Tuesday 17th of December 1833

Foundling Kaspar Hauser aka The Wild Child dies of a stab wound suffered three days earlier at the age of 21 in Ansbach, Bayern, Germany.

On 14 December 1833 Hauser came home with a deep wound in his left breast. He said that he was lured to the Ansbach Hofgarten and that a stranger stabbed him there while giving him a bag. When policeman Herrlein searched the Hofgarten he found a small violet purse containing a pencilled note in 'Spiegelschrift' (mirror writing). The message read "Hauser wird es euch ganz genau erzählen können, wie ich aussehe, und wo her ich bin. Den Hauser die Mühe zu ersparen will ich es euch selber sagen, woher ich komme _ _ Ich komme von von _ _ _ der Baierischen Gränze _ _ Am Fluße _ _ _ _ _ Ich will euch sogar noch den Namen sagen: M. L. Ö."

Monday 17th of December 1877

Chief executioner Jules-Henri Desfourneaux aka Monsieur de Paris is born in Bar-le-Duc, Lorraine, France.

Thursday 17th of December 1903

Writer Erskine Preston Caldwell is born in Moreland, Georgia, United States.

Friday 17th of December 1909

2nd King of Belgium Leopold II known for the founding and brutal exploitation of the Congo Free State as a private venture dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 74 in Château de Laeken, Brussel, Laeken, Brabant, Belgium.

Thursday 17th of December 1914

Serial killer Raymond Martinez Fernandez aka The Lonely Hearts Killers (with Martha Beck) is born in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States.

Monday 17th of December 1923

Director of the Dresdner bank Jürgen Ponto is born in Bad Nauheim, Hessen, Germany.

Sunday 17th of December 1933

Victim of Harvey Glatman aka The Pin-Up Killer Ruth Rita Mercado aka Angela Rojas is born in Plattsburgh, New York, United States.

Thursday 17th of December 1942

Musician Paul Vaughn Butterfield known from the Paul Butterfield Blues Band is born in Chicago, Illinois, United States.

Friday 17th of December 1943

Member of the 'Manson Family' Mary Theresa Brunner aka Marioche aka Mother Mary is born in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, United States.

Wednesday 17th of December 1947

Pathologist Bernard Henry Spilsbury commits suicide by gassing at the age of 70 in University College, London, Bloomsbury, Greater London, United Kingdom.

Spilsbury was depressed over his finances and his declining health.

Friday 17th of December 1948

Murderer Stephen McCoy is born in Houston, Texas, United States.

Wednesday 17th of December 1958

31-year-old Serial killer Harvey Murray Glatman aka The Pin-Up Killer is sentenced to death in San Diego, California, United States.

Sunday 17th of December 1961

Over 500 die in Gran Circus Norte-Americano fire in Gran Circus Norte-Americano, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The fire was arsoned by former employee Adilson Marcelino.

Tuesday 17th of December 1963

Murderer Dennis John Whitty is executed by hanging by Robert Stewart at the age of 22 in Winchester Prison, Winchester, Hampshire, United Kingdom.

Tuesday 17th of December 1963

Murderer Russel Pascoe is executed by hanging by Harry Allen at the age of 23 in Horfield Prison, Bristol, South West England, United Kingdom.

Tuesday 17th of December 1968

12-year-old Child killer Mary Flora Bell aka Child of Hell is sentenced to detention for life for the murder of two children in Moot Hall, Castle Garth, Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, United Kingdom.

Mary's accomplice Norma Bell was acquitted.

Wednesday 17th of December 1969

44-year-old Wiener Aktionist Otto Muehl performs 'Materialaktion nr. 59 / Stille Nacht / Frohe Weihnacht' aka 'O Tannenbaum' in Hochschule für Bildende Künste, Johannes-Selenka-Platz 1, Braunschweig, Niedersachsen, Germany.

Monday 17th of December 1979

23-year-old Necrophiliac Karen Greenlee steals the 1975 Cadillac hearse she was driving to a funeral along with the body of a 33-year-old man to have sex with the corpse in Sacramento Memorial Lawn, 6100 Stockton Blvd, Sacramento, California, United States.

Greenlee was found days later near Alleghany in Sierra County. She had attempted to commit suicide by overdosing on about 20 pills of Tylenol and codeine but survived.

Sunday 17th of December 1989

34-year-old June Cicero is strangled and mutilated by serial killer Arthur Shawcross aka The Genesee River Killer in Salmon Creek, Rochester, New York, United States.

Cicero's body was discovered by aerial surveillance on 3 January 1990.

Wednesday 17th of December 1997

72-year-old Wiener Aktionist Otto Muehl is released from prison after serving six years for sex and drug offences in Eisenstadt, Burgenland, Austria.

Friday 17th of December 1999

Waiting with a monk on the pier for the last river-express boat in Bangkok, Central Thailand, Thailand.

Friday 17th of December 2004

Pop artist Tom Wesselmann dies of complications after heart surgery at the age of 73 in University Medical Center, New York, Manhattan, New York, United States.

Friday 17th of December 2010

Singer-songwriter, musician and artist Don Van Vliet aka Captain Beefheart dies of complications from multiple sclerosis at the age of 69 in Arcata, California, United States.

Saturday 17th of December 2011

Second Supreme Leader of North Korea Jong-il Kim dies of a heart attack at the age of 70 in Pyongyang, P'yŏngan, North Korea.

It was reported in December 2012 by South Korean media that Jong-il had died in a fit of rage over construction faults in a crucial power plant project at Huichon in Jagang Province.

Tuesday 17th of December 2013

Great Train Robber Ronnie Ronald Arthur Biggs dies of pneumonia at the age of 84 in Carlton Court Care Home, 112 Bells Hill, East Barnet, Greater London, United Kingdom.

Thursday 17th of December 2020

Serial killer Donato Bilancia aka Il Mostro della Liguria dies of COVID-19 at the age of 69 in Padua, Veneto, Italy.