Infamous Crimes: 11 Notorious Cases of the 20th Century
Chapter 1: Dr. Crippen – The Murderer
Chapter 1 shows how, trapped in an unhappy marriage and in love with another woman, Dr. Crippen murdered his wife after a violent argument. For the first time, radio communications were used in pursuit of a criminal, and Crippen and his new partner were arrested as they tried to escape to a new life in Canada.
Chapter 2: The Mona Lisa – Lost and Found
Chapter 2 tells how in 1911 an ex-worker at the Louvre, Vincenzo Perugia, managed to steal the famous painting relatively easily. Two years later, when Perugia tried to sell it to an Italian art dealer (claiming at the same time that he wanted it returned to Italy for patriotic reasons) the painting was recovered.
Chapter 3: The Lindbergh Kidnapping
Chapter 3 shows how, after the disappearance of their baby son, the Lindberghs gave the kidnapper money through an intermediary, but the boy’s body was found shortly afterwards. A German carpenter, Hauptmann, was identified as the culprit when he tried to spend some of the Lindbergh’s money.
Chapter 4: The Great Train Robbery
Chapter 4 describes how a gang of robbers successfully stole millions of pounds from a Post Office train. Their plan failed because their hideout was not cleaned, leaving evidence which led to the arrest of most of the robbers within a year.
Chapter 5: The Kennedy Assassination
Chapter 5 presents the time after President Kennedy’s assassination when Lee Harvey Oswald was first arrested for killing a policeman who wanted to question him. When his gun was discovered in the building overlooking the site of the shooting, he was held on suspicion of killing the President. However, Jack Ruby shot him before he went to trial.
Chapter 6: Patty Hearst
Chapter 6 talks about the daughter of a rich newspaper owner, Patty Hearst, who was kidnapped by a terrorist group. However, two months later Patty Hearst claimed she shared their beliefs, changed her name, and took part in armed robberies. At her trial, she claimed that she had been drugged and intimidated. Initially, she was not believed, but public opinion changed, and she was released from prison early.
Chapter 7: Azaria Chamberlain
Chapter 7 describes how the Chamberlains claimed that a dingo snatched their baby daughter Azaria from a tent. The evidence was unclear, but Lindy’s story was not believed, and she went to prison. However, doubts emerged about blood found in the Chamberlain’s car, and it also became clear that dingoes could attack babies, and Lindy was released.
Chapter 8: Shergar
Chapter 8 is about the valuable racehorse Shergar. It was kidnapped, and a massive ransom demand was made. There was little contact from the kidnappers, probably the IRA, and no money was paid. Although there were rumors of sightings, the horse was never seen again.
Chapter 9: Bonnie and Clyde
Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow first met in January 1930 and later became the most notorious outlaws of their time in the USA. Just over four years later they were both gunned down in a police ambush, which put an end to the robberies and murders that they had become famous for.
Chapter 10: Nick Leeson
Chapter 10 shows that Leeson’s amazing success as a trader meant that his work at Barings in Singapore was virtually unchecked. He created a secret error account to hide a small loss made by a colleague, but his own losses spiraled out of control as a series of deals went wrong. The bank had to close down, and Leeson was arrested as he tried to get back to England.
Chapter 11: Charles Ponzi and Elmyr de Hory
Chapter 11 presents Italian Charles Ponzi and Hungarian Elmyr de Hory, two of the best-known fraudsters of the twentieth century. Ponzi for his “Ponzi scheme” of making money out of an imaginary investment, and de Hory for his forged paintings by artists such as Picasso, Matisse, and Renoir.