True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

It was a case that shook the world back in 1984 and still does to this very day, a hard working father of four children is still remembered fondly and hailed as a true American hero. That man's name was Gary Plauche. If you happen to be from America, that name will most probably be familiar to you. For those who might not be familiar with Gary's story this is where I come in with this post, so stay with me. Before I begin, I have to warn you that I will be talking about some very disturbing things to do with child abuse, I will try to be as sensitive as I can be and mention certain things briefly without taking away the true facts of the case. With all that being said, let's get into the background of who Gary was (may he rest in peace) and why he is remembered as a hero for the every man. 

As I write this post, it is not lost to me that the anniversary of one of the moments that shocked the world back in 1984 has just been and gone. That very evening of the 16th of March 1984 has gone down in history and is still talked about to this day, so what happened? well, Gary Plauche, originally born and bred in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (USA) was a hard working father of four who was recently separated from his wife June. Gary had previously served time in the US Air Force and had undertaken various jobs to ensure that his family always had what they needed. He was, what a lot of people would describe as 'part of the backbone of America'. He was a fantastic role model for his children and with his son Joseph (nickname: Jody) he always tried to install the importance of hard work and self defence. With his father's support, Jody took part in karate lessons.

The karate instructor was a young man known as 'Jeffrey Doucet' (known as Jeff). Jeff was quite popular with the kids and the parents and came across as a nice, friendly person who would chat away with the parents no problem. He got on so well with everyone that people felt like they could trust him, especially Jody's parents, Gary and June. Jody seemed to be doing so well in karate and before anybody knew it, he'd been attending the sessions for a year. His parents were so proud of what he had achieved with the classes and all seemed to be well but what Gary and June didn't know, was that their 11 year old son was being groomed by a manipulative Pedophile. 

Jeff had everyone fooled, the Mr nice guy act worked a charm and he was able to get around parents and children with ease. His focus on Jody was becoming more and more apparent and the little boy began to struggle with certain things that were happening, he was often left feeling confused and uncomfortable after being alone with Jeff.

Under the guise of a karate teacher, Jeff was using his position to get close to children, his crimes were pretty much hidden in plain sight. Sickeningly, he was able to grab children a certain way or get close to them in an inappropriate manner but play it off as a 'karate move', 'just a mistake' or 'sorry my hand slipped'. A lot of the kids were oblivious to what he was actually doing. He would play himself off as this nice, friendly guy who was just there to teach the kids but he'd use that as a cover for what he was really doing and that was basically inappropriate touching and grooming young children. His main focus was on 11 year old Jody and because he was very effective at manipulating people, he was able to get some moments alone with the child. Jody would later describe how Jeff would put his hand on his leg or try and grab him but play it off as a mistake at first, looking back he could see that this was part of the grooming process and Jeff trying to see what he could and couldn't get away with. 

As months of this went on and it was coming close to a year, things escalated very fast with Jeff's obsession towards Jody. Jeff came up with a plan to convince Jody's mother, June that he wanted to take Jody for a short drive to which she agreed. Jeff had no intention of taking the child for a short drive, he had other ideas. Jeff decided to kidnap the child and took him to a motel room where he subjected the poor boy to a horrendous sexual assault. 

Little is known about Jeffrey Doucet's background except that he grew up in poverty, one of six siblings in Texas. His childhood was quite tough where he had endured both violent and sexual abuse. He had a sickening interest in children through his teens and into his twenties. At the time he was abusing Jody he was only 25 years old. As we know with a lot of Pedophiles, they start off with just their sick fantasies, then they use materials like illegal abusive photographs of children, they then progress to physically harming a child and a lot of them go on to murder children too. Paedophiles are dangerous, terrifyingly dangerous to all children and they always want more, with them, situations always escalate. 

Jeffrey Doucet was now at a point of the young age of 25, using the guise of a karate instructor to carry out his sick fantasies on young children and now he had progressed from groping children to kidnapping a young boy and keeping him in a motel room to carry out these sickening acts. Jody was reported missing, his parents were frantic, they knew who he was with and the search was on. Jeffrey was on the run with Jody and even dyed the child's hair black as well as telling him to pretend that he was his son if anyone asked. 

The horrific nightmare thankfully came to an end when Jeffrey allowed Jody to call June and this call was traced. When the cops arrived, Jeffrey supposedly gave himself up without incident. After being checked over by medical professionals, Jody was soon allowed to return to his family but everyone was distraught about what had happened and they felt guilty for being tricked into putting their trust and faith into this person who was, in reality, a perverted monster. Jody was confused and very traumatised at what had been going on, it's difficult to imagine what had been going on in his mind at such a young age. It must have been very traumatic for him. Gary was beyond angry and felt powerless as a father, in shock and disbelief that this happened, he blamed himself even though this was something that nobody could have foreseen, Jeffrey was a skilled manipulator and knew how to con people. 

Fortunately, Jody had no physical injuries and had come through the nightmare, alive and well but the psychological scars were there and he wouldn't fully realise them until he began to get older. It's frightening to think what else could have happened to Jody if Jeffrey decided that he wanted to end the boy's life as is often the case in these situations. Children who are abducted by pedophiles are often murdered as heartbreaking as that sad fact is. Maybe the cops were able to get to Jody just in time before Jeffrey decided to take they boy's life or maybe he planned to return him home at some point, nobody knows, but these thoughts began to haunt Gary and he couldn't bear the thought of how Jeffrey had fooled them all and harmed his little boy. 

