Wednesday, September 26, 2012

AM HERE ABE SLANEY

A real-life crime in Idaho brings back memories of one of the great Sherlock Holmes stories:

A woman who was about to be released from an Idaho prison will stay behind bars a while longer because federal prosecutors say she mailed a threatening stick figure drawing to a relative.

Prosecutors say that in 2010, Lakes mailed a drawing that apparently depicted a battered stick figure alongside threatening phrases such as "No tears," "No hiding," and "No more you."

Kyle Wright, an FBI agent in Pocatello who investigated the case, described the drawing in a court document.

"One stick figure appeared to be lying down with his face smashed. The baseball bat was lying nearby with damage that appeared to be consistent with its use on the first stick figure. The second stick figure appeared to be walking away with a smile," Wright wrote.

Wright also said in his affidavit that Lakes sent a letter with the drawing that indicated her prison sentence was coming to an end and that the recipient should be prepared for his final moments.


The Holmes story is, of course, The Adventure of the Dancing Men. For anyone interested in cryptography, it is one of the giants of the literature, along with Edgar Allan Poe's story The Gold-Bug.

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