In a strange and unprecedented court case, three men who were convicted as teenagers for the killing of three children were released from prison.

In Lancashire, England, twelve people were put on trial for witchcraft. Based on a child’s testimony, ten of the so-called Pendle Hill Witches were found guilty.

David Koresh, born Vernon Howell, grew up to head a group in Waco called the Branch Davidians. In 1993, a 51-day standoff with the FBI would eventually end with the deaths of 76 of its members.

Sheila Garvie and her lover Brian Tevendale were arrested for the muder of Sheila’s hard-partying husband, Maxwell Garvie.

Twenty-four-year-old Philip Markoff, known as the Craigslist Killer, died by suicide in his prison cell. At the time of his death, Markoff was awaiting trial for the murder of Julissa Brisman and the robbery of two other women — all of whom he found on Craigslist.

The passing of the UK Marine Broadcasting Offences Act cut income access to an offshore radio station known as Radio Caroline. The legislation outlawed pirate radio and prompted the BBC, now void of competition, to start a nationwide station called Radio 1.

Sixty-eight-year-old South African ruler Matsebe Sekhukhune I died by assassination following his release from more than a year of imprisonment. His reign over the Bapedi nation came to an end on the orders of his half-brother, Mampuru.

The investigation of Douglas Clark, known as the Sunset Strip Killer, continued as the police searched Clark’s apartment.

The Carlton Cannes Hotel in the south of France fell victim to one of the most lucrative jewelry heists in history.

David Berkowitz was arrested in Yonkers, New York for the murder of six people.

Following an altercation with a convenience store clerk in Ferguson, Missouri, unarmed Black teenager Michael Brown was shot and killed by 28-year-old white police officer Darren Wilson.

In Connecticut, a man walking his dog found pieces of a human body inside a crate.

President Jimmy Carter declared a federal emergency in Love Canal, New York, due to widespread chemical contamination. The environmental crisis had been decades in the making.

In Brazil, a group of robbers entered the Banco Central building through a hidden underground tunnel and made off with the equivalent of $95 million U.S. dollars.

Scottish patriot William Wallace was arrested for treason by fellow Scotsman Sir John Menteith.

Today marks 40 years since legal secretary Cindy Anderson vanished from her office in Michigan. The cold case has perplexed investigators for decades.

Unrequited love and a family feud precipitated the brutal murders of Harriet Starkweather and her teenage daughter Ella. An inquiry found 24-year-old Albert Starkweather guilty.

In Turkey, a serial killer known as The Canal Monster murdered his final victim, 47-year-old security guard Sami Yilmaz.

Four communist men were executed by the Nazi regime for their supposed involvement in the Altona Bloody Sunday massacre one year earlier.

A series of bombs in a small village in Northern Ireland killed nine people. No arrests were ever made, though it was learned decades later that the Catholic Church had orchestrated a cover-up.

Controversial labor organizer and former Teamsters Union president Jimmy Hoffa was seen for the last time outside of a Detroit restaurant. Many believe he was killed by the mafia.

One of the Confederacy’s most notorious spies during the Civil War was 18-year-old Belle Boyd, who gained intelligence by seducing soldiers.

A single jewel thief walked into a diamond exhibit in Cannes, France and walked out less than a minute later with millions of dollars in gems.

Six-year-old Adam Walsh was abducted from a Sears parking lot in Hollywood, Florida by serial killer Ottis Toole.

In Nigeria, government authorities raided Boko Haram leadership. The militant Islamist group retaliated within hours, setting off a five-day period of violence and unrest.