Zodiac Killer

The Zodiac Killer was a serial killer who operated in northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Zodiac murdered victims in Benicia, Vallejo, Lake Berryessa, and San Francisco between December 1968 and October 1969. Four men and three women between the ages of 16 and 29 were targeted. The killer originated the name "Zodiac" in an August 7, 1969 letter to the local Bay Area press, which was just one in a series of taunting letters. These letters included four cryptograms (or ciphers). Of the four cryptograms sent, only one has been definitively solved. Suspects have been named by law enforcement and amateur investigators, but no conclusive evidence has surfaced. In April 2004, the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) marked the case "inactive", yet re-opened the case at some point prior to March 2007. The case also remains open in the city of Vallejo, as well as in Napa County and Solano County. The California Department of Justice has maintained an open case file on the Zodiac murders since 1969. Victims- Confirmed: Although the Zodiac claimed 37 murders in letters to the newspapers, investigators agree on only seven confirmed victims, two of whom survived. They are: -David Arthur Faraday, 17, and Betty Lou Jensen, 16: shot and killed on December 20, 1968, on Lake Herman Road, within the city limits of Benicia. Coordinates: 38°5′41.61″N 122°8′38.24″W -Michael Renault Mageau, 19, and Darlene Elizabeth Ferrin, 22: shot on July 4, 1969, in the parking lot of Blue Rock Springs Park in Vallejo. While Mageau survived the attack, Ferrin was pronounced dead on arrival at Kaiser Foundation Hospital. Coordinates: 38°7′33.56″N 122°11′27.94″W -Bryan Calvin Hartnell, 20, and Cecelia Ann Shepard, 22: stabbed on September 27, 1969, at Lake Berryessa in Napa County. Hartnell survived eight stab wounds to the back, but Shepard died as a result of her injuries on September 29, 1969. Coordinates: 38°33′48.29″N 122°13′54.43″W -Paul Lee Stine, 29: a cab driver who was shot and killed on October 11, 1969, in the Presidio Heights neighborhood in San Francisco. Coordinates: 37°47′19.47″N 122°27′25.54″W Suspected- The following murder victims are suspected to be victims of Zodiac, though none has been confirmed: -Robert Domingos, 18, and Linda Edwards, 17: shot and killed on June 4, 1963, on a beach near Gaviota. Edwards and Domingos were identified as possible Zodiac victims because of specific similarities between their attack and the Zodiac's attack at Lake Berryessa six years later. Coordinates: 34°28′11.20″N 120°10′7.14″W -Cheri Jo Bates, 18: stabbed to death and nearly decapitated on October 30, 1966, at Riverside City College in Riverside. Bates's possible connection to the Zodiac only appeared four years after her murder when San Francisco Chronicle reporter Paul Avery received an anonymous tip regarding similarities between the Zodiac killings and the circumstances surrounding Bates's death. College coordinates: 33°58′19″N 117°22′52″W -Donna Lass, 25: last seen September 6, 1970, in Stateline, Nevada. A postcard with an advertisement from Forest Pines condominiums (near Incline Village at Lake Tahoe) pasted on the back was received at the Chronicle on March 22, 1971, and has been interpreted as the Zodiac claiming Lass's disappearance as a victim. No evidence has been uncovered to connect Lass's disappearance with the Zodiac Killer definitively. There is also a suspected third escapee from the Zodiac Killer: Kathleen Johns, 22: allegedly abducted on March 22, 1970, on Highway 132 near I-580, in an area west of Modesto. Johns escaped from the car of a man who drove her and her infant daughter around the area between Stockton and Patterson for approximately 1½ hours. Junction 132/I-580 coordinates: 37°38′16.14″N 121°23′55.22″W Timeline- Lake Herman Road attack: The first murders widely attributed to the Zodiac Killer were the shootings of high school students Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday on December 20, 1968, on Lake Herman Road, just inside Benicia city limits. The couple were on their first date and planned to attend a Christmas concert at Hogan High School about three blocks from Jensen's home. The couple instead visited a friend before stopping at a local restaurant and then driving out on Lake Herman Road. At about 10:15 p.m., Faraday parked his mother's Rambler in a gravel turnout, which was a well-known lovers' lane. Shortly after 11:00 p.m., their bodies were found by Stella Borges, who lived nearby. The Solano County Sheriff's Department investigated the crime but no leads developed. Utilizing available forensic data, Robert Graysmith postulated that another car pulled into the turnout, just prior to 11:00 pm and parked beside the couple. The killer apparently exited the second car and walked toward the Rambler, possibly ordering the couple out of the Rambler. Jensen appeared to have exited the car first, yet when Faraday was halfway out, the killer apparently shot Faraday in the head. Fleeing from the killer, Jensen was gunned down twenty-eight feet from the car with five shots through her back. The killer then drove off. Blue Rock Springs attack: Just before midnight on July 4, 1969, Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau drove into the Blue Rock Springs Park in Vallejo, 4 miles (6.4 km) from the Lake Herman Road murder site, and parked. While the couple sat in Ferrin's car, a second car drove into the lot and parked alongside them but almost immediately drove away. Returning about 10 minutes later, this second car parked behind them. The driver of the second car then exited the vehicle, approaching the passenger side door of Ferrin's car, carrying a flashlight and a 9 mm Luger. The killer directed the flashlight into Mageau's and Ferrin's eyes before shooting at them, firing five times. Both victims were hit, and several bullets had passed through Mageau and into Ferrin. The killer walked away from the car but upon hearing Mageau's moaning, returned and shot each victim twice more before driving off. On July 5, 1969, at 12:40 a.m. (00:40), a man phoned the Vallejo Police Department to report and claim responsibility for the attack. The caller also took credit for the murders of Jensen and Faraday six-and-a-half months earlier. The police traced the call to a phone booth at a gas station at Springs Road and Tuolumne, about 3⁄10 mile (480 m) from Ferrin's home and only a few blocks from the Vallejo Police Department. Ferrin was pronounced dead at the hospital. Mageau survived the attack despite having been shot in the face, neck, and chest. Letters from the Zodiac: On August 1, 1969, three letters prepared by the killer were received at the Vallejo Times Herald, the San Francisco Chronicle, and The San Francisco Examiner. The nearly identical letters took credit for the shootings at Lake Herman Road and Blue Rock Springs. Each letter also included one-third of a 408-symbol cryptogram which the killer claimed contained his identity. The killer demanded they be printed on each paper's front page or he would "cruse [sic] around all weekend killing lone people in the night then move on to kill again, until I end up with a dozen people over the weekend." The Chronicle published its third of the cryptogram on page four of the next day's edition. An article printed alongside the code quoted Vallejo Police Chief Jack E. Stiltz as saying "We're not satisfied that the letter was written by the murderer" and requested the writer send a second letter with more facts to prove his identity. The threatened murders did not happen, and all three parts were eventually published.On August 7, 1969, another letter was received at The San Francisco Examiner with the salutation "Dear Editor This is the Zodiac speaking." This was the first time the killer had used this name for identification. The letter was a response to Chief Stiltz's request for more details that would prove he had killed Faraday, Jensen and Ferrin. In it, the Zodiac included details about the murders which had not yet been released to the public, as well as a message to the police that when they cracked his code "they will have me." On August 8, 1969, Donald and Bettye Harden of Salinas, California, cracked the 408-symbol cryptogram. It contained a misspelled message in which the killer said he was collecting slaves for the afterlife. No name appears in the decoded text, and the killer said that he would not give away his identity because it would slow down or stop his slave collection. Lake Berryessa attack: On September 27, 1969, Pacific Union College students Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard were picnicking at Lake Berryessa on a small island connected by a sand spit to Twin Oak Ridge. A man approached them wearing a black executioner's-type hood with clip-on sunglasses over the eye-holes and a bib-like device on his chest that had a white 3-by-3-inch (76 mm × 76 mm) cross-circle symbol on it. He approached them with a gun, which Hartnell believed to be a .45. The hooded man claimed to be an escaped convict from Deer Lodge, Montana, where he had killed a guard and stolen a car, explaining that he needed their car and money to go to Mexico. He had brought precut lengths of plastic clothesline and told Shepard to tie up Hartnell, before he tied her up. The killer checked and tightened Hartnell's bonds, after discovering Shepard had bound Hartnell's hands loosely. Hartnell initially believed it to be a weird robbery, but the man drew a knife and stabbed them both repeatedly. The killer then hiked 500 yards (460 m) back up to Knoxville Road, drew the cross-circle symbol on Hartnell's car door with a black felt-tip pen, and wrote beneath it: "Vallejo/12-20-68/7-4-69/Sept 27–69–6:30/by knife" At 7:40 p.m. (19:40), the killer called the Napa County Sheriff's office from a pay telephone to report this latest crime. The phone was found, still off the hook, minutes later at the Napa Car Wash on Main Street in Napa by KVON radio reporter Pat Stanley, only a few blocks from the sheriff's office, yet 27 miles (43 km) from the crime scene. Detectives were able to lift a still-wet palm print from the telephone but were never able to match it to any suspect. After hearing their screams for help, a man and his son who were fishing in a nearby cove discovered the victims and summoned help by contacting park rangers. Napa County Sheriff's deputies Dave Collins and Ray Land were the first law enforcement officers to arrive at the crime scene. Cecelia Shepard was conscious when Collins arrived, providing him with a detailed description of the attacker. Hartnell and Shepard were taken to Queen of the Valley Hospital in Napa by ambulance. Shepard lapsed into a coma during transport to the hospital and never regained consciousness. She died two days later, but Hartnell survived to recount his tale to the press. Napa County Sheriff Detective Ken Narlow, who was assigned to the case from the outset, worked on solving the crime until his retirement from the department in 1987. Presidio Heights attack: Two weeks later on October 11, 1969, a passenger entered the cab driven by Paul Stine at the intersection of Mason and Geary Streets (one block west from Union Square) in San Francisco requesting to be taken to Washington and Maple Streets in Presidio Heights. For reasons unknown, Stine drove one block past Maple to Cherry Street; the passenger then shot Stine once in the head with a 9mm, took Stine's wallet and car keys, and tore away a section of Stine's bloodstained shirt tail. This passenger was observed by three teenagers across the street at 9:55 p.m., who called the police while the crime was in progress. They observed a man wiping the cab down before walking away towards the Presidio, one block to the north. Two blocks from the crime scene, Officer Don Fouke, responding to the call, observed a white man walking along the sidewalk and stepping onto a stairway leading up to the front yard of one of the homes on the north side of the street; the encounter lasted only five to ten seconds. The radio dispatcher had alerted to be on the lookout for a black suspect, so they drove past him without stopping; the mix-up in descriptions remains unexplained to this day. A search ensued, but no possible suspects were found. The three teen witnesses worked with a police artist to prepare a composite sketch of Stine's killer; then, a few days later, this police artist returned, working with the witnesses to prepare a second composite sketch of the killer. Detectives Bill Armstrong and Dave Toschi were assigned to the case. The San Francisco Police Department investigated an estimated 2,500 suspects over a period of years. Communication from the Zodiac: On October 14, 1969, the Chronicle received another letter from the Zodiac, this time containing a swatch of Paul Stine's shirt tail as proof he was the killer; it also included a threat about killing schoolchildren on a school bus. To do this, Zodiac wrote, "just shoot out the front tire & then pick off the kiddies as they come bouncing out." At 2:00 p.m. on October 20, 1969, someone claiming to be the Zodiac called Oakland PD demanding that one of two prominent lawyers, F. Lee Bailey or Melvin Belli, appear on the local television show A.M. San Francisco, hosted by Jim Dunbar. Bailey was not available, but Belli did appear on the show. Dunbar appealed to the viewers to keep the lines open, and eventually, someone claiming to be the Zodiac called several times and said his name was "Sam". Belli agreed to meet with him in Daly City, but the suspect never showed up. On November 8, 1969, the Zodiac mailed a card with another cryptogram consisting of 340 characters. The 340-character cipher has never been decoded. Numerous possible solutions have been suggested, but none can be claimed as definitive. On November 9, 1969, the Zodiac mailed a seven-page letter stating that two policemen stopped and actually spoke with him three minutes after he shot Stine. Excerpts from the letter were published in the Chronicle on November 12 including the Zodiac's claim; that same day, Officer Don Fouke wrote a memo explaining what had happened the night of Stine's murder. On December 20, 1969, exactly one year after the murders of David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen, the Zodiac mailed a letter to Belli that included another swatch of Stine's shirt; the Zodiac said he wanted Belli to help him. Modesto attack: On the night of March 22, 1970, Kathleen Johns was driving from San Bernardino to Petaluma to visit her mother. She was seven months pregnant and had her 10-month-old daughter beside her. While heading west on Highway 132 near Modesto, a car behind her began honking its horn and flashing its headlights. She pulled off the road and stopped. The man in the car parked behind her, approached her car, stated that he observed that her right rear wheel was wobbling, and offered to tighten the lug nuts. After finishing his work, the man drove off; yet when Johns pulled forward to re-enter the highway the wheel almost immediately came off the car. The man returned, offering to drive her to the nearest gas station for help. She and her daughter climbed into his car. During the ride the car passed several service stations but the man did not stop. For about 90 minutes he drove back and forth around the backroads near Tracy. When Johns asked why he was not stopping, he would change the subject. When the driver finally stopped at an intersection, Johns jumped out with her daughter and hid in a field. The driver searched for her using his flashlight telling her that he would not hurt her, before eventually giving up. Unable to find her, he got back into the car and drove off. Johns hitched a ride to the police station in Patterson. When Johns gave her statement to the sergeant on duty, she noticed the police composite sketch of Paul Stine's killer and recognized him as the man who abducted her and her child. Fearing he might come back and kill them all, the sergeant had Johns wait, in the dark, at the nearby Mil's Restaurant. When her car was found, it had been gutted and torched. Most accounts say he threatened to kill her and her daughter while driving them around, but at least one police report disputes that. Johns' account to Paul Avery of the Chronicle indicates her abductor left his car and searched for her in the dark with a flashlight; however, in one report she made to the police, she stated he did not leave the vehicle. Further Zodiac communications: Zodiac continued to communicate with authorities for the remainder of 1970 via letters and greeting cards to the press. In a letter postmarked April 20, 1970, the Zodiac wrote, "My name is _____," followed by a 13-character cipher. The Zodiac went on to state that he was not responsible for the recent bombing of a police station in San Francisco (referring to the February 18, 1970, death of Sgt. Brian McDonnell two days after the bombing at Park Station in Golden Gate Park) but added "there is more glory to killing a cop than a cid [sic] because a cop can shoot back." The letter included a diagram of a bomb the Zodiac claimed he would use to blow up a school bus. At the bottom of the diagram, he wrote: "Zodiac Killer symbol.svg = 10, SFPD = 0." Zodiac sent a greeting card postmarked April 28, 1970, to the Chronicle. Written on the card was, "I hope you enjoy yourselves when I have my BLAST," followed by the Zodiac's cross circle signature. On the back of the card, the Zodiac threatened to use the bus bomb soon unless the newspaper published the