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The Penetentiary of New Mexico Prison Riot was known as one of the most deadly prison riots in American History. It took place on the 2nd and 3rd of February, 1980; 12 officers were taken hostage, 33 inmates were killed and another 200+ inmates were badly injured. Many were sodomized and severely beaten and mutilated. Out of the 12 officers that were taken hostage, 7 were brutally beaten, stabbed, and/or sodomized.

The riot was caused due to the horrendous prison conditions which included unsanitary conditions and extremely poor food. The prison was also designed to hold 900 inmates yet it held over 1,000, and recently, rehabilitative, educational, and recreational programs had been cancelled, which is counter-productive in a prison system.

The riot began when two prisoners overpowered and officer who had caught them both drinking home-made alcohol. They managed to take him hostage and obtain a set of keys from a fleeing officer and within a few hours chaos ensued - gangs were fighting gangs, high profile inmates were released from solitary confinement and inmates began to target “snitches” and sex offenders that were in a separate wing (cellblock 4) and tortured, decapitated, and burnt them alive. The police could have opened a back door in cellblock 4 to save the prisoners who had begged for help but to no avail. 36 hours after the riot began, State Police finally entered the prison and put a stop to the riot.

The second photograph above shows axe marks from where an inmate was decapitated. The third photograph above shows burn mark from where an inmate was burnt alive.

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Two engineers fix a Disney animatronic (1963)

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On 22 October, 2003, 26-year-old Christina Mae Watson from Helena, Alabama, died under suspicious circumstances while scuba diving on her honeymoon with new husband, David Gabriel Watson, in Queensland, Australia. David had told authorities that the current was too strong and that he had noticed that Christina had  a look of worry on her face before she accidentally knocked his mask off underwater. He claimed that when he placed his mask back on, Christina was sinking to the bottom of the ocean. He also reported that he had an ear issue which prevented him from swimming down and helping her.

Another diver, Dr Stanley Stutz, told authorities that he had witnessed David giving Christina a “bear hug” as she was flailing in the water, clearly distressed, before he saw David reappear at the surface as Christina sunk to the bottom. Another diver, Gary Stempler, snapped the disturbing above photograph which shows Christina lying on the bottom of the ocean. The photos were developed a few weeks after her death. 

Due to the inconsistencies in David’s story as to what had occurred, he was tried for her murder. It was argued that he had turned her air supply off before tightly holding her as she fell unconscious. During his trial it was revealed that he had told 16 separate stories as to what had taken place on that fateful day and not one matched any of the witnesses versions of events. He was acquitted due to lack of evidence.

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This is the oldest piece of music known to humankind. It’s engraved in cuneiform on a tablet from 1400 BC. And it was a hymn to their goddess Nikkal.

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Crime and Investigation are running a giveaway of my book! Just click the link above and answer the questions to be in for a chance to win one of ten copies! Good luck and let me know if ya win one ❤️

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The Circleville Writer

In 1976, several Circleville, Ohio residents began receiving strange letters detailing personal information about their lives. The writer of these letters would come to be known as the Circleville Writer. He used blocked letters, and knew extremely personal information about those he targeted.

One of the people he targeted was Mary Gillespie. Mary was a bus driver who had been accused of a supposedly non-existent affair with the superintendent of schools (though later both Mary and the Superintendent confirmed the affair). The writer told Mary that he/she had been observing her house and knew she had children. It was postmarked Columbus, Ohio, but had no return address. 

1st letter (pictured top left) :  “Don’t lie when questioned about knowing him. I know where you live. I’ve been observing your house and know you have children. This is no joke. Please take it serious. Everyone concerned has been notified and everything will be over soon.”

Mary received multiple letters but kept them to herself until her husband, Ron, received one as well. The letter stated that if Ron did not stop his wife’s affair, his life would be in danger. The writer threatened to go public with the affair. He threatened to take out billboards and radio ads. Ron and Mary had only told 3 other people about the letters so they decided to write back claiming to know who the person was. Ron did so and the letters stopped coming for a while.

On August 19, 1977 Ron got a phone call from the alleged writer. He grabbed his shotgun and left in his pickup. His behavior hinted at the idea that Ron had found out the identity of the Circleville writer. A few minutes later, Ron was found dead in his pickup truck, crashed into a tree. Investigators later learned that Ron had fired at least one shot from his gun before crashing. Sheriff Dwight Radcliffe ruled Ron’s death an accident and chalked it up to drunk driving.

