Top 5 Craziest True Crime Stories
Here is my list of 5 of the craziest true crime stories I have read about. How many of these have you heard about? Lets dive right in...
Before I get into the top 5 I just want to mention there are thousands of crazy true crime cases so if I miss one or two of the crazy ones cut me some slack. Okay lets get going, enjoy!
5. William Felix Vail
William Felix Vail is a former American riverboat captain who gained national attention for his involvement in multiple suspicious deaths spanning several decades. Born on November 21, 1939 Vail's life was very controversial.
Early Life and Background
Felix Vail was raised in Montpelier, Mississippi. His early life was relatively unremarkable and he eventually became a riverboat captain, a profession that would later become a part of his dark legacy.
The Disappearance of Mary Horton Vail
Vail's first known involvement in a suspicious death occurred in 1962.
He married Mary Horton Vail who was a young and vibrant woman. Less than a year into their marriage Mary died under mysterious circumstances during a fishing trip on the Calcasieu River in Louisiana.
Felix claimed that she had fallen out of the boat and drowned, but the circumstances of her death raised many questions. An autopsy revealed a bruise on her head leading to speculation that she might have been struck before she drowned. Despite these suspicions the case was ruled an accidental drowning, and Vail faced no charges.
The Disappearance of Sharon Hensley
In the early 1970s Vail began a relationship with Sharon Hensley. The couple lived a nomadic lifestyle, traveling around the United States.
In 1973 Hensley vanished without a trace. Vail claimed that she had left him to join a religious group but her family never heard from her again. Her disappearance remained a cold case for decades.
The Disappearance of Annette Craver
Vail's next known relationship was with Annette Craver, a young woman nearly thirty years his age. They married in 1981 and shortly after Annette vanished.
Felix claimed she had left him to travel to Mexico, but like Sharon Hensley, she was never heard from again.
Annette's family suspected foul play but no charges were brought against Vail at the time.
Investigation and Arrest
For many years these cases remained unsolved and Vail continued to live his life relatively undisturbed.
However, in the early 2010s, journalist Jerry Mitchell of the Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Mississippi, began investigating the cold cases.
His research along with pressure from the families of the missing women led to renewed interest in Felix Vail.
In 2013 Vail was arrested and charged with the murder of Mary Horton Vail more than fifty years after her death.
This was a significant development, as it marked the oldest prosecution of a suspected serial killer in U.S. history at the time.
Trial and Conviction
Felix Vail's trial began in 2016. Prosecutors presented evidence suggesting that Vail had a history of abusive and manipulative behavior towards women.
They argued that he had killed Mary Horton Vail and was likely responsible for the disappearances of Sharon Hensley and Annette Craver.
The jury found Vail guilty of Mary's murder and he was sentenced to life in prison.
4. Trevaline Evans
Trevaline Evans was a Welsh woman who disappeared under mysterious circumstances in June 1990. Her case remains one of the most baffling unsolved disappearances in the United Kingdom.
Background
Trevaline Evans was born on April 30, 1937. At the time of her disappearance she was 52 years old, married to Richard Evans, and had a son named Mark.
She lived in Llangollen a small town in Denbighshire, North Wales. Trevaline and her husband ran a small antique shop on Church Street in Llangollen.
Disappearance
On Saturday, June 16, 1990 Trevaline Evans opened her antique shop as usual. She was seen by several witnesses that morning and early afternoon conducting business normally.
Around 12:40 PM Trevaline placed a sign on the door of her shop that read, "Back in 2 minutes," and left the shop.
She was seen walking towards the town center but she never returned to the shop. Her car was left parked near the shop and her personal belongings including her handbag and keys, were left inside.
Investigation
The initial investigation into Trevaline's disappearance was extensive. The police interviewed numerous witnesses who had seen her on the day she vanished.
Several people reported seeing her walking around town but there were no confirmed sightings after she left the shop. Her husband, Richard Evans, was initially a suspect but was later cleared of any involvement after a thorough investigation.
