Untouchable Ghost
The Cleveland Torso Murderer (also known as the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run) was an unidentified serial killer who killed and dismembered at least 12 victims in the Cleveland, Ohio, area in the 1930s. Cleveland Detective’s believe that there may have been 40 or more victims in the Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Youngstown, Ohio, areas between the 1920s and 1950s. The Torso Murderer always beheaded and often dismembered his victims, sometimes also cutting the torso in half; in many cases the cause of death was the decapitation itself. Most of the male victims were castrated, and some victims showed evidence of chemical treatment being applied to their bodies. Many of the victims were found after a considerable period of time following their deaths, sometimes a year or more. This made identification nearly impossible, especially since the heads were often not found. The murders went unsolved which a lot of people felt reflected badly on Ness.
During the time of the "official" murders, Eliot Ness held the position of Public Safety Director of Cleveland, in charge of the police and fire Departments. Critics called for Ness's removal, citing his social drinking, divorce, work with the federal government, and a traffic accident that looked suspiciously like an alcohol related hit-run incident.
Sometimes it’s hard to live up to a reputation !
He left that position in 1944, to become chairman of the Diebold Corporation, a security safe company based in Ohio. After his second divorce and third marriage, he ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Cleveland in 1947, after which he was expelled from Diebold. In the aftermath, Ness began drinking more heavily and spending his free time in bars telling (often exaggerated) stories of his law enforcement career. He also spent himself into debt. Ness was forced into taking various odd jobs to earn a living, including as an electronics parts wholesaler, a clerk in a bookstore, and selling frozen hamburger patties to restaurants. By 1953, he came to work for an upstart company called Guaranty Paper Corporation, which specialized in watermarking legal and official documents to prevent counterfeiting. He co-wrote the book the “Untouchable” but died of a heart attack a month before it’s release.
as-photoworld 16/12/2016 2:30
Verrrry GREAT!Lawson McCulloch 05/10/2014 17:29
Hi Ken,I don't know if this is the shot that you mentioned to me in a comment you made on my shot Recycling. But even if it is not, I like it very much. I also appreciate very much the information on Elliot Ness.
best wishes,
Lawson
Inez Correia Marques 14/09/2014 20:36
great one!!!fotoGrafica 01/08/2013 19:26
great workbest regards wolfganbg
Jim McKinniss 19/03/2013 17:58
Thanks for the commentary about these murders. It adds a dynamic to the photo and the ghost walking through the scene.Excellent phot Ken.
Jim
Dragomir Vukovic 09/02/2013 7:52
so great !DRAGA PUC 10/12/2012 14:08
+++++mike snead 06/12/2012 15:04
really excellent.Silvana W. 05/12/2012 0:25
Compliments for all this work***Alfredo Yanez 02/12/2012 15:51
Sugerente imagen, muy buen trabajo!!Saludos & buena luz!*
Alfredo
Harold Thompson 02/12/2012 11:38
Good work with the used exposures capturing the mood for the scene and its information :-)) HaroldDr. Labude 01/12/2012 23:08
A biopic, so to say. Great way to tell the story.Massimo Gherardi 01/12/2012 21:14
This is fantastic, one of the best cemetery pics I've seen so far. Very inspiriting and strong, and the ghost is like a cherry on a cake. Interesting caption, too. Great work Ken!Best regards, Massimo
Sue Thompson 01/12/2012 10:09
Excellent work.....you....not that murderer.........A good if gruesome story.
:))
Silvia Simonato. 01/12/2012 1:20
Como un fantasma recorriendo el cementerio...Fantástica escena!!
Saludos Silvia