What's A True Crime Case No One Talks About?
But on the flip side, there are actually many true crime stories not a lot of people have heard about before.
For example, have you ever heard of the "Hangman" or "Killer Cop," aka Gerard John Schaefer Jr.? He was a former sheriff's deputy and suspected serial killer active in Florida during the '70s who killed two teen girls. It's suspected he actually had dozens more victims.
Or did you know about the unsolved Santa Rosa hitchhiker murders that took place from 1972–1973 in Northern California? There were seven confirmed killings, but possibly a lot more.
Perhaps you've gone your whole life not knowing that the R.E.M. song, 'What's the Frequency, Kenneth?' is a reference to the 1986 crime where CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather was attacked and mugged by two men while one of them repeatedly said, "Kenneth, what is the frequency?'
Basically, what I'm saying is, there are A LOOOOOOT of unbelievable, true crime stories out there, especially ones people don't talk enough about. So we wanna know: what's a lesser-known true crime story that we haven't already heard?!
Tell us in the comments or via the totally anonymous form below for a chance to be featured in a future BuzzFeed Community post or video!
Do you love all things scary, dark, and creepy? Subscribe to the That Got Dark newsletter to get your weekly dopamine fix of the macabre delivered RIGHT to your inbox!
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2 hours ago
- Yahoo
21 Former (And Current) Cheaters Exposed Their Reasons For Being Unfaithful, And I'm Truly Shocked At Some Of These
A while back, we asked the BuzzFeed Community to share the reasons they decided to cheat on their significant others. Here's what they said: 1."I've been a terrible partner for several people, and the ones I cheated on were all for the same reason — boredom, and it would be easy to get away with it. I never once got caught, but I'm divorced because I caught my ex cheating, whom I had never cheated on. So karma." —Anonymous 2."My high school boyfriend kind of spiraled after we graduated. I was going off to college, and he was staying in our hometown. We'd had a rocky relationship our senior year, too. I joined a sorority and started flirting around with some of the guys joining fraternities. I slept with one of the guys that I'd also met during freshman orientation, and my friends forced me to tell my boyfriend. I did it because I felt disconnected from my boyfriend and wanted to start over new in college. I definitely should have talked to my boyfriend and either broken up with him or worked things out rather than cheating." —Anonymous, Indianapolis 3."I didn't realize it then (early 20s), but I was acting out because of childhood trauma. I was repeating patterns, pushing people away before they could abandon me, etc. It was a really stressful time." —Anonymous, 39, Minneapolis, MN 4."Our marriage had a serious lack of intimacy for a couple of years. Not just sex, but no affection shared at all, which was hard since my love language is physical touch. I ended up meeting someone I had an immediate connection with, who filled in everything I was missing. I'm getting divorced now, but my ex and I are in a very good place and rallied around raising our child." —Anonymous, 34, Vermont 5."It was too easy. Too many women. But the one I feel guilty about was my long-term girlfriend in college. She is one of the nicest people I have ever met. So maybe I didn't deserve her anyway. Either way, I feel guilty. But she seems to have a good life, and her husband seems to be a decent man. We still run in the same circles." —Anonymous, 49, Washington, DC 6."I cheated on my boyfriend when I was 21 years old. He had cheated on me in the past. He constantly tried to make me feel worthless, and then I met someone who was just a genuinely nice person, and I realized I could actually be with someone who treats me better. We flirted for a few days, and then we kissed, and he spent the night. We did not have sex, but kissing is still cheating. I broke up with my ex a few days later and dated the guy I cheated with for seven years." —Anonymous, 31, NC 7."I was with her for nearly six years, but I knew I never really loved her. I was trying to do the right, normal thing by settling down. I'd been living overseas and partying, and everyone was pressuring me to come home and settle down. She was emotionally controlling and highly insecure. I was drained and felt so stuck. Every time I tried to end it, she would threaten to harm herself. So I just stayed. I started a new job and met a woman who completely blew me away. We were just friends for a while, and then one day we kissed in the elevator at work. I went home and immediately ended the relationship, and ended up marrying my colleague. We are still happily married today, five years later. I have deep shame that I cheated and that I wasn't strong enough to leave, but it definitely made me realise that there are sometimes reasons people do cheat." —Anonymous, 37, Australia 8."I got married when I was 21 to a very nice but clueless workaholic young man. After the honeymoon phase, he basically ignored me. I was in the best shape I had ever been in, teaching Jazzercise classes as a substitute while going to nursing school. He didn't even want to take vacations with me, just wanted to work all the time. We were able to buy a house, which was great, but I thought there should be more to a marriage. I ended up having an affair with my college speech teacher that lasted until he broke it off for an even