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35 Wild But True Crimes We Can’t Believe Are Real

Some true crimes are stranger than fiction

35 Wild But True Crimes We Can’t Believe Are Real

August 19, 2023

When you imagine crime, it'd be nice if what came to mind was the events of the Ocean's Eleven movies. You know, George Clooney, Brad Pitt and a whole swath of handsome actors in tailored suits performing an elaborate heist to get one over on some evil casino mogul. Unfortunately, the reality of actual crimes is that they’re often sadder, scarier and much stranger. Below are some of the wildest, most unbelievable crimes we could find…

35

Wiping Themselves Out

Springville, Utah The family who wiped themselves out. Benjamin and Kristi Strack were the parents of four, and they struggled with serious mental health issues. For one, they obsessed over the evils of the world, and believed that they had to escape the inevitable apocalypse. They also befriended a convicted killer in prison for some reason. In 2014, the parents killed themselves and three of their kids using a cocktail of lethal drugs. Much of this crime remains a mystery. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Real Crimes Straight Out Of A Horror Movie

34

The Snowtown Murders

Adelaide, Australia The Snowtown Murders MAY ASPAIN In 1999, acid barrels were found in a bank vault containing the remains of eight people. Three men were eventually charged and convicted for the killing of 11 people in total. Some of the bodies were cooked, some of the victims were tortured, and some were killed purely for knowing about the crimes. The perps also tried to claim social security benefits for some of their victims. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Real Crimes Straight Out Of A Horror Movie

33

Roasted Fetuses

Thailand The British man who got caught smuggling roasted fetuses wrapped in gold leaf. Uh, quite the sentence there. When the man was arrested he had six fetuses in his possession as part of a black magic spirit ritual. Не had bought them and was planning on selling them as good-luck charms. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Real Crimes Straight Out Of A Horror Movie

32

"Way too common around the world"

Warrington, England The couple who trafficked people and kept them as slaves A couple in their thirties were caught luring two separate Luthuanians in their fifties to England, only to have them work as slaves without pay and sometimes without any food. They first trafficked a man, who slept in a cupboard under the stairs, and when he managed to escape, they lured a woman who they hardly ever fed. Sadly this kind of crime is way too common around the world. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Real Crimes Straight Out Of A Horror Movie

31

The Burger Chef Murders

Speedway, Indiana The Burger Chef murders Burger-One Barger Cheft One of the strangest cases in the US, the murders of four young employees of the restaurant chain back in 1978 still baffles authorities. The employees were closing up the store around midnight when...something went horribly wrong. Their bodies were found two days later in a wooded area a good stretch away. It seemed like a robbery gone wrong, but the abduction doesn't quite make sense, and the murders even less so. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Real Crimes Straight Out Of A Horror Movie

30

These Lions Were Super Chill

ETHIOPIAN KIDNAPPERS TOOK A 12-YEAR-OLD. THEN THEY RAN INTO A PRIDE OF LIONS. They fled. For half an hour, the lions just kinda ... hung out with the kid, lounging about with seemingly no intention of devouring her. A police sergeant said it seemed as if the lions had left the child unharmed as a gift. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 True Crimes That Seem Impossible

29

Escaping From An Escape Room

RYE WARDLAW BROKE INTO AN ESCAPE ROOM. 59:57 НЕ COULDN'T GET OUT. Apparently he damaged the back doorknob, then couldn't figure out the lock-which was not controlled by a complicated puzzle-on the front door. Не called 911, claiming he was calling from his panic room because his house was being robbed. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 True Crimes That Seem Impossible

28

The Drunk Moose Murder

AGNES WESTLUND WAS BLUDGEONED TO DEATH. POLICE ARRESTED HER HUSBAND. Then forensic analysis came back. She had the hair and saliva of a moose on her. Poor Agnes had been randomly kicked to death by a moose. A drunk moose-the local gardens were strewn with fermented apples. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 True Crimes That Seem Impossible

27

WHEEL! OF! COCAINE!

NORBERT WITTE TRIED TO SHIP A FERRIS WHEEL. ... A FERRIS WHEEL STUFFED WITH COCAINE. He'd bought East Berlin's biggest amusement park and ran it into the ground, winding up $20 million in debt. Unfortunately, he was as careless about smuggling as ride safety, and was easily caught by undercover cops. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 True Crimes That Seem Impossible

26

The Double Frenchmen Steak "Murder"

TWO FRENCHMEN DIED OVER STEAK DINNER. POLICE SUSPECTED FOUL PLAY. Actually, the older man choked to death on a chunk of steak. This could've been fixed by his younger companion, but he was busy dying of a heart attack triggered by the sight of his friend choking. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 True Crimes That Seem Impossible

25

Hunky Sky Pirate

RAFFAELE MINICHIELLO HIJACKED A PLANE. IN THE AIR, НЕ BECAME A MEDIA HERO. Apparently, his hunkiness more than made up for a little sky piracy. Italy refused to extradite him, and the home trial quickly turned into a circus. Girls were swooning on the courthouse steps. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 True Crimes That Seem Impossible

