Chapter 01The Salt Creek Monster
Roman Heinze
Roman Heinze lured backpackers Beatriz and Lena Rabente to Salt Creek, South Australia, in February 2016 and was jailed in 2017. Case photos.
Read the case and see 7 photosCase files and photos
Volume 21
The real people, places and evidence behind the 12 cases in True Crime Case Histories, Volume 21 by Jason Neal. Pick a chapter to read the case and see its photos.
12 chapters · 47 photographs
These images relate to real crimes and may be disturbing.
Chapter 02The Middletown Nightmare
Norman Hoverter, Wanda Smelser
Valerie Smelser, 12, died in January 1995 after months in a Middletown, Virginia basement. Norman Hoverter got life, her mother 12 years. Case photos.
Read the case and see 3 photos
Chapter 03The Body in the Garden
Leigh Ann Sabine
John Sabine was killed in Beddau, Wales, in 1997, and his wife Leigh Ann hid his wrapped body for 18 years until neighbors opened it. Case photos.
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Chapter 04The Death Deal
Kenneth Minor
Motivational speaker Jeffrey Locker paid Kenneth Minor to kill him in East Harlem in July 2009, chasing an $18 million payout. Photos from the case.
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Chapter 05The I-70 Rapist
Douglas Belt
Housekeeper Lucille Gallegos was murdered in Wichita in June 2002. DNA tied trucker Douglas Belt to her death and seven I-70 rapes. Case photos.
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Chapter 06The Perfect Murder
Christian F
Maria Baumer vanished near Regensburg, Germany, in May 2012. Her fiancé Christian F. was convicted of her murder in 2020. Photos from the case.
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Chapter 07The Birthday Surprise
Adriana Vasco, Dennis Godley
Kenneth and Carolyn Stahl were shot on Ortega Highway in Orange County, California, in 1999. Adriana Vasco and Dennis Godley were convicted. Case photos.
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Chapter 08The Plastic Roses
Timothy Smith Jr, Deborah Smith, Tony Sharpe
Berryville, Virginia council member Gail Smith was shot in her home in 2009 in a plot hatched by her own brother and sister. Photos from the case.
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Chapter 09The Bargain Basement
Anthony Pignataro
Buffalo-area surgeon Anthony Pignataro killed patient Sarah Smith in 1997, then poisoned his wife Deborah with arsenic. Photos from the case.
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Chapter 10Imprint of Evil
Jesse Pratt
Carrie Love, 20, was killed near Klamath Falls, Oregon, in 1986 by her boss, truck driver Jesse Pratt, who was sentenced to death twice. Case photos.
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Chapter 11They’ll Blame Us
Ivan Gonzales, Veronica Gonzales
Genny Rojas, 4, died in Chula Vista, California, in 1995. Her aunt and uncle, Veronica and Ivan Gonzales, were sentenced to death. Case photos.
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Chapter 12The Cleveland Monster
Ariel Castro
Ariel Castro held Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus on Seymour Avenue in Cleveland from 2002 until their 2013 escape. Case photos.
Read the case and see 6 photos