Major Crimes and True Crime

Faleh Hassan Almaleki left his country, Iraq, in the mid-1990s and moved to America, where he lived in the Phoenix area of Arizona. Hassan insisted his family follow the tenets of his religion. He called his daughter a rebel for getting Americanized; her lifestyle was his headache. He wanted her to live the life of a typical Muslim woman She was still a child when her father sent her to Iraq to get married to her older cousin in an arranged marriage. She defied his orders, flew back to Arizona in 2008, and got herself a boyfriend. Her father targeted her on October 20, 2009; he hit her with his car in a hit and run incident. She was admitted to the emergency care unit, where she died a few days later. How Noor Faleh Almaleki's Father Took Her Life Nov. 3, 2009— -- An Arizona woman allegedly run over by her Muslim father for becoming "too Westernized" has died. Police in Peoria, Ariz., expect to upgrade the charges against the woman's father, Faleh Hass...

In 1970, Paula Dietz met Dennis Rader when he returned to their home state of Kansas after serving four years in the Air Force. The pair quickly fell in love and got married just over a year later. For the next three decades, Dietz knew Rader as a loving husband, a caring father to their two children, and the president of their church council. But on February 25, 2005, Paula Dietz found out that she never really knew her husband at all. On that fateful day, the FBI suddenly raided the couple's home after arresting Rader — for being the infamous BTK Killer who'd tortured and murdered 10 people between 1974 and 1991. At first, Dietz simply didn't believe that her husband could possibly be responsible for such horrific crimes. But after he soon pled guilty, she immediately cut off all contact with him, filed for an emergency divorce, and fled the area. To this day, Dietz remains out of the public eye, avoiding any association with the ex-husband she had no idea wa...

Judy Malinowski was a cancer survivor who became addicted to painǩillers and turned to heroin after her medical insurance expired. Her boyfriend at the time, Michael Slager, supplied her with the drug and used it as a means of controlling her. On August 2, 2015, Judy and Michael were arguing at a service station in Columbus, Ohio, when he poured fuel on her and set her on fire. 90 percent of her body was burnt, she was just 31. Image: Judy before/after, and Michael In 2016, Michael was sentenced to 11 years in prison for aggravated arson, which Judy felt was a great injustice. She decided to fight for justice and her testimony of the event was recorded on video, in anticipation of her eventual passing. Slager was tried for m̃urdḛr after Judy passed in June 2017. He was sentenced to life in prison after Judy’s testimony was played in court. Making it the first time, a dḛậd person testified in court. Inside the Brutal Story Judy Malinowski Against all odds, Judy Malinowski w...

Thomas Patterson was a 21-year-old antisocial freak who desperately wanted a girl to keep him company. Instead of going the normal route of wooing a woman; he decided to abduct a 13-year-old girl, Jayme Closs. In the early morning of October 15, 2018, Patterson went to the family house of Jayme Closs in Barron, Wisconsin, to abduct her. He shot and killed her parents because he wanted to leave no witnesses. He took her home and kept her as his own, he would force her under his bed whenever he went out. Patterson claimed they just played games together, watched TV, slept in the same bed, had conversations and did a lot of cooking together. There was no sexual assault. The day Jayme escaped, January 10, 2019, Patterson had shoved her under his bed before he left his cabin. As soon as he was gone, she mustered enough courage to run to freedom. Once she was outside, she met someone that conveyed her to safety. Patterson was arrested and sentenced to life in prison. Footnotes: ...

On April 3, 2023, a man called 911 to report a fire in a field in Robinson, Texas. When officers arrived, they discovered an unimaginable scene—a body in a large blue plastic container, burned beyond recognition. At the scene, a white Labradoodle stood nearby, seemingly guarding the remains. As officers approached, the dog barked and refused to leave, leading them to suspect it had a connection to the victim. Image: Mandy Rose, Derek, and the Dog at the scene. The next day, authorities captured the dog and scanned its microchip. It revealed the dog's name—Titan—and identified its owner as 26-year-old Mandy Rose Reynolds of San Marcos, Texas. What investigators uncovered next would lead them to a shocking suspect: Mandy’s own cousin, 29-year-old Derek Daigneault. The events that followed would ultimately end in his conviction and a life sentence. The police body cam footage from the crime scene and more can be seen in this video.  A dog named Titan was quoted as one of ...

In April 2019, 47-year-old Texas woman Holly Barlow-Austin who was on probation for a misdemeanor offence was arrested for violating the terms of her probation. After her arrest, Holly was locked up in a jail cell managed by LaSalle Corrections, a private prison company in Texas. Between April and June, Holly was denied access to every sought of care because LaSalle was trying to cut costs. She needed her prescription medication to be refilled, but they ignored her and stated that she was faking her illness. Image: Holly before the detention(top left), in jail(bottom), and in the hospital(top right) On June 11, the jailers saw that her condition was getting out of hand and then decided to send her to a hospital. At this time, Holly who walked into the jail in good health had gone blind and became paralyzed. They took her to the hospital so that she would not d1e in their care. Sadly, six days later, on June 17, 2019, Holly Barlow-Austin lost her life after doctors tried ef...