24

Ted Bundy's Suicide Hotline

ANN RULE VOLUNTEERED AT A SUICIDE HOTLINE. SIEMENS TUV WXYZ PORS SHE AND A COLLEAGUE BECAME FAST FRIENDS. A few years later, she was working on a book about unsolved murders. One victim called the killer Ted, and his description matched her old colleague. She tipped off the police, who promptly arrested the man, Ted Bundy. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 True Crimes That Seem Impossible

23

Lacey Spears

Chestnut Ridge, New York The blogger who killed her son and blogged about it Lacey Spears slowly poisoned her kid with salt, and blogged about him falling ill due to natural causes. Doctors believe she has Munchausen by proxy syndrome. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Real Crimes Straight Out Of A Horror Movie

22

The Eriksson Twins

West Midlands, England The Eriksson twins and a suspected shared psychosis Swedish twins Sabina and Ursula Eriksson were visiting the UK in 2008 when something went wrong. They started running into traffic on a highway, claiming that someone wanted to steal their organs. Even though they were both hit by cars, they somehow survived. Ursula went to the hospital with a crushed leg, and Sabina spent the night at the police station, but was released the next morning. She found lodging with a local man, but stabbed him and was seen running down the street, hitting herself with a hammer — Source: 15 Real Crimes Straight Out Of A Horror Movie

21

Scream-Style Movies

Pocatello, Idaho The girl who was murdered by her classmates, Scream-style. Cassie Jo Stoddart was house-sitting when her boyfriend and two of his friends, Brian Draper and Torey Adamcik, came over to watch a movie. Draper and Adamcik didn't stay long, but before they left they unlocked the back door. They cut the lights, Stoddart's boyfriend left, and the two snuck back into the house and up the stairs sporting masks and knives. The boys were obsessed with serial killers, and made videos of their murder before and after the killing. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Real Crimes Straight Out Of A Horror Movie

20

The Missing Minnesota Man

Somewhere in Minnesota The young man who just disappeared. Brandon Swanson (19) was driving home one night when he accidentally drove into a ditch. Не called his parents, unsure of where he was, but said he was following the lights to a nearby town. While on his phone with his dad, he suddenly swore and the call went dead. Не was never seen or heard from again. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Real Crimes Straight Out Of A Horror Movie

19

A Real Mad Pooper

HOLMEDEL HIGH SCHOOL HAD A MAD POOPER. THEY KEPT POOPING ON THE TRACK FIELD. Cops finally caught the culprit right before 6 AM, trousers down. It wasn't a student, but the superintendent of the school district. His choice to do this truly defies logic, especially since it cost him a $150,000 annual salary. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 True Crimes That Seem Impossible

18

Missing Waynesboro Cats

WAYNESBORO CATS KEPT GOING MISSING. ALL WERE RETURNED UNHARMED... ALMOST. The cats all came back shaved. Owners reported that their cats had become understandably suspicious of humans afterward. Residents have said that they can't conclusively point any fingers, but they do have theories. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 True Crimes That Seem Impossible

17

The Ankle Monitor Scheme

QUINCY GREEN WORE AN ANKLE MONITOR. AIRNESS : IT PUT HIM AT HOME AT THE TIME OF A MURDER. But he was the murderer. How'd he get there? Не just took off his prosthetic leg and replaced it with a backup. That's right, the police had attached the bracelet to a prosthetic, removable leg instead of his real one. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 True Crimes That Seem Impossible

16

Missing MOMA Photos

IN 2017, MOMA FOUND TWO PHOTOS MISSING. 12 THEY HAD A COMBINED VALUE OF $105,000. There were no eyewitnesses, no security footage, not a single clue. It was the perfect crime ... for about four days. After that, the photographs were anonymously returned to the museum, completely unscathed. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 True Crimes That Seem Impossible

15

The Krugersdorp Cult

South Africa The Krugersdorp Cult Killings A group of individuals, with Cecile Steyn at the helm, murdered 11 people between 2012 and 2016. They called themselves Electus per Deus (Chosen by God) and they harassed and tortured their victims, notably those from an opposing religious group called Overcomers Through Christ. They also killed for money, and brutally murdered one of their own members who wanted out. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Real Crimes Straight Out Of A Horror Movie

14

The AirBnB Murder

Villa La Mas, Costa Rica The Airbnb murder Reviews of this Airbnb rental called it scary and a nightmare, but Carla Stefaniak decided to stay there for her 36th birthday. She texted her sister-in-law, It's pretty sketchy here, and went missing for a week before her body was found covered in plastic and half-buried. It is believed that a security guard killed her. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Real Crimes Straight Out Of A Horror Movie

13

Head in a Sex Toy Box

Cantabria, Spain Man's decapitated head found in sex toys box. Maria del Carmen's husband went missing, but she claimed he took some money and left on vacation. She asked her neighbor to keep his box of sex toys because she didn't want it in her house. Eight months later, the box was smelling pretty bad, and when the neighbor opened it she found the husband's head inside. The rest of his body is still missing. The man's family said they'd been in contact with him, but he supposedly had a new number and sounded strange, claiming to have dropped his — Source: 15 Real Crimes Straight Out Of A Horror Movie

