True Crime: Notorious cases that are stranger than fiction

Currently's true crime blog highlights some of the country's most bizarre and gruesome crimes.


Doctor and crypto entrepreneur who vanished 3 days after proposing to his fiancée found dead in lake from gunshot

May 31, 8:45 pm ET

John Forsyth
John Forsyth

A Missouri ER doctor was found dead of a gunshot wound in an Arkansas lake Tuesday after vanishing earlier this month, as it was revealed that he was once kidnapped under mysterious circumstances, his brother and authorities said.

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Florida teacher, 26, found dead in suspected murder-suicide with her 10-month-old baby crying from a nearby crib

May 30, 8:10 pm ET

Amanda Hicks
Amanda Hicks

Investigators said in a statement that Amanda Hicks “was killed by an adult male who then took his own life.” Police say that Hicks and the unidentified male were “romantically involved.”

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Fugitive already on the run after fatal stabbing of his pregnant cop girlfriend now sought for killing his ex-wife just 2 weeks later

May 30, 8:05 pm ET

Timothy Taylor, 35, disappeared after Theresa Gregg was found dead by her twin daughters on May 13 inside the Brooklyn apartment she shared with the suspect.

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Alabama cold case with mutilated body blows wide open thanks to 'genetic genealogy'

May 30, 12:45 pm ET

Police announced a breakthrough on May 24, identifying the remains as 20-year-old Jefferey Douglas Kimzey of Santa Barbara, California.
Police announced a breakthrough on May 24, identifying the remains as 20-year-old Jefferey Douglas Kimzey of Santa Barbara, California.

More than two decades after a mutilated body was found in the woods of northern Alabama, police have identified the cold-case victim with cutting edge DNA technology.

The headless body, with hands and feet also removed seemingly to prevent identification, was discovered on April 15, 1997.

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Wife of Family Feud contestant issued chilling warning to sister before husband allegedly shot her dead

May 26, 7:45 pm ET

Timothy Bliefnick is currently facing trial in Adam’s County Courthouse in Quincy for the murder of his wife Rebecca “Becky” Bliefnick.
Timothy Bliefnick is currently facing trial in Adam’s County Courthouse in Quincy for the murder of his wife Rebecca “Becky” Bliefnick.

The wife of a man who once appeared on Family Feud was consumed by fears he’d hurt her years before he allegedly shot her dead.

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Texas teenager claims he fatally shot parents, brother and sister 'because they were cannibals'

May 26, 7:40 pm ET

Cesar Olalde
Cesar Olalde

Cesar Olalde, 18, was arrested in the small town of Nash, Texas, after allegedly shooting dead his parents, sister and brother.

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Brian Laundrie’s mom offered to help bury a body in a ‘burn after reading’ letter

May 25, 8:00 pm ET

Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie
Gabby Petito and Brian Laundrie

Gabby Petito’s parents now have a copy of a letter Brian Laundrie’s mother wrote to her son, which included references to getting a shovel and burying a body.

The envelope containing the letter — which is undated — said “burn after reading” and was recovered from Brian Laundrie’s backpack when his remains were found in October 2021.

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Texas woman killed husband with hammer when he gave her divorce papers, police say

May 25, 7:55 pm ET

A 42-year-old woman is in custody in Arlington after she killed her husband by hitting him over the head with a hammer and then called 911.

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Ex-boyfriend charged with rape, murder in death of Oklahoma honors student and high school basketball star

May 24, 5:30 pm ET

Madeline Bills
Madeline Bills

Madeline Bills, a standout on her high school basketball team, was set to graduate with a 4.0 GPA and had signed a letter of intent to play at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College.

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Former Georgia deputy gets life sentence for fatally shooting his married lover after she insulted 'the size of his manhood'

May 24, 5:20 pm ET

Jason Cunningham
Jason Cunningham

Jason Cunningham, 48, fatally shot 37 -year-old Nicole Harrington in the back of the head in a parking garage elevator in downtown Augusta, Georgia, in June 2020, authorities say.

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Rapist's body dug up in West Virginia to solve 1975 murder, rape of Canadian teen

May 23, 6:10 pm ET

Sharron Prior
Sharron Prior

One of Canada’s most famous cold cases has been solved after police exhumed the remains of a convicted West Virginia rapist who had been dead since 1982 and matched his DNA to a murder scene.

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Husband kills himself days after breakthrough in wife’s 25-year-old disappearance

May 23, 6:00 pm ET

Peggy and Jim Sweeten
Peggy and Jim Sweeten

A 79-year-old man whose wife disappeared in 1998 has died by suicide — just as the cold case was getting renewed attention.

