True Crime On This Day March 18th

March 18th

On March 18th in true crime, assassination, murder, unsolved homicide, missing persons, cold cases, and serial killers.

1978

In France, essayist, politician, and founding member of the Front National party, François Duprat, was assassinated in a car bomb explosion.

Duprat was part of the leadership of the Front National party until his death and was one of the main architects in the introduction of Holocaust denial thesis in France.

His wife who was in the car with him lost both her legs in the explosion. The culprits have never been caught.

1979

In Las Vegas, correctional officer James Walter Harbin was shot dead after interrupting a shop robbery. The former U.S Marine had been a correctional officer for only six weeks prior to his death.

When the robber saw Harbin enter the store, he assumed he was a police officer and opened fire. Harbin was killed instantly.

A hostage situation then began and police were caught in a shoot-out for hours until the suspect’s capture. In 2011, a street near Harbin’s former home was named after him.

1980

In Fortuna, California, 21-year-old Andrea Edra Laderoute disappeared and was quickly reported missing by her boyfriend, John Annibel.

In 2002, Laderoute’s skeletal remains were found by a land surveyor while working at the property formerly owned by Annibel. In 1999, Annibel was convicted of the 1998 murder of Debbie Sloan and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

When DNA results came in, Annibel became the only suspect in Laderoute’s murder. He has also been linked to at least four other disappearances and murders.

Many have labelled Annibel a serial killer, but he has only ever been convicted of one murder.

1981

In Denver, Colorado, the body of 28-year-old Shelly Norman was found in her home. Norman worked as a medical clinic coordinator and when she didn’t turn up for work, a colleague went to her home but couldn’t gain access and realised something was wrong.

When police arrived, they entered the property and found Norman stabbed to death, laying a pool of her own blood.

There were signs of a robbery which led investigators to believe that had been the primary motive. No suspects have ever been caught and Norman’s murder remains unsolved.

1982

In Salt Lake City, Utah, in the early hours of the morning, 81-year-old Bertha Hughes was beaten to death in her own home.

She had last been seen people-watching from her window which was something she enjoyed doing. In the early hours, neighbours heard shouting and a commotion coming from her home.

When a carer visited the same morning, she found Bertha dead on the floor. An investigation showed her home had been broken into and she had been involved in a struggle with her attacker, who subsequently beat her to death.

No suspect has ever been caught and the case remains unsolved.

1983

In Raleigh, North Carolina, 52-year-old Elizabeth Hicks Rogers was out drinking with family and friends in a local bar.

At some point in the evening, Rogers left the bar and was never seen again. It has long been suspected that she was met with foul play but no trace of her has ever been found.

It was as if she simply disappeared into thin air. Her disappearance has never been solved and she remains listed as endangered missing.

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