Key Points of Investigation:
1. Witness Accounts: Several witnesses claimed to have seen Trevaline walking in different parts of Llangollen on the day she disappeared. However, none of these sightings provided any substantial leads.
2. Search Efforts: Extensive searches were conducted in and around Llangollen, including the River Dee, but no trace of Trevaline was found. Divers and search dogs were used and appeals were made to the public for information.
3. Personal Life: The investigation looked into Trevaline's personal life but no evidence was found to suggest that she had any reason to disappear voluntarily. She was described as a content and happy individual with no known issues that would lead her to leave her life behind.
Theories and Speculation
Over the years several theories have been proposed to explain Trevaline's disappearance:
1. Voluntary Disappearance: Some speculate that Trevaline may have chosen to disappear voluntarily perhaps due to personal reasons that were unknown to her family and friends. However this theory is widely disputed given the lack of evidence and her seemingly happy life.
2. Abduction: Another theory is that Trevaline was abducted. Given the lack of evidence of a struggle and no witnesses to any such event this also seems hard to believe. But this or foul play seems most likely.
3. Foul Play: Some believe that Trevaline may have been the victim of foul play, possibly by someone she knew. However no evidence has been found to support this theory.
Trevaline Evans' disappearance remains an open case with periodic reviews by North Wales Police.
Her family continues to hope for answers and appeals for information are still made occasionally. Despite the passage of time, the mystery of what happened to Trevaline Evans still remains.
3. Oakey Albert Kite
In 1998, Al took a position with Stone & Webster in Colorado, moving to Aurora, a town on the outskirts of Denver, because of his love for the outdoors. His new house was 2002 South Helena Street, between Cherry Creek State Park and Buckley Air Force base, near Interstate 225.
The house itself was a a two-story townhouse, which had a lot of room inside. Al often commented that it was too much room for a bachelor who preferred to spend his time hiking
At some point in the early 2000's, he decided to turn the finished basement into a standalone apartment. Doing so would allow him to help pay the mortgage, while also filling up some space that he wasn't using, and keep the bachelor company.
One man responded to Al's advertisements for a roommate on May 19th, 2004. Robert Cooper was the name of the man, and as Al told Linda about his new potential tenant, Robert Cooper had just moved from the East Coast, and was taking a job at Wells Fargo, and temporarily living with his sister in the area.
Linda never met Robert Cooper. They were in the house together for a brief moment, while Robert was signing some forms with Al before she went out with Al, but she had to use the restroom, and before she came out, Robert Cooper had found an excuse to leave.
Still she could see that he was dressed very well in a nice pair of pants and suit. Based on her conversations with Al, as well as the brief glimpses she caught of Robert cooper, she described him as being in his 40's, around 5'8-5'10, approximately 180 pounds, and had dark, somewhat wavy hair. His most distinctive characteristic was that he walked with a limp, and had to use a cane to stabilize himself.
Nonetheless, Al was eager to get his room rented out, and the pair quickly agreed on a security deposit, that Robert Cooper would pay 1/2 of the month's rent, and move in ASAP.
THE MURDER
Down in the basement, the responding officers found the body of Al lying facedown, with blood spatter located along the wall and the floor around his body. Detective Thomas Sobieski, of the Aurora Police Department, responded to the call and would become one of the lead investigators for the case. He later described the crime scene as "the worst I'd ever seen."
The coroner noted a wound on the back of Al's head, which indicated that he had been hit from behind. They theorized this had happened when he was walking down the basement steps.
Unfortunately, Al did not die of those wounds. His hands were bound with a cord, and his feet were then tied to his hands, behind his back - he had, in essence, been hog tied. Al had then been mercilessly tortured for several hours, with special injury done to his feet. The fatal injury seemed to have been twenty-two stab wounds, and the coroner ruled he died the same day he spoke to Linda, the evening of Saturday, May 22nd.
