Murder by the Numbers
Description
Veteran true crime master Harold Schechter presents hundreds of chilling tales of murder and mayhem told through the fascinating lens of numerology. Each story begins with a number or statistic, followed by a thrilling account of its relevance to a notorious crime or an aspect of forensic investigation, all starting with the number 1-marking the first murder in Colonial America-and reaching into the millions. Readers will learn why the number 215,000 finally put Al Capone into prison, or how the number 2915 played into the case of alleged JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald. How the infamous Dr. H. H. Holmes, the "Chicago Bluebeard," was acutely aware of his 27-victim body count, or how the number 70 helps shed light on the criminal profiles of serial killers. With stunning and grisly photos throughout, Murder by the Numbers is a must-have for any true crime obsessive.
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Contents
Introduction
1 Colonial America's First Murderer
2 Folie à Deux: The Madness of Two
3 The Macdonald Triad
4 Number of Days That Terry Jo Duperrault Spent Adrift on the Ocean
5 Murder in Five Points, New York
6 Carlyle Harris and the "Six Capsules" Murder
7 Number of Psychiatric Panel Members Who Saved Erwin "Machine Gun" Walker from the Gas Chamber
8 Number of Hostages Held at Gunpoint by Spree Killer James Gordon Palmer
9 Number of Times Police Questioned Serial Killer Peter Sutcliffe
10 The FBI's "Ten Most-Wanted" List
11 The Eleven-Story Hotel Where Calvin Jackson Murdered Eight Women
12 The Twelve Signs of New York City's "Zodiac"
13 Number of Stays of Execution Granted o Killer Edgar Smith
13.5 Gallons of Gasoline Purchased by Cosmo DiNardo
14 Number of Murder Counts Charged Against Christian Dormier
15 Price (in Cents) of a Small Box of "Rough on Rats" Poison
16 The Sweet Sixteen Party Massacre
17 Number of Paraphilias Practiced by Albert Fish
18 Number of Case Histories in Dr. Leonard H. Cohen's Murder, Madness and the Law
19 Number of Surviving Nutshell Studies of Unsolved Deaths
20 Number of Items on the Hare Psychopathy Checklist
21 Maximum Number of Years in Prison Under Norway's Criminal Justice System
22 Caliber of the Handgun Used by Douglas Godfrey
23 Minutes Too Late for William Wilson to Save His Sister's Life
24 Number of Billy Milligan's Personalities
25 Mackenzie Maison's Weight (in Pounds) at Her Death
26 Weight (in Pounds) of the Concrete Block Tied to Ruth C. Reeves's Body
27 Number of Stab Wounds on Daisy Zick's Body
28 Number of Made Men Identified in the FBI's Family Secrets Operation
29 Number of Bodies Exhumed in the Angel Makers of Nagyrév Investigation
30 Number of Rooms in the McCue Mansion
31 Granville Road Address of the "Hello Kitty Murder" Apartment
32 Monthly Rent (in Dollars) of the "Tub Murder" Apartment
33 Number of Reasons for Scott Peterson's Guilt, According to His Half Sister
34 Ray Lewis and the Super Bowl XXXIV Murders
35 Number of Pieces Im Sook Pin's Body Was Cut Into by Her Husband
36 Number of Incarcerated Serial Killers Interviewed by the FBI's "Mind Hunters"
37-38 Reported Number of Eyewitnesses to the Kitty Genovese Murder
39 Number of US Cities in Which Homicide Rates Decreased During the Early Months of the COVID-19 Lockdown, April-May 2020
40 Speed (in Feet per Second) of Leland Stanford's Trotting Horse When Photographed by Murderer Eadweard Muybridge
41 Number of Shots Police Fired at Amadou Diallo
42 The Forty-Two Gang
43 The Disappeared Students of the Ayotzinapa 43
44 Number of Years a Cold Case Remained Unsolved Before It Was Cracked with a Cigarette Butt
45 Duration (in Minutes) of the Orchestral Break in the "Phantom of the Opera" Murder Case
46 World Record (in Years) for Longest Stretch in Solitary Confinement
47 Number of Law Officers Killed by Gunfire in the US in 2023
48 Number of States with a Felony Murder Law
49 Number of Tristyn Bailey's Defensive Wounds
50 The Fiftieth Anniversary Murders
51 Number of Unsolved Murders of Women Who Were Strangled or Asphyxiated in Chicago, 2001-2018
52 Number of Cards in a Cold Case Playing Card Deck
53 Number of Utahns Killed in Domestic Disputes, 2002-2005
54 Number of Movies with "Amityville" in Their Titles
55 Number of Gallon Drums Used in the Oklahoma City Bombing
56 Number of Physicians Murdered in the US, 2003-2018
57 Number of Societies in a Cross-Cultural Study That Exhibit Desire for Blood Revenge
