Murder by the Bay : historic homicide in and about the city of San Francisco

Documenting the murders in San Francisco that captivated both the city and the country, this dynamic history shows how the Bay Area can compete with Paris, London, and New York in the splendor of its suspenseful, horrifying, and audacious misdeeds. From the Montgomery Street killing of James King of William, editor of the Daily Evening Bulletin, in 1856 and the sensational trial of the early-movie comedian Fatty Arbuckle who was accused of killing a showgirl at a party in the St. Francis Hotel to the shocking "City Hall Murders" in which former city supervisor Dan White killed Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk, the homicides chronicled have been selected because a convergence of personality, circumstance, character, and geography makes them peculiarly San Franciscan. In addition to the facts, the historical importance of each of these crimes--whether they changed a law or revealed a shortcoming in society--is analyzed. Contents Introduction 1 The Doomed Editor—1856 2 The Senator and the Justice—1859 3 The Misused Mistress—1870 4 The Preacher and the Publisher—1880 5 The Phosphorescent Brides—1885 6 The Revenge of the Tongs—1887 7 The Belle in the Belfry—1895 8 The Stockton Trunk Stuffer—1906 9 The Movie Star and the Party Girl—1921 10 Mr. Schwartz. Mr. Warren and Mr. Barbe—1925 11 The Vengeful Valet-1930 12 The Last Lynchings—1933 13 The Alameda Enigma—1955 14 Labor in the Crosshairs—1966 15 The Sign of the Zodiac—1970s 16 The City Hall Murders—1978 Coda Sources Cited Index About the Author In the summer of 1848, a small band of travelers made its way across the narrow isthmus of Panama, en route from the ship that had brought them from the Eastern seaboard of the United States to another ship that would carry them up the coast of California