12

The Lululemon Murder

Bethesda, Maryland The Lululemon Murder, or Murder in a Luxury Yoga Store n lululemon In March of 2011, two employees were found inside the Lululemon Athletica store, one brutally murdered and the other wounded, saying that masked men robbed the store and killed her co-worker. But the survivor, Brittany Norwood, was the actual killer. Apparently caught trying to steal pants from the store, Jayna Murray confronted Norwood, who flew into a rage and bludgeoned, choked and stabbed Murray to death. She then gave herself some wounds, tied her own hands and feet, and lay next to Murray's corpse to be — Source: 15 Real Crimes Straight Out Of A Horror Movie

11

Escaping Prison and Coming Back

JACQUES MESRINE ESCAPED PRISON. THEN НЕ CAME BACK TO FREE ALL HIS FRIENDS. Не was finally captured, but this time they couldn't even hold on to him long enough to sentence him. Не escaped from the courtroom during trial by smuggling a gun into court and holding the judge hostage. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 True Crimes That Seem Impossible

10

Confessing on Your Death Bed... Kind of

JAMES WASHINGTON WAS ABOUT TO DIE. NOTHING TO LOSE, НЕ CONFESSED TO MURDER. Then Washington closed his eyes and... didn't die. Instead he found himself charged, convicted, and slapped with an automatic life sentence for the murder he'd committed 20 years earlier. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 True Crimes That Seem Impossible

9

Using a tank to break out of jail

VASSILLIS PALAIOKOSTAS STOLE A TANK. 11= 826207 НЕ USED IT TO BREAK HIS BROTHER OUT OF JAIL. This capped off a grand criminal career that started with blockading the police station so he could rob a jewelry store while the police failed to escape their own building. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 True Crimes That Seem Impossible

8

Stealing Ones and Zeros

A THIEF KEPT STEALING ADDRESS NUMBERS. 10 THEY ONLY EVER STOLE 1's AND O's. Around Christmas, one resident found a trash bag on their stoop, filled with metal ones and zeroes. There was no note and no reason why the numbers were returned, so the neighborhood was just left with more questions. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 True Crimes That Seem Impossible

7

Off-Duty Cop At the Robbery

AN OFF-DUTY COP WAS KILLED AT A ROBBERY. QUESTIONED, A WITNESS WAS SHOCKED. You know what happened, he told the investigator. You were there! Yes, it turned out the officer, Antoinette Frank, had robbed the restaurant, killed the cop (working as a guard) and several others, then came right back while on duty. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 True Crimes That Seem Impossible

6

Missing Poland Woman

Vistula River, Poland The woman who went missing and ended up as a skin suit Polish student Katarzyna Zowada went missing in 1998. Two months later, a tugboat discovered something floating in a river. It turned out to be some kind of suit made from Zowada's skin. Some of her limbs were also found nearby. A man was arrested for the crime in 2017, but the case hasn't been resolved yet. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Real Crimes Straight Out Of A Horror Movie

5

Cleansing of "Demons"

Tampa, Florida The school teacher who tortured teens by demanding they cleanse themselves of demons Danielle Harkins gathered the kids around a fire one night and told them to cut their skins and let the evil spirits out. They then had to burn their wounds to keep the demons from re-entering in a bizarre and dangerous ritual. The teens were all ethnic Asians, and no one told their parents. A friend of the group found out about it, told his parents, and Harkins was arrested on charges of child abuse. CRACKED.COM — Source: 15 Real Crimes Straight Out Of A Horror Movie

4

Butt Dialing the Police

SCOTT SIMON PICKED A FIGHT IN A PARKING LOT. THEN TOLD BUDDIES TO SHOOT THE OTHER GUY. This came as a great shock to Simon's girlfriend, as well as the police, who were listening from her pocket. She had accidentally butt-dialed them. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 True Crimes That Seem Impossible

3

Someone Else's Blood

DR. SCHNEEBERGER ASSAULTED PATIENTS. BUT HIS DNA WASN'T A MATCH. Then police finally tested his hair instead and got a match. It turned out the doctor had inserted a tube of someone else's blood into his own arm, and he'd used this each time to fool the police with someone else's DNA. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 True Crimes That Seem Impossible

2

The Most Wanted Man in Australia

THE MOST WANTED MAN IN AUSTRALIA: НЕ WAS JOHN DENNING, AND НЕ LOVED FAME. Не went on TV. Не went to a prison art exhibition while the head of the country's prison system was there. Не taped demands to police HQ (he planted his fingerprints on the glass to prove his identity). CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 True Crimes That Seem Impossible

1

Not a Real Cop

GERALD, MISSOURI, HAD A METH PROBLEM. THEN BILL JAKOB CAME TO TOWN. Не said he'd clean things up, and didn't bother with warrants or regular procedure. That's because Jakob wasn't a cop at all, just a borderline delusional loser from Illinois. CRACKED.COM — Source: 20 True Crimes That Seem Impossible

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