Discover notorious criminals, shocking crimes, royal scandals and fascinating true stories from ancient civilizations to modern history.
Among the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, few have been surrounded by a more disturbing martyrdom tradition than Saint Bartholomew. Christian tradition holds that after spending years preaching the Gospel, Bartholomew was subjected to a brutal execution in which he was allegedly skinned alive before being killed. The story has made Bartholomew one of the most…
In the history of religious and communal violence in Nigeria, few cases remain as disturbing as the killing of Gideon Akaluka, an Igbo Christian trader who was murdered in Kano in the mid-1990s after being accused of desecrating the Qur’an. The Allegation Against Akaluka Gideon Akaluka was an Igbo trader living in Kano, a major…
For years, Harold Shipman appeared to be exactly what his patients expected from a trusted family doctor: professional, familiar and available to people in his community. Behind that image, however, was a crime that would eventually become one of the darkest scandals in British medical history. Shipman was convicted in 2000 of murdering 15 patients,…
In the early 20th century, lonely men searching for love, companionship, or a new beginning could turn to personal advertisements and matrimonial notices. For some, these advertisements led to marriage. For others, they may have led to something far darker. Among the most infamous figures associated with this world was Belle Gunness, a Norwegian-born woman…
Joe Metheny remains one of the most disturbing figures in American criminal history. A Baltimore-area killer, Metheny was convicted of murdering multiple people in the 1990s, and his case became infamous not only because of the violence involved but also because of his grotesque claim that he disposed of victims by mixing their remains with…
On a Saturday in 1971, thousands of people gathered at Bar Beach in Lagos to witness an event that would become one of the most controversial chapters in Nigeria’s history. Three condemned men were brought before a firing squad. They were Babatunde Folorunsho, Joseph Ilobo and Sub-Lieutenant Williams Alders Oyazimo. Their execution marked the beginning…
Lawrence Anini remains one of the most notorious names in Nigeria’s criminal history. In the mid-1980s, the young Benin City taxi driver became the leader of a violent gang whose robberies, shootings and clashes with security forces dominated national headlines. His story was not simply that of a criminal who suddenly appeared on Nigeria’s streets….
On the night of November 4, 1605, a group of conspirators came dangerously close to carrying out one of the most infamous assassination plots in British history. Their target was the English Parliament, where King James I, members of the royal family, government officials, and leading politicians were expected to gather the following morning. The…