True Crime Stories

  While most cases of murder are “senseless” this case seems even more so than others. What makes it even worse is that there were signals that things could have turned violent and there were even many people who seemed to know that there was a plan. It is unclear if any of those people reported anything to the police, but there are reports that the victims had contacted the authorities on several occasions and that the local district attorney was made aware of these reports and yet nothing had been done. Before I get into the complete story I want to point out that my research was quite difficult. One of the first things I came across stated that the date of the murders was January 18, 2016. As I kept delving into information I realized that the actual date was January 18, 2014. Then there was an issue with names. I found Kirsten Westfall's name spelled differently several times, as well as her daughter Madison, as it was spelled Maddison more than once. In addition to...

When it comes to family annihilation cases generally the motive is clear. If they do not end in a murder/suicide then the perpetrator usually takes off and ends all contact with anyone they know. They are also careful to make sure no one is left alive. In many ways these cases are not much different than other cases when it comes to motive. There are almost always financial issues. In cases that do not end in murder/suicide it is often believed, although not always expressed by the perpetrator, that the motive is as simple as wanting to rid oneself of a family and start over. These types of cases are generally planned out for weeks or months in advance by the perpetrator which is why oftentimes the crime is not discovered for some time, giving the perpetrator plenty of time to get far away. Think of cases such as John List and William Bradford Bishop Jr. Both of these men killed their mothers, wives and children, either effectively hid their bodies or prepared thi...

A few weeks ago I did the story of Jamie Snow, a resident of Bloomington Illinois whose case has been taken up by the Illinois Innocence Project.  Like many of the cases that I post about here, the Snow case had many twists and turns and has left many with many more questions than answers it seems.  Someone commented on that blog and told me of some other cases from the Bloomington Illinois area that I promised to look into.  Then just a few days after that on November 7th, I saw what I call a blurb about a family murder that took place in 1983 in Bloomington Illinois.  To be fair the person who commented on the Snow blog had mentioned this case also.   Many in the Jamie Snow case claim police corruption and prosecutor misconduct. While researching the case of the Hendricks Family Murders, as they have become known, I often thought back to the Snow case and some of the things said and done that were comparative to this case.  One of the things I found the...

I often attempt to stay away from cases such as this one because it took place outside the United States.  It is not that I am prejudice in any way as far as where crime occur, but understandably I understand the American justice system better than other countries. I tend to be bias towards our system and when I am faced with another type I am sometimes unable to determine not necessarily the guilt or innocence of a person but the legality of the legal proceedings.  Sometimes that is just as important.  For example, as we know, here in America in a criminal trial a jury (at least in almost all jurisdictions) in a penalty phase must be unanimous and a guilty verdict is to be rendered on the idea of "beyond any reasonable doubt."  The case I am about to tell you about took place in England.  The trial ended in a 10-2 verdict of guilty.  However I have read that had it ended in a 9-3 the outcome would have been different.  In America either conc...