1977: A Madman Turns 40: 2017- Day 48

  It's a look at another true crime from 1977!

   My mom was hooked on true crime. If there was a new book by Ann Rule, she was first in line for it. If there was a new made-for-TV movie about it, she would have the VCR set and ready to go. I guess that's why I'm a little partial to in myself.

    On this day in 1977 history, Chicago candy heiress Helen Brach disappears. She was last seen in a Minneapolis medical clinic for routine treatment. She supposedly went to the gift shop, mentioned that she was in a hurry, and never seen or heard from again.

The Brach family tomb.

    A massive manhunt was underway a few days later, but nothing ever turned up. Some believe that the 'Candy Lady' was murdered by a known Windy City Lothario named Richard Bailey who was eventually jailed for conning rich little old ladies out of their life savings, including Brach. (The judge in Bailey's racketeering case even added extra years to his sentence because of the possibility he might have gotten away with Mrs. Brach's death. I didn't even know that was legal to do...) Bailey is now in his late 80s and is still incarcerated in a Florida prison.

    Though her body was never discovered, Helen Brach was legally declared dead 7 years later in 1984. Her fortune went to the care of her beloved dogs Candy and Sugar, who are entombed in an empty crypt bearing the Candy Lady's name. 

     In the past 20 years, numerous books have been published about the Brach disappearance. Many believe that Richard Bailey and his brother Paul got Helen Brach tied up in a horse breeding scandal that attempted to defraud the mafia and Brach was murdered in retaliation for the ruse. However, nobody has ever been tried for the murder despite numerous 'eyewitness' accounts of the crime.

My theory:
Mrs. Brach was murdered for producing this cringe-worthy junk...

     That's a general overview of the case. If you are interested in reading more about the Brach disappearance and the possible mob ties involved, check out the book 'Who Killed The Candy Lady?' by James Ylisela. It seems to have some very interesting theories.

     Well, until tomorrow...