Later on in February of 1983, Mary began receiving harassment via posters and signs on the side of the road on her everyday bus route. Becoming fed up, she went to rip down one of the signs before noticing that the sign itself was hooked to a device; a trap which had a box with a gun inside, pointed at her. Had she pulled the sign down in a specific way, the gun would have gone off. 

Even though the serial number was somewhat rubbed off, the police traced the gun back to a man named Paul Freshour. Paul claimed the gun was stolen and he was at work on the day of the incident. His boss backed up his alibi. Ultimately Paul was arrested on murder charges. He was also subjected to handwriting tests, in which he was asked to write in the same block lettering. Handwriting experts testified that Paul was responsible for the letters and Paul was sentenced to 7-24 years in prison.

While in prison, Paul received his own letter from the writers.

2nd letter (pictured top right):  Freshour, now when are you going to believe you aren’t getting out of there? I told you two years ago; when you set ‘em up, they stay set up. Don’t you listen at all? No one wants you out. No one. The joke is on you. Ha Ha! Tell no one of this letter. I saw the paper. Great news, great! The Sheriff loved it. Ha Ha! Do you believe it now? Do you?”

Paul was given parole in 1994 when authorities confirmed that he could not have written the letter to himself or the other letters residents continued to receive from the Circleville writer. Paul maintained his innocence until he died in 2012. The true identity of the writer remains unknown to this day.

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The Circleville Writer

In 1976, several Circleville, Ohio residents began receiving strange letters detailing personal information about their lives. The writer of these letters would come to be known as the Circleville Writer. He used blocked letters, and knew extremely personal information about those he targeted.

One of the people he targeted was Mary Gillespie. Mary was a bus driver who had been accused of a supposedly non-existent affair with the superintendent of schools (though later both Mary and the Superintendent confirmed the affair). The writer told Mary that he/she had been observing her house and knew she had children. It was postmarked Columbus, Ohio, but had no return address. 

1st letter (pictured top left) :  “Don’t lie when questioned about knowing him. I know where you live. I’ve been observing your house and know you have children. This is no joke. Please take it serious. Everyone concerned has been notified and everything will be over soon.”

Mary received multiple letters but kept them to herself until her husband, Ron, received one as well. The letter stated that if Ron did not stop his wife’s affair, his life would be in danger. The writer threatened to go public with the affair. He threatened to take out billboards and radio ads. Ron and Mary had only told 3 other people about the letters so they decided to write back claiming to know who the person was. Ron did so and the letters stopped coming for a while.

On August 19, 1977 Ron got a phone call from the alleged writer. He grabbed his shotgun and left in his pickup. His behavior hinted at the idea that Ron had found out the identity of the Circleville writer. A few minutes later, Ron was found dead in his pickup truck, crashed into a tree. Investigators later learned that Ron had fired at least one shot from his gun before crashing. Sheriff Dwight Radcliffe ruled Ron’s death an accident and chalked it up to drunk driving.

Later on in February of 1983, Mary began receiving harassment via posters and signs on the side of the road on her everyday bus route. Becoming fed up, she went to rip down one of the signs before noticing that the sign itself was hooked to a device; a trap which had a box with a gun inside, pointed at her. Had she pulled the sign down in a specific way, the gun would have gone off. 

Even though the serial number was somewhat rubbed off, the police traced the gun back to a man named Paul Freshour. Paul claimed the gun was stolen and he was at work on the day of the incident. His boss backed up his alibi. Ultimately Paul was arrested on murder charges. He was also subjected to handwriting tests, in which he was asked to write in the same block lettering. Handwriting experts testified that Paul was responsible for the letters and Paul was sentenced to 7-24 years in prison.

While in prison, Paul received his own letter from the writers.

2nd letter (pictured top right):  Freshour, now when are you going to believe you aren’t getting out of there? I told you two years ago; when you set ‘em up, they stay set up. Don’t you listen at all? No one wants you out. No one. The joke is on you. Ha Ha! Tell no one of this letter. I saw the paper. Great news, great! The Sheriff loved it. Ha Ha! Do you believe it now? Do you?”

Paul was given parole in 1994 when authorities confirmed that he could not have written the letter to himself or the other letters residents continued to receive from the Circleville writer. Paul maintained his innocence until he died in 2012. The true identity of the writer remains unknown to this day.

