The Unicorn Killer and Coronavirus Myths
Every Tuesday in April, Frank Weber will be presenting a free Facebook live chat on one of his novels from 7:00-7:30 p.m. central time.
Make sure you are following Frank on Facebook! Click here to visit his Facebook page.
You can listen and ask questions from the safety of your home. Please join him live to get forensic questions answered and share any thoughts about his True Crime mysteries.
*Win a chance to be a True Crime Star! During the 4 weeks of presentations, people who make comments during the presentation will have their name put into a drawing with the winner receiving 1 of 3 choices. I will either use your name as a character, have you make a brief appearance, or use your business name somewhere in the book. You can gift this award to a friend if you wish.
April 14: The I-94 Murders
The cover shot was taken by Trisha Spencer of Alicia Isom along Highway 94 close to St. Cloud. Alicia Isom is in all the pictures below but last. Elise Yates is holding the guitar. Do you remember what Sonia witnessed on the steps at the beginning, and her walking through a field east of Buckman toward the end? Or how about Serena at the very end? The Unicorn Killer:
Holly Maddux was raised by an authoritarian patriarchal father in Tyler, Texas. She was described as a free spirit. In 1965, at age 18, she leaves Tyler to attend Bryn Mawr college in Philadelphia. She became involved in protests against the Vietnam war.
In 1972 she meets Ira “the Unicorn” Einhorn, and falls in love with his ideals. Ira claimed to be the founder of earth day. Holly left Ira a couple times due to his private outbursts of anger. After 5 years, she goes to a friend’s beach house on Fire Island, an upscale part of Long Beach. On this secluded island she’s introduced to a wealthy man, Saul Lapidus, and then Holly disappeared. Holly remained in regular phone contact with her family up to her disappearance.
The family hires retired FBI agent Bob Stevens from Tyler, Texas, to find their daughter. Ira Einhorn tells the family Holly is seeing a new man. Einhorn tells Stevens Holly went to the food coop and never returned. When Stevens' cohort, J.R. Pierce, confronts Einhorn, he tells him Holly moved to a commune in California. Einhorn has a teaching fellowship at Harvard University at the time.
Pierce finds Saul Lapidus. Saul stated when he was with Holly, Ira called and threatened to throw all of her belongings away. She told Saul, “I’m going to calm Ira down and come back.” Saul is the initial suspect, until he volunteers to take a polygraph examination and passes. The police get a search warrant for Ira Einhorn’s apartment. The closet is bolted shut and Ira claims he doesn’t have the key. Investigators cut it open with a bolt cutter and find Holly’s pocketbook, including her driver’s license. Then they find Holly’s body in a trunk in the bottom of the closet. Ira Einhorn is charged with murder.
Ira Einhorn is hypocrite and a narcissist. It was more important to Einhorn to be “the star” than to make the world better. At times Einhorn would have friends give Holly a ride home from a party, as he planned on leaving with someone else. Holly came to realize Einhorn wasn’t the ideology she fell in love with. Ira Einhorn has a public persona of being an advocate of nonviolence. However, investigators read Einhorn’s disturbing diary. Einhorn’s diary reveals the joy he felt in beating a woman, and the pleasure he received from killing someone he loved. He had apparently beat Holly on numerous occasions.
Ira Einhorn argues publicly that his arrest was a set-up for his anti-war protests. Einhorn publicly claims the CIA is setting him up as he was about to expose their “mind-controlling” tactics. Prominent attorney, Arlin Spector, steps forth to defend him. Ira Einhorn, the self-proclaimed “Unicorn,” has a celebrity status and prominent individuals, including politicians and ministers, testify on how he is a wonderful person. Einhorn is released before his pending trial, after paying only $4000 bail. The courthouse erupts in cheers. The prosecutor tries to point out that Einhorn frequently leaves the country and is a flight risk.
