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When police searched Jeffrey Dahmer's apartment on July 22, 1991, they uncovered a nightmarish scene, including a 57-gallon blue drum in his bedroom. The drum was filled with acid and contained decomposing body parts of several victims. Dahmer had been using the drum as a way to dissolve and break down the remains, a grim method he employed to reduce the bodies to a more manageable state for disposal or further preservation.

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It came as a shock to an Iowan school when they discovered that one of their own faculty members, Paula Pace, had once been convicted of second degree murder. In 1965 then Paula Baniszewski helped aid in the torture of teenage girl named Sylvia Likens, which ultimately lead to the young girl’s death. The girls had been friends at one time. When she was seventeen, Paula invited Sylvia, as well as her sister, Jenny, to stay with her family while the Likens girl’s mother spent time in jail on shoplifting charges. Lester Likens paid $20 a month for his daughters’ boarding. For a period of three months Sylvia was horrifically abused by members of the Baniszewski family with the head of the household, Gertrude, being the main aggressor. She was routinely subjected to violent beatings and verbal abuse by Gertrude and her children. In addition to the beatings, Sylvia was also starved, burned, force-fed feces, and had the words “I am prostitute and proud of it!” carved into her stomach with a heated needle. At one point Paula had hit the girl so hard in the face that the force of impact broke her own wrist. When she returned from the hospital, the Baniszewski girl continued the beatings, this time with her new cast. Paula would also spread lies about Likens to provoke her enraged mother into further torturing the girl. After a failed escape attempt, Gertrude threw Sylvia down the basement stairs where the girl laid, broken physically and emotionally, until her body finally gave in. On October 26, 1965 Sylvia Marie Likens died at the age of sixteen.

Gertrude Baniszewski, as well as several of her children, was convicted in the heinous crime. Paula was found guilty of second degree murder, and was sentenced to life in prison. However, Paula Baniszewski was able to appeal her conviction. She plead guilty to manslaughter, and served time in prison until 1972 when she was released.

But the past is never far. With Pace as her new surname, Paula continued to rebuild her life after completing parole. She moved to Iowa, where she found a job working as a custodian in a school in the town of Conrad during 1998. Eventually, she worked up to the role of a teacher’s aide for special needs students. During the fall of 2012, a group of people on Facebook tracked her down. They sent in an anonymous tip to the police. The police, as well as the school, began an extensive background check. They discovered that Paula Pace and Paula Baniszewski shared the same birthday. The woman also bore a striking resemblance to Baniszewski’s mug shot. When confronted, Paula to her appalling past. In a unanimous vote, the school board decided to fire her.

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The house of horrors at 3850 East New York St. in Indianapolis where Sylvia Likens spent her short life being tortured by Gertrude Baniszewski and her teen band of sickos.

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The Torture and Murder of Sylvia Likens

On 26th October 1965, authorities found the emaciated corpse of a girl, the body had more than 150 wounds and the girl had obviously been tortured. The body was the tortured and murdered remains of Sylvia Likens, 16 years old.Sylvia Marie Likens and her sister Jenny boarded with Gertrude Baniszewski on their parents request, their parents paid for their boarding from 4th July and planned to collect the girls in November that year. Those weekly payments gradually began to arrive late, Gertrude took out her frustration over this out on the two children, beating them with various objects.

By mid-August Gertrude began to focus her abuse primarily on Sylvia, it was said this was due to jealousy of Sylvia’s physical appearance. Initially Sylvia was beaten and refused food, leading to her eating leftovers or spoiled food. The abuse quickly worsened and on one occasion Gertrude’s daughter and a neighbourhood boy forced Sylvia to eat a hot dog overloaded with spice and condiments, Sylvia vomited as a result and was forced to eat her own vomit.

Sylvia retaliated by spreading a rumour that Gertrude’s two daughters Paula and Stephanie were prostitutes. Despite crying and apologising when confronted Sylvia was beaten by Stephanie’s boyfriend and Gertrude. On another occasion Paula beat Sylvia with so much force that she broke her own wrist. Neighbourhood children were encouraged to participate in the torture and beating of Sylvia, using her as a practice dummy in judo sessions, burning her skin with cigarettes more than 100 times and severely injuring her genitals. To entertain the teenagers and Gertrude, Sylvia was forced to strip and insert a Coke bottle into her vagina with Gertrude stating this was to prove to Sylvia’s sister Jenny ‘what kind of girl you are.’ Jenny was also subject to bullying and ridiculed if she mentioned Sylvia’s situation. Sylvia was eventually forbidden from attending school for stealing school clothes after being denied them by Gertrude. Sylvia was forced to take a scalding bath and her body was covered in open sores. She was regularly seen with black eyes and appeared ‘zombified’ in nature.

