Some deaths pass, while others stick with us forever. From the Manson Family to Adam Walsh, the stories behind these famous murders continue to haunt us to this day.
According to popular crime essays and journals, lives that get extinguished in the most strange and horrific ways tend to haunt us for years. Committed by famous serial killers, they become the famous murders that not only dominate the news worldwide but haunt our collective dreams.
Below, you’ll find a list of five of history’s most popular murders that will still give you chills and nightmares.
Tate Murder
This is perhaps the most brutal murder ever recorded. When writing essays about crimes, most students love focusing on the Tate Murder, as it involves the most popular cult leader, Charles Manson, and the Manson Family. The Manson Family committed horrific crimes, and the Tate Murder was one of the many.
Sharon Tate was an American actress, best known for the movie Valley of the Dolls. She was married to film director Roman Polanski and was more than eight months pregnant. They lived in the canyons of Beverly Hills on Cielo Drive.
On the night of August 9th, 1969, the pregnant actress was enjoying the company of her friends in the absence of her lover and the father of her unborn child. Tate companions included Wojciech Frykowski, Jay Sebring, and Abigail Folger.
In the late hours of the night, Manson ordered his follower Charles “Tex” Watson and several other cult members to drive to 10050 Cielo Drive, the residence of Sharon Tate, and kill everyone as gruesomely as they could.
On that day, Watson and the other Manson members shot and killed Steven’s parent, who was sitting in a car waiting for the son who had been visiting the estate’s caretaker at his home in the guest house.
They then proceeded to the main house and ordered the four people in the house to gather in the living room. The Manson members tied a rope around the necks of Tate and Sebring. They shot and stabbed Sebring seven times to death.
Frykowski and Folger managed to free themselves and flee from the residence, but they were chased by Watson and Krenwinkel and killed. Watson and Atkins stabbed the pregnant Tate 16 times, and they left. Tate’s unborn child was also one of the murder victims. As they were living, Atkins used Tate’s blood to jot down the word “PIG” on the house front door.
The Murder Castle of H. H. Holmes
H. Holmes was not your typical serial killer. He was a man of brains and wits. He built a three-story house with secret torture chambers, gas lines, trap doors, soundproofed paddings, among other features.
During the World’s Fair and after, Holmes killed most victims, mostly young women. He also conducted horrific experiments on them. He would later dispose of them by burning the bodies or skinning them, then selling the skeletons to medical schools.
At the same time, he conducted insurance scams, benefiting from the money he collected from insurance companies. Police captured Holmes when one of his co-conspirators tipped them when he failed to deliver his pay-out.
H Holmes eventually got convicted for the murder of 4 people. Nevertheless, he confessed to at least 27 more murders. Instead of receiving a life sentence, he was hanged in 1896. You can learn more about the hanging of H.H Homes on PapersOwl by going through capital punishment essay examples. Even in today’s world H.H Holmes remains the notorious American first serial killer.
There’s even a documentary based on him titled- H.H. Holmes: America’s First Serial Killer.
Murder of Travis Alexander
Travis Alexander met with Jodi Arias in September 2006 in Las Vegas. They started as friends, but several months later, they started dating. However, the relationship didn’t last long. In 2007 they broke up, but Alexander believed Jodi was still stalking him.
They continued having a fragmented relationship. On the night of June 4th, 2008, Alexander was killed in his home in Mesa, Arizona. He was stabbed 27 times, shot in the face, and had a slit throat. His friend discovered his body on June 9th, when he missed a conference call.
At the crime scene, police and investigators found a damaged digital camera owned by Alexander. When they recovered the image, they found pictures of Travis and Arias posing sexually, stamped about 1.40 pm. They also found a picture of a bleeding person, likely Travis.
At the scene of the crime, they discovered a bloody palm print in the hallway that was a blend of Alexanders and Aria’s DNA. Arias testified for killing Travis on February 6th in self-defense. The Jury reached a verdict in May 2013, and they found her guilty of first-degree murder.
The Murder of JonBenet Ramsey
The death of JonBenet is one of perhaps the most popular murder cases not only in Colorado but in the entire united states. Very few murder cases rival the levels of speculation that the death of the 6-year-old girl has received for 25 years.
On December 26th, 1996, JonBenet Ramsey was discovered dead in the basement of her own home. Earlier, her parents had received a ransom note demanding money.
Ramsey’s parents were the first suspects, but the DNA found at the scene of the crime cleared them. In 2006, John Mark Carr admitted to the murder, but they were no supporting documents, and the DNA didn’t match that found at the scene of the crime.
To date, the case remains unsolved, though there are many theories about what happened to the little girl.
The Black Dahlia Murder
This murder story involves Elizabeth Short, whose body was discovered on January 15th, 1947, at Leimert Park, Los Angeles, California.
Her body had been cut into half at the waist with all the blood drained out. The corner of her mouth had been cut to the ears to give her the famous “Joker Smile.” Her breast and thighs had many cuts and bruises.
During the autopsy, investigators discovered that she had died from the lacerations and a hemorrhage because of the blows she received to her head.
Over 50 men and women claimed to be the killer, making it hard for the police to determine the assailant. Throughout the years, there have been many suspects, but there was never sufficient evidence to charge anyone.
The Murder received the name “Black Dahlia” because of the popular movie at the time, “Blue Dahlia.” Media and news reporters also made the name famous. The Black Dahlia Murder is among the most famous unsolved murder crimes in the world. Its gruesome nature reinforces its infamy.
Conclusion
If you’re fascinated by crimes, we hope these five captivating crimes committed will blow your mind. Besides being horrific, some of them are difficult to believe they happened.
Even though our list is short, there’s no shortage of violent crimes in the world. The more you search, the more you’ll find horrific and disturbing murder crimes ever committed.