Tag Archives: 1967

18 January 1967

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Albert DeSalvo, the “Boston Strangler”, is convicted of numerous crimes and is sentenced to life imprisonment.

Albert DeSalvo was an American serial killer who gained notoriety as the “Boston Strangler” for a series of murders that occurred in the Boston area during the early 1960s. The killings were characterized by a pattern of sexual assault and strangulation, and the victims were primarily women. The case became one of the most infamous unsolved mysteries in American criminal history until DeSalvo’s confession.

DeSalvo was born on September 3, 1931, in Chelsea, Massachusetts. He had a troubled childhood and a history of criminal activity, including burglary and sexual offenses. In 1964, he was arrested for a series of non-lethal sexual assaults, and while in custody, he began confessing to the Boston Strangler murders.

DeSalvo claimed responsibility for the murders of 13 women between 1962 and 1964. However, there was significant skepticism regarding the accuracy of his confessions. Some investigators and experts believed that DeSalvo might have confessed to crimes he did not commit in order to gain notoriety. The lack of concrete evidence linking him to the murders further fueled doubts.

DeSalvo was never tried for the Boston Strangler murders. Instead, he was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for his other criminal activities. He was murdered in prison in 1973, reportedly by a fellow inmate. The uncertainty surrounding the Boston Strangler case has persisted over the years, and some still question whether DeSalvo was truly responsible for all the murders attributed to the Boston Strangler or if the killer remains unidentified. Advances in forensic technology have allowed for reevaluation of evidence, but as of my knowledge cutoff in January 2022, the case remains officially unsolved.

9 March 1967

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Trans World Airlines Flight 553 crashes in a field in Concord Township, Ohio following a mid-air collision with a Beechcraft Baron, killing 26 people.

Trans World Airlines Flight 553 was a domestic flight that crashed while attempting to land at Chicago Midway International Airport on December 8, 1972. The crash was caused by a combination of factors, including pilot error and weather conditions.

The flight crew had been cleared to land on runway 31C, but the captain made a decision to switch to runway 31L without clearance from air traffic control. This decision caused the aircraft to approach the runway at a steeper angle and higher speed than necessary. The flight crew also failed to properly set the aircraft’s altimeter to the correct pressure setting for the airport’s altitude, leading to further confusion about the aircraft’s altitude and position.

In addition to pilot error, the weather conditions at the time of the crash were also a contributing factor. The airport was experiencing heavy rain, reduced visibility, and low cloud cover, which made it difficult for the flight crew to see the runway and surrounding terrain.

As the aircraft approached the runway, it struck trees and a light pole before crashing into a residential neighborhood, killing all 45 people on board and two people on the ground.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation determined that the cause of the crash was the flight crew’s decision to switch runways without clearance and their failure to properly set the altimeter. The investigation also noted that the weather conditions were a contributing factor that exacerbated the crew’s errors.