Einhorn jumps bail and flees the country in 1981. He disappears for 16 years. Ira is smart and he has friends with deep pockets. Investigators eventually find Einhorn in Ireland, but they won’t extradite him. Holly’s dad, Fred, committed suicide in 1988 after struggling with a terminal illness. Her mom, Elizabeth, died one year later, leaving Holly’s younger minor siblings without parents and their oldest sibling. The investigators try Ira Einhorn for the murder of Holly Maddux in absentia, which you can do if a person intentionally fled to avoid prosecution. Einhorn is convicted of murder. Barbra Braufman, a wealthy woman in Canada, admits to the FBI she had been bankrolling Einhorn’s life. After receiving new information on Einhorn, she has now come to believe Einhorn is an angry killer. Braufman reveals that Einhorn is in a relationship with Annika Flodin.
After 16 years the FBI works with the French government performing surveillance and they find and arrest Einhorn. However, France refuses to extradite him feeling he has been unfairly convicted, since he wasn’t at the trial to defend himself. Instead, of turning him over, they set him free.
The Maddux family doesn’t give up. They request that Einhorn’s conviction be set aside, and that instead he be given a new trial. France no longer has a reason to protect him. This time the public sees the evidence, without being snowballed by all of his propaganda. Two former lovers of Einhorn testify they ended up in the hospital after trying to break off relationships with Einhorn. One was nearly strangled; the other had a Coke bottle smashed over her head. Even though Einhorn had the public embodiment of peace and love, in private he was an abusive monster. Ira Einhorn is sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The Maddux family passes on this cautionary tale: Domestic violence happens in highly educated families as well as illiterate families. Friends of Einhorn look back and admit they made so many exceptions for Ira, because he was a “star.” Looking back, he only cared about himself. Holly Maddux was vulnerable to an abusive relationship, having been raised in a father dominant family. God Bless Holly Maddux: 1947-1977
Coronavirus myths:
Myth: Schweppes or Fever-Tree tonic water can treat the Coronavirus
THE FACTS: Medical experts say as of now there is no proven medication or home remedy that can cure coronavirus. Posts circulating on Facebook and Twitter suggest that drinking tonic water from Schweppes or Fever-Tree can treat the coronavirus because the drinks contain quinine. Quinine is a compound found in the bark of the Cinchona tree and has been used to treat malaria. “I would not encourage anyone to drink tonic water to prevent or treat covid at all,” said Dr. Michael Angarone, assistant professor of infectious diseases at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Experts say there is no scientific evidence that quinine would have any impact if used in this way. The concentration used for medical use is different from the concentration of quinine used in soft drinks.
Myth: Maps show a correlation between confirmed COVID-19 cases and locations where 5G wireless service has been installed. (Sociologists: This is what we call a spurious correlation.)
THE FACTS: There’s no evidence that 5G, fifth generation wireless, is related to or causes COVID-19. Photos of two maps placed side by side are being used on social media to suggest they show a correlation between 5G networks and coronavirus hot spots. One map claims to show where confirmed coronavirus cases are located in the U.S., while the other map claims to show where 5G technology was installed. Both are highlighted around population centers. “There is absolutely no connection between COVID-19 and the 5G cellular service,” professor Myrtill Simkó the Director of SciProof International in Sweden. Simko examines 5G wireless communication health effects. The maps are misleading. The coronavirus has spread quickest in urban areas, and 5G has been rolled out in urban areas. The maps fail to show that 5G is also available in areas where the coronavirus hasn’t spread. Japan didn’t launch 5G until March, yet the country reported its first coronavirus infection in January.
Myth: Former President Barack Obama said that he would not “allow white people to kill Africans with their toxic vaccines.”
