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On the night of October 3, 2002, Gwen Amber Rose Araujo, a transgender teen from California attended a party at a home rented by Jose and Paul Merel. Michael Magidson, Jason Nabors, Jason Cazares, Emmanuel Merel, and Nicole Brown were all present at the party. Upon learning that Gwen was biologically born a male, the men became irate that they had engaged in sexual acts with her previously. This led to a brutal attack on Gwen which ultimately caused her death. Gwen's case paved the way for important legislation being passed in California which aims to eradicate the use of the gay/trans panic defense in court cases.
Sources
The San Francisco Standard (2022)
Wikipedia
Gender Public Advocacy Coalition (2003)
SF Gate (2003)
SF Gate (2005)
SF Gate (2005)
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Just before 7 AM on August 9, 2003, the Kleberg County Sheriff's office in Texas received a 9-1-1 from a man saying he had been shot. When police arrived at the scene of the man's home, they realized the victim was one of their own, Albert Benitez, a former police officer and border patrol officer who now spent his time training young police officers. He had been shot six times and his girlfriend, Elizabeth Reynolds had been kidnapped and taken away in Al's stolen car by the perpetrator.
As details of the case came to light and another crime almost took Al's life once again, it began to become clear who really wanted to Al Benitez dead.
Sources
Murder Calls- Season 1 Episode 5- Death at the Door (info and audio source)
Justia-ELIZABETH REYNOLDS v. THE STATE OF TEXAS--Appeal from 105th District Court of Kleberg County
Snapped- Season 6 Episode 5-Elizabeth Reynolds -
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15-month-old Evelyn Boswell was reported missing by her maternal grandfather, Tommy Boswell, Sr. in February of 2020. He stated he had not seen Evelyn since November of 2019. An Amber alert was issued on February 19, 2020. Other accounts say she had been missing since December 10-11 of 2019 which is the last time her babysitter had seen her. Her mother, 18-year-old, Megan Boswell had made a series of contradictory statements to police and the media regarding the whereabouts of her daughter.
Megan was later arrested for false reporting, and while in custody, police located the remains of missing Evelyn Boswell on the Boswell property on March 6, 2020. The investigation was far from over as detectives had to sift through the tangled web of lies spun by Megan to determine what really happened to little Evelyn.
Sources:
USA Today (2020)
WVLTV 8 (2020)
Knox News (2022)
Tennessee Lookout (2022)
Oxygen (2022)
People (2022)
WJHL 11 (2022)
WJHL 11 (2022)
Audio
WATE 6 On Your Side (YouTube) | Press Conference: Sullivan Co. Sheriff, TBI hold media briefing re. Evelyn Boswell case March 6, 2020.
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On the morning of May 26, 1990, 40-year-old Marlene Warren was preparing breakfast for her son and his friends when she heard the door bell ring. Upon answering the door, she was greeted by a person dressed in a clown costume holding two foil balloons and a basket of carnations for her. When she reached for the gifts, the clown shot Marlene in the face and fled in their white Chrysler LeBaron. For 27 years, Marlene's case remained unsolved, despite having obvious suspects. With the advancements in DNA technology, Marlene's killer finally faced justice in 2017.
Sources
CBS News (2023)
CBS News (2023)
Chilling Crimes (2021)
WPTV (2017)
The US Sun (2023)
Killer Queens Podcast
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During 1989, three unrelated African American baby boys went missing under mysterious circumstances from New York. Andre Bryant, a one month old baby boy disappeared from Brooklyn, and his mother, Monique Rivera was found murdered the next day. He has never been located.
Christopher Dansby, a 2-year-old baby boy went missing from a park located near the Martin Luther King, Jr. apartment complex in May 1989.
Three months after Christopher went missing, 18-month-old Shane Walker went missing from this same park under eerily similar circumstances.
