Timothy O'Bryan

popular name: Willie Marfeo

date_of_death: July 13, 1966

age: 40

cause_of_death: Gunshot wounds from mob hit

claim_to_fame: Crime and their Victims

best_know_for: Willie Marfeo was a New England mobster who operating his card games and dice games in various locations in Providence, Rhode Island. In the early 1960s Willie was doing quite well - well enough to loudly brag that he didn't need Raymond Patriarca and refused to pay his weekly "tribute" money. To add insult to injury Willie also refused to pay his gambling debts to the Jewish bookmakers that worked for Raymond. This incensed Raymond so much that he order a hit on Willie Marfeo. Luckily for Willie, for one reason or another, several contracts for his life were set in play only to be called off due to external circumstances. On July 13, 1966 a gunman burst into the Korner Kitchen restaurant in Providence, Rhode Island and ordered everyone except Willie to lay down on the floor. The unidentified gunman then forced Willie into the phone booth and filled him with 4 shotgun blasts. Based on notorious mob hitman Joseph "The Animal" Barboza's testimony, Raymond Patriarca and underboss Enrico "Henry" Tameleo were indicted in 1967 for the murder of Providence bookmaker Willie Marfeo. Patriarca was convicted and began serving time in 1969 during which time Gennaro "Jerry" Angiulo served as acting boss. Patriarca resumed control of the family after his release from prison in 1974.

popular name: Philip Testa

date_of_death: March 15, 1981

age: 56

cause_of_death: Bomb blast

claim_to_fame: Crime and their Victims

best_know_for: Philip Testa aka "The Chicken Man" was an Italian-American mobster known for his brief leadership of the Philadelphia crime family of the Italian-American Mafia. He became boss of the Philadelphia crime family after the previous boss and his close friend, Angelo Bruno, was murdered by Bruno’s own consigliere, Antonio Caponigro, who, in turn, was ordered killed by The Commission for murdering a boss without permission. About a year after Bruno's death, Testa was killed by the blast of a nail bomb at his home in South Philadelphia. The assassination was ordered by Testa’s own underboss, Peter Casella, as part of the first Philadelphia Mafia War.

popular name: Dr. Sam Sheppard

date_of_death: April 6, 1970

age: 46

cause_of_death: Wernicke's encephalopathy and liver failure

claim_to_fame: Crime and their Victims

best_know_for: Dr. Sam Sheppard was an attractive and well-liked doctor who tended to hundreds of patients throughout his career at Bay View Hospital in Ohio. In the early morning hours of July 4, 1954 the nightmare began for the Sheppard family when Sam's wife, Marilyn, was discovered brutally murdered. Mrs. Sheppard was found lying on her bed in their master bedroom in a provocative manner. She had been “chopped 25 times in the head and chest.” There was never any hard evidence found that directly tied Dr. Sam Sheppard to the death of his wife, Marilyn. Nonetheless he was found guilty of second degree murder at his first trial. After over a decade in prison the murder conviction was overturned on June 6, 1966 due to a lack of evidence. Dr. Sam Sheppard was a free man from that time until he passed away in 1970. His experience inspired the hit TV show and movie The Fugitive.