Death is something that can’t be avoided, no matter what you do. Unfortunately, crime and murder are also unavoidable when you look at the history of the world… it’s an unfortunate and cruel reality. And sometimes those crimes are so evil, it’s hard to believe they really happened. Some of the most brutal murders are decades old, but they simply cannot be forgotten. The victims, their deaths and their murderers will never fade out of history. These are some of the worst murders that the world has ever seen.
1.) Dimebag Darrell: Musician and one of the founding members of Pantera was shot on stage while he was performing with DamagePlan in Columbus, Ohio on 12/08/2004. Gunman Nathan Gale shot him three times in the head.
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2.) Shaariibuugiin Altantuyaa: This Mongolian national went missing on October 19, 2006. Later, fragments of her remains were found near the Subang Dam in Malaysia. She was shot twice before C-4 explosives were used on her remains by two members of the Unit Tindakan Khas Police Force; Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar. Both men were sentenced to death.
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3.) Judith Eva Barsi: This 10 year-old American child actress and her mother were shot by her father, József Istvan Barsi. The 1988 murder occurred after years of suffering severe physical and mental abuse. Her dad poured gasoline on the bodies, set them on fire, and shot himself in the head.
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4.) Salmaan Taseer: Pakistani businessman and politician Salmaan Taseer was shot 27 times on January 4, 2011 by Malik Mumtaz Qadri. Salmaan opposed the blasphemy law in Pakistan. On that same year, Qadri was sentenced to death by a Pakistani Anti Terrorist Court.
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5.) Adrienne Shelley: American actress, director and screenwriter Adrienne Shelley was found dead on November 1, 2006. At first it was thought a suicide, but then it was discovered a 19 year-old Ecuadorian illegal immigrant named Diego Pillco had killed Shelley when she caught him robbing her apartment. Diego was sentenced to 25 years in prison without parole.
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6.) Matthew Shepard: On October 7, 1998, American student Matthew Shepard was the victim of a hate crime because of his sexual orientation. Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson robbed, pistol-whipped and tortured Matthew. He died shortly after the assault.
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7.) Rudolph Moshammer: One Germany’s most successful fashion designers was found dead in his mansion on January 14, 2005. An Iraqi asylum seeker named Herisch Ali Abdullah admitted to murdering Moshammer after the latter had refused to pay 2,000 euros in return of sexual favors.
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8.) Kelly Anne Bates: Kelly Anne Bates was brutally tortured and murdered by her partner Patterson Smith. Her death is described as “a catalogue of depravity by one human being upon another”. Over four weeks, Patterson inflicted numerous injuries to Kelly which included burns, beatings, stabbings, and even gouging of the eyes. Her killer was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in 1997.
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9.) Sylvia Likens: Sylvia was abused and murdered by Gertrude Baniszewski. It began when Sylvia’s parents, who were carnival workers, left Sylvia and her sister Jenny in the care of the Baniszewski family in exchange for $20 a week. After one payment was late, Gertrude took it out on Sylvia with beatings, burns, confinement and a host of other abuses resulting in death.
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10.) Anita Cobby: On February 2, 1986, Australian registered nurse and beauty pageant winner Anita Cobby was abducted from a train station in Blacktown, New South Wales. She was raped repeatedly and beaten by five different men. The suspects, including three brothers, were convicted of her murder and were sentenced to life in prison.
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11.) Annie Le: On September 8, 2009, Vietnamese American Annie Le was found hanging upside down inside a building’s wall cavity in the basement of a Yale laboratory. The Yale doctoral student was killed by Raymond J. Clark, a Yale lab technician. He was arrested and found guilty to the heinous crime and was sentenced to 44 years in prison.
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12.) Carlie Jane Brucia: On 02/01/2004, Carlie was sexually assaulted and murdered by Joseph P. Smith, after kidnapping her from a car wash near her home in Sarasota, Florida. Five days after, Joseph was arrested and eventually tried for first-degree murder. He was sentenced to death by lethal injection.