Gary was in constant contact with the authorities and he was focused on what was going to happen with Jeffrey. He knew that they were planning on bringing him back to Baton Rouge to face justice and when someone told Gary that Jeffrey was going to be arriving at the airport with the cops on the evening of March the 16th 1984, Gary quickly put a plan into action. The press, who had been following this case since Jody was reported missing, were also going to be at the airport to capture the moment when this disgraced paedophile was going to be walking out of the airport with the cops, in handcuffs. 

Everything went as planned, the press were all set up waiting, the cops and Jeffrey Doucet had arrived and sure enough, they all walked out in front of the cameras. Suddenly, out of nowhere, as Jeffrey walked past a wall of public telephones, a man who appeared to be taking a phonecall, suddenly pulled out a gun and fired at Jeffrey's head. It was Gary, dressed in a disguise, he'd been on the phone to a friend when he said ''Here he comes, you're about to hear a shot.'' 

Gary had hidden a gun in his boot and had planned to go to the airport to shoot Jeffrey and that's what happened, right there, in front of live TV cameras and press reporters. It all happened so fast and you can view the footage on youtube. Gary even hung up the phone after he fired the gun, I know that is a silly thing to point out on the grand scheme of things but imagine that, you just shoot a guy and then you're like...''I'll just hang up this phone here,''. Sorry, I'm not trying to make light of the situation but it just goes to show you that even in that moment, Gary had manners. So Jeffrey was on the floor, and that was how it was. The cops rushed over to Gary (who they recognised straight away) and he never resisted, they bizarrely asked him ''Why, Gary, Why?''. What an odd thing to say and ask, when you have the father of a victim in front of you who has just shot the monster who harmed his son. I don't think you have to be Sherlock Holmes to figure out why he did it, if anything he was doing everyone a favour especially the children of Baton Rouge and elsewhere if that thing had ever gotten released back on to the streets. Pedophiles cannot be cured and that's a fact. I have included the link to the video of the shooting here if you are interested in watching it. There's no blood or anything like that on the video, it's all done pretty quickly and you just see Jeffrey Doucet fall down. 

Jeffrey was rushed to hospital where he fell into a coma and passed away, no tears were shed. Gary was hailed a hero who did what any father would have done or at least wanted to do if anyone had dared harm their child or a loved one. In the eyes of the law though, Gary was in the wrong because he took the law into his own hands. Although it wasn't spoken out loud, you could tell that the cops were on Gary's side, the police hate pedophiles just as much as we all do and they could understand Gary's anger, the majority of people who knew the case, supported Gary's actions. He still had to face the law and after a very short stint in a jail cell, he was told he that he was going to be given a seven year suspended sentence with five years probation. He served no jail time except for that tiny stint in the jail when they held him whilst things were being sorted out. He was given 300 hours of community service which he completed without any issues by 1989. 

As the years went on, nobody forgot what Gary had done in honour of his son and for victims everywhere and for parents of victims who had lost children to these monsters, it's what we would all do given half the chance. Jody struggled for many years to try and get his head around what had happened to him. Jeffrey had groomed him so much psychologically that when he heard that Gary had killed Jeffrey, he was angry at his father because in his confused and traumatised mind, his father had killed his friend. It took some time but slowly but surely, Jody began to unravel the pieces and the terrible reality of what had happened to him had become clear, he also began to understand why his father did what he did and soon grew to respect and appreciate Gary. 

Jody wrote a book about the case called ''Why, Gary, Why?'': The Jody Plauche Story and talks about everything that went on all those years ago and his thoughts and feelings about his father. Jody became a bit of a hero himself, not just as a survivor of a horrific experience but the fact that he took what happened to him and tried to make a positive out of it all by going on to help others. He went on to university and became a great advocate and champion for male victims of sexual abuse and violence. He's given a few interviews over the years and recently described his father Gary as ''The Greatest Dad of All Time,''

Gary sadly passed away at the age of 68 on the 20th of October 2014 after a series of strokes but nobody ever forgot what he did that night all those years ago in 1984 to honour his son. When asked in an interview that was conducted not long before he passed away, if he regretted his actions and he said he didn't regret killing Jeffrey Doucet and would do so again. 

It's without a doubt that Gary Plauche saved so many future children from being harmed by Jeffrey Doucet, he may have gone on to murder children had he not been stopped. The prison sentence that he would have been given would have not kept him locked up forever, there would have come a time when he would be allowed back on the streets and children would be at risk again. This story could have ended up very different as we have seen with a lot of similar cases where these monsters get away with their crimes, time and time again until there a number of deceased victims on their hands. 

Gary will forever be remembered as a hero and the footage of that night is still viewed to this day, video clips of the shooting pop up everywhere, from Youtube to documentaries, shocking moments on TV where it's usually listed and now with various members of the True Crime community who have covered the case, the story lives on. I'm probably one of the last people to talk about this story as it is so well known, but I'm glad to have covered it. Some people may not agree but I feel justice was served in this case and Gary has my respect cause he was a proper Dad who just really loved and cared about his kids and the thought of any of them coming to harm really hurt him deeply, he couldn't let Jeffrey Doucet away with it and didn't want to see other kids harmed in the future.

Thank you Gary for what you did and Jody was being so brave and honest in sharing ykour traumatic story with the world. What a pair of great guys and it leaves me feeling (and I know it sounds odd) with a sense of triumph, like it all ended on a positive note because Gary is immortalised as a hero and Jody has become a strong survivor and also a hero who helps others. 

RIP Gary, you will never be forgotten. 