After Al had been killed, the killer had then proceeded to eat food from Al's kitchen, took a shower in the master bathroom, sleep in Al's bed, and even wore articles of Al's clothing. The house had seemingly been wiped down for fingerprints, bleach had been poured down the shower drain and the killer had soaked multiple knives in bleach afterwards. The drain had been plugged, and in the sink were anywhere between six and twelve knives, as well as a number of household items, including a drinking glass, a pen, a dishwashing scrubber, and Al's car keys. The sink had then been filled with Clorox bleach.
Immediately, investigators began working on a motive for the crime. They then began to develop a theory that this as a methodically-planned robbery, as police discovered that Al's blue-and-grey GMC pickup truck, as well as his cellphone was missing.
Later in the day of Monday, May 24th, Al Kite's blue-and-gray GMC pickup truck was found, with ATM receipts on the front seat. The vehicle had been parked a little over a block-and-a-half away from Al's home, along the street.
As investigators conducted a search of the vehicle, hoping to uncover some forensic evidence of the killer, they also began a thorough search of Al's home. They were able to find trace amounts of DNA, presumably left behind by the killer, and that would be submitted to a forensic database shortly thereafter.
However, while looking through the garbage can in Al's kitchen, investigators found a discarded rental application. This application, which looked to have been hand-written by the mysterious tenant moving into Al's basement, contained this stranger's name, mailing address, social security number, and phone number.
The name on the rental application read Robert Cooper. Case solved, right?
Robert Cooper
The story of Robert Cooper starts in March 2004. A man buys a burner phone from a 7-11 near the University of Colorado Medical School, and then waits thirty days to activate it - the exact length of time it takes for that 7-11 to delete security camera footage.
Al wasn't the only prospective renter that Robert Cooper talked to. A University of Colorado professor met Robert Cooper to discuss renting out her property to him - except this Robert Cooper didn't have a limp, or carry a cane, and spoke with a Romanian accent. (Apparently this professor was familiar with Eastern European accents enough she could distinguish it).
Robert Cooper made contact with several different renters in the leadup to meeting with Al. He fit the same, basic physical description each time. Sometimes he had a cane, sometimes he didn't, sometimes he had an accent, sometimes he had none, and his mannerisms were different each time, but they all agreed on his physical description. Several renters said that Robert Cooper made them feel uneasy, and that he didn't behave previous tenants had. Most of these properties were advertised in the University of Colorado library, much like Al's may have been.
It's not exactly sure when Robert Cooper first met with Al, but it was likely in mid-May of 2004. One of his neighbors recalled seeing him leave Al's house on May 19th, so they established that as the first day of contact. Over the next few days, another male neighbor approached Robert Cooper, only to be ignored, and a female neighbor said she encountered him on a walking trail nearby, sans cane. Both said he seemed eerie, and just stared them down.
But the police had his rental application, so it would be easy enough to find him, right?
If only it was that easy. His current address, supposedly of the sister he was staying with, was actually a building at the University of Colorado's Medical School. His social security number belonged to an unrelated woman, and Wells Fargo has no record of anyone by that name being employed anywhere close to Colorado.
A search for the phone of Al, as well as the prepaid phone number given by Robert Cooper found them both in Denver - however, neither were in the hands of Robert Cooper. Instead, they had been abandoned in the Five Points neighborhood of Denver, an area known to have a lot of homeless people, and was being used by one of them. Police theorized that the killer knew this, and hoped that by distributing the phones to homeless people it would erase some evidence.
The ATM receipts found in Al's pickup truck were also examined. Investigators were able to determine that a withdraw was made from a Wells Fargo ATM near Al's house on the night of Saturday, May 22nd. This ATM had a camera, but Robert Cooper was wearing a ski mask. Pictures taken from this camera are available to look at today.
With this discovery, robbery was disregarded as a motive. For one, the items stolen from his home - his phone and car - were both found, without the murderer. Secondly, while 1000 dollars in 2004 (approx 1500 USD today) is not chump change, Al had much more then that in his ATM. The killer presumably had access to this all weekend, and if he wanted to, he could have presumably withdrawn much more. Additionally, Al's friends and family said that Al would have just told the killer his PIN number if the killer wanted it, without going through the trouble of torturing him.