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A pregnant woman reported her boyfriend’s abuse. But he wasn’t arrested until after her murder over an abortion.

May 22, 8:50 pm ET

Gabriella Gonzalez
Gabriella Gonzalez

Gabriella Gonzalez filed a report with Dallas Police back in March after her boyfriend choked her and threatened to harm her and her three children.

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A maid was asked to clean up a ‘real mess.’ Then she saw the tarp.

May 22, 8:45 pm ET

The woman went into the bedroom, heard “heaving breathing” and saw a large, blue tarp on the floor, with “something moving” underneath.

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After 46 years, the first victim of America’s most prolific serial killer has finally been identified

May 19, 7:55 pm ET

Samuel Little
Samuel Little

Samuel Little confessed to the murders of 93 women across multiple states between the years of 1970 and 2005, before he died in prison in 2020.

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Utah mom accused of poisoning husband with fentanyl in cocktail took out $2 million in life insurance policies on him

May 19, 7:45 pm ET

A Utah woman who allegedly spiked her husband’s drink with fentanyl and then wrote a children’s book about grief after he died is now accused of secretly taking out nearly $2 million in life insurance policies on him.

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31 extremely dark and shocking true crime stories no one ever seems to talk about

May 19, 7:15 pm ET

No. 1: The 1980 "Amana Ax murders," where a couple, Rose Burkert and Roger Atkison, were murdered in their hotel room after checking in to a Holiday Inn in Amana, Iowa.

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Missing woman's husband — once accused of her murder — blames her for making ‘bad decisions’ during chemo

May 17, 5:20 pm ET

Barry Morphew (left) and Suzanne Morphew
Barry Morphew (left) and Suzanne Morphew

Just over three years since Suzanne Morphew vanished without a trace on Mother’s Day after going on a bike ride, her family has spoken out, slamming authorities for once charging her husband with murder.

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Ex-Navy officer arrested for wife’s murder five months after her dismembered remains were found

May 18, 5:10 pm ET

The remains of 40-year-old writer Mindi Mebane Kassotis were discovered by hunters last December.

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DNA evidence reveals family man in Australia was teenage killer who escaped Nebraska jail

May 16 , 11:45 am ET

William Leslie Arnold
William Leslie Arnold

William Leslie Arnold was just 16 years old in 1958 when he killed his parents and buried them in the backyard after they refused to let him borrow the family car to take his girlfriend to a drive-in movie showing of The Undead.

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A wealthy businessman was gunned down 62 years ago. Police say now they know who did it.

May 16, 11:30 am ET

In 1961, police found wealthy produce merchant Joseph DiMare gunned down in his white Cadillac. The killing stumped detectives for more than six decades.

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'Doomsday mom' Lori Vallow Daybell found guilty of murdering her children and conspiring to kill her husband’s first wife

May 12, 7:17 pm ET

Lori Vallow Daybell
Lori Vallow Daybell

Lori Vallow Daybell, who pleaded not guilty, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and three counts of conspiracy in the 2019 deaths of her children 17-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow, as well as Tammy Daybell, the first wife of her husband Chad Daybell.

She is facing life in prison.

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Minnesota man who beheaded girlfriend in front of onlookers convicted of murder

May 12, 7:05 pm ET

Alexis Saborit, 44, of Shakopee first struck America M. Thayer, 56, with an 8-pound dumbbell and then decapitated her with a machete at a busy intersection on the afternoon of July 28, 2021.

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21 female serial killer stories you shouldn't read late at night

May 11, 7:10 pm ET

Nannie Doss, aka
Nannie Doss, aka "Giggling Granny" and the "Lonely Hearts Killer," who was responsible for the deaths of at least a dozen people between the 1920s and 1950s, including four husbands, two children, and other family members.

These stories prove that the most heinous crimes aren't just the domain of men.

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Woman gets 15 years for killing husband, then calling on daughter's boyfriend to dismember the body

May 11, 7:00 pm ET

An Ohio woman was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison last week for gunning down her husband and then calling on her daughter's boyfriend to help dismember his body.

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Watch: Bikini-clad Lori Vallow, AKA 'Doomsday mom,' is served court papers for her missing kids at a Hawaii resort

May 10, 6:50 pm ET

A newly resurfaced video shows the moment “doomsday cult mom” Lori Vallow was served court orders to produce her children, who had been killed four months earlier, while vacationing at a resort in Hawaii.

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After killing her boarders and burying them in her yard, where is Dorothea Puente now?

May 10, 6:45 pm ET

Dorothea Puente
Dorothea Puente

Plenty of people in the hospitality business get reputations for killing guests with kindness. Dorothea Puente, who ran an unlicensed Sacramento boarding house, became infamous for actually killing residents in the 1980s.