Further Reading & Sources: 

- ''Why, Gary, Why?'': The Jody Plauche Story by Jody Plauche

- Gary Plauche: Article | New York Times

- Gary Plauche: Article | Los Angeles Times

- Gary Plauche | Wikipedia

- Gary Plauche | Obituary

- Jeffrey Doucet | Criminal Minds Wikipedia

- Gary Plauche: Article | ESPN 

Thank you as always for taking the time to read my latest post, I hope you will join me here next time and I hope to see you elsewhere on my socials. 

Stay safe & take care until next time.... 

*Please be aware that I will be sharing disturbing details in this post to do with death, the aftermath of death, decomposition and mental health issues. I will, as always try to be as sensitive with the details without taking away from the facts of the story. Please contact me via email if you have any questions or queries: jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com*

In April 2011, a report was going around social media that an old school Hollywood actress had been found deceased in her house in the prestigious Westwanda Drive in Beverly Hills. The death of an elderly Hollywood icon is always sad and it feels like the end of an era, the lady in question was Yvette Vickers, best known for the cult classic movie 'The Attack of The 50ft Woman'. But as the tributes began to pour in and the tweets were being typed out by lovers of classic Hollywood all over the world, heartbreaking details of Yvette's life and death began to emerge. 

Recently we have lost the incredible actor, Gene Hackman at the age of 95 after decades of being out of the spotlight and everyone was heartbroken, but again a similar situation happened where more details about his death began to pour through. We found that it wasn't just a case of an elderly retired actor who had passed away peacefully at home, we found out that Gene, his beloved wife of 35 years, Betsy and one of their three dogs had passed away. With limited details, the internet went wild with rumours, conspiracies, accusations, theories, conclusions. One minute it was speculated that it was a robbery that had gone wrong, then it was a murder committed by the illuminati, then it was a suicide pact because certain conspiracy theorists came up with the idea (without any evidence) that Gene was connected to the late and disgraced Jeffrey Epstein. I thought about Yvette the minute I heard about what happened with Gene and his wife, the way the minute details of their deaths was played out detail by detail to the world. 

Now, don't get me wrong, I can understand the flurry of crazy ideas and conclusions, as humans it's what we do, we like to get to the bottom of things and we like answers. The circumstances in which Gene, Betsy and their Dog were found, left many scratching their heads, especially as two dogs were outside alive and the front door appeared to be open. The circumstances were strange and it was the topic of non-stop conversation for days on end until a press conference addressed to the public, shared the full details surrounding the deaths. It turned out that Betsy had sadly passed away suddenly from a horrific infection known as 'Hantavirus'. Most of us have never heard of such a thing but it is caught from rats. When investigators searched the property they were able to determine that the home had signs of rat infestation. It is believed that Betsy must have touched something or an area where the rats had previously been and caught the virus from them. 

Betsy had spent days thinking that she had a bad case of the flu, she was a devoted wife and full time carer to Gene, who it emerged (as well as other health issues) was in advanced staged of Alzheimer's disease. Evidence of flu medication was found in the property and when the bodies were discovered, Betsy had been in the bathroom but Gene was in another room in the house which caused confusion and speculation to the public. It turned out that Betsy had died suddenly in the bathroom and one of the dogs was in a cage in the bathroom. Even more heartbreaking was that it is believed that Gene had been alive for about a week after his wife's death. With the advanced Alzheimer's, it's unknown if he was fully aware of what had happened or was in a state of confusion in his final days. It was all so sad and he was found to have died of natural causes but not of the Hantavirus. The dog was believed to have passed away due to the heat, hunger and dehydration. The whole story and circumstances was heartbreaking especially as Gene was such a respected and private man. He previously spoke of how he enjoyed being an actor but he wasn't built for the fame, it was never the fame that he was interested in. He said he wanted to be remembered for being a good actor, well he was all that and so much more. It's just a shame that someone who had gone to great lengths to keep his life out of the spotlight, who was very private, should have such a public death. 

Now that everyone knows the circumstances in which Gene, Betsy and their dog died, the conversation has quietened down, thank goodness and the focus has returned fully to Gene's career. Gene was a genius on the screen and watching him in action is amazing. From The Firm to Mississippi Burning, everyone has a favourite role and there may be a moment in the future where the first thought will be the tragic circumstances of his death, Betsy and their dog but that will be brief and people will remember him most for all the incredible work he gave us. Everybody loved Gene, people of all ages thought he was awesome and we are so lucky to have this incredible man's performances on film to enjoy again and again. 

So, I went down a road of talking about the late, great Gene Hackman but the reason for this will become clearer as you go through this post. Yvette didn't have the glittering career and amazing catalogue of films that Gene had but she was still beloved by many. When she was discovered dead at her secluded home and more details emerged, a dark, very sad and tragic picture began to be painted. It became clear that Yvette, who once lit up the screen with her beautiful looks, glowing smile, witty sense of humour and talent, had died alone and worst still, her body had remained undiscovered for approx 6-9 months. The exact length of time that she remained undiscovered is often badgered about because the truth is, nobody knows for sure but what we do know, from her Autopsy report (as well as the conditions in which she was found) she was mummified and in very advanced decomposition to the point that (and forgive me for the details here) she had no eyes, no brain, no internal organs and it appeared that she had either fallen or slid off of the sofa and just began to disintegrate on to the floor, maggots were present and there was not much of her left except for this gunge like substance, parts of skeleton with some soft tissue and on first discovery, it couldn't be determined if the remains on the floor belonged to a man or a woman but after some thorough investigation, they were able to establish that this was indeed, Yvette Vickers through her dental records. 