Due to the brutality Sylvia became incontinent and was then kept naked, rarely fed or given water and imprisoned in the basement. Neighbourhood children were charged 5 cents to humiliate, beat, scald, burn and mutilate Sylvia, a cloth gag was placed in her mouth to hide her screams. Sylvia was forced to consume human faeces and urine. She was branded with the words ‘I’m a prostitute and proud of it,’ which was burned onto her stomach with a heated needle. Sylvia confided in her sister that she could tell she was going to die. On 25th October Sylvia attempted to escape the basement after hearing a conversation in which Gertrude stated she was going to abandon her and leave her to die. In response to her attempts to flee Sylvia was beaten with a curtain rod, in the morning she was unable to speak or co ordinate her limbs movement. She was given a class of milk and then beaten when unable to drink it. Shortly after Sylvia became delirious. She was sprayed with a garden hose and had her head stamped on. Gertrude’s daughter Stephanie attempted to take Sylvia for a warm bath although Sylvia stopped breathing on her way out of the basement. Stephanie attempted to apply mouth to mouth resuscitation despite Gertrude shouting Sylvia was faking her death. Sylvia was dead. Richard Hobbs found her body being held by a crying Stephanie and phoned the police. 

Upon discovery of Sylvia’s body Jenny Likens whispered to officers, ‘You get me out of here and I’ll tell you everything.’ The statement provided allowed Gertrude, Paula, Stephanie and others to be arrested on suspicion of the murder of Sylvia Likes. Gertrude initially denied all involvement blaming her daughter Paula and other teenagers. Paula admitted to beating Sylvia without any remorse.

An autopsy of Sylvia’s body detailed her suffering; she has an excess of 150 separate wounds and was severely emaciated. Most of her fingernails were broken backwards and she had bitten through her lips. In trial Gertrude was found guilty of first degree murder, Paula of second degree murder and others of manslaughter. Gertrude and Paula were sentenced to life imprisonment. Gertrude was released in 1985, never accepting responsibility for Sylvia’s death. She died of lung cancer on 16th June 1990 aged 61. The films ‘An American Crime,’ and ‘The Girl Next Door,’ were loosely based on the case.

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Empire Records (1995)

Let me explain it to you. Mitchell’s the man. I’m the idiot. You’re the screw-up. And we’re all losers.

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At the age of 12, Howard Dully was subjected to the unnecessary procedure of a lobotomy, thanks in part to his stepmother, who couldn’t handle a normal pre-teen boy. Dr. Walter Freeman, the man behind the disturbing practice of lobotomies, claimed that Howard had childhood schizophrenia and claimed a lobotomy would cure him of such. However, when other doctors that have seen him never came to that diagnosis. It has taken Howard decades to recover from the surgery. He lived his life in institutions, he was incarcerated, homeless and became an alcoholic. He eventually sobered up and went on to get a college degree. He has since researched what happened to him and has even written his memoirs, with the help of Charles Flemming, and turned it into a book titled “My Lobotomy.” He is now a talk show host on National Public Radio, where he speaks to other lobotomy victims.

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A man in Oklahoma noticed reddish-brown stains on his kitchen wall and wiped them off, yet they continued to reappear. Becoming concerned, Thomas Kennedy, rang authorities who found the stains to be blood, leaking from the apartment upstairs, where Kennedy’s neighbour lay deceased.

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Grudge Against The Judge? - The Phantom Barber of Mississippi

The name “Phantom Barber” is attributed to probably one the strangest criminals in US history. During 1942 he roamed the once little town of Pascagoula, Mississippi. At night he would sneak into the bedrooms of his victims, who were mainly blonde little girls, and cut off chunks of their hair. However, this behavior would soon escalate to attempted murder. But was it really the infamous Barber who brutally attacked a couple in their sleep?

Background

Pascagoula was once a quiet little fishing town. However, with the events of World War II and due to the city’s location it was the perfect place to build warships. This resulted in a boost for the local economy and a massive increase of the population — but also the crime rate. In 1942 a particular individual roamed the streets at night, who should later be dubbed the “Phantom Barber”.

