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 Neighbor Who Never Forgot My Name
When I first moved into Maplewood Apartments, I didn’t know anyone. I was fresh out of college, broke, and just trying to survive the city. My new place was small, with cracked paint and creaky floors, but it was mine — and I was proud of it.
By Malaika Piolet11 months ago in Criminal
Blackbeard
In the 18th century, Blackbeard never killed anyone. He did, however, shoot his own crewmates. In duels on his own sea vessel, he tested his own men. He plundered everything from food and liquor to weaponry but there are extremely scarce reports of him actually taking a life.
By Skyler Saunders11 months ago in Criminal
El Chapo: The Tunnel King of Mexico. AI-Generated.
Few figures in modern crime have fascinated the world like Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán. To some, he was a hero — a poor boy who built an empire. To others, he was a monster — a man whose greed and violence turned Mexico into a battlefield.
By shakir hamid11 months ago in Criminal
The Night the Town Forgot Her Name
When I moved to Oakridge, I wanted quiet. A fresh start. A small town where no one asked too many questions. I found a little house near the edge of town — pale yellow, half hidden by trees, the kind of place where life moves slowly and everyone waves from their porch.
By Malaika Piolet11 months ago in Criminal
Raffaele Imperiale: The Drug Lord Who Collected Van Gogh. AI-Generated.
In the strange overlap between high art and high crime, one name stands out — Raffaele Imperiale, an Italian mafia boss who treated drug trafficking and fine art with the same obsessive care. He built a billion-euro cocaine empire stretching from South America to Europe, yet behind his mansion’s walls lay a secret treasure: two stolen Vincent van Gogh paintings.
By shakir hamid11 months ago in Criminal
The Art of Crime: The Untold Story of Raffaele Imperiale, the Drug Lord Who Stole Van Gogh. AI-Generated.
In the quiet suburbs of southern Italy, behind high walls and manicured gardens, one of the most unusual mafia figures in Europe built his empire. His name was Raffaele Imperiale, and his story combined art, drugs, and deception in ways the world had never seen before.
By shakir hamid11 months ago in Criminal
The Fall of El Chapo: The Man Who Built a Drug Empire Beneath the Earth. AI-Generated.
Deep in the rugged mountains of Sinaloa, Mexico, a boy named Joaquín Guzmán Loera was born in 1957 into poverty. His father was a poor farmer who sometimes grew opium poppies to survive. From a young age, Joaquín learned two truths: power came from money, and money came from risk.
By shakir hamid11 months ago in Criminal
The Fifth Key. AI-Generated.
The rain was a cold, relentless drumbeat on the window of the interrogation room. Detective Elias Thorne, a man whose face was a roadmap of sleepless nights, watched the suspect across the table. Sarah Vance, a retired librarian in her late sixties, was knitting a lavender scarf, her needles clicking with unnerving calmness. She was the prime, and only, suspect in the murder of her neighbor, Mr. Arthur Finch.
By Hussein Gazo12 months ago in Criminal
The Ghost of Medellín
In the late 1970s, deep within the misty mountains of Colombia, a man began building an empire that would terrify the world. His name was Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria, a man born into poverty who would one day command more power, money, and fear than many governments combined.
By shakir hamid12 months ago in Criminal
The Dragon of Hong Kong. AI-Generated.
In the neon-lit streets of Hong Kong during the 1980s, where luxury met lawlessness, one man’s name whispered through alleys and nightclubs alike — Crippled Ho. To the world, he was Ng Sik-ho, a poor immigrant from China. But to the police, he was the Dragon of Hong Kong, the mastermind behind one of the largest drug empires in Asia’s history.
By shakir hamid12 months ago in Criminal
The Shadow Empire: The Untold Story of the ‘Ndrangheta Mafia. AI-Generated.
In the dimly lit hills of Calabria, southern Italy, a quiet storm brews beneath the rustic beauty of olive trees and ancient villages. To the outside world, Calabria looks serene, untouched by the chaos of modern life. But deep in the heart of this region, hidden in family ties and blood oaths, lies one of the most dangerous criminal empires ever known — the ‘Ndrangheta.
By shakir hamid12 months ago in Criminal
