There are so many wonderful things to love about Michigan, but we all know that there are a few characters who have left a less-than-stellar impression here. We’re talking about some of the real crazies in the world. Michigan happens to be the birthplace of many such characters. Here are a few such Michiganders who held a dark place in our history.
- Rochester
Michigan Municipal League/Flickr
Aileen Wuornos, serial killer
http://www.dc.state.fl.us/InmateReleases/Detail.asp?Bookmark=1&From=list&SessionID=1004301404.LicensedunderPublicDomainviaWikimediaCommons Wuornos murdered seven men in Florida in 1989-1990 and inspired the film Monster starring Charlize Theron. She was executed in a Florida state prison in 2002.
- Coldwater
F.D. Richard/Flickr
Doctor Hawley Harvey Crippen, murderer
“Dr crippen” by Threedots dead at en.wikipedia. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons This convicted wife killer became the first fugitive to be caught through the use of wireless technology in 1910, when he was arrested while onboard a transatlantic liner the SS Montrose. He was later found guilty and hanged.
- Windsor (Detroit border)
“John Norman Collins” by Source (WP:NFCC#4). Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia
John Norman Collins, “co-ed killer”
“John Norman Collins” by Source (WP:NFCC#4). Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia Actually born in the Detroit border city of Windsor in Ontario, Collins rose to infamy after a series of high profile homicides, known as the “Michigan Murders,” rocked the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti area in 1967-1969. Collins was convicted of one of the murders, though it is suspected that he was responsible for just about all of the others.
- Detroit
Michigan Municipal League/Flickr
Kwame Kilpatrick, disgraced former mayor of Detroit
“Kwame Kilpatrick” by Dave Hogg from Royal Oak, MI, USA - http://flickr.com/photos/davehogg/241988204. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons Kilpatrick makes this list for the insanity it must have taken to defraud the city of Detroit. Luckily, he was punished for his crimes and he was ultimately sentenced to 28 years in prison on mail fraud, wire fraud, and racketeering.
- Alpena
Michigan Municipal League/Flickr
Leon Czolgosz, assassin
Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons Believed to be born in Alpena, Czolgosz became infamous for the assassination of President William McKinley.
- Detroit
Girl.in.the.D/Flickr
Purple Gang, prohibition-era gangsters
“Purple Gang” by Unknown - http://www.lacndb.com/php/Info.php?name=Gang%20-%20Purple%20Gang. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons This Detroit-native gang was notorious during the 1920s for their bootlegging activities and extremely violent acts.
- Lapeer
Michigan Municipal League/Flickr
Terry Nichols, co-conspirator in the Oklahoma City bombing
“Nichols2”. Via Wikipedia This Lapeer native was the accomplice to Timothy McVeigh, the main perpetrator behind one of the biggest American atrocities, the Oklahoma City bombing, which killed 168 people.
- Milan
F.D. Richards/Flickr
Tony Chebatoris, murderer, robber, executed in a federal correctional institution in Milan, Mich.
“RedHatsExecutionChamber” by Lee Honeycutt from Angola, LA, USA - Red Hat Death Chamber. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons The death penalty has been outlawed in Michigan for some time now - actually since 1846 - but an exception was made for Chebatoris, a murderer and bank robber. It was federal authorities who convicted him under federal law, not state. They ruled he should die. He was hanged in 1938.
Kinda dark, huh? Tell us though, who are some of the psychos from our state’s history who give you the absolute creeps?
Michigan Municipal League/Flickr
Wuornos murdered seven men in Florida in 1989-1990 and inspired the film Monster starring Charlize Theron. She was executed in a Florida state prison in 2002.
F.D. Richard/Flickr
“Dr crippen” by Threedots dead at en.wikipedia. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
This convicted wife killer became the first fugitive to be caught through the use of wireless technology in 1910, when he was arrested while onboard a transatlantic liner the SS Montrose. He was later found guilty and hanged.
“John Norman Collins” by Source (WP:NFCC#4). Licensed under Fair use via Wikipedia
Actually born in the Detroit border city of Windsor in Ontario, Collins rose to infamy after a series of high profile homicides, known as the “Michigan Murders,” rocked the Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti area in 1967-1969. Collins was convicted of one of the murders, though it is suspected that he was responsible for just about all of the others.
“Kwame Kilpatrick” by Dave Hogg from Royal Oak, MI, USA - http://flickr.com/photos/davehogg/241988204. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Kilpatrick makes this list for the insanity it must have taken to defraud the city of Detroit. Luckily, he was punished for his crimes and he was ultimately sentenced to 28 years in prison on mail fraud, wire fraud, and racketeering.
Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
Believed to be born in Alpena, Czolgosz became infamous for the assassination of President William McKinley.
Girl.in.the.D/Flickr
“Purple Gang” by Unknown - http://www.lacndb.com/php/Info.php?name=Gang%20-%20Purple%20Gang. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
This Detroit-native gang was notorious during the 1920s for their bootlegging activities and extremely violent acts.
“Nichols2”. Via Wikipedia
This Lapeer native was the accomplice to Timothy McVeigh, the main perpetrator behind one of the biggest American atrocities, the Oklahoma City bombing, which killed 168 people.
F.D. Richards/Flickr
“RedHatsExecutionChamber” by Lee Honeycutt from Angola, LA, USA - Red Hat Death Chamber. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The death penalty has been outlawed in Michigan for some time now - actually since 1846 - but an exception was made for Chebatoris, a murderer and bank robber. It was federal authorities who convicted him under federal law, not state. They ruled he should die. He was hanged in 1938.
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