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Utah mom who wrote a children's book about grief after her husband died is now charged with murdering him

May 9, 8:10 pm ET

Kouri Richins and her husband, Eric Richins
Kouri Richins and her husband, Eric Richins

A Utah mother who wrote a children's book about how to cope with grief after her husband's death last year is accused of having poisoned him with a lethal dose of fentanyl after she served him a celebratory Moscow Mule.

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Here are the horrific stories of 27 serial killers who were never caught

May 8, 8:30 pm ET

Carmen Colon is believed to be one of The Alphabet Killer's victims.
Carmen Colon is believed to be one of The Alphabet Killer's victims.

The "Alphabet Killer" is believed to be responsible for the sexual assault and killing of three girls between 1971 and 1973 in Rochester, New York. The victims all had names whose initials were the same letter: Carmen Colón, Wanda Walkowicz, and Michelle Maenza.

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McDonald’s worker lures manager to door, then shoots and kills her

May 8, 8:20 pm ET

A Georgia man is accused of shooting and killing three people, including his manager at McDonald's, state investigators say.

Surveillance video shows Kentavious White, 26, called his manager to the door of a McDonald’s in Moultrie, before shooting and killing her.

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27 extremely dark true crime stories from countries outside the U.S.

May 5, 7:15 pm ET

Paulette Gebara Farah
Paulette Gebara Farah

We recently asked the true crime fans of the BuzzFeed Community around the world to tell us about the most disturbing unsolved case from their countries (outside the United States).

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22-year-old felon nabbed in murder of esthetician on popular Arizona hiking trail

May 5, 7:05 pm ET

Lauren Heike (left) and Zion William Teasley
Lauren Heike (left) and Zion William Teasley

The man accused of murdering a woman as she hiked a popular trail in Phoenix, Arizona, last week has been identified as a 22-year-old felon who was only released from prison on probation in November — and was reportedly fired recently for “being aggressive toward female employees.”

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With his final words, Death Row inmate apologized — and then criticized state of Florida

May 4, 5:00 pm ET

Darryl Barwick
Darryl Barwick

There were no family or friends of Darryl Barwick or his victim, 24-year-old Rebecca Wendt, to witness his execution.

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Oklahoma rapist shot 6 people in the head before killing himself, cops reveal

May 3, 7:10 pm ET

Ivy Webster, Jesse McFadden and Brittany Brewer.
Ivy Webster, Jesse McFadden and Brittany Brewer.

Oklahoma cops confirmed Wednesday that the convicted rapist Jesse McFadden massacred his wife, her three kids, and two teenage girls, revealing that he killed each victim by shooting them in the head before he turned the gun on himself.

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Alex Murdaugh admits he lied about the 2018 ‘trip and fall’ death of the family's housekeeper

May 3, 7:00 pm ET

Convicted killer Alex Murdaugh has made a bombshell confession about the mysterious death of his family’s longtime housekeeper in 2018 – three years before he murdered his wife and son.

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The murder of CashApp founder Bob Lee: How shocking new details turned a tech-industry murder case upside down

May 2, 7:40 pm ET

Bob Lee
Bob Lee

One month after Cash App founder Bob Lee was found stabbed on the streets of San Francisco, his alleged killer will appear in court.

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Search for missing teen Oklahoma girls ends in horrific discovery of 7 bodies

May 1, 7:25 pm ET

Ivy Webster
Ivy Webster

Two teen girls who went missing over the weekend in rural Oklahoma were found dead on Monday afternoon, their bodies discovered alongside a convicted rapist and four others who are yet to be identified.

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Louisiana woman accused of killing boyfriend's 6-year-old daughter, burying her in bucket on mother's lawn

May 1, 7:00 pm ET

Bella Fontenelle
Bella Fontenelle

A Louisiana woman has been arrested on charges of first degree murder and obstruction of justice after she allegedly killed her boyfriend's 6-year-old daughter and buried the remains in a bucket in the girl's mother's front yard, authorities say.

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Man leaves date at restaurant to kill a parking lot scammer — then returns to his date

April 28, 7:15 pm ET

Erick Aguirre
Erick Aguirre

A Texas man who learned he had been scammed out of $40 by a fake parking attendant left his date inside a Houston restaurant, retrieved a gun from his car and allegedly fatally shot the man before returning for dinner.

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1-year-old's body found in dresser in abandoned home

April 28, 7:05 pm ET

Oaklee Snow
Oaklee Snow

With her dead toddler wrapped in a blanket in the back seat, Madison Marshall and her boyfriend, Roan Waters, drove in his Dodge Durango out of Indianapolis until they arrived at a dilapidated house on a hill near Martinsville, Indiana.