Police have fingerprints, and a small amount of DNA for the man. They have come to the following conclusions about Robert Cooper. He has likely killed before, and is probably a methodical serial killer. He may be from the East Coast, particularly from the area around New Jersey/NYC. He may be Eastern European (note these two statements are NOT exclusionary - New Jersey/NYC have large Eastern European immigration communities), particularly Romanian. He may be familiar with the University of Colorado, specifically their medical school. He may have some connection with the banking industry, specifically Wells Fargo, and he may have had a female relative that lived in the Aurora, Colorado area at some point. Physically, it is believed he is approximately 5'8-5'10, around 170-180 pounds, had wavy, dark hair, likely in his 30's or 40's.
In 2017, the DNA left at the crime scene was analyzed, and determined he was from Southeast Europe, with brown eyes, brown/black hair, and pale skin. The Aurora PD has announced that they are going to work on forensic genealogy starting in 2021 to figure it out, so this case does have a possibility of being solved.
THEORIES
This is a long theory, and connects to the currently unsolved murder of Lee Scott Hall, a colleague of Al's when Al worked at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory in the 1990's. Hall discovered a flaw with a laser alignment in a project for the National Ignition Facility, and after a fix proposed by his team was approved, got a substantial raise from it. Hall was then found dead after being beaten and stabbed in his home on October 20th, 1999, and the laboratory was cited by the police as being "uncooperative" in the investigation. Nothing was stolen, and his car was also found a block away from the crime scene.
Ultimately, I believe this theory is no more then coincidence. Hall was not tied up or tortured in the same way as Al, and their murder was separated by over four years. The Lawrence Livermore Laboratory is a large institution, currently employing over 7,000 people, and there's no evidence that Al and Hall worked particularly close together, or even knew each other. As for the car - if I included every single murder where a car was found a few blocks from the body.
Isreal Keyes
Many people have compared the man seen in the ATM camera. He does look fairly similar, but I'm not spending much time on his theory because there's DNA and fingerprint evidence, and I assume that LE would have tested and ruled him out.
2. Asha Degree
Asha Degree was a young girl from Shelby, North Carolina who disappeared under mysterious circumstances on February 14, 2000.
Her case has remained one of the most perplexing and heartbreaking unsolved disappearances in history drawing national attention and ongoing efforts to uncover the truth.
Early Life
Asha Jaquilla Degree was born on August 5, 1990, to Harold and Iquilla Degree. She lived with her parents and older brother, O'Bryant, in a close-knit family.
Asha was a fourth-grade student at Fallston Elementary School, known for her good grades, athleticism, and shy yet friendly demeanor.
She was an avid basketball player and her family was actively involved in their local church and community.
The Day of Disappearance
On the night of February 13, 2000, Asha went to bed in the room she shared with her brother around 8:00 PM.
The family experienced a power outage that night due to a car accident nearby but the power was restored by 12:30 AM. Harold Degree checked on his children around this time and everything seemed normal.
At approximately 2:30 AM on February 14, O'Bryant recalled hearing Asha moving in her bed but did not think much of it.
When Iquilla went to wake Asha at 6:30 AM for school she discovered that Asha was missing. The door was locked, and Asha had taken her book bag and some personal items with her.
The Search
The Degree family immediately called the police and a search was launched. Law enforcement along with volunteers from the community, searched the area.
Initial searches yielded few clues, but a witness reported seeing a young girl matching Asha's description walking along North Carolina Highway 18 around 4:00 AM. Another driver claimed to have seen her a little further down the road, and one driver even turned around to check on her but saw her run into the woods.
Key Evidence
The investigation took a significant turn on February 17, 2000, when Asha's belongings were found in a shed about a mile from her home. The items included candy wrappers, a pencil, marker, and a Mickey Mouse-shaped hair bow.
This discovery indicated that Asha had indeed left the house on her own accord but what happened afterward remained a mystery.
1. Backpack Discovery: In August 2001 Asha's backpack was discovered buried along a construction site on Highway 18 in Burke County, about 26 miles north of Shelby. The backpack contained clothes and a New Kids on the Block t-shirt that did not belong to Asha. This discovery renewed interest in the case but provided no definitive leads.
