True Crime Stories

This is one of the few cases that I blog about that does not involve a murder. There was a “plan” for a death; there were other crimes; there was even a dead body involved. These things alone make the case interesting. However, the other side of this case is the almost humor in the stupidity, arrogance and idiotic ideas of the perpetrators. The fact that they thought they could get away with their crime seems so ridiculous. I do not think the show exists any more, I could be wrong, but there used to be a show called America's Dumbest Criminals. I completely believe that Clay and Molly Daniels would be candidates to be on that show. On June 18, 2004 authorities in Leander Texas were called. My research was not clear as to whether when called if there was a vehicle still on fire, or even if it was hot at all. In the end what they did find was a Chevy Cavalier down in a ravine that had been burnt beyond recognition. The fire had burned so hot that even the metal on the v...

At around 8 am on August 24, 2007 Tami Duvall would call 9-1-1 and state that she had come home to find her estranged husband, Alan, in a chair in her back yard dead.  She would tell authorities when they arrived that he had come to her home the evening prior to work on an air conditioning unit. She was quick to let police know that her husband was a very heavy drinker and had apparently slept outside due to his alcohol consumption as well as the fact they were not living together.  It would take investigators nearly three years to build a case but on August 6, 2010 Tami was charged in murder of her husband. It seems that the local police in Columbus Indiana were suspicious from the get go and Tami did nothing to quell those suspicions.  Not only would she try to prevent an autopsy being performed she was insistent on having his body cremated despite the fact that he had a burial plot already available.  The autopsy was performed however apparently as it was determ...

Once again I find myself researching a case that has not ended completely but still a story in which needs to be told.  If you have already read my last entry on Charles Whitman you know I spent a lot of time talking about how we simply seem to dismiss killers as evil without ever looking further into their psyche and knowing what makes them tick.  And then I come to you with a case in which you will hear me say that Karl Karlsen is the epitome of evil and deserves to spend every waking moment he has left of his life in jail.  In the case of Whitman you have a man who by all account seemed not just normal but a well mannered man who was striving to be a successful human being.  Right up to the end Whitman seemed remorseful of his actions and yearned to know, or let others know, if there was something mentally or physically wrong with him.  In contrast Karl Karlsen seemed to never have remorse for his actions and unlike Whitman who committed his crimes in a singl...

Crimes and trials usually become sensational and nationally known due to things such as the people involved or the details of the crime are especially heinous.  That was not the case with the Ruth Snyder/Henry "Judd" Gray case.  This case became famously known and talked about because the criminals were so inept people were mystified as to their stupidity.  In modern times they likely would have appeared on America's Dumbest Criminals. Ruth Brown and Albert Snyder were married in 1915.  In 1925 Ruth met Judd Gray and began an affair.  Reports differ on if this was her first affair or the last of many.  Ruth claimed that from the time of their marriage that Albert had been at the very least emotionally abusive.  Albert had been involved with another woman.  It was unclear as to if his affair with the other woman continued through the beginning of their marriage or if the woman had already passed away, to which she evidently eventually did. Accord...