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These True Crime Cases Are So Disturbing, They Might Ruin Your Sleep
By Marisa Martinez,
14 days ago
Reddit user, Sokka_23 posed the question , "What is a true crime case that keeps you up at night?"
Here are some of the cases that have resonated with people:
1. The Murder Case of Junko Furuta
"Junko Furuta's torture and murder. Even if you imagined the worst things a human can endure, it's not even close to what these monsters did to her for over more than a month. Looking into detail is NSFL and some of them have completely escaped justice because of their influence."
"I’m not a religious person, but it’s cases like these that make me hope that hell is real. I don’t care at all that these people were ‘minors’ when the crime was committed. They do not deserve to live full and joyful lives when they actively and horrifically ended someone else’s."
2. The Murder Case of Shanann Watts and Her Daughters
"Chris Watts and the way he disposed of his daughters’ bodies — I made the mistake of watching that documentary while I was on maternity leave (not that there’s ever a good time) and couldn’t sleep for days."
"The Survivor Story of Mary Vincent. She survived an extremely brutal assault at 15 where the perpetrator, Lawrence Singleton, raped her for hours, sawed her arms off at the elbows, and threw her into a ravine, leaving her for dead. She pulled herself out and flagged down a car for help. She sat across from him in court with her newly fitted prosthetics, and he only got 14 fucking years. She had barely been alive for 14 years, absolutely despicable sentencing. He served 8 of them, got out, and killed a mother of three, Roxanne Hayes. She was just trying to provide for her kids and he took her life like he took Mary Vincent's innocence. This entire case has left me feeling so unsafe at times. The ordeals these women went through just because they existed in this vile man's space. I hope he is rotting in the hottest hell"
"The West Memphis Three case is constantly on my mind. I’m 1000% certain that Damien, Jason, and Jesse are all innocent and I’m constantly disturbed as to who actually did it and why. I feel like there is something really dark hiding behind why they chose to nail some teenagers. It feels like someone is being protected. I hope someday the truth comes to light and the killer faces justice or if they’re dead their name is forever attached to it."
"The Toolbox Killers, and specifically the audio you hear from Bittaker’s court footage as jurors flee the room. It makes my heart hurt so much, I wish I had never heard it. If I were that girl’s mother and had to listen to that, hearing what my child went through, I am positive I would not be able to continue living. I don’t know whatever happened to her family if they ever made themselves public, but my heart hurts for them too. And then there’s the fact that the only reason they even got that audio was because Bittaker kept the tape in his car to listen to while driving, so they forgot to dispose of it like they did the others. The only reason we ever heard that baby’s last moments is because her torturer enjoyed it so much he listened to it every day."
"I come from Liverpool and this is the worst one for me. The whole city was screaming for blood. They still are. One is out and doesn't reoffend but one constantly reoffends and is back in prison now."
"The Colorado Hammer case frightened me so much as a kid, growing up outside of Denver and hearing about it on the news. I slept with a steak knife by my bed after that, and I was 11."
"The murder of Gabriel Fernandez. The Netflix documentary really opened my eyes to just how devastating and brutal that child’s life was. I’m the mom of a toddler and I genuinely hug my child tighter because I’ll never forget his story. No child deserves that."
"Grace Millane. I was scrolling TikTok one night and seeing her & her murderer enter the hotel elevator and then just him exiting the next day with suitcases containing her body...so sad and terrifying."
"Sylvia Likens in 1965. 16-year-old, who was left by her parents in the care of a woman named Gertrude. Gertrude tortured and abused her. She had her kids participate in the abuse. Neighborhood kids also either participated or watched. Sylvia and her sister never said anything because they were scared that it would get worse. Other adults came to the house and saw what state she was in, but never did anything for her. Multiple people were tried and convicted of various crimes and I believe the abuse went on for months until she finally died of a brain injury. I read a true crime book on it and I just could not stop crying"
11. The Double Murder Case of Aarushi Talwar and Hemraj Banjade
"Aarushi Hemraj double murder case. A 13-year-old girl and their house help were murdered in Noida. It baffles me how the police could not solve the case despite having so much evidence."
"Gabby Petito. She was robbed of what could have been a wonderful life. I think she would have been successful in her quest to be an influencer and vlogger. She had charisma and seemed very sweet. She was likable. It's a very sad situation. The fact that Brian Laundrie's parents knew more than they let on is sick. Maybe she could have been saved. Maybe not. Her parents had no idea what happened when the Laundries knew. Also, Gabby lived with him. They knew Gabby. If they cared about her, they should have wanted to find her. Also, what happened could happen to anyone and does happen to a lot of women. Domestic abuse and violence are all too common. Her fate is all too common. But her parents have a foundation now that helps find missing girls."