younger student!" —Anonymous, 68, Bay Area 9."I had no good reason. That would imply that I had every right to do it. I didn't. What I did was break a social contract I had with my then-girlfriend, now wife, and it caused every disruption you can imagine. I've cried and been annoyed and worried because I am the one who did it, and I considered myself a moral, loyal guy, so I know what ANYone is capable of doing. If I had any guesses as to what was actually going through my brain, it would be this: 'I'm not good enough to keep my girlfriend. She knows me too well and knows I'm not as great as she says I am. I don't deserve more than the drama this will eventually cause. I'd rather someone interact with me who has no idea how messed up I really am than face the person who actually loves me.'" —Anonymous, 44, Indianapolis 10."I met someone WAY better and have been married to her for 20 years this July." —Anonymous, 47 Kingston, Ontario 11."We've been together several years now — and he's been angry for most of them. Any time I try to communicate with him turns into a battle. We have had sex maybe 12 times in the last three years, and he mocks me whenever I told him that I wanted to have more sex, never mind what happens when I bring up how I'd like to spice things up. So, after a particularly stressful few months (a huge career move for me, selling and buying a house), one of my immediate family members almost died. I was crying to my partner about how scared I was, and he completely blew me off. Then something in me snapped. I wanted to feel desired and wanted; I didn't want to beg for attention. I wanted to just not fight with someone. So, I sexted an old flame." "I should have left, hell, I should have let him leave me during my pregnancy like he threatened many, many times. But I didn't, and my partner found the messages. We're still together, and he decided to stay once he saw my commitment to 'never again.' I'm in therapy twice a month. He's still always angry. We still aren't having sex. I'm so miserable and lonely that I want to leave, but I don't want to lose my daughter 50% of the time." —Anonymous, 42, Canada 12."A close bond with my coworker turned into my best sexual experience of my life. We both know each other like no one else, and I've never wanted anyone as much as I want him. His genuine connection is unlike anyone else." —Anonymous, 36 13."I cheated on my ex. We were long-distance, but it wasn't the distance that caused me to cheat; it was the fact that I knew I could get away with it. A have-my-cake-and-eat-it-too scenario. This was 10 years ago. I have since formed a friendship with the ex and told her what I did and apologized. She accepted and appreciated it. I have been with my current partner for nine years. I would never dream of cheating again." —Anonymous, 31, UK 14."I was young and stupid. I didn't know what a healthy relationship was and didn't understand that if I wanted things to be fixed, I needed to communicate those wants and needs. I thought he could read my mind and just KNOW that I wasn't feeling loved, important, or attractive to him. I started getting attention from the guys I worked with. The acceptance, validation, and attention were like a drug for me. He was such a stick in the mud, he didn't question anything, which made me feel like he didn't care." "We were in our mid-20s. In my mind, as a couple that was living together and talking marriage, there should be no logical reason he didn't want to smash at every opportunity. I would literally be wearing just panties and a tank top, standing over or right in front of him, saying, 'Play with me!' And he'd be more into his video games or whatever he was working on. I called off our engagement because I realized if I was willing to cheat on him with multiple guys, I was NOT ready to get married." —Anonymous, 38, Texas 15."I had been with my spouse for 15 years, and we shared five kids. They had undergone a gender transition two years prior, and our marriage was on the rocks. We fought all the time. First, I was looking for a way to repair and recover our marriage, but my spouse said that there was no point in getting therapy. I then asked for a separation, but my spouse said that we couldn't afford to live apart. I interviewed for jobs out of town, thinking that we could afford to live apart if I made more money, but that didn't pan out. I felt trapped." "I began to fall for someone I worked with. I resisted the feelings for months until I couldn't stop thinking about him. One day, I confessed my feelings, and an affair began. I told my spouse right away, and we separated shortly thereafter. Years later, I am now happily married to my affair partner, and my former spouse has happily remarried, too. I deeply regret allowing myself to get that far and cheat. I really hurt my spouse and kids, and I damaged my own character and reputation." —Anonymous 16."I got a UTI every time I had sex with my husband. I was always freshly showered and clean as a precaution, and had him do the same, but it still happened. I would be the one who needed to take a full course of antibiotics and suffer the side effects from that. Meanwhile, he was scratching his privates in his sleep. I think he had something akin to jock itch, which he refused to see a doctor for or try any OTC treatment. After years of this, I was averse to having sex with him, though I still had a high sex drive. He was not interested in exploring alternate ways to bring each other pleasure, so I found a person who could satisfy my needs. Lack of intimacy, whether physical or emotional, is a relationship