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Hollywood’s Favorite Murderer
If you’re reading through the stories here at Sword and Scale then you’re probably getting your true crime fix, same as if you were reading a true crime book or watching a movie based on a real...
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Pennsylvania’s Phantom Dynamiter
Meet Paul Poluszynski, alias ‘Paul Jawarski’, known throughout Pennsylvania as ‘The Phantom.’ Before the end of his extremely violent (and, some might say, mercifully brief) criminal career he claimed...
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The 4Chan Murder Suspect
The anonymous image sharing board 4chan has long held the reputation as a place where anything goes on the internet. Information flows quickly and everything from cat memes, gore, and pornography is...
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The Last Execution At The Tower Of London
The Tower of London, nowadays a popular tourist destination. Once also a prison, defensive fortress, a crime scene (if you believe, as I do, that the ‘Princes in the Tower’ were murdered here) and also...
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Murder at the North Pole?
Well, we’ll probably never know and that’s what makes this case so interesting. A distinguished Professor, two Inuit helpers, the first successful expedition to the North Pole and Admiral Robert Peary,...
View ArticleLive Murder on the News
Every day we hear of murder, rape, death, and some of the most horrific atrocities we could ever fathom covered on the news. Since the inception of live media coverage, it is not uncommon for events...
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To Commute, Or Not Commute..?
Alabama Governor Bibb Graves That is the question for any State Governor with the power to do so. Some agonize over the decision, some don’t and a great many will base their decision more on their...
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The Butterfly Pinned?
Meet Henri Charriere. Frenchman, Venezuelan, career criminal, transportee to Devil’s Island, denier of the murder that sent him there, happy to claim to have committed a murder while he was there and...
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England’s Last Fatal Duel
Duelling was once an accepted practice in both European and American society. When two gentlemen had a disagreement, what was quaintly termed at the time ‘A matter of honor,’ they would agree to meet...
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The Father Of Toxicology
Meet Professor Mathieu Orfila, the ‘Father of Toxicology.’ He was born on April 24, 1787 on the island of Minorca and died on March 12, 1853 in Paris. He was a graduate of both Barcelona and Valencia...
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The Murder and Torture of Kelly Anne Bates
As many as 1 in 3 of the women that are murdered each year is by the hands of a current or former lover. At a glance, the murder of Kelly Anne Bates may seem to be just another sad statistic. A young...
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Social Media Confessions
Sociopathic killers are often proud of their crimes. They collect mementos, they may brag about it to their friends, but above all they want to be caught. They want the media spotlight and the...
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The Pennsylvania Trigger Woman
Irene Schroeder and Glenn Dague We’re back in Pennsylvania for our latest criminal curiosity. Irene Schroeder, AKA ‘Trigger Woman’, ‘The Blonde Bandit’, ‘Tiger Woman’ and ‘Iron Irene’, was the first...
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Depression Desperado and Gentleman Bandit
Ray Hamilton on Death Row. Ray Hamilton, thief, armed robber, kidnapper, escape artist, murderer. He worked with Clyde Barrow as part of the infamous ‘Bonnie & Clyde’ Gang before his out-sized ego...
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The Peculiar Death of Willie Francis
Willie on Death Row. Note the calendar. Here’s another strange but true case, this one courtesy of the State of Louisiana. It was on May 9, 1947 that a 17-year old black teenager walked his last mile....
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America’s First Electrocution
August 6, 1890 saw the dawn of a new age for criminal history. At Auburn Prison in upstate New York there was the execution of one, William Kemmler, condemned for murdering his girlfriend Matilda...
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Francis ‘Two Gun’ Crowley
Francis Crowley, the inspiration for movie gangster Rocky Sullivan He was no relation to famed Satanist Aleister Crowley, but young Francis had more than a touch of the Devil in him just the same. Born...
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Masonic Murder Cover-up?
The Masonic Square and Compass. The fraternal order of Freemasons is no stranger to conspiracy and controversy. Their secretive nature, use of eclectic pagan symbolism within their lodges, as well as...
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The Last Executions In Britain
As regular readers are aware, I cover true crime here a fair bit and the death penalty is a regular feature. So, today, it’s with some small satisfaction that we’re going to look at Britain’s last...
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The Assassination of Spencer Percival
John Bellingham, assassin of Prime Minister Spencer Percival. Assassination of important and powerful political figures is nothing new and neither is it particularly rare. Four American Presidents,...
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