Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Break Down The Craziest True Crime Cases They've Ever Learned About

People Break Down The Craziest True Crime Cases They've Ever Learned About
do not cross police barricade tape close-up photography

Be it Law & Order, FBI, or CSI, or the work of James Patterson, countless people are simply addicted to crime themed TV shows, movies and books.

Others, however, are more fascinated by the real thing.

Be it scripted series, documentary style or podcast, many people are fascinated by true crimes, and can't learn enough about some of these cases.

But on some occasions, the crimes in question might simply be too gruesome, dramatic or heartbreaking to handle, resulting in even the most dedicated crime aficionados to take a step back.

Redditor Soupystains was curious to hear which true crime case fellow Reddit users simply couldn't handle, leading them to ask:

"What's a true crime case that was simply too much to handle?"


Judith Barsi

"Judith Barsi."

"That poor, sweet, innocent soul."

"Never had a fighting chance in the world."- Nuttonbutton

James Bulger

"The James Bulger case always left me with that sickening feeling."

"That poor trusting little boy that was lured away by two older children no less, and killed haunts me."- Mason3637

Gabriel Fernandez

"For me, Gabriel Fernandez."

"That sh*t f*cked me up for a while."- lightningspider97

Kelly Anne Bates

"The murder of Kelly Anne Bates."

"Happened just around the corner of where I live."

"She was 14, when her 48 year old 'boyfriend; groomed her and isolated her from her family."

"He then tortured her and gauged her eyes out, keeping her alive for a few more weeks, whilst starving her and stabbing things in her empty eye sockets, amongst other things."- Anonymark88

Mary Ann Dela Sala

"The 1967 murder of a neighbor, 17 year old Mary Ann Dela Sala of Hackensack, NJ."

"Left her after school job to walk home and was found floating in the Passaic River."- OilTankCzar.

The Delphi Murders

"While the investigation is still active today I have to go with the Delphi Murders."

"I keep thinking about what those girls had to watch the other endure before meeting her own fate."

"Someone still hasn’t been caught and it’s heartbreaking."- throwawaymeplease45

Susan Powell

"The murder of Susan Powell, but not the entire case itself."

"I listened to the podcast Cold and while the case as a whole interested me and was all sorts of f*cked up, it didn’t greatly disturb me."

"It was hearing the 911 calls of the social worker who was bringing the boys for a visit calling for help after Josh Powell lured his sons inside his home telling them he had a big surprise, locked the doors, killed both boys with an ax and then set the home on fire with all 3 of them inside."

"EMS was lost so the entire time the social worker is frantically trying to explain to them where they are, who he is, and what she’s worried is happening totally powerless to do anything to stop it, and then the house went up in flames."

"I had to take a 6month break from all true crime."- tigm2161130

Any case involving children.

"Murder of Tori Stafford."

"Also, the case of Karla Homolka and Paul Bernado."

"Basically, any case involving children."

"We don't have a death penalty in Canada for those who prey on children."- Hangingoutwithyou

Dylann Roof

"When Dylann Roof, the AME Church killer, was arrested, he told one of the officers, 'They were so nice to me, I almost didn't do it.'

"That's always really gotten to me."- notthesedays

The Toybox and Toolbox Killers

"Toybox killer is bad but toolbox killers is so much worse."

"There's footage on YouTube of people in the courtroom listening to the recordings of them with their victim and occasionally you just see people coming out of the courtroom crying or looking sick and you can hear the gutteral screams in the back."

Just the sound of the screams in the distance is so f*cked up."- Rackbone.

"The toy box killer —> nope."- CaffeinatedAsh

Sylvia Likens

"Sylvia Likens."

"Idk why I continued to read the whole story but reading about everything she endured, and all the extremely messed up things they did to her, I cried."

"I don’t know how you get to that point of dehumanizing someone like that."

"It makes me sick even thinking about it."- amaranthaxx

Ariel Castro

"The case of Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus."

"They were kidnapped by Ariel Castro and were held captive in his house for 10-11 years."

"They were raped and Amanda became pregnant with a baby girl named Jocelyn."