THE FACTS: The fabricated claim shared across social media grew out of a French TV segment where two doctors suggested that a tuberculosis vaccine be tested in Africa in trials to fight the coronavirus. The doctors were accused of racism for the comments they made on the French news. Barack Obama did not say this and is pro-vaccination. Obama has tweeted about the virus urging people to protect themselves by washing their hands and he has shared multiple news articles about the virus. The fabricated quote was shared hundreds of times across WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in English and French. Some posts with the false information included a photo of Obama crying during a speech on gun violence that referenced the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School that left 26 people dead, including 20 children.
Myth: Photos show that “electromagnetic radiation” killed birds in Italy.
THE FACTS: A set of photos circulating on Facebook that shows dozens of dead birds scattered in the street and on sidewalks was falsely described as showing the effects of electromagnetic radiation. “Can you imagine what the 5G will do to us,” wrote one Facebook user who shared the photos. The photos date to Feb. 4, when strong winds knocked over a tree on Viale del Policlinico, a road in Rome. A man was injured and a several birds that had made their nests in the tree were killed. Photos were published showing the fallen tree next to dozens of dead birds. The World Health Organization states on their website that 5G in wireless technologies does not pose health risks.
Stay safe and be smart. Don’t get caught up in conspiracy theories. This is how Ira Einhorn got people to ignore the fact that he was an abusive prick. People ignored the obvious and accepted the improbable. Most importantly, be kind.
Thanks for listening,
Frank
A tribute to one of my favorite folk singers John Prine, who died from the coronavirus this past week. The first song, Good Time, is my favorite Prine song, and a song I learned to play guitar for so I could sing it to Brenda:
Time was once just a clock to me
And life was just a book biography
Success was something you just had to be
And I would spend myself unknowingly
You know I could have me a million more friends
And all I'd have to lose is my point of view
But I had no idea what a good time was called, Till last night when I sat and talked with you…
An apple will spoil if it's been abused
A candle disappears when its been used
But a rainbow can follow up a hurricane
And I can't leave forever on a train
And you know that I'd survive if I never spoke again
And all I'd have to lose is my vanity
But I had no idea what a good time was called
Till last night when you sat and talked with me…
As my mother, Rosetta, said about John Prine, every song is a story. The following song, Please Don’t Bury Me, is from his first album. He deserves to be remembered with a smile!
Make sure you are following Frank on Facebook! Click here to visit his Facebook page.
You can listen and ask questions from the safety of your home. Please join him live to get forensic questions answered and share any thoughts about his True Crime mysteries.
*Win a chance to be a True Crime Star! During the 4 weeks of presentations, people who make comments during the presentation will have their name put into a drawing with the winner receiving 1 of 3 choices. I will either use your name as a character, have you make a brief appearance, or use your business name somewhere in the book. You can gift this award to a friend if you wish.
April 14: The I-94 Murders
The cover shot was taken by Trisha Spencer of Alicia Isom along Highway 94 close to St. Cloud. Alicia Isom is in all the pictures below but last. Elise Yates is holding the guitar. Do you remember what Sonia witnessed on the steps at the beginning, and her walking through a field east of Buckman toward the end? Or how about Serena at the very end? The Unicorn Killer:
Holly Maddux was raised by an authoritarian patriarchal father in Tyler, Texas. She was described as a free spirit. In 1965, at age 18, she leaves Tyler to attend Bryn Mawr college in Philadelphia. She became involved in protests against the Vietnam war.
In 1972 she meets Ira “the Unicorn” Einhorn, and falls in love with his ideals. Ira claimed to be the founder of earth day. Holly left Ira a couple times due to his private outbursts of anger. After 5 years, she goes to a friend’s beach house on Fire Island, an upscale part of Long Beach. On this secluded island she’s introduced to a wealthy man, Saul Lapidus, and then Holly disappeared. Holly remained in regular phone contact with her family up to her disappearance.The family hires retired FBI agent Bob Stevens from Tyler, Texas, to find their daughter. Ira Einhorn tells the family Holly is seeing a new man. Einhorn tells Stevens Holly went to the food coop and never returned. When Stevens' cohort, J.R. Pierce, confronts Einhorn, he tells him Holly moved to a commune in California. Einhorn has a teaching fellowship at Harvard University at the time.
