…Because Mother Was Grave Robber!

Year-Old Baby Sent To Prison
…Because Mother Was Grave Robber

by JAMES STAFFORD
Gérald Roussel is an ex-jailbird — even though he’s only 18 months old. The youngster spent six months behind prison bars because French law said he couldn’t be separated from his mother, who is now awaiting trial.
Gerald’s mom, Danielle Roussel, has been accused in one of the strangest robberies ever committed in France.
The young woman has been charged with being an accomplice to a gang of ghouls who broke into a crypt in a cemetery and stole jewels off a rotting corpse.
This weird case broke when a caretaker at a cemetery in Beaumont-du-lac, France, discovered that the Vassiviere family mausoleum had been broken into. He was attracted to the mausoleum by a nauseous smell that came from inside the crypt.
The caretaker was horrified when he saw that a coffin, containing the remains of the widow of Pascal Vassiviere, had been taken out of its alcove and broken into. Mrs. Vassiviere had died May 28, 1858, at Lyon.
Mrs. Vassiviere’s daughter, Mrs. Marcel Cotte, revealed later that a golden wedding ring, silver bracelet, pearl necklace, rosary and jeweled pin had been snatched from the corpse. Even the dead woman’s false teeth, which had gold in them, were missing!
The left hand of the rotting corpse had been torn away and was discovered some distance from the crypt.
An intensive investigation led police to the Limoge jail, where William Serru, 23, and his mistress, Jeanne Van Brydoun, 21, were being held on charges of theft. After stiff questioning by detectives, Serru confessed that he had desecrated the mausoleum and broken into Mrs. Vassiviere’s casket.
Serru cracked under questioning and implicated Mrs. Roussel, whose husband had abandoned her. The 20-year-old woman was arrested and charged with receiving and concealing stolen goods.
Mrs. Roussel confessed that she had hidden the stolen jewelry in the pipe of her kitchen stove. She also admitted having in her possession the two golden teeth stolen from the corpse and said she had hidden them in the backyard of a house owned by Serru’s grandmother at Viche, France.
Because French law forbids the separation of a child of less than 18 months from its mother, Mrs. Roussel was jailed with her son, Gérald, who was then 1 year old. But last March 30, when Gérald became 18 months old he was taken away from his mother and given to a neighbor at Moutiers, who was asked to take care of the youngster termporarily until Mrs. Roussel’s fate is decided.
The date of the trial has not yet been set by the court.
Mrs. Roussel said tearfully she took part in the scheme to rob the grave because her husband had abandoned her and she needed the money. However, she was not aware that the ghouls would strip the corpse of her jewels. She said she thought that they would steal only the jar with the golden coins.
Court sources said the judge will probably be lenient with her because she is so young and she has a little child. The French tend to be very emotional when a youngster is involved, although being very religious, they look sternly on ghouls who desacrate graves in cemeteries.
The judge undoubtedly will be tougher with Serru and his mistress, who acted out of greed when they snatched the jewels from the rotting corpse in the coffin. « Only ghouls would commit such a crime, » said one lawyer. « They deserve to be punished to the full extent of the law. »
Because of his youth, Gérald no doubt will forget his brief prison stay. But his mother will never forget her ordeal!

Midnight May 24, 1965.

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Terrified mother discovers crank letters came from son
When Marie Cacavio’s life was threatened she never guessed her own son was behind the plot.
Last April 5 she noticed a piece of paper in a milk bottle on her porch. When she pulled it out she found it was a note addressed to her. The unfamiliar, scribbled handwriting made vague threats about how she was going to be hurt. Later in the day another note was stuffed into her mailbox. « I was suddenly terrified, » she said.
Marie couldn’t understand why anyone would want to frighten her, and she didn’t realize she was going to spend the next 10 days receiving similar threats.
Marie called the police and told them someone was sending her anonymous letters, but since she had no enemies, she couldn’t understand who was threatening her.
For several days the notes kept turning up in unexpected places — stuffed under her door, in her grocery order, on her bedroom window sill. The police told her the letters were probably just the work of some crank, but suggested she move away until they caught the criminal. So Marie packed for herself and her 14-year-old boy, Thomas, and moved from their Hamilton, New Jersey home to stay with relatives.
But the notes poured in at the new address, and that was the first clue the police had. Marie hadn’t told anyone where she was going, and Thomas said he hadn’t either.
The police went to Thomas’ high school principal and received permission to open his locker. They compared the handwriting in the threatening letters to his classroom notes. The samples matched, so they went to talk to Thomas. He admitted sending the letters.
« I only did it to scare her, » he said. « I didn’t mean to commit a crime. But after she got so scared by the first ones, I decided to keep it up. »
Thomas was released in his parents’ custody pending action by juvenile authorities. « It was only a boy’s prank, » said Marie, « but it nearly gave me heart failure. I hope the authorities aren’t too hard on him. »

Midnight, May 24, 1965.

