True Crime Stories for Bedtime

Nothing more relaxing than a little true crime before bed, amirite?

This collection of stories will surely help you drift peacefully into dreamland.

Murder of Phil Hartman

Phil Hartman spent eight seasons on Saturday Night Live. He was known for his Bill Clinton impressions and his “NewsRadio” bits on the show. Hartman made thousands of people laugh every single week.

His life came to a tragic end on May 28, 1998, when his wife, Brynn, shot him as he slept in the couple’s bed in their Los Angeles home. Brynn called the police. As they arrived, police heard a gunshot. Brynn had fatally shot herself.

Sources say Phil and Brynn had ongoing marital problems. Friends of the couple and Brynn Hartman solely described her as someone with anger issues who could not control her rage.

Skull on a Stick

A transient woman seen carrying a skull on a stick on the streets of downtown Sacramento in 2016 led police to the rest of the decapitated body inside a homeless encampment. Two years later, DNA evidence along with help from the victim’s family helped identify the body as Mai Ker Thao.

Police began investigating the murder, including the transient woman’s involvement, but five years later, still have not made any arrests in the case.

Uncle John Murdered Her Birth Mother; Gave Her to Brother at Four-Months-Old

In 1985, Don and Helen Robinson were blessed with a beautiful baby girl via an adoption Don’s brother John arranged. The couple unsuccessfully tried to conceive when John brought the miracle baby into their lives. John asked for nothing in return except legal fees. They eagerly agreed.

John told Don and Helen the baby was left alone in a battered women’s shelter after her mother committed suicide. Neither questioned this story; there was no reason to suspect a thing.

Don and Helen named the baby Heather and went on to live a happy life with her.

In 2000, John Robinson was arrested for the murders of at least eight women. John was a serial killer who had preyed on women for the past 16-years. Far more shocking to Don and Helen, it was revealed that Heather was possibly the daughter of one of his victims.

DNA testing performed on Heather Robinson confirmed that she was the daughter of his 19-year-old victim, Lisa Stasi. Lisa and the baby she named Tiffany disappeared in January 1985. Both were presumed dead; Lisa’s body was never recovered.

Heather went on to marry a man named Roberto Ramos and is the mother of two sons. She also hosts “The Lisa Stasi Effect,” a podcast dedicated to her mother’s disappearance and recovering her mother’s remains.

Geraldo Riveria Nose Broken During Talk Show Scuffle With White Supremacists

During a 1988 taping of The Geraldo Rivera Show, a popular daytime talk show, host Geraldo Rivera was hit in the nose with a flying chair as he attempted to intervene in a brawl between guests.

It started when guest John Metzger began shouting racist comments at the audience. Metzger then called another guest an “Uncle Tom.” Innis walked toward Merger with his fists balled but turned his attention to another man when Metzger started to stand up. Innis put his hands around his neck and punches begin to fly among audience members and neo-Nazi skinheads who stormed the set, according to show spokeswoman, Jennifer Geertz.

Inmate Sues Jail Because Escaping Was too Easy

In 2006, Scott Anthony Gomez made his first escape from the Pueblo County Jail in Pueblo, CO. He escaped from jail through the roof, though it was short-lived since he was captured and returned to jail two days later. Gomez escaped a second time, this time falling as he scaled down the 85-ft. wall using bedsheets. In 2008, Gomez filed a lawsuit against the Pueblo County Sheriff's Departments for injuries, alleging the jail made it “too easy to escape.”