Yvette was 82 years old at the time of her death and because it is undetermined the exact date of death it is officially listed as the 27th of April 2011. On her autopsy report they believe her to have been deceased for approximately 6 months, other reports have said 1 year but what is clear is that nobody knows for sure. There was no evidence of foul play and the manner of death was determined to be down to cardiovascular disease. 

The only reason Yvette was found was because a neighbour had noticed cobwebs had formed on her mail box and became concerned. The neighbour, known as Susan Savage, managed to get into Yvette's home, which was no easy feat because Yvette had basically barricaded herself into that house. The house was up a mountain and the area was very quiet, very rarely would you hear cars go past but apparently Yvette was convinced that she was being stalked so she had bells on her gate so that if anyone tried to come to her house the bells would alert her. It was a really sad situation because as Susan looked around Yvette's home she could see the uninhabital conditions Yvette had been living in, the walls were filthy, sticky tape patched up broken windows, there was rat droppings and black mould was everywhere, there was cobwebs hanging from the ceiling and weeds growing through cracks in the walls. Susan shouted out to Yvette and got no response, she did eventually find Yvette on the second floor of the property and that must have been a truly traumatic sight for Susan to have seen. 

As well as the horrific sight of Yvette's remains on the floor, Susan noticed Brandy bottles strewn about the place, the phone was off the hook and another shocking fact is that the electricity and heating was still on. Susan turned them off and called 911 straight away who were able to be on the scene in an impressive 5 minutes. 

The reason for Yvette's neighbours to have been oblivious to the fact that Yvette was not out and about was because she was notorious for keeping herself to herself. With neighbours, they were lucky to have gotten a quick hello from her. It's not that Yvette was rude, she could be quite a charming and engaging person but for some reason she just didn't want to be too close to her neighbours so they didn't bother her. The reason her electricity was still on was because she had a direct debit set up that just ran on automatically. Susan and investigators noticed the piles of fan letters that were on the floor, Yvette had previously arranged for her mail to be held at the post office when she did go out of town. It is thought that she had planned to go somewhere and had set up her arrangement with the post office but as the months went on and a huge sack full of letters came for Yvette, the post office had no choice but to deliver them to her house. 

From what I have read of Yvette, she seemed to live a double life, one was of a hermit and the other was a bit of a socialite. She would only leave her house if she had do do something very important and would go out of town for various lengths of time. With retro fans of today, Yvette had quite a following and the movie 'Attack of The 50ft Woman' as well as 'Attack of The Giant Leeches' have gone down in cinema history as cult classics although they were considered B movies and flops. Yvette was very proud of both films and proud of all of the movies she did. She had been in the industry from the age of 15 and due to her stunning looks and charm, she often played very seductive roles. Yvette loved to dance and keep fit, she'd been born in Kansas on the 26th of August 1928, her full name was Yvette Lola Vedder and both of her parents were musicians. Her father was a jazz, saxophone player and her mother was a pianist. Yvette was a naturally talented singer and she first ended up in LA after her mother brought her out to visit her sister and fell in love with the place so decided to stay. Her father ended up coming along too and the family settled in LA whilst Yvette continued to show an artistic flare.

As well as being a talented singer and dancer she was very focused on her education with dreams and plans of becoming a writer. She quickly changed her mind and decided to study Theatre Arts to which she graduated. She got her first job on a shampoo commercial which proved to be quite a popular advert. Someone spotted her in the commercial and soon Hollywood lights beckoned and she tried to make a career as an actress. She appeared in a few things here and there, as an extra in Sunset Boulevard amongst other things, she did a lot of performances in the theatre which she was very passionate about. The two B movies she starred in were deemed to be box office failure but Yvette didn't see it like that because she starred in those movies and she was proud of that. She'd done various roles, mostly sexy and seductive but she did admit that the public would be confused by her especially those who enjoyed her theatrical performances only to see her take part in a movie that was having her play an unsavory woman. Yvette wanted to be taken seriously as an actress but she also loved the attention that she had gotten when she wore short skirts or appeared in these types of cheesy and seductive films. 

In 1990, Yvette took part in an interview with the late comedian and actor  Skip E. Lowe, where she had spoken very honestly and open about her life and career. She also talked about her love life and had mentioned some of the leading men in Hollywood that she had been in relationships with. She also spoke of the icy reception she would often receive from fellow actresses and she talked about her fondness for actress Natalie Wood (who I have previously written about. Natalie died in mysterious circumstances, you can find the post here). Natalie was described as a sweet person who was very friendly with Yvette but the majority of the time she did have to suffer a lot of hostility from women. Yvette was a beautiful woman with striking features, it wasn't a surprise when she posed for Playboy. She enjoyed photoshoots and loved the attention but this further caused confusion about her career and continuing jealousy from certain other women. 

According to her interview in 1990, she had only been married once and that union was short -lived because she was young and naive at the time. 

Other romances followed and she did have fun. She spoke of these men she had previously had relationships with and she had such great respect for them. The love of her life as she claimed, was the late American actor, Jim Hutton who sadly passed away from lung cancer at the age of just 45 in 1979. Jim's story is also one of heartbreak for he passed away just a month after finding out that he had cancer and his death came just two days after his 45th birthday. Yvette was devastated and although so many years had gone by since his death, it was clear that she had never gotten over the loss of Jim. 