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C’est peut-être pas de nos affaires, mais on se disait l’autre jour que vous devriez vous mettre en ménage. Y’a plein de bonnes raisons grâce au Sheela Wood’s HAVE-A-FRIEND Club !
Ces petites annonces datent de 1965.

Have sex with a celebrity!

Charlottesville, Va.
Recording artist. Tall, handsome, 31, single. Am looking for future wife, tall, beautiful, shapely, 20-30. Career woman, homemaker who wants to marry celebrity.

Modern life! New Cadillac car!

Gary, Indiana
Single, 38, construction supervisor, new Cadillac car, honest, devoted and enjoys life to the fullest, 5’9′, 175 lbs. Well-dressed. Offers happiness to right woman, 25-35, who is neat, shapely and pretty. Enjoy modern life. Recent photo with phone please.

Not marriage-minded!

Washington, D.C.
Young, blond, handsome gentleman, seeking a sincere, broad-minded, attractive gal, any race, religion, age, for dates and romance. Looks unimportant. I am affectionate and lovable. Not marriage-minded.

6’7′ or over!

Montreal
Widow, tall, slim, early-60′s, wishes to meet gentleman, 6’7′ or over for companionship.

Increase your cultural background!!

Vancouver
Egyptian, 26, handsome, newly arrived in Canada and starting post graduate studies next September. Desires to meet and correspond with an American lady for invitation to visit the States. Am pleasant company and will increase her cultural background.

Bonheur = 2 $

Two dollars buys a 35-word ad in the popular Have-a-Friend Club. A real small investment for a lifetime of joy. Address all mail to Sheela Wood, c/o MIDNIGHT, 2055 Bishop St., Montreal, Canada.

Journal Midnight, 1965.

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Mrs. Hynes lifts up couch to show where husband lived.

Convict Lies Low For 2 Years — Under a Couch
by Walter Brae
Frank Hynes hated the thought of going back to prison. So he dodged police by hiding under a couch — for 2 years. The couch was in his own living-room and sometimes detectives searching for him actually sat on it while they questioned Frank’s wife and six children about his whereabouts. The policemen couldn’t understand why the children giggled so much and it never occured to them that they might be sitting down on the job.
(…) Frank started his game of hide and seek in March, 1963, when he heard the police were looking for him for theft and burglary. (…)
« He didn’t tell me anything about his plans », said Joyce. (…) « I went out to do some shopping and when I got back I couldn’t find him. I looked all over the house, but he wasn’t there.
« I made myself a pot of tea and sat down on our old couch to think about it. (…) Anyway, I put my cup and saucer on the floor beside me for a minute but when I reached back for it it had gone. I didn’t know what to think.
(…) « Sometimes when he was under the floor rats came up to him. (…)
The jail sentence he was evading will not last half has long — for Hynes was sent to prison for only 1 year and he can get five months remission for good behavior. Said Mrs. Hynes: « I’m glad it’s all over. Frank is probably better off inside. It must be more comfortable in a cell than inside that couch — and he will be able to go out in the fresh air for exercise. »

Mrs. Hynes shows where husband, Frank (inset), crawled through floor.

Source: Midnight, May 24, 1965.

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Last summer, hoodlums were making life miserable for west coast Canadian campers.

