# What True Crime Story Fascinates You Most? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 20, 2024, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511 "2024-11-20T15:28:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Eric1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3bc359/32.png) [@Eric1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eric1)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/41 "2024-11-21T14:44:43Z")
Thanks for the update. I hadn’t heard the latest of the 370 story - the crime and conspiracy part. The theory is mind-blowing to me. What on earth?! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/42 "2024-11-21T15:18:54Z")
I’m not fascinated, but I am surprised that JonBenét Patricia Ramsey’s killer hasn’t been identified after 28 years. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/43 "2024-11-21T15:34:51Z")
A lot of serial killers come to mind. But I think the one that disturbs me the most is U.S. serial killer [Israel Keyes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Keyes). He didn’t care who he murdered; he just had an insatiable appetite to murder… someone, anyone, anywhere. He was extremely methodical about it: he would skip across the country to hide his tracks, and would even bury “murder kits” _ **years** _ in advance. Ugh. His murder of Samantha Tessla Koenig is especially disturbing. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/44 "2024-11-21T15:52:24Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > The true crime story that fascinates me _the least_ is possibly the most famous missing person case - that of the 1930 disappearance of Judge Crater. It’s hard to care exactly what happened, who likely did him in and for what reason. The Judge Crater case is interesting to me. A well-known judge in New York City eats at a restaurant in Manhattan with friends, then leaves by himself by cab to go to a Broadway show and is never seen again. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/45 "2024-11-21T15:54:02Z")
Yes, it’s an intriguing idea, but one should keep in mind that there are very few female serial killers. ---
**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:** [November 21, 2024, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/46 "2024-11-21T16:02:50Z")
But a few [spectacular](https://crimeopedia.fandom.com/wiki/Belle_Gunness) ones. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/47 "2024-11-21T17:05:47Z")
I used to think that the parents were including her in games until she got old enough to resist. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/48 "2024-11-21T17:15:27Z")
Mr Ramsey is now saying the case will be solved! > **[JonBenét Ramsey's father insists his daughter's 28-year-old murder will still...](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jonbenet-ramsey-father-murder-28-years-unsolved-rcna181153)** > > John Ramsey, 80, said advances in DNA technology can help police in Boulder, Colorado, take a fresh look at the 6-year-old girl's murder that garnered international attention around Christmas 1996. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/49 "2024-11-21T17:24:20Z")
It’s pretty obvious who the killer was in that one. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/50 "2024-11-21T17:30:24Z")
[![](https://comicvine.gamespot.com/a/uploads/scale_small/13/135098/6832450-not-me.jpg) ](https://comicvine.gamespot.com/a/uploads/scale_small/13/135098/6832450-not-me.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/51 "2024-11-21T21:18:48Z")
I’m fascinated by the assassination of Cicero. I’d like to visualize the whole thing, and I get conflicting accounts, not surprising. So many questions, all trivial. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/52 "2024-11-21T22:34:19Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > you reached the point where the most logical explanation involved a crime and deliberate cover-up The theories are fun and all, but do people actually believe it was anything other than the pilot committing murder/suicide? ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/53 "2024-11-21T22:49:08Z")
The death of Bobby Fuller. He was found dead in his car, drenched in gasoline just a few months after his massive hit, “I Fought the Law” was released. The coroner ruled the cause of death as asphyxiation from the fumes and checked both boxes for “accident” and “suicide” but with question marks next to each. Everybody else except the police thought it was murder. The red flag for me is that Fuller apparently just backed out of a deal with the most evil man in the music industry at the time; [Morris Levy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morris_Levy) of Roulette Records. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2024, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/54 "2024-11-21T23:10:24Z")
Okay, so I am a true crime fanantic. For many years I did nothing but sit at home watching true crime, reading about true crime, book after book about true crime, I’m a pretty huge fan of all things true crime, you might say. I probably know more than your average person… I can tell you cases and lists of killings, kidnappings, strange deaths, unsolved cases…I used to do a “case a day” on my Facebook page, even… so I consider myself very well versed in the subject. And while there have been many murders and killings that have been solved and many unsolved… …I tend to find creepy and intriguing the disappearances, more so. in this thrad so far, there’s been a lot of murder cases, but hardly any disappearing case talk. I’d like to rectify that a little. Some disappearing cases have been truly …rabbit holes, basically. You start going down one and soon, you can’t stop, and then you’re falling into it, helpless to turn around even if you wanted to…and one leads to another. Watch a few [youtube specials](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsuWLsUlCVs) about [BRIAN SCHAFFER](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Brian_Shaffer). That is one of the all time mystifying cases for me. I’ve gone over it time and time again and I can’t really figure it. Other great ones, though, include the HOLY GRAIL of mysterious disappearances (the one that any true crime fan is going to know about), which is [Maura Murray](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Maura_Murray) Other disappearing act cases that have stayed with me throughout the hundreds I’ve watched about or read about include [Patricia Meehan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Patricia_Meehan), [Lars Mittank](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Lars_Mittank), [Brandon Swanson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Brandon_Swanson), and the EXTREMELY bizarre case of [Brandon Lawson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Brandon_Lawson) Now, if we’re limiting to