full details he wrote. He also wanted to start seeing people wearing "some nice Zodiac butons [sic]."In a letter postmarked June 26, 1970, the Zodiac stated he was upset that he did not see people wearing Zodiac buttons. He wrote, "I shot a man sitting in a parked car with a .38." The Zodiac was possibly referring to the murder of Sgt. Richard Radetich, a week earlier, on June 19. At 5:25 am, Radetich was writing a parking ticket in his squad car when an assailant shot him in the head with a .38-caliber pistol. Radetich died 15 hours later. SFPD denies the Zodiac was involved in this murder; it remains unsolved. Included with the letter was a Phillips 66 roadmap of the San Francisco Bay Area. On the image of Mount Diablo, the Zodiac had drawn a crossed-circle similar to the ones he had included in previous correspondence. At the top of the crossed circle, he placed a zero, and then a three, six, and a nine. The accompanying instructions stated that the zero was "to be set to Mag. N." The letter also included a 32-letter cipher that the killer claimed would, in conjunction with the code, lead to the location of a bomb he had buried and set to go off in the fall. The cipher was never decoded, and the alleged bomb was never located. The killer signed the note with "Zodiac Killer symbol.svg = 12, SFPD = 0." In a letter to the Chronicle postmarked July 24, 1970, the Zodiac took credit for Kathleen Johns' abduction, four months after the incident. In a July 26, 1970 letter, the Zodiac paraphrased a song from The Mikado, adding his own lyrics about making a "little list" of the ways he planned to torture his "slaves" in "paradice". The letter was signed with a large, exaggerated cross circle symbol and a new score: "Zodiac Killer symbol.svg = 13, SFPD = 0". A final note at the bottom of the letter stated, "P.S. The Mt. Diablo code concerns Radians + # inches along the radians." In 1981, a close examination of the radian hint by Zodiac researcher Gareth Penn led to the discovery that a radian angle, when placed over the map per Zodiac's instructions, pointed to the locations of two Zodiac attacks. On October 7, 1970, the Chronicle received a three-by-five inch card signed by the Zodiac with the Zodiac Killer symbol.svg and a small cross reportedly drawn with blood. The card's message was formed by pasting words and letters from an edition of the Chronicle, and thirteen holes were punched across the card. Inspectors Armstrong and Toschi agreed it was "highly probable" the card came from the Zodiac. Zodiac letter to Paul Avery: On October 27, 1970, Chronicle reporter Paul Avery (who had been covering the Zodiac case) received a Halloween card signed with a letter 'Z' and the Zodiac's cross circle symbol. Handwritten on the card was the note "Peek-a-boo, you are doomed." The threat was taken seriously and received a front-page story on the Chronicle. Soon after receiving this letter, Avery received an anonymous letter alerting him to the similarities between the Zodiac's activities and the unsolved murder of Cheri Jo Bates, which had occurred four years earlier at the city college in Riverside in the Greater Los Angeles Area, more than 400 miles south of San Francisco. He reported his findings in the Chronicle on November 16, 1970. Riverside attack: On October 30, 1966, 18-year-old Cheri Jo Bates, a student of Riverside Community College, spent the evening at the campus library annex until it closed at 9:00 p.m. Neighbors reported hearing a scream around 10:30 p.m. Bates was found dead the next morning, a short distance from the library, between two abandoned houses slated to be demolished for campus renovations. The wires in her Volkswagen's distributor cap had been pulled out. She was brutally beaten and stabbed to death. A man's Timex watch with a torn wristband was found nearby. The watch had stopped at 12:24, but police believe the attack occurred much earlier. A month later, on November 29, 1966, nearly identical typewritten letters were mailed to the Riverside police and the Riverside Press-Enterprise, titled "The Confession". The author claimed responsibility for the Bates murder, providing details of the crime that were not released to the public. The author warned that Bates "is not the first and she will not be the last." In December 1966, a poem was discovered carved into the bottom side of a desktop in the Riverside City College library. Titled "Sick of living/unwilling to die", the poem's language and handwriting resembled that of the Zodiac's letters. It was signed with what were assumed to be the initials rh. During the 1970 investigation, Sherwood Morrill, California's top "Questioned Documents" examiner, expressed his opinion that the poem was written by the Zodiac. On April 30, 1967, exactly six months after the Bates murder, Bates' father Joseph, the Press-Enterprise, and the Riverside police all received nearly identical letters: in a handwritten scrawl the Press-Enterprise and police copies read "Bates had to die there will be more", with a small scribble at the bottom that resembled the letter Z. Joseph Bates' copy read "She had to die there will be more", this time without the Z signature. On March 13, 1971, five months after Avery's article linking the Zodiac to the Riverside murder, the Zodiac mailed a letter to the Los Angeles Times. In the letter he credited the police, instead of Avery, for discovering his "Riverside activity, but they are only finding the easy ones, there are a hell of a lot more down there." The connection between Cheri Jo Bates, Riverside and the Zodiac remains uncertain. Paul Avery and the Riverside Police Department maintain that the Bates homicide was not committed by the Zodiac, but did concede some of the Bates letters may have been his work to claim credit falsely. Lake Tahoe disappearance: On March 22, 1971, a postcard to the Chronicle, addressed to "Paul Averly" and believed to be from the Zodiac, appeared to claim responsibility for the disappearance of Donna Lass on September 6, 1970. Made from a collage of advertisements and magazine lettering, it featured a scene from an advertisement for Forest Pines condominiums and the text "Sierra Club", "Sought Victim 12", "peek through the pines", "pass Lake Tahoe areas", and "around in the snow". Zodiac's cross circle symbol was in the place of the usual return address. Lass was a nurse at the Sahara Tahoe hotel and casino. She worked until about 2:00 a.m. on September 6, 1970, treating her last patient at 1:40 a.m. Later that same day, both Lass's employer and her landlord received phone calls from an unknown male falsely claiming Lass had left town due to a family emergency. Lass was never found. What appeared to be a grave site was discovered near the Clair Tappaan Lodge in Norden, California, on Sierra Club property, but an excavation yielded only a pair of sunglasses. No evidence has been uncovered to connect the Lass disappearance with the Zodiac Killer definitively. Santa Barbara attack: In a Vallejo Times-Herald story appearing on November 13, 1972, Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office Bill Baker (ret.) postulated that the murders of a young couple in northern Santa Barbara County might have been the work of the Zodiac Killer. On June 4, 1963, high school senior Robert Domingos and fiancée Linda Edwards were shot dead on a beach near Lompoc, having skipped school that day for "Senior Ditch Day". Police believed that the assailant attempted to bind the victims, but when they freed themselves and attempted to flee, the killer shot them repeatedly in the back and chest with a .22-caliber weapon. The killer then placed their bodies in a small shack and tried, unsuccessfully, to burn it down. Final Zodiac letter: After the "Pines" card, the Zodiac remained silent for nearly three years. The Chronicle then received a letter from the Zodiac, postmarked January 29, 1974, praising The Exorcist as "the best saterical comidy [sic] that I have ever seen". The letter included a snippet of verse from The Mikado and an unusual symbol at the bottom that has remained unexplained by researchers. Zodiac concluded the letter with a new score, "Me = 37, SFPD = 0". Later letters of suspicious authorship: Of further communications sent by the public to members of the news media, some contained similar characteristics of previous Zodiac writings. The Chronicle received a letter postmarked February 14, 1974, informing the editor that the initials for the Symbionese Liberation Army spelled out an Old Norse word meaning "kill". However, the handwriting was not authenticated as the Zodiac's. A letter to the Chronicle, postmarked May 8, 1974, featured a complaint that the movie Badlands was "murder-glorification" and asked the paper to cut its advertisements. Signed only "A citizen", the handwriting, tone, and surface irony were all similar to earlier Zodiac communications. The Chronicle subsequently received an anonymous letter postmarked July 8, 1974, complaining about one of its columnists, Marco Spinelli. The letter was signed "the Red Phantom (red with rage)". The Zodiac's authorship of this letter is debated. A letter, dated April 24, 1978, was initially deemed authentic, but was declared a hoax less than three months later by three experts. Dave Toschi, the SFPD homicide detective who had worked the case since the Stine murder, was thought to have forged the letter, because author Armistead Maupin believed the letter to be similar to "fan mail" he received in 1976 which he believed was authored by Toschi. While he admitted to writing the fan mail, Toschi denied forging the Zodiac letter and was eventually cleared of any charges. The authenticity of this letter remains unverified. On March 3, 2007, an American Greetings Christmas card sent to the Chronicle, postmarked 1990 in Eureka had recently been discovered in their photo files by editorial assistant Daniel King. Inside the envelope, with the card, was a photocopy of two U.S. Postal keys on a magnet keychain. The handwriting on the envelope resembles Zodiac's print, but was declared inauthentic by forensic document examiner Lloyd Cunningham. However, not all Zodiac experts agree with Cunningham's analysis. There is no return address on the envelope nor is his crossed-circle signature to be found. The card itself is unmarked. The Chronicle turned over all the material to the Vallejo Police Department for further analysis. Suspects: A number of suspects have been named. Robert Graysmith's book Zodiac advanced Arthur Leigh Allen as a suspect based on circumstantial evidence. A letter sent to the Riverside Police Department from Bates' killer was typed with a Royal typewriter with an elite type, the same brand found during a February 1991 search of Allen's residence. He owned and wore a Zodiac brand wristwatch. Allen lived in Vallejo and worked minutes away from where one of the first victims (Ferrin) lived and where one of the killings took place. In 2002, SFPD developed a partial DNA profile from the saliva on stamps and envelopes of Zodiac's letters. SFPD compared this partial DNA to the DNA of Arthur Leigh Allen. A DNA comparison was also made with the DNA of Don Cheney, who was Allen's former close friend and the first person to suggest Allen may be the Zodiac Killer. Since neither test result indicated a match, Allen and Cheney were excluded as the contributors of the DNA, though it cannot be stated definitively that it is DNA from the Zodiac on the envelopes. Current status of investigations: In April 2004, the SFPD marked the case "inactive," citing caseload pressure and resource demands. However, they re-opened their case sometime before March 2007. In 2007, a man named Dennis Kaufman claimed that his stepfather Jack Tarrance was the Zodiac. Kaufman turned several items over to the FBI including a hood similar to the one worn by the Zodiac. According to news sources, DNA analysis conducted by the FBI on the items was deemed inconclusive in 2010. Kaufman's claims have later been widely discredited. He claimed to have incriminating rolls of film taken by his stepfather. The photos allegedly showed victims of the crimes. Kaufman later published some of these photos on his own web page. The photos were very small, had low resolution, and were so blurry that nothing could be positively identified. An associate of Kaufman's, Nanette Barto, who received her Forensic Document Examining certificate from an unaccredited school, claimed to have matched Jack Tarrance's handwriting to that of the Zodiac Killer. However, in 2010, the FBI's Head Document Examiner at Quantico deemed the handwriting "Inconclusive". In 2009, a lawyer named Robert Tarbox (who, in August 1975, was disbarred by the California Supreme Court for failure to pay some clients) said that in 1972 a merchant mariner walked into his office and confessed to him that he was the Zodiac Killer. The seemingly lucid seaman (whose name Tarbox would not reveal due to confidentiality) described his crimes briefly but persuasively enough to convince Tarbox. The man said he was trying to stop himself from his "opportunistic" murder spree but never returned to see Tarbox again. Tarbox took out a full-page ad in the Vallejo Times-Herald that he claimed would clear the name of Arthur Leigh Allen as a killer, his only reason for revealing the story thirty years after the fact. Robert Graysmith, the author of several books on Zodiac, said Tarbox's story was "entirely plausible". Retired police handwriting expert Lloyd Cunningham, who worked the Zodiac case for decades, added "they gave me banana boxes full of Allen's writing, and none of his writing even came close to the Zodiac. Nor did DNA extracted from the envelopes (on the Zodiac letters) come close to Arthur Leigh Allen." In 2009, an episode of the History Channel television series MysteryQuest looked at newspaper editor Richard Gaikowski (1936–2004). During the time of the murders, Gaikowski worked for Good Times, a San Francisco counterculture newspaper. His appearance resembles the composite sketch, and Nancy Slover, the Vallejo police dispatcher who was contacted by the Zodiac shortly after the Blue Rock Springs Attack, has identified a recording of Gaikowski's voice as being the same as the Zodiac's. Additional circumstantial evidence exists but cannot definitively connect Gaikowski to the murders. The case is open in Napa County and also in the city of Riverside. Retired police detective Steve Hodel argues in his book The Black Dahlia Avenger that his father, George Hill Hodel, Jr., was the Black Dahlia killer whose victims include Elizabeth Short. The book caused the release of previously suppressed files and wire recordings by the Los Angeles district attorney's office of his father which showed that he was a prime suspect in Short's murder. The L.A. district attorney subsequently wrote a letter which is published in the revised edition stating that if he were still alive he would be prosecuted for the crimes. In a follow up book, Hodel argued a circumstantial case that his father was also the Zodiac Killer based upon a police sketch, the similarity of the style of the Zodiac letters to the Black Dahlia Avenger letters and questioned document examination. On February 19, 2011, America's Most Wanted featured a story about the Zodiac Killer. A picture has recently surfaced of known Zodiac victim Darlene Ferrin and a man who closely resembles the composite sketch, based on eyewitness' descriptions, of the Zodiac Killer. Police believe the photo was taken in San Francisco in the summer of 1966 or 1967. Police hope someone can identify the man in the photo. It has been suspected that the man in the photo is Darlene Ferrin's ex-husband, James Phillips. This has not been confirmed. Former California Highway Patrol officer Lyndon Lafferty said the Zodiac Killer was a 91-year-old Solano County, California man whom he called by the pseudonym "George Russell Tucker". Using a group of retired law enforcement officers called the Mandamus Seven, Lafferty discovered "Tucker" and a cover-up for why he was not pursued. "Tucker" died in February 2012 and was not named because he was not considered a suspect by police. In February 2014, it was reported that a man named Louie Myers had confessed to a friend in 2001 that he was the Zodiac Killer, after learning that he was dying from cirrhosis of the liver. He requested that his friend, Randy Kenney, go to the police upon his death. Myers died in 2002, but Kenney allegedly had difficulties getting officers to cooperate and take the claims seriously. There are several potential connections between Myers and the Zodiac case. Myers attended the same high schools as victims David Farraday and Betty Lou Jensen. Myers also allegedly worked in the same restaurant as victim Darlene Ferrin. Myers also had access to the same sort of military boot whose print was found at the Lake Berryessa crime scene. Furthermore, during the 1971–1973 period when no Zodiac letters were received, Myers was stationed overseas with the military. Kenney says that Myers confessed he targeted couples because he had had a bad breakup with a girlfriend. While officers associated with the case are skeptical, they believe the story is credible enough to investigate. In May 2014, a book written by Gary Stewart was released, claiming his biological father, Earl Van Best, Jr., was the Zodiac Killer, without any confirmed evidence. Popular culture: The Zodiac Killer's crimes, letters and cryptograms to police and newspapers inspired many movies, novels and television productions, as well as other serial killers.