Attacks

In total, there are four seperate attacks resulting in six victims that are publicly attributed to the Phantom Barber. However, evidence suggests that at least one of the crimes was not committed by the Phantom Barber but by an entirely different attacker, who had seen the town’s panic as an opportunity to blame his crime on the Barber instead.

The first ever reported attack of the Phantom Barber happened on Friday, June 5th, 1942 at the Our Lady of Victories convent. Mary Evelyn Briggs (picture, left) was sound asleep when she was suddenly woken by a noise. She opened her eyes to find a man standing over her. After she had initially believed she was simply dreaming, the reality of the situation soon became apparent to her. She loudly alerted her roommates whereupon the intruder fled through the window. It turned out that he had cut the screen of the window earlier to gain access to the room. Mary quickly discovered that a good chunk of her hair had been cut and one of her roommates, Edna Hydel, discovered that the same had been done to her. Mary was the only one who could ever give a description of the Phantom Barber.

“He was sorta short, sorta fat, and he was wearing a white sweatshirt.”

Not long after, the Phantom Barber struck a second time. Next Monday night little Carol Peattie was asleep in a room with her twin brother David. At the time, three adults were present inside the home, their father and Mr. and Mrs. Henshaw, who were helping take care of the kids while their mother was in hospital. Around midnight Mrs. Henshaw was alarmed by a strange noise. She woke up her husband and together they went into the kids’ room to investigate. Everything seemed undisturbed at first, but then they discovered a sandy bare footprint next to the window. Carol was woken up and she, too, discovered that her hair had been cut. The screen of the window had been cut to grant access just like with the first attack.

At this point the entire population of Pascagoula was already on high alert and most made sure to nail their windows shut at night and all slept in one room together.

Up until now the individual had displayed no sign of violence towards his victims, even after being caught in the act. However, that would change the following Friday when Mr. and Mrs. Heidelberg were brutally attacked in their sleep. An intruder had snuck up on them with an iron bar he had found inside the house and started beating them with it until they fell unconscious. The attack happened so fast that neither of them even had time to scream. Mrs. Heidelberg lost multiple teeth to this attack and her husband suffered violent blows to the head. The attacker fled, leaving the money that lay on a table in the room untouched, suggesting this had not been a robbery. The reason people believed it was the Phantom Barber was because the intruder had gained access via cutting the window screen which was characteristic for the Barber.

A short while after, one more final victim, Mrs. Taylor, was visited by the Phantom Barber. She reported awaking to something sickly smelling being pressed to her face. Investigators assumed the attacker had used a rag doused in chloroform. She, too was missing a chunk of hair and could not describe her attacker.

Suspect arrested

After there had been no sign of the Barber for about two months, a chemist named William Dolan (57, picture, center) was arrested and charged with assault and attempted murder for the attack on the Heidelbergs. He was never officially charged with the unlawful haircutting, could however be linked to the crimes via a chunk of hair that was found hidden near his house.

Evidence

After news of the attack on the Heidelbergs had spread, bloodhounds were summoned to track the attacker. They followed the scent from the window to the nearby woods where investigators discovered a pair of discarded, bloody gloves. It was later discovered that the gloves in fact belonged to the Heidelbergs themselves and that the attacker must have stolen them from the couple’s car. The hounds soon lost the trail soon after by some bushes and it was speculated that the attacker had fled on a bike which he had hidden in the bushes before.

This attack was the last straw that sent the entire town into full-blown hysteria. Pretty much everyone went to sleep with a gun nearby. After the last attack, the bloodhounds could not be used as a heavy rainstorm prevented them from catching a scent.

Witnesses

After Dolan’s arrest multiple witnesses came forward claiming that they could place Dolan at the scene of the crime. One said they saw Dolan leave the Heidelbergs’ house around midnight, another claimed they saw Dolan come home in his truck in the middle of the night. Among them was also a man named William Atwood who claimed to have essentially driven the getaway car, unknowing of what Dolan was planning to do. Dolan had come back from his “date” with the words “let’s get away from here right away” because he had “gotten in trouble”. The car had apparently been parked right by the bushes where the hounds had lost the attacker’s scent

Fun fact: It later turned out that Dolan was a Nazi-sympathizer who, ironically, had studied at university in Heidelberg, Germany.

A man named Lloyd Spicer is the reason why Dolan was inofficially linked to the other crimes committed by the Phantom Barber. Spicer had found a bundle of hair hidden near Dolan’s house.