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Jealous rival, hitman arrested in Philadelphia teacher's murder while she was in Dunkin' Donuts drive-thru lane

April 27, 8:00 pm ET

Rachel King
The victim, Philadelphia schoolteacher Rachel King,is depicted in this cell phone photo allegedly taken by the killers.

A Pennsylvania woman upset her relationship ended hired a hitman to stalk and kill a romantic rival, and sent the assassin to shoot the woman as she sat in a Dunkin’ drive-thru with her 11-year-old son, prosecutors said.

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Body of beloved neurosurgeon found wrapped in sheet in his attic

April 27, 7:45 pm ET

Dr. Devon Hoover
Dr. Devon Hoover

On Sunday night, police carried out a wellness check at the home of a revered neurosurgeon who had failed to show up at a family party. In the attic of the property belonging to Dr. Devon Hoover in Detroit’s historic Boston-Edison District, officers found a scene of horror.

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Idaho coroner reveals the causes of death for Lori Vallow's children

April 27, 2:10 am ET

A forensic pathologist on Wednesday revealed the causes of death for "cult mom" Lori Vallow's 7-year-old son, J.J. Vallow, and 17-year-old daughter Tylee Ryan.

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Husband who vanished during Uber Eats delivery found dismembered in trash bags

April 25, 11:15 pm ET

Randall Cooke
Randall Cooke

Randall Cooke called his wife on the evening of April 19 to let her know that he was about to complete his last Uber Eats delivery of the day and would be home soon, his wife said.

But Randall Cooke didn't return home that evening.

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Decades-old, notorious ‘killer clown’ case comes to an end with unexpected guilty plea

April 25, 10:45 pm ET

Sheila Keen Warren
Sheila Keen Warren

For almost 33 years, Sheila Keen Warren insisted she wasn’t the murderer who dressed as a clown and shot Marlene Warren in the face on Memorial Day Weekend 1990.

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Chilling internet searches of 'Doomsday cult mom' included looking for life insurance policies for her children

April 25, 2:05 pm ET

Lori Vallow
Lori Vallow

Lori Vallow's ongoing murder trial just revealed that she shopped for life insurance policies for her children two months before they were murdered and buried on her new lover’s property.

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Cause of death revealed for 2-year-old boy who was found in alligator's jaws

April 24, 7:15 pm ET

Taylen Mosley
Taylen Mosley

A 2-year-old boy whose body was found in an alligator's mouth in Florida died of drowning, police said on April 24, citing the county medical examiner.

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Man 'discovers himself' from an episode of 'Unsolved Mysteries,' and 10 other true crime cases with unexpected twists

April 24, 12:05 pm ET

In 2013, David Hilder was found guilty of dismembering his friend David Guy's body. Ultimately, one of the biggest pieces of evidence was that traces of hair from Hilder's cat were found with the body.

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Bloodied Connecticut man drove to police station with girlfriend's corpse to make confession

April 21, 4:45 pm ET

Pedro Grajales
Pedro Grajales

A man covered in blood walked into a Connecticut police station and allegedly confessed to murdering his girlfriend, police said.

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Bodies stack up in Texas city amid fears of serial killer

April 21, 3:30 pm ET

Again and again, men have turned up dead in Austin, Texas', Lady Bird Lake, a stretch of the Colorado River running through the heart of the city, near a popular strip of bars and food trucks on Rainey Street.

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Man allegedly gunned down his parents and their 2 friends days after his release from prison

April 20, 12:45 pm ET

A lone bouquet of flowers marks a desolate makeshift memorial at the end of a driveway in Bowdoin, Maine
A lone bouquet of flowers marks a desolate makeshift memorial at the end of a driveway in Bowdoin, Maine

A 34-year-old man allegedly shot and killed his parents and their two friends at a home in Bowdoin, Maine, days after his release from prison, authorities said.

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2 Iowa teens plead guilty to beating their Spanish teacher to death over a bad grade

April 20, 11:45 am ET

Nearly 18 months after a pair of Fairfield, Iowa, teens bludgeoned a Spanish teacher to death with a baseball bat after a dispute over a bad grade, they pleaded guilty to first-degree murder Tuesday.

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Body of missing woman found strangled after she went on a date with a man she met at Costco

April 18, 7:30 pm ET

Leticia Martinez-Cosman
Leticia Martinez-Cosman

The body of a woman who went missing after attending a Seattle Mariners game with a man she met at Costco has been found in Renton, Washington.