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13.) Kitty Genovese: Catherine Susan Genovese was murdered near her home on March 13, 1964. Her death, one that wasn’t prevented by onlooking neighbors, prompted an investigation into the social psychological phenomenon that has become known as the bystander effect or “Genovese syndrome”. Her killer Winston Moseley was found guilty and sentenced to death on June 15, 1964 (it was later reduced to a lifetime sentence).
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14.) Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr.: He was the son of famous aviator Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. The 20 month-old toddler who was abducted from his family home in New Jersey on the evening of March 1, 1932. After two months, his body was found near Hopewell Township and his skull was seriously fractured, the most likely cause of death. Bruno Richard Hauptmann was charged with the senseless murder and following a two-year trial was sentenced to death by electric chair.
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15.) Martha Moxley: In 1975, Martha Moxley was murdered by 15 year-old Michael Skakel. Her body was found under a tree in her back yard with her jeans and underwear pulled down, but there was no apparent evidence of sexual assault. She was beaten so badly, the murder weapon (a golf club) was shattered. Michael was sentenced 20 years to life in prison in 2002, but was later granted a new trial by a Connecticut Judge and was released after paying $1.2 million bail.
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16.) Sandra Cantu: 8 year-old Sandra Catu went missing on March 27, 2009. Several days later, her body was found inside a suitcase in a nearby irrigation pond. Melissa Huckaby, her murderer, was charged murder and rape which she plead guilty to in order to avoid the death penalty.
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17.) William Desmond Taylor: This popular Irish-born American actor and director was found dead with a shot in the back of his head inside his bungalow at the Alvarado Court Apartments in Los Angeles.
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18.) Andrew Jackson Bordern: This man was hit 11 times with a hatchet by his own daughter, Lizzie Borden. Her mother and his wife, Abby Borden, was killed as well. Her skull was crushed with 19 blows. Lizzie was arrested on August 11, 1892 and was indicted on December 2.
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19.) Sharon Tate: American actress Sharon Tate was murdered on August 1969 by members of the Charles Manson’s family. Her body and the bodies of her friends were found in the living room of her home with a long rope tied around her neck and multiple stab wounds.
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20.) Airey Neave: This British army officer and politician was killed on March 30, 1979 after a car bomb exploded in his car while he was in it. The Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) took responsibility for the crime.
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21.) James Bugler: Three year-old James Bulger was abducted, tortured and murdered by two ten year-olds, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables. The two young murderers were charged on February 20, 1993 and found guilty on November 24, 1993 making them the youngest convicted murderers in modern English history.
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22.) Lesley Whittle: She was murdered on January 1975 after being kidnapped from her home by Donald Neilson. He had committed over 400 burglaries and three fatal shootings. Donald kept Lesley, naked and hooded, in a reservoir drainage shaft and tethered her there by a wire noose. He was later convicted and was sentenced to life in prison.
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23.) Elizabeth Short: Elizabeth was the victim of one of the most gruesome murders in history, popularly known as the Black Dahlia murder. On January 15, 1947, she was found mutilated in various ways and sliced in half at the waist. Her death is one of the oldest unsolved murder cases in the history of Los Angeles.
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24.) Jason Allen and Lindsay Cutshall: These Christian camp counselors were shot in the head with a .45-caliber Marlin rifle while camping on Fishhead Beach, California. Authorities believe that this brutal double-murder took place on the night of August 14, 2004 or in the early morning hours of August 15, 2004.
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25.) Marilyn Reese Sheppard: In 1970, this Cleveland woman was brutally murdered in her own home. She was savagely and horrifically assaulted. Her husband; Dr. Sam Sheppard, was immediately accused and sentenced to life imprisonment but was later acquitted.
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(H/T List 25) It’s hard to believe that murders so callous and cruel could have happened. These are the kinds of crimes no one will forget, even if they never make their way into the pages of a history book. Click below to share the history of these monstrous murders with others. They’re unbelievable.
