Poisoning of Timothy O'Bryan
The death sent the O'Bryan's small Texas town into a panic, and the police determined that the Pixie Stix that Timothy ate were laced with cyanide. When Ronald's story kept changing, police began investigating him. They found him to be deeply in debt, and that he'd taken out massive life insurance policies on his children. Police found that other O'Bryan children had also been given the candy by their dad, but hadn't eaten them.
Ronald O'Bryan was found guilty of murder, sentenced to death, and executed in 1984.
Late on Halloween night 2004, roommates Leslie Mazzara, Adriane Insogna, and Lauren Meanza went to bed after handing out candy. Meanza was woken up at 1AM by the sounds of a scuffle. Not knowing what was happening, she ran in terror from the house and hid in the backyard, watching an assailant climb out of a window. When the coast was clear, she ran back upstairs, and found both of her roommates butchered.
In the course of the investigation, FBI agents found cigarette butts near the scene of the crime that matched blood evidence inside the house, but found no known matches in any DNA databases. Officers and FBI agents spoke to nearly 1,500 persons of interest during the investigation of the double murder including one of Insogna’s friends, Lily Prudhome. Her husband, Eric Copple, became a person of extreme interest during the investigation when he refused to give a DNA sample to exclude him from the suspect pool. Nearly a year after the commission of the crime, Copple turned himself in and confessed to the deaths of his wife's friends while giving no motive for the execution of his crime.
If the nature of the murders wasn't heinous enough, consider the fact that Copple was, at the time of the murders, only engaged to the friend of one of his victims and carried on with the wedding thinking his crimes would not be tied to him. This quote from Adriane Insogna's mother, Arlene Allen, gives a chilling insight into a murderer who thought he got away with it.
“You are the man who is so cruel as to invite me, the mother of the woman you murdered, to stand up for you at your wedding, to read scripture to you of love and death and to bless your union. Throughout that weekend you brought me into the heart of your family, knowing all the while it was you who destroyed mine."
Liske Family Murders
The killer was found to be William Liske’s son from a previous marriage, William Liske Jr., who had a history of schizophrenia and violence. Liske was picked up at a halfway house, and pleaded guilty to all three murders. He committed suicide in prison in 2015.
Murder of Tony Bagley
Murder of Karl Jackson
Jackson got out of his car, exchanged words with the throwers, and got back in the car. Then one of the teens pulled a gun and shot Jackson through the head, killing him instantly. Police arrested 17-year-old Curtis Sterling for the murder, and New York cracked down on egg-throwing pranks.
The Woodbridge Abductions
Death of Yoshihiro Hattori
When they got no answer, they started walking back to their car. The owner of the home, Rodney Peairs, then opened the door armed with a 44 Magnum revolver. Hattori turned around and said "we're here for the party." Claiming he feared for his life and that the exchange student was "scary," Peairs shot Hattori at point blank range, hitting him in the chest and killing him.
Peairs and his wife then went back into their house and waited 40 minutes for the police, who questioned him and let him go. Only when both the governor of Louisiana and the Japanese consulate got involved was Peairs actually arrested, after which he was acquitted of manslaughter.
Murders of Ronald Sisman and Elizabeth Platzman
Berkowitz had long been rumored to be involved with a satanic cult that helped him with some of the murders. According to the informant, Berkowitz had told him that his cult was planning to enter a residence near Greenwich Village (Chelsea would qualify for that) on Halloween to carry out a ritual murder. When questioned, Berkowitz claimed that Sisman had footage of one of the “Son of Sam” shootings and was planning to hand it over to the authorities in exchange for dropping some drug charges.
While no evidence was found to support Berkowitz’s claims, he was basically right about the description of Sisman’s apartment. The killings are still unsolved.
While no evidence was found to support Berkowitz’s claims, he was basically right about the description of Sisman’s apartment. The killings are still unsolved.
Pasadena Gang Shootings
The Murder of Martha Moxley
Twenty-five years went by until Michael Skakel, who was also 15 at the time, was arrested, charged, and convicted of her murder. The case drew worldwide attention since Skakel was a nephew of Robert F. Kennedy's widow. Because of his family's wealth, he had lived life in and out of rehab for alcohol, trying out for the Winter Olympics, and flunking out of multiple schools.
Skakel’s alibi seemed bizarre - that he had been masturbating under that tree earlier the same night (accounting for DNA found on the body), but that he had no connection to the crime. He had a letter written on his behalf by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and after numerous appeals, was given a new trial in 2012 due to prosecutor misconduct and a poor defense. He's currently out on bail, waiting for the new trial to start.
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