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Latest Posts by dvaowlot

There are 5 temples in Kyoto, Japan, that have blood stained ceilings. The ceilings are made from the floorboards of Fushimi Castle where Torii Mototada and his remaining 380 samurai warriors killed themselves, in 1600, after a long hold-off against an army of 40,000 for 11 days

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The Anatomical Machines, Giuseppe Salerno, c. 1756-64

In the Underground Chamber of the Sansevero Chapel, housed in two glass cases, are the famous Anatomical Machines, or Anatomical Studies, i.e. the skeletons of a man and a woman in upright position with their arteriovenous system almost perfectly intact. The circulatory system depicted on the anatomical machines was artificially fabricated with waxes, an iron wire and silk fibers, probably following techniques commonly used by anatomists of that time

These disquieting objects were kept in a room in the palace of the Prince of Sansevero called “the Apartment of the Phoenix”, as a number of travellers and the Breve nota di quel che si vede in casa del principe di Sansevero, an anonymous eighteenth-century guide to the Palace and the Sansevero Chapel, attest. This source describes the Machines in detail, from the blood vessels of the head to those of the tongue and adds that at the feet of the woman was placed “the tiny body of a foetus”, alongside which there was even the open placenta, connected to the foetus by the umbilical cord. The two anatomical studies were moved to the Chapel, and in this way saved from destruction or loss, long after the death of the Prince. The remains of the foetus were still visible up to a few decades ago, when they were stolen.

Grave of Dr. Timothy Clark Smith

In New Haven, Vermont lies a unique grave. Because of the prevalence of accidental burials in the 1700s & 1800s, many people used preventative measures such as bells should someone find themselves buried alive. Dr. Smith decided that wasn’t enough, and deemed that a window be installed on his grave in the event of his death. When he did eventually die, a secret vault for his wife was also built under his grave. Today the window is blurry with condensation and mold, but if a person shines a flashlight down into the grave at night, the body is still visible. Tales of hauntings also follow this grave, and the surrounding cemetery. People have made reports of an eerie green light within the grave at night and peering into the window and seeing a living face staring back at them. An old urban legend also says if you knock upon the window three times, you will hear screams and the doctor himself will appear.

Photos by J.W. Ocker

A dakhma (Persian: دخمه), also known as a Tower of Silence, is a circular, raised structure built by Zoroastrians for excarnation (that is, the exposure of human corpses to the elements for decomposition), in order to avert contamination of the soil and other natural elements by the dead bodies.Carrion birds, usually vultures and other scavengers, consume the flesh. Skeletal remains are gathered into a central pit where further weathering and continued breakdown occurs.

Mysterious Death of Zigmund Adamski 

One June 6th of 1980, Zigmund left his house to do some grocery shopping. When he didn’t return for a family wedding the next day, his family started to get worried. 

His body was found five days later (June 11th) in Todmorden next to a railway line. Trevor Parker, son of the coal yard owner, made the gruesome discovery PC Alan Godfrey was sent to investigate. His body was found face down on top 12 foot high pile of anthracite. He was found without a shirt, the rest of his clothes seemed like they were put on him by someone who had very little idea of how to put them on (both his shoes and pants were put on incorrectly). Even though he had been missing for 5 days, he only had a single day of beard growth. His neck and shoulders also had burn marks on them and forensics found that some kind of strange ointment was applied to them though they could not identify it.

Dr Alan Edwards, the consulting pathologist at the Royal Halifax Infirmary, conducted the post-mortem examination in Hebden Bridge just after 9pm that day he was found. Dr Edwards’ professional judgment placed the time of death between 11am and 1pm on the day that Adamski was found, while the burns were two days old. The exact cause of death was a matter of such deliberation, that Adamski’s death took Coroner James Turnbull several months to register. It was ruled as a heart-attack.

PC Alan Godfrey didn’t believe that Zigmund died of a heart attack, he believed that Zigmund was abducted by aliens. Godfrey claimed that he himself had witnessed a UFO in Todmorden. He went to investigate what he thought was an overturned bus, but was shocked when he saw it hovering 5 feet above the ground. He claims that the next thing he remembers is being back in his patrol car driving off. He claims that he had similar burn marks and a strange green gel on his neck too. He was put under hypnosis and asked about his encounter. The 2nd picture is his sketch of the UFO and the aliens he had an encounter with. Godfrey stuck to his claims that Zigmund was abducted by aliens and dropped back after they used him for research.

Zigmund’s family believes it was a case of human abduction instead of alien abduction. They believe he was being held captive and died of a heart attack.

In a chilling case reminiscent of the “Swedish Josef Fritzl,” Martin Trenneborg, a 38-year-old doctor, employed a horrifying plan to abduct and imprison a young woman. The ordeal began when he drugged her with strawberries laced with Rohypnol, rendering her unconscious. 

Trenneborg then transported her to his residence, located near Kristianstad in southern Sweden, where he had constructed a dungeon. In an attempt to conceal his identity, he wore two different masks during the entire ordeal.

For a harrowing week, Trenneborg subjected his victim to repeated acts of rape while she remained captive in the dungeon. Disturbingly, investigations later uncovered his intention to keep her captive for up to ten years. However, his twisted scheme took an unexpected turn when he returned to her apartment to retrieve some of her belongings. 

Upon witnessing the police conducting a search in the area, he panicked and brought the woman to a police station, where he concocted a false story about the events that had transpired. In his fabricated account, he claimed to have kidnapped her out of a sense of loneliness and a desire for a partner.

Following a thorough legal process, Trenneborg was ultimately sentenced to ten years in prison for his heinous crimes. The severity of the sentence reflects the gravity of his actions and the immense suffering he inflicted upon his victim during her horrifying ordeal.

Saponification is the process of the human body partly or completely turning to soap. The fatty tissue and the liquid from putrefaction gradually form into adipocere, which is also known as grave wax. This process can happen to embalmed and non-embalmed bodies. It is most common with those who are overweight. The photograph above is of “The Soap Lady” who is housed at the Mutter Museum. She is entirely composed of grave wax.

On March 20, 2012, a concerned relative requested the police in Waller, Texas to conduct a welfare check on the Sesler family as they could not get in touch with them. 

Upon arrival at the family’s home located in the 2400 block of Farr in Waller County, the officers knocked on the front door and announced their presence, but no one answered. Upon further investigation, they looked through one of the windows and noticed that the house was in complete disarray. As they looked through another window, they saw a body, indicating that the home was now a crime scene.

The responding officers kicked in the front door and searched the rooms one by one. It took them just a matter of seconds to take in the gruesome scene. In the master bedroom, Lawton and Rhona Sesler were found surrounded by a pool of their own blood. In the bathroom, they discovered the lifeless body of their 26-year-old son, Mark.

One person was missing from inside the home, the couple’s other son, Trey Sesler, a 22-year-old successful YouTuber known as “Mr. Anime.”

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞:

https://morbidology.com/mr-anime-the-massacre-of-the-seslers/

This picture belongs to Jewel, "I have written in the past concerning the image of my 9-yr old twin's caught w/ the digi cam. This is no joke and there has been no tampering with the photo. The spooky thing is...she swear's she was alone when this image was captured and I for one believe her because My Camera is off limit's and I know who’s in my house. The camera is new and there's no way she would use it around someone. We have tried to figure out who the image is...guess what, were still trying. My family and I are all really spooked. It's just really phenomenal that it's real & we know it's real because when thing's happen none of us are the cause. TV's come on by themselves, thing's move & there is no one near them to touch them."

Source

The Crimes of Kate Webster & Murder of Julia Thomas

June 19, 2023

In a two-storey villa in Richmond, London, a former teacher named Julia Martha Thomas lived. Having been widowed twice, she had lived on her own at 2 Mayfield Cottages in Park Road since 1873, after her second husband died. 

At the time, Julia was about 54 years old, and was described as well dressed and eccentric. She would often leave and travel around, and her friends would have no idea where she was for periods of time. These periods could last for a couple weeks or even months. 

Though Julia was not extremely wealthy, it is said she would often wear jewellery to make people believe she had money. It was also said that Julia was not the nicest employer, often making it hard for her to keep a live-in domestic maid for long periods of time. 

On January 29, 1879, a woman named Kate Webster was employed as Julia’s servant. Kate was born around 1849 in Killanne. There is not much information known about Kate’s life, but it was believed that she had claimed to have been married to a sea captain called Webster and had 4 children with him. Kate said that both her husband and all of her children had died.

Kate had also spent time in prison in Wexford in December 1864 for larceny (stealing) around the age of 15. Kate came to England in 1867, and was sentenced to 4 years of penal servitude for larceny in Liverpool in February 1868. 

It is often hard to know much about Kate’s life because it appears her reputation is one full of deceit. Kate claimed to have been released from prison in January 1872, and later became friends with a family named Porter. On April 18,1874, Kate gave birth to a son, but the father is unknown as she named 3 possible men that it could be. 

Kate moved around quite a bit and used a number of aliases, including Webb, Gibbs, Gibbons and Lawler. She was again convicted of larceny in May 1875, facing 36 charges. Again, in February 1877 she was convicted and sentenced to 12 months in prison for larceny. Her son was taken care of by her friend Sarah Crease during the times Kate was in prison. Sarah worked as a charwoman for a woman named Miss Loder.

In January 1879 Kate took over for Sarah when she became ill and while working, Miss Loder who knew Julia was looking for a servant, recommended Kate. It is believed that when Julia met Kate she did not ask any questions about her past. 

It didn’t take long for the two women to begin despising one another. Julia would often complain that Kate’s work was not satisfactory, and it got to the point where Julia would try to get friends to stay in the house with her because she did not like being alone with Kate. About one month after beginning to work for her, on February 28, Kate was fired. 

However, Kate had convinced Julia to allow her to work for a few more days until March 2. 

On March 2, Julia and Kate got into a big argument as Kate had made Julia late for her service at the local church. When Julia returned home from church around 9pm, Kate later confessed that they had fought more and Kate ended up throwing Julia from the top of the stairs to the bottom. Kate then choked her.

Julia hitting the ground made a large thud, which neighbours did hear, but they ignored it as they believed it to only be a chair falling over. Kate then began to dismember and boil and burn Julia’s remains. 

Within the next couple of days, Kate cleaned Julia’s house and clothes. She also began packing the remains into a black Gladstone bag and a corded wooden box. There was not enough room for the head or one of the feet, so Kate threw the foot into a garbage heap and buried the head under the stables, close to Julia’s house. 

On March 4, Kate went to see her old neighbours, the Porter’s, who she had not seen in 6 years. She was wearing Julia’s clothes and was carrying the black bag that she had put some of Julia’s remains in. Kate called herself “Mrs. Thomas” and told the Porters she had married, had a child and was widowed. She also told them she had been left a house in Richmond. 

Kate asked Porter and his son if they wanted to go to a pub, and while doing so she assumingly dropped the bag of remains into the River Thames, where it was never found. She also asked Robert, the son, if he would help her carry a heavy box to the station. Kate then dropped the box into the Thames. 

The next day, on March 5, the box was washed up next to the river bank. The man who found it originally believed there to be items of a burglary and when opening the box he found what appeared to be body parts wrapped in brown paper. A doctor was called immediately to determine the remains appeared to be that of a woman. 

Around this time, a foot and ankle were found in Twickenham, where Kate had thrown the foot that wouldn’t fit. The remains were all believed to be from the same person but there was no way to identify said person. The remains were burned on March 19 and there was speculation that the remains had been used for anatomical purposes. 

Kate kept living at Julia’s house, posing as her, and on March 9, she made an agreement with a man named John Church to sell Julia’s furniture to him for his pub. 

By March 18, neighbours suspicions kept raising as they realized they had not seen Julia around for almost 2 weeks. Julia’s neighbour asked who had Julia’s furniture removed from the property and they replied that it was Julia herself, indicating Kate. Kate, now knowing that her charade was up, fled back to Ireland. 

Police were called to the property and found blood stains, burned bones and a letter left by Kate that had her home address on it. A wanted notice was put up and detectives soon found Kate and her son back in Ireland. 

Kate was arrested on March 29, after the head constable in Wexford recognized her to be the same person they had arrested 14 years prior for larceny. 

Kate’s trial began on July 2, 1879 at the Central Criminal Court. The case was huge – people from all over were very interested in Kate and her crimes, with the trial attendance being crowded. Kate had actually tried to implicate John Church and her friend Porter, though both men had solid alibis. 

She pleaded not guilty, and the defence argued she could not be capable of murder due to her having a young son. After only an hour and 15 minutes of deliberation the jury decided that Kate was guilty of murder and it had been premeditated. Kate actually pleaded and said she was pregnant, trying to avoid the death penalty. 

Kate was taken in for an examination to determine if she truly was pregnant, and it was said that she was not “quick with child” though that meant she could still be pregnant. 

Right before she was executed, Kate made a statement stating that the father of her child was the one who participated in the murder of Julia and was the reason she had lived a life of crime to begin with. On July 28, the night before her execution, she recanted the statement, taking responsibility, and also stating that John Church, Porter and her child’s father were not to blame. 

On July 29, 1879, Kate Webster was hanged at 9am at Wandsworth Prison. She was buried in an unmarked grave in one of the prison’s yards. The crowd waiting at her execution cheered when a black flag was raised over the prison, meaning the execution had gone through. 

Julia’s property was auctioned off, the day after Kate had been executed. John Church managed to still get Julia’s furniture, as well as the knife that she had been dismembered with. Julia’s house was unoccupied until 1897, and even then, servants did not really want to work there given the history. 

There have been folktales of a “ghostly nun” that has been seen over the place where Julia is buried. 

In 1952, Sir David Attenborough and his wife Jane bought a house by the Mayfield Cottages and the Hole in the Wall pub. The pub had closed in 2007, but was going to be redeveloped. On October 22, 2010, workmen doing an excavation at the rear of the old pub uncovered a woman’s skull. 

It had been buried underneath the foundations and was immediately believed to be the skull of Julia Thomas as her head was never found. Carbon dating estimated the skull to be from sometime between 1650 and 1880, though it was on top of a layer of Victorian tiles, suggesting it was from the end of this estimate. 

The skull had fractures that matched with someone being thrown down stairs, and also had low collagen levels, possibly from being boiled. In July 2011, it was confirmed that it was the skull of Julia Thomas, 132 years after she had been murdered. 

Throughout the 1970′s, Rodney Alcala brutally raped and murdered at least eight women in New York and California. It is believed that he may have killed as many as 130 women due to the thousands of photographs of unidentified women found inside his home. He would post as a Playboy photographer and would take photographs of his victims before and after killing them.

In 1978, Alcala appeared on the TV show, The Dating Game. The purpose of the game was that a contestant could interview three eligible bachelors who were hidden behind a screen and then she had to choose a winner. Alcala won, but fortunately Cheryl Bradshaw, the contestant, refused a date with him because she found him “creepy” after meeting him backstage.

On 15 July, 1974, 29-year-old Christine Chubbuck informed co-workers that she was going to read a newscast to open her talk show, Suncoast Digest, which wasn’t something she normally did. Her guest for that day’s show sat in the studio while Christine went and sat down at the news anchor’s desk. 

The cameras began rolling and Christine began reading from her news report. She covered a news article on a local shooting in a restaurant. She then began reading a piece on suicide. During the reading, she explained that she would be declared dead within eleven hours and followed this by saying: “In keeping with Channel 40’s policy of bringing you the latest in blood and guts, and in living color, you are going to see another first: an attempted suicide.” 

She then produced a .38 revolver that she had concealed throughout the news report and shot herself in the head. The entire thing had been aired and members of the public began to ring 911 while others rang the station asking if it was fake. 

Christine was rushed to hospital but was declared dead 14 hours later.

On the morning of the 6th of December, 2009, Susan Powell, from West Valley City, Utah, took her two sons, four-year-old Charles and two-year-old Braden, to a church service. Afterwards, a neighbour visited before leaving at around 5PM. This was the last time Susan was ever seen.

The following day, Susan, her husband, Josh, and their two children were reported missing. The boys hadn’t shown up at daycare and Susan hadn’t appeared at work. When authorities searched the home, they found two fans pointing at a damp spot on the floor but there was no sign of the family.

At approximately 5PM, Josh, Charles, and Braden appeared back at home. Josh claimed he had left Susan at midnight to take the boys camping at Simpson Springs Campground in western Utah despite the freezing cold temperatures. Susan was still missing, however, and a search of the marital home turned up some suspicions. 

Investigators found traces of Susan’s blood on the floor as well as a life insurance policy on her life for $1.5 million. Also found was a handwritten letter from Susan in which she expressed fear for her husband and her potential death. Nevertheless, Josh was still not arrested. Years later, a prosecutor in Washington state said that he should have been arrested then and there, stating: “There is direct evidence. There is circumstantial evidence. There is motive. There is everything but the body.”

By 2009, Josh was named a suspect in the disappearance of his wife but was never arrested. Following her disappearance, he had refused to aid in the investigation and had even quickly filed paperwork to withdraw Susan’s retirement account money. He and their two sons moved in with his father, Steven Powell. 

However, Steven too fell under a cloud of suspicion. He had a history of bizarre and inappropriate behaviour, including voyeurism. In fact, he was shortly arrested and charged with voyeurism after being caught taking photographs of his neighbours’ children through the bathroom window. In January of 2012, Josh was denied custody of Charles and Braden; custody was awarded to Susan’s parents, Charles and Judy Cox.

Just the following week, a social worker dropped the two boys over at Josh’s home for what was supposed to be a supervised visit. Josh opened the door and grabbed Charles and Braden before slamming the door in the social worker’s face. Just moments later, the house exploded and burst into flames. Josh, Charles and Braden all died in a double murder-suicide. 

It appeared as though Josh had planned the fire for some time, dropping off their toys at local charities and sending final emails to friends and acquaintances. He sent emails explaining where to find his money and how to shut off his utilities. Inside the home, investigators found two five-gallon gasoline cans; the home had been saturated with gasoline to use as an accelerant.

It was theorised that Josh had killed his sons to prevent them from talking about what happened to Susan. The lawyer for Susan’s parents said that they had recently started to recall things they remembered from that fateful night. “They were beginning to verbalize more. The oldest boy talked about that they went camping and that mommy was in the trunk. Mom and dad got out of the car and mom disappeared.”

When authorities arrived at Ed Gein's residence to question him about Bernice Worden's disappearance, they were unprepared for the horrors they would uncover. Inside the house, they made a chilling discovery. Worden's lifeless body was found suspended by her heels from a pulley, her head severed and her abdomen opened. She had been arranged like a hunted animal. Immediately, additional assistance was called to the scene.

As they further explored the premises, they were confronted with a macabre collection of objects. Skulls had been fashioned into soup bowls, chairs were upholstered with human skin, lampshades were crafted from the same material, and a box contained preserved female genitalia. They also encountered a disturbing assortment of body parts, including noses, nipples, and lips. One of the most horrifying sights was the discovery of nine dried faces, carefully mounted on the wall.

Gein later admitted to donning a vest made from female skin, complete with breasts, which he would wear on certain nights while he danced around his house, assuming the role of his deceased mother.