“Along an isolated path across the railroad track from the shack occupied by Dolan”

This hair later turned out to be that of Carol Peattie, the Phantom Barber’s 3rd victim. At least the newspapers were convinced that Dolan was indeed the infamous Phantom Barber.

A grudge against the judge?

The police had their own theories on why Dolan had attacked the Heidelbergs which, surprisingly, had nothing at all to do with the acts of the Barber at all.

Remember how I said Mr. Heidelberg’s father was the city judge? Well, turns out Dolan had a ginormous criminal record including but not limited to armed robbery. Not too long ago Dolan had been arrested for trespassing and the city judge had initially refused to lower his bond. So there’s the motive.

Trial And Aftermath

Dolan firmly denied all accusations, claiming his car had been in repair that night. This was however contradicted by witness statements who had seen him drive that day. The company from which Dolan had ordered the car parts also testified that the day they delivered them did not correspond with Dolan’s statements. The defense claimed that the Chief of police Ezell and Dolan had had a falling out not long ago and that while in custody Dolan had been subjected to extreme violence and pressure to sign a confession by the detectives on the case. They also claimed Dolan had seen Mr. Atwood wearing a shirt covered in blood on the day of the crime.

In the end, the multiple eyewitness testimonies were enough to convince the judge and Dolan was sentenced to 10 years in prison — the maximum sentence.

Prison Break

So, done deal, case closed. Well, not entirely. Because a good while into his sentence, Dolan tried to break out of prison. It was a whole prison break scenario, the whole shabang. He and his cellmate had put a hole in their wall and even gotten hold of primitive weapons. However, for at least the second time in his life — someone snitched. Another inmate told the janitor who told the officers and Dolan and his cellmate were transferred to a different prison.

Free at last

Okay, but that’s it, right? What else could possibly happen? Six years into his sentence he was granted a lie detector test. And passed. Governor Wright oversaw the entire thing and basically said that he wasn’t convinced Dolan was innocent, but he also wasn’t convinced he was guilty either. So he had to give him the benefit of the doubt. Dolan received a suspended sentenced and eventually let out in 1951. A free man at last.

Did he really do it?

That is a really good question. Firstly, I am of the opinion that the so called Phantom Barber did not commit all four attacks. His MO and victimology was very distinct with the first three victims and suddenly changed drastically with the Heidelbergs. They were all young girls with blonde hair. The intruder had never gotten violent and fled at the first sign of trouble. The only thing similar in the Heidelberg attack to the previous attacks was his mode of entry — through a cut window screen. The fact that the Phantom Barber did this however was common knowledge. Anyone could have replicated it to throw off suspicion. What further supports this theory is that with the last victim, the attacker resorted back to a relatively non-violent approach and resumed the cutting of hair which was absent in the Heidelberg attack. What is a bit puzzling is the change in victimology with the last attack as Mrs. Taylor was an older woman. Maybe this is the reason he sedated her before he cut her hair or maybe it wasn’t the Phantom Barber at all.

Now, all the evidence points towards the conclusion that Dolan had attacked the Heidelbergs but not the other victims. The only evidence linking him to the other crimes was a bundle of hair found NEAR his house by a random guy. Apparently the hair had been “hidden behind a log”. It doesn’t quite sit right with me that someone would just find that by accident.

It is also important to note the emotional climate within the town at the time. Everyone was in utter panic. After the Heidelberg attack the shipyard even had trouble getting people to work the nightshift as everyone wanted to be home with their families. Everyone wanted the Phantom Barber caught as soon as possible which put very high pressure on the police. It is definitely possible that the evidence was planted or the witnesses bribed. As a Nazi-sympathizer Dolan was already considered a traitor by the townsfolk and so no one protested when he was arrested.

In the end, we will probably never know who was responsible for those attacks. However, the fact that the Barber stopped his attacks so suddenly after being active every Monday and Friday suggests that something made him stop — whether he passed away or simply moved town.

What are your thoughts on this case? Do you think Dolan was responsible? Or do you have any alternate theories?

