True Crime On This Day November 29th

November 29th

On November 29th in true crime, the man who died twice, macabre discovery, cop killer, necro killer, and eaten by dogs.

1978

In a particularly brutal unsolved murder, the body of five-year-old Stephanie Hebert from Los Angeles was found tied to a tree.

She had gone missing six months earlier and the remains were suggested to be about six months old. Her clothing and glasses had been laying near the body but wildlife had scattered many of her bones.

She was taken a month after her kindergarten graduation and 17 days before her sixth birthday. It is suggested that she was sexually abused and tortured before her death.

Suspects have been interviewed but as of 2022 it remains unsolved. It would be likely that the killer may have killed again.

1979

In Birmingham, Alabama, police Sergeant Albert Ballard was shot dead by a robbery suspect. Ballard was on patrol when he stopped a possible suspect on the side of the road.

Before a conversation could ensue, the suspect pulled out his gun and shot Ballard dead at point blank range. A manhunt ensued which involved Birmingham Police and U.S Marshals.

The suspect was caught soon after and shot twice. He survived to stand trial in 1985 and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

1980

In Nashville, Indiana, a fire ripped through the home of Clarence Roberts and his wife, Geneva Roberts. Investigators found two bodies in the fire, they were identified as Clarence and Geneva.

It was an unexpected mystery because Clarence Roberts had died in a barn fire on their property on November 19^th 1970, ten years earlier. One body was found in the 1970 fire and despite being burned beyond all recognition; it was identified as Clarence Roberts.

An investigation looked deeper into the mystery. Before the 1970 fire, Clarence was known to have been in a huge amount of debt, going into the hundreds of thousands. Two days before the fire, witnesses had seen him talking to a homeless man who suddenly laid down on the ground.

It was suspected by investigators that Clarence had murdered the homeless man and placed him in the barn, along with Clarence’s ring and shotgun. It was suggested he did it so that his family could cash in on $1.2million (USD) in life insurance policies.

In 1975, despite no trace of Clarence ever being found, his wife tried to have him legally declared dead but the insurance companies refused to pay out.

After losing the lawsuit in 1980, the Geneva’s house burned to the ground in mysterious circumstances. Clarence was suspected of having moved to Mexico and came back to kill Geneva when the insurance companies didn’t pay out.

He entered the home, made sure Geneva was passed out and poured flammable liquids over the house. Clarence’s body was found in a storage room that contained many solvents and investigators assumed he had passed out due to the fumes and died in the fire.

Though his body was identified for a second time, some people suspected that he may have faked his death again.

1981

In Verona, Kentucky, on this day, the partial skeletal remains of 25-year-old Helen Marlene Oakes were found. Her remains were not identified until 2001 when DNA technology linked the body to her disappearance.

On October 11^th 1980, Oakes had been shot dead by her estranged husband William Major. Oakes had been having an affair with a man who lived on their property and her husband had found out about it.

She also wrote in her diary that her husband had been abusing one of their two children and had made plans to elope.

After her body was identified, Major was arrested, convicted of her murder and later sentenced to life in prison.

1982

At the Milostowo cemetery in Poznań, Poland, on November 29th, polish serial killer and necrophile Edmund Kolanowski dug up the corpse of an unidentified woman and took it home with him.

There, he mutilated the corpse by cutting off the breasts and genitals before burning the rest of it in his furnace. He was also known to have sewn body parts onto a mannequin for sexual purposes.

Kolanowski killed three women and mutilated numerous corpses from 1970 until his arrest on May 16^th 1983. He was sentenced to death and executed by hanging on July 28^th 1986.

1983

In Cleveland, Ohio, a man called the police to check on his neighbour, Anne Elko, who he hadn’t seen in a week. Officers arrived at the residence and broke down the door to find dozens of dogs inside. Dog wardens arrived and removed 22 live dogs and eight dead miniature poodles.

Investigators searched the property and found a portion of a human skull and fragments of bones.

They were located primarily on the kitchen floor under debris, on the landing of the stairs, and in the basement. An anthropologist and radiologist determined the bones were from a white female, aged 45 to 60, which was consistent with Anne’s age.

Despite the evidence presented to investigators, no positive identification of the bones could be made, and she was logged as a Jane Doe.

What remained clear was that someone had died in the home either as an accident, or by foul play, and was subsequently completely eaten by the dogs.

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