Major Crimes and True Crime

On January 31, 1982, a 29-year-old New York medical student named Kathleen McCormack mysteriously vanished without a trace. Her husband, Robert Durst, initially told investigators that he put her on a train at a Westchester County station so she could go back to Manhattan, and then spoke to her on a payphone after she arrived in the city. But his story would later change.⁠   McCormack's family soon grew certain that Durst was behind her disappearance, especially since he had allegedly abused her during their marriage. But despite the suspicions surrounding Durst, this multimillionaire real estate heir wasn't charged in connection with the case. However, 18 years later, Durst's close friend Susan Berman was found murdered "execution-style" in Beverly Hills. And just a year after that, Durst's neighbor Morris Black was found dismembered in Texas. Before long, authorities began to suspect that Durst had killed both Berman and Black to cover his tracks so...

Missing woman found alive in jeep submerged in lake for two days A woman who had been missing for two days has miraculously been found alive inside her Jeep, which was submerged under water. The woman vanished with her vehicle on April 5 and was subsequently listed as a missing person by the Longview Texas Police Department. According to the Marion County Sheriff's Office, however, a local fisherman at Lake o' the Pines reported seeing a black vehicle under the surface around 40 feet from a nearby boat ramp. Deputies responded swiftly and arrived at the scene with a local wrecker service where they discovered "a person was still in the vehicle and moving" as they began the recovery operation. A police press release read: "With the assistance of the wrecker service, fisherman, and Marion County deputies, a female was safely rescued from the submerged jeep." It added that she was then taken to a nearby hospital for treatment by emergency medical servi...

This haunting silhouette was left on the floor of the Haunted Ridges Asylum in Ohio. This belonged to a 54 year old female patient who ran away and went missing for 6 weeks. Sadly she was found dead in an unused ward. She had taken off all of her clothes, neatly folded them, and laid down on the cold concrete where she subsequently died. Through a combination of decomposition and sun exposure, her corpse left a permanent stain on the floor, which is still visible today. Here is the story In full The Athens Lunatic Asylum opened in 1874 and specialized in the treatment of criminally and mentally insane patients. The majority of the original patients were admitted by court order or by their own families. In the early years, “The Ridges,” as it came to be known, was recognized as a calm, peaceful place that benefitted the health of its patients. As the number of patients grew over the years, patient care declined and many new and more invasive therapies such as ice baths, electro...

On 11 August, 2000, 7-year–old Midsi Sanchez was walking from school to her home in Vellejo, California Girl, 8, Escapes From Abductor On 11 August, 2000, 7-year–old Midsi Sanchez was walking from school to her home in Vellejo, California, with her brother. Midsi’s brother was a slow walker so was a bit behind her when she was grabbed by a man and thrown into his car. The man handcuffed Midsi to the gear stick of the car and covered her with a blanket. He drove around with her inside the car for the next two days, giving her nothing to eat or drink except for wine and beer. The man parked his car in an industrial area of Santa Clara, around 70 miles away from where he had kidnapped her. When he got out of the car, he left the keys behind. Midsi jumped into action and grabbed the keys and attempted each key to unlock her handcuffs. Thankfully, she was successful and managed to free herself and climb out of the car window. The man realised what she was doing and chased her. Sh...

The Disturbing Disappearance Of Susan Powell, The Utah Mother Presumed Murdered By Her Husband When Susan Powell vanished in December 2009, police found her phone in husband's car and her blood in their house, but Josh Powell killed himself and their young sons before her disappearance could be solved In December 2009, 28-year-old Susan Powell went missing outside of Salt Lake City and was never seen again. Her husband Josh claimed he was camping with the couple's two young sons on the night she vanished. When police questioned Josh’s four-year-old son, they were told that he really had taken him camping, but that "Mommy and daddy got out and mommy never came back." A few weeks later, their two-year-old son drew a picture at daycare that showed three people in a van — and told workers that "mommy was in the trunk."  Learn more about the chilling disappearance of Susan Powell Susan Powell appeared to have a healthy and wholesome life. A full-time bro...

Daniel Morcombe, The 13-Year-Old Australian Boy Who Was Kidnapped From A Bus Stop On December 7, 2003, 13-year-old Daniel Morcombe of Queensland, Australia, set out for a local shopping center to buy Christmas gifts for his family. When the bus he was supposed to take broke down, he was stranded at the bus stop until a replacement arrived. Witnesses later recalled seeing two men standing near the boy, and by the time the next bus showed up, Daniel was gone. His family quickly reported him missing when he didn't return home that night, sparking the most extensive police search in Queensland history — but it came up empty. For eight years, Daniel's parents continued to fight tirelessly for answers about what had happened to their son. But it wasn't until 2011 that a man named Brett Peter Cowan confessed to kidnapping and killing Daniel on that December day before dumping his body near a remote macadamia farm in the Glass House Mountains. Cowan then led authorities t...