killer. " —Anonymous, 60, USA 17."Loneliness. My husband was an alcoholic and would choose alcohol over me. I met someone at work who treated me well, and one thing led to another. The validation and companionship were what I was missing." —Anonymous, 37, California 18."Honestly, IDK. A coworker and I got close. I wasn't that unhappy with my partner, but I was feeling depressed at the time and lost a lot of weight. I was going through the motions of work and home life, but felt dead inside. Until my coworker asked if I was depressed out of the blue. I didn't think so at that time. I was eating normally. My coworker and I spent more time together. Turned into a full-on affair, and the sex still is like no other. I'm now back to my normal weight and better mental state. " —Anonymous, 34 19."We were together for a total of five years. A year into our relationship, he cheated when I was out of town. I found out the day after I got back, I 'forgave' him the same day. But really, I resented him for isolating me from everyone, so I had no one to turn to when this happened, and he had made me think that he was the best I could ever get. The following year, I moved back to my hometown for the summer, and there I realized how desired I was by other men, and it was intoxicating. I never had gotten that type of attention from my then-boyfriend. And with the resentment building up for a year, I started going out on the weekends looking for that attention." "I ran into some guys I went to high school with, and one of their friends was really flirty with me. At that point, I knew I should have broken up with my boyfriend, but I didn't. I would continue to flirt with this guy every time I saw him at the bars until one night he asked me to go home with him, and I said yes. On the way there, the excitement turned into guilt, and I realized I was stooping down to my boyfriend's level. I told the guy I had to go home, I couldn't do this. Before the summer ended, I tried to break up with my boyfriend, but he manipulated me into staying with him. I stayed loyal until the end but I wish I would have stuck to my guns and left him that summer. I was so miserable. That was 10 years ago, and now I'm happily married to the love of my life. I would never even think of doing anything like that to him." —Anonymous 20."He was my first everything (kiss, boyfriend, sex, love), and he was a sweetheart, but we started dating freshman year of college before I knew who I was. We had nothing in common, and I tried to break up with him three times junior year, but he BEGGED me not to, so I stayed. That summer, I went to work at a summer camp and met someone who made me feel all of the things my boyfriend never did. I ended up sleeping with him and called my boyfriend to break up first thing the next morning. I felt instant relief, but the guilt has eaten away at me ever since. The guy I cheated with ended up cheating on me constantly for two years, and he gave me chlamydia, so I believe I got my karma, but damn, I still feel bad." —Anonymous, 35, US "I often think about why I cheated, and I'm not sure there is one answer. In short, I would say I was unhappy but didn't realize it. An ex came back in my life who I had deep-rooted rejection issues from, and when they expressed interest, it was easy to fall back into being wanted by them. After so much rejection from them in the past, I finally, for a moment, felt wanted. My partner and I at the time hadn't been intimate in a long time and lacked the ability to communicate were healthy relationships. My cheating broke all the trust my partner had in me, and when they found out about it, we never recovered. I do think our breakup was for the bes,t but forgiving myself for the hurt I had caused him is still something I struggle with years later." —Anonymous, 34; Seattle, WA Responses have been edited for length/clarity. Have you ever cheated on a partner? Tell us your motives for why you did it, and how it all turned out. Or, if you prefer to stay anonymous, you can submit a response using this form here. Solve the daily Crossword
Buzz Feed
4 days ago
- Buzz Feed
Extremely Dark Facts And Stories July 2025
Do you love all things scary, dark, and creepy? Subscribe to the That Got Dark newsletter to get your weekly dopamine fix of the macabre delivered RIGHT to your inbox! Warning: Disturbing content ahead, including stories involving murder and extreme violence. On June 30, 2025, a 92-year-old man, Ryland Headley, was convicted of raping and murdering a woman named Louisa Dunne in Bristol, England — a crime he committed nearly 58 years earlier, in 1967. Dunne was 75 years old at the time. For decades, the case remained unsolved until a breakthrough came over 55 years later. In 2023, investigators reviewed the cold case and discovered new forensic evidence: a DNA sample from Dunne's clothing that matched Ryland Headley, who was already in the national DNA database. Headley had a history of sexually assaulting elderly women, with convictions from the 1970s. His palm print also matched one found on Dunne's windowsill. He was arrested and stood trial in 2025. On June 30, 2025, Headley was convicted of rape and murder, and the next day, he was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 20 years, effectively ensuring he will die in custody. The creepy (albeit interesting) grave of Timothy Clark Smith, who suffered from severe taphophobia — the fear of being buried alive. Smith took extraordinary precautions before his death in 1893, including having his grave custom-built with a cement shaft leading down from a glass window at