Pierce finds Saul Lapidus. Saul stated when he was with Holly, Ira called and threatened to throw all of her belongings away. She told Saul, “I’m going to calm Ira down and come back.” Saul is the initial suspect, until he volunteers to take a polygraph examination and passes. The police get a search warrant for Ira Einhorn’s apartment. The closet is bolted shut and Ira claims he doesn’t have the key. Investigators cut it open with a bolt cutter and find Holly’s pocketbook, including her driver’s license. Then they find Holly’s body in a trunk in the bottom of the closet. Ira Einhorn is charged with murder. Ira Einhorn is hypocrite and a narcissist. It was more important to Einhorn to be “the star” than to make the world better. At times Einhorn would have friends give Holly a ride home from a party, as he planned on leaving with someone else. Holly came to realize Einhorn wasn’t the ideology she fell in love with. Ira Einhorn has a public persona of being an advocate of nonviolence. However, investigators read Einhorn’s disturbing diary. Einhorn’s diary reveals the joy he felt in beating a woman, and the pleasure he received from killing someone he loved. He had apparently beat Holly on numerous occasions.
Ira Einhorn argues publicly that his arrest was a set-up for his anti-war protests. Einhorn publicly claims the CIA is setting him up as he was about to expose their “mind-controlling” tactics. Prominent attorney, Arlin Spector, steps forth to defend him. Ira Einhorn, the self-proclaimed “Unicorn,” has a celebrity status and prominent individuals, including politicians and ministers, testify on how he is a wonderful person. Einhorn is released before his pending trial, after paying only $4000 bail. The courthouse erupts in cheers. The prosecutor tries to point out that Einhorn frequently leaves the country and is a flight risk.
Einhorn jumps bail and flees the country in 1981. He disappears for 16 years. Ira is smart and he has friends with deep pockets. Investigators eventually find Einhorn in Ireland, but they won’t extradite him. Holly’s dad, Fred, committed suicide in 1988 after struggling with a terminal illness. Her mom, Elizabeth, died one year later, leaving Holly’s younger minor siblings without parents and their oldest sibling. The investigators try Ira Einhorn for the murder of Holly Maddux in absentia, which you can do if a person intentionally fled to avoid prosecution. Einhorn is convicted of murder. Barbra Braufman, a wealthy woman in Canada, admits to the FBI she had been bankrolling Einhorn’s life. After receiving new information on Einhorn, she has now come to believe Einhorn is an angry killer. Braufman reveals that Einhorn is in a relationship with Annika Flodin.
After 16 years the FBI works with the French government performing surveillance and they find and arrest Einhorn. However, France refuses to extradite him feeling he has been unfairly convicted, since he wasn’t at the trial to defend himself. Instead, of turning him over, they set him free. The Maddux family doesn’t give up. They request that Einhorn’s conviction be set aside, and that instead he be given a new trial. France no longer has a reason to protect him. This time the public sees the evidence, without being snowballed by all of his propaganda. Two former lovers of Einhorn testify they ended up in the hospital after trying to break off relationships with Einhorn. One was nearly strangled; the other had a Coke bottle smashed over her head. Even though Einhorn had the public embodiment of peace and love, in private he was an abusive monster. Ira Einhorn is sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The Maddux family passes on this cautionary tale: Domestic violence happens in highly educated families as well as illiterate families. Friends of Einhorn look back and admit they made so many exceptions for Ira, because he was a “star.” Looking back, he only cared about himself. Holly Maddux was vulnerable to an abusive relationship, having been raised in a father dominant family. God Bless Holly Maddux: 1947-1977
Coronavirus myths:Myth: Schweppes or Fever-Tree tonic water can treat the Coronavirus
THE FACTS: Medical experts say as of now there is no proven medication or home remedy that can cure coronavirus. Posts circulating on Facebook and Twitter suggest that drinking tonic water from Schweppes or Fever-Tree can treat the coronavirus because the drinks contain quinine. Quinine is a compound found in the bark of the Cinchona tree and has been used to treat malaria. “I would not encourage anyone to drink tonic water to prevent or treat covid at all,” said Dr. Michael Angarone, assistant professor of infectious diseases at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Experts say there is no scientific evidence that quinine would have any impact if used in this way. The concentration used for medical use is different from the concentration of quinine used in soft drinks.