After confessing to the murders of tavern owner Mary Hogan in 1954 and hardware store owner Bernice Worden in 1957, Gein was deemed unfit for trial. He was confined to a mental health facility. However, in 1968, he was deemed competent to stand trial and was found guilty of Worden's murder. Despite the conviction, his legal status was determined to be legally insane, leading to his confinement in a psychiatric institution.

Ed Gein's life came to an end on July 26, 1984, at the Mendota Mental Health Institute. He succumbed to respiratory failure caused by lung cancer at the age of 77. He was laid to rest beside his family members in Plainfield Cemetery, though his grave no longer bears a marker due to perpetual vandalism.

In 1931, the arrival of a man claiming to be named Albert Johnson stirred intrigue in the secluded town of Fort McPherson, Canada. Setting up a solitary cabin near the Rat River, he ventured into the life of a trapper, seemingly embracing the solitude of the wilderness. However, suspicions arose when fellow trappers accused Johnson of sabotaging their traps, prompting the authorities to investigate.

As they approached Johnson’s remote abode with a search warrant, shots pierced through the wooden door, instigating a fierce exchange of gunfire. Johnson skillfully held off the authorities, confining himself within the cabin for nine tense days. 

Yet, on New Year’s Eve, an RCMP posse arrived, determined to bring him to justice. What ensued was a harrowing 15-hour standoff in subzero temperatures, defined by the desperate use of dynamite to decimate the cabin. To their astonishment, the authorities discovered Johnson standing amidst the wreckage, armed with dual firearms that he unleashed upon them before swiftly vanishing into the nearby woods.

Intrigue escalated as news of the relentless manhunt spread across the nation, capturing the public’s imagination. The media christened him “The Mad Trapper of Rat River,” bewildered by his exceptional survival skills amid extreme weather conditions and two treacherous blizzards. It became evident that Johnson was no ordinary trapper; his abilities defied comprehension.

On the 30th of January, 1932, the RCMP finally closed in on Johnson near the frozen expanse of Eagle River. A deadly firefight ensued, culminating in his demise as nine bullets pierced his body. In a peculiar twist, the revelation followed that Albert Johnson was not his true identity. 

Despite tireless efforts to uncover his real name, the enigma of his origins remained shrouded in mystery.

Mr. Cruel

August 18, 2021

Mr. Cruel is an unknown serial child rapist from Australia who was responsible for three attacks on young girls in the northern and eastern suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria. He is also the prime suspect in the abduction and murder of another girl named Karmein Chan. 

Mr. Cruel is unidentified and all of his attacks and potential murder have been unsolved due to this. He was given the name by The Sun newspaper, after police had described a serial home invasion rapist in November 1987 as “super cool and super cruel.” At that time police believed the same person was responsible for three rapes: a woman in 1985, a girl in 1987 and another woman in 1987.

It is believed he began his attacks on August 22, 1987 in Lower Plenty where he had broken into a family home around 4am, armed with a knife and a gun. Mr. Cruel then tied the parents by their hands and feet and locked them in a wardrobe. He cut the phone lines, raped the 11 year old daughter and tied the son to a bed. 

The next attack occurred on December 27, 1988 in Ringwood where he broke into the back door of a house around 5:30am, again armed with a knife and a handgun. Mr. Cruel bound and gagged the parents in the home and demanded money. He took the 10 year old daughter, Sharon Willis and put tape over her eyes, a ball gag in her mouth and abducted her. However, Mr. Cruel never kept his victims for good. He later released Sharon 18 hours later and left her by Bayswater High School. 

The third attack by Mr. Cruel occurred on July 3, 1990 in Canterbury where he broke into a house at 11:30 pm and tied and gagged 13 year old Nicola Lynas. He covered her eyes with tape, disabled the phones and looked for money. He then took Nicola to another house and molested her for 50 hours before he released her at a power sub-station in a suburb known as Kew. 

On April 13, 1991, in Templestowe, a man who was armed with a knife abducted 13 year old Karmein Chan, who had actually gone to the same school as Nicola. Karmein was found about a year later with 3 gunshots to the head. No one knows for sure if Mr. Cruel was responsible for Karmein’s death, since he had never been known to kill any of his victims before. The case remains unsolved.

Though we are unsure of Mr. Cruel’s identity, police believe he is a very intelligent person who carefully planned out all of his attacks, probably having watched the families and the victims before attacking. Mr. Cruel has never left any forensic tracings behind, and had his face covered at all times during each attack. The above picture is the only sketch they have of him, given by Nicola, one of the victims. He was also described as having a soft-spoken voice, his behaviour was calm and not rushed as at one point he had stopped to eat a meal during one of the attacks. Mr. Cruel apparently would threaten to kill his victims with a large hunting knife or a handgun. 

There is a reward of $200,000 for any information on two of the abductions. In April 2016, police upped the reward from $100,000 to $1,000,000 for any information that could lead to the arrest and conviction of Mr. Cruel in the 1991 murder of Karmein Chan. 

It is believed that Mr. Cruel may have videotaped or taken photographs of his attacks and police believe that if he is still alive he probably has kept the tapes and photos, as well as collect child and maybe even swap child pornography. Police believe that he probably communicates with children using chat lines and collects porn through the internet. 

