Major Crimes and True Crime

Cannibal serial killer caught after neighbours smelled human 'guts' flushed down loo While not nearly as well known as Ted Bundy or Jeffrey Dahmer, Joachim Kroll’s crimes are equally, if not more, disturbing. Known as the Ruhr Cannibal, the Ruhr Hunter, or the Duisburg Man-Eater, Kroll’s macabre killing spree took the lives of 14 known victims — and authorities believe he killed even more. ⠀ 'Duisburg Man-Eater' Joachim Kroll's reign of terror lasted over 20 years and was only caught for the 14 grisly murders after his neighbours smelled human 'guts' he flushed down the toilet German cannibal serial killer Joachim Kroll confessed to murdering 13 women and one man, mutilating their bodies and eating slices of their flesh. After his mother’s death in 1955, Kroll set off on a 20-year killing spree that earned him the names “Ruhr Cannibal”, “Ruhr Hunter” and “Duisburg Man-Eater”. But Kroll was only caught in 1976 when his neighbours complained ...

On August 26, 1995, 23 year old Heather Teague was sunbathing on a beach when a tall man with a gun approached her, grabbed her by the hair, and let her into the wood. A witness watched the whole thing and later identified the kidnapper as Marvin Dill. Police searched Dill's truck and found gun, knife, rope, gloves, duct tape and hair that looked like Heather's Dill was never Charged and Heather hasn't been seen since As 23-year-old Heather Teague lay sunbathing on a Kentucky beach, she had no idea of the danger that was very close by. And why would she? Even though the beach was remote and there was no one else in sight, it was still broad daylight. At around 12.45pm, a "peeping tom" watching Heather from a distance with a telescope observed a man emerging from the woods behind the beach. The man was wearing jeans, no shirt, a wig, and had a mosquito netting over his face. The man pulled Heather into the woods by her hair and threatened her with a gun. ...

Bernie Tiede Was The Murderer People Couldn’t Help But Love As of 2016, former mortician Bernie Tiede is in a Texas lockup for the 1996 murder of Marjorie Nugent, a well-to-do widow whom Bernie shot to death before hiding her body in her freezer for several months. Perhaps the strangest bit of this story is that in the wake of Nugent’s disappearance, no one seemed to care. Thanks to her reputation for being somewhat of a curmudgeon, her disappearance drew no concern. Reportedly, Tiede was in a relationship with Nugent, who was 40 years older than him. When Tiede’s crime was eventually discovered, the small-town characters surrounding the mortician actively fought against his incarceration, calling Tiede infallibly generous - possibly because he spent a lot of Nugent's $6 million fortune on various gifts to the town. Few people could believe the sweet-natured man could possibly have committed such a crime, even after he confessed to the "...

The Disappearance of Brandon Swanson On May 14th, 2008, just before 2 a.m., 19-year-old Brandon Swanson drove his car into a ditch on his way home from a party in Marshall, Minnesota. Unharmed, he decided to call his parents and told them he was near Lynd, since he was unsure of his exact location. His parents Annette and Brian Swanson drove out to find Brandon, while they stayed with him on the phone. Despite his parents intensively searching for him around the area and Brandon signaling them by flashing car lights, they were unable to spot each other. Brandon decided to leave the car and walk towards the lights in the distance which he thought were of a small town of Lynd. They decided that his parents would wait for him at a parking lot of a local bar, but shortly after 2:30 am, 47 minutes into the call, they heard Brandon shout "Oh, shit!", and the connection was lost. At 6:30 am, his parents reported Brandon missing, and later that day a big search began, howev...

The Iconic Pinup-Turned-BDSM Model Who Helped Usher In America’s Sexual Revolution Until her sudden disappearance from the spotlight in 1957, pinup icon Bettie Page helped usher in an era of sexual liberation for women in an otherwise judgemental society — and was publicly demonized for it.⁠ However, to those closest to her, Page was "a quiet gal, prim and proper," who lived humbly and sent money home to her family. And though she let loose on camera, Page was known to those in the industry as "a most controlled young woman, quiet and composed. She didn't smoke or drink and didn't much care for those who did." See more of the iconoclastic Bettie Page in 35 titillating photos  Through her titillating photoshoots, Bettie Page showed a pious and restrictive mid-century society how fun and freeing a woman’s sexuality could be. When it comes to pinup models, Bettie Page is one — if not the pioneer of the industry. As these Bettie Page photos show, the ...

