True Crime thread

MichaelWinicki said:

Spent some time reading up on Stephen Paddock the Las Vegas mass shooter who ended up murdering 60 .

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I sold my house in 2019 to a young man that was at that concert.

His mother told me it's been extremely difficult for him. Large gatherings were simply out of the question, trouble sleeping, guilt -- etc.

Unfortunately a friend that attended the concert with him was faring much worse, having withdrawn from society completely. Very sad.

dreghorn2 said:

I sold my house in 2019 to a young man that was at that concert.

His mother told me it's been extremely difficult for him. Large gatherings were simply out of the question, trouble sleeping, guilt -- etc.

Unfortunately a friend that attended the concert with him was faring much worse, having withdrawn from society completely. Very sad.

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Yeah, I can't imagine going through all that.

I just finished the book "How To Solve A Cold Case" by Michael Arntfield, PH.D.

It may sound technical but it was not.

Very well done and had highlighted several cases I knew nothing about.

If anyone wants it just drop me a PM.

So, I just heard of this. Never heard it before. Someone pointed it out to me.
Years ago, someone called into the Howard stern show claiming to be a serial killer.

link here:

apparently there are some theories on the internet that “Clay” was Russell Ellwood. A man who was convicted of one murder but is a prime suspect in a series of killing around the New Orleans Area. The name given for the serial killer in the area was the Storyville slayer.

However it’s never been confirmed as to who the person that called into the Howard show was, for sure and whether Russell ellwood was the storyville slayer or not.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storyville_Slayer?wprov=sfti1



https://murderpedia.org/male.E/e/ellwood-russell.htm

Ranched said:

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I just started watching Roots, and cringed when OJ's face came up. Glad he only had a short appearance.

Sammy said:

I just started watching Roots, and cringed when OJ's face came up. Glad he only had a short appearance.

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He's living it up in Florida & has many followers on Twitter. Which I will not post by giving his smug face any more publicity. One day he will be on his knees facing his Maker, I hope for his sake, he repented!

Just got done watching "Sins of the Father-The Green River Killer" on Tubi (meaning you can watch it for free).

About an hour and half.

Very good documentary!

I had read the "Green River Killer" book eons ago and had forgotten many of the small details about the case...

I had forgotten that Ted Bundy had gotten involved in the case and gave the police a tip that later proved to be both shocking and true.

Also the police were close to catching him very early in his murder spree– but lax work by the police failed to break the case open at the time.

Included in the documentary were police interviews with both Gary Ridgway's second wife and his son along with interviews with Ridgway's third wife.

30 year-old double murder solved in Wisconsin... And the odd reason the suspect committed the murders...

https://www.yahoo.com/news/double-murder-fueled-tragic-snowmobile-014321214.html

50 plus year old cold case solved through DNA...

https://www.kcra.com/article/oldest-sacramento-county-cold-case-solved/40862241

Nancy Bennallack has long been considered by many to be a victim of the infamous Zodiac Killer. It is unknown at this time if this guy was the Zodiac.

Fritsch_the_cat said:

50 plus year old cold case solved through DNA...

https://www.kcra.com/article/oldest-sacramento-county-cold-case-solved/40862241

Nancy Bennallack has long been considered by many to be a victim of the infamous Zodiac Killer. It is unknown at this time if this guy was the Zodiac.

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Thanks for posting!

Like getting those updates.

When following "true crime" I think it's normal that some crimes are more emotionally bothersome to us than others. This is one of those for me...

I just finished the book "Into The Water" about sexual-killer Richard Marc Evonitz.

The book was published in 2004 and so has been around a while. I resisted reading it for quite a while...

It's the story of 3 young girls who had gone missing in the Spotsylvania, VA area over the Fall of 1996 and Spring of 1997. All would turn up murdered. 2 of the girls were sisters who were abducted in early May 1997.

I'm into the American Civil War and it was coincidental that my family and I were going to the Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania area over Memorial Day weekend in 1997.

Fredericksburg is a lovely city. Lots of quaint down-town shops.

And as we visited shops along the main drag, we came upon posters hanging up for Kristin and Kati Lisk, who had gone missing earlier in the month.

However by the time we were visiting the area, their bodies had been discovered and it was clear they were kidnapped, tortured, murdered and their bodies dumped.

The area was still abuzz about the crime– and the realization that an earlier abduction and body recovery in the fall of 1996 (Sophia Silva) was connected.

There was a serial killer operating in that part of Virginia.

Of course back then the news coverage for horrible, but local crimes like this was limited pretty much that area of the country so I never knew what was going on until we arrived there, saw the posters and heard the locals talking about it.

It scared them.

And that scared me.

I also had my wife and then 10yo daughter in tow so there was that facet to consider also.

Anyway to make a long-story shorter, the crimes were not solved until 2002 when a brave young girl was able to break out of the killer's home in South Carolina (he had abducted her earlier in the day) and alert authorities.

The whole thing ended with Richard Marc Evonitz being cornered in Florida and committing suicide.

I remember hearing about his death on the news and "America's Most Wanted" offered good coverage of the entire saga.

But I never read the book after it came out–until now.