Despite critics trying to be all doom and gloom about her career and the roles she had played, Yvette was very proud of all that she had achieved. Her attitude was that the two movies she had starred in, 'Attack of The 50ft Woman' and 'Attack of The Giant Leeches' may have been considered 'B movies' but she still starred in them. She was offered a role in a Paul Newman movie which she was very excited about although she was a bit disappointed to have only been offered a few small scenes, further disappointment came when it was decided that her scenes would be cut from the movie altogether. The harsh reality of Hollywood and how hard it could be. Yvette was a workaholic and was very passionate about her career and wanting to be taken seriously as actress but admitted that some of the roles she had taken in the past as well as the Playboy modelling may not have done her any favours back then. In those days to pose for Playboy and to be a woman who was very confident with her sexuality and her body would sometimes make people uncomfortable. I spoke about something similar in my Bobby Driscoll post about Hollywood expecting it's stars to be squeaky clean and any slight perceived flaw or certain type of behaviour was frowned upon. 

The very movies that were classed as 'flops' by harsh critics were the very films that endeared Yvette to her legions of fans. Many people have fond memories of watching late-night re-runs of her films and TV shows and by then, in the 1970s, they were considered classics. The popularity of those films just grew and grew to the point that Yvette's character 'Honey Parker' was seen as an icon, young girls and women would dress up as her for Halloween and the posters for her movies were still popular and considered important pieces of cinema and old Hollywood history. 

In 1990, a horror movie which Yvette appeared in, called 'Evil Spirits' was released and again this was deemed to be a flop (I actually managed to find this movie on Youtube if you're interested in watching it. You can find it here!) but Yvette enjoyed filming the movie with another actress she deeply admired, the legendary Karen Black. 

Yvette was asked if she would have done anything different in regards to her career and she said she wouldn't have, she admitted that she may have made mistakes sometimes but that she didn't regret anything. She was happy and excited about where her life and career was at that time in the 1990 interview. She was well aware of her popularity with the horror community and fans of old Hollywood. Even shortly before her death she was a regular guest at conventions where she would pose for photographs and meet fans of her movies. As mentioned previously, she had letters from fans being sent to her to the point that the post office couldn't find any space to put them all. 

When I think about the last months and days of Yvette, it's very sad and to think that she had locked herself up in this house that was once her dream home. That house was where she had done so many of her iconic photoshoots and where many memories were made. She lived there in the 1950s all the way to her death in 2010 (she is believed to have died in 2010 but her death is listed on her Autopsy report as the 27th of April 2011 - which was the day she was found). Things had gotten quiet for her career-wise but she was still thought of highly and did attend fan conventions here and there but towards the end her mental health suffered greatly. Barricading herself in, putting bells on the gate outside just in case someone tried to come to the house, keeping herself away from the neighbours, it was all so sad for such an iconic and talented person. 

She never had any children and had no pets living with her so she was completely and utterly alone. For reasons unknown she had no contact with her family. There was a brother that she wasn't particularly close with who ended up taking charge of her remains after her cremation but that was it. There's no memorial stone or anything for Yvette just this sad story. 

The house was eventually sold but it was on the market for a long time as you can imagine. The address itself had a black mark against and despite the location being beautiful. Once the house was purchased it was demolished and to be honest I think that was for the best. How could anyone live in such a place, it was falling apart but also the heartbreaking memories that it was where Yvette had suffered alone for so long. The land on which the property once stood on seems to be having issues with finding a buyer at the time of writing this post (March 2025). I found the land on various sites and the address remains the same 10021 Westwanda Drive, Beverly Hills 90210. The land has been on sale now for over 7 months, nobody seems to be in a rush to buy it despite the price being $625,000. You can imagine the amount of people who would drive up there, even though the house is gone just to have a look or selfies taken.

Shortly before the house was demolished, the infamous founder of 'Find A Death.Com' and 'Dearly Departed Tours', Scott Michaels, decided to visit the property with two colleagues. The video is on Youtube and I will include it below because I did watch it and it was through Scott's video I was able to find out missing pieces of my research. The response to the video is mixed because some people believe it to be in poor taste that they went to the house, took pictures and filmed inside. Even more eyebrows were raised when Scott actually took various items that belonged to Yvette, it was deemed disrespectful and I can understand where they are coming from. When it comes to this type of situation, Scott Michaels is someone who is very passionate and fascinated by death and the deaths of famous people, I don't think it comes from a malicious place, he just wants to learn like we all do. The items that he had taken from Yvette's home (which no doubt were going to be thrown in the trash) were given pride of place in the Find A Death museum and the bells that Yvette hung on her gate were placed on the office door of Dearly Departed tours. 

It all sounds a bit morbid and disrespectful and I understand that but this is there way of paying tribute to Yvette and including her in their museum along with other iconic figures. Yvette deserves to be remembered and counted alongside the classic Hollywood starlets from back in the day. Her death was heartbreaking and was one of the worst things you could imagine happening to someone, even yourself. Through talking about these tragic events we are able to look back over the glory days of Yvette's career, the times when she was happiest and her unique beauty shining out of every photoshoot she had done. There's so many beautiful pictures of Yvette out there and in many ways, the sad ending of this story has brought her many new fans and people who may not have known about her before but want to find out what movies and shows she appeared in. 

Whatever the case, none of us will ever forget Yvette and the important part she played in Hollywood history. Some people may say she was a failed actress or that she was forgotten about but I don't agree. The fact that people are still interested and talking about 'Attack of The 50ft Woman' after decades is incredible and it has nothing to do with the way Yvette died, the movie was a cult classic before she died. Her short career in movies, if you want to call it that, was actually so iconic that she spent the last years of her life making money off of it because so many people wanted to meet her at conventions, people who hadn't even been born when that movie was first out. She gained a lot of younger fans over the years and I don't know if she responded to any of the letters she received but I'm glad that she got fan letters and knew that she was loved by people all over the world. 