What happened to James Bulger? The harrowing story of the boy murdered by Jon Venables and Robert Thompson When 2-year-old James Bulger went missing in a shopping center in England in 1993, his parents were worried sick. But they felt somewhat relieved when they saw the CCTV footage of their son in the mall — because he was with two boys. Little did Bulger's parents know that those mysterious children had already abducted, tortured, and murdered their son.⁠ ⁠ Though both 10-year-old boys, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, initially tried to evade suspicion, the CCTV footage of their abduction was soon plastered all over the news. On top of that, numerous passersby had seen the two children roughing the younger boy up in plain sight outside the mall. But it was an anonymous phone call to the police that ultimately did them in. The caller reported that both Thompson and Venables had been absent from school on the day that Bulger went missing. In addition, Venables was later ...

How Donald 'Pee Wee' Gaskins Terrorized 1970s South Carolina Donald Henry Gaskins was the most prolific serial killer in South Carolina history. Once his brutality was unleashed, he knew no boundaries, torturing, killing, cannibalizing victims, both male and female. In his taped memoirs for the book, Final Truth by author Wilton Earl, Gaskins said, 'I have walked the same path as God, by taking lives and making others afraid, I became God's equal. Through killing others, I became my own master. Through my own power I come to my own redemption.. He was given several nicknames some such as Pee Wee and the Meanest Man In America. He was given the name pee wee because kids at school would call him that and also got picked on a lot. He had a pretty messed up childhood, his stepfather beat him and his four half-siblings regularly. Here is the full story Donald Henry "Pee Wee" Gaskins Jr. (born Donald Henry Parrott Jr.; March 13, 1933 – September 6, 1991) w...

This precious little girl was found dead inside a suitcase along I-45 in Madisonville Texas On September 17, 2016, this precious little girl was found dead inside a suitcase along I-45 in Madisonville Texas - Her remains were found in a white plastic garbage bag stuffed in a black suitcase, along with a diaper and a pink dress that said Learn the full story of the Bataan Death March MADISONVILLE, Texas (KTRK) -- It's been five years since the grim discovery was made along I-45 near Madisonville: The body of a girl stuffed in a black suitcase, along with a diaper and a pink dress that said "Follow Your Dreams." The Madison County Sheriff's Office and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children have released images of facial reconstruction of a girl found dead on Sept. 17, 2016. The sheriff's office says the person who found her body was mowing grass near a fence about 40 feet from the edge of an I-45 feeder road. The area ...

Ivan Milat, Australia's 'Backpacker Murderer' Who Butchered 7 Hitchhikers Milat was convicted of the murders on 27 July 1996 and was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences, as well as 18 years without parole. He died in prison on 27 October 2019, having never confessed to the murders for which he was convicted The backpacker murders were a spate of serial killings that took place in New South Wales, Australia, between 1989 and 1993, committed by Ivan Milat. The bodies of seven missing young people aged 19 to 22 were discovered partially buried in the Belanglo State Forest, 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) south-west of the New South Wales town of Berrima Five of the victims were foreign backpackers (three German, two British) and two were Australians from Melbourne. Milat was convicted of the murders on 27 July 1996 and was sentenced to seven consecutive life sentences, as well as 18 years without parole. He died in prison on 27 October 2019, having never confessed t...

The Search Is Still On for Amelia Earhart 80 Years After She Disappeared It’s been 80 years since she vanished, yet the disappearance of Amelia Earhart remains just as big a mystery today as it did generations ago The famed aviator was last heard from on July 2, 1937, as she attempted to make the first around-the-world flight along the equator with navigator Fred Noonan. Earhart was officially declared dead in 1939 after the U.S. government concluded that she crashed somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, but her remains were never found Before she disappeared, Earhart had already broken gender barriers by completing solo flights male pilots hadn't. She was the first woman to fly over the Atlantic, the first person to fly over the Atlantic twice and the first person to fly solo across the Pacific from Honolulu, Hawaii, to Oakland, California. But then she went missing Over the decades, her disappearance has mystified historians and fans, and fueled numerous conspiracy theorie...