Susan Wright (murderer)

Susan Lucille Wright (born April 24, 1976) is an American woman from Houston, Texas, who made headlines in 2003 for stabbing her husband, Jeff Wright, 193 times and then burying his body in their backyard. She was convicted of first-degree murder in 2004, and is currently serving a 20-year sentence at the Crain Unit in Gatesville, Texas. She became eligible for parole consideration on 28 February 2014. Early life: Susan Lucille Wyche was born on April 24, 1976 in Houston, Texas to Sue Whella (née Tschoepe) and Jimmy Lawrence Wyche. At the age of 17, she worked as a topless dancer at Gold Cup for two months. In 1997, while working as a restaurant waitress in Galveston, she met Jeff Wright and they married in 1998 while she was eight-and-a-half months pregnant with their first son, Bradley. In 2002, a daughter, Kailey was born. Wright claims that her husband began to abuse her during the first few years of their marriage. Crime: Accordingto evidence presented by the prosecution, on Monday, January 13, 2003, Susan Wright, 26, tied her husband, Jeff Wright, 34, to their bed and stabbed him 193 times with two different knives. She then buried his body in their Houston backyard. She attempted to cover up the crime scene by painting the bedroom. The next day, Wright filed a domestic abuse report in order to get a restraining order against her husband. According to the evidence adduced during the 2010 punishment trial, it was shown that the prosecution's theory that Jeff was tied to the bed was not supported by the medical examiner who excavated the body. The medical examiner testified that Jeff had a significant amount of cocaine in his body the night he died - so much so that Jeff's body had not metabolized all the cocaine. The cocaine evidence supported the defense's assertion that Jeff was intoxicated the night of his death, when he came home from a boxing class and punched his son. Jeff also had several knife wounds on his hands, forearms, back, and the backs of his legs, indicating defensive wounds inconsistent with being tied to a bed. On January 18, Wright asked her attorney, Neal Davis, to come to her home and admitted to stabbing her husband. Davis contacted the Harris County district attorney's office to inform them a body was buried under Susan Wright's house and that she had confessed to the crime.Wright turned herself in to authorities at the Harris County Courthouse on Friday, January 24 and was arraigned on murder charges the following Monday. Trial: Thirteen months after her arraignment, Susan Wright's murder trial commenced on February 24, 2004. She had already pled not guilty to killing her husband by reason of self-defense. Wright's prosecutor and defense attorney had very different portrayals of her. Assistant district attorney Kelly Siegler depicted Wright as a scheming wife who seduced her husband into bed, tied him up, repeatedly stabbed him, and then buried his body in their backyard, all in hopes of collecting a $200,000 life insurance policy. Wright's defense attorney Neal Davis claimed that his client had suffered years of physical and emotional abuse by her husband, and killed him to protect herself and her two young children. At her trial, Susan Wright testified in her own defense. In her emotional testimony on the stand, Wright claimed: "I couldn't stop stabbing him; I couldn't stop. I knew as soon as I stopped, he was going to get the knife back and he was going to kill me. I didn't want to die." She testified that on the night of the murder, Jeff Wright was on a cocaine binge and was violent, having allegedly beaten her. Wright once again persisted that she stabbed her husband in self-defense. Susan Wright's mother, among others, testified for the defense, claiming they witnessed Wright's bruises. Siegler said Wright's tears were faked for the jury's benefit. The prosecution presented an unusual demonstration by bringing the Wrights' actual bed into the courtroom. During closing arguments, Siegler brought up to the jury how Wright had been a topless dancer, and said she believed Wright's emotions were insincere. She contended that Susan Wright was a "card-carrying, obvious, no-doubt-about-it, caught-redhanded, confirmed, documented liar", whose frequent shows of emotion during the trial were deliberate efforts to influence the jury. Verdict: On March 3, 2004, after five-and-a-half hours of deliberations, Wright's jury convicted her of murder. In contrast to her emotional testimony during the trial, Wright showed little reaction to the guilty verdict. The following day came Wright's sentencing. Prosecutors were hoping for at least a 55-year sentence, while Wright's attorneys argued for probation for their client. In the end, the jury met in the middle, sentencing Wright to 25 years in prison. Appeal: In 2005, the Fourteenth Court of Appeals of Texas in Houston upheld Susan Wright's conviction. With a re-appeal in 2008, a new witness, Misty McMichael, the wife of former NFL Super Bowl champion Steve McMichael and ex-fiancee of Jeff Wright, came forward to tell her story of how she endured abuse and violence during her four-year relationship with Jeff Wright. In 2009, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted Wright a new sentencing hearing, after determining that Wright's “counsel rendered ineffective assistance during the punishment phase of trial” in 2004. On 20 November 2010, Wright had her sentence cut to 20 years in prison, five years less than her original sentence. Wright has been eligible for parole since February 28, 2014, at the age of 38. In popular culture: Author Eric Francis wrote a book about the case entitled A Wife's Revenge in June 2005. Wright's murder trial had been nationally televised on CourtTV. Wright's case was also profiled on Snapped in 2004, 48 Hours Mystery in 2005, on an E! special entitled Women Who Kill, on the Deadly Women episode "Lethal Love" on ID in 2011, and on an episode of Secret Lives of Stepford Wives in 2014. Wright's case was also the subject of the 2012 Lifetime original movie, Blue Eyed Butcher, starring Sara Paxton and Lisa Edelstein. In 2014, Canadian director Chloe Bellande released a seventeen-minute short-film entitled Will of Fortune, which was inspired by the murder trials of Wright and Guy Turcotte, a man who had stabbed his two children to death in Canada. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2014.