"Thanks to her telling them Ariel wasn’t home they were released in 2013 which was only 9 years ago."- charlie_iscontagious

Bass Webb

"Google Bass Webb, Kentucky."

"He killed two women about ten minutes from my house."

"He's is a true psychopath."

"I had never heard of him until my husband hired a new guy and the guy was on probation for helping Bass bury one of his victims."

"She was that guy's cousin!"

"My husband didn't know it at the time of hiring obviously."- lifeinthefastlane999

The Turpins

"Definitely the Turpins."- Different-Ad6190

Michelle Blair

"Michelle Blair from Detroit."- Illustrious_Boss2991

Luka Rocco Magnotta

"Luka Rocco Magnotta, and the worst part is that everyone is able to see the whole murder online with a simple research."- ganesh420ganesh

Mr. Hands

"Mr Hands."

"Mr Hands had a kink for f*cking horses."

"He broke into a stable and chose the biggest horse in the stables and f*cked it."

"I’m pretty sure he got internal damage from… well you know and died in the hospital."- grahamcracker007

The Burari Case

"Burari death case."

"If you know, you know."

"That sh*t was really F*cked up."- Classic_Blueberry404

Peter Scully

"Peter Scully."

"Just horrible."- m0thb4lls

What might make reading the work of James Patterson and others easy for some people to read is the fact that they know it's fiction, perhaps loosely inspired by actual events.

But learning more and more about horrific crimes which actually happened and could happen again is enough to permanently ruin any chances of sleeping.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Lupita Nyong'o
XNY/Star Max/GC Images

Lupita Nyong'o Recalls Being Offered More Slave Roles After '12 Years A Slave'—And Fans Are Heartbroken

Lupita Nyong'o may have instantaneously become a Hollywood "it" girl" after winning an Oscar for her first-ever film role in 12 Years A Slave back in 2014, but it's been anything but the typical Hollywood story since.

Nyong'o, who was raised in Kenya, recently spoke to Beninese singer Angélique Kidjo on CNN's Inside Africa about where her career has gone since that big Oscar night.

Keep ReadingShow less
Simu Liu
Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Netflix

Marvel Star Simu Liu Sparks Debate After Calling Out How Far Hollywood Has Backslid With Asian Representation

Actor Simu Liu, best known for his role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, called out Hollywood in a post on social media lamenting Asian actors not getting the same opportunities as their white counterparts.

In a since-deleted post, the actor said the film industry has backslid in Asian representation onscreen, responding after X user @SelfieIgnite posted on X, urging Hollywood to “put more Asian men in romantic lead roles."

Keep ReadingShow less
Tim Walz; Donald Trump
Meet the Press/NBC; Pete Marovich/Getty Images

Tim Walz Fires Back At Trump With A Simple Demand After Trump Uses Ableist Slur Against Him In Deranged Rant

Ever since MAGA Republican President Donald Trump campaigned on a promise to release the full files compiled by his Department of Justice and the FBI to indict and arrest registered sex offender and longtime friend of Trump Jeffrey Epstein in 2019, voters have been demanding Trump keep his campaign promise.

Now there's a call for the release of another file the Trump administration has been hiding—the POTUS' medical file. More specifically, the results from Trump’s October 2025 MRI.

Keep ReadingShow less
Vivek Ramaswamy
Noam Galai/Getty Images for Cantor Fitzgerald

Vivek Ramaswamy's Controversial Solution For How To Make Parenting 'More Affordable' Is Not Going Over Well

Billionaire entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy is facing criticism after he touted—and later deleted—a video speaking about his plan for how to make parenting "more affordable" by making school year-round.

Ramaswamy is currently campaigning for the 2026 Ohio gubernatorial election and at a time when many around the country are struggling with the rising cost of living, he thinks he's got one major thing figured out.

Keep ReadingShow less
Corporate buildings
Photo by Sean Pollock on Unsplash

People Explain Which Industries Are More Corrupt Than Anyone Wants To Admit

As consumers, we all have some corporations that we support and others we do not, based on the brands we use and the topics we focus on. And we'll inevitably have some opinions about the corporations we don't support.

But there's a possibility that they might be much worse in nature than we even gave them credit for.

Keep ReadingShow less