murder cases (unsolved), I find mystifying the case of [Missy Bevers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Missy_Bevers), where the suspect killer was caught walking around on camera, although still has never been caught…and [The Springfield Three](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Springfield_Three), which is a chilling case of three people gone missing at once. Finally, I tend to be more chilled and yet, intrigued, by cases of mass killing that has actually gone UNSOLVED. In this day and age, you’d think it wouldn’t be easy to kill a lot of people, in a public place, and get away with it forever…but people have… Most notibly, there’s the [Keddie Cabin murders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keddie_murders), [The Burger Chef murders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burger_Chef_murders), [The Las Cruces Bowling Alley Massacre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Las_Cruces_bowling_alley_massacre), [the Austin Yogurt Shop Murders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Austin_yogurt_shop_killings), [the Oklahoma Girl Scout Murders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_Girl_Scout_murders), [the Father’s Day Bank Massacre](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father%27s_Day_Bank_Massacre), and [the Layne Bryant shooting](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lane_Bryant_shooting). Finally, one mass murder that’s been mostly solved (although there are suspicions other people were involved that were never caught) that I found exceptionally horrific to read about (due to what the killers put the people through) was [the Hi-Fi murders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hi-Fi_murders). For any fan of true crime, all of those cases is a start. It should lead you down some deep rabbit holes. Unfortunate ones, sadly… some of these crimes are pretty horrific…and the disappearances I find very out there. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/55 "2024-11-22T00:13:04Z")
I’m more referring to things like the extremely sharp turn the pilot made before cutting off communications and then traveling in a very specific flight path that made it difficult for radar to track him. The initial thought was that it was some sort of fire in the cockpit or other tragic accident, and it was really fascinating to see other details emerge that made an innocent accident look incredibly unlikely. And even with the murder-suicide theory, it still is just bizarre. The pilot just didn’t fit your typical profile of who you’d expect to see do something like this – yeah he had some romantic trouble, but no terrorist connections or history of violent crime or anything like that. It’s one thing to not want to live anymore, but to orchestrate an elaborate plot to avoid detection and crash a commercial airline into the Indian Ocean is disturbing in the most fascinating way. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/56 "2024-11-22T00:33:38Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > crash a commercial airline into the Indian Ocean is disturbing in the most fascinating way. I agree. I reread all the wikipedia articles because of your posts. Though maybe I am swaying towards the “they ran into a black hole” theory! ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/57 "2024-11-22T00:34:44Z")
True, and the ones who are usually kill relatives, or their patients, or other people with whom they interact closely, not strangers a la Aileen Wuornos. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/58 "2024-11-22T00:50:52Z")
> **[William Herbert Wallace](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Herbert_Wallace)** > > William Herbert Wallace (29 August 1878 – 26 February 1933) was an Englishman convicted in 1931 of the murder of his wife, Julia, in their home in Wolverton Street in Liverpool's Anfield district. Wallace's conviction was later overturned by the Court of Criminal Appeal, the first instance in British legal history where an appeal had been allowed after re-examination of evidence. The case, with its strange background, has long been the subject of speculation and has generated many books, being r... Raymond Chandler called it, “(t)he impossible murder”; “Wallace couldn’t have done it, and neither could anyone else”; “the Wallace case is unbeatable; it will always be unbeatable”. Note: in the years since Chandler said that, evidence has emerged which seems to point to a colleague of Wallace, one Richard Gordon Parry. But I learned about the case long ago, so I can’t shake my fascination. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/59 "2024-11-22T00:53:46Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > The Japanese man who kidnapped girls so he could teach them about real estate business. > > [Reddit - Dive into anything](https://www.reddit.com/r/Damnthatsinteresting/comments/1em30qo/japanese_realtor_kidnaps_junior_high_school_girls/) That one is hard to top. 😲 ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2024, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/60 "2024-11-22T01:10:16Z")
The case of Dr. Harvey Crippen is an odd one. In 1910, his wife abruptly disappeared following a party at their London home. He first claimed she’d returned to her native America, then that she’d died abroad and been cremated, and almost immediately afterward shacked up with his maid, which raised suspicion. During an interview with police he recanted the story about her dying and said she’d left him for another man. This satisfied the cops, but the next day Crippen and his new girlfriend fled the country and boarded a steamship for Canada. Police searched Crippen’s house and found a body buried in the basement which was identified as that of his wife. A Scotland Yard officer bought a ticket on a faster ship to Canada, arrested him at the dock, and returned him to London where he was found guilty and hanged. Flash forward 100 years and DNA testing finds that the body that was found in his basement not only wasn’t his wife, it was that of a man. > **[Hawley Harvey Crippen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawley_Harvey_Crippen)** > > Hawley Harvey Crippen (11 September 1862 – 23 November 1910), colloquially known as Dr. Crippen, was an American homeopath, ear and eye specialist and medicine dispenser who was hanged in Pentonville Prison, London, for the murder of his wife, Cora Henrietta Crippen. He was the first criminal to be captured with the aid of wireless telegraphy. > Hawley Crippen was born in Coldwater, Michigan, the only surviving child to Andresse Skinner and Myron Augustus Crippen, a merchant. He was educated fi... What truly happened to his wife if he didn’t kill her? Whose body was it in his basement? Did he kill anyone? Who knows? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511.md?page=4)