58 Number of Prisoners Convicted of Homicide Who Were Exonerated in 2015 Based on DNA Evidence, False Confessions, or Official Misconduct
59 Number of Prosecution Witnesses at the Trial of Sacco and Vanzetti
60 60-Year Trajectory of Homicide Clearance Rates
61 Number of Names on Randy Kraft's "Scorecard"
62 Number of Cases of "Suicide by Proxy" in Stockholm
63 Number of Pit Bulls Found at Idaho Triple-Homicide Ranch
64 Number of Sleeping Pills Reportedly Swallowed by Marilyn Monroe
65 The I-65 Killer
66 Number of Skulls Analyzed by Cesare Lombroso
67 Number of Murdered Turkish Journalists, 1909-2022
68 Number of Mass Shootings in the US During the First Six Weeks of 2023
69 Tattoo on Rapper 6ix9ine
70 Percentage of Male Serial Killers Who Prey Only on Strangers
71 Number of UN Peacekeepers and Associated Personnel Killed in the Line of Duty in 2017
72 Number of Law Enforcement Officers Killed on 9/11
73 Number of Handwriting Samples Taken in the Jonbenét Ramsey Case
74 Number of Days Before Ahmaud Arbery's Killers Were Arrested
75 Number of Victims of Peter Niers
76 Number of Charges in the 2021 Waukesha Parade Attack
77 Duration (in Minutes) of the San Ysidro McDonald's Massacre
78 Number of Murder Convictions for Mikhal Popkov, the Siberian "Werewolf"
79 Pieces of Evidence Sent to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation Following the Rhoden Family Massacre
80 Number of Lashes Received by Mohammed Adam Omar Ishaak Before His Execution
81 Total Number of Whacks Lizzie Borden Supposedly Gave with Her Axe
82 Number of Branch Davidians Killed in the Waco Siege
83 Percentage of Serial Killers Who Indulge in Sadistic Sex Fantasies Before Acting Them Out
84 Atomic Number of Polonium-210
85 Counts of Murder of Which Niels Högel Was Convicted
86 Mob Slang for Eliminating Someone
87 Number of Victims of the Happy Land Social Club Fire
88 Weight (in Pounds) of the Guillotine Blade
89 Number of Rampage Killers Who Never Left the Scene of Their Crime
90 Number of Seconds Ruled in Court to Be Needed for a Murderer's Face to Be Imprinted on a Witness's Memory
91 Number of Victims of las Poquianchis
92 Ideal Temperature (in Degrees Fahrenheit) for Murder
93 Number of Women Strangled to Death by Samuel Little, America's Most Prolific Serial Killer
94 Psalm Calling for Vengeance on Murderers
95 Weight (in Pounds) of David Stukel
96 Number of Statistical Tests on "Moon Madness"
97 Number of Papua New Guinea Men Convicted of Sorcery-Related Murder
98 Percentage of Violent Crimes, Including Homicides, That Go Unsolved in Mexico
99 Purity Percentage of the Fentanyl Aaron Broussard Sold
100 Age of the World's Oldest Axe Murderer
101 Number of Craigslist Murders
106 Number of Bullets Fired by Patrick Purdy
107-108 Body Temperature (in Degrees Fahrenheit) of a Microwaved Baby
109 Number of Days in the Toys "R" Us Murder Investigation
110 Number of Legally Obtained Cadavers Dissected in Scotland, 1752-1832
111 Acres in the Estate of Stephano Colosi Jr., "The Trophy Wife Killer"
118 Harlow Fraden's IQ
120 Estimated Number of Casualties of the 1874 Eufaula Massacre
130 Weight (in Pounds) of the Attack Dog That Killed Diane Whipple
136 Running Time (in Minutes) of Looking for Mr. Goodbar
140 Amount of Arsenic (in Milligrams) That Will Kill an Average-Sized Adult
148 Number of Homicides in Memphis, Tennessee in 1932
158 Length (in Feet) of the Ship Herbert Fuller, the "Ocean Horror"
167 Number of Shots Fired in the Ambush of Bonnie and Clyde
176 Number of Films Starring Accused Murderer Fatty Arbuckle
187 California Penal Section Defining the Crime of Murder
192 Number of Samples in a Bloodstain Pattern Analysis Study
198 Number of Sex Workers Murdered by Serial Killers, 1991-1993
200 Fee (in Dollars) in Rent-A-Hitman Case
206 Number of Appalachian Trail Shelters
210 Distance (in Yards) Between the Boston Marathon Bombs
223 Number of Poetry Contests Maxwell Bodenheim Failed to Win
224 Helen Clevenger's Hotel Room Number
225 Number of Crimes Punishable by Death Under the "Bloody Code"
241 Number of Repeat Offenders Identified by the Bertillon System in 1884
253 Number of Bystanders Randomly Killed or Wounded in Shootings in New York City, 1977-1988
256 Number of Murders Committed in Canada by People Released on Bail or Out on Parole in 2022
276 Number of Botched Executions in the US, 1900-2010
279 Number of Homicide-Related Artifacts at the Hollywood Museum of Death
294 Number of Vintage Comic Books in Ben Novak Jr.'s Collection Auction, November 2011
300 Number of Bodies Turned Into "Soup" by Santiago Meza López
