True Crime On This Day September 7th

September 7th

On September 7th, in true crime, there was assassination by umbrella, murder, a cop killer, and a fishing boat massacre.

1978

In London, Georgi Markov, a controversial Bulgarian writer was assassinated beside the River Thames. He was killed by the Bulgarian Secret Service in collusion with the KGB.

He was murdered with a micro-engineered pellet fired into his leg from an umbrella. The event would become known as The Umbrella Murder. The assassin was said to have been codenamed; Piccadilly.

1979

Near Loring Park, Minneapolis, Robert Allen Taylor was stabbed to death for being gay. Taylor was one of many gay men in the late 1970s and early 1980s who were victims of anti-gay violence. His killer’s only defence was that he did not like gays.

1980

In California, Highway Patrolman Ernest Ray Felio was shot dead after making a routine traffic stop. Felio pulled the suspect’s car over and was witnessed having a conversation with the driver. The suspect pulled a gun and shot Felio twice, killing him instantly.

The suspect fled the scene but was arrested shortly after. He was sentenced to death for the murder but killed himself in prison before his execution. Felio had been with the California Highway Patrol for 18 years prior to his death.

1981

In Wailuku, Maui County, Hawaii, the skeletal remains of an unidentified white or Hispanic adult male were discovered. They were found by hikers near a walking trail headed towards The Cross in Wailuku.

A local suggested the man may have gone by the name of Ed but no evidence has ever been found to suggest it. Despite a well-marketed information campaign, and large local investigation, the case remains unsolved.

1982

Off the coast of Craig, Alaska, a fishing boat named Investor was found burning on the waters. Investigators recovered the severely burned remains of seven people from the wreckage and later confirmed that they had all been murdered.

A coroner’s jury later ruled that all eight people on the boat had been killed even though investigators were certain they had seven bodies.

In September 1984, John Kenneth Peel was arrested for the murders, but after two trials, he was acquitted. The murders remain the biggest unresolved murder case in Alaska history.

1983

In Sundsvall, Sweden, on September 7th, 18-year-old Karl Olof ‘Olle’ Högbom disappeared after leaving a party with friends. The party was held at an apartment where his entire school class was involved. They had planned to go to a nightclub in the area after the house party but Olle didn’t want to go.

One of his female friends tried to convince him to go with them but instead Olle left the apartment and walked off beside a railway. She was the last person to see him alive. Some of his personal belongings, including his glasses, were found near the railway crossing sometime after.

In 1993, serial killer Thomas Quick, confessed to Olle’s murder but there has been no evidence to connect him to it. Quick was known to confess to crimes he hadn’t committed but was still convicted of seven murders across Scandinavia alone.

Despite this, no trace of Olle has ever been found, and his case remains open and unsolved.