True Crime Books by Jason Lucky Morrow

Welcome to HistoricalCrimeDetective.com [Est. 2013], where you will discover forgotten crimes and criminals lost to history. This blog is the official website for true crime writer Jason Lucky Morrow, author of four books including the popular series: Famous Crimes the World Forgot, Volume I and Volume II. Please follow us on Facebook, for updates. Contact me here.


Tag: Nebraska

Mug Shot Monday! Nannie Hutchinson & son, Charles, 1903

On November 1, 1903, Eli Feasel disappeared from his farm south west of Bostwick, Nebraska, about 15 miles east of Red Cloud. His housekeeper, Nannie Hutchinson, said he went to visit his son in Kansas City. Feasel’s brother, Thomas, grew suspicious when inquiries found no trace of Eli. Investigation led to the arrest of the […]

Mug Shot Monday! Bert Martin, Horse Thief, 1900

Bert Martin, Horse thief, 1900/01 In October 1900, ranch hand Bert Martin went on trial for stealing horses in Springview, Nebraska, the county seat of Keya Paha County. During his trial, he was supported by his wife and step-child, as well as his widowed-mother. On October 13, he was found guilty and sentenced to serve […]

Mug Shot Monday! Sgt. John Reid, 1906

On the evening of May 13, 1906, a violent confrontation occurred between the African American members of Troop B, Tenth United States Cavalry Regiment stationed at Fort Robinson, Nebraska, and the townspeople of nearby Crawford, Nebraska. A year before, Crawford City Marshal Arthur Moss and Sergeant John Reid of Troop B had come close to […]

The Saga of Mona Wilson: Innocent Woman Serves Ten Years for Murder

Mona Wilson’s 1927 Mug Shot for the women’s prison in York, Nebraska   In 1927, thirty-one-year-old Mona Wilson lived with her husband of two years on her parents’ farm in rural Sheridan County, Nebraska. She was a loyal daughter who helped them on their rented farm and had little interest in the outside world. Mona […]

Mug Shot Monday! Adolph Smetak, 1925

  In August 1925, neighbors of Prague, Nebraska, farmer John Smetak grew suspicious when they hadn’t seen him since March. His son, Adolph, told neighbors he had gone back to the “old country” (Bohemia) to visit relatives. Their suspicions led them to report the missing man to county deputies who began their search on the […]

Mug Shot Monday! Jake Vohland, Chicken Rustler, Poultry Pilferer, 1931

Since this is the week of thanksgiving, I wanted to work in a thanksgiving type crime. The best I could do was this poultry pilferer from 1931. Credit: Nebraska State Historical Society   In 1931, during the depths of the Great Depression, Jake Vohland attempted to steal chickens from Mr. and Mrs. Dale E. Stubblefield […]

Small Town, Vigilante Justice in 1907

While searching my newspaper archive sources for specific stories, or just on fishing expeditions for new ones, I often come across stories about a lynch mob serving up vigilante justice to an unconvicted murderer. In most cases, the lynch mob would storm the jail where the prisoner was held and grab him while others held […]

The Genesis of the Lie-Detector Test

. Told he was dying from a heat stroke, Fuller Schallenberger confessed on a hot summer day in July 1913, that he and another man, Charles Kopf, murdered Julian Behaud in 1899 at the victim’s home in Julian, Nebraska. When Schallenberger awoke the next morning, he was well on his way to recovering. Unfortunately, he […]