"I remember this case super well because it occurred pretty close to where I grew up. It was all over our local papers and I remember asking my mom when they would find her (when she was still considered missing) and if she was going to be okay, and the way my mom very delicately let me know that there was a good chance she wasn’t going to be okay because of how long she had been missing for. Burned into my brain."
"Cogne case. It's an Italian case. When I was a kid, everyone talked about it. The murders name is Annamaria Franzoni. Basically in 2002, a mother of two children (7-year-old and 3-year-old) called her doctor because the youngest son's head exploded. The murder weapon was never found, but apparently, she hit the child with something enough heavy to break his skull. The sentence was 30 years in prison. She did six years in prison and five under house arrest."
"Colleen Stan — the Girl in the Box. She was kidnapped at 20 years old by a couple (baby in the car) and kept in a box under the couple’s bed for long periods (sometimes up to 23 hours a day) for seven years of her life. It’s a very unsettling case because 1. How could people be so evil? 2. There was a lot of mental manipulation and brainwashing that occurred to make her fearful. There were opportunities she could have escaped but did not. For example, they took her to see her family once. It’s wild."
16. The Dissapearance of Keir Johnson and Her Child
"Not necessarily a crime, but a missing persons case local to my area. Keir Johnson and her baby Chloe disappeared seven years ago when they were supposed to meet Keir’s friends at the beach and never showed up. They have never been found. Keir’s car was found a few days after an amber alert was issued for them, but nothing of them has been found since. I wonder about them quite often."
"It’s definitely creepy! I heard a clip on the True Crime Bullshit podcast where he talked about watching someone at the park very close to me and he discussed he was going to grab them but there were too many people around. It’s beyond eerie to think someone was that close and never knew it."
"The disappearance of Brian Shaffer only because that happened at the university I went to and I’ve also been to the bar he disappeared from (it now no longer exists) and I think it’s so weird how he was never seen leaving the bar."
"The case of Tera Lynn Smith. She disappeared in my hometown when I was a child. She went out for a jog and was never seen again. Her parents found her journal that indicated that she was sleeping with her 30+ year-old karate teacher, she was 16. There are a lot of people who believe he killed her, but there isn't much to prove that. She disappeared in the 90s and has not been found. A lot of people in the area know her and her family. Her disappearance made national news, but no one was ever charged with anything."
"Bianca Devins. Not only are incels still disgracing her name to this day, they're still spreading photos of her murder around the internet, sending them to her family, and her friends. There are social media accounts dedicated to talking shit about this MINOR CHILD, who was murdered by zero fault of her own, and those accounts won't be removed or banned from social media sites. Social media companies won't acknowledge that they do indeed break the site's TOS and law enforcement won't fucking do anything about all of the bullying and harassment still happening to her family and friends five years later."
"The horrifying honour abuse murder of 27-year-old British mother Surjit Kaur Athwal. Committed by her monster-in-law Bachan Kaur Athwal and evil husband Sukhdave Singh Athwal. When Surjit was murdered, her youngest child was nine months old. Her sister-in-law Sarbjit secretly fought for justice for Surjit for nine years; becoming both the first person in within a murderer’s family ever to go into open court in a honour killing trial as the Prosecution’s key witness and the first to waive anonymity. In 2013, Sarbjit released her book Shamed: The Honour Killing That Shocked Britain – by the Sister Who Fought for Justice. Bachan Kaur Athwal was convicted of murdering Surjit and jailed for life at the Old Bailey in 2007 but granted early release in 2022. Whilst incarcerated, Bachan Kaur Athwal committed multiple violent attacks including upon prison staff, an inmate, and her own daughter during a prison visit. Sarbjit Athwal founded the charity True Honour in 2015 with the aim of stopping honour abuse and helping to train a variety of professionals to provide the most effective to victims."
"Johnathan Luna. He was an attorney from Baltimore that was believed to have killed himself yet he had shallow stab wounds all over himself. His body was found in a creek 15 minutes from my home. None of it makes sense. It's one of the only cases I think about often."
"Susan Powell and her family. I think we all have an idea of what happened to her but what breaks my heart is her monster of a husband took their two little boys and ended their lives, and not in a “peaceful” way from what I know. I’m a teacher and teach children the same age as those little boys and I can’t fathom a parent doing that to their own children."
Murder is hideous to begin with and when these monsters unleash their evil deeds on completely innocent victims especially children that’s a whole different level! Poor little Gabriel’s story had me in tears and I watch this kind of stuff all the time but the hell he was forced to endure is beyond comprehension! The worst thing is if cps had listened to his teachers he’d still be alive! My heart goes out to the victims and their families in this! R. I. P.
Jason Turner
7d ago
The watts murders were horrific. What he did to those little girls.
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