Sources
International Missing Persons Wiki
The Charley Project
Uncovered
Unsolved Mysteries Wiki
Uncovered
Unsolved Mysteries Wiki
Uncovered
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In 2016, John Coltharp and his best friend founded a doomsday cult loosely based on the teachings of the FLDS. It is important to note that the FLDS had no idea about this cult nor did it condone their behavior.
In September of 2017, John’s estranged wife, Micha Coltharp went to the Utah police department to report that John had taken their children and she could not locate him nor contact him. Thinking this would be a routine domestic dispute that could easily be resolved, police started to investigate but what they discovered was far worse than they initially imagined as the children along with John Coltharp, his parents Catherine and Keith Coltharp, and his second-in-command in the cult, Samuel Shaffer had packed up and left to create a commune in the deserts of Lund, Utah. -
Drama is a normal part of the teenage years, but sometimes, this drama is taken too far.
On July 5, 2012, 16-year-old Skylar Neese snuck out of her Morgantown, West Virginia home to go joyriding with her two "best friends", Shelia Eddy and Rachel Shoaf, but these two girls had other plans for how the night would unfold.
After six long months of searching for Skylar ever since she snuck out in July, her remains were located in a wooded area in Greene County, Pennsylvania after Rachel Shoaf had a breakdown and confessed to the gruesome crime her and Shelia had committed.
Sources
Tuko (2022)
Sportskeeda (2023)
Unilad (2022)
Ranker (2021)
All That's Interesting (2023)
Dateline NBC: Season 22 Episode 25: Something Wicked (2014)
Audio
WBOY 12 News-One of Skylar Neese's killers denied parole (May 9, 2023)
Blue Light Diaries-Betrayed: The Tragic Fate of Skylar Neese
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On February 23, 2022 dispatchers in Green Bay Wisconsin received a 911 call at 3:28 AM from a woman and her boyfriend who had just discovered her 24-year-old son, Shad Thyrion’s severed head in a bucket at the bottom of their basement stairs. The woman was awakened by noises of her front door slamming and what she thought was a running car in her driveway. Upon waking, she noticed the basement light on and went to investigate. This is when she made the gruesome discovery. The last person known to have contact with Shad was 24-year-old, Taylor Schabusiness (Coronado).
Sources
CourtTV (2023)
AP News (2023)
New York Post (2023)
News Week (2023)
Document Cloud- Taylor Denise Schabusiness Criminal Complaint (2022)
Law&Crime Network: 'Is This Blood?' Bodycam shows Arrest of Taylor Schabusiness After Lover's Murder-Video (2023)
Audio
Law&Crime Network-'Fake Head or Something?': Mother Dials 911 After Finding Son's Severed Head- Video (2023)
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In November of 2016, the Guy parents had announced they sold their home in Knoxville, Tennessee to retire and move to Joel Sr.'s late mother's home in Surgoinsville, TN. They were holding their last family dinner at their home on Thanksgiving where the entire family would be attending before they all looked forward to having Christmas dinner in Joel and Lisa's new home. Their son, Joel Guy, Jr. had attended this dinner. He had been financially reliant on his parents, never having a job but living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 600 miles from his parents' home for the past decade. When he found out he was to be financially cut-off by his parents after their retirement, rage ensued and the most gruesome crime scene was left in his parents' home that the officers on the case had ever seen.
Sources
Medium (2021)
The Crime Wire (2023)
Criminal (2021)
Knoxville News Sentinel (2023)
All That's Interesting (2022)
Audio:
YouTube- Law and Crime Network (2020): Joel Guy Jr Trial- Proffer of Victims' Family Members-Family Members Testify, 911 Call is Played
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On August 15, 1975, 8-year-old Gretchen Harrington set out alone to walk to the Trinity Christian Reformed Church for vacation bible school which was only 3/4 of a mile from her home in the suburb of Broomall in Pennsylvania when she was kidnapped. 2 months later, her body was found in Ridley Creek State Park 2 1/2 miles from where she was last seen. She had been the victim of a homicide with her cause of death being blunt force injuries to her head. Her murderer eluded police for almost 50 years, until 2023 when he was finally caught.