Carolyn Warmus

Carolyn Warmus (born January 8, 1964) is serving a 25-year-to-life sentence for the murder of her lover's wife. The murder case attracted national attention and led to comparisons with the movie Fatal Attraction. Early life: Carolyn Warmus was born in Troy, Michigan and grew up in Birmingham, Michigan, an affluent suburb of Detroit. Her father Tom was a self-made millionaire who accumulated his fortune in the insurance business. Her parents divorced when she was 8-years-old. She attended the University of Michigan, where she drifted into a series of unsuccessful romantic relationships. There was an element of obsessive behavior in her dealings with men. Warmus had a history of stalking boyfriends and hiring private detectives to determine their whereabouts. One of her former boyfriends, Paul Laven, obtained a restraining order against her after Warmus waged a relentless campaign to win him back. She called him and his fiancee and left messages on their answering machine, contacted their friends, and deluged them with notes, including one that falsely claimed Warmus was pregnant with Laven's child. After graduating with a degree in psychology, Warmus moved to New York City. She hired a private detective, Vincent Parco, to trail a married New Jersey bartender when he lost interest in her. Soon after, she earned a master's degree in elementary education from Teachers College, Columbia University and landed a job in September 1987 at the Greenville Elementary in Scarsdale, New York. Here she met colleague, mentor, and soon-to-be lover Paul Solomon, a fifth grade teacher, and his family, wife Betty Jeanne and daughter Kristan. Carolyn became a role model and big sister to Kristan and she would buy her expensive gifts. Crime and investigation: Early in the evening of January 15, 1989, a New York Telephone operator received a call from a woman in distress. When the call was abruptly disconnected, she alerted police, but they found nothing because the reverse directory had an incorrect address. At 11:42pm, the body of Betty Jeanne Solomon was found in the family's Greenburgh condominium by her husband. She had been pistol-whipped about the head and had nine bullet wounds in her back and legs. The investigation initially focused on Paul Solomon, whose alibi was he had stopped briefly at a local bowling alley to see friends and then had spent the evening with Warmus at the Treetops Lounge in the Holiday Inn in Yonkers. When Warmus and additional witnesses confirmed his story, detectives turned their attention elsewhere, as did Solomon, who broke off his relationship with Warmus and became involved with a new girlfriend, Barbara Ballor. Police suspicions shifted to Warmus when she began to relentlessly pursue Solomon, including following him and Ballor to Puerto Rico and calling the woman's family in an effort to end the relationship. When they gained information that Warmus had obtained a .25 caliber Beretta pistol with a silencer from Vincent Parco shortly before the murder, Detective Richard Constantino checked calls made from Warmus' home phone on January 15. He discovered one made at 3:02pm was to Ray’s Sport Shop in North Plainfield, New Jersey. The store's records indicated the only female to purchase .25-caliber ammunition that day was Liisa Kattai from Long Island. When questioned, Kattai denied ever being in the shop or buying ammunition. Further investigation determined that Kattai's driver's license had been lost or stolen while she was employed at a summer job, where one of her co-workers was Warmus. Police now had enough evidence to make an arrest. Trial and conviction: Warmus was indicted on the charge of second-degree murder on February 2, 1990. Carolyn made her $250,000 bail and her father paid for her bond. Carolyn's trial was held at the Westchester County Courthouse and David Lewis was her attorney. The trial dragged on as piece after piece of testimony, evidence, and speculation were closely scrutinized by the jury. Twelve days after the prosecutor and defense gave their closing statements, the jury announced they were hopelessly deadlocked at 8-4 in favor of conviction and unable to arrive at a unanimous verdict. The judge was forced to declare a mistrial on April 27, 1991. In January 1992, a second trial began. The new jury was able to gain better insight into who could have committed the murder with the introduction of a new piece of evidence. A bloody cashmere glove belonging to Warmus that had been spotted in a photograph of the brutal crime scene was recovered, and this would decide her fate. At the end of this trial, the jury took six days to decide Warmus was guilty on May 26, 1992. Judge John Carey did not grant Warmus any leniency, saying she had committed "a hideous act, a most extreme, illegal and wanton murder". Warmus faced a minimum of 15 years, but Judge Carey sentenced her to the maximum, 25 years to life in prison. Incarceration: The former heiress now sits behind bars at the Bedford Hills Correctional Facility for Women. She is eligible for parole in 2017. If she had been given the minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, she would have been paroled in 2007. Later developments: In 2004, Warmus and inmate Pamela Smart filed separate lawsuits claiming to have been sexually abused by prison guards. Warmus stated that when she tried to complain about the abuse she was punished in protective custody, as well as being made to trade sexual favors for ordinary privileges. Pamela Smart claims she was attacked by a guard who took photos of her half-naked in her cell at Bedford Hills. Smart stated that when she complained about the rape she was placed in around-the-clock lockdown for 70 days. Prison officials said Smart was put into protective custody to safeguard her after the photos were published by the National Enquirer and she complained about the assault.Warmus received a $10,000 settlement from the Department of Correctional Services, for her claims that she was sexually abused and deprived of rights at Bedford Hills Correctional Facility. She claimed that she was forced to have sex with the corrections officers if she wanted time out of her cell. In popular culture: Two television movies about the case aired in the latter part of 1992. The Danger of Love: The Carolyn Warmus Story starred Jenny Robertson as Warmus and Joe Penny as the Paul Solomon character, rechristened Michael Carlin because Solomon refused to allow the use of his name. He did cooperate with the makers of A Murderous Affair: The Carolyn Warmus Story, which starred Virginia Madsen as Warmus and Chris Sarandon as Solomon. In 2004, Warmus was profiled on the Oxygen Network television series Snapped, which focuses on female criminals. In 2008, Warmus was featured on the Investigation Discovery (ID) program Deadly Women in the episode Hearts of Darkness. In addition, the murder, investigation and trial was shown on another ID series, entitled Cold Blood, in the episode Femme Fatale, also in 2008.

Bible John

Bible John is the nickname of a serial killer who is believed to have murdered three young women after meeting them at the Barrowland Ballroom in Glasgow, Scotland, between 1968 and 1969. As of 2014, the killer has never been identified although the known movements and modus operandi of convicted Glaswegian serial killer Peter Tobin suggests that he may have been behind the killings. However, this has never been proven and the case remains unsolved. Murders: On 23 February 1968, the naked body of 25-year-old nurse Patricia Docker was found by a man on his way to work in a lane behind Carmichael Place, Glasgow. The lane was only yards from her home in Langside Place. She had been raped and strangled. The previous night, she had told her parents that she was going out dancing at a nearby club, the Majestic Ballroom in Hope Street, Glasgow. Patricia had, in fact, gone to the Barrowland Ballroom for the over-25s night. It transpired that at some point during the night, Docker left the Majestic and ended up at the Barrowlands where it is thought she met her killer. It was several days after her murder that the police found out that she had actually gone to the Barrowlands. Focusing their investigation on the Majestic cost the police valuable time. Pat's handbag and clothes were missing and despite months of investigation, neither were ever found. On Friday, 15 August 1969, mother of three, Jemima McDonald, 32, also went for a night out at the Barrowland Ballroom. The next day, Jemima's sister Margaret, heard rumours in the area that young children were seen leaving an old tenement building in MacKeith Street talking about "the body." By the Monday morning, Margaret was so concerned that she herself, fearing the worst went to the old building where she found Jemima's battered body. She had been strangled, raped and beaten to death. Unlike Patricia Docker, Jemima was fully clothed when her body was found.[1] Witnesses said that they had seen her leaving the club at midnight with a tall, slim young man with red hair. Police conducted door-to-door enquiries at the time and found a woman who remembered hearing screams coming from the same building in MacKeith Street, although she could not vouch for the time. Police considered the information of little use and the investigation was later wound down. On 31 October 1969, 29-year-old Helen Puttock was found murdered in Earl Street in Scotstoun. She had also been to the Barrowland Ballroom on the night she was murdered; she had gone there with her sister, Jean, and had met two men called John. One said he was from Castlemilk while the other did not disclose where he was from. After being in their company for well over an hour, they left to head home. Castlemilk John walked to George Square to get a bus, while Helen, Jean and the killer hailed a taxi. They set off from Glasgow Cross and made a westward journey heading to Knightswood where Jean lived. It was during this journey that most of the crucial information about the killer became apparent. More significant were the conversations in the taxi that would later be used to create a psychological profile of the killer. Jean told detectives that he was a well-spoken man who quoted from the Bible. It was this information that led to the killer being given the moniker "Bible John" by the media. After dropping off Jean at Knightswood, the taxi then continued to Earl Street in Scotstoun where Helen lived. The next morning, Helen's battered body was found in the back garden of her flat in Earl Street. She had been raped and strangled. The contents of her handbag had been scattered nearby but the actual bag was missing. It has been suggested that the killer took the bag as a trophy. Grass stains on Helen's feet indicated that there had been a struggle in which Helen probably tried to escape her killer. She also had a deep bite mark on her leg. Suspect: The suspect was described by Helen's sister Jean as being a well-dressed young man, tall, slim and with reddish/fair hair, and described as being polite, well-dressed and well-spoken. She said the stranger had given his name as "John Templeton" or "Sempleson" and that he had frequently quoted from the Bible during the taxi ride home. He was reported to have said: "I don’t drink at Hogmanay, I pray," and to have referred to Moses and his father’s belief that dancehalls were "dens of iniquity". He was aged between 25 and 30, and approximately 5 ft 10in in height. Although Helen's sister Jean said that the man was "slim, tall with reddish/fair hair", the bouncers at the Barrowland Ballroom dismissed this description and said that the man Helen had left with was "short, well-spoken and had jet black hair". Police at the time considered this to be a more reliable description as Jean was drunk the night of the murder and they had already discovered that the killer had not been quoting directly from the Bible, but had been referring to it. The last possible sighting of the man was of a well-dressed young man in a dishevelled state with possible scratch marks on his face, getting off a bus at Gray Street at Sauchiehall Street around 1:30 am. He was last seen heading towards the public ferry to cross the River Clyde to the south side of the city. Each murder had common similarities which gave the police no doubts that the victims were the work of the same man. They had all met their killer at the Barrowland Ballroom. Their handbags were missing. They were all strangled with their stockings and raped. All three were escorted home by the killer and murdered within yards of their doorstep, all had been menstruating at the time and all three had sanitary napkins or tampons placed on or near the bodies. Investigation: The investigation into the murder of Patricia Docker in 1968 went cold as police had little information, owing to a lack of witnesses. 18 months later, after the discovery of Jemima McDonald's body, the police soon became aware of "similarities" to the first murder. They realised they were looking for a double murderer; and for the first time in a Scottish murder hunt, using eyewitness accounts, the press were given an Identikit picture of the man Jemima had left with. Two months later following the murder of Helen Puttock, police interviewed Puttock's sister Jean, who became the key witness of the investigation. Under hypnosis, Jean remembered many of the details that have become part of the legend of Bible John: such as him calling the women "adulterous," a hole in one at golf that he claimed his cousin had scored, and even a gap in his teeth. However more importantly it was the man's references to the bible that led to Evening Times journalist John Quinn coining the phrase "Bible John". Furthermore, an additional Identikit of a red-haired man was painted using the testimony of Jean that became one of the most famous portraits in Scotland. Detective Joe Beattie asked the public to study the Identikit closely in case it resembled anyone they knew. As a result, more than 1000 suspects had been quizzed and cleared.The police made a determined effort to hunt for the killer, now nicknamed "Bible John", but although a number of suspects were questioned, no arrests were ever made, and no further victims have been attributed to him. The hunt for Bible John was Scotland's biggest manhunt. More than 100 detectives worked on the case and over 50,000 statements were taken in door-to-door enquiries. In order to track down the killer, fearing that he would strike again, a team of 16 detectives were instructed to mingle with dancers at the Barrowland and other ballrooms in the city. In particular they frequented the Barrowland on Thursday and Saturday nights for the over-25s nights; where each victim was said to have been charmed by the killer. Despite the huge manhunt, there were no further developments and the case went cold. Many felt that he had died, been jailed, was in a mental hospital or that the police knew who he was but could not prove anything; or that he was still at large killing. It was speculated that he moved away and was living in the south of England. Indeed it was known that serial killer Peter Tobin (see below) who lived in Glasgow in the late 1960s moved regularly between Scotland and the South of England, a crucial factor in allowing him to remain beyond the reaches of the police. He would then live in Brighton permanently for 20 years from the late 1960s. Further developments: In 1983, a man claimed to have frequented the Barrowland Ballroom with the suspect and confirmed that he knew the killer. The man said that he grew up with the killer in Cranhill in the east end of Glasgow. Apparently he had read an article in the Evening Times five years previously and suddenly realised that his friend was Bible John. The alleged suspect was traced living in the Netherlands, married to a Dutch girl. Nothing more was ever heard from the man or the reputed suspect. In 1996, police exhumed the body of John Irvine McInnes, the cousin of one of the original suspects, from a graveyard in Stonehouse, South Lanarkshire. McInnes, who had served in the Scots Guards, had committed suicide aged 41 in 1980. He was found in a pool of blood after slashing his brachial artery in his upper arm. According to a psychiatrist at the time, this unusual type of suicide was akin to psychopathy and he could have taken his own life in search of the "ultimate thrill". Police ran a DNA test and compared it with semen found on Helen Puttock's tights and announced it to be inconclusive. Lord Mackay, then the Lord Advocate, said there was not enough evidence to link the murders with McInnes. In 2004, police announced they were to DNA test a number of men in a further attempt to solve the case. This followed the discovery of an 80% match to a DNA sample taken at the site of a minor crime two years earlier. The sample was enough of a match to lead officers to believe that the person who committed the offence was related to the killer. Peter Tobin links: The 4 May 2007 conviction of Peter Tobin for the murder of student Angelika Kluk led to speculation that he is Bible John. This thesis was spearheaded by Professor David Wilson, an expert in criminal behaviour, who was struck by two key aspects of Kluk's murder. Tobin was already in his 60s when the murder was committed, which is unusually late to start a killing career; and the fact that he attacked with such violence, then hid the body and ran away to London did not suggest the work of an amateur. There are striking parallels between Bible John and Peter Tobin. All three of Tobin's former wives gave accounts of being imprisoned, throttled, raped and beaten by him. There are strong similarities between photographs of Tobin when aged in his 20s and the photo fit artist's impression of Bible John. Tobin had moved from Glasgow in 1969 after marrying his first wife, whom he had met at the Barrowland ballroom the same year as the killings officially ended. It is alleged by his former wives that Tobin is driven to violence by the menstrual cycle, something which has long been suspected as the motive behind the Bible John murders. Additionally, Tobin was a Roman Catholic with strong religious views. Former detective Joe Jackson, who investigated the murders in the 1960s, said he suspected Tobin the moment he was arrested for Kluk's murder in 2006. He said: "When I saw his photograph, I thought, 'This is as near to Bible John as you are going to get. This looks a winner.' He fitted the bill in every way and he had connections with religion." As a result of Operation Anagram, (a police investigation started in 2006 to trace the movements and life of Tobin) a woman said she had been raped by Tobin after she had met him at the Barrowland Ballroom in Glasgow in 1968, around the time of the Bible John killings. More than 40 years later, the woman said that her "legs gave way" when she recognised a magazine picture of a young Tobin and came forward after an appeal by the Crimewatch television programme in December 2009. Another woman also came forward in 2010 who claimed to have had a threatening experience at the Barrowland Ballroom. She said that Tobin introduced himself as Peter and pestered her to go with him to a party in the city's Castlemilk area. When she recently saw pictures of a young Tobin, she said: "It was the man who came up to me so many years ago in Barrowlands. I am 100 per cent certain Tobin is Bible John." It is not universally accepted that the three killings were the work of the same person. It has been claimed that the gap of 18 months between the first two killings is unusual with serial killers, the later two may have been copycat killings, and the police may even have hampered their own investigation by prematurely jumping to the conclusion that they were the work of the same person. Professor Wilson has stated that the 18-month gap is not unusual following a serial killer's first murder. Wilson investigated the case for three years and believes the available evidence supports that Peter Tobin is Bible John. He has stated that the moment he believed Tobin was Bible John occurred during Tobin's trial for the 1991 murder of Dinah McNicol. He compared the witness statements from McNicol's accomplice David Tremlett with Helen Puttock's sister McLachlan. Both witnesses emphasized the killer's propensity to project a socially superior persona; that he was a "cut above everyone else". Wilson is so sure that Tobin is Bible John, he states "I didn't set out to prove Tobin was Bible John but I would stake my professional reputation on it." Furthermore, Wilson states that Jean McLachlan's assertion that "Bible John" gave his surname as Templeton or Sempleson is uncannily coincidental as one of the pseudonyms used by Tobin was John Semple. In September 2010, the only witness ever to have come face to face with Bible John, Jean McLachlan, died aged 74, marking the end of the hunt for the killer. McLachlan, who shared a taxi with the mystery killer and her sister Helen Puttock, gave police the description used in the artist's impression, which remains the biggest clue to his appearance more than 40 years later. Although DNA had been used to rule out a previous suspect, detectives believe a DNA link to Tobin is unlikely because of deterioration of the samples through poor storage.

Lois Jurgens

Lois Germaine Josephine Zerwas Jurgens (August 12, 1925 - May 7, 2013) was an American convicted murderer. She committed one of the most unusual child murder cases in history in Minnesota. She was the adoptive mother of six children in the 1960s and 1970s, and brutally abused them all, killing one of them, three-year-old Dennis Jurgens, in 1965. Biography: Jurgens was one of 16 children. Her brother, Jerome Zerwas, was the police lieutenant of the town of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, where she lived at the time. There was testimony from other officers that he impeded the investigation into the child's death. No prosecution was taken at that time. Case details: In the early 1980s, Dennis' birth mother, Jerry Sherwood, looked for Dennis, only to find out he died in 1965. After seeing newspaper reports about the death, she was convinced that he had been beaten to death and demanded the case be re-opened. In 1987, Jurgens was convicted of third degree murder of Dennis. She was sentenced to a maximum of 25 years in prison and was paroled in 1995. The case is described in detail in Barry Siegel's true-crime novel, A Death in White Bear Lake. There was a television movie broadcast in 1992 on NBC entitled A Child Lost Forever that told the story from the perspective of Jerry Sherwood (played by Beverly D'Angelo). In 2005, playwright Brian Vinero wrote a theatre piece, The Jurgens File, which was developed at New York City's 78th Street Theatre Lab; it told the story from the perspective of the community. On January 13, 2000, she was initially suspected of poisoning her husband, Harold. However, he was in failing health and his autopsy results did not indicate poisoning. There was also talk years earlier of her having started the fire at her in-laws' home which killed her mother-in-law, with whom she never got along. Lois Jurgens served eight years of her sentence and had a quiet life as a widow in Stillwater, Minnesota. She died aged 87 on May 7, 2013. She is buried at the Union Cemetery, in Maplewood, Ramsey County, Minnesota

wow

Once a kids parent came up to me and introduced herself and gave a kid to me. Before I could finish my introduction she gave me get kid. So I went, "oh hi my name is glech."

awesome

Last night I got 15 mystery novels free. Thanks to my mom and her friend

Mountain Meadows massacre

The Mountain Meadows massacre was a series of attacks on the Baker–Fancher emigrant wagon train at Mountain Meadows in southern Utah. The attacks culminated on September 11, 1857, with the mass slaughter of most in the emigrant party by members of the Utah Territorial Militia from the Iron County district, together with some Paiute Native Americans. The wagon train, mostly families from Arkansas, was bound for California on a route that passed through the Utah Territory during a conflict later known as the Utah War. After arriving in Salt Lake City, the Baker–Fancher party made their way south, eventually stopping to rest at Mountain Meadows. While the emigrants were camped at the meadow, nearby militia leaders, including Isaac C. Haight and John D. Lee, made plans to attack the wagon train. The militia, officially called the Nauvoo Legion, was composed of Utah's Mormon settlers (members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or LDS Church). Intending to give the appearance of Native American aggression, their plan was to arm some Southern Paiute Native Americans and persuade them to join with a larger party of their own militiamen—disguised as Native Americans—in an attack. During the militia's first assault on the wagon train, the emigrants fought back and a five-day siege ensued. Eventually fear spread among the militia's leaders that some emigrants had caught sight of white men and had likely discovered the identity of their attackers. As a result militia commander William H. Dame ordered his forces to kill the emigrants. By this time the emigrants were running low on water and provisions, and allowed some approaching members of the militia—who carried a white flag—to enter their camp. The militia members assured the emigrants their protection and escorted them from the hasty fortification. After walking a distance from the camp, the militiamen, with the help of auxiliary forces hiding nearby, attacked the emigrants. Intending to leave no witnesses and thus prevent reprisals, the perpetrators killed all the adults and older children (totaling about 120 men, women, and children). Seventeen children, all younger than seven, were spared. Following the massacre, the perpetrators hastily buried the victims, leaving the bodies vulnerable to wild animals and the climate. Local families took in the surviving children, and many of the victims' possessions were auctioned off. Investigations, after interruption by the American Civil War, resulted in nine indictments during 1874. Of the men indicted, only John D. Lee was tried in a court of law. After two trials in the Utah Territory, Lee was convicted by a jury, sentenced to death, and executed by Utah firing squad on March 23, 1877. Today historians attribute the massacre to a combination of factors, including war hysteria about possible invasion of Mormon territory, and hyperbolic Mormon teachings against outsiders which were part of the excesses of the Mormon Reformation period. Scholars debate whether senior Mormon leadership, including Brigham Young, directly instigated the massacre or if responsibility lay with the local leaders in southern Utah. History- Baker–Fancher party: In early 1857, several groups of emigrants from the northwestern Arkansas region started their trek to California, joining up on the way to form a group known as the Baker–Fancher party. The groups were mostly from Marion, Crawford, Carroll, and Johnson counties in Arkansas, and had assembled into a wagon train at Beller's Stand, south of Harrison, to emigrate to southern California. This group was initially referred to as both the Baker train and the Perkins train, but after being joined by other Arkansas trains and making its way west, was soon called the Baker–Fancher train (or party). It was named for "Colonel" Alexander Fancher who, having already made the journey to California twice before, had become its main leader. By contemporary standards the Baker–Fancher party was prosperous, carefully organized, and well-equipped for the journey. They were joined along the way by families and individuals from other states, including Missouri. This group was relatively wealthy, and planned to restock its supplies in Salt Lake City, as did most wagon trains at the time. The party reached Salt Lake City with about 120 members. Interactions with Mormon settlers: At the time of the Fanchers' arrival, the Utah Territory was organized as a theocratic democracy under the lead of Brigham Young, who had established colonies along the California Trail and Old Spanish Trail. President James Buchanan had recently issued an order to send troops to Utah. Rumors spread in the territory about the motives for the federal troop movement. Young issued various orders, urging the local population to prepare for the arrival of the troops. Eventually Young issued a declaration of martial law. The Baker–Fancher party were refused stocks in Salt Lake City and chose to leave there and take the Old Spanish Trail, which passed through southern Utah. In August 1857, the Mormon apostle George A. Smith, of Parowan, traveled throughout southern Utah, instructing the settlers to stockpile grain. While on his return trip to Salt Lake City, Smith camped near the Baker–Fancher party on August 25 at Corn Creek, (near present-day Kanosh) 70 miles (110 km) north of Parowan. They had traveled the 165 miles (266 km) south from Salt Lake City, and Jacob Hamblin suggested that the wagon train continue on the trail and rest their cattle at Mountain Meadows, which had good pasture and was adjacent to his homestead. While most witnesses said that the Fanchers were in general a peaceful party whose members behaved well along the trail, rumors spread about misdeeds. Brevet Major James Henry Carleton led the first federal investigation of the murders, published in 1859. He recorded Hamblin's account that the train was alleged to have poisoned a spring near Corn Creek; this resulted in the deaths of 18 head of cattle and two or three people who ate the contaminated meat. Carleton interviewed the father of a child who allegedly died from this poisoned spring, and accepted the sincerity of the grieving father. But, he also included a statement from an investigator who did not believe the Fancher party was capable of poisoning the spring, given its size. Carleton invited readers to consider a potential explanation for the rumors of misdeeds, noting the general atmosphere of distrust among Mormons for strangers at the time, and that some locals appeared jealous of the Fancher party's wealth. Conspiracy and siege: The Baker–Fancher party left Corn Creek and continued the 125 miles (201 km) to Mountain Meadows, passing Parowan, and Cedar City; southern Utah communities led respectively by Stake Presidents William H. Dame and Isaac C. Haight. Haight and Dame were, in addition, the senior regional military leaders of the Mormon militia. As the Baker–Fancher party approached, several meetings were held in Cedar City and nearby Parowan by the local Latter Day Saint (LDS) leaders pondering how to implement Young's declaration of martial law. In the afternoon of Sunday, September 6, Haight held his weekly Stake High Council meeting after church services, and brought up the issue of what to do with the emigrants. The plan for a Native American massacre was discussed, but not all the Council members agreed it was the right approach. The Council resolved to take no action until Haight sent a rider, James Haslam, out the next day to carry an express to Salt Lake City (a six-day round trip on horseback) for Brigham Young's advice, as Utah did not yet have a telegraph system. Following the Council, Isaac C. Haight decided to send a messenger south to John D. Lee. What Haight told Lee remains a mystery, but considering the timing it may have had something to do with Council's decision to wait for advice from Brigham Young. The somewhat dispirited Baker–Fancher party found water and fresh grazing for its livestock after reaching grassy, mountain-ringed Mountain Meadows, a widely known stopover on the old Spanish Trail, in early September. They anticipated several days of rest and recuperation there before the next 40 miles (64 km) would take them out of Utah. But, on September 7, the party was attacked by Mormon militiamen dressed as Native Americans and some Native American Paiutes. The Baker–Fancher party defended itself by encircling and lowering their wagons, wheels chained together, along with digging shallow trenches and throwing dirt both below and into the wagons, which made a strong barrier. Seven emigrants were killed during the opening attack and were buried somewhere within the wagon encirclement. Sixteen more were wounded. The attack continued for five days, during which the besieged families had little or no access to fresh water or game food and their ammunition was depleted. Meanwhile, organization among the local Mormon leadership reportedly broke down. Eventually fear spread among the militia's leaders that some emigrants had caught sight of white men, and had probably discovered who their attackers really were. This resulted in an order to kill all the emigrants, with the exception of small children. Killings and aftermath of the massacre: On Friday, September 11, 1857, two militiamen approached the Baker–Fancher party wagons with a white flag and were soon followed by Indian Agent and militia officer John D. Lee. Lee told the battle-weary emigrants that he had negotiated a truce with the Paiutes, whereby they could be escorted safely the 36 miles (58 km) back to Cedar City under Mormon protection in exchange for turning all of their livestock and supplies over to the Native Americans. Accepting this, the emigrants were led out of their fortification. The adult men were separated from the women and children. The men were paired with a militia escort. When a signal was given, the militiamen turned and shot the male members of the Baker–Fancher party standing by their side. The women and children were then ambushed and killed by more militia that were hiding in nearby bushes and ravines. Members of the militia were sworn to secrecy. A plan was set to blame the massacre on the Native Americans. The militia did not kill some small children who were deemed too young to relate the story. These children were taken in by local Mormon families. Seventeen of the children were later reclaimed by the U.S. Army and returned to relatives in Arkansas. Leonard J. Arrington, founder of the Mormon History Association, reports that Brigham Young received the rider, James Haslam, at his office on the same day. When he learned what was contemplated by the militia leaders in Parowan and Cedar City, he sent back a letter stating the Baker–Fancher party were not to be meddled with, and should be allowed to go in peace (although he acknowledged the Native Americans would likely "do as they pleased"). Young's letter arrived two days too late, on September 13, 1857. Some of the property of the dead was reportedly taken by the Native Americans involved, while large amounts of their valuables and cattle were taken by the Mormons in Southern Utah, including John D. Lee. Some of the cattle were taken to Salt Lake City and sold or traded. The remaining personal property of the Baker–Fancher party was taken to the tithing house at Cedar City and auctioned off to local Mormons. Investigations and prosecutions: An early investigation was conducted by Brigham Young, who interviewed John D. Lee on September 29, 1857. In 1858, Young sent a report to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs stating that the massacre was the work of Native Americans. The Utah War delayed any investigation by the U.S. federal government until 1859, when Jacob Forney, and U.S. Army Brevet Major James Henry Carleton conducted investigations. In Carleton's investigation, at Mountain Meadows he found women's hair tangled in sage brush and the bones of children still in their mothers' arms. Carleton later said it was "a sight which can never be forgotten." After gathering up the skulls and bones of those who had died, Carleton's troops buried them and erected a cairn and cross. Carleton interviewed a few local Mormon settlers and Paiute Native American chiefs, and concluded that there was Mormon involvement in the massacre. He issued a report in May 1859, addressed to the U.S. Assistant Adjutant-General, setting forth his findings. Jacob Forney, Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Utah, also conducted an investigation that included visiting the region in the summer of 1859 and retrieved many of the surviving children of massacre victims who had been housed with Mormon families, and gathered them in preparation of transporting them to their relatives in Arkansas. Forney concluded that the Paiutes did not act alone and the massacre would not have occurred without the white settlers, while Carleton's report to the U.S. Congress called the mass killings a "heinous crime", blaming both local and senior church leaders for the massacre. A federal judge brought into the territory after the Utah War, Judge John Cradlebaugh, in March 1859 convened a grand jury in Provo, concerning the massacre, but the jury declined any indictments. Nevertheless, Cradlebaugh conducted a tour of the Mountain Meadows area with a military escort. Cradlebaugh attempted to arrest John D. Lee, Isaac Haight, and John Higbee, but these men fled before they could be found. Cradlebaugh publicly charged Brigham Young as an instigator to the massacre and therefore an "accessory before the fact." Possibly as a protective measure against the mistrusted federal court system, Mormon territorial probate court judge Elias Smith arrested Young under a territorial warrant, perhaps hoping to divert any trial of Young into a friendly Mormon territorial court. When no federal charges ensued, Young was apparently released. Further investigations, cut short by the American Civil War in 1861,[25] again proceeded in 1871 when prosecutors obtained the affidavit of militia member Phillip Klingensmith. Klingensmith had been a bishop and blacksmith from Cedar City; by the 1870s, however, he had left the church and moved to Nevada. During the 1870s Lee, Dame, Philip Klingensmith and two others (Ellott Willden and George Adair, Jr.) were indicted and arrested while warrants were obtained to pursue the arrests of four others (Haight, Higbee, William C. Stewart and Samuel Jukes) who had gone into hiding. Klingensmith escaped prosecution by agreeing to testify. Brigham Young removed some participants including Haight and Lee from the LDS Church in 1870. The U.S. posted bounties of $500 ($9325 in present-day funds) each for the capture of Haight, Higbee and Stewart, while prosecutors chose not to pursue their cases against Dame, Willden and Adair. Lee's first trial began on July 23, 1875, in Beaver, before a jury of eight Mormons and four non-Mormons. This trial led to a hung jury on August 5, 1875. Lee's second trial began September 13, 1876, before an all-Mormon jury. The prosecution called Daniel Wells, Laban Morrill, Joel White, Samuel Knight, Samuel McMurdy, Nephi Johnson, and Jacob Hamblin. Lee also stipulated, against advice of counsel, that the prosecution be allowed to re-use the depositions of Young and Smith from the previous trial. Lee called no witnesses in his defense. This time, Lee was convicted. At Lee's sentencing, as required by Utah Territory statute, he was given the option of being hanged, shot, or beheaded, and he chose to be shot. In 1877, before being executed by firing squad at Mountain Meadows on March 23, 1877, Lee professed that he was a scapegoat for others involved. Brigham Young stated that Lee's fate was just, but not a sufficient blood atonement, given the enormity of the crime. Criticism and analysis of the massacre: The first published report on the incident was made in 1859 by Carleton, who had been tasked by the U.S. Army to investigate the incident and bury the still exposed corpses at Mountain Meadows. Although the massacre was covered to some extent in the media during the 1850s, the first period of intense nation-wide publicity about the massacre began around 1872, after investigators obtained Klingensmith's confession. In 1867 C.V. Waite published "An Authentic History Of Brigham Young" which described the events. In 1872, Mark Twain commented on the massacre through the lens of contemporary American public opinion in an appendix to his semi-autobiographical travel book Roughing It. In 1873, the massacre was a prominent feature of a history by T. B. H. Stenhouse, The Rocky Mountain Saints. National newspapers covered the Lee trials closely from 1874 to 1876, and his execution in 1877 was widely covered. The massacre has been treated extensively by several historical works, beginning with Lee's own Confession in 1877, expressing his opinion that George A. Smith was sent to southern Utah by Brigham Young to direct the massacre. In 1910, the massacre was the subject of a short book by Josiah F. Gibbs, who also attributed responsibility for the massacre to Young and Smith. The first detailed and comprehensive work using modern historical methods was The Mountain Meadows Massacre in 1950 by Juanita Brooks, a Mormon scholar who lived near the area in southern Utah. Brooks found no evidence of direct involvement by Brigham Young, but charged him with obstructing the investigation and provoking the attack through his rhetoric.Initially, the LDS Church denied any involvement by Mormons, and was relatively silent on the issue. In 1872, it excommunicated some of the participants for their role in the massacre. Since then, the LDS Church has condemned the massacre and acknowledged involvement by local Mormon leaders. In September 2007, the LDS Church published an article in its publications marking 150 years since the tragedy occurred. Historical theories explaining the massacre: Historians have ascribed the massacre to a number of factors, including strident Mormon teachings in the years prior to the massacre, war hysteria, and alleged involvement of Brigham Young. Strident Mormon teachings: For the decade prior to the Baker–Fancher party's arrival there, Utah Territory existed as a theodemocracy led by Brigham Young. During the mid-1850s, Young instituted a Mormon Reformation, intending to "lay the axe at the root of the tree of sin and iniquity". Mormon teachings during this era were dramatic and strident. In addition, during the prior decades, the religion had undergone a period of intense persecution in the American Midwest, and faithful Mormons moved west to escape persecution in midwestern towns. In particular, they were officially expelled from the state of Missouri during the 1838 Mormon War, during which prominent Mormon apostle David W. Patten was killed in battle. After Mormons moved to Nauvoo, Illinois, the religion's founder Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum Smith were killed in 1844. Just months before the Mountain Meadows massacre, Mormons received word that yet another apostle had been killed: in April 1857, apostle Parley P. Pratt was shot in Arkansas by Hector McLean, the estranged husband of one of Pratt's plural wives, Eleanor McLean Pratt. Mormon leaders immediately proclaimed Pratt as another martyr, and many Mormons held the people of Arkansas responsible. In 1857, Mormon leaders taught that the Second Coming of Jesus was imminent, and that God would soon exact punishment against the United States for persecuting Mormons and martyring Joseph Smith, Hyrum Smith, Patten and Pratt. In their Endowment ceremony, faithful early Latter-day Saints took an oath to pray that God would take vengeance against the murderers. As a result of this oath, several Mormon apostles and other leaders considered it their religious duty to kill the prophets' murderers if they ever came across them. The sermons, blessings, and private counsel by Mormon leaders just before the Mountain Meadows massacre can be understood as encouraging private individuals to execute God's judgment against the wicked. In Cedar City, the teachings of church leaders were particularly strident. Thus, historians argue that southern Utah Mormons would have been particularly affected by an unsubstantiated rumor that the Baker–Fancher wagon train had been joined by a group of eleven miners and plainsmen who called themselves "Missouri Wildcats", some of whom reportedly taunted, vandalized and "caused trouble" for Mormons and Native Americans along the route (by some accounts claiming that they had the gun that "shot the guts out of Old Joe Smith") They were also affected by the report to Brigham Young that the Baker–Fancher party was from Arkansas where Pratt was murdered; it was rumored that Pratt's wife recognized some of the Mountain Meadows party as being in the gang that shot and stabbed Pratt.

Latter Day Saints in popular culture

Mormons have been portrayed in popular media many times. These portrayals often emphasize controversy such as polygamy or myths about the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and other Latter Day Saint movement religions. Overview: Arthur Conan Doyle's detective novel A Study in Scarlet is one such portrayal that caused controversy. Mormons viewed the portrayal of the Danites in the book as highly erroneous, being yet another instance of anti-Mormon antagonism in popular media. Conan Doyle, according to his daughter, had relied upon what had been published about Mormons by former Mormons (historians believing these probably to be Fannie Stenhouse, William A. Hickman, William Jarman, John Hyde, and Ann Eliza Young), believing those accounts to be factual. Conan Doyle visited the United States in 1923, and one leg of his lecture tour took him to the University of Utah, to lecture on spiritualism. During his stay he received a letter from a Dr. G. Hodgson Higgins, who had formed his impressions of Mormonism based upon the portrayal in A Study in Scarlet, which "gave the impression that murder was a common practice among them", and who suggested that Conan Doyle "express his regret at having propagated falsehoods about the Mormon Church and people". Conan Doyle refused to withdraw what he had written about the Danites and the murders, on the grounds that it was a matter of historical record, but stated that his treatment in the novel was more "lurid" than the treatment by a history textbook would have been, and promised that in the future his portrayals of the Latter-day Saints would be based upon his firsthand experience of them on his visit. Subsequent Mormon characters in Conan Doyle's work were indeed more sympathetic. Jules Verne's classic novel Around the World in 80 Days references a "Mormon Elder" who launches into a diatribe about his religion in a railcar where passenger Passepartout becomes a captive audience. Verne follows the 19th century propensity to view polygamy as central to Mormonism, going so far as to call it, "the sole basis of the religion." Portrayals of Mormons and of Mormonism in movies have also drawn criticism, with critics such as d'Arc describing the bulk of what the world heard of Mormons in the 19th and early 20th century, via the literature of the day, as "polygamy, mystic revelations to modern prophets, golden bibles, and scheming missionaries adding continually to their harem of wives", and stating that that this portrayal found its way into movies. He gives two examples of the films from 1905 to 1936 that incorporate this: the 1911 Danish film A Victim of the Mormons,1 where a young Mormon missionary in Copenhagen lures the fianceé of a close friend to elope with him to Utah, whereupon he locks her in his basement (a film whose showing Governor of Utah William Spry fought to prevent); and the 1917 film A Mormon Maid,2 incorporating what d'Arc describes as "the innocent-daughter-catching-the-eye-of-powerful-Mormon-leader formula". D'Arc argues that the reason that such portrayals became sparse in the 1930s was the introduction of the Hays and later Breen regulatory codes, which sharply curtailed the portrayal of polygamy in movies. Portrayals of Mormon characters in popular writing have not been universally viewed as negative by Mormons. The portrayals of Mormons in the work of Orson Scott Card, himself a Mormon, have been viewed as sympathetic portrayals of the Mormon world view that reach hundreds of thousands of readers worldwide, and thus that form a useful starting point for Mormons to explain Mormonism to non-Mormons. Similarly, the portrayals of Mormons and of Mormonism presented by Charles Dickens (describing the industrious, orderly nature of the Mormon emigrants he encountered on a ship leaving England), John Stuart Mill (using Mormon beliefs as test cases for his assertion that government should not interfere in the private lives of individuals), George Bernard Shaw (carrying Mill's argument further), Wallace Stegner (in The Gathering of Zion), and Harold Bloom (extolling Mormonism as the quintessential American Religion and Joseph Smith as "an authentic religious genius, unique in our national history") are all seen to be sympathetic to Mormons. Mormon literary critics such as Michael Austin consider the portrayal of Mormons in popular writing to have completely changed over the course of the 20th century, with the portrayal of Mormonism in the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century being that of "a harsh, theocratic, and conspiratorial frontier community" and "a sinister secret society bent on tracking down and destroying its enemies wherever in the world they tried to hide" and of Mormons being icons of lawlessness, chaos, and sexual promiscuity, conceptions of Mormons and Mormonism that he views to have been incorporated into the works of Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jack London, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Zane Grey (and even the 1995 made-for-TV movie The Avenging Angel3); whereas the portrayal at the end of the 20th century, in works by writers from Tom Clancy to Tony Kushner, being that of people who are "hyperobedient, patriotic, conservative, and, in all probability, sexually repressed". He argues that although the portrayal has changed, its relation to mainstream society has not. In both cases, the portrayal of Mormons and Mormonism is highly distinct from the mainstream, he argues, with the 19th century portrayal being in stark contrast to the Victorian values of the time, and the late 20th century portrayal being (ironically) that of a "Victorian misfit in a promiscuous society". He argues that the role of Mormons and Mormonism in popular writing is "to establish a foil for the [mainstream] values supported in the text". After a lengthy analysis of Mormon stereotypes in popular fiction, Austin draws the following conclusions: -To the extent that popular literature is able to reflect popular sentiment, Mormons are not as well perceived in the larger American culture as most people would like to believe. -Most of these negative images have been fixed since the 19th century. -These stereotypes should not be confused with genuine political critique. -By studying the way that Mormons are portrayed in popular genre fiction insight can be gained into the way that Mormonism functions as a category in American culture. In the 19th and 20th centuries- Orgazmo: Orgazmo is the story of a young Mormon who gets roped into making a pornographic movie while on a mission in Los Angeles. In the 21st century: Positive portrayal of Mormons in popular media is still seen by Mormons as rare in the 21st century, with most portrayals being viewed as "usually just polygamy jokes for a cheap laugh, or the 'hip' thing nowadays — gay Mormon missionaries." Big Love: The HBO show Big Love stars Bill Paxton as Bill Henrickson, a modern-day polygamist who lives in suburban Salt Lake City with his three wives and seven children. Commentators such as Jesella and Ryan point out that polygamy was banned by the LDS Church "more than 100 years ago" and is against the law in Utah, the state where the show is set; and that the family explicitly isn't Mormon, with a statement to that effect preceding the first episode, but is presented as "being some sort of cult-like offshoot of the church". Other commentators have simply described the Henricksons as a "Mormon family" and left it to others to draw the distinction. The show has caused controversy, with Mormons and Church leaders reacting to what they perceive as being a veiled stereotype. The LDS Church released an official statement saying: The Church has long been concerned about the continued illegal practice of polygamy, and, in particular, about reports of child and wife abuse emanating from polygamous communities today. It will be regrettable if this program, by making polygamy the subject of entertainment, minimizes the seriousness of the problem. Placing the series in Salt Lake City, the international headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is enough to blur the line between the modern Church and the program's subject matter, and to reinforce old and long-outdated stereotypes. Big Love, like so much other television programming, is essentially lazy and indulgent entertainment that does nothing for our society and will never nourish great minds. HBO defended its show, asserting that its portrayal of the characters as outside of the LDS Church and continually having to hide their status from other people actually helps to educate non-Mormons about Mormonism, with Carolyn Strauss, president of HBO Entertainment, saying: It is interesting how many people are ignorant about the Mormon church and think that the Mormon church actually does condone polygamy. So in an odd way, the show is sort of beneficial in drawing that distinction. The show again hit a sensitive spot when, in 2009, they recreated a temple ceremony that members of the Church consider to be sacred. The creators deemed it "a very important part of the story" and made it clear that they were going to air the episode as planned after apologizing for offending anyone. The Church's response to the news about the ceremony stated that as an institution, they would not call for a boycott. Also, they stated that despite assurances three years ago from HBO and the creators of Big Love that the show was not about Mormons, Mormon themes and increasingly unsympathetic characters were being woven into the show. Cold Case: The portrayal of Latter Day Saints in Cold Case has also drawn criticism for being disrespectful by Chris Hicks. He has criticized the show for being an example of the unequal treatment of Mormons, stating that where insane people of other religions are portrayed in television drama, pains are taken to point out as part of the plot that they are "non-practicing", yet no such pains are taken when it comes to Mormons; and that instead, the faith is seen as directly related to the insanity of one character and that all Mormons were strange people. He also expressed concerns that the temple garments of Mormons did not receive the same sympathetic dramatic treatment or respect as do the sacred symbols of other religions. Psych: In Season 6, Episode 9 of Psych, girls sporting BYU (a Mormon university) T-shirts are seen entering a bar. This is out of place since Mormons don't drink alcohol. The inclusion was due to Psych's Campus War website which had users play games to earn points for their school. The reviews have been mixed - as it is USA has not made a statement explaining the location choice. Millions: Released in 2004 this film tells the story of a boy who accidentally finds millions of pounds. Replete with religious references, one includes 3 Mormon missionaries. Seen in the film: riding their bikes in one scene, given some of the money through their letter box, and being questioned by the police in regards to the money with a large screen TV implicitly bought with the money. South Park: Commentators have been surprised by the portrayal of Latter-day Saints in South Park. Mormon commentators have described it as "unexpectedly, our best treatment". South Park, while Mormon characters are "generally pollyannas with bike helmets and missionary tags", and an entire episode, "All About Mormons", is devoted to lampooning Joseph Smith, Jr. and the founding of the religion, the portrayal is considered to be generally positive. In the episode "Super Best Friends", Smith is portrayed positively, appearing in a Super Friends parody involving other religious figures who are allied in the fight against David Blaine. In the episode "Probably", it is only the Mormons who "got it right" and who go to Heaven after death and all adherents of other religions go to Hell, though this 'reversal of fortune' is likely just a literary device for giving debates of religious salvation a humorously ironic twist, rather than a meaningful endorsement of Mormonism (note creator Trey Parker's parodic portrayal of a Mormon character in Orgazmo). And the Mormon characters in the series are the only ones who commentators view to be "consistently compassionate, or even courteous". Latter Days: The gay romantic drama Latter Days was released in 2003. Set in Los Angeles, California, it portrays a young party animal who sets out to seduce an LDS missionary, but ends up falling in love with him. The film received mixed reviews, and was banned in one movie theater chain. However, reception of the film at some film festivals was very positive, including standing ovations. The movie was a commercial success and has received at least nine 'best film' awards. Last Days: Gus Van Sant's film, Last Days, which is inspired by the final hours of Kurt Cobain's life, shows an addled musician being visited by Latter Day Saint missionaries. The character is unresponsive and puzzled by their presence. The Strangers: In the 2008 American horror film entitled The Strangers, two children—named "Mormon Kid 1" and "Mormon Kid 2"—make a brief appearance at the end of the film. They hand Christian pamphlets to the 3 murderers as they drive away from a murder scene. The Book of Mormon musical: In March 2011, a religious satire musical opened on Broadway entitled The Book of Mormon. Conceived by Trey Parker, Matt Stone, and Robert Lopez, the play tells the story of two young Mormon missionaries sent to a remote village in northern Uganda, where a brutal warlord is threatening the local population. Naive and optimistic, the two missionaries try to share their scriptures — which only one of them knows very well — but have trouble connecting with the locals, who are worried about famine, poverty, and AIDS. Dexter: In Episode 10 of Season 6 in the popular series Dexter there is a reference to Mormonism connecting it to a radicalized end of days killer. The entire season focuses on religious symbols. In this episode Angel Batista notices a bookcase full of fictional covers of the suspect Dr. Gellar's books dealing with the end of days. Among them was the third Volume of the early mormon historical fiction series The Work and the Glory subtitled "Truth Will Prevail". Mrs Brown's Boys Irish hit series: Mrs. Brown's Boys features an episode about religion in which the Mormon missionaries turn up at her house and discuss religion. She mistakes them for undertakers, and holds them "hostage" for a couple of hours. Fallout: In Fallout, a video game series set in post-nuclear war America, Mormons are portrayed as one of the last surviving old world religions. One of the biggest and most powerful Mormon controlled towns is New Canaan, built on the ruins of Ogden, Utah. Mormons are featured heavily in Fallout: New Vegas expansion Honest Hearts, where their missionaries are spreading the religion to tribals in Zion National Park and teaching them to defend themselves against neighboring tribes and Caesars Legion, a totalitarian slaver society which was co-founded by Joshua Graham, one of the Mormon missionaries now turned against Caesar.

Stephenie Meyer

Stephenie Meyer is an American young-adult fiction writer and film producer, best known for her vampire romance series Twilight. The Twilight novels have gained worldwide recognition and sold over 100 million copies, with translations into 37 different languages. Meyer was the bestselling author of 2008 and 2009 in America, having sold over 29 million books in 2008, and 26.5 million books in 2009. Twilight was the best-selling book of 2008 in US bookstores. Meyer was ranked No. 49 on Time magazine's list of the "100 Most Influential People in 2008", and was included in the Forbes Celebrity 100 list of the world's most powerful celebrities in 2009, entering at No. 26. Her annual earnings exceeded $50 million. In 2010, Forbes ranked her as the No. 59 most powerful celebrity with annual earnings of $40 million. Early life: Stephenie Meyer was born in Hartford, Connecticut, to Stephen and Candy Morgan. She grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, with five siblings: Seth, Emily, Jacob, Paul, and Heidi. She attended Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, Arizona, where her former English teacher remembered her as "bright but not overly so." She attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where she received a BA in English in 1997. Meyer met her husband, Christian, when she was 4 years old in Arizona, and married him in 1994 when they were both 21. Together they have three sons. Christian Meyer, formerly an auditor, has now retired to take care of the children. Meyer is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; she has stated that she is strait-laced about her beliefs and does not drink alcohol or smoke. Meyer had no experience as a writer of any kind and had never even written a short story before Twilight. She had considered going to law school because she felt she had no chance of becoming a writer; she later noted that the birth of her oldest son Gabe changed her mind, saying, "Once I had Gabe, I just wanted to be his mom." Before becoming an author, Meyer's only professional work was as a receptionist in a property company. The Twilight series Twilight: Meyer says that the idea for Twilight came to her in a dream on June 2, 2003. The dream was about a human girl and a vampire who was in love with her but thirsted for her blood. Based on this dream, Meyer wrote the draft of what became Chapter 13 of the book. In a matter of three months she had transformed her dream into a complete novel, though she claims that she never intended to publish Twilight and was writing for her own enjoyment. Her sister's response to the book was enthusiastic and she persuaded Meyer to send the manuscript to literary agencies. Of the 15 letters she wrote, five went unanswered, nine brought rejections, and the last was a positive response from Jodi Reamer of Writers House. Eight publishers competed for the rights to publish Twilight in a 2003 auction. By November, Meyer had signed a $750,000 three-book deal with Little, Brown and Company. Twilight was published in 2005 with a print run of 75,000 copies. It reached No. 5 on the New York Times Best Seller list for Children's Chapter Books within a month of its release, and later rose to #1. Foreign rights to the novel were sold to over 26 countries. The novel was named the Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year and a New York Times Editor's Choice. Subsequent novels: Following the success of Twilight (2005), Meyer expanded the story into a series with three more books: New Moon (2006), Eclipse (2007), and Breaking Dawn (2008). In its first week after publication, New Moon reached No. 5 on the New York Times Best Seller List for Children's Chapter Books, and in its second week rose to the No. 1 position, where it remained for the next 11 weeks. In total, it spent over 50 weeks on the list. After the release of Eclipse, the first three "Twilight" books spent a combined 143 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list. The fourth installment of the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn, was released with an initial print run of 3.7 million copies. Over 1.3 million copies were sold on the first day. The novel won Meyer her first British Book Award, despite competition with J. K. Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard. The series has sold over 100 million copies worldwide in 37 languages. In 2008, the four books of the series claimed the top four spots on USA Today's year-end bestseller list, making Meyer the first author to ever achieve this feat, as well as being the bestselling author of the year. The Twilight novels held the top four spots on USA Today's year-end list again in 2009. In August 2009, USA Today revealed that Meyer broke J.K. Rowling's record on their bestseller list; the four Twilight books had spent 52 straight weeks in the top 10. The books have spent more than 143 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller List. Upon the completion of the fourth entry in the series, Meyer indicated that Breaking Dawn would be the final novel to be told from Bella Swan's perspective. Midnight Sun was to be a companion novel to the series. It would be a retelling of the events of the novel Twilight, but from the perspective of Edward Cullen. Meyer had hoped to have Midnight Sun published some time shortly after the release of Breaking Dawn, but after an online leak of a rough draft of its first 12 chapters, Meyer chose to delay the project indefinitely. Meyer has decided to pursue non-Twilight related books as a result of the leak. She made the rough chapters of Midnight Sun available on her website. Inspiration: Meyer cites many novels as inspiration for the Twilight series, including Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë and Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery. Each book in the series was also inspired specifically by a different literary classic: Twilight by Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice; New Moon by Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet; Eclipse by Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights; and Breaking Dawn's theme by Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Meyer said, "I've been reading books for adults my entire life. Growing up I was an avid reader—the thicker the book, the better." She also said she is a huge fan of Orson Scott Card, and "can't go through a year without re-reading" Jane Austen's books. She also says that her writing is strongly influenced by music, and she posts playlists on her website of songs which specifically inspired her books. Bands included most often in her playlists are Muse, Blue October, My Chemical Romance, Coldplay and Linkin Park. As a Mormon, Meyer acknowledges that her faith has influenced her work. In particular, she says that her characters "tend to think more about where they came from, and where they are going, than might be typical." Meyer says that she does not consciously intend her novels to be Mormon-influenced, or to promote the virtues of sexual abstinence and spiritual purity, but admits that her writing is shaped by her values, saying, I don't think my books are going to be really graphic or dark, because of who I am. There's always going to be a lot of light in my stories. Film adaptations: Summit Entertainment optioned Twilight in April 2007. Catherine Hardwicke directed the film and the screenplay was written by Melissa Rosenberg. It stars Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan, Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen and Taylor Lautner as Jacob Black. The movie was released on November 21, 2008. Meyer makes a brief cameo appearance in a diner scene. Following the success of Twilight, Summit greenlit a film adaptation of the sequel, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, in November 2008. Chris Weitz directed the film, which was released on November 20, 2009. Summit confirmed an adaptation of the third book in the series, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, in February 2009. David Slade directed the film, which was released on June 30, 2010. Summit also obtained the rights to Breaking Dawn in November 2008, and approved a two-part adaptation in June 2010 that was scheduled to start production in late 2010. The first part was released on November 18, 2011, and the second part was released on November 16, 2012. The Host: In May 2008, Meyer's adult sci-fi novel The Host, was released by the adult division of Little, Brown and Company. It follows the story of Melanie Stryder and Wanderer, a young woman and an invading alien "soul," who are forced to work as one. The Host debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times Best Seller list[56] and remained on the list for 26 weeks.[57] Meyer has said that she is working on additional books in The Host series and that she intends to write a trilogy, with the second and third books being called "The Soul" and "The Seeker", respectively. In a Q&A session in Kansas City, Meyer stated that she has outlines for the sequels and has done some writing on them, but she has some qualms since The Host universe is a "dangerous place" where characters might die, and she is not sure if she wants to kill them off. Film adaptation: The novel has been adapted into a film with Andrew Niccol directing and Saoirse Ronan starring as Melanie Stryder, Max Irons as Jared Howe and Jake Abel as Ian O'Shea. The film was released on March 29, 2013, to generally negative reviews. Analysis- Reception: Entertainment Weekly has stated that Meyer is "the world's most popular vampire novelist since Anne Rice", while The Guardian described her as an "imaginative storyteller, a prolific author and a newly powerful figure in the publishing market." Wayne Janes of Toronto Sun agreed, saying "Meyer's success points up another trend—the virtual domination of the best-seller lists the last few years by what would normally be classified as young adult fiction," and noted, In the absence of a new Harry Potter adventure, teens, fantasy enthusiasts and women (sales are mostly to females) who swoon at the idea of a virginal James Dean-ish vampire made Meyer the go-to gal for chaste love." Tymon Smith of The Times has described her as the "superstar of young adult fiction". Meyer was named USA Today's "Author of the Year" in 2008, and one of MSN Lifestyle's "Most Influential Women of 2008" where she was described as a "literary luminary". She was also ranked No. 49 on Time magazine's list of the "100 Most Influential People in 2008", and was included in their list of "People Who Mattered", with Lev Grossman noting, "Maybe Americans aren't ready for a Mormon presidential nominee yet. But they're more than ready to anoint a Mormon as the best-selling novelist of the year." Meyer was included in The Arizona Republic's "Valley's Most Fascinating People" in December 2008. Novelist Orson Scott Card said, "[Stephenie Meyer] writes with luminous clarity, never standing between the reader and the dream they share. She's the real thing". Scott described Meyer as an "amazing phenomenon". In an interview with Newsweek, author Jodi Picoult said, "Stephenie Meyer has gotten people hooked on books, and that's good for all of us." Meyer was ranked No. 5 on Forbes' list of "Hollywood's Top-Earning Women", the only author on the list, and it was noted that the "Twilight series of young-adult vampire books have taken the publishing and film worlds by storm." She was ranked No. 82 on Vanity Fair's list of the "Top 100 Information Age Powers" of 2009. Meyer was featured in an issue of the biographical comic Female Force, a Bluewater Productions title which celebrates influential women in society and pop culture. The comic has previously published biographies of women such as Oprah Winfrey and Princess Diana. In 2011 CEOWORLD Magazine ranked her among CEOWORLD magazine's Top Accomplished Women Entertainers. Meyer was the second bestselling author of the decade, according to a list published by Amazon, beaten by JK Rowling. Fan following: Meyer has gained a following among young adult readers of her Twilight novels, which are set in the small town of Forks on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. Forks has thus received attention from fans, and celebrates "Stephenie Meyer Day" on September 13, the date of character Bella Swan's birthday. Fans express themselves in other ways: "[They] dress up like her characters. They write their own stories about them and post their tales on the Internet. When she appears at a bookstore, 3,000 people go to meet her. There are Twilight-themed rock bands." Criticism: Comparing Meyer to J. K. Rowling, Stephen King stated: "The real difference is that Jo Rowling is a terrific writer, and Stephenie Meyer can't write worth a darn. She's not very good". King went on to say that: People are attracted by the stories, by the pace and, in the case of Stephenie Meyer, it's very clear that she's writing to a whole generation of girls and opening up kind of a safe joining of love and sex in those books. It's exciting and it's thrilling and it's not particularly threatening because it's not overtly sexual. He further explains: A lot of the physical side of it is conveyed in things like, the vampire will touch her forearm or run a hand over skin, and she just flushes all hot and cold. And for girls, that's a shorthand for all the feelings that they're not ready to deal with yet. Meyer has been criticized by feminists who consider Meyer an anti-feminist writer, saying that the series romanticizes a physically abusive relationship, pointing to red flags that include Bella's entire life revolving around Edward; never being in control of her own life; being absolutely dependent on Edward's ability to protect her life, her virginity, and her humanity; and the physical injuries Bella suffers from finally consummating her relationship with Edward. Meyer has dismissed such criticisms, saying both that the books center around Bella's choice, and that her damsel in distress persona is due only to her humanity. Personal life: Meyer married Christian Meyer in 1994. They have three sons together: Gabe, Seth and Eli. The family lives in Cave Creek, Arizona, and also own a home on Marrowstone Island, Washington. Film producer: Meyer is also a film producer. Meyer started her own production company in 2011 with producer Meghan Hibbett. The company is called Fickle Fish Films. Meyer spent much of 2011 producing both parts of Breaking Dawn as well as the film adaptation of Shannon Hale's novel Austenland. On February 12, 2012, Meyer announced on her personal website that filming for The Host, for which she is also a producer, would begin Monday, February 13, 2012. In April 2012, Meyer announced that she would be producing a film adaptation of Lois Duncan's Down a Dark Hall. Other works: One of Meyer's short stories was published in Prom Nights from Hell, a collection of stories about bad prom nights with supernatural effects. Meyer's story "Hell on Earth", was about a demon named Sheba and a half-angel named Gabe who fall in love with each other. Other authors who contributed to the collection are Meg Cabot, Kim Harrison, Michele Jaffe and Lauren Myracle. Prom Nights from Hell was released in April 2007. Meyer mentions having several other book ideas on file, including a ghost story titled Summer House and a novel involving time travel, as well as another about mermaids. On August 28, 2008, it was announced that Meyer had written the treatment for Jack's Mannequin music video "The Resolution", which she co-directed the following week. In 2009, Meyer teamed with the skateboard and clothing company Hobo Skate Company to produce her own clothing line, consisting of a line of T-shirts and skateboards related to her science-fiction novel The Host. On March 30, 2010, it was announced that Meyer had written a 200-page novella The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner. The book was released on June 5, 2010, by Atom and was available for free between June 7 and July 5 on the official website. In April 2009, Meyer took part in Project Book Babe, a benefit designed to help pay her friend Faith Hochhalter's medical bills after Hochhalter was diagnosed with breast cancer. Meyer donated many advance reader copies and original manuscripts for auction. The same year, Meyer teamed up with Hobo Skate Company to auction off a The Host-themed skateboard, which sold for $1500 that was donated to charity.

Glitter

Glitter describes an assortment of small, flat, reflective particles. Glitter particles reflect light at different angles, causing the surface to sparkle or shimmer. Glitter is like confetti or sequins, only smaller. Since prehistoric times, glitter has been made and used as decoration, from many different materials including stones such as malachite, galena, mica, insects, and glass. Modern glitter is usually manufactured from plastic. Modern glitter: The first production of modern plastic glitter is credited to the American machinist Henry Ruschmann who found a way to cut sheets into glitter in 1934. During World War II with German glass glitter unavailable, Ruschmann found a market for scrap material ground into glitter made of plastics. He founded Meadowbrook Inventions, Inc. in Bernardsville, New Jersey, and the company is still a producer of industrial glitter. Decades later he filed a patent for a mechanism for cross-cutting films as well as other related inventions. Today over 20,000 varieties of glitter are manufactured in a vast number of different colors, sizes, and materials. Over 10,000,000 pounds (4,500,000 kg) of glitter was purchased between the years of 1989 and 2009 alone. Commercial glitter ranges in size from 0.002 square inches (1.3 mm2) to 0.25 square inches (160 mm2). First, flat multi-layered sheets are produced combining plastic, coloring, and reflective material such as aluminium, titanium dioxide, iron oxide, and bismuth oxychloride. These sheets are then cut into tiny particles of many shapes including squares, rectangles, and hexagons. Ancient glitter: Glittering surfaces have been found to be used since prehistoric times in the arts and in cosmetics. The modern word “glitter” comes from glitra in Old Norse through Middle English. However, as early as 30,000 years ago, mica flakes were used to give cave paintings a glittering appearance. Prehistoric humans are believed to have used cosmetics, made of powdered hematite, a sparkling mineral. 8,000 years ago people of the Americas were using powdered galena a form of lead, to produce a bright greyish-white glittering paint used for objects of adornment. The collecting and surface mining of galena was prevalent in the Upper Mississippi Valley region by the Cahokia native peoples, for regional trade both raw and crafted into beads or other objects. Over 6,000 years ago, ancient Egyptians produced glittering cosmetics from the iridescent shells of beetles as well as finely ground green malachite crystal. Researchers believe Mayan temples were sometimes painted with red, green, and grey glitter paint made from mica dust, based on infrared scans of the remnants of paint still found on the structures in present day Guatemala. Prior to modern plastics, particles of glass were used to create glittering surfaces and glass glitter is still produced commercially. Uses: Prior to fabrics made with modern glitter, sequins were sewn or woven on to fabric to give it a glittering appearance. Edible glitter made from gum arabic and other ingredients is even used by culinary artists. Glitter is used in cosmetics to make the face or nails appear more shiny or sparkly. Additionally, it is used in children's arts and crafts to color and texture items. The small, brightly colored particles often stick to clothing, skin, and furniture, and can be a hassle to remove. Due to its unique characteristics, glitter has also proven to be useful forensic evidence. Because of the tens of thousands of different commercial glitters, identical glitter particles can be compelling evidence that a suspect has been at a crime scene. Glitter particles are easily transferred through the air or by touch, yet cling to bodies and clothing, often unnoticed by suspects. An easy way to get rid of glitter on clothing is to use hair spray on the clothing. Once the hair spray is dry on the clothes, then put it in the wash—then the glitter will come off easily. Glitter coatings or finishes are frequently used on fishing lures to draw attention by simulating the scales of prey fish.