Jan. 27, 2001: The Dartmouth Murders

It was about six in the evening when a family friend went to have dinner with Half (pronouced "Hall-ph") and Susanne Zantop at their home in Etna, New Hampshire. The Zantops, both originally from Germany and professors at Dartmouth College, were popular with students and had begun to consider retirement. The house was eerily quiet and she quickly worried that something was wrong. The grisly scene inside confirmed her suspicions. Both Half and Susanne had been brutally stabbed to death. The culprit(s) took $340 from Half's wallet, but left other, more valuable items behind. Also left behind were footprints, fingerprints, and the sheaths from two SOG SEAL 2000 combat knives.

Police originally thought it might be a crime of passion linked to an affair, but that theory was quickly disproved and the Boston Globe had to run a retraction on the story. Investigators soon got back on the right track, however, by tracing the knife sheaths back to their original owners -- two high school classmates, James Parker (16) and Robert Tulloch (17). The boys, who were never known to cause any trouble, said that they had purchased the knives to build a fort, but sold them to a surplus store when they proved to be too heavy. Tulloch had recently suffered a deep gash on his leg, which he said he'd received from a metal spigot after falling in the woods. Reasonably convinced of their innocence, police released both boys to their parent's custody.

The next morning, the boys skipped town. Parker left a note for this father reading, "Don't call the cops." He did anyway. Police checked the finger and shoe prints from the boys and found that they matched the crime scene. The boys ditched their car at a truck stop in Sturbridge, Massachusetts with plans to hitchhike to California. A friendly trucker picked them up and an Indiana Sheriff intercepted his radio call searching for a ride out west. He arrested the pair at a truck stop.

The boys had killed the Zantops as part of a plan to earn $10,000 to go to Australia and work as killers-for-hire. They'd gone to the Zantops' on the pretense that they were doing a report for school. A previous attempt had failed when the intended victim had refused to open the door. Parker accepted a plea bargain for second-degree murder and testified against Tulloch. He was given 25 years to life, with a possibility of parole after 16 years. Tulloch was given life without parole. They are both in separate prisons in New Hampshire.

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IN PRINT: The Dartmouth Murders, by Eric Francis

IN PRINT: Judgment Ridge : The True Story Behind the Dartmouth Murders, by Dick Lehr and Mitchell Zuckoff

Jan. 26, 1996: The Millionaire Murderer

On January 26, 1996, John du Pont, member of the promient du Pont family, went over to the home of Olympic Gold Medalist wrestler Dave Schultz (which was on du Pont's 800-acre Pennsylvania estate) and shot him three times in the driveway, killing him instantly. Schultz's wife and du Pont's head of security witnessed the crime. John du Pont then went back to his mansion where he was involved in a three-day stand-off with police. They eventually turned off his heater and arrested him when he came outside to fix it.

Du Pont, an avid wrestling fan who donated large sums of money to to the Olympic team and let them train at his private gym, was a paranoid schizophrenic. As his mental conditioned worsened, he believed that he was the Dalai Lama, there was conspiracy to assassinate him, and feared an invasion by the Russian army. Naturally, his lawyers tried the insanity defense. Despite his clearly poor mental condition, the prosecution proved, by virtue of his three-day stand-off with police, and over 100 requests for his lawyer, that du Pont knew what he had done was wrong.

Du Pont was convicted of third-degree murder and sentenced to 13 to 30 years. He died in prison on December 9, 2010 from an unspecified illness.

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Jan. 25, 1947: Al Capone Dies

Following his release from Alcatraz in 1939 at age 40, Al Capone was no longer the man he once was. Most believe it was the effects of untreated syphilis (contracted in his teens), but Capone family members insist it was mistreatment at Alcatraz that caused his mental undoing.

The "retired" Capone divided his time between the family home in Chicago (where his mother, Teresa, continued to reside) and his estate on Palm Island in Miami, FL. Over his remaining years, Capone's health and sanity continued to wane. He was often convinced that long-dead gangsters and the locked-up Bugs Moran were out to get him.

Capone suffered a stroke on January 21, 1947. Three days later, he contracted pneumonia. Finally, on January 25, at age 48, Capone suffered a fatal heart attack, surrounded by his grieving family. His devoted wife, Mae, collapsed at the scene.

Mae and their one child, Albert Francis (called "Sonny"), continued to live in Florida. Mae died at age 89 in 1986. Sonny, who was married three times and had four daughters with his first wife, eventually changed his last name to "Brown" ("Al Brown" was a frequent alias of his father). He died in 2004 at the age of 85, having lived a life the complete opposite of his infamous father.

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IN PRINT: Uncle Al Capone

Jan. 24, 1989: Ted Bundy Executed

At approximately seven o'clock on the morning of January 24, 1989, Ted Bundy, perhaps the most notorious serial killer in the U.S., died in the electric chair. It had been a long journey consisting of multiple captures, escapes, manhunts, trials, appeals, and denials. The crowd gathered outside let out a jubilant cheer and set off fireworks. The assembled media outlets breathlessly reported the news that Ted Bundy had finally gotten what he deserved.

Bundy was guilty of murdering an estimated 35 women in the Pacific Northwest, most of whom had long, dark hair parted in the middle. He would routinely approach an intended victim wearing a fake plaster case, claiming he needed assistance, to lure her to his tan VW Beetle. He would bludgeon, sexually assault, and ultimately murder his victim before dumping the body in a remote area. Like most serial killers, he had a troubled childhood. During his college years, he was stunned to learn that his sister was actually his mother, and his parents were really his grandparents. This revelation came right on the heels of a devastating break-up with his college girlfriend, from which he would never recover.