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The Murder of Fanny Adams

At least twenty years before Jack the Ripper became a household name, another English murder case would horrify and grip the country; the brutal murder of eight-year-old Fanny Adams in 1867 by a seemingly normal solicitors clerk named Frederick Baker.

Described as being a lovely, cheerful little girl, Fanny Adams was well known in the village of Alton for her beautiful cornflower blue eyes. On August 24th, 1867, Fanny was playing in the woods with two friends when they encountered Frederick Baker (24) taking a shortcut home from work; he watched the girls run races and pick blackberries before giving them money to buy sweets. As Fanny went to go with her friends, Baker snatched her in his arms and ran with her to the nearby river.

An artist's depiction of the abduction and murder of Fanny Adams

When the little girl failed to return home for dinner, a search party was formed to look for her. Naturally they went to the meadow where she was last seen, and upon arriving at a hop garden near the river the searchers came across a horrible scene - Fanny's decapitated head stuck on a wooden stake. Her eyes had been ripped out, and a large cut mutilated her lower face in an awful imitation of a smile.

Her butchered torso lay nearby, with body parts scattered throughout the garden; one entire arm lay several feet from a single foot, while both legs had been cut from her lower torso. A forearm was found on a path leading to the garden. Further examination revealed Fanny's chest had been sliced open and her heart - which was never recovered - was scooped out, alongside most of her organs.

The gruesome nature of the crime lead to it being reported nationwide, and Frederick Baker was arrested within days after Fanny's playmates identified him as the man who snatched and ran with her. His diary entry for August 24 was short but chilling:

"Killed a young girl today. It was fine and hot"

Baker remained unfazed throughout the investigation and trial, and offered no words of remorse or explanation as to why he murdered the little girl. He was found guilty of murder and hanged on Christmas Eve; a record 5000 spectators turned up to watch the execution.

The murder of Fanny Adams started to be referenced in a macabre joke within the newly enlisted Army recruits starting in 1870 - because true cuts of meat were strictly rationed, the soldiers began to refer to their tiny, inedible lumps of dinner meat as the missing body parts of "Sweet Fanny Adams". In modern times, the term has evolved into "sweet f*ck all" or "sweet F.A", used to mean something small or insignificant. Within the Army today, pots used to store or cook meat are called Fannys.

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Three recently extinct species on display at the Harvard Museum of Natural History: the South Island giant moa (Dinornis robustus), Steller’s sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas), and thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus).

The South Island giant moa was a species of moa (order Dinornithoformes) that, like the rest of its order, was endemic to New Zealand. It was the largest of the moa species, with females reaching 6.6 feet at the back and weighing up to 510 lbs. It was found exclusively on Te Waipounamu, the South Island of New Zealand. Like the rest of the moa it went extinct around 1300-1440 CE primarily due to hunting by the Maori, who had arrived in New Zealand around 1280 CE. The closest living relatives of the moa are the tinamous, small birds native to Central and South America.

The Steller’s sea cow was a large sirenian found in the Bering Sea, between Russia and Alaska. Though it was only discovered by Europeans in 1741 it was likely known to other peoples prior to then. The species was aggressively hunted for it’s blubber, and within 27 years of being discovered by Europeans it was extinct. The closest living relative to the Steller’s sea cow is the dugong, a smaller sirenian found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

Finally, the thylacine is among the most famous recently extinct animals. The species had once ranged across mainland Australia and New Guinea, but it had already likely become extinct in these places prior to European contact. Through the process of convergent evolution it developed many similarities to canids, occupying a similar ecological niche to them. The exact reason why thylacines became extinct on the mainland is unknown, though it may have been a combination of factors including human activity and the introduction of the dingo around 3,450 years ago. The last known animal, Benjamin, died in 1936 at the London Zoo. By that time the species had become extremely rare or extinct on Tasmania due to decades of aggressive hunting. Some still believe that thylacines exist, however this is considered very unlikely by scientists. The closest living relative is the endangered Tasmanian devil.

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The life-size prop (made of fiberglass) of Justin Long’s body that was used during the climax of Jeepers Creepers (2001)

SOURCE

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One of the final photographs of 21 year old Lauren Agee, taken in July of 2015 at WakeFest in Smithville, Tennessee.

