TRUE CRIME

On the morning of February 18, 1916, Hans Schmidt entered the death chamber at Sing Sing Prison. Moments before being seated in the electric chair, he murmured, "My last word is to say goodbye to my dear old mother!" Within minutes, he was dead—forever infamous as the only Catholic priest to be executed in the United States. His crime? A brutal and ritualistic murder that horrified the nation, yet was only the tip of the ... View more

Robert Franklin Stroud, better known as the "Birdman of Alcatraz," was a man whose life was defined by violence, isolation, and an extraordinary dedication to birds. A convicted murderer, ornithologist, and author, Stroud spent 54 years behind bars, including 42 in solitary confinement. His transformation from a violent inmate to a respected expert in avian pathology remains one of the most unusual stories in American criminal ... View more

On the night of August 7, 1930, the town of Marion, Indiana, witnessed a spectacle of racial violence that would become one of the most infamous lynchings in American history. Thousands gathered to witness the brutal murder of two young African-American men, J. Thomas Shipp and Abraham S. Smith. Their lifeless bodies, hanging from a tree in the county courthouse square, were immortalised in a chilling photograph that served as ... View more

On a summer morning in 1973, the peaceful routine of a Prague tram stop was shattered in an instant. Elderly commuters stood chatting, waiting for their transport, oblivious to the tragedy that was about to unfold. At approximately 11 a.m., a Praga RN truck came hurtling down the road. It swerved violently onto the pavement, ploughing through the unsuspecting crowd. By the time the dust settled, bodies lay scattered ... View more

Frank Sheeran’s life reads like a crime thriller—except the violence, betrayals, and backroom dealings weren’t fiction. Known as The Irishman, Sheeran was a labour union official with close ties to the Bufalino crime family, a trusted enforcer for Teamsters president Jimmy Hoffa, and a man accused of knowing far too much about the criminal underworld. His story, told in Charles Brandt’s book I Heard You Paint Houses, formed ... View more