Jaycee Dugard Found After 18 Years, Kidnap Suspect Allegedly Fathered On June 10, 1991, as Jaycee Dugard waited for the bus to take her to school, two strangers grabbed her and pulled her into a car — and then kept her locked up in their backyard shed for 18 years. The couple who had kidnapped her, Phillip and Nancy Garrido, began referring to her as "Allissa," and Phillip Garrido subjected the young girl to an ongoing series of sexual assaults. During her time in captivity, Dugard kept a journal in which she wrote about being afraid, lonely, depressed, and feeling "unloved." "It feels like I'm sinking. I'm afraid I want control of my life," she wrote.  "This is supposed to be my life to do with what I like… but once again he has taken it away. How many times is he allowed to take it away from me?" Learn more about the kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard and how she was finally rescued in August 2009: On June 10, 1991, Jaycee Lee Dugard,...

Former college football player, 19, goes on trial for murdering his 16-year-old cheerleader ex-girlfriend - but he claims it was an accident while he was trying to be a hero When 16-year-old Emma Walker broke up with her 18-year-old boyfriend Riley Gaul in October 2016, her family noted that she was acting like herself again for the first time since their relationship began two years ago. The young couple's time together had been turbulent, with Gaul exhibiting controlling tendencies and sending threatening messages to Walker whenever he was angry. And soon after the breakup, he began resorting to extreme measures to get Walker's attention. One night not long after they split, he washed down a handful of Vicodin with alcohol in a supposed suicide attempt. Then, three weeks after the breakup, Walker began receiving strange messages and phone calls from an unknown number while at a friend's party. The mysterious person on the other end of the line told Walker that t...

16-Year-Old Skylar Neese Was Stabbed To Death By Her Two Best Skylar Neese was a 16-year-old honor student with a bright future. She loved to read, had an active social life and, like most teens, was all about posting her thoughts on social media. She also never missed a day of work at her part-time job at a local Wendy’s. But on July 6, 2012, Skylar Neese snuck out of her bedroom window to meet up with her two best friends, Shelia Eddy and Rachel Shoaf. The teen never returned. Fortunately, social media offered some clues as all three girls were very active on Twitter and Facebook. The afternoon before Skylar Neese disappeared, she tweeted, “sick of being at fucking home. thanks ‘friends’, love hanging out with you all too.” It would later be discovered that the 16-year-old was stabbed to death by her friends because “they didn’t like her anymore.” Now The Story In Details Skylar Annette Neese (February 10, 1996 – July 6, 2012) was an American teenage girl who disappeared from her hom...

The Chilling Crimes Of The Scream Killers, The 16-Year-Olds Who Murdered Their High School Classmate   Torey Adamcik and Brian Draper were classmates at Pocatello High School in Idaho when they became fast friends, bonding over their shared love of film.  The 16-year-old boys especially loved horror movies, and they soon became interested in creating their own films. On September 22, 2006, they brought a camera to school and began recording bits and pieces of their day — but their homemade movie quickly took a disturbing turn.  "Our plan is supposed to happen tonight," Draper said directly to the camera. "If we can get our first kill done and started then we can keep going." The boys had formed a plot to become infamous serial killers along with a "death list" of potential victims. The first person on the list was their friend Cassie Jo Stoddart, who had invited Adamcik and Draper to hang out at her aunt and uncle's home, where she was housesitti...

In 1994, a crew of fishermen in Hawkesbury in Sydney were out trawling for Squid when they came across a terrifying discovery. As they pulled up their nets to bring aboard the first of their morning catch, one of the fishermen noticed something heavy clinging to the net as he pulled it in. What they thought was going to be a decent morning’s work turned into something beyond their worst nightmares. Wrapped up in the net was a human-size solid iron crucifix, and attached was the body of a human. Wires and ropes around the neck and torso, along with the feet and hands, bound the body to the cross to mirror the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. An autopsy revealed that it was the body of a man. Attempts were made to mummify the man either before or after his death. Plastic was poured over his body in a macabre way of preserving him. Identification was almost impossible due to the body being in the water for at least a year, according to the examiners. The welding ...