate as he neared it. Testa was an American mobster who briefly led the Philadelphia crime family.

He took over from Angelo Bruno who had been murdered by his own consigliere, Antonio Caponigro, in 1980. One month before his death, Testa along with several mob associates had been indicted for money laundering operations.

His death was allegedly ordered by his underboss Peter Casella. Testa’s murder caused a rift in the crime family that continued for at least a decade after.

1982

In Los Angeles, California, eight-year-old Barbara Burhans, her mother Carmen Burhans Garcia, and her father Diego Garcia, left the family home in their car and were never seen again.

On April 27^th 1982, their 1977 Toyota Corolla was discovered at the bottom of a gorge in the San Gabriel Mountains but there was no trace of the family.

There were no signs of foul play and no blood inside the car. Investigators suspect the car was deliberately pushed down the mountain to conceal it.

Despite rumours of cults, involvement in the drug trade, and unsubstantiated sightings in Miami, no trace of the family has ever been found but investigators have long suspected foul play. The case remains open and unsolved.

1983

In Alaska, serial killer Thomas Richard Bunday killed himself by driving his motorcycle directly into an oncoming truck.

He was serving in the Air Force at the time at the Eielson Air Force Base near Fairbanks and an arrest warrant had been issued just days prior to his death.

Bunday killed at least five girls and women from 1979 to 1981 by shooting them and leaving their corpses in the open. He remains one of Alaska’s few known serial killers.

His known victims were 19-year-old Glinda Sodemann, 11-year-old Doris Oehring, 20-year-old Marlene Peters, 16-year-old Wendy Wilson, and 19-year-old Lori King.

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