Sources:
Websleuths (2023)
Newsweek (2023)
The Philadelphia Inquirer (2023)
Philly Magazine (2023)
11 Alive (2023)
Books
Marple's Gretchen Harrington Tragedy: Kindapping, Murder, and Innocence Lost in Suburban Philadelphia by Joanne Falcone Sullivan and Mike Mathis (2022)
Audio
11Alive- Marietta man accused in 1975 Pennsylvania child murder| Police news conference (YouTube, 2023)
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On June 22, 1979, English teacher, Susan Reinert and her two children, 11-year-old Karen and 10-year-old Michael set out to brave a hailstorm to take a trip for the weekend to Allentown, Pennsylvania where she would be holding a presentation for a group she was a member of. Her battered and naked body was found three days later in the trunk of her orange hatchback in a parking lot in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania which was 90 miles from her home. William Bradfield and Jay C. Smith, fellow employees of Susan were suspects due to a tangled web of stories created by Bradfield to his circle of friends. Bradfield had been a lover of Susan's and Jay C. Smith was the principal of the school they all worked at, who somehow got roped into the murder story by Bradfield.
The trials set out to untangle the chaotic web created by Bradfield and find the real murder (s) and locate the children, but the bodies of Susan's children, Karen and Michael have never been found.
Sources
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19-year-old Miranda Barbour was a troubled girl who had a dark past including abuse as a toddler, drug abuse, and satanic cult involvement who seemingly had turned her life around when she moved to North Carolina with her uncle in 2012. She gave birth to a baby girl, got a job, and even began taking college courses, until she met 21-year-old Elytte Barbour. He and Miranda left their lives in North Carolina and moved to Sunbury, Pennsylvania where they made ends meet with the money Miranda earned on Craigslist for providing companionship to lonely men. On November 1, 2013, 42-year-old Troy LaFerrara replied to Miranda Barbour's Craigslist ad claiming she would provide 'companionship' to men for a fee. What he didn't know was that Miranda and her husband, Elytte had been planning to murder someone they met on Craiglist, as they thought the murder would "bring them closer together."
With claims she had murdered 21 others, and did so because they were "bad people who didn't deserve to be here, anymore," she has been deemed the "Craiglist Killer" and "Dexter Killer" but none of these claims have been verified aside from the murder of Troy LaFerrara.
Sources:
Pennlive (2014)
Murderpedia
Ranker (2021)
NY Post
The Daily Item (2018)
The Cinemaholic (2023)
The Daily Item (2018)
Audio
YouTube- DailyItemVideo- Miranda Barbour records message for her mother
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On July 13, 2023, 25-year-old Carlethia Nicole Russell, or simply, Carlee Russell was driving on Interstate 459 when she stopped her red Mercedes Benz along the highway to phone 9-1-1 to report a toddler walking along the highway with only a white t-shirt and diaper on. She placed the call around 9:34 P.M. and this was the last she was seen or heard from for the next 49 hours. A huge search for her went underway involving the use of police helicopters, drones, and volunteers from all over. A vigil was also held for those who wanted to gather and pray for her safe return. Residents of Birmingham feared that someone was using their child as "bait" to lure victims to be kidnapped, and they wanted the kidnappers caught as soon as possible. On Saturday night, July 15th, Carlee returned home to her parents' yard, and soon, the details of her kidnapping unraveled, and it isn't what anyone expected. For those who invested their time and energy into Carlee's case, this was a crushing blow and the ultimate blindside.
