8.
CRYSTAL BROOKE HOWELL
It’s natural for teens to rebel against their parents’ rules, but most adolescents
would never dream of killing their mother or father just so they can have their way.
However, 17-year-old Crystal Brooke Howell wasn’t like most kids.
It all started in 2014, when the teen’s father, Michael Howell, caught her using a
5-finger discount aka shoplifting while they were out shopping together.
Investigators believe that this was when the teen began hatching a plot to make her dad
disappear.
Not long after the incident, Crystal killed her dad while he slept on the sofa.
People soon noticed that Crystal was driving around in Michael’s Range Rover, and rumors
swirled about her throwing drug-fueled parties at his house.
She even moved some of her friends in and installed a stripper pole.
Crystal told her friends that her father had abandoned her while claiming to others that
he had committed suicide in another state.
The truth finally came to light a month after Michael disappeared, when Crystal went to
visit her mother in Georgia.
She allowed her pals to stay at the property, where they found a plastic container with
a sleeping bag draped over it.
The tote contained Michael’s corpse, and it was clear that someone had shot him in
the face.
The authorities caught up with Crystal at a Motel 6 and charged her with first-degree
murder.
Her lawyer claimed that she had mental health issues, but the prosecutor argued that Crystal’s
ability to plan and conceal the murder proved that she was of sound enough mind to be held
criminally responsible for her actions.
She pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a minimum of 30 years in prison.
7.
SIERRA HALSETH
When two teenagers think they’re in love, it’s hard for anyone to convince them otherwise,
including their own parents.
This was certainly the case for 16-year-old Sierra Halseth and her 18-year-old boyfriend
Aaron Guerrero.
Sierra’s father, Daniel, forbade the couple from seeing each other.
But they were determined to be together - at any cost.
The young pair decided that killing Daniel was the only way to make their relationship
work, so they made a plan and put it into action.
When someone found Daniel’s stabbed and dismembered body in April of this year, family
members had trouble reaching Sierra.
In addition to murdering him, someone had also tried to burn his house down!
But Sierra couldn’t seem to care less, and it didn’t take long for her and Aaron to
become the prime suspects in the case.
In the days leading up to the crime, surveillance footage captured the pair buying bleach, lighter
fluid, gloves, and a circular saw.
The couple also posted videos of themselves on social media immediately after the killing,
bragging about how they had murdered and tried to dismember Daniel and saying that it was
“worth it.”
They also boasted about how they had lots of sex right after committing the murder,
making it clear that they felt no remorse for their horrific behavior.
Sierra and Aaron had fled the area in Daniel’s car and were on the run in Salt Lake City,
Utah when the authorities caught up with them.
The young lovers’ vision of a picture-perfect escape didn’t last very long, and the consequences
for it could be lifelong.
Sierra was charged with murder and is being tried as an adult.
She was spared from the death penalty, but could still spend life in prison.
Aaron, on the other hand, was an adult when the murder happened, and could face the death
penalty.
Both teens pleaded not guilty, and their cases are ongoing.
But the evidence is clearly stacked against them, especially when it comes to the videos
they recorded bragging about the murder!
6.
SARAH JOHNSON
According to a 2019 study, parricide – the act of killing a parent or close relative
– is the rarest type of murder.
And when it does happen, it’s usually carried out by an adult middle-class white male with
no criminal record.
So it’s extremely rare for a woman to commit this type of crime.
But it does happen.
In 2003, married couple Diane and Alan Scott Johnson were murdered in their home in Bellevue,
Idaho.
Their 16-year-old daughter, Sarah, appeared at a neighbor’s house, claiming that her
parents had been shot by an intruder.
She told investigators that she was awoken in the middle of the night by the sound of
gunfire.
But they didn’t buy the teen’s story, especially since she had an obvious motive
for wanting her mom and dad dead.
Just days earlier, the couple had banned the teen from seeing her 19-year-old boyfriend
due to his alleged drug trafficking connections.
This didn’t stop the infatuated ingenue, who was determined to continue the relationship.
Instead of respecting her parents’ rules, Sarah fired a bullet into her mother’s head
while she slept.
She then went into the bathroom, where her father was showering, and shot him in the
chest.
