Michael Thomas Barry's blog

Peter Griffiths

by Michael Thomas Barry

On May 14, 1948, three-year-old June Devaney is kidnapped from her room at Queen's Park Hospital in Blackburn, England. The child had been recovering from a recent bout of pneumonia. Nurses discovered her missing at 1:20 a.m. the next day, and police were immediately summoned to investigate.

Pope John Paul II is shot

by Michael Thomas Barry

On May 13, 1981, Pope John Paul II is shot and seriously wounded while passing through St. Peter’s Square in an open car. The assailant, 23-year-old escaped Turkish murderer Mehmet Ali Agca, fired four shots, one of which hit the pontiff in the abdomen, narrowly missing vital organs, and another that hit the pope's left hand.

Charles Lindbergh Jr.

by Michael Thomas Barry

On May 12, 1932, the body of aviation hero Charles Lindbergh’s baby is found, more than two months after he was kidnapped from his family’s Hopewell, New Jersey home. Lindbergh, who became the first worldwide celebrity five years earlier when he flew The Spirit of St. Louis across the Atlantic, and his wife Anne discovered a ransom note in their 20-month-old child's empty room on March 1, 1932.

British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval

by Michael Thomas Barry

On May 11, 1812, British Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is shot to death by demented businessman John Bellingham in the lobby of the House of Commons. Bellingham, who was inflamed by his failure to obtain government compensation for war debts incurred in Russia, gave himself up immediately.

J. Edgar Hoover

by Michael Thomas Barry

On May 10, 1924, J. Edgar Hoover is named acting director of the Bureau of Investigation (now the FBI). By the end of the year he was officially promoted to director. This began his 48-year tenure in power, during which time he personally shaped American criminal justice in the 20th century.

Former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro

by Michael Thomas Barry

On May 9, 1978, the body of former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro is found, riddled by bullets, in the back of a car in the center of historic Rome. He was kidnapped by Red Brigade terrorists on March 16th after a bloody shoot-out near his suburban home.

Stella Nickell

by Michael Thomas Barry

On May 8, 1988, Stella Nickell is convicted on two counts of murder by a Seattle, Washington, jury. She was the first person to be found guilty of violating the Federal Anti-Tampering Act after putting cyanide in Excedrin capsules in an effort to kill her husband.