I got a used copy through Amazon–even signed by the author!

It's not long, only about 240 pages and I burned through it over the course of a weekend.

It is a very good book that offers coverage of the crimes from several different vantage points including the killer's family.

Highly suggested reading for those interested in true crime. If you want the book just PM me and I'll send it to you at no cost.

I am glad I finally read it.

MichaelWinicki said:

Thanks for posting!

Like getting those updates.

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This one is particularly interesting because of this guy potentially having been the Zodiac Killer. I'm thinking he wasn't, because even some police thought this murder could be the work of the Zodiac, he supposedly sent letters about it, but I would think surely they looked into that possibility and found nothing. Still, they haven't said he wasn't the Zodiac, as far as I know.

Do you find serial killers scary?

Here's one that may scare you...

Israel Keys.

Keys was a "modern era" serial killer, committing his last murder in February 2012.

He was a rapist, bank robber and arsonist in addition to being a serial killer.

His crimes were not limited to any geographic area. He traveled the country and planted "kill kits" in different parts of the US to be "used" when needed.

Only one body has ever been recovered from his spree. He was an expert at hiding his victims.

He was captured after his last murder... A murder of an 18 year-old girl, whom he killed, "put in storage for a couple weeks while he was on vacation", came back home got the dead girl out of storage (this was February in Alaska) unfroze her body with a blow-dryer, fixed her hair up, applied some make-up and sent a ransom note with her picture to her father–the term psychopath doesn't go far enough to describe Israel Keys.

Below is a long series of podcasts that deal entirely with Israel Keys and his crimes.

It's deep stuff. Maybe the most bothersome podcast I've listened too, but on the flipside it's mesmerizing.

Much of the content comes from the many hours of police interviews done with Keyes prior to his suicide on December 2nd, 2012.

The below podcast is a must-hear for anyone interested in true-crime.

https://open.spotify.com/show/073muZEPrJTiwYvsDplJRp

MichaelWinicki said:

Do you find serial killers scary?

Here's one that may scare you...

Israel Keys.

Keys was a "modern era" serial killer, committing his last murder in February 2012.

He was a rapist, bank robber and arsonist in addition to being a serial killer.

His crimes were not limited to any geographic area. He traveled the country and planted "kill kits" in different parts of the US to be "used" when needed.

Only one body has ever been recovered from his spree. He was an expert at hiding his victims.

He was captured after his last murder... A murder of an 18 year-old girl, whom he killed, "put in storage for a couple weeks while he was on vacation", came back home got the dead girl out of storage (this was February in Alaska) unfroze her body with a blow-dryer, fixed her hair up, applied some make-up and sent a ransom note with her picture to her father–the term psychopath doesn't go far enough to describe Israel Keys.

Below is a long series of podcasts that deal entirely with Israel Keys and his crimes.

It's deep stuff. Maybe the most bothersome podcast I've listened too, but on the flipside it's mesmerizing.

Much of the content comes from the many hours of police interviews done with Keyes prior to his suicide on December 2nd, 2012.

The below podcast is a must-hear for anyone interested in true-crime.

https://open.spotify.com/show/073muZEPrJTiwYvsDplJRp

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Ah yes, I believe I have heard of this serial killer. Once you said he thawed the body and sent ransom notes, it rung a bell that I had seen something about it. I'll have to check out the podcast.

Another podcast and another discussion about JonBenét Ramsey.

Not long ago I came across a new podcast (to me) called The Prosecutors.

It's a true crime podcast where two prosecuting attorneys review various true crimes.

They did a multi-part podcast on Ramsey case.

And while it probably will not change your mind they thoroughly review all the evidence. In addition they've read several of the books on the topic and comment freely on them.

Anyway if you want a somewhat open-minded view of the case give it a listen. In addition they cover many other cases...

I can't post a link, but do a Google search for "The Prosecutors podcast" and you'll find it.

About halfway through Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story on Netflix. Even though I'm mostly familiar with his backstory, it's interesting to see it being played out on screen. He was one messed up individual.

SlammedZero said:

About halfway through Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story on Netflix. Even though I'm mostly familiar with his backstory, it's interesting to see it being played out on screen. He was one messed up individual.

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I started watching but I'm finding it too disturbing so far after 1.5 episodes. More than anything it speaks to how messed up he was and the quality of the depiction on the show. I actually got nauseous at one point, which tells me they are doing a good job telling this horror.

Crazed Liotta Eyes said:

I started watching but I'm finding it too disturbing so far after 1.5 episodes. More than anything it speaks to how messed up he was and the quality of the depiction on the show. I actually got nauseous at one point, which tells me they are doing a good job telling this horror.

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He was that.

In some circles there are some that believe Dahmer was responsible for the Adam Walsh kidnapping and murder–That one I don't believe. That young a child just not a Dahmer M.O. I still believe it was Otis Toole.

Crazed Liotta Eyes said:

I started watching but I'm finding it too disturbing so far after 1.5 episodes. More than anything it speaks to how messed up he was and the quality of the depiction on the show. I actually got nauseous at one point, which tells me they are doing a good job telling this horror.

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Indeed he was. Personally I’m glad he got his while in prison.