On another note, Yvette was apparently working on her autobiography before her death. It would be wonderful if this was true or if anyone had the transcripts but maybe one day we will know? She led a fascinating life and had many stories to tell. When asked about the infamous casting couch, Yvette would say that she did her best to avoid that type of situation, not that there wasn't offers but she was serious about her career and wanted to be accepted, known and liked for her work. 

Yvette was a fierce animal lover and was a member of PETA and other Animal charities. She was also involved with a homeless charity. 

She seemed to be such a charming, charismatic person and even as she got older, she was still very beautiful. RIP Yvette, you will never be forgotten. 

I thank you, as always for checking out my latest post, I hope that you found it an interesting read as heartbreaking as the story is and also how disturbing it has been in parts. I know a lot of people focus on Yvette's death but in this post I have also talked about her remarkable life and hope that you have come away from this with a bit more knowledge about Yvette Vickers and will continue to check out her movies etc. I have included links below which you may find interesting if you fancy going down a Yvette Vickers rabbit hole. 

Further Reading & Sources:

- Yvette Vickers: Article | NY Times

- Benedict Canyon | Wikipedia

- Yvette Vickers | Wikipedia

- Mummification | Science Direct

- The Attack of The 50ft Woman | Wikipedia

- Attack of The Giant Leeches | Imdb

- Scott Michaels | Find A Death

- Dearly Departed Tours

- Yvette Vickers | Find A Grave

- Newspapers.com (always invaluable in my research! Check out the site for access to newspaper articles from decades ago right up to present day)

- The Hollywood Book of Death by James Robert Parish

- World's Greatest Hollywood Scandals

- Paul Newman | Wikipedia

- Jim Hutton | Wikipedia

- Gene Hackman | Wikipedia

- My friend, Yvette Vickers, In Her Own Words by John O'Dowd

- James Cagney | Wikipedia

- Yvette Vickers: Article | Huffington Post

- Yvette Vickers: Article | Los Angeles Daily News

- Yvette Vickers: House & Autopsy Details | Scott Michaels

- Yvette Vickers: 1990 TV Interview | Youtube

- Skip E Lowe | Wikipedia

As always, I welcome your comments below or drop me an email, I love reading/hearing your thoughts. I hope to see you pop up elsewhere on my socials. Please help support my work by making a small donation here or by buying me a coffee here, thank you!!

Stay safe and I hope you will join me in my next post x

The city of New York is the place that they say is where dreams are made. There's no mistaking how iconic it is, how breathtaking the architecture is, from the stunning landmarks such as the Empire State Building, the beautiful yet poignant memorial to the victims of 9/11, right through to the breathtaking New York Public Library. The city is steeped in history and has many famous occupants, as well as all of these positives, the city has sure seen it's fair share of heartache and struggles over the decades. The horrific events of 9/11 knocked this lion of a city off of it's feet and it was utterly devastating but in what seemed like a short space of time, the rest of the world watched in awe as we saw the people of New York get back on their feet, work together and almost re-build their city not only after such destruction but also in strength, determination and patriotism. We were inspired and I've always had a love for New York since I was a child and used to draw pictures of the twin towers. Watching how they faced such horror and the lives who were sadly lost, the bravery and kindness of people just left a mark on me that will never leave. To this day I still have a huge admiration for New York and it's people. 

I mentioned recently that I was going to be including some more Dark History posts to this blog. If you're a regular reader of mine (thank you, I love you!) you will already be aware that I have covered various historical events and stories in the past to positive feedback. I've now decided to have this as a regular addition to my blog, the true crime, serial killer posts will continue but every now and then I will cover some dark history just to add something a little different to my work/blog. 

In this post I will be delving into the other side of New York, a side that not many people know (especially outside of the city) and a place that people, not native to New York will have heard of. On the other side of the beautiful architecture, the flashing lights, the hustling and bustling streets of the big apple, the city that never sleeps....is an island not that far from the glitz, glamour, the yellow taxi cabs and breathtaking skyscrapers, and it is called 'Hart Island'. A place that is not spoken about but inhabits over 1 million people, over 1 million deceased adults and babies to be exact and I hope my description doesn't come across as sounding morbid but that is a sad fact. 

Those who know New York like the back of their hand will know all about Hart Island but yet there are some people who have lived in the city all of their lives and never knew it existed. It has always been a place that people didn't want to discuss, it was a dark place, a haunting place and a very sad place. It was a place that nobody wanted to go and nobody wanted to end up. Native New Yorkers would be told that the island was a place where people who were unloved would go when they passed away with nobody to claim their remains and it instilled a fear and a determination never to end up there. 

I initially thought that my research into Hart Island was due to the heartbreaking connection to the late child star, Bobby Driscoll (who was buried on Hart Island after months of his remains now being identified) who I have just written about in my previous post but I was thinking about this a few days ago and realised that Hart Island was first brought to my attention some years ago during the Covid pandemic. I remember feeling horrified when videos emerged online of what was being reported as 'mass graves being dug in New York', there was clips going around social media declaring that New York had run out of places to bury people who had died from complications connected to Covid. It was frightening but I was soon informed by a New Yorker that the burials were indeed due to Covid but that the place where the burials were had been there for decades and that this was standard procedure (as heartbreaking as it was) for deceased people who had no family or friends to claim their remains. The hell we all went through with Covid was an experience that I'm sure none of us enjoy looking back on but with the usual goings-on of life, Hart Island somehow fell to the back of my mind but it was brought to the forefront again this past few weeks because of Bobby Driscoll

So, after what seems like a lengthy introduction, I think we need to look back at the history of Hart Island and it is an isolated island that is located at the western side of Long Island Sound in New York. It's not an easy location to get access to and to get on to the Island you have to use a ferry. Hart Island, although known today as New York's greenest cemetery and one of the largest publicly funded cemeteries in the world, it has been a location for various different things over the decades, from a prison, to a workhouse, a hospital to a site purely used for burial. It's also an eerie fact to learn that Hart Island was looked at as a possible location for a theme park at one point in history. To think of it as a place where people would go to have fun and be full of positivity to have it be the way it actually became which, for a long time was a very dark place full of sorrow. 