2. Witnesses and Theories: Over the years several witnesses came forward with possible sightings and information, but none have led to a breakthrough. Theories about Asha's disappearance range from her running away to her being abducted. Some speculated she was lured by someone she knew, while others believed she might have been the victim of a random encounter.
3. Ongoing Investigation: The FBI, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, and the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office have continued to investigate the case. They have periodically released age-progressed images of Asha to help generate new leads. In 2016, the FBI announced a renewed focus on the case and offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to her whereabouts.
1. Bear Brook Murders
The Bear Brook murders, also known as the Allenstown Four, refer to a series of unsolved homicides that came to light in Bear Brook State Park in Allenstown, New Hampshire.
The case involving four unidentified female victims discovered in barrels has puzzled investigators for decades and eventually led to significant advances in forensic science and genetic genealogy.
Initial Discovery - 1985
In November 1985 a hunter stumbled upon a metal drum in the woods of Bear Brook State Park. Inside the barrel were the remains of an adult female and a young girl, wrapped in plastic.
Both bodies were in an advanced state of decomposition making identification difficult. Autopsies revealed that both victims had died of blunt force trauma.
Second Discovery - 2000
Fifteen years later, in May 2000, a detective revisiting the case decided to search the area around the first barrel more thoroughly.
This led to the discovery of a second barrel about 100 yards from the original site. Inside were the remains of two more young girls also wrapped in plastic.
The conditions of the bodies and their proximity to the first barrel suggested that all four victims were connected.
Investigation and Challenges
The investigation into the Bear Brook murders was hampered by several challenges:
1. Lack of Identification: Despite extensive efforts the identities of the victims remained unknown for many years. The bodies advanced state of decomposition made it difficult to obtain details and no missing person reports matched the descriptions of the victims.
2. Limited Evidence: The crime scene provided little evidence. The barrels themselves, though providing some clues, did not lead to any immediate suspects. Forensic technology at the time was not advanced enough to yield significant leads from the available evidence.
3. Potential Suspects: Over the years several potential suspects were considered, but no conclusive evidence linked anyone to the murders. The lack of known connections between the victims and any suspects further complicated the case.
Advances in Forensic Science
Isotope Analysis
In the early 2000s forensic experts used isotope analysis to gather more information about the victims. Isotopes in the victims bones and teeth suggested they had lived in different parts of the United States during their lifetimes.
This information, while not leading directly to their identities, provided new leads for investigators to follow.
Genetic Genealogy
The breakthrough in the Bear Brook case came with the advent of genetic genealogy, a technique that combines DNA analysis with traditional genealogical research to identify unknown individuals through their family connections.
The key breakthrough came in 2017 when DNA evidence linked the Bear Brook murders to a man named Terry Peder Rasmussen, also known by several aliases, including "Bob Evans."
Rasmussen was a known criminal with a history of violence and deception. He had been convicted of murdering his girlfriend, Eunsoon Jun, in California in 2002 and died in prison in 2010.
Further investigation revealed that Rasmussen had lived under various identities across the United States and had connections to several unsolved cases of missing persons and unidentified bodies. His history suggested a pattern of abusive relationships and transient lifestyles, making him a prime suspect in the Bear Brook murders.
#### Identification of the Victims
Genetic genealogy eventually provided answers to the identities of the victims:
1. The Adult Female: The adult female was identified as Marlyse Elizabeth Honeychurch. She had last been seen in California in 1978 with her two daughters, whom she had from a previous relationship.
2. The Young Girls: The two children discovered with Honeychurch were identified as her daughters, Marie Elizabeth Vaughn and Sarah Lynn McWaters. The fourth victim, initially believed to be unrelated, was identified as Rasmussen's biological daughter, known only as "Lisa" for a long time due to her being identified as "Lisa Doe" in another case connected to Rasmussen.
These are 5 of the craziest true crime cases that I have researched! They are all crazy in their own ways. Which one stands out the most to you?
Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed!