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It’s been nearly a quarter of a century since O.J. Simpson was tried for the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman — but the American public is still over obsessed with the brutal double murders.
But the Brentwood murders of ’94 isn’t the only true American crime story that folks just can’t seem to get enough of. No matter how many years have gone by and how many new details emerge, these wicked, twisted still generate various theories and public speculation
Andrea Yates: Mother From Hell
On June 20, 2001, Houston Native Andrea Yates (who suffered from postpartum psychosis) drowned all of her children — one-by-one— in a bathtub. Her husband, Rusty Yates returned home to see Noah, Luke, Mary, Paul and John laying lifeless in the tub. In 2006, the mother of five was found not guilty by reason of insanity. The public was outraged.
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Pogo The Clown
John Wayne Gacy frequently dressed up as his alter ego, Pogo the Clown, at parties that he hosted for his the children in his neighborhood. But by 1978, Gacy became known as the killer clown — and American serial killer and rapist. He sexually assaulted, tortured and murdered at least 33 teenage boys and young men between 1972 and 1978 in Illinois. Gacy spent 14 years on death row before he was executed by lethal injection at Stateville Correctional Center on May 10, 1994.
The Manson Family Murders
Charles Manson is probably one of the most well known serial killers in history. The 1969 murder of pregnant actress Sharon Tate and six others in Los Angeles by Manson’s “family,” as his followers were called, sent the nation in a total state of shock. The killings were part of a series of nine murders that took place over five weeks in California linked to Manson’s cult. But by 1971, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit the murders of seven people and sentenced to life in prison. Manson died Nov. 19, 2017, at a California hospital after being imprisoned for more than 45 years. He was 83 years old.
Ted Bundy
Bundy, a serial killer and kidnapper responsible for murdering more than 30 young women over a span four years, is often blamed for bringing darkness to the 70s. He decapitated at least 12 of his victims, and kept some of the severed heads as mementos in his apartment. Bundy was ultimately captured in 1978 and received three death sentences in two separate trials. He was executed in the electric chair at Florida State Prison on January 24, 1989.
Gianni Versace’s Murder
Father of fashion and founder of one of the biggest brands in American history, Gianni Versace was shot and killed on the steps of his Miami Beach home by serial killer Andrew Cunanan. Cunanan was reportedly obsessed with the designer and used the same gun he used to kill Versace to commit suicide on a houseboat eight days later. Versace was Cunanan’s fifth and final murder.
Phil Hartman
On May 27, 1998, SNL alum and comedy legend Phil Hartman was shot three times and killed by his wife Brynn Hartman. According to police, she confessed to friends following the shooting, claiming a fight with her husband earlier that evening had angered her. But by the time officers came to confront Brynn about the murders, she had taken her own life.
Jodi Arias
Love stories often make for some of the most brutal murders. On June 4, 2008, Jodi Ann Arias shot and killed her ex-boyfriend, salesman Travis Victor Alexander, in his Arizona home. Alexander sustained multiple knife wounds and a gunshot to the head. Arias testified that she killed Alexander in self-defense, but did not convince a jury. On May 8, 2013, Arias was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