Don't get me wrong, a cemetery is a place that is not known for being a place of sheer happiness, it is often a very sad place which invokes feelings of grief, regret and memories of loved ones no longer with us but we go to pay our respects and have time to reflect at our loved ones graves. The difference with Hart Island in an area known as 'Potter's Field' is that the majority of the deceased buried there, died unidentified, for a lot of these poor people there are no names, no history for them, they sadly died penniless on the streets of New York and were placed there because authorities had nowhere else to put them and no family to take care of their funeral arrangements. It wasn't only homeless people who were buried there, stillborn babies who were born to substance addicted mothers were placed there too in tiny boxes. Every week the number of the deceased would grow and grow to the point that prisoners nearing the end of their sentences were given the task of partaking in the heartbreaking weekly burials of the less fortunate New Yorkers. 

In the beginning, 20 Union Army soldiers were said to have been the first people to have been buried on Hart Island. Around 1868, members of the public began to be buried there, the first person to have their remains placed there was a woman by the name of Louisa Van Slyke. As time went on and more and more people were buried there, the name of the burial location was then known as 'Potter's Field' and by 1958 records show that more than 500,000 people had been placed there, a lot of them babies. The majority of the decedents were homeless, stillborn babies and people who just couldn't afford to pay for a burial. As mentioned before, to keep up with the constant weekly influx of boxes of bodies arriving by ferry to the Island, prisoners were paid a small fee and given the task to dig trenches and bury the makeshift wooden coffins. It was very hard work as well as traumatising and upsetting. 

Anyone who has had the experience of working on the Island will tell you that the thing that always got to them the most was the burials of the babies. The tiny boxes with no names, just numbers, all stacked on top of each other or side by side (not like we have with a usual burial). The sight of a coffin in general at a funeral or even in this case, a make-shift wooden box is never a pleasant experience and when it is that of a baby it is something that is too heartbreaking for words. Though years may have past and certain people may no longer work on the Island, the memory of the babies forever endures and people shed tears and your heart goes out to them but there's also a gratitude towards them because it showed that they cared and those babies were buried by someone who really felt for them and that means a whole lot. 

On a personal note I remember the day of the funeral of my niece Chloe, she was a stillborn baby and her coffin was the size of a shoe box. I was younger at the time and was trying to get my head around it all but the moment the tiny coffin was placed into the grave, I (and everyone there) was overcome with grief and I have never forgotten that moment. I remember my Dad saying that there was something even more heartbreaking about the death of a baby, it's hard to lose a loved one who's an adult but there's a bit of comfort in knowing that they had a bit of life where as a little baby hasn't had the chance to live and grow up and experience all that life has to offer and it's so heartbreaking and unfair. Seeing the coffin of a baby is something you never forget and I cannot imagine what it must have been like for all of these people who faced that every week and were responsible for burying these poor babies. Taking also into consideration that these babies didn't even have a start in life and were nameless, it's just so terribly sad. 

Hart Island was off-limits to the public for a very long time, the general public was not allowed to go there and it was all kept very secretive but the weekly burials continued. In time, some members of the public had relatives who were buried at Potter's Field and were able to prove their identity, those relatives were allowed to visit now and again but it was a regular thing and only a very small number of people were allowed. Authorities were very strict about visitors. 

So, for a very long time the homeless and forgotten people of New York were placed in unmarked mass graves at Potter's Field, in the 1980's a lot of victims who had died from AIDS related illnesses were also buried there as well as later on, Covid related decedents being added to the numerous souls on the Island. For years, the relatives and friends of the deceased that were identifiable and known 100% to have been buried on the Island were campaigning for changes to me made, they wanted it to be more accessible for friends and family. An incredible woman by the name of Melinda Hunt who had been one of the very few to have visited the island with permission in 1991 to take some photographs for a book she was working on with her colleague, Joel Sternfeld, had met a woman who's baby had been previously buried on the Island. The lady explained about what happened to her baby and how she had been in the hospital when she was told her baby was sadly deceased and that they would take care of the burial arrangements without further details. This was a common practice in New York at that time for stillborn babies, some who were unidentified and some who's mothers had been in the hospital with no financial means of arranging a suitable burial for their child. The women put their trust and faith in the system but soon found that they had to fight to be able to visit their child's grave and in many cases it was difficult for many babies to be identified, some were told it would never be possible because unfortunately their baby was placed with others in a mass grave. 

Hart Island, despite the heartbreak of the reality is a truly beautiful place and the very few who have been on the Island have said that it did give them some comfort (despite not knowing the exact location of the burial of their loved one or to know the reality that their relative was there) that this beautiful and peaceful place was were their loved ones were laid to rest. 

