I'm a bit of a Lizzie Borden nut. I've visited the house a couple times and the tour guide who plays Andrew Borden has his own theory: he legit thinks Lizzie hired a hitman, possibly a disgruntled former employee of Andrew's. This would explain some reports of a mysterious man in the neighborhood and the unknown carriage in front of the house the morning of the murders. Lizzie didn't actually wield the hatchet, but that she stood lookout while the murders were committed. Tour Guide is a little uncertain whether or not Lizzie's sister Emma knew what was happening, but he thinks that she did and that Lizzie, out of loyalty, might have sent her sister out of town just to make sure that she had an airtight alibi.
I believe in Borden's actual innocence. Not for any strong reason, but simply because of the lack of evidence and the speedy jury acquittal.
I don't believe even given the limited forensics of the time, that the prime (and basically only) suspect in the case could have committed such a brutal and sloppy murder and left no evidence directly connecting her to the crime in any convincing way.
Throw in the fact that the prosecution was so aggressive and ridiculous that they did things that would never be allowed now, like actually bringing the skulls of the victims in to show them to the jury, and the case was basically rigged to convict Lizzie. Yet the jury came back with not guilty in 90 minutes.
I believe in Borden's actual innocence. Not for any strong reason, but simply because of the lack of evidence and the speedy jury acquittal.
I don't believe even given the limited forensics of the time, that the prime (and basically only) suspect in the case could have committed such a brutal and sloppy murder and left no evidence directly connecting her to the crime in any convincing way.
Throw in the fact that the prosecution was so aggressive and ridiculous that they did things that would never be allowed now, like actually bringing the skulls of the victims in to show them to the jury, and the case was basically rigged to convict Lizzie. Yet the jury came back with not guilty in 90 minutes.
I believe in Borden's actual innocence. Not for any strong reason, but simply because of the lack of evidence and the speedy jury acquittal.
I don't believe even given the limited forensics of the time, that the prime (and basically only) suspect in the case could have committed such a brutal and sloppy murder and left no evidence directly connecting her to the crime in any convincing way.
Throw in the fact that the prosecution was so aggressive and ridiculous that they did things that would never be allowed now, like actually bringing the skulls of the victims in to show them to the jury, and the case was basically rigged to convict Lizzie. Yet the jury came back with not guilty in 90 minutes.
I believe she was either wholly innocent or that it went down something like the tour guide thinks it did. Being in the house itself is sort of its own best evidence--even now, it's tiny and the rooms are laid out so that you can't get to one side of the house without going through all the other rooms. If she was in the house, she knew something was happening. If she was in the barn (or possibly in the basement), she was completely innocent.
Everything else you said? Yep. She was railroaded. Even if she was guilty, she was still railroaded. The prosecution didn't have the evidence it needed, and the jury recognized that. Probably the fact that she was a woman of good character influenced them as well, but the evidence just wasn't there from the start.
Everything else you said? Yep. She was railroaded. Even if she was guilty, she was still railroaded. The prosecution didn't have the evidence it needed, and the jury recognized that. Probably the fact that she was a woman of good character influenced them as well, but the evidence just wasn't there from the start.
I haven't thought of the case in depth, as some have, so my opinion is pretty weak, meaning it could easily be changed if someone had a convincing theory and backed it up.
It just always struck me that given the circumstances of the mass murder, anyone who committed it would have been literally doused in blood from head to foot, so the lack of any solid evidence when there should have been evidence always struck me as one of those odd cases where absence of evidence actually does mean evidence of absence.
However, the lingering doubt is that while Lizzie was not obviously guilty, despite being the most examined person in the case, how did the blood-soaked maniac who actually did it (if Lizzie wasn't guilty) escape the scene? In that coach some saw? Maybe. And if so, why did they even do it?
I love this stuff (although it freaks me out and I usually can't sleep well after reading about it). A lot of really fascinating ones have been mentioned. One that freaks me out a lot is Tara Calico/the polaroid that MIGHT be her...because even if it isn't, the girl and the little boy in the picture obviously went through horrific stuff. Just frightening.
Roanoke, Mary Celeste, and Flannan Isles Lighthouse are the more interesting "old timey" mysteries.
Maura Murray is probably the most recent disappeared persons case that haunts me.
Overall, I think the more recent cases are the more frightening. Only because in our world of technology (even back to the 80s or 90s), if someone is able to go missing without a trace, some seriously shady shit went down.
The Jamison family disappeared in October 2009 (Bobby, Sherilyn, and Madyson) when they loaded up their vehicle, $32,000 in cash, and their dog to look at a land tract in the Oklahoma mountains. Bobby and Sherilyn had been observed on their home security cameras to be packing their truck robotically and seemingly out of it. That was the last time the Jamisons were seen alive, and eight days later they were all reported missing after their still packed truck was found with their nearly dead dog and all the cash still inside.
Also found were their phones, so it looks extremely unlikely that the family expected to be away for long. There was a picture on the phone of little Madyson, who relatives say looked uncharacteristically troubled and stressed, especially since she normally loved having her picture taken.
Fast forward to July 2014. The bodies of the Jamisons were found side by side and face down in the dirt three miles away from their truck. This location had been searched previously and weather conditions (mud slides, storms, etc) had changed the terrain since then. Bobby had a hole in the back of his skull and no conclusive cause of death for the three has ever been found.
But none of that has stopped anyone from cooking up theories. Some residents of their town suspected that (like most of the town) they were using and selling meth due to their behavior and appearance (especially their trancelike behavior on their cameras), but others close to them insist they never had been involved with drugs and would never be. Police found no drugs and nothing to suggest drug use on their property. His father didn't have nearly as many willing to defend his character.
