# 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:** 6
**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 22, 2024, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/101 "2024-11-22T23:29:22Z")
Actually, there have been FBI profiles in serial killer cases that suggested black suspects. Example: the Atlanta child murderer case in which Wayne Williams was ultimately convicted. Beyond the fact that such killers often stick to their own racial/ethnic group, it was determined that a white child abductor/killer would have stuck out and drawn suspicion in those predominantly black neighborhoods early on. ---
**Author:** ![Newtosite](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/newtosite/32/8623_2.png) [@Newtosite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtosite)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2024, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/102 "2024-11-23T01:53:35Z")
([Brookey Lee West - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brookey_Lee_West)) At the time the Las Vegas police found the decomposed body of Brook’s mother, Brook was living with a close friend of mine in San Jose. She’d periodically drive to Las Vegas to “take care of her mother.” My friend knew that Brook’s ex-husband had been found murdered and the police never solved the case. He also knew she’d been trained to kill in the military. But still, he thought he was safe… She’d insisted on buying him a large meat freezer which he didn’t want or need. He later heard that she’d intended to hide him in the freezer when she killed him (which may or may not have been true). ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2024, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/103 "2024-11-23T03:03:22Z")
> [@Idle\_Thoughts](#): > > Not a big fan of reading the other replies first before replying yourself, eh?..because I feel like there’s an echo in here. Still, @Crafter_Man provided a bit more info than your post did. Simply providing a list of your 15 favorite cases (with links) makes it easy to miss one out of all the rest. More description about these cases would have been appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2024, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/104 "2024-11-23T03:23:39Z")
Or a Hispanic man in a white van. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2024, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/105 "2024-11-23T03:25:29Z")
Well, the year WAS 1932. ---
**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 23, 2024, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/106 "2024-11-23T03:43:53Z")
Weren’t there some conspiracy theories that had Charles killing his kid, for whatever reason? Like the kid wasn’t up to snuff, genetically? ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2024, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/107 "2024-11-23T04:14:30Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > - [The Mark Hoffman case](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Hofmann). He was the forger and bomber who killed two people in Salt Lake City and he was likely going to murder a third but injured himself with the final bomb. He wasn’t a very accomplished bomber, the two killings notwithstanding, but it turned out he was a prolific and skilled forger. > - _The Blooding_ (as Wambaugh called [the investigation into the Narborough Footpath murders](https://www.amazon.com/Blooding-Dramatic-Murder-Genetic-Fingerprinting-ebook/dp/B01CWZGAEA/ref=sr_1_1?crid=370FHAKFG00C4&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.N3yaTyqh3UpZ9mC8dkbkrhsmvreOCx1WT8Sz1vJjk2EHSegoZNuilZCwfY7deCH6PdxSRtsnOYrQY8-VaxgW0bphTSI_MAhVgDFx2K_LKrrub0445bEJzg7HKcDUoj8-8wdvu0jQQ6JlcA2_UREGKecQq0F2csMmDDfUgKuekvvr7DeU-oSjzTzRvCOooGBduP0h4R1cHrSmC_UTEIvpRGQZDZFqwNNC07PYOvJGJrw.oqP2wZMRVPGUq3jyFnvsjL0CEXOGzCBSmOcWsDw5SYE&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+blooding&qid=1732161192&sprefix=the+blooding%2Caps%2C842&sr=8-1). > - [The Aum Shinrikyo murders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aum_Shinrikyo). These killing were not limited to just the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attacks. What got me interested in it was the fact I was stationed near Tokyo in 1995, and also Japan is not known for having a lot of murder cases, and certainly not many mass murder cases. Living in Salt Lake City and growing up Mormon, I had two or three or four degrees of separation with Mark Hoffman through several channels, although I wouldn’t have been directly connected to him at all. Hoffman mostly forged documents related to the early period in Mormon history and his most famous forgery was the [salamander letter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salamander_letter), in which a magical white salamander was said to be involved with the discovery of the Book of Mormon. Several of the document had become quite famous in Utah because of their contraversial nature and that they contradicted the official LDS history. The bombing was huge news, of course, and rumors where all over the place. > [@](#): > > Although police quickly focused on Hofmann as the suspect in the bombings, some of his business associates went into hiding, fearing they might also become victims. I personally know one of of these people who went into hiding. The guy grew up on our block and his father was our bishop (lay leader of our congregation) for a while. I heard about him going into hiding shortly afterwards. One joke that quickly made the rounds was “Have you heard about the newest cocktail? It’s called the white salamander because one drink gets you bombed.” The Aum Shinrikyo murders were huge news, of course. One of the stations in the sarin attack was close to my customer’s office. On a lesser note, I was fascinated with the [_Rust_ shooting incident](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rust_shooting_incident) and followed the news and trials. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2024, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/108 "2024-11-23T04:32:40Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > One joke that quickly made the rounds was “Have you heard about the newest cocktail? It’s called the white salamander because one drink gets you bombed.” That’s pretty funny. > [@TokyoBayer](#): > > The Aum Shinrikyo murders were huge news, of course. One of the stations in the sarin attack was close to my customer’s office. It was also a station a number of family members of the US military stationed in Tokyo, Yokosuka, and Atsugi traveled through on their commutes. The attacks happened while we were at sea. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2024, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/109 "2024-11-23T06:17:53Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > It was also a station a number of family members of the US military stationed in Tokyo, Yokosuka, and Atsugi traveled through on their commutes. The attacks happened while we were at sea. They picked one of the stations because of the huge number of commuters traveling through it. The combined number of commuters for the three lines (with two of the lines being attacked on both directions) is in the millions. As it was more of a terrorist attack rather than a simple crime, it was one of the biggest stories in the 90s. Another Japanese story which was in the news was [Tsutomu Miyazaki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsutomu_Miyazaki) who murdered four young girls (age four through seven), molesting the corpses and dismembering them, keeping parts of them as trophies. This story came out in 1989, while I was working in Tokyo. He was an otaku, and I wasn’t aware of the term before story. This was one of the first cases where I discovered some Japanese can be as fucked up as some Americans. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2024, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/110 "2024-11-23T06:26:30Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > But I am not convinced a crime occurred. I believe at the very least they were being stalked. To listen to people, as soon as you step off the peak away from town you are immediately lost. But that is simply not true. The path is clear and it takes miles to get into the trees and they in no way intended for that long of a hike. So what stopped them from turning back? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2024, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/111 "2024-11-23T07:00:11Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > This was one of the first cases where I discovered some Japanese can be as fucked up as some Americans. [Unit 731- They made the Nazis look like pikers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unit_731) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2024, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/112 "2024-11-23T07:00:38Z")
That is correct; many people think his father had “something” to do with it. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2024, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/113 "2024-11-23T07:02:30Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Unit 731- They made the Nazis look like pikers Oh yeah. But I discovered that as well as other historial things much later. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2024, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/114 "2024-11-23T07:03:24Z")
I found a History Channel DVD at a thrift store, and was hesitant about watching it. Oh, boy, was it ever watered down. ---
**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 23, 2024, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/115 "2024-11-23T13:23:21Z")
About the ladder: was it ever suggested that whoever made the ladder could have done so when BRH wasn’t home? And were the boards removed in a way that called attention to their absence? I mean, a solid floor with a gap in the center where the boards used to be would be pretty obvious. The biggest mystery for me is why people were so obsessed with this guy long after he made that flight. ---
**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 23, 2024, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/116 "2024-11-23T13:53:37Z")
> [@Lucas\_Jackson](#): > > There is some very compelling evidence against Hauptmann - tool marks on the ladder apparently matched tools owned by Hauptmann. The wood in the ladder was found to match wood used as flooring in his attic. And Dr. Condon’s telephone number and address were found scrawled on a door frame inside a closet. Handwriting on the ransom notes matched samples of Hauptmann’s handwriting, so they say. I seem to remember he had a shady past as well. So, yeah, pretty sure he was involved. Spending bills from a cache of ransom money does seem to additionally point to Hauptmann’s involvement. > [@](#): > > But there are weird facts surrounding the case. Like the fact that Lindberg wasn’t even supposed to be there that day and the suicide of Lindbergh’s maid, Violet Sharpe, which some believe is evidence of her involvement in a conspiracy. The F.B.I. [doesn’t buy](https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/lindbergh-kidnapping) the idea that Sharpe was an accomplice. > [@](#): > > On June 10, 1932, Violet Sharpe, a waitress in the home of Mrs. Lindbergh’s mother, Mrs. Dwight Morrow, who had been under investigation by the authorities, committed suicide by swallowing poison when she was about to be requestioned. However, her movements on the night of March 1, 1932, had been carefully checked and it was soon definitely ascertained that she had no connection with the abduction. Based on what’s been written about the case (notably in _The Airman and the Carpenter_, which argues for Hauptmann’s innocence), there were sleazy shenanigans on the part of the prosecution including putting on dubious witnesses like Condon. However it may have been that the prosecution was trying to load the case against a guilty man, rather than framing an innocent one. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2024, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/117 "2024-11-23T13:55:00Z")
Issei Sagawa - ([Issei Sagawa - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Issei_Sagawa)) - the Japanese cannibal. This is a weird story where he invites a fellow student over to study, shoots her in the head then eats her over several days. The oddest part is he apparently never killed anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2024, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/118 "2024-11-23T18:13:49Z")
I don’t have a particular crime of interest, but for people who like true crime stories, I highly recommend “The Murder Room” by Michael Capuzzo ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2024, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/119 "2024-11-23T19:31:31Z")
That’s a screwed up case. In my opinion, though, the [murder of Junko Furuta](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Junko_Furuta?wprov=sfti1) is even worse. Which is up there (for me, anyway) with the [Sylvia Likens](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Sylvia_Likens?wprov=sfti1#) torture/killing. The Likens case intrigues me because it happened in my home state, just like the Shanda Sharer case did. I live in Kentucky now, where the most famous case is probably [Mel Ignatow](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mel_Ignatow?wprov=sfti1) killing Brenda Sue Schaefer. He got away with the killing, only to be imprisoned for perjury for lying to the grand jury. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2024, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511/120 "2024-11-23T20:54:02Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > The biggest mystery for me is why people were so obsessed with this guy long after he made that flight. He was quite literally the most famous person in the world. Because of media saturation today there could never be an equivalent. In front of my sister’s old house there was an unhoused gentleman of possible altered mental status that claimed to be the Lindbergh baby all grown up. Apparently there were a few claimants running around. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-true-crime-story-fascinates-you-most/1010511.md?page=7)