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topicnews · October 25, 2024

5 Shocking Stories About Notorious Criminals That Were Hoaxes

5 Shocking Stories About Notorious Criminals That Were Hoaxes

As morbid as it may feel, it’s easy to get caught up in the details of a twisting crime. However, sometimes the twists are, disappointingly, more of a slight wobble. Whether it’s to sell newspapers, secure some other reward, or spice up a confession, people have actively spread misinformation about serious crimes.

Lizzie Borden was (not) pregnant

In 1891 Boston Daily Globe Reporter Henry G. Trickey developed a rivalry with private investigator Edward D. McHenry, possibly over who had the cooler middle letter. However, he wasn’t too proud to put that aside and beg for details about Lizzie Borden’s arrest for the murder of her father and stepmother, as he desperately needed a big scoop to outdo the other papers. McHenry obeyed and suggested a possible motive He told Trickey that Borden was pregnantbut he was still salty so it was a lie. The hoax was discovered within a day of its publication, which may be a record in the era of print journalism.

Jack the Ripper did not write (at least some of the letters) to the police

Jack the Ripper was the first serial killer to taunt the police and media with a series of letters – or was he? Many of the letters – including the first one that gave him his nickname – were marked as likely fakes. The first two were probably written by the same person, but it was probably an employee of the same newspaper who published them, while the rest were a mix of clearly different authors. The real Ripper was either deeply offended or just grateful for the cool nickname.

The Lindberg baby was (not) kidnapped by the mob

As rich people in need, the Lindberghs fell victim to many con artists after their infant son was kidnapped in 1932, but few things were more convincing than the rumors that circulated about it The mob had taken the baby. After all, it was the 1930s in New Jersey – the Mafia had it all tons of shady shit. They freely admitted it – and offered to help for a fee. None other than Al Capone claimed that he knew who had the Lindbergh baby and could take them down completely if he was released from prison for just two weeks. You can imagine how that went.

The Boston Marathon bombing was (not) committed by anyone, says Reddit

The aftermath of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing was chaos, so the internet did what it always does when faced with chaos: made it a thousand times worse. In this case, Reddit examined photos from the event and identified several Arab men as suspects. She not very muchat least as far as anyone in authority was concerned, but now if anyone googles their name they will forever be associated with terrorism. This is what they get for participating in athletics.

David Berkowitz was (not) under the command of a dog

The “Son of Sam” got his name from neighbor Sam Carr’s dog, which he claimed was possessed by a demon that ordered him to kill six people, but according to Berkowitz, the dog was as good a boy as any others. He claims he made the whole thing up because he suspected his lawyers wanted to get rich selling books and scripts about the story, and that’s what he wanted Make it sound as stupid as possible That’s why no one would ever want to read a book about it or watch a movie about it. He was wrong. Sorry, Dave. Actually, we love stupid murders even more.

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