Bobby's father had a violent reputation with rumored connections to Mexican organized crime and a lawsuit from his son over money owed. Bobby Jamison Sr. was investigated for any role in their then disappearance but cleared after his alibi was confirmed.
Sherilyn was much warmer with her family and was very close to her sister. They were best friends until her sister's death. Sherilyn was devastated and never quite recovered from her loss; she took antidepressants and antianxiety meds off and on for the rest of her life. The sporadic nature of her treatment made some wonder if the mystery was a murder/suicide rooted in depression, but Sherilyn by all accounts was a loving wife and mother that still wouldn't have hurt her family.
In fact, she had recently defended them at gun point against a former boarder who was harassing them due to her and Madyson's partial Native American heritage. This former boarder was investigated but also cleared of any involvement in their disappearance and subsequent death. But that doesn't mean that some rumors of white supremacists being behind it all have slowed.
Both Sherilyn and Bobby had an interest in and some involvement with the occult. Sherilyn and her friend bought "witches' bibles", though this friend insists they meant it as a joke. She called herself a witch on many occasions, particularly when she was warning a neighbor that kept killing her cats. Bobby asked his (mainline) church pastor about how to perform an exorcism and if they should use a Devil's Bible to make a ghost family leave their home. Sherilyn contributed to this effort by writing notes and graffiti around the house saying stuff like "Satan get out". She also wrote over some local satanic graffiti changing it to "peace", "God loves you", and other countering messages. Now there's also a theory that somehow the family pissed off some Satanists or cultists with their opposition and their own activities.
The mountains they were visiting and possibly moving to have a reputation for being a haven for wild animals, meth cooks, cultists, wingnuts, and general criminals. So any combination of these factors could have been who and why this family was killed.
Yo I love this shit, I'm really interested in Missing 411 I'd really like to read some of the cases to see if there is anything to them, does anyone know where I could find an ebook file for it? Has anyone read it, is it interesting at all or is David Paulides just blowing smoke?
I'm not a UFO believer but here are two alleged UFO encounters that can't immediately be dismissed as an obvious hoax that have creeped me out for a long time:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rendlesham_Forest_incident I'm not a UFO'er either, but here's a case that's always boggled me considering it wasn't some drunk redneck with Schizophrenia claiming he was abducted but rather an incident occurring on a military facility in Europe with multiple witnesses from soldiers on the base. Only explanation I have for these things is that there was some Cold War spying shit going down that night and they use the UFO story so WW3 wouldn't happen.
One I like while not being as sordid as those you guys talked about is the UVB-76 radio signal. While it's semi-official explanation (a radio frequency used by the Russian army for communications) makes sense, that shit and the fact that Moscow never confirmed nor denied it is creepy to hear.
The Russians seems to love their weird radio stations though, two more have been found, nicknamed The Pip and The Squeaky Wheel.
My sister had on a 20/20-type program about this family that had been murdered in a rural area (I think) in their sleep, except for one of the children. He was spared because the murderer shot at him twice without bothering to look under the covers (he missed both times). I don't know where or when the murders took place, but it was sometime in the 60's or 70's I believe. I don't remember anything else so if someone thinks they might now, please speak up because I'd like to remember it again.
Edit: I'm an idiot because I forgot to mention that my sister watched this over a decade ago and that's why I can't remember anything else about it. I hope that helps!
One I like while not being as sordid as those you guys talked about is the UVB-76 radio signal. While it's semi-official explanation (a radio frequency used by the Russian army for communications) makes sense, that shit and the fact that Moscow never confirmed nor denied it is creepy to hear.
The Russians seems to love their weird radio stations though, two more have been found, nicknamed The Pip and The Squeaky Wheel.
Dragging old thread up because today at work I cataloged a book about the 1991 Yogurt Shop Murders in Texas. After a couple of bungled trials the killers were never found. It's pretty traumatizing to read about.
I love this stuff (although it freaks me out and I usually can't sleep well after reading about it). A lot of really fascinating ones have been mentioned. One that freaks me out a lot is Tara Calico/the polaroid that MIGHT be her...because even if it isn't, the girl and the little boy in the picture obviously went through horrific stuff. Just frightening.
Overall, I think the more recent cases are the more frightening. Only because in our world of technology (even back to the 80s or 90s), if someone is able to go missing without a trace, some seriously shady shit went down.
Yo I love this shit, I'm really interested in Missing 411 I'd really like to read some of the cases to see if there is anything to them, does anyone know where I could find an ebook file for it? Has anyone read it, is it interesting at all or is David Paulides just blowing smoke?
it's pretty damn interesting. I do a lot of survival hiking and camping in the areas he talks about. he really does a good job narrowing down the cases to just the ones that aren't really explained, which gives you a sense of the huge numbers of people who die or go missing in the woods in the US. LOTS. of people.
(just buy one of the actual books from his site, I haven't found a good eBook version yet. I have the western US one)
One crime I'd like to see solved is the Highway of Tears. I guess it's officially a few dozen crimes, actually. the amount of traveling I do on highways makes this case really upsetting to me, and really interesting. Good cameras along that stretch of road might lead to better breaks in the case. http://www.highwayoftears.ca
The story about the Hoggle children is so frustrating. The mom who probably murdered her own kids (it was assumed she gave them away) was protected for years and the husband was unable to get information out of her the whole time she's been in a psychiatric home. All these years the mother refused to say anything and she was judged to be incompetent for trial. She was a paranoid Schizophrenic and when the two children disappeared all she would say was that the toddlers were in a "safe place." It's such an infuriating case.
Some people think she's faking it so she won't have to go to prison.