Gilles de Rais: History’s First Serial Killer? Gilles de Rais (c. 1405 – 26 October 1440), Baron de Rais (French: [də ʁɛ]), was a knight and lord from Brittany, Anjou and Poitou, a leader in the French army, and a companion-in-arms of Joan of Arc. He is best known for his reputation and later conviction as a confessed serial killer of children. In 1434 or 1435, he retired from military life, depleted his wealth by staging an extravagant theatrical spectacle of his own composition, and was accused of dabbling in the occult. After 1432, Rais was accused of engaging in a series of child murders, with victims possibly numbering in the hundreds. The killings came to an end in 1440, when a violent dispute with a clergyman led to an ecclesiastical investigation that brought the crimes to light, and attributed them to Rais. At his trial, the parents of missing children in the surrounding area and Rais's own confederates in crime testified against him. He was condemned to death and hanged a...

The lighthouse ghost? If you’ve never visited the St. Augustine Lighthouse, be sure to stop by for a tour when you’re in town. They offer daily tours and some evening and moonlight tours. Make the climb to the top to witness the magnificent view and keep your eyes wide open; you never know who or what you’ll encounter. The Lady of The Lighthouse is a photo that remains unexplained to this day. Located in St. Augustine this lighthouse was reconstructed in 1871. However it has been plagued with a dark past and has seen many tragedies. In one case, two to three girls were killed in an accident near it.  The photo shown captures the ghost of a woman standing by the railing, however the photographer claims that when the photo was taken there was nobody there. That the lighthouse was empty. There have also been reports of hearing laughing , and even seeing, girls within the lighthouse. On top of this, St. Augustine is home to some very well known paranormal sites in the United S...

Kris and Lisanne’s Mysterious hiking Trip Kris and Lisanne went on a hike through the forest in Chirikí province, Panama. The two Dutch girls, were staying with a local family who reported that they left early in the morning of April 1st, 2014. The family, also mentioned that the girls took their dog with them, and they didn't see anything wrong on letting their dog go on a walk with them. Hours later, the family got worried as only the dog returned home. The days passed by and the girls were still missing, the family search the area with the locals and they found no trace of the girls at all. On April 6th, a woman turned in a blue backpack to the police, the backpack was found near the riverbanks while the woman was walking. Inside the backpack, the police found two pairs of sunglasses, $83 in cash, Froon’s passport, a water bottle, two bras, and the two girl’s cellphones. Authorities reported that Kris attempted to call the police several times but the calls never went t...

Brazilian actor, 44, who disappeared in January is found dead inside a wooden truck buried New Delhi: The body of a Brazilian actor who was missing since January this year has been found stuffed inside a wooden trunk buried six feet under the ground in the outhouse of a rented property in the Campo Grande neighbourhood of western Rio de Janeiro. Forty-four-year-old Jefferson Machado was reported missing 27 January by people close to him after a non-governmental agency contacted them and said his eight dogs were left abandoned at his Rio de Janeiro home, according to reports in Brazilian media.  Machado reportedly knew the tenant who is now the prime suspect, they said. However, the tenant has yet to be publicly identified.  Following the recovery of Machado’s body Monday, the Rio de Janeiro State Civil Police released footage Wednesday of nine people, including seven civil police officers, working together to remove the heavy trunk, which Machado’s family lawyer confirmed belo...

Darsh Patel was killed by a 300-pound black bear while hiking in New Jersey Darsh Patel was killed by a 300-pound black bear while hiking in New Jersey. Moments before he was chased and mauled to death, Patel had clicked photos of the beast. These were the last photos he ever clicked. In 2014, Darsh Patel, a 22-year-old student of Rutgers University, went hiking in the Apshawa Preserve in New Jersey with four of his friends. While exploring the 576-acre natural area, the group came across a black bear. They stopped and took pictures of the 300-pound beast with their cell phones. After taking the photos, the group started to walk away, but the bear had noticed them and it started walking towards them. Frightened by the approaching bear, the five friends split up and ran in different directions, but the bear kept chasing them. When the four of them regrouped after some time, they noticed that Patel was missing, and they called the police. Upon arrival, the police searched the ar...