Forensic evidence connected the angry adolescent to the crime and she was arrested for murder.
In 2005, a jury found Sarah guilty of killing her parents in cold blood.
She received two life sentences but still maintains her innocence to this day.
Sarah’s lawyer tried and failed to get her a new trial in 2012, claiming that her previous
attorney represented her poorly.
When that didn’t work, Sarah tried to get her sentence reduced, but the court upheld
her punishment.
5.
STACEY LANNERT
Taking a life is NEVER okay, but some cases make more sense than others.
Take, for instance, Stacey Lannert, whose alcoholic father began sexually abusing her
when she was 8 years old.
As his drinking problem worsened, so did the abuse.
Stacey’s parents had divorced when she was young.
She tried telling her mother and her babysitter about what was happening to her, but failed
to convey the gravity of the situation to them.
Plus, her father had threatened to hurt her if she didn’t stay quiet.
He often became violent when he drank, and she was scared.
In the meantime, Stacey’s father also started hurting her younger sister, Christy.
When Stacey was 18, she moved to Guam to live with her mother while Christy stayed behind
at their father’s house in Missouri.
She tried convincing her dad to let Christy move to Guam, but he said no.
In 1990, Stacey approached her father while he was passed out drunk and shot him point-blank
in the head.
She confessed to the killing, saying that she hated her dad and that he needed to die,
and she was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
The judge recommended Stacey’s case for clemency, but the paperwork sat, collecting
dust, for 18 years while she languished behind bars.
Finally, in 2009, State Governor Matt Blunt commuted her sentence and ordered for her
to be freed immediately.
Stacey never denied murdering her father.
Many feel that she committed the crime under extenuating circumstances – that she didn’t
kill in cold blood, but was triggered by years of abuse.
On the other hand, prosecutor Bob McCulloch remains convinced that Stacey’s father never
harmed her, and that she killed him for an inheritance.
But her story was compelling enough to get her released from prison, where she had established
a reputation for being a model inmate.
Throughout her incarceration, Stacey made it a point to remain active in the community.
She trained handicapped service dogs, helped troubled teens turn their lives around, and
acted as an advocate for other survivors of abuse.
In addition to garnering sympathy for her suffering, her service spoke to her character,
and she continues her activism on the outside.
What are your thoughts on this case?
Do you think it’s fair Stacey spent almost 20 years behind bars?
Let us know what you think in the comments below and if you’re liking this video, be
sure to hit the thumbs up and subscribe buttons if you haven’t already!
:)
4.
ERIK AND LYLE MENENDEZ
From the outside looking in, Erik and Lyle Menendez grew up in a privileged world, thanks
to their father, Jose’s high-paying career as a corporate executive in Beverly Hills.
They certainly never wanted or needed for anything in a material sense.
But things weren’t as picture-perfect as they seemed, at least not if you believe the
narrative put forth by the brothers.
Their childhoods were allegedly fraught with sexual, emotional, and physical abuse at the
hands of their own parents.
One day in 1989, Erik and Lyle threatened to expose Jose for the lifetime of suffering
he put them through.
He reportedly responded by threatening to murder his sons.
They were scared, so they went into the family’s den with shotguns and killed their parents.
Then, the brothers left the house and went to the movie theater to secure their alibi.
When they returned home later on, they dialed 911.
They managed to avoid any initial suspicion about their possible involvement in their
parents’ murders.
But the pair soon began spending lavishly.
They bought Rolexes, high-end cars, new townhouses, expensive tennis lessons, and even a restaurant,
blowing through an estimated $700,000 within months of their mother and father’s tragic
deaths.
In the meantime, police investigated other leads, but none of them panned out.
Detectives noticed Erik and Lyle’s wanton spending and began to zero in on them as the
prime suspects.
Erik eventually confessed to the murder to his therapist, Jerome Oziel, and Oziel told
his mistress about the brothers’ crime.
When the clandestine couple broke up, she went to the police and blew the case wide
open.
The Menendez brothers were arrested and tried separately, resulting in two mistrials.
They were then tried together, and the jury found them both guilty.
Lyle and Erik both received life sentences and are serving their time together at the
Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility outside San Diego.
3.