Melinda put her heart and soul into campaigning for more access for the public and for changes to be made, to preserve Hart Island, to give it the proper respect the location deserved as well as the deceased, to maintain it and treat it as a historical site with the focus on identifying as many people as possible. She also wanted to make sure that the people who were identified were remembered. 

In 2019, huge changes came about thanks to Melinda and her fellow campaigners, she had created the site The Hart Island Project which focused on what I previously mentioned and also with the ideal that everything be transferred over to the NYC Parks Department which is what finally happened. Hart Island was finally getting the respect that it deserved and although there was some hardships along the way especially with the Covid pandemic, Melinda and her team pushed through and a lot of important changes continued to be made, all of the decayed buildings were removed and the surroundings maintained giving the Island more of a beauty spot feel rather than the dark and cold place that it appeared to be before because of the old ruins. 

The Hart Island Project continues to work on keeping the Island as natural and maintained as possible and believe that the burial process on the Island should remain to continue, which it does. The Project believe that the burial process which has been the procedure for decades is more natural, affordable and better for the environment. They want this process of burial to be available for everyone in New York no matter a person's status or background. Their plan is to have people from all walks of life to be buried there to help remove the stigma that the Island has. The truth is as Melinda has previously stated, the Island actually has people buried there from all different parts of New York, anyone can become homeless or fall into substance misuse. A lot of the deceased on Hart Island were once in a more stable financial situation in their lives, some had professional positions but maybe lost a job or became ill and couldn't afford to pay for their homes etc. One man's story I had read about, had a family and was a successful businessman but he suffered from alcoholism and it took over his life to the point he lost everything and ended up on the street. Despite this man having people who loved him (but could never find him because he would vanish for long period of time) he still ended up on Hart Island. There's all kinds of heartbreaking stories related to Hart Island and the majority of New Yorkers do know someone who's buried on there, whether it be a former work colleague, a distant relative or maybe a close loved one because not everyone can afford to pay for a funeral. 

As it stands, with all of the changes coming into place, the prisoners no longer work on the Island, those roles were taken over by the Parks Department. Relatives are able to visit but it is by appointment only and on certain dates of the month (which is two days of the month and it must be either a Saturday or Sunday). Despite some of the positives that have happened thanks to Melinda, The Hart island Project and the Parks Department, the visiting routine is still an issue. The process is very much like going to visit someone in prison. You have to fill in an online form with plenty of notice beforehand, you also have to prove that you are a close relative to the deceased. You are allocated a time and two hours only which is also taken up by the ferry journey. There are occasions where people will turn up at the gates for the ferry and it won't show up or come late, which takes time off of their visit. It's not the ideal situation and the Project are hoping for this to be improved. The visits right now are a sort of pot luck situation, some people get their requests through in time and some have to wait. If you don't show up or can't show up for your visit or are late, they will strike you off the visiting record for about 6 months and only after then will you be able to fill in a request form again. 

Despite some of the teething problems with visiting, everything seems to be having a step in the right direction, the project and the Parks department have been issued more funds and improvements are continuing to be made. There are a lot of positives that have come out of all of what was once a heartbreaking and very dark situation. With the kind hearted people who have worked so hard to improve the Island and make it what it is today as well as showing their care for the people who are laid to rest there, it really does show how beautiful and kind a lot of human beings can be. I think Melinda and all who are involved with the care and maintenance of Hart Island are truly angels on this earth. 

I have included below a documentary about Hart Island that you may wish to watch, I highly recommend that you do. I've also included some other clips as well as articles you may find interesting and don't forget to check out  The Hart Island Project where you can find out all sorts of information, it's an incredible site, there are also photographs on there as well as ways to donate and updates on news if you wish to follow what's happening with improvements etc. 

So I hope that this post gave you more knowledge of what Hart island is all about and this once heartbreaking place which is now being respected and appreciated for what it is and what it stands for. All of us are on this earth for a limited time and all of us will die, we know how hard life can be at times and how easy it can be to fall on hard times. Any one of us could end up in a similar situation and in this case as I mentioned at the beginning of this post, New York's people have shown themselves to be some of the warmest and kindest people on earth with what they've been able to achieve with all of this. It would be so easy for people to turn a blind eye and do nothing but Melinda recognised a mother's suffering and the suffering of so many others and chose to go out of her way to devote her time and energy into helping people. God bless Melinda and all those who have worked and continued to work on Hart Island. 

RIP to all of the countless babies, children, men and women who are buried on Hart Island, you will never be forgotten. 

Further Reading & Sources: 

- The Hart Island Website

- Hart Island | NYC Gov

- Hart Island | Time Magazine

- The Life & Death of Bobby Driscoll | True Crime With Caledonian Kitty

- AIDS/HIV in New York City | Wikipedia

- And The Band Played On | Book by Randy Shilts

- NYC Correction History | NY Correction History Society

- NYC Maps | NYC Gov

- Covid-19 Pandemic in New York City | Wikipedia

- List of Cemeteries in NYC | Wikipedia

- Basic Facts About Homelessness | Coalition For The Homeless

- Homelessness in New York | Wikipedia

- Homelessness & Poverty in NYC | The Bowery Mission

- The Untold Story of New York's Hart Island (Documentary)

- Hart Island Documetary | Vox/Youtube

If you've made it this far in the post, I really appreciate you taking the time to read my work, if you enjoy my weekly content and would like to donate to help with research materials, keeping my blog online etc, you can do so Here or on my Kofi page. You can also contact me via the form on the right or by email at jocaledoniankitty@gmail.com

I welcome any comments and requests, just drop me a line in the comments section or by email. All of my social media platforms can be found here

Please stay safe and I hope you will join me in my next post x