On This Day - The Dark Cloud Over August 10th

August 10th doesn't seem like a very significant day in the light of 9/11 or Friday the 13th, but this date is associated with some very dark events. Is it possible that 8/10 is cursed as well? You decide.

Charles Manson Then and Now

August 10, 1969 - Charles Manson and his cult followers kill Supermarket Executive Leno LaBianca and his wife Rosemary the day after murdering Sharon Tate. The LaBianca's were killed simply because they occupied the house where Manson had attended a party next door a year prior. The killings were a part of his Helter Skelter plot. Manson is still serving a life sentence without parole.

Berkowitz Then and Now

August 10, 1977 - David Berkowitz, a post office employee, was arrested on this day in the "Son of Sam' killings. Berkowitz killed 6 people and wounded several others because he said his neighbor's demon possessed dog told him to do so. Later, Berkowitz said that while he was guilty of murder, he was not responsible for all of them and blamed the satanic cult he belonged to at the time. Law enforcement believe that this claim is credible, however, no one else has ever been arrested for the crimes. The case was reopened in 1996 and as of 2004 has remained open. Berkowitz requested that he not be paroled and since become a born again Christian and counsels inmates in prison.

Clockwise from Left: Toole, John Walsh,
and Adam

August 10, 1981 - The severed head of Adam Walsh was found by two fishermen who were fishing in a Vero Beach Florida canal. Adam was abducted from a Sears department store on July 27 in Hollywood, Florida. A coroner ruled that Adam died from asphyxiation. Criminal Ottis Toole has repeatedly confessed to the crime but he has not been charged and his killer was never found. Adam's father John Walsh went on to help form the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and is host of America's Most Wanted.

Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building

August 10, 1995 - Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols are indicted for the Oklahoma City Bombings. The bombing occurred April 19, 1995 at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal building and claimed 168 lives including 16 children under the age of 16. The terrorist plot was the result of McVeigh's and Nichols' anger over how the FBI handled the standoff with Randy Weaver at Ruby Ridge and at the Waco compound.

Kerri L. Schultz