the surface directly above his face. Inside the tomb, he arranged for a breathing tube, a bell in his hand, and reportedly a chisel or hammer — tools meant to help him alert others and potentially escape if he awoke underground, so he could be rescued. Today, the glass is heavily clouded by condensation and plant growth, limiting visibility. However, visitors in the past claimed to be able to see his skeleton. If you feel like checking it out yourself IRL, Smith's grave is in Evergreen Cemetery in New Haven, Vermont. On July 13, 2025, a 19-year-old died after falling into an industrial meat grinder. The victim, a sanitation worker at Tina's Burritos food processing plant in Vernon, California, reportedly fell into the meat grinder during a nighttime cleaning shift. Apparently, the machine turned on while he was cleaning it, pulling him in. Coworkers said they heard his cries for help but were unable to stop the equipment in time. Emergency responders arrived quickly but pronounced him dead at the scene. In a statement to The U.S. Sun, a Tina's Burritos spokesperson said, "He was cleaning an empty kettle that was being sanitized and prepped for the next day's production run." No foul play is suspected. In 2014, two Dutch students, Kris Kremers and Lisanne Froon, went missing while hiking a trail near Boquete, Panama. They never returned, and after weeks of searching, their belongings — including a backpack with their phones and camera — were found near a river. Oddly, where the backpack was found, Kremers' clothing was also found, neatly folded next to the river. Some time later, their bones and remains were discovered scattered nearby. In fact, Lisanne's boot was found with her foot still inside. It was also discovered that their phones had tried to call for help many times. What's even more disturbing is that the camera had strange nighttime photos taken in the dark jungle. You can see those photos here. Investigators believe the two likely got lost, had an accident, and died, while many think there may have been foul play. Their exact cause of death has never been confirmed. In 1987, a man named Kenneth Parks in Toronto, Canada, got out of bed one night and drove almost 15 miles from his home, where he killed his mother-in-law, then attempted to kill his while sleepwalking. Parks, who said he was unconscious through the whole ordeal, had entered his in-laws' home with a key he'd been given in the past. He bludgeoned his mother-in-law to death with a tire iron, then attempted to choke his father-in-law to death, who miraculously survived the attack. In an extra surprising twist, Parks then drove straight to a police station (still covered in blood), and told the cops, 'I think I have just killed two people.' Parks would even go on to say he was fast asleep when he surrendered. A year later, he was acquitted of murder and attempted murder using a rare legal defense known as 'non-insane automatism,' supported by evidence of parasomnia (a sleep disorder). Last month, authorities in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, discovered almost 400 corpses at a crematorium. The remains were found abandoned and piled across multiple rooms and had reportedly been there for up to two years. Grieving families had apparently been given fake ashes in place of their loved ones' remains. The crematorium's owner and an employee were arrested and charged with mishandling human remains. Officials are working to identify the deceased and notify families. In 2024, Russ McKamey — the owner of McKamey Manor, a notorious "torturer" haunted house attraction in Tennessee that was featured in a Hulu documentary — was arrested and charged with attempted murder, rape, and domestic assault after allegedly strangling his girlfriend during multiple incidents. McKamey Manor had already gained attention for its extreme and controversial experiences, where participants endured intense psychological and physical horror-style challenges. The arrest subsequently led to renewed scrutiny and public outcry over the attraction's practices. Charges were ultimately dropped in September 2024, and despite public backlash, McKamey Manor remains in operation. On July 12, 2025, a man died after falling down an elevator shaft while exploring the abandoned Southwest Detroit Hospital in the Corktown neighborhood. He was with a group of people inside the five-story building, which has been vacant since 2006. Emergency responders arrived, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Police are still investigating the incident, but they say there are no signs of foul play. Earlier in July, a man was found dead, wrapped in a blue tarp and a blanket, in the open‑air donation area outside a Goodwill store in Pasadena, California. A store employee discovered the body among donated items near the drop‑off bins — though not inside a locked receptacle. There were no visible injuries on the man's body, but authorities suspect that drugs may have played a role in his death. The LA County coroner has deferred the cause of death pending further examination, and the man's identity remains private pending next-of-kin notification. In August 1978, Janet Parker, a medical photographer at the University of Birmingham, fell ill with what was eventually diagnosed as smallpox — despite the disease having been declared eradicated just a year earlier. She worked one floor above a laboratory that was still conducting research on the smallpox virus. Investigators believe the virus somehow escaped through a poorly sealed duct or air system, leading to her accidental exposure. Despite being hospitalized and placed in isolation, Janet died on Sept. 11, 1978. Her case sparked national panic, led to mass vaccinations in Birmingham, and triggered a formal inquiry that changed how dangerous viruses are handled in labs. She remains the last known person to die from smallpox. Back in 2012, a woman's stomach had to be removed after she'd been given a liquid nitrogen shot at a bar in Lancaster, England. 