Hot prowl burglary
Encyclopedia
A hot prowl burglary is a sub-type of burglary
in which the offender enters a building or residence while occupants are inside the location. The overarching intent of a hot prowl burglary can be theft
, robbery
, sexual assault
, murder
, or another crime. Hot prowl burglaries are considered especially dangerous by law enforcement because of the potential for a violent altercation to erupt between the occupant and the offender. Police agencies throughout the United States
encourage residents to keep their doors and windows locked at all times to prevent the possibility of a hot prowl burglary.
- In 1932, one-year old Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr. was kidnapped from his family's home in East Amwell, New Jersey
and later murdered. The offender perpetrated the crime by using a ladder to enter a second floor bedroom of the Lindbergh residence while the family was asleep. Bruno Hauptmann
, a German immigrant, was convicted of kidnapping
and murdering the infant
. He was executed by electrocution in 1936. The case received international attention and was considered "the crime of the century" because the victim's father was famed aviator Charles Lindbergh
.
The BTK Killer - Between 1974 and 1991, a series of sexual assaults and murders was carried out in the Wichita, Kansas
area. In most of the attacks, the offender broke into or forced his way into a residence, then killed one or more people. Dennis Rader
, a compliance officer for the city of Park City, Kansas
, was arrested for the BTK murders in 2005. Rader pleaded guilty to the crimes and is serving a life sentence.
The Original Night Stalker
- Also known by the monikers "East Area Rapist" and "Diamond Knot Killer," the Original Night Stalker
is a serial killer and rapist who was active in California
in the 1970s and 1980s. The Original Night Stalker is known to have murdered ten people in Orange, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties between 1979 and 1986. In 2001, a criminalist with the Orange County Sheriff's Department
linked the Original Night Stalker to over fifty rapes which were committed in northern California
between 1976 and 1979. The Original Night Stalker's modus operandi
was to break into the homes of his victims in the middle of the night, then attack them as they slept. As of January 23, 2010, the Original Night Stalker remains at large.
The Night Stalker
- A series of murders, rapes, and robberies plagued the Los Angeles, California
area in the mid-1980s. In all, twelve murders were committed in southern California as part of this series. Ultimately, the Los Angeles-area crimes were connected to two murders in San Francisco, California
. In 1989, a Texas-born drug addict and convicted car thief named Richard Ramirez
was convicted of the Night Stalker
crimes. Currently, he is awaiting execution on California's Death Row at San Quentin State Prison
.
The Clutter Family Murders - In 1959, a quadruple murder rocked the small town of Holcomb, Kansas
. The victims were a rancher named Herb Clutter and his wife Bonnie, as well as their two children Nancy and Kenyon. The offenders, who were later identified as Richard Hickock
and Perry Smith
, broke into the rural Clutter home with the intent of robbing the owner. After taking a small sum of money and a few of the Clutters' belongings, Hickock and Smith tied up the family in various parts of the house. Eventually, Smith slashed Herb Clutter's throat and shot Kenyon with a shotgun. There is some question as to whether Hickock or Smith murdered Bonnie and Nancy Clutter, but nevertheless, both females were killed by shotgun blasts. Both Hickock and Smith were executed by hanging on April 14, 1965. The story of the Clutter Family Murders was immortalized by Truman Capote
in the classic true crime
book In Cold Blood
.
Burglary
Burglary is a crime, the essence of which is illicit entry into a building for the purposes of committing an offense. Usually that offense will be theft, but most jurisdictions specify others which fall within the ambit of burglary...
in which the offender enters a building or residence while occupants are inside the location. The overarching intent of a hot prowl burglary can be theft
Theft
In common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
, robbery
Robbery
Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take something of value by force or threat of force or by putting the victim in fear. At common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the person of that property, by means of force or fear....
, sexual assault
Sexual assault
Sexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
, murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
, or another crime. Hot prowl burglaries are considered especially dangerous by law enforcement because of the potential for a violent altercation to erupt between the occupant and the offender. Police agencies throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
encourage residents to keep their doors and windows locked at all times to prevent the possibility of a hot prowl burglary.
Famous hot prowl burglaries
The Lindbergh KidnappingLindbergh kidnapping
The kidnapping of Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr., was the abduction of the son of aviator Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. The toddler, 18 months old at the time, was abducted from his family home in East Amwell, New Jersey, near the town of Hopewell, New Jersey, on the evening of...
- In 1932, one-year old Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr. was kidnapped from his family's home in East Amwell, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
and later murdered. The offender perpetrated the crime by using a ladder to enter a second floor bedroom of the Lindbergh residence while the family was asleep. Bruno Hauptmann
Bruno Hauptmann
Bruno Richard Hauptmann was a German ex-convict sentenced to death for the abduction and murder of the 20-month-old son of Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. The Lindbergh kidnapping became known as "The Crime of the Century".-Background:Hauptmann was born in Kamenz in the German Empire,...
, a German immigrant, was convicted of kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
and murdering the infant
Infant
A newborn or baby is the very young offspring of a human or other mammal. A newborn is an infant who is within hours, days, or up to a few weeks from birth. In medical contexts, newborn or neonate refers to an infant in the first 28 days after birth...
. He was executed by electrocution in 1936. The case received international attention and was considered "the crime of the century" because the victim's father was famed aviator Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
.
