fact or fiction

Is it fact or merely fiction? Fact or Fiction explores the myths and beliefs we hold about copycat killers, eyewitnesses testimony, what makes a murderer and more.

The Break-In: A Story of Fear, Bravery, and Justice by The Narrative Ninja
Episode 1: Ella couldn't believe what she was seeing. The chemistry lab was a complete mess, and it was clear that someone had broken in. The broken window and scattered equipment indicated that this was not just a case of a misplaced item or a simple accident. Ella's heart started to race as she cautiously made her way into the lab. She looked around to see if anyone was still there. That's when she heard a strange noise coming from the back of the room. She slowly walked towards it, and as she peeked around the corner, she saw the culprit - a tall figure dressed in black, with their face covered by a mask. Before Ella could do anything, the person started running towards the window and jumped out, disappearing into the night. Ella was left standing there, stunned and scared.
By The Narrative Ninja 4 years ago in Criminal
The Court House in the Square
The Court House in the Square If walls could talk, I would have quite the story to tell. For over a century and a half, I've stood here as a witness to the tumultuous history of this courthouse in the heart of the South.
By Robert4 years ago in Criminal
DAHMER BY RYAN MURPHY LINKS QUEERNESS TO MONSTROSITY
What happens when a true crime story about Jeffrey Dahmer is combined with the style of Murphy's brand and his straight-up pandering? I was sixteen years old and having issues with my sexuality when Jeffrey Dahmer was arrested in 1991.
By Elle 4 years ago in Criminal
HOW DO YOU PREVENT EXPLOITATION WHEN FICTIONALIZING REAL CRIME?
Character studies with a crime hook are my favourite types of thrillers. They are narratives about people's deeds, responses, behaviours, and feelings against the backdrop of a gripping mystery. They focus on characters first and crime second. Great examples include books like The Girls by Emma Cline, which features a Manson-like cult; Whisper Network by Chandler Baker, which features a #MeToo-like storyline; and Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll, which features a Columbine-like shooting.
By Elle 4 years ago in Criminal
WARREN G. HARDING: DIRECTLY OUT OF A COEN BROTHERS' MOVIE: 100 YEARS SINCE THE DEATH OF A PRESIDENT
Warren G. Harding: Straight Out of a Coen Brothers Movie 100 Years After a President's Death Did the widespread corruption and incompetence of the Harding Administration pave the way for a new century of politics? "We are the forgettable, adequate American interim presidents.
By Elle 4 years ago in Criminal
THE 1934 SMITH FAMILY MASSACRE IN DEMOPOLIS, ALABAMA: "THEY JUST WEREN'T THE KIND OF PEOPLE FOR THAT"
on "an appalling family tragedy" that turned up again in a 1944 mystery book. 1. The Death of the Smith Family, composed of Frank Clements and Elsie Hildreth, in 1934 Although the investigation revealed that the Smiths frequently left windows and doors unlocked at night, the coroner added that there was no evidence that the house had been forcedly entered.
By Elle 4 years ago in Criminal
A 19th-century sex cult's founding in upstate New York
John Humphrey Noyes was a shy and reserved young man before he discovered religion and founded his own utopian, open-marriage cult. When he was younger, John Humphrey Noyes was so agonisingly shy that he could hardly stand to be around women. He recorded in his diary, "I could face a battery of cannon with less trepidation than a room full of ladies with whom I was unfamiliar." He was the fourth of nine children born in 1811 on the frontier of Vermont to former congressman John Noyes Sr. and flame-haired Polly Hayes, whose nephew, the frail, underweight Rutherford B. Hayes, would go on to become the nation's nineteenth president. John Humphrey was a bright student who entered Dartmouth College at the age of fifteen.
By Elle 4 years ago in Criminal
MOST GLAMOROUS GANG IN LONDON HISTORY
"On Alice Diamond, Queen of Thieves, and her "girls" from The Forty Thieves, who stole their way to notoriety in the first half of the twentieth century," according to the citation. The tall, fashionable woman lingered next to a rack of fur coats in an upscale department store in London, her diamond rings glistening as her fingers caressed the most opulent sable.
By Elle 4 years ago in Criminal
THE REAL-LIFE MYSTERY BEHIND EDGAR ALLAN POE'S "THE BLACK CAT"
The bones were discovered by George Stebbins while he was tearing down a stone wall in the cellar of his house in Northfield, Massachusetts. The bones of the head, spine, arms, and legs all emerged first. The fact that the remains were crammed into a space less than three feet square suggests that the body had either been dismembered or had decomposed to a skeleton before being buried. Had Stebbins, who ran a ferry service on the Connecticut River close to the state's border with Vermont and New Hampshire, disturbed an unmarked grave? Or did the discovery have a more sinister justification?
By Elle 4 years ago in Criminal
Mexican drugs lord Rafael Caro Quintero arrested
Rafael Caro Quintero, a drug lord from Mexico, was born on October 24, 1952. He co-founded the Guadalajara Cartel, which has since disintegrated, with Miguel Angel Félix Gallardo and other drug dealers in the late 1970s. He is the brother of Miguel Caro Quintero, a fellow drug dealer who founded and oversaw the defunct Sonora Cartel. Caro Quintero established the Guadalajara Cartel in the 1970s and collaborated with Gallardo, Ernesto Fonseca Carrillo, and Pedro Avilés Pérez to transport large amounts of marijuana from Mexico to the United States. In 1985, he was responsible for the abduction of Enrique "Kiki" Camarena of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), as well as Camarena's pilot Alfredo Zavala Avelar, American author John Clay Walker, and dental student Alberto Radelat. Caro Quintero fled to Costa Rica after the killings but was later apprehended and extradited back to Mexico, where he was given a 40-year murder sentence.
By Elle 4 years ago in Criminal
Porn Website Owner Michael James Pratt, Fugitive on FBI’s Most Wanted List, Captured in Spain
Michael James Pratt, the owner of a porn website and an FBI wanted man, was apprehended in Spain. One of the FBI's ten most wanted fugitives, Michael James Pratt, the owner of a porn website, has been apprehended in Spain, the agency announced on Friday.
By Elle 4 years ago in Criminal
Fugitive on FBI’s top ten most wanted list captured in Mexico: reports
"Jose Rodriguez Villarreal-Hernandez, a Mexican drug cartel leader and former runaway, was listed as one of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives on October 13, 2020. He was born on January 16, 1978. He was sought after in connection with the planning and execution of Juan Jess Guerrero Chapa's murder on May 22, 2013, in Southlake, Texas. He's also thought to be behind a lot of murders in Mexico. As the 524th fugitive, Villarreal-Hernandez was listed as one of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives.
By Elle 4 years ago in Criminal