140: Vintage Case: The Brickbat slayer
When doing research for a recent live event, we uncovered yet another LA serial killer that hunted at the Barclay Hotel in DTLA. The Brickbat Slayer was responsible for several attacks and murders in both Los Angeles and Chicago in the mid to late 1930's. Tenacious police work and forensic evidence eventually linked his brutal crimes and brought the terror imposed on both of these thriving cities to an end.
This week, the doctors re-visit serial killer Robert Nixon, aka “The Brickbat Slayer”, taking the opportunity to make a more incisive examination of his crimes and the spirit of the times in which he lived.
Resources
“A Serial Killer on Bunker Hill.” Bunker Hill, Los Angeles, Bunker Hill, Los Angeles, 2 Oct. 2022, bunkerhilllosangeles.com/2022/10/02/a-serial-killer-on-bunker-hill/#:~:text=Howard%20Green%20was%20convicted%20of,San%20Quentin%20February%2018%2C%201939. Accessed 4 May 2023.
“African Americans - African American Life during the Great Depression and the New Deal | Britannica.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 2023, www.britannica.com/topic/African-American/African-American-life-during-the-Great-Depression-and-the-New-Deal. Accessed 4 May 2023.
Branson, Allan. “African American Serial Killers: Over‐Represented yet Underacknowledged.” ResearchGate, Wiley, Feb. 2013, www.researchgate.net/publication/251345434_African_American_Serial_Killers_Over-Represented_Yet_Underacknowledged. Accessed 4 May 2023.
“Damien. “Crime Scene: The Barclay Hotel | the Los Angeles Lowdown.” the Real Los Angeles Tours, 13 Nov. 2022, Www.thereallosangelestours.com/Crime-Seen-The-Barclay-Hotel/. Accessed 28 Mar. 2023. - Google Search.” Google.com, 2022, www.google.com/search?sxsrf=APwXEdc9HCt07c-NsjQZXHwDZVimWLz1dg:1683243564730&q=Damien.+%E2%80%9CCrime+Scene:+The+Barclay+Hotel+%7C+the+Los+Angeles+Lowdown.%E2%80%9D+The+Real+Los+Angeles+Tours,+13+Nov.+2022,+www.thereallosangelestours.com/crime-seen-the-barclay-hotel/.+Accessed+28+Mar.+2023.&spell=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiNxvv16tz-AhUaC0QIHU8-AQwQBSgAegQIBBAB&biw=1292&bih=752&dpr=2. Accessed 4 May 2023.
Meares, Hadley. “Hotel Barclay: The Deadly History.” Curbed LA, Curbed LA, 20 Oct. 2017, la.curbed.com/2017/10/20/16476232/hotel-barclay-history-downtown. Accessed 30 Apr. 2023.
---. “Hotel Barclay: The Deadly History.” Curbed LA, Curbed LA, 20 Oct. 2017, la.curbed.com/2017/10/20/16476232/hotel-barclay-history-downtown. Accessed 4 May 2023.
“Race Relations in the 1930s and 1940s | Great Depression and World War II, 1929-1945 | U.S. History Primary Source Timeline | Classroom Materials at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress.” The Library of Congress, 2015, www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/united-states-history-primary-source-timeline/great-depression-and-world-war-ii-1929-1945/race-relations-in-1930s-and-1940s/. Accessed 4 May 2023.
“Six Other Brick Attacks among Unsolved Crimes - Google Search.” Google.com, 2017, www.google.com/search?q=Six+Other+Brick+Attacks+among+Unsolved+Crimes&oq=Six+Other+Brick+Attacks+among+Unsolved+Crimes&aqs=chrome..69i57j33i160j33i299.377j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8. Accessed 4 May 2023.
“The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California on February 4, 1937 · 3.” Newspapers.com, 4 Feb. 1937, www.newspapers.com/newspage/380795191/. Accessed 4 May 2023.
“The Segregation Era (1900–1939) - the Civil Rights Act of 1964: A Long Struggle for Freedom | Exhibitions - Library of Congress.” Loc.gov, 2023, www.loc.gov/exhibits/civil-rights-act/segregation-era.html. Accessed 4 May 2023.
“Woman Dying as Result of Slugging in Hotel.” Newspapers.com, 4 Feb. 1937, www.newspapers.com/image/380795191/?terms=Elizabeth%20Reis%20Barclay&match=1. Accessed 27 Mar. 2023.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Nixon_(criminal)