Skip to main content

10

The two figures born on this date operated in different eras but left marks on American criminal history in similarly methodical ways. Harvey Glatman, active in the late 1950s, exploited the conventions of the era — posing as a photographer to lure victims, documenting his crimes in photographs that would later serve as evidence against him. Brian Nichols, more than four decades later, turned a routine legal proceeding into a violent rupture, killing four people during a courthouse escape in Atlanta in 2005. One case shaped the early understanding of serial predation in the United States; the other became a landmark in courthouse security and the use of victim testimony in capital proceedings.

December 10, 1971 - Brian Nichols

The 2005 Fulton County Courthouse attack unfolded from within the justice system itself — a defendant already facing serious charges who, once free of restraints, turned a functioning courtroom into a crime scene. The killing of a sitting judge, a court reporter, a sheriff's deputy, and a federal agent over the course of a single day prompted widespread scrutiny of courthouse security procedures across the country. The case remains a stark example of how quickly institutional safeguards can collapse at a single point of failure.

Read more …December 10, 1971 - Brian Nichols

  • Hits: 25

December 10, 1927 - Harvey Glatman

Glatman operated at the intersection of postwar aspiration and predatory deception, exploiting the genuine hopes of women seeking careers in modeling. His method — assuming false identities and the trappings of professional photography — allowed him to isolate victims under circumstances that appeared legitimate before turning lethal. The crimes helped accelerate early developments in criminal profiling and the recognition of organized, methodical patterns in serial offending.

Read more …December 10, 1927 - Harvey Glatman

  • Hits: 26