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Bodies of missing Massachusetts men found in storage unit — one of them dismembered

April 18, 6:30 pm ET

The bodies of two men reported missing in April were discovered in a storage facility in Massachusetts, including one who was dismembered, law enforcement announced April 16.

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Woman shot dead in car while in drive-thru at Dunkin' Donuts

April 14, 3:30 pm ET

Miccosukee Indian Reservation Florida Everglades,Service Plaza gas petrol station convenience store,Native American owned business along I-75 interstate highway Alligator Alley,inside interior Dunkin' Donuts counter line queue customers ordering kiosk touch screen
A woman was shot and killed in the drive-thru lane of a Philadelphia-area Dunkin' Donuts in a "targeted murder."

A woman was shot and killed in the drive-thru lane of a Philadelphia-area Dunkin' Donuts on Tuesday in a "targeted murder," all while her young child was in the backseat, authorities said.

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North Carolina mother and three children die in murder-suicide while on FaceTime call

April 13, 11:30 am ET

North Carolina mother and three children die in murder-suicide while on FaceTime call
North Carolina mother and three children die in murder-suicide while on FaceTime call

At the time of the tragedy, 40-year-old Ethel Syretha Steele was reportedly on a FaceTime call, with the person at the other end witnessing the disturbing scene.

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Florida executions: How death row inmates — including the 'ninja killer' — spend their last day

April 13, 9:30 am ET

Louis Gaskin
Louis Gaskin

Convicted murderer Louis Gaskin, 56, also known as the "ninja killer," spent the last 33 years on death row for fatally shooting Robert and Georgette Sturmfels in their home on Dec. 20, 1989. Gaskin was executed on April 12. Here is what occurs on the day of the execution:

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24 serial killers who led double lives and held 'normal' jobs

April 11, 2:45 pm ET

Jeffrey Dahmer, seen here taking a mug shot, worked the night shift at Ambrosia Chocolate Co. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Jeffrey Dahmer, seen here taking a mug shot, worked the night shift at Ambrosia Chocolate Co. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

These killers were able to fool many people around them.

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Doomsday mom’s murders were all about ‘money, power, and sex,’ prosecutors say

April 10, 5:15 pm ET

Lori Vallow
Lori Vallow

After nearly four years and a winding investigation involving doomsday prepping extremism and several suspicious deaths, Idaho mother Lori Vallow stood trial on Monday for the murders of two of her children and plotting to slay her husband’s ex-wife.

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Homeless shelter employee was 'butchered' by resident with an ax: Police

April 7, 12:30 pm ET

Leah Rosin-Pritchard (left), a 36-year-old social worker, was killed with an ax by Zaaina Asra Zakirrah Mahvish-Jammeh, 38.
Leah Rosin-Pritchard (left), a 36-year-old social worker, was killed with an ax by Zaaina Asra Zakirrah Mahvish-Jammeh, 38.

A homeless woman "was wiping blood off of her hands with a paper towel" after she allegedly killed a homeless shelter coordinator with an ax, police said.

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Two kids arrested in baffling triple homicide of Florida teens

April 7, 11:45 am ET

Layla Silvernail and Camille Quarles, both 16, were identified as two of the victims.
Layla Silvernail and Camille Quarles, both 16, were identified as two of the victims.

Another shocking twist emerged in the baffling slayings of three Florida teens — the accused killers were also just kids themselves, Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods revealed in a press conference.

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New video shows some of Cash App founder's final moments after fatal stabbing

April 7, 8:30 am ET

New surveillance video captures Cash App founder Bob Lee moments after he was stabbed on April 4.

Related: Shocking video appears to show onlookers ignore Bob Lee as he begs for help after San Francisco stabbing


Dad trying to have son killed dials wrong number and leaves voicemail

March 30, 2:45 pm ET

An Ohio father was trying to have his adult son killed when he called one of his friends in search for a hitman. But the dad had accidentally dialed the number incorrectly, instead reaching a business in Westlake, Ohio.

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Husband and wife owners of cheese factory are found dead in Wisconsin home

March 22, 10:30 am ET

David Metzig, 72, and Jan Metzig, 71, were found dead March 18 in their Wisconsin home.
David Metzig, 72, and Jan Metzig, 71, were found dead March 18 in their Wisconsin home.

A couple married for nearly 50 years were discovered dead in their Wisconsin home, and police are considering their deaths suspicious.

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Husband of Microsoft exec’s ex-wife charged with his brazen daytime murder in front of his toddler daughter

March 17, 5:30 pm ET

Jared Bridegan
Jared Bridegan

Jared Bridegan was fatally shot in February 2022 as he tried to move a tire in the middle of a quiet residential Florida road while his 2-year-old daughter was still in the car.

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