True Crime On This Day September 19th

Last Updated on September 16, 2022 by Ben Oakley

September 19th

On this day, throughout history, there are missing persons, unsolved murders, riots, and unidentified serial killers. Those born on September 19th are Virgos.

1978

In England, 13-year-old paperboy Carl Bridgewater was shot dead after disturbing a burglary in the West Midlands. After false imprisonments and overturned convictions, the murder is still unsolved. It remains one of Southern England’s most infamous crimes.

1979

In New South Wales, Australia, one of the largest riots in Australian history took place. It all started when The Star Hotel closed. Located in the West End district of Newcastle, the hotel was a live music venue that was frequented by young people, gay men and gay women.

The local authorities saw the hotel as rundown and dangerous, and subsequently tried to have it shut down. Instead, the owners closed the bar themselves but held a final night blow-out on September 19^th. The event had live music and free beer to all.

The police turned up at 10pm and shut down the music, telling everyone to go home, but it backfired. Two hours later, 4,000 people were rioting in the streets, cars were burning, and police battled with rioters.

1980

In Harris County, Texas, armed robber Lawrence Lee Buxton and two accomplices, entered a Houston supermarket with the intention of robbing it. During the robbery, 40-year-old customer Joel Slotnik and his five-year-old son entered the store and were ordered to lay face down.

On the way out, Buxton shot Slotnik in the neck after his son started screaming. Slotnik died on the way to the hospital. Buxton was later arrested for the armed robbery of six other establishments but no connection was made to the Slotnik killing until he was in prison.

While serving 35 years for armed robbery, Buxton was found guilty of the Slotnik murder and sentenced to death. He was executed by lethal injection in Texas on February 26^th 1991.

1981

In San Francisco, California, two men were on their fishing boat, which was docked at Pier 33 for repairs, when they spotted something unusual floating in the water nearby. It looked like a large plastic bag, so they reeled it in. When they opened it on the boat, there was a male human torso found inside.

Five days later, a decapitated human head was discovered in Alameda County, just over the bay. Despite a large investigation and evidence of a brutal murder, the identity of the man remains a mystery. The case remains unsolved.

1982

In Frankfurt, Germany, on September 19th, the body of an unidentified teenager was discovered down a manhole. An investigation showed that he had most likely been thrown into the sewer while he was still alive.

Despite having no recognisable face, investigators suspected he was one of many young male prostitutes in the city. He had been a victim of the Sewage Plant Killings, which were an unexplained series of murders in Frankfurt during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

To this day, no one has been caught for the murders. All victims were male, aged between 11 and 18-years-old. They were handcuffed or tied with roped and then killed.

Most drowned in the sewage of the sewer tunnels. Only one victim could be autopsied due to the putrefaction of the discovered bodies. Some had been naturally mummified in the sewage over time.

1983

In Austin, Texas, 22-year-old cleaning business owner Laurie Stout, was raped and murdered when she entered a building she was due to clean. Her body was found in the men’s bathroom the following morning when employees who worked in the building turned up for work.

Everyone who worked in the building was questioned and subsequently ruled out, including Stout’s killer, the then 18-year-old Robert Francis Van Wisse. He was ruled out due to investigators only having access to basic DNA technology.

In 1992, a cold case investigation retested all the DNA taken from the employees which led to Wisse being the main suspect but he had eloped and could not be found.

In 2016, Wisse was added to the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, along with a $100,000 reward. This led to his surrender on January 26^th 2017. He was found guilty two months later and sentenced to 30 years in prison.