# Memorable reality crime show cases. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 18, 2018, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-reality-crime-show-cases/826332 "2018-12-18T19:03:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-reality-crime-show-cases/826332/21 "2018-12-21T01:57:04Z")
**First 48** is a great show for these. They had one where a drive-by shooting happened. However, they didn’t just shoot up the dude they wanted to kill. They shot and killed some children in the neighborhood. In a rare moment, the community came together to turn in the losers that did it. Lots of folks saying “we usually don’t snitch…but this was horrible”. ---
**Author:** ![Marlonius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/838e76/32.png) [@Marlonius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlonius)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-reality-crime-show-cases/826332/22 "2018-12-21T01:58:41Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > I think that’s the one where one of the detectives recalled watching the heart monitor of one of the surviving children spike [from fear] when the mother visited her in the hospital. ☹ You’re thinking of “Small Sacrifices” - Farrah Fawcett played the mother in the TV movie. ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-reality-crime-show-cases/826332/23 "2018-12-21T02:02:09Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > He had an OJ jury. :mad: > > My absolute favorite _ **Forensic Files** _ case was the one where Madeline Murray O’Hare and her associates were murdered. I was going “Yes! Yes! Yes!” the whole time. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall, watching her face her last few minutes on Earth! 🆒 Wtf? She was kidnapped, murdered and dismembered, with her two sons. Am I missing something? How would this be enjoyable to watch, or something to root for? (Btw it’s O’Hair) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-reality-crime-show-cases/826332/24 "2018-12-21T02:06:08Z")
> [@Isosleepy](#): > > Wtf? She was kidnapped, murdered and dismembered, with her two sons. Am I missing something? How would this be enjoyable to watch, or something to root for? > (Btw it’s O’Hair) Very easily. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-reality-crime-show-cases/826332/25 "2018-12-21T02:06:14Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > I’m intrigued by the fact that he was indicted 21 times for crimes ranging from statutory rape to cattle rustling, beat the rap almost every time, and the last time managed to appeal the conviction and get out on bond. Who were the jurors on these cases - Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles and Jose Feliciano? According to [this Buzzfeed video,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZktTdGHaJY)by Kansas City standards, he had a rock star lawyer who kept him out of jail. He also had a well known talent for witness intimidation. Further complicating the issue was the fact that the experienced prosecutor handling his felony case retired. His replacement lowered the charges from attempted murder to second degree assault in an attempt to ensure that he could get _some_ kind of conviction. This guilty verdict resulted in a two year prison term and allowed him to be released on bail while appealing it. McElroy was killed while he was out on appeal. ---
**Author:** ![pohjonen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pohjonen/32/423_2.png) [@pohjonen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pohjonen)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-reality-crime-show-cases/826332/26 "2018-12-21T02:06:38Z")
[Theresa Knorr](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresa_Knorr) killed two of her own daughters and her sons helped dispose of the bodies. Still gives me the willies. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-reality-crime-show-cases/826332/27 "2018-12-21T02:12:39Z")
Did they ever do a story on Susan Smith, the animal who drowned her two little boys in an abandoned quarry because her boyfriend didn’t want children, and then blamed their disappearance on a black carjacker? ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-reality-crime-show-cases/826332/28 "2018-12-21T03:08:37Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Very easily. Would you care to expound? ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-reality-crime-show-cases/826332/29 "2018-12-21T08:54:07Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Very easily. Why would you have liked to watch this woman get murdered? That’s seems rather nasty of you. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2018, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-reality-crime-show-cases/826332/30 "2018-12-21T09:23:47Z")
If podcasts count, the podcast “Small Town Murder” did an incredibly bizarre murder case about a highly charismatic man who was in prison for raping and brutally assaulted an ex-girlfriend. Somehow his female prison psychologist fell in love with him and sponsored him to get out early. When he got out surprise surprise he turned out to be a total abusive piece of shit and his new girlfriend fled to another town to get rid of him. Now here’s where everything gets weird, the man is trying to find and murder her in revenge for leaving him. He hitches a ride from a total stranger truck driver going to that same town and somehow convinces that man to help him in his murder plot. Then when he gets to the town he tracks down his girlfriends house and goes and talks to her neighbors. Now mind you these people had no idea who this guy was but somehow he was also able to convince them to help him murder her. So one day her house burns down with her inside and she dies, and the police quickly crack the case when they talk to both the neighbors and the truck driver and they break down and confess in helping the man kill his ex-girlfriend. The fact he got so many people to agree to help kill this woman with pure charisma is what’s so weird and scary about it. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2018, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-reality-crime-show-cases/826332/31 "2018-12-25T04:55:31Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > He had an OJ jury. :mad: > > My absolute favorite _ **Forensic Files** _ case was the one where Madeline Murray O’Hare and her associates were murdered. I was going “Yes! Yes! Yes!” the whole time. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall, watching her face her last few minutes on Earth! 🆒 She used to have a public access TV show, with her son and granddaughter (whom she adopted, possibly illegally, and raised) and those programs were doozies. I have read that the American Atheist headquarters pretty much had to hire ex-convicts, several of whom ended up stealing from them and killing them, because nobody else would work there; the jobs were all minimum wage with no benefits, and by all accounts, she was a tyrant. BTW, her daughter was gang-raped by the people who killed her. Nobody deserves that. I found out about them being missing on an episode of “All Things Considered” that aired on the first anniversary, and was puzzled as to why someone so prominent would go missing, and nobody seemed to really care very much. Far more interesting than their murder was the $600,000 in gold coins that were stolen, and what happened to them and the people who stole them. In short, they were in a suitcase in a public storage locker, and some petty criminals from the area who were looking for TVs and stereos broke into the locker, took the suitcase, and basically showered their area with gold coins, most of them spent at strip clubs. The only coins that were recovered were the ones that they had made into jewelry for their girlfriends and other female relatives, and one of the thieves was later convicted of murder. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2018, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-reality-crime-show-cases/826332/32 "2018-12-25T12:05:06Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > He had an OJ jury. :mad: > > My absolute favorite _ **Forensic Files** _ case was the one where Madeline Murray O’Hare and her associates were murdered. I was going “Yes! Yes! Yes!” the whole time. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall, watching her face her last few minutes on Earth! 🆒 Get thee behind me, Satan. I just watched a Snapped, I think, where the wife stabbed her husband over 100 times as he lay in tied in bed. None of the wounds were mortal, most were to the face and genitals. It took several days for him to bleed out. The narrator: There seemed to be a lot of deep, personal rage. No shit! ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2018, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-reality-crime-show-cases/826332/33 "2018-12-25T18:16:19Z")
My most memorable “reality” crime show cases involve lesser offenses than murder. A favorite is the COPS episode where a woman flags down police to complain that she tried to buy crack cocaine but got no drugs for her money. The alleged ripoff artiste indignantly tells investigating officers that she’s not a drug dealer. “I’m a prostitute!” she says. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2018, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-reality-crime-show-cases/826332/34 "2018-12-25T18:33:47Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > My most memorable “reality” crime show cases involve lesser offenses than murder. > > A favorite is the COPS episode where a woman flags down police to complain that she tried to buy crack cocaine but got no drugs for her money. The alleged ripoff artiste indignantly tells investigating officers that she’s not a drug dealer. “I’m a prostitute!” she says. 🙂 COPS did a “tasing” episode, where they showed cases that ended up in tasing the suspect/individual. It was a great half-hour. In the ones they showed, it was clearly needed and I agreed with their decision. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2018, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-reality-crime-show-cases/826332/35 "2018-12-25T19:03:18Z")
I think the only show of this variety that I regularly watched was [Autopsy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autopsy_(TV_series)), which was on HBO and feature Dr Michael Baden, formerly the chief medical examiner in NYC. I remember one case in particular (I think Robert Curley) in which poisoning was suspected and was proven through an analysis of the victim’s hair. Aside from the usual morbid reasons to find this stuff interesting, the science was often kind of cool. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2018, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-reality-crime-show-cases/826332/36 "2018-12-25T19:52:08Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I think the only show of this variety that I regularly watched was [Autopsy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autopsy_(TV_series)), which was on HBO and feature Dr Michael Baden, formerly the chief medical examiner in NYC. I remember one case in particular (I think Robert Curley) in which poisoning was suspected and was proven through an analysis of the victim’s hair. Aside from the usual morbid reasons to find this stuff interesting, the science was often kind of cool. Some of those episodes are now on You Tube. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2018, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-reality-crime-show-cases/826332/37 "2018-12-25T23:16:07Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > Get thee behind me, Satan. > I just watched a Snapped, I think, where the wife stabbed her husband over 100 times as he lay in tied in bed. None of the wounds were mortal, most were to the face and genitals. It took several days for him to bleed out. The narrator: There seemed to be a lot of deep, personal rage. No shit! There was a similar show where a middle-aged man died in the middle of the night; at first, it was assumed that he died from low blood sugar levels because he was an insulin-dependent diabetic, but then it was discovered that his wife, who was some kind of HCP, most likely a nurse, stole some vecuronium from the hospital where she worked and filled his insulin pump with it. Incredibly, that amount was enough to stop his breathing and kill him. I had totally forgotten about that until I heard this story. That woman had one of the most horrible deaths imaginable - fully conscious, unable to breathe, and unable to let anyone know what was happening to her. ☹ [https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/nation-world/national/article222422170.html](https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/nation-world/national/article222422170.html) The headline refers to vecuronium as an execution drug, and it can be used that way but it’s also used all the time in the OR, and less frequently in the ICU, to paralyze people for intubation. ---
**Author:** ![whitetho](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whitetho/32/1059_2.png) [@whitetho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whitetho)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2018, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-reality-crime-show-cases/826332/38 "2018-12-25T23:55:28Z")
One of the more unusual cases was [Alvin Ridley](http://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/catoosa_walker_news/ringgold-s-alvin-ridley-years-after-being-falsely-accused-of/article_f02be9ee-a9e6-11e7-821f-c7310ba8cd75.html), who reported that Virginia, his wife of 31 years, had died from an epileptic seizure. One oddity was that this was in a small town where everyone knew everyone else, yet no one was aware that he was married. The local prosecutor concluded that “petechial hemorrhaging in and around her eyes” was a sign of strangulation, and charged him with murder, assault, and false imprisonment. However, during the trial it was determined that 1) Virginia had stopped taking her medicine in the hopes that God would cure her epilepsy, 2) there were no other signs of assault and petechial hemorrhaging is known to also be caused by severe seizures and 3) Virginia had a mental condition that caused her to write endlessly, and nothing in the reams of writing she left behind suggested anything untoward. The jury quickly concluded that an overeager prosecutor had filed charges against a totally innocent, man who had actually been very close to his wife. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2018, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-reality-crime-show-cases/826332/39 "2018-12-26T00:15:02Z")
> [@whitetho](#): > > One of the more unusual cases was [Alvin Ridley](http://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/catoosa_walker_news/ringgold-s-alvin-ridley-years-after-being-falsely-accused-of/article_f02be9ee-a9e6-11e7-821f-c7310ba8cd75.html), who reported that Virginia, his wife of 31 years, had died from an epileptic seizure. One oddity was that this was in a small town where everyone knew everyone else, yet no one was aware that he was married. > > The local prosecutor concluded that “petechial hemorrhaging in and around her eyes” was a sign of strangulation, and charged him with murder, assault, and false imprisonment. However, during the trial it was determined that 1) Virginia had stopped taking her medicine in the hopes that God would cure her epilepsy, 2) there were no other signs of assault and petechial hemorrhaging is known to also be caused by severe seizures and 3) Virginia had a mental condition that caused her to write endlessly, and nothing in the reams of writing she left behind suggested anything untoward. > > The jury quickly concluded that an overeager prosecutor had filed charges against a totally innocent, man who had actually been very close to his wife. I remember that! He was a hermit and local weirdo and pretty combative to anyone who tried to contact him. He walked fair bit to call 911 on a public phone and the prosecutor said that was proof he killed her. But he didn’t have a phone in his house. Her family added to the suspicions because she broke off contact with them after she married. In his home there were love letters written by his wife all over the walls. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2018, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-reality-crime-show-cases/826332/40 "2018-12-26T16:10:13Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Did they ever do a story on Susan Smith, the animal who drowned her two little boys in an abandoned quarry because her boyfriend didn’t want children, and then blamed their disappearance on a black carjacker? Yes, she was featured on the ID channel, maybe _“Deadly Women”_. The most heartbreaking thing was during her trial when they recreated the drowning by running a car into the same lake and showing how long in took for the car to sink with her kids alive and strapped in. ☹ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-reality-crime-show-cases/826332.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/memorable-reality-crime-show-cases/826332.md?page=3)