300-800 Milliseconds Needed to Indicate Guilty Knowledge in Brain Fingerprinting Test
307 Number of Stores and Eateries at Westfield Bondi Junction, Site of a Six-Person Massacre
313 Number of Casualties from Active Shooter Incidents in 2022
330 Number of Participants in a Ladybug-Killing Experiment
333 Number of Jack the Ripper Suspects
347 Number of Jamestown Colonists Slaughtered in 1622
400 Estimated Number of Children Murdered by Amelia Dyer
413 Number of NBA Games Played by Bison Dele
416 School Shootings in the US, 1999-2024
417 Number of Bricks Preserved from the St. Valentine's Day Massacre Garage
450 Weight (in Pounds) of Joe Roy Metheny
463 Number of Justifiable Homicides by US Law Officers and Private Citizens in 2022
481 People Injured or Killed in Road Rage Shootings Across the US in 2023
500 Number of Aliases for Frederick Edel
550 Height (in Feet) of the High Roller Ferris Wheel
600 Dollar Reward for the Harpes
629 United Airlines Flight Blown Up by Matricidal Jack Graham
650 Alleged Number of Young Women Tortured and Murdered by "The Blood Countess," Elizabeth Báthory
662 Number of Votes Cast for Democratic Candidates the Day After the Kelayres Massacre
666 Number Tattooed on Caius Veiovis's Forehead
750 Increased Percentage of Risk of Homicide for Female Victims of Nonfatal Strangulation
797 Number of Homicide Cases Used for the Depravity Standard
800 Pounds of Concrete Used to Encase Doug Benton's Body
853 Number of Homicides in Japan in 2022
1,000 Death by a Thousand Cuts
1020 AM Radio Station Where Murdered Talk Show Host April Kauffman Worked
1,024 Number of Groups in the Henry Fingerprint Classification System
1,067 Number of Infants Who Died by Homicide in the US, 2017-2020
1197 Year of Early Biological Warfare
1247 Publication Year of the First Book on Forensic Medicine
1,315 Number of Worldwide Homicides per Day
1/3200 Size (in Inches) of a Human Blood Corpuscle, According to Experts at the 1872 Trial of Levitt Alley
1,500 Average Number of People Murdered with Knives Each Year in the US
1596 Year of Axlar-Björn's Execution
1635 Publication Year of the Earliest True Crime Book in English
1930 Year the Term "Serial Killer" Was Coined
2,000 Volts Needed to Execute William Kemmler
2915 Dallas Post Office Box Rented by Lee Harvey Oswald to Purchase the Mail Order Rifle Allegedly Used in the Kennedy Assassination
3014 Catalog Number of "I Fought the Law"
3,270 Number of People Questioned About the Disappearance of the Grimes Sisters
3,650 Total Amount (in Dollars) of Life Insurance Polices Paid Out to Anna Cunningham
6,000 Number of Signatures on the Petition to Spare Dr. Buck Ruxton's Life
6,226 Total Number of Victims of the 1995 Tokyo Subway Gas Attack
8,776 Number of Executions (by Hanging, Electrocution, Lethal Gassing, Lethal Injection, and Firing Squad) in the US, 1900-2010
10,000 Estimated Number of Spectators at Achibald Bates's Hanging
13,750 Ransom Money (in Dollars) Found in Bruno Hauptmann's Garage
15,000 Number of Murder Books in LAPD/FBI Homicide Library
16,594 Number of People Beheaded on the Guillotine During France's Reign of Terror
20,000 Number of Missing Person Circulars Distributed in the Search for Mark Kilroy
21622 Dink Carter's Inmate Number
40,000 Bail (in Dollars) Granted to Ira Einhorn
50,000 Number of Signatures on the Petition to Spare Ruth Ellis's Life
60624 The Chicago ZIP Code More Dangerous than Wartime Iraq
80,400 Number of Victims Sacrificed During a Four-Day Aztec Ceremony
127,000 Price (in Dollars) Paid at Auction for the Front Door of 10050 Cielo Drive, Where Manson Family Members Murdered Sharon Tate
144,000 Nutritional Value (in Calories) of a Human Body
215,000 Back Taxes Owed (in Dollars) by Al Capone
286,285 Number of Unsolved Homicides in the US, 1980-2022
430,000 Year of the Earliest Known Murder
713,960 Patent Number of Charlie Cawley's Airbrake
800,000 Monthly Circulation of Crime Does Not Pay in 1945
1,200,000 Bail (in French Francs) for Marie Bresnard
3,000,000 Number of Copies Sold in the US of Kingston Trio's "Tom Dooley"
13,200,000 Dollars Awarded to Wrongfully Convicted Santae Tribble
31,000,000 Number of Bottles of Medication Recalled During Chicago Tylenol Murders
95,000,000 Estimated Number of Television Viewers Who Watched the O. J. Simpson Car Chase on June 17, 1994
74 906953 2 Number of the Parking Ticket That Led to the Son of Sam's Arrest
16-12-13-34-42-52 Abraham Shakespeare's Winning Lottery Numbers
Photo Credits
Index
Acknowledgments