This Couple Was Buried Alive Because of $99,000 In July 2005, a retired Florida couple was buried alive by a woman they tried to help. Mr. and Mrs. Reggie Sumner lived in South Carolina before relocating to Jacksonville, Florida, in March 2005. Before they left South Carolina, they were on good terms with Tiffany Ann Cole, the daughter of one of their neighbors. They even sold their car to her at a discounted rate and told her to visit anytime she wanted. In June 2005, about three months after they left South Carolina, Tiffany visited them. Image: Mrs. and Mrs. Reggie Sumner, and the group celebrating after the attack, Tiffany can be seen with money in her mouth. During this visit, they told her they had sold their house in South Carolina and made a $99,000 profit. They were happy to share this with Tiffany, but deep down, she wanted to take that money from the couple. In early July 2005, Tiffany teamed up with three others, and they came to the Sumners' house at night...

Did you know that during World War II, some Italian doctors made up a fake deadly disease to trick the Nazis and save Jewish people? They called it Syndrome K (or Il Morbo di K). It was described as a serious, contagious illness — but it didn’t actually exist. The hospital was called Fatebenefratelli, and it was known as a safe place for Jews, thanks to Professor Giovanni Borromeo. On October 16, 1943, the Catholic hospital opened its doors to Jews looking for shelter. But Borromeo knew that the Nazis might search the hospital. So, he and two other doctors — Vittorio Sacerdoti and Adriano Ossicini — came up with a smart plan. They decided that every Jew who came to the hospital would be listed as a new patient and “diagnosed” with Syndrome K. These patients were then put in quarantine. When the Nazis came to search the hospital, they were told that certain rooms had people with a terrible, highly infectious disease that caused disfigurement. The trick worked. The Nazis stayed away from...

Every year this week, I remember Maximillian Kolbe. Whether you know his story well or not at all, it is always the right time to remember. Father Kolbe was a Catholic priest and Franciscan friar in Poland. During the German occupation, he stayed at Niepokalanów, a monastery with 650 friars. Many Polish refugees and Jews came there for safety, and Kolbe and the friars helped hide, feed, and care for 3,000 people. On February 17, 1941, Kolbe was arrested by the Gestapo for helping Jews. After being held briefly in a harsh Polish prison, he was sent to Auschwitz concentration camp and given prisoner #16670. On June 15, he wrote a letter to his mother: “Dear Mama, At the end of May I was moved to Auschwitz. Everything is fine with me. Do not worry about me or my health. God is everywhere and cares for everything with love.” One month later, three prisoners were said to have escaped. As punishment, the deputy commander of Auschwitz ordered 10 men to be starved to death in a bunker. One of ...

Belarusian boy Gena Muraviev with Polish Halina Gruszczyński, his adoptive mother, around 1947. The outbreak of World War II found 24-year-old Zinaida, her husband Pavel and their five-month-old son Gena in the village of Novka, near Vitebsk, Belarus. The husband was mobilized, but the mother and child remained in the village. In 1943, the Nazis, hunting partisans, organized a raid and captured Zinaida and her son, both of whom were sent to Auschwitz. From that moment on, they were deprived of names and surnames, the Nazis called them only by their tattooed numbers: Zinaida - 62105, Gena - 149850. Zinaida memorized her son's number. Soon after they were moved to different areas and lost contact. When the Soviet troops liberated Auschwitz, only children and very sick prisoners remained there, unable to move to another camp. The Bergen-Belsen concentration camp where Zinaida was held was liberated by Anglo-Canadian troops in April. Sick and exhausted, Zinaida returned to her hometown...

On this day, 84 years ago on August 14th 1941, Polish Catholic Priest Maximilian Kolbe is executed by lethal injection at Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. On February 17th 1941, he was arrested by the  Geheime Staatspolizei  (Gestapo) and imprisoned in the Pawiak prison. On May 25th, he was transferred to Auschwitz I as prisoner #16670. In July 1941, a man from Kolbe’s barracks vanished, prompting  ϟϟ-Hauptsturmführer  Karl Fritzsch, the deputy camp commander, to pick 10 men from the same barracks to be starved to death in Block 13 (notorious for torture) to deter further escape attempt (the man who had disappeared was later found drowned in the camp latrine). One of the selected men, Franciszek Gajowniczek, cried out, lamenting his family, and Kolbe volunteered to take his place. During the time in the cell, he led the men in songs and prayer. After three weeks of dehydration and starvation, only Kolbe and three others were still alive. Finally, he was execute...