Lauren was with Christopher Stout (pictured above on the right), Hannah Palmer, and Hannah’s new boyfriend Aaron Lilly. The group was camping at the festival, which began on July 25th, 2015. Their campsite was located cliff-side, overlooking Center Hill Lake. One night during the three day festival, Lauren and Christopher slept together in an ENO hammock hanging near the cliff. The following afternoon, Lauren’s body was found floating in the lake by two fisherman. An autopsy report suggested that Lauren, who had been drinking heavily, slipped off the cliff located near her campsite. The report mentioned blunt trauma that was consistent with the fall and possible drowning. Authorities ruled that there was no foul play involved in her death.

Lauren’s mother, Sherry Smith, has doubted that her daughter’s death was an accident from the get-go. She wasn’t the only one with doubts about the autopsy ruling. In fact, the officers who responded to the scene when Lauren’s body was found felt that a lot of evidence was ignored by investigators.

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In January 2018, a 17-year-old girl escaped from her family by leaping out of a bedroom window of her small stucco home located in the working-class city of Perris, CA, and called 911 using a cellphone she grabbed from her home. In a calm manner, she identified herself as Jordan Turpin and described the years of abuse that she and her dozen siblings endured. She explained that they were never allowed to go outside, and that they lived in absolute filth due to the fact that they were only allowed up to one shower a year. They lived imprisoned and bound by shackles their whole lives, sleeping in their own waste. 

The teenager led police to her family home, which appeared like any other typical Californian home on the exterior. On the inside, however, they walked into the extremely disturbing living conditions of the remaining twelve siblings, ranging from ages 2-29, all bound to their beds by chains and padlocks. About half of them were adults in their late teens or twenties, though they were all mistaken as minors due to their childlike appearances. The siblings were very clearly malnourished, the eldest sibling weighing a measly 82 pounds, and many had cognitive deficiencies due to the lifelong abuse they suffered. Their parents, identified as David, 56, and Louise Turpin, 49, were immediately arrested and slapped with many charges ranging from torture and abuse of children and adults to lewd acts on children below the age of 14. After the news broke out, more gut-wrenching details began unraveling about the horrors that transpired within the Turpin home, which would no later be dubbed ‘’The House of Horrors’’. 

The children were forced to sleep during the day and stay up all night. Their parents kept them isolated from the outside world and never let them play with toys. They were generally only given one meal a day, which consisted of bologna or peanut butter sandwiches. The children were physically punished if they dared to steal food or access the internet. One of the siblings was strangled by their mother for sneaking onto the internet to watch a YouTube video of Justin Bieber. Six of the minor children who placed in foster care. The remaining adult children are now in assisted living. 

David and Louise were sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Some of the children issued their own statements at the sentencing hearing. revealing they were still haunted by the abuse but had forgiven their parents. One of them, now in college, had stated, ‘’My parents took my whole life from me, but now I’m taking my life back.’’ She added that the abuse made her strong and described herself as a fighter. 

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Victim Impact Statements

Victim impact statements are written or oral information from crime victims, in their own words, about how a crime has affected them. All 50 states allow victim impact statements at some phase of the sentencing process. Most states permit them at parole hearings, and victim impact information is generally included in the pre-sentencing report presented to the judge. (source) 

There are many high-profile kidnapping cases in which a survivor has finally faced their tormentor(s) in court. These survivors have delivered powerful, inspiring messages that give hope to all people in horrific situations. Here is a list of 6 such victim impact statements from kidnapping survivors: (click their names to read the statements!)

Abigail Hernandez: A teenage girl from New Hampshire who was kidnapped at the age of 14 by Nathaniel Kibby during 2013. After 9 months of captivity, Kibby released Abigail. After initially lying (due to fear) about her abductor’s identity, Abigail eventually revealed that Kibby was the one who kidnapped her. He was sentenced to 45-90 years in prison.

Elizabeth Smart: Elizabeth was also kidnapped at the age of 14 from her family’s home in Utah. She was taken by Brian David Mitchell in 2002. Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, held Elizabeth captive in a remote tent in the woods of Utah. After 9 months of torture, Elizabeth was brought to a Burger King by her kidnappers–where she was recognized from her ‘Missing Persons’ poster by a patron who called police. Mitchell was given two life sentences, while Barzee served 8 years in prison and was eventually released in 2018. 