The BTK Killer - Between 1974 and 1991, a series of sexual assaults and murders was carried out in the Wichita, Kansas
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
area. In most of the attacks, the offender broke into or forced his way into a residence, then killed one or more people. Dennis Rader
Dennis Rader
Dennis Lynn Rader is an American serial killer who murdered ten people in Sedgwick County , between 1974 and 1991....
, a compliance officer for the city of Park City, Kansas
Park City, Kansas
Park City is a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States; it is a suburb of Wichita. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,297.-History:...
, was arrested for the BTK murders in 2005. Rader pleaded guilty to the crimes and is serving a life sentence.
The Original Night Stalker
Original Night Stalker
The Original Night Stalker is the moniker for an unidentified serial killer and rapist who murdered at least ten people in Southern California from 1979 through 1986 and sexually assaulted at least fifty in Northern California from June 1976 to July 1979...
- Also known by the monikers "East Area Rapist" and "Diamond Knot Killer," the Original Night Stalker
Original Night Stalker
The Original Night Stalker is the moniker for an unidentified serial killer and rapist who murdered at least ten people in Southern California from 1979 through 1986 and sexually assaulted at least fifty in Northern California from June 1976 to July 1979...
is a serial killer and rapist who was active in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in the 1970s and 1980s. The Original Night Stalker is known to have murdered ten people in Orange, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties between 1979 and 1986. In 2001, a criminalist with the Orange County Sheriff's Department
Orange County Sheriff's Department
The Orange County Sheriff's Department is the law enforcement agency serving Orange County, California. It currently serves the unincorporated areas of Orange County and twelve contract cities in the county: Aliso Viejo, Dana Point, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Woods, Lake Forest, Mission...
linked the Original Night Stalker to over fifty rapes which were committed in northern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
between 1976 and 1979. The Original Night Stalker's modus operandi
Modus operandi
Modus operandi is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode of operation". The term is used to describe someone's habits or manner of working, their method of operating or functioning...
was to break into the homes of his victims in the middle of the night, then attack them as they slept. As of January 23, 2010, the Original Night Stalker remains at large.
The Night Stalker
Night Stalker
-Criminals:* Richard Ramirez, a Los Angeles serial killer known as the Night Stalker* Original Night Stalker, an unidentified serial killer and rapist unrelated to Ramírez...
- A series of murders, rapes, and robberies plagued the Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
area in the mid-1980s. In all, twelve murders were committed in southern California as part of this series. Ultimately, the Los Angeles-area crimes were connected to two murders in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. In 1989, a Texas-born drug addict and convicted car thief named Richard Ramirez
Richard Ramirez
Ricardo "Richard" Muñoz Ramírez is a convicted serial killer awaiting execution on California's death row at San Quentin State Prison...
was convicted of the Night Stalker
Night Stalker
-Criminals:* Richard Ramirez, a Los Angeles serial killer known as the Night Stalker* Original Night Stalker, an unidentified serial killer and rapist unrelated to Ramírez...
crimes. Currently, he is awaiting execution on California's Death Row at San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin State Prison
San Quentin State Prison is a California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation state prison for men in unincorporated San Quentin, Marin County, California, United States. Opened in July 1852, it is the oldest prison in the state. California's only death row for male inmates, the largest...
.
The Clutter Family Murders - In 1959, a quadruple murder rocked the small town of Holcomb, Kansas
Holcomb, Kansas
Holcomb is a city in Finney County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,094.-History:Holcomb is known for the murders of four members of the Herbert W. Clutter family, an incident which formed the basis of the Truman Capote book In Cold Blood.-Geography:Holcomb...
. The victims were a rancher named Herb Clutter and his wife Bonnie, as well as their two children Nancy and Kenyon. The offenders, who were later identified as Richard Hickock
Richard Hickock
Richard "Dick" Eugene Hickock was one of two ex-convicts who murdered the four members of the Herbert Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas on November 15, 1959, a crime made famous by Truman Capote in his 1966 non-fiction novel In Cold Blood...
and Perry Smith
Perry Smith (murderer)
Perry Edward Smith was one of two ex-convicts who murdered four members of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas, United States on November 15, 1959, a crime made famous by Truman Capote in his 1966 non-fiction novel In Cold Blood.-Family and early life:Perry Edward Smith was born in Huntington,...
, broke into the rural Clutter home with the intent of robbing the owner. After taking a small sum of money and a few of the Clutters' belongings, Hickock and Smith tied up the family in various parts of the house. Eventually, Smith slashed Herb Clutter's throat and shot Kenyon with a shotgun. There is some question as to whether Hickock or Smith murdered Bonnie and Nancy Clutter, but nevertheless, both females were killed by shotgun blasts. Both Hickock and Smith were executed by hanging on April 14, 1965. The story of the Clutter Family Murders was immortalized by Truman Capote
Truman Capote
Truman Streckfus Persons , known as Truman Capote , was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and the true crime novel In Cold Blood , which he labeled a "nonfiction novel." At...
in the classic true crime
True crime
True crime is a non-fiction literary and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people.The crimes most commonly include murder, but true crime works have also touched on other legal cases. Depending on the writer, true crime can adhere strictly to...
book In Cold Blood
In Cold Blood
In Cold Blood is a 1966 book by Truman Capote.In Cold Blood may also refer to:* In Cold Blood , a 1967 film and 1996 miniseries, both based on the book* In Cold Blood...
.