True Crime Stories

This case has always intrigued me for several reasons. One of those reasons is because Joanna Hayes went to great lengths to disguise herself during the commission of her crime and while the disguise was seen to be just that, a disguise, she was unable to hide other mannerisms, such as the way she walked. Another reason this case intrigues me is the fact that the alleged motive behind the murder of Joanna's daughter in law was so that her son would obtain custody of the child he shared with the victim. That in and of itself is not interesting as we see spouses and even grandparents being involved in situations like this quite often actually, but what is interesting is that it appears that Joanna's son was not as interested in obtaining custody of his child as Joanna was. Heather and Steven Strube were married in May of 2004. Their son Carson was born in September of 2007 but soon after the marriage began falling apart. It appears that the marriage faile...

I am sometimes surprised when I stumble upon a case I have never heard of before. And, I stumble across this one in a very strange way. I was going through my list of cases, looking for one to research next, and I was searching the perpetrator of another case. The perpetrator had the name Andrew Gustafson, which happens to be the name of the husband and father in this case who found his family murdered back in 1987. It did not take long to confirm they were two different people but this case seemed quite interesting on many levels. First, you have the issue of the grisliness of the crime in which has put Daniel LaPlante in prison and has currently served over thirty years. Then there is the issue of his prior crime that while there seems to be a little bit of conflicting evidence since it is said his crimes have become urban legend, but it is just creepy in and of itself no matter which version you tell. Next from a legal standpoint became the issue that the Supr...

This is one of those tough cases for me where I am left wondering what to think about the verdict. This mainly comes from the fact that I am unsure just exactly what evidence the prosecutors had against Thorngren and just how reliable that evidence happened to be. Much of the media hype surrounded first the fact that Donna and her son, Austin were arrested in connection with the murder of Donna's husband, Curtis. Then it surrounded the issue that one of Austin's friends planned to testify that he had a conversation with Austin after Curtis' murder but before his body was found in which he allegedly implicated his mother. This became what investigators called the “shed statement.” This statement, whether true or not, was to play a huge role in this case. First it was the reason that Donna's defense asked, and was granted the right, to have her trial severed from her son's. It was of the believe that the statement could possibly be used against Austin, ...

We have seen plenty of cases in which a child has been involved in the murder of a parent but in most of those cases it is either a young teenager who commits the crime either with their boyfriend/girlfriend or at the behest of their other parent. Then there are the cases of older children murdering elderly parents for inheritance. This case is a bit different in many aspects. When members of Lynne Mercer's family learned that she had been murdered in her Spotsylvania Virginia home no one hesitated in telling authorities they were sure the perpetrator was Lynne's twenty- five year old daughter, Alaina and her wife, Christina Brown. Everyone was correct, it was Alaina and Christina who had murdered Lynne Mercer. If it was not so tragic it would almost be funny that Alaina and Christina seemed to think of all the things they could do to avoid being caught except for the fact that everyone on the planet would point their fingers at them the second they heard Lynn...

If you do a search on Emma Raine you will hear the phrase “Black Widow.” We all know what that means, at least in a criminal sense. The only real issue here is that at least as of June of 2018 Emma has only been convicted in the murder of one of her technically four husbands. She was convicted in 2016 for the contract murder of her second husband, Ernest Smith who was killed at his home in 2006. However, authorities suspect her in the strange death of her first husband, Leroy Evans who, at the time of his death in 1994 was paralyzed after a car accident and and died from “choking” after his feeding tube was “mysteriously removed.” She is also suspected as being involved in the death of her third husband, James Raine, who like her second was shot dead in his home. But, to be fair Emma has never been charged in the deaths of James Raine or Leroy Evans. And yes, I did mention she had four husbands... her last, John Golston is still alive and well and has argued against her c...

This is quite an unusual case for many reasons. It is also a case in which I would like to have found more information on. However, as is often the case when a plea deal is accepted or agreed upon less information becomes available to the general public. On March 15, 2015 a body was found on the side of a road in Ridgeville Ohio. Investigators only knew that it was the body of a young woman and apparently informed the media to garner some help in identifying the victim. Several tips were called in including one by Janet Tyburski. She alleged the woman could be her twenty-six year old daughter Rachele. Janet would claim that she had last seen her daughter on the night of March 13 th when she left the home to out with a group of friends. Janet could not identify who those friends were. Authorities would eventually confirm that the body found was that of Rachele Tyburski. Two months later, on May 15 th authorities would arrest Rachele's mother, Janet, for...

This is one of those spousal murder cases where the husband almost got away with it and he may have had he been just a little bit smarter. But, then again, that is almost always the case. The perpetrator misses something little that cannot be disputed or explained away no matter how much they try. On September 29, 2012 Shauna Tiaffay was returning to her apartment at around 3:30 in the morning after her shift as a cocktail waitress at a hotel in Las Vegas Nevada. Shauna was estranged from her firefighter husband, George. Besides, George was also at working doing one of those 24 hour shifts that firefighters are known for. The couple's eight year old daughter was spending the night with her grandparents while her parents worked. So, when Shauna returned home it was empty inside, or at least it should have been. Shauna walked into her home and it is unclear how long it took her before she realized that she was not alone. But, soon after she entered a man n...

I have often said how I feel we all have to believe in the justice system and the way that it is at least supposed to work. It is not as if I have never seen a case in which proper justice has not been served. In fact, it is quite the contrary. I come across cases every day that in my opinion has made a mockery out of the justice system. Not all of those cases resulted in the acquittal of people I believe are guilty (i.e. think O.J and Casey Anthony). Some of those cases are the prosecution of defendants I believe are innocent. One thing it seems that all of the latter cases have in common is either an overzealous investigator, or prosecutor. I understand that investigators are often pressured to close a case whether it be by the community or the victims family. I also understand that for prosecutors it is about the “win.” And, there are some among those in both professions that do not care how they reach their goal. It is these people that make me fear the justice s...