Mr. Cruel’s MO was always the same in home invasions and with the three attacks on victims, as these victims had all described their attacker in the same way. He would bathe all his victims carefully, with one of them saying it was almost “like a mother washing a baby.” During one attack, he had taken a second set of clothes from the victim’s home to dress her before he released her. In another attack, he had left the girl dressed in garbage bags so the police could not test her original clothing. 

Two of Mr. Cruel’s victims provided the police with details of the house they were kept while they were abducted. Both had been shackled to a bed with a rough neck brace and one told police she could hear planes landing, which police believe meant that the house was on one of the flight paths to Melbourne Airport. 

Police searched 30,000 homes and interviewed 27,000 suspects over the attacks, costing $4 million. There has been some evidence of the crime scenes that have been lost, including tape that was used to bind one of the victims. 

In April 2016, before the 25th anniversary of Karmein Chan’s murder, the Victoria Police released a 1994 dossier (nicknamed the Sierra files) to the Herald Sun newspaper which had details about the case that had never been released to the public before. The dossier, with the FBI, had contained information about 7 possible suspects. They had attempted to contact these suspects to varying degrees. The reward for any information has been increased to $1,000,000.

Fourteen-year-old John Hron was a spirited teenager from Sweden who held no tolerance for bullies or racists. Despite attending school with individuals falling into those categories, he remained resolute in his convictions. 

On the afternoon of August 17, 1995, John and his friend Christian were camping by Ingetorpssjon lake near Kode, Sweden. Their peaceful outing took a horrifying turn when four neo-Nazis approached their tent. Among them was Mikael Fjalljholm, a notorious bully from their school whom John recognized immediately. 

John and Mikael had clashed in the past due to Mikael’s racist and cruel behavior. John was known for standing up to him when provoked. This time, however, Mikael was accompanied by three friends: Daniel Hanson, John Billing, and BM, as he was known in the media.

The group approached the tent and launched a senseless attack on John. They demanded that he proclaim his “love for Nazism,” to which John adamantly refused, enduring further beatings. Kicks and punches rained down on him while beer bottles were smashed over his head. The sadistic assailants subjected him to hours of relentless violence, intermittently feigning remorse and offering him drinks before renewing their assault. It was a vicious game of cat and mouse. They even burned him with fire and seared his neck with a scorching piece of wood.

At some point during the ordeal, John managed to break free and plunged into the nearby lake. In response, the group threatened to murder Christian if John did not return. Despite barely clinging to life, John swam back, and the torture continued. When he eventually lost consciousness, they callously tossed his lifeless body into the lake, where he tragically drowned. Christian managed to hitch a ride home and promptly alerted the police, providing them with the names of John’s killers. When John’s body was recovered, the extent of his injuries was likened to those of a train collision victim.

The appalling murder of John shocked the nation, but the sentencing of his killers proved equally distressing. Daniel was released after serving only six years, while Mikael received a five-year sentence in institutional youth care. The other two perpetrators received mere months in prison. 

In recognition of his commitment to free speech and world peace, John was posthumously honored with the inaugural Stig Dagerman Prize.

In a chilling revelation, the discovery of a 14-year-old girl’s skull in Virginia’s Jamestown Colony provided irrefutable evidence of cannibalistic practices during the bleak winter of 1609, known as the “Starving Time.” In 2012, this relic was unearthed, shedding light on a dark chapter in the colony’s history. The girl’s remains were interred alongside a macabre collection of butchered horse and dog bones, painting a grim picture of the desperation faced by the settlers.

Amid persistent rumors and conjecture surrounding the settlers’ resort to cannibalism for survival, this archaeological find marked the first concrete proof. The deeply etched scratch marks on the skull indicated that the flesh that was methodically sliced away. Examining the trauma at the frontal region of the skull, forensic anthropologist Doug Owsley concluded that it resulted from the brutal force used to access the brain.

Lady of Dai

When talking about body preservation and mummies, people all over the world think of Egypt and the mummified bodies of Pharaohs, such as Tutankhamun. But how many know that the world’s best preserved bodies actually come from China?  The Lady of Dai, otherwise known as The Diva Mummy, is a 2,100-year-old mummy from the Western Han Dynasty and the best preserved ancient human ever found. Just how this incredible level of preservation was accomplished has baffled and amazed scientists around the world. (Source)

The Mysterious Deaths of Mary Morris and Mary Morris

May 23, 2022

On October 12, 2000, Mary Lou Morris (48 years old) left her house to go to work, where she worked as a bank loan officer and was never seen again. Her husband Jay tried calling her throughout the day, but did not hear back from her. Mary Lou also never showed up to work. 

A badly burned body was found in the remains of a car shortly after and the body was identified as Mary Lou Morris. She was found only three miles from her home. Because her body had been so badly burned it was hard to tell what her cause of death had been, and homicide wasn’t really on the table because there was no reason for it. Mary had no enemies and appeared to be well liked. 