Police Ruin Innocent Man
…For Trying To Protect His Wife, Kids
by Alan Jarvis

Last summer, hoodlums were making life miserable for west coast Canadian campers. Time after time, the roughnecks swooped down on campsites, screaming obscene curses, throwing rocks and debris.
It got so bad that British Columbia government officials suggested that campers themselves should show more spunk in chasing off the hoodlums.
Les Copan, of Burnaby, B.C., took this advice on the night of July 22, — and what did it get him? Trouble, with a capital T!
For the next eight months Copan’s life became a nightmare. A nightmare that saw him thrown into jail and financially bankrupted. All because Copan tried to protect his wife and four children — Lee, 12, Mike, 11, Steve, 10, and Gail, 8.
That was the night the Copan clan pitched tent on the shore of Canim Lake at a campsite in the B.C. Interior, to begin a fun-holiday trip. The family was in a great mood; it was Les Copan’s 38th birthday.
After he received his presents, and the kids were tucked away in the tent, Les and his wife set about last-minute chores.
Suddenly, without warning, four hoodlums from a nearby construction camp appeared on the road above the camping grounds.
For no reason, they began shouting nasty threats at Copan and other family campers in the area.
When their obscene yells were ignored by the respectable citizens, who wanted to avoid trouble, the youths began throwing rocks and huge chunks of wood down onto the tent tops.
This couldn’t be ignored after a rock hit Mrs. Copan and scared the children from the tent. Copan and a second camper shouted to the boys to take off. More rocks and debris came as their reply. The more Copan shouted he’d had enough, the more the troublemakers laughed at him.
« I was worried for our safety, » Copan said. « I ran to the trunk of my car and got my .303 rifle! »
Seeing his wife and kids hiding in the tent and listening to the language of intruers above them proved too much for Les. « I aimed the rifle high, above where the boys stood laughing, and fired! » recalls Copan.
But the hoodlums only laughed louder. « Go ahead and shoot again, Mister — kill us, go ahead. We dare you! » shouted one young thug.
Copan fired a second shot! There was silence from above the road. The toughs disappeared.
Believing they had been driven away, Copan huddled his family back into the tent and retired himself, praying that the rest of the camping trip would be happier.
But the toughs wanted more trouble. Driving to a phone booth, they phoned the Royal Mounted Police at nearby 100 Mile House, a town on the Cariboo highway, to report that one of them had been shot by camper Copan.
Jack Henderson, 19, had been hit — by Copan’s second bullet, which had a cupronickel casing and had shattered when it hit a tree making a fragment strike Henderson in the jaw. But the wound turned out to be slight, though the RCMP didn’t know it at the time of the call.
« At about 5 a.m. I was awakened by Corporal Purdy of the 100 Mile House RCMP detachment, » says Copan. « After I dressed, I was led away, under arrest like a common criminal. I’ll never forget the look of fright in my wife’s eyes or how my kids stared at me! » says Les.
Though the RCMP were courteous and apologetic, they drove Copan to their station 26 miles away and booked him into a cell, charged him with assault causing bodily harm. « I stayed in that cell till 10 the next morning, » he recalls. « I couldn’t believe it was happening! »
In court, the hoodlums pleaded guilty to charges of creating a disturbance and were fined $200 each, and walked away. But bail for Copan was set at $500 cash that morning!
(…) « Worried sick, we headed home to Burnaby. My husband was so concerned about the black mark on his record. He’s such a respected citizen in our town! »
(…) At the Sept. 9 trial, the judge indicated sympathy, too, when he convicted Copan on a lesser charge of common assault and fined him only $50.
But, for Copan, his fight was just beginning. He was determined to appeal the conviction and clear the criminal mark from his personal record. (…) « It would’ve been easy at this stage to just say ‘okay, I’ll forget the appeal,’ and try to get back on my feet, » says Copan. « But my nose had been clean for 38 years and a criminal record could hurt me in many ways for years to come. I was determined to get it off the books! »
He did. On March 26, ’65, an end came to Copan’s months of sleepless nights, when three Appeal Court judges ruled that Les Copan be acquitted of common assault.
Says the man whose record was wiped clean: « The judges recognized that my family was being assaulted and that I shot in self defence. A man has a right to defend his family and not be punished for it for the rest of his life! »

Midnight, May 24, 1965.

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Failed Driving Tests for 26 Years! Pedestrians wonder what Miss Hunter is up to.

Scares Traffic Cops to Death!

There is nobody in the world who drives a car quite like Miss Margaret Hunter — thank God. She is the world’s worst driver. She is so bad that an instructor who tried to improve her driving jumped out of her car screaming: « This is suicide. It’s madness. »
Miss Hunter, who is 66, had her first driving lesson 26 years ago. She gave up learning a year later when no instructors would go out with her any more.
She started again three years ago and quickly worked her way through all five driving schools near her home at Oakmere, Cheshire, England.
At the fifth and last school she was put in the care of Stan Davenport, a specialist at getting the best from the worst drivers and a man who had never been known to show fear. He explained to startled watchers: « I have my family to think of. It would be lunacy to travel another inch with that woman. » He gave up his job as an instructor and even left the district to keep out of Miss Hunter’s path.

(…) In a car decorated with four L-plates to show she was a learner and a sign saying: « Be proud of your driving ability, » she took another test. Things did not go too badly until she started driving the wrong way down a one-way street. She took the sidewalk again to get out of trouble.
Her comment afterwards: « I don’t think I should have failed. Everybody else seemed confused but I was cool as a cucumber. »

Miss Hunter was tired of it all by this time so she journeyed down to Southern Ireland, where driving licences are issued without tests. She established residence there and bought one. This licence entitled Miss Hunter to drive on the roads of England — and almost every other country in the world — and she returned home to Cheshire and began to menace the local populace from behind a steering wheel.

Source: Midnight, May 24, 1965.

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