Sources
E-Online (2023)
People (2023)
TMZ (2023)
WDSU (2023)
NPR (2023)
WVTM (2023)
NPR (2023)
Audio
NBC News- Alabama police announce charges in Carlee Russell kidnapping hoax (2023)
ABC 33/40- Carlee Russell 911 call-released from Hoover PD (2023)
11Alive- Police read full statement from Carlee Russell's attorney regarding her disappearance (2023)
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In November of 2020, 31-year-old Nicole "Niki" Perry and her fiance, Randall Fulghum were living in a small, crowded, garage on the 300 block of West Harlan Avenue in San Antonio, Texas that had been turned into a makeshift home for transients owned by "Gizmo" and his girlfriend, Vanessa Vargas. This location was a known drug house and had been the site of several drug busts in the past. Niki had been known to be "mouthy" and could be rude at times, and during this particular time period, she had been struggling to cope with the recent death of her father when an argument ensued between her and her fiance in front of 26-year-old known Texas Mexican gang member, Rafael Castillo. What Castillo did to "quell" Niki's "disrespect" is monstrous and will never be forgotten by those who witnessed it.
Sources:
Medium (2022)
The Sun (2020)
KSAT (2022)
Audio
KSAT 12- The Gruesome Murder of Nicole Perry: South Texas Crime Stories
KSAT 12- 'I saw it all': More eyewitness testimony in trial of man accused of brutal murder
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On October 24, 2021, 15-year-old Jordan Lee called 9-1-1 to report that he and his two brothers had been abandoned in an apartment in Green Crest, Harris County, Texas by their mother and her boyfriend, being left to fend for themselves and live with the decomposing body of their brother for almost a year. While the boys' mother and her boyfriend were enjoying life on social media, the boys were living a nightmare that no one knew about.
Sources
The Daily Beast (2021)
ABC7 Chicago (2021)
Fox23 (2021)
Fox23
ABC7 (2021)
ABC7 (2021)
Click2Houston (2022)
ABC30 (2022)
ABC13 (2021)
hsinvisiblechildren.org (2021)
NY Post (2021)
Audio
ABC News (2021)- New 'house of horrors' details where boy was found dead- YouTube
KHOU 11 News (2021)- 'Absolute fear' |Horrific, heartbreaking new details in case where kids were found living alone with dead sibling-YouTube
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A kind and beautiful, Hannah Clarke, met former New Zealand Rugby player, Rowan Baxter, in 2008 when she was just 19-years-old and he, 30-years old. The pair fell in love and were married in 2012, and then came the arrival of their three beautiful children, Aaliyah, Laianah, and Trey Baxter. Their relationship; however, was not a normal, loving relationship as Rowan had severe issues with verbally, mentally, emotionally, and even on a few occasions, physically abusing Hannah and the children. Rowan had to have control of every aspect of Hannah's life, and eventually, she became exhausted by this and decided to leave with the children, moving back into her parents' home but fearing Rowan was going to eventually end up killing her. She had even asked her mom how to obtain a will and told her friends "I know in my heart he's going to kill me."
On February 19, 2020, Rowan enacted a devastating plan to end the lives of Hannah, his three children, and himself on a suburban street in Queensland, Australia.
Sources:
7 News (2022)
News.com.au (2022)
Daily Mail (2022)
Daily Mail (2022)
The Guardian (2022)
Abigail Boyd
Queensland Courts (Coroners Court of Queensland Findings of Inquest)
Newstalks
Hannah Clarke's Brother Speaks about her murder (ABC News Video)
Audio
Mother fights for her life after man, 3 children die in deliberate car fire in Brisbane- ABC News Australia
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On July 5, 1995, a citizen of Wayne City, Illinois called to report a mid 1980s, green Oldsmobile had been submerged nose-deep in a local pond. Police went to investigate and discovered a bloody scene. Blood had been smeared on one of the car's tail lights and filled the floor pans. A piece of wooden furring was holding the accelerator pedal and bloody hand prints were found inside the trunk along with .32 caliber shell casings. Meanwhile, 38-year-old Sue and her 13-year-old daughter Melinda Marshel had been missing, with their family highly worried as they had not shown up to the family's annual July 4th celebration. While Sue had pending Cocaine possession charges and was working with the police to catch a drug dealer, her family did not believe this was the cause for her disappearance.