Three days after Mary Lou Morris was found deceased, the body of another woman was found deceased in her car in almost the same spot and nearly the same circumstances as Mary Lou Morris had been found in. The strangest part? This woman was also named Mary Morris, Mary McGinnis Morris to be exact and she had been 39 years old at the time of her death. 

Mary McGinnis Morris was a nurse practitioner who was in charge of various clinics and it was discovered that she had actually been afraid of a man she worked with. One night, Mary had found her office in disarray, and noticed that on the man’s desk it said, “Death to her” written on it. Mary told her husband, Mike, that she had wanted a gun to be able to protect herself, and she kept it under her car’s driver seat. 

A few weeks later, Mary McGinnis Morris met with her friend, a woman named Laurie Gemmell to give her an allergy shot. Laurie claimed that Mary seemed fine and told her she was staying at the clinic for a few more hours, then she was going to run errands before going home and making dinner. Later that day, Laurie said she got an alarming phone call from Mary, telling her that she had seen someone in the drug store that gave her the creeps. 

Mary told Laurie she was going to go back to work, sign off on her computer and go home. Twelve minutes after this phone call Mary called 911. She was frantic, claiming she had been abducted and attacked. She was found dead shortly after this and it was determined that she had been beaten and then shot to death. The killer staged the scene to make it look like a suicide, and investigators found blood on the passenger door, that was left open with the keys outside of the car. 

The coworker Mary was afraid of and her husband Mike became suspects. Mike Morris claimed he was at the movies with his daughter at the time of the murder, but he did refuse to take a polygraph test and did not allow his daughter to be interviewed. He hired an attorney after the murder and investigators discovered that Mike and Mary were having problems in their marriage. 

Shortly before Mary was murdered, Mike had confronted her about an alleged affair she was having with a friend. There was also a $700,000 life insurance policy on Mary and Mike had called Mary’s cell phone around the time that she was murdered. The call lasted 4 minutes, and it was believed that Mike had been calling the killer, though Mike claimed he called Mary and she just didn’t answer and also that the 4 minutes was a mistake the phone company made; the call did not last 4 minutes according to Mike.

Because there were so many similarities between Mary Lou Morris and Mary McGinnis Morris, many theories have arose as to how two women, living in the same area, with the same name, could be killed only days apart. 

One of the first theories was that a contract had been put on Mary McGinnis Morris’ life, but the killer had accidentally killed Mary Lou Morris. Realizing the mistake, the hitman then went and killed the intended target, Mary McGinnis Morris, a few days later. A person had apparently called into a Houston newspaper who said that this was true. This makes sense because the two Mary’s lived in close proximity to one another and were similar in appearance. 

Investigators believe that these two murders are just a coincidence, but many of the women’s families do not. If the cases are not related, then there are no suspects in the death of Mary Lou Morris. The coworker is the obvious suspect in Mary McGinnis Morris’ death. 

A strange part about Mary Lou Morris’ case is that 6 months after her death, her husband received a $2000 bill for his wife’s phone card. Police eventually traced this phone card to a 16 year old girl who told them she had found the purse with the card and other belongings the month prior, just sitting in a parking lot of a Galveston convenience store. Mary Lou’s family did not recognize the purse as being hers. Jay Morris also received three phone calls from someone asking for Mary and the caller has never been identified. 

Is it possible these two women were killed coincidentally only days apart? 

Jane Bielawski and her doll “Missy”. Following the suspicious death of some of her playmates in New York tenement, police attempted to interview Jane. According to reports, the young girl went ‘crazy’ and accused her doll of the murders, before throwing the doll out of her apartment window while screaming “Bad dolly. Naughty dolly!” Jane was taken to Bloomingdale Asylum to be treated for ‘hysterica’. She was never to leave the institution, dying there an old woman in 1968.

In September of 1990, the Dugard family moved from from Los Angeles to South Lake Tahoe in California under the presumption it was a safer community to raise a family. Unfortunately, they couldn’t have been more wrong. Jaycee Dugard was close to her mother, Terry, and her half-sister, Shayna. The couple lived with Jaycee’s stepfather, Carl, who was married to her mother. She never knew her birth father. He had no involvement in her life whatsoever.

It was a prickling hot day on 10th of June, 1991, when Jaycee was 11-years-old. On that morning, Jaycee got up for school and left the family home to walk the short distance to the bus stop. However, she never made it. In full view of Carl, who was watching Jaycee from the garage, a man and woman pulled up alongside her in a grey car and rolled down the window. Assuming they were looking for directions, Jaycee walked over. Next, the man produced a stun gun and zapped Jaycee before bundling her into the car. Carl, who didn’t have a car at the time, jumped onto his bike and peddled as fast as he possibly could. It was no use, however, and Jaycee was gone.