Bundy was extremely smart and handsome, however. He studied law, psychology, and politics, and gave many the impression of a responsible young man with great ambition. He seemed especially trustworthy and was well respected by college professors and professionals. Few that knew him would ever suspect what he did in his spare time.

Bundy was captured more than once, but managed to escape twice -- first by leaping out of a courthouse window, and the second time by losing enough weight to crawl through the jail ceiling amd strolling right out a main door. Following his second escape in 1977, he traveled to Florida where he went on his final, murderous rampage. Forgoing his previous tactic of luring unsuspecting victims, he broke into a Florida State University sorority house and, using a tree branch, bludgeoned and assaulted four women, two of whom survived. After another failed kidnapping attempt and with police hot on his trail, Bundy claimed his final victim, 12-year-old Kimberly Leach. A week later, Bundy was caught driving a stolen car and subdued after trying to escape. Fingerprints identified him as the FSU killer.

He went through multiple trials and appeals, many just an effort to manipulate the system and put off his impending execution. He frequently changed lawyers and even defended himself at one point. He eventually confessed to several crimes unknown to police and helped investigators in the Green River Killer case. Eventually, his options ran out and his eleven-year stretch on Death Row came to an end.

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IN PRINT: The Stranger Beside Me, by Ann Rule

ON FILM: The Deliberate Stranger

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Jan. 23, 1990: The Happy Face Killer

On January 23, 1990, in Portland, Oregon, serial killer Keith Hunter Jesperson claimed his first known victim, 23-year-old Taunja Bennett. After watching Bennett drink too much while hanging out at a local bar, Jesperson took her back to his rented house on a false pretense, seduced her, and then strangled her with a rope. He left her body in the house for a few hours while he went back to the bar to establish an alibi. He later dumped her body off the side of the road some miles away. This would become his typical method of operation.

Jesperson was a textbook case. A tall, hulking man who was teased about his size as a child, he also suffered the wrath of his abusive father. He took much joy (and seemingly gained his father's approval) by killing dogs, cats, and gophers at his family's trailer park while growing up in British Columbia. A divorced father of three, a training injury dashed his dream of joining the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He turned to interstate trucking in the U.S. to earn a living, which allowed him the benefit of mobility in claiming his victims.

Laverne Pavlinac, an armchair detective stuck in an abusive relationship, read about Taunja's murder and decided to use it to her advantage. After studying the crime intensely, she convinced the police that her boyfriend, John Sosnovske, had murdered Taunja and had forced her to help. Her plan backfired when both of them were convicted. The innocent Sosnovske plead guilty to avoid the death penalty and she received 10 years. Since she was the chief witness, her claim that it was all a hoax fell on deaf ears.

Jesperson didn't like losing credit for his work, and wrote a confession on the bathroom wall of a truck stop. He signed it with a smiley face. When that didn't get any attention, he wrote numerous letters to newspapers and police departments, all with the same signature. The Oregonian dubbed him the "Happy Face Killer."

Most of Jesperson's victims were transient women, some of whom have yet to be identified. But in early 1995, Jesperson finally murdered someone he knew -- his longtime girlfriend, Julie Ann Winningham. This connection allowed police to eventually catch up with him. He's now serving three consecutive life sentences at the Oregon State Penitentiary. Pavlinac and Sosnovske were eventually released, both having served four years for a crime they didn't commit.

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Jan. 22, 2006: Husband, Father, Liar, Murderer

On January 22, 2006, police entered the Hopkinton, Massachusetts home of Neil Entwistle, his wife Rachel, and their three-year-old daughter, Lillian. Family members had been unable to reach the Entwistles and had grown understandably concerned. On a second search of the house, police found Rachel and Lillian both dead by gunshot wounds from a .22 caliber handgun.

Neil Entwistle was finally located at his parents home in Nottinghamshire, England. He claimed that after finding his wife and daughter dead, he went to borrow a gun from his father-in-law in order to kill himself. After he chickened out, however, he instead grabbed a flight to England.

Forensic evidence clearly indicated otherwise. Further investigation found that not only was his alibi a complete fabrication, but so was his entire life. Unknown to his family, he was hopelessly in debt and facing financial ruin. What little money he made was from spam email scams.

Authorties in England sent Entwistle back to the U.S. for trial. On June 26, 2008, he was sentenced to life without parole.

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IN PRINT: Heartless: The True Story of Neil Entwistle and the Cold Blooded Murder of his Wife and Child

Jan. 21, 1959: So Long, Alfalfa

Carl Switzer, best known as "Alfalfa" in the Our Gang (aka The Little Rascals) film series, died from a single gunshot wound in Mission Hills, CA. Switzer, age 31, was rushed to the hospital after being shot, but was pronounced DOA due to massive internal bleeding.

Switzer and friend Jack Piott had been drinking heavily that night and went to the house of Moses "Bud" Stiltz to collect on a perceived $50 debt over a lost (then found) hunting dog. Witness testimony varies, but this much is known for certain: Switzer threatened Stiltz and a fight ensued. Piott smashed a glass-domed clock on Stiltz's head. Stiltz grabbed a .38 caliber revolver and fired two shots -- the first went into the ceiling and the second struck Switzer in the groin.

It was first reported that Switzer had wielded a hunting knife, but investigators only found an unopened pocket knife at the scene. Still, Switzer's death was ruled a justifiable homicide. Sadly, Switzer was just one of many former child actors to meet a tragic end.

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