Sue had five ex-husbands, and police began interviewing them when her most recent ex-husband, Niels Nielsen was swiftly identified as being a person of interest due to his lies, odd demeanor, and previous convictions. On July 6th, fishermen found a floating duffel bag containing the charred remains of Sue and Melinda in a pond just one mile from where Sue's submerged car had been located. The search for further evidence to connect Niels to their murders and concealment was on.
Sources
Case Text
The Midwest Crime Files
Oxygen (2023)
Oxygen: Homicide for the Holidays Season 5 Episode 2
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On July 3, 2012, a group of students vacationing on Portsmouth Beach in Southsea, England discovered something wrapped in a pink shower curtain and trash bags on the rocks of the beach. It was determined that the item in question was the dismembered torso of 30-year-old David Guy. Three days later, David's pelvis and legs were also located on the beach. On July 8, 2012, a confused, disheveled, and dirty 47-year-old David Hilder appeared at a police station claiming he thinks he had killed someone. After all, David Hilder had been in a rocky, violent friendship with David Guy. This case was solved in an unexpected way with the aid of a few small cat hairs found on the shower curtain that contained Guy's torso.
Sources
Portsmouth (The News) (2023)
Fargo North HS
BBC (2013)
Jim Fisher True Crime (2022)
BBC (2013)
BBC (2013)
Nurofen
Audio
Daily Motion- The News Portsmouth (2023)
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In 2000, Jin Chen and his wife, Hai Yan Li moved to a suburb in Albany, New York known as Guilderland from Houjo, Fujian province off the southeastern coast of mainland China. In New York, Jin was given a job at his relatives' restaurant, The King's Wok. The Chens decided to start a family in 2004, with the birth of their first son, Anthony, and then a second son, Edward (Eddy) in 2007. On Thursday, October 5, 2014, Jin did not show up for work and had not called to say he was not coming in. When coworkers and relatives went to check on Jin and his family, they discovered all four family members had been murdered. Language barriers and fears from community members have made this case difficult to investigate, and almost 700 leads have lead investigators to the Chinese mafia and human trafficking rings, but the case remains unsolved.
Two other cases have been thought to be related to the murders of the Chen family, the case involving the murder of three Chinese family members in 2011 in D'Iberville, Mississippi and a case in 2014 involving the murder of four Chinese family members in Harris County, Texas. The D'Iberville case has yet to be solved, but the case in Texas has since been solved and is said to be unrelated.
Sources
Nola (2015)
A&E (2022)
CBS 6 Albany (2019)
CBS News (2022)
ABC 13 News (2022)
Tuscaloosa News (2019) -
Junko Furuta, a 17-year-old student living in Misato, Saitama Prefecture, Japan was beautiful, popular, and a great student who her friends endearingly called 'Jun-Chan'. Junko did not smoke, drink, or participate in any "bad teenage behavior" which is why she was often called a good girl. Her beauty and kindness unfortunately caught the eye of the school bully, 18-year-old Hiroshi Miyano. When Hiroshi asked Junko on a date, she politely declined, and did not realize this would ultimately lead to her final 44 days of life involving the most horrendous, inhumane torture. Hiroshi and his friend, Nobuharu Minato devised a plan to kidnap Junko as she was biking home from work. They captured her, and four friends (Hiroshi Miyano, Nobuharu Minato, Jo Ogura, and Yasushi Watanabe) held her hostage for 44 days at Minato's parents' vacation home before finally being murdered. The suffering Junko endured at the hands of these four boys and others was so cruel that it's hard to fathom how four teenage boys, let alone any monster, could dream up and enact such a plan.
Sources
Medium (2021)
How Stuff Works (2023)
The Cinemaholic (2023)
Tokyo Reporter (2018)
Film Daily (2020)
Film Daily (2022)
All That's Interesting (2022)
The Scare Chamber
Wikipedia
Audio
Junko Furuta on the news (in the memory of junko furuta)- Youtube - Se mer
