Articles tagged as Crime | Smithsonian Magazine

A massive task force—150 full-time personnel from the FBI and the U.S. Postal Service—hunted the Unabomber.

When the Unabomber Was Arrested, One of the Longest Manhunts in FBI History Was Finally Over

Twenty years ago, the courts gave Theodore Kaczynski four life sentences, thereby ending more than a decade of terror.

May 2018

While looters discard bones, they are invaluable to archaeologists’ research.

As Mongolia Melts, Looters Close In On Priceless Artifacts

Climate change and desperation are putting the country’s unique history at risk

April 11, 2018

Winnie Mandela is cheered by supporters after appearing in the Krugersdorp Magistrate's court in connection with her arrest for flouting a banning order which prevents her from living in her Soweto home West of Johannesburg on Jan. 22, 1986.

The activist who died Monday in Johannesburg after a prolonged illness left behind a polarizing legacy in South Africa

April 3, 2018

Donald Sutherland stars as John Paul Getty.

The True Story of “Trust,” Yet Another Interpretation of the Getty Kidnapping

Writers of the FX program have a much different spin than the recent movie on the same subject matter

March 27, 2018

Postcard of the Napa State Hospital in Napa, Calif., circa 1905. Over 1,900 Californians were recommended for sterilization while patients here.

Race in America

California Once Targeted Latinas for Forced Sterilization

In the 20th century, U.S. eugenics programs rendered tens of thousands of people infertile

March 22, 2018

Mid-19th Century specimens collected in Latin America by Alfred Russel Wallace include parrot wings and marsupial pelts.

The Great Feather Heist

The curious case of a young American’s brazen raid on a British museum’s priceless collection

April 2018

In Asia, the biggest threat to elephant survival isn't ivory poaching but habitat loss. Here, men ride Asian elephants in Thailand.

New Research

In a Horrifying New Twist, Myanmar Elephants Are Being Poached For Their Skin

In Asia, the biggest threat to elephant survival has long been habitat loss. That may be changing

March 20, 2018

Police have recovered most of the 2,000 coins, bones, beads and other items lifted from the Canterbury Archaeological Trust in January

March 20, 2018

Undated photo provided by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows fake Native American styled-jewelry seized by federal officials during a 2015 investigation in New Mexico.

In April, Albuquerque jewelry dealer Nael Ali is set to be sentenced under the 1935 Indian Arts and Crafts Act

March 19, 2018

'Cattle Kate' and Postmaster Averill, lynched. Stockmen a Sweetwater, Wyo., July 21, end the career of a lawless pair of depredators - swung from a cottonwood at the rope's end. Undated illustration.

Women Who Shaped History

The Tragedy of Cattle Kate

Newspapers reported that cowgirl Ella Watson was a no-good thief who deserved the vigilante killing that befell her, when in reality she was anything but

March 12, 2018

Predictive policing is built around algorithms that identify potential crime hotspots..

Artificial Intelligence Is Now Used to Predict Crime. But Is It Biased?

The software is supposed to make policing more fair and accountable. But critics say it still has a way to go.

March 5, 2018

New Research

Were the Jack the Ripper Letters Fabricated by Journalists?

Linguistic analysis indicates at least two of the most infamous letters were likely written by the same person—and that person was not the Ripper

February 1, 2018

Piu Eatwell’s recent true crime book on the case suggests that one-time suspect Leslie Dillon was the killer of Elizabeth Short in the unsolved 1947 murder

January 30, 2018

The executioner Franz Schmidt executing Hans Fröschel on May 18, 1591. This drawing in the margins of a court record is the only surviving fully reliable portrait of Franz Schmidt.

The Executioners Who Inherited Their Jobs

For centuries, carrying out executions in France was a family affair

January 26, 2018

The “Dodge City Peace Commission,” June, 1883. Wyatt Earp is seated, second from left.

How Dodge City Became a Symbol of Frontier Lawlessness

Fake news and smoking guns gave the Kansas town its reputation as the ultimate Wild West

January 23, 2018

Close-up image of mural depicting the battle in Phra Ubosot, Wat Suwan Dararam, Ayutthaya, Thailand.

Thailand Drops Charges Against Historian Who Questioned the Facts Around Historic 16th-Century Duel

Sulak Sivaraksa cast doubt on whether the legendary King Naresuan had really defeated an adversary while riding an elephant

January 19, 2018

In 1997, the world gasped as Gianni Versace was shot to death on the doorstep of his Miami mansion.

The True Story of “The Assassination of Gianni Versace”

Did the designer meet his killer seven years earlier?

January 17, 2018

Some jewels are on display at the 'Treasures of the Mughals and the Maharajahs' exibithion, at Venice's Doge's Palace, in Venice, Italy, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018.

Indian Jewels Swiped From Venice Museum in “Movie-Worthy” Heist

The thieves reportedly deactivated the alarm system and walked off with the goods in broad daylight

January 4, 2018

Coast guard officers in Costa Rica say they’re understaffed and overwhelmed. “We’re just order,” says Colonel Miguel Madrigal. “Not the law.”

An Unexpected Victim of Costa Rica’s Drug Trade: Fish

The archipelago was once synonymous with tourism, sustainability and biodiversity. Now collapsing fisheries have led to turmoil

December 28, 2017

Pictured (from left to right): Torso E1912; the Bull’s Head; and the Calf Bearer.

The unit will investigate the uptick in looted artifacts flooding the antiquities market

December 22, 2017