True Crime On This Day October 19th

Last Updated on September 16, 2022 by Ben Oakley

October 19th

On October 19th, in true crime, a Hollywood Murder, a headless body, robbery, killers, and an assassination.

1978

Academy Award winning actor Gig Young killed his wife and then turned the gun on himself. He won the Oscar for his role as Rocky in the 1969 film; ‘They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?’

The Oscar had become the kiss of death which led him to severe alcoholism. He was fired from the set of Mel Brook’s Blazing Saddles in 1974 as he was suffering delirium tremens which is caused by extreme withdrawal from alcohol.

In 1978, he shot his wife in the head then killed himself the same way. His true motives remain unknown.

1979

In County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, 20-year-old milk delivery man and Protestant James Robinson was shot dead. He was driving his milk van in Fintona when he was killed by members of the IRA. His death was one of many in 1979 that was caused by rising tensions in the region.

1980

In Illinois, the nude, headless body of 26-year-old Diane Small was discovered under the Airtight Bridge on the Embarras River. At the time, police were unable to identify the body because her head and hands had been cut off.

On the same day, just a few miles away, Thomas Small reported his wife was missing. Despite the timing of the missing person’s report, no connection was ever made.

In 1992, using new DNA technology, the headless body was confirmed to be that of Diane Small but with no evidence of who killed her, the case went cold again. The case was reopened in 2012 and investigators looked at all aspects of the case.

In 2017, 37 years after the discovery, Thomas Small confessed to the murder of his wife, and was arrested. He was later sentenced to 30 years in prison.

1981

Another day in the United States, and another three bodies of unidentified individuals were discovered. In San Diego, California, the decomposing body of a Latino female in her thirties was found in a ravine by a hiker.

She had been found partially buried in a shallow grave, face up, with her feet protruding from the sand. Due to the decomposition, she had no identifying features.

In Olympia, Washington, the partial skeletal remains of white female in her twenties was discovered in a wooded area commonly used as a dump by locals.

There was a cross of sticks fastened with shoestring found nearby. Some of her limbs and both her hands were never recovered.

In Los Angeles County, California, the body of a 50 to 70-year-old male was recovered from a local residence. There is not much information in his case. To this day, all three remain unidentified and their cases unsolved.

More unsolved cases.

1982

In Escambia County, Florida, armed robbers Clarence Edward Hill and Cliff Jackson stole a car and drove to the Freedom Federal Savings Bank in Pensacola with the intention of robbing it.

When an alarm went off, Hill ran out the back door and Jackson fled out the front door. Police officer’s Stephen Taylor and Larry Bailly were first to arrive at the scene and captured Jackson near the front of the building. Hill snuck up on them from behind and opened fire.

Taylor died from his wounds and Bailly was seriously wounded. Despite his injuries, he managed to shoot Hill five times. Hill survived and was arrested a few hours later.

Jackson was later sentenced to life in prison for the robbery. Hill was sentenced to death for the robbery and murder. He was executed by lethal injection in Florida on September 20^th 2006.

1983

In Grenada, revolutionary, and leader of the New Jewel Movement, Maurice Rupert Bishop, was killed in an attack by paramilitaries from his own party.

In 1979, he had successfully carried out a military coup in the country. 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.

In May 2009, Grenada’s international airport was renamed Maurice Bishop International Airport in dedication to Bishop’s work and life.