True Crime On This Day November 4th

November 4th

On November 4th in true crime, an embassy siege, child murder, macabre discovery, vanished without a trace, and a Hollywood murder.

1978

The decomposed body of 17-year-old Dawn Schnetzer was discovered by a farmer who was cutting wood in Calumet County, Wisconsin. She disappeared six weeks earlier and was found wearing only socks.

Authorities remain unsure whether Schnetzer was killed at the scene or at another site before being dragged into the woods. The killer has never been found but the case is active with the FBI.

1979

At the United States Embassy in Tehran, Iran, a hostage situation and siege began that lasted 444 days until January 20^th 1981.

The Iran hostage crisis was a diplomatic stand-off between Iran and the United States, that led to 52 American diplomats and citizens being held hostage within the Embassy.

The siege was carried out by student members of the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam’s Line, a group that supported the Iranian Revolution.

1980

In Pinellas County, Florida, 10-year-old Elisa Nelson was riding her bike to school when she was abducted and killed by child sex offender Larry Eugene Mann. Her bicycle was found in a ditch later the same day just one mile from her school.

She had been killed by a forceful blow to the head, which was later discovered to have been a cement-encased steel pipe. On the same day, Mann tried to take his own life by cutting his forearms.

A relative of Mann’s realised the connection to Nelson’s murder and told investigators. Mann was arrested six days later and sentenced to death. Two retrials re-sentenced him to death and he was executed by lethal injection on April 10^th 2013.

1981

In Spokane, Washington, 24-year-old nurse Kathryn Rahe Gregory disappeared after last being seen at her home by her husband, Brian. He left for work just before lunch but Kathryn failed to report for her 2pm shift at the local hospital.

In just a two hour window, Kathryn vanished. She wasn’t reported missing to the police until the following morning and her car was later found parked just two blocks away.

Despite an investigation suspecting the husband of her disappearance, no trace of Kathryn has ever been found. Her family have long believed she is deceased but is officially still classified as endangered missing.

1982

In Los Angeles, California, American actress Dominique Ellen Dunne was killed by her ex-boyfriend John Thomas Sweeney. The attack happened in the driveway of her West Hollywood home, when Sweeney, who was known to be abusive, strangled and beat her.

Dunne was rushed to hospital where she went into a coma. She never regained consciousness and died five days later. Sweeney was arrested and charged with murder.

In a controversial court case, Sweeney was only convicted of voluntary manslaughter and served three and a half years in prison. Dunne was best known for portraying Dana Freeling in the 1982 horror film Poltergeist.

1983

In Atascosa County, Texas, on November 4th, 55-year-old deputy sheriff Ollie F. Childress Jr. was shot dead when he was flagged down by another vehicle. While driving down a rural road, he was ambushed by Pedro Solis Sosa and his nephew Leroy Sosa, when Childress stopped his patrol vehicle.

They forced Childress into the trunk of his vehicle and drove to the LaVernia State Bank where they robbed it, posing as officers. They then drove back to the rural road where Pedro shot Childress in the neck and head at point blank range, killing him instantly.

The pair were arrested four months later on February 4^th 1984. Pedro was sentenced to death and Leroy was sentenced to life in prison after testifying against his uncle.

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