Myth: Maps show a correlation between confirmed COVID-19 cases and locations where 5G wireless service has been installed. (Sociologists: This is what we call a spurious correlation.)
THE FACTS: There’s no evidence that 5G, fifth generation wireless, is related to or causes COVID-19. Photos of two maps placed side by side are being used on social media to suggest they show a correlation between 5G networks and coronavirus hot spots. One map claims to show where confirmed coronavirus cases are located in the U.S., while the other map claims to show where 5G technology was installed. Both are highlighted around population centers. “There is absolutely no connection between COVID-19 and the 5G cellular service,” professor Myrtill Simkó the Director of SciProof International in Sweden. Simko examines 5G wireless communication health effects. The maps are misleading. The coronavirus has spread quickest in urban areas, and 5G has been rolled out in urban areas. The maps fail to show that 5G is also available in areas where the coronavirus hasn’t spread. Japan didn’t launch 5G until March, yet the country reported its first coronavirus infection in January.
Myth: Former President Barack Obama said that he would not “allow white people to kill Africans with their toxic vaccines.”
THE FACTS: The fabricated claim shared across social media grew out of a French TV segment where two doctors suggested that a tuberculosis vaccine be tested in Africa in trials to fight the coronavirus. The doctors were accused of racism for the comments they made on the French news. Barack Obama did not say this and is pro-vaccination. Obama has tweeted about the virus urging people to protect themselves by washing their hands and he has shared multiple news articles about the virus. The fabricated quote was shared hundreds of times across WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in English and French. Some posts with the false information included a photo of Obama crying during a speech on gun violence that referenced the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School that left 26 people dead, including 20 children.
Myth: Photos show that “electromagnetic radiation” killed birds in Italy.
THE FACTS: A set of photos circulating on Facebook that shows dozens of dead birds scattered in the street and on sidewalks was falsely described as showing the effects of electromagnetic radiation. “Can you imagine what the 5G will do to us,” wrote one Facebook user who shared the photos. The photos date to Feb. 4, when strong winds knocked over a tree on Viale del Policlinico, a road in Rome. A man was injured and a several birds that had made their nests in the tree were killed. Photos were published showing the fallen tree next to dozens of dead birds. The World Health Organization states on their website that 5G in wireless technologies does not pose health risks.
Stay safe and be smart. Don’t get caught up in conspiracy theories. This is how Ira Einhorn got people to ignore the fact that he was an abusive prick. People ignored the obvious and accepted the improbable. Most importantly, be kind.
Thanks for listening,
Frank
A tribute to one of my favorite folk singers John Prine, who died from the coronavirus this past week. The first song, Good Time, is my favorite Prine song, and a song I learned to play guitar for so I could sing it to Brenda:
Time was once just a clock to me
And life was just a book biography
Success was something you just had to be
And I would spend myself unknowingly
You know I could have me a million more friends
And all I'd have to lose is my point of view
But I had no idea what a good time was called, Till last night when I sat and talked with you…
An apple will spoil if it's been abused
A candle disappears when its been used
But a rainbow can follow up a hurricane
And I can't leave forever on a train
And you know that I'd survive if I never spoke again
And all I'd have to lose is my vanity
But I had no idea what a good time was called
Till last night when you sat and talked with me…
As my mother, Rosetta, said about John Prine, every song is a story. The following song, Please Don’t Bury Me, is from his first album. He deserves to be remembered with a smile!
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