Over the forthcoming days, weeks, months, and years, Jaycee was in the forefront of her families mind. Despite an exhaustive search, Jaycee could not be found. As the years passed, hope began to fade that she would ever be found. But then, on the 24th of August, 2009, 18 years after her disappearance, there was a breakthrough. A man and two young girls appeared at the University of California, where witnesses said they were acting very peculiarly and the two girls seemed sullen and extremely pale, as if they hadn’t seen sunlight in a prolonged period. The man told an employee he wanted to hold an event in which he would speak about “God’s Desire Church” which he explained involved mind control. After leaving his name, a background check was ran and it was discovered he was a registered sex offender and on federal parole for kidnapping and rape. The man was Philip Greg Garrido, who in 1976 had kidnapped and raped a young woman. As part of his parole, Garrido could not be around minors.

Thinking something was awry, the employee contacted police who drove to Garrido’s home and arrested him. On the 26th of August, Garrido went to the parole office with his wife, Nancy, and the two girls who had been with prior. Also in attendance was Jaycee who initially claimed her name was “Allissa” and defended Garrido. She was showing signs of Stockholm Syndrome in which she sympathised with her kidnapper. Eventually the truth came out - both Phillip and Nancy had abducted Jaycee on that hot summer’s day 18 years ago. The two young girls were Jaycee’s and were a product of rape from Garrido.

Over the past 18 years, Jaycee had been raped numerous times. Initially, she was kept in handcuffs and had to use a bucket as a toilet. Garrido would often go on methamphetamine binges in which he would tell Jaycee ludicrous tales of him being a chosen servant of god and that she was kidnapped due to “demon angels” granting him permission to use her as a sex slave. By the age of 13, Jaycee was pregnant. She gave birth while locked up and took care of her two daughters with information learned from watching tv. Eventually, Jaycee was granted more and more freedom. The handcuffs disappeared and the bolts on the doors were dismantled. Never did she once mention to anybody her true identity due to Stockholm syndrome.

After her eventual discovery, the Dugard family were ecstatic. While they had never given up hope on Jaycee, as the day’s passed, it seemed more and more unlikely that she would ever return home. Jaycee and her two daughters were in well health despite their living condition. In 2011, Jaycee wrote a book titled “A Stolen Life” in which she details her abduction. Phillip was sentenced to 431 years to life while Nancy was sentenced to 36 years to life.

The Cape Intruder

June 06, 2022

Cape Elizabeth is a small town in Maine, US, with a population of around 9,535 in 2020. Cape Elizabeth was known to be a desirable place to live, however, in 2005, the residents became terrified of an unidentified man who watched them as they slept. 

In 2005, what was described as a young man began to sneak into people’s homes in the area, watching them sleep. The strange part was that this man would never break or steal anything from the homes, he didn’t attack or touch anyone, just simply watched them sleep. 

Victims of the man who was dubbed “The Cape Intruder” or “Cape Trespasser” claimed they would wake up to find him standing over their beds, but he would flee the scene before they could catch him or even get a great look at him. 

A police sketch of the man came out, and many believed he was in his 20′s. The police received several calls from various people claiming they believed to know who the Cape Intruder was. Two of the people who called in actually named the same man, but after a while the incidents stopped. One police officer said that everyone who called in seems to think the sketch looks like someone they know or have seen around. 

While the Cape Intruder was active, a neighbourhood watch group would set up on Mitchell Road, where multiple houses had been targeted by the strange man. 

The Cape Intruder was never caught, and the incidents stopped suddenly. The case remains unsolved. 

Perry Smith and Truman Capote shared a profound and intimate connection, leading to speculation that Capote harbored romantic feelings for Smith during their years of prison visits while working on “In Cold Blood,” a seminal work of non-fiction detailing the Clutter murders, for which Smith was one of the perpetrators. Smith, expressing a desire for Capote’s presence, requested him as a witness to his impending execution. 

In a poignant telegram sent on the eve of his execution, Smith implored Capote, stating, “Am anticipating and awaiting your visit. Please acknowledge by return wire when you expect to be here.” However, Capote failed to appear, citing the overwhelming emotional toll that witnessing the execution would exact upon him. The publication of “In Cold Blood” propelled Capote to unprecedented fame, yet he never completed another book thereafter.

Judy Garland rose to an unimaginable fame at just 17-years-old when she starred as Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. However, from the age of 13, Garland had starred in other MGM productions beforehand. Garland developed an eating disorder and a drug addiction courtesy of MGM who had branded her a “fat little pig with pigtails.” 

MGM put her on a strict diet and would even go as far as to physically remove food from her possession so that she could not consume it. She was only a young teenager when she developed an eating disorder, living on a diet of chicken soup, coffee, and cigarettes.

Garland had a gruelling schedule, sometimes even working up to 18 hours a day. To combat fatigue and hunger pangs, she would be piled with amphetamines and barbiturates. To help her sleep, she would be given sleeping tablets. It’s not much of a shock that Judy Garland became addicted to drugs and ultimately, they would cause her untimely demise at the age of 47.