True Crime On This Day September 8th

September 8th

On September 8th, in true crime, there was a robbery murder, unsolved cold cases, a serial killer, and a mystery disappearance.

1979

In South-Central Los Angeles, two brothers, Robert and Woodrow Warren killed two men during an armed robbery. The two brothers and an unidentified man approached Homero Flores and Antonio Herrera as they were sitting outside Flores’ home, drinking beer and listening to music.

The victims were held at gunpoint while they were robbed. For reasons unknown, the brothers then shot them dead at point blank range. Both brothers were charged with murder and sentenced to death.

In 1988, their sentences were commuted to life in prison. Their accomplice has never been identified.

1980

In Denver, Colorado, 48-year-old Robert Fatzinger disappeared after leaving his home to go to work. He never showed up for work and never returned home.

He was reported missing the next day. On October 29th, 1980, his body was found in the trunk of a vehicle parked at Stapleton Airport. An unknown assailant had murdered him. Fatzinger also worked as a Deacon of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.

Despite his standing in the community, no motive or no suspect was ever found. His murder remains an active cold case to this day.

1981

In Yuma County, Arizona, the body of 51-year-old engineer Jerry Heath was discovered near the Darling Cinder Pit of Winona.

Resendez was a Californian defence contractor who was on his way home after completing a job in Fort Worth, Texas. He had disappeared a month earlier and his car had been found abandoned near Yuma City shortly after.

The case went cold for 32 years until 2013 when Robert Resendez was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. His fingerprints were among those collected from the scene and sent to the FBI.

However, in November 2015, Resendez was found not guilty of second-degree murder and released from custody. As of 2021, the murder of Jerry Heath still remains unsolved.

1982

In New Jersey, on September 8th, 17-year-old Virginia Clayton was abducted and murdered by serial killer Richard Biegenwald, AKA: The Thrill Killer. Her body was found three days later, just four miles from the location of where another victim, John Petrone’s body was discovered.

Biegenwald was an American serial killer who murdered at least six people over a 25-year period from 1958 to 1983 and is suspected of two other murders in the same time frame.

He would mostly shoot his victims but some were stabbed. Biegenwald was arrested in 1983 and sentenced to death which was later commuted to life. He died in 2008 of natural causes in prison.

1983

In Ontario, Canada, 25-year-old Mary Emma Hammond disappeared under suspicious circumstances. She had left her residence to head to her workplace at Buns Master Bakery on Morton Avenue.

She was last seen crossing a field towards the back of the bakery building but she never arrived at work. Her employers contacted her husband half hour after she was due to start, and he raised the alarm.

Investigators followed her footsteps to the back of the bakery, where they vanished. They discovered items from her lunch at the scene, including a cup, dish, and a partially eaten apple. One of Hammond’s socks was recovered and a small amount of blood was found on the ground.

At the time of her disappearance, a brown pickup truck was seen nearby but has never been found. The circumstances surrounding her disappearance remain a mystery, and the case has never been solved.