Elizabeth Thomas: During the fall of 2016, 15 year-old Elizabeth enrolled in public school for the very first time. The young girl from Tennessee met a teacher named Tad Cummins while in school. She had been a victim of childhood abuse and Cummins preyed on her vulnerability and manipulated her into to running away with him in March 2017. The pair was found at a commune in California nearly 40 days later. Cummins was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Jaycee Dugard: Jaycee was kidnapped at the age of 11 while walking to her bus stop in 1991. She was held captive by Phillip Garrido and his wife Nancy for 18 years. Jaycee birthed two of his children. In 2009, Jaycee revealed her true identity to a college campus security officer who subsequently called police. Jaycee opted not to go to Phillip’s sentencing; she instead her her mother Terry Probyn read her statement on her behalf. Phillip was sentenced to 431 years in prison, while Nancy was sentenced to 36 to life.

Jayme Closs: Jayme (13) was kidnapped from her family’s Wisconsin home by Jake Patterson (21) in October 2018. Jake killed both of Jayme’s parents in order to kidnap her. After 88 days of torturous captivity, Jayme was able to escape from Jake’s home. Jake was arrested shortly thereafter and has been sentenced to life in prison. 

Michelle Knight: Ariel Castro kidnapped Michelle and two other teenage girls in the early 2000s. One of the girls escaped the home in 2013 and called police. Michelle was held captive the longest–a total of 11 years. Ariel Castro was sentenced to life and prison. He committed suicide a month into his sentence. 

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Joshua Phillips’ father was a violent drunk. He dominated his wife and imposed strict rules on his children. Joshua seemed to be your average 14-year-old. He lived with his parents on a quiet street in Jacksonville, Florida, and kept a C average in school where he had a number of friends. He played with several children in the neighbourhood, one of which was 8-year-old Maddie Clifton.

When Maddie went missing on the 3rd of November, 1998, nobody was surprised to see Joshua out assisting in the search. Over the forthcoming week, an extensive search party scoured the area in search of the young tomboy but she was nowhere to be found. On the morning of the seventh day, Joshua’s mother noticed water on the floor beside his waterbed. There had been a putrid smell over the past couple of days and she wondered if the leaking bed was the issue. As she investigated further, she was aghast to see a human foot underneath the waterbed. She ran outside to a police officer and alerted him to what she had discovered.

Underneath Joshua’s waterbed was the lifeless body of Maddie Clifton. The medical examiner determined that Maddie’s head had been bashed in and she suffered stab wounds to the neck. In fact, she was still alive when she was shoved underneath the bed. Joshua confessed that Maddie and him had been playing baseball when he hit her on the head with the ball causing her to cry. Joshua said he panicked that he would get in trouble with his father. His parents had been out and he was forbidden to leave the house or let anybody in when they’re not home.

He confessed that he dragged Maddie into the house and bludgeoned her with the baseball bat before stabbing her with his penknife. While the autopsy concluded that Maddie hadn’t been sexually assaulted, she was found nude from the waist down. The prosecution argued that Joshua had killed Maddie in a sexually aroused state, adding that he watched violent pornography. 

Joshua was charged with first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. However, in 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that sentencing juveniles to life sentenced without parole is unconstitutional. As a result, his attorneys filed for a re-sentencing hearing which was scheduled for 2017.

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April 16, 1947: the ship is the SS Grandcamp. There is a fire in the hold, and the men on the dock are members of the Texas City Volunteer Fire Department, who are attempting to extinguish it.

SS Grandcamp’s cargo includes 2,200 tons of ammonium nitrate.

A few minutes after this photo was taken, it’s going to detonate in one of the largest non-nuclear explosions in human history, creating a mushroom cloud more than 2,000 feet tall. All but one of the firefighters in that photo are going to be instantly killed, and no identifiable fragment of most of their bodies will ever be recovered. Nearly a thousand buildings in Texas City are going to be flattened, and windows will be broken and pedestrians knocked over by the force of the blast ten miles away in Galveston. Steel shrapnel will be flung out at hypersonic speeds and fall from the sky in molten chunks, igniting secondary fires all over the surrounding area, including the various storage tanks of the local Monsanto chemical refinery and another ship in the harbor, High Flyer, whose own 1,000 tons of ammonium nitrate will detonate in turn.

At least 468 will be confirmed dead, more than 5,000 will be injured, and the disaster will cost more than $100 million in property damage (in 1947 dollars - over a billion in today’s money).

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“My friend” combination knuckleduster and 7 shot .22 caliber revolver patented in 1865 [2000x1379]

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