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cecil hotel- mysterious death of elisa lam  (blog #1)

the cecil hotel was built in 1924 in los angeles , california by william banks hanner. it was built on what is known as skid row which is famous for its homeless population. 

in 1932 the cecil hotel has their first death. it was a suicide. a man named w.k. norton was found dead in a hotel room by viles of poison. 

in 1932 25-year old grace margo became the 4th person to die at the cecil hotel. she dropped from the 9th floor and her body was found tangeled in phone wire. 

in 1944 a woman gave birth in her hotel room and threw her a baby out her window. 

in 1947 when 22 year old elizabeth short (the black dahlia) was found in a park cut in half. the cecil hotel was one of the last places she was seen alive. 

in 1962 27-year old paulinee otton was arguing with her husband and got so upset she killed herself. she jumped from her 9th floor room and landed directly on 65-year old george gianni. they both died.

 in 1964 piegon goldie osgood was found stabbed , raped , and strangled in her room at the cecil hotel. 

in 1984 richard ramirez ( the night stalker) lived at the cecil hotel. richard was a serial killer who killed at least 14 people from june 1984 to august 1985. while richard was on his killing spree he lived at the cecil hotel.  

here is todays case : 

21 -year old elisa lam was born on april 30th,1991 in canada. her parents are david and yinna lam. in january 2013 elisa decided to take a trip to california by herself. she made sure to check in and call her parents everyday of her trip. on january 26, 2013 she arrived in los angeles. elisa had been diagnose with bipolar disorder and depression. she was prescribed wellburtin , lamictal , seroquel and effexor to treat her disorders. her family said she had no history of suicidal attempts or thoughts. 

on january 31 , 2013 elisa was supposed to check out of her room at the cecil hotel but she never did. when her parents hadnt heard from her all day and called the LA police. after she was reported missing , her parents flew out to los angeles to help with the search for their daughter. 

on february 15th , 2013 16 days after elisa went missing , police released a video that was the last known sighting of her taken in the cecil hotels elevator the day she went missing. in the clip elisa enters the elevator alone , she is wear a red zip up hoodie over a gray shirt , with black shorts and flip flops. she enters from the left and goes to the elevators buttons and selects several floors. after pressing buttons , elisa steps back into the corner. she steps up to the open elevator doors , puts her head through the door and looks in both directions. she quickly steps back and seems to try to hide near the elevators buttons, she then goes out into the hallway. video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rfLSVIA0L0 .

 on the horrific morning of february 19 , 2013 ( almost 20 days after elisa went missing ) hotel guests said the water tasted gross , the water pressure was low and sometimes even black. a hotel employee was sent to check out the 4 water tanks on top of the hotel. these water tanks went to a hotel cafe , shows , sinks , waters , and more. when the employee lifted the latch on one of the water tanks he found the nude decomposing body of 21-year old elisa lam. her body was found in 1 of the 4 1,000 gallon water tanks. her body was nude , somewhat decomposed, and bloated. she was greenish white and her clothes were floating next to her. no drugs or liquor was found her in system. the autopsy showed she had died of drowning and had been dead for almost 20 days. the results of the rape kit test done at her autopsy have never been made public. there were some pools of blood in her anal area , which some argue is a sign of sexual assulat and others think it could be an affect of the bloating. elisas death was ruled an accident. to this day , no one really knows what happened to 21- year old elisa lam. 

i personally think she was murdered by someone working at the hotel. what do you think?

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Despite her many accolades, actress Judy Garland lived a tragic life. At 13, she was signed to MGM studios almost on the spot, after co-founder Louis B. Mayer was stunned by her beautiful voice. She was immediately given the role of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, but the producers were less than impressed with her appearance and told her she was just a “fat little pig with pigtails”. They put her on a strict diet of chicken soup and plenty of cigarettes to supress her appetite. Brainwashed by the toxic industry, Garland developed bulimia.

She was not only starved by Hollywood, but she was regularly drugged, something that would give her a lifelong drug dependency. Garland would be pushed to work 18 hour days, six days a week, and producers needed something to keep their new star energised so they gave her amphetamines. When these gave her insomnia, they just plied her with sleeping pills. This vicious cycle of substance abuse ended tragically when Judy overdosed aged 47.

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If you lived in total darkness, your body would adjust to a 48-hour-day, meaning you’d be awake for 36 hours and sleep for 12 hours. Researchers also discovered that you’d experienced terrifying hallucinations because the human mind isn’t used to the lack of stimulus you’d see in normal daylight. Instead, it creates its own.

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I found + stole this off of facebook and thought y'all would appreciate it ah ha ha ha ha

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“Is it true you’re a lesbian? If you are I understand, ‘cause guys are so gross. I’m also going to be one, I think.”

Fucking Åmål (1998, Lukas Moodysson)

cinematography by Ulf Brantås

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midsommar // sharp objects (2018) // brenna twohy // gillian flynn

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