KYLE KIRK
Just a few months ago, concerned residents in Rome, New York called the police after
seeing 30-year-old Kyle Kirk standing outside his home, covered in blood.
Officers found Kyle’s 60-year-old father, Howard, dead in the driveway.
Inside, they found the body of his mother, 53-year-old Amanda Osborne.
Both victims had been stabbed to death, and all signs pointed toward Kyle being the killer.
He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and taken to jail.
Kyle pleaded “not guilty” at his arraignment, and his public defender requested a mental
health evaluation to determine whether the suspect understands the charges against him
and is capable of assisting in his defense.
The attorney had apparently tried to talk to Kyle and had gotten nowhere, and he thought
that maybe a professional would do a better job at probing his client’s mind.
When the judge asked Kyle if he understood why he was in court, he replied “No, I don’t.”
Needless to say, the judge approved the request for the mental health evaluation.
Kyle began refusing to go to court and reportedly spat on officers when they tried getting him
to leave the jail.
He was found not competent to stand trial and was transferred to a mental health facility,
where the goal is to get him to a point where he is competent to stand trial.
Neighbors told reporters from the Rome Sentinel that Kyle moved in with his parents several
months before the murders.
Nobody seems to know much about the circumstances surrounding the brutal killings, including
New York State Troopers, who said that their investigation is ongoing.
2.
RONALD DEFEO JR.
You’ve probably read, seen, or at least heard of the Amityville Horror tale.
But did you know that it was inspired by actual people and events?
In 1974, a 23-year-old Amityville, Long Island resident named Ronald DeFeo, Jr. walked into
a local bar and announced that he needed help because someone had shot his parents.
A group of concerned patrons accompanied DeFeo to his family’s home, where they found his
mother and father dead.
Little did they realize, this was just the beginning of a disturbing and sinister tale
that was about to unravel, and that would shake the community to its core.
Suffolk County Police reported to the scene, where they found six of DeFeo’s family members
dead in their beds.
In addition to his parents, all four of Ronald’s younger siblings, who ranged in age from 9
to 18 years old, had been shot dead.
Evidence indicated that Ronald’s mother, 43-year-old Louise, and his 13-year-old sister
Allison were awake when they were murdered.
It didn’t take long for investigators to identify inconsistencies in his story.
Ronald confessed to the brutal killings the following day, telling detectives “Once
I started, I just couldn’t stop.”
He tried for an insanity plea in court, but was found guilty on six counts of second-degree
murder.
A judge sentenced Ronald to 25 years to life, and all his attempts to gain parole were denied.
He died in prison last year at the age of 69.
1.
CHARLES WHITMAN
During the 1960s, Charles Whitman earned a reputation as a model U.S. Marine.
But he had a dark side, and although it went largely unnoticed until it was too late, the
signs were there.
Whitman had a gambling problem, and he got in trouble for threatening a fellow soldier
over a $30 loan.
He also resented the Marine Corps, but he did a good enough job of hiding it to receive
an honorable discharge.
Over the following years, Whitman worked various ordinary jobs, including as a bill collector
and a bank teller.
In the meantime, he got pulled into the middle of his parents’ marital problems.
As he grew more and more stressed, Whitman began experiencing debilitating headaches
and abusing amphetamines.
And at some point, the demons inside his mind took over.
In 1966, two years after he left the military, the troubled ex-Marine typed a suicide letter
describing his “unusual and irrational thoughts.”
He wrote that he had decided to kill his wife and mother, but that he didn’t know why.
Believing that his mental issues and headaches were biological, he requested for an autopsy
to be performed after his death.
The next day, Whitman drove to his mother’s apartment in Austin, Texas and stabbed her
to death.
He then laid her body in her bed and covered it with sheets.
After that, he stabbed his wife to death.
Then, he drove to the University of Texas campus in Austin and gained entry by pretending
to be a researcher.
Whitman opened fire from the observation deck of a clock tower, killing 14 people and injuring
31 others.
After senselessly spraying bullets at innocent victims for over an hour and a half, he was
shot to death by police.
Experts determined that while it was clear Whitman had mental issues, they don’t know
exactly what influenced him to murder his wife and mother and commit the massacre at
UT.
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Bye! :)