Murder has a long and distinguished history in San Francisco. The city and its Bay Area can stand proudly with Paris, London, and New York in the splendour of its misdeeds -- murders that have suspense, horror, audacity, and flair. The homicides chronicled in Murder by the Bay have been selected because a convergence of personality, circumstance, character, and geography makes them peculiarly San Franciscan. Each of these crimes illustrates an historic importance, each has impacted its times -- either in the course or application of the law or in the manner in which the affair revealed a shortcoming in society. They range from the Montgomery Street killing of James King of William, editor of the Daily Evening Bulletin, in 1856 to the sensational trial of early movie comedian Fatty Arbuckle who was accused of killing a showgirl at a party in the St. Francis Hotel to the shocking "City Hall Murders" in which former city supervisor Dan White killed Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk. Most were solved, some were not. They are murders that fascinated the city and frequently the country, sometimes for weeks, often for years and even decades.
Charles F. Adams is chairman of the Wajim Corporation and president of Adams Enterprises. He spent his work career in international marketing and was president and chief operating officer of D'Arcy, MacManus and Masius, Inc., one of the world's largest advertising agencies. he is also a former owner and general partner of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League. Adams is the author of a number of books, including Murder by the Bay' and The Complete Geezer Guidebook' both available from Quill Driver Books.