18‑year‑old Gaby Scanlon had been out celebrating her birthday at Oscar's Wine Bar and Bistro in Lancaster when she was served a nitro‑Jägermeister shot prepared with liquid nitrogen. Moments after drinking it, she experienced "agonising pain" as smoke poured from her mouth and nose, and her stomach rapidly expanded and ruptured. Doctors performed emergency surgery, removing her stomach and reconnecting her small intestine to her esophagus to save her life. After an investigation, the bar was fined £100,000 in September 2015 for failing its duty of care — no risk assessment was carried out, and staff hadn't warned customers to wait until the nitrogen had fully evaporated. On June 21, 2025, a hiker from Brazil, Juliana Marins, fell into a steep ravine near the summit of Mount Rinjani, an active volcano in Indonesia. Though she initially survived the 1,600-foot fall, poor weather and dangerous terrain delayed rescue efforts. Her body was found four days later, on June 24, almost 2,000 feet below the trail. An autopsy later confirmed she died from blunt force trauma. In other terrible hiking news, just days later, on June 18, 2025, six men were hiking near Rattlesnake Falls in Northern California when three of them — Matthew Anthony, Matthew Schoenecker, and Valentino Creus — jumped into the waterfall's pool and were swept away by the strong current. Creus had begun struggling in the water, prompting the other two to leap in to help, but all three drowned. The remote location, fast-moving water, and poor weather made search efforts difficult, and the remaining hikers had to be airlifted out for safety. Rescue divers located the victims' bodies on June 21, and they were officially identified over the next two days. In 19th-century Paris, the city's morgue became a popular tourist attraction where people came to view dead bodies on public display. Located near Notre Dame, the morgue showed the corpses of unidentified people behind glass windows in the hopes someone might recognize them. But instead of just helping with identification, it turned into a major spectacle, sometimes drawing more visitors than the Eiffel Tower. People lined up to stare, vendors actually started selling snacks outside, and newspapers turned the stories behind the bodies into sensational headlines. Bodies were shown until they decomposed too much, then wax figures were used. Eventually, the morgue was closed to the public in 1907 due to ethical concerns. In February 2013, a woman in Turkey was decapitated in a go-kart crash. The victim, 24-year-old Turkish university student Tuğba Erdoğan, had reportedly been racing around a corner when her vehicle collided with a safety barrier. Apparently, her scarf or seat belt became entangled around her neck, and the force of the impact decapitated her. Witnesses reported the belt tightened during the crash, though later investigations suggested the scarf may have also played a role by getting caught in the kart's shaft. Some families in the UK who lost loved ones in the recent Air India plane crash were given the wrong remains. A lawyer for about 20 of the families says DNA tests showed that some of the remains were mixed up — in one case, parts from more than one person were in the same coffin, and in another, the remains didn't match the family at all. One family even had to cancel a funeral when they found out the body wasn't their relative. Indian officials say they followed the proper steps and are now working with the UK to sort things out. In case you didn't know the original story: On June 12, 2025, an Air India Flight carrying 242 people — 230 passengers and 12 crew members — crashed into a medical college hostel shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. At least 270 people were killed (including those on the flight and on the ground), making it one of India's worst aviation disasters in history. A cause is still being investigated. Finally, in 1993, a lawyer named Garry Hoy died while trying to show off how strong the windows were in his office on the 24th floor of his office building, the Toronto-Dominion Centre. He threw himself against the glass — a stunt he had apparently done before — but this time, the glass didn't break, the entire window frame gave way, and he fell to his death. Garry's death was ruled an accident and is remembered as one of the strangest in legal history. The law firm he worked for closed a few years later, partly due to the shock of the event. Are you obsessed with this kind of content? Subscribe to the That Got Dark newsletter to get your weekly dopamine fix of the macabre delivered RIGHT to your inbox!
Buzz Feed
6 days ago
- Buzz Feed
What's A True Crime Case No One Talks About?
There are a lot of true crime stories that are so infamous it feels like evveeeerrryone knows about them — Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, and D.B. list goes on. But on the flip side, there are actually many true crime stories not a lot of people have heard about before. For example, have you ever heard of the "Hangman" or "Killer Cop," aka Gerard John Schaefer Jr.? He was a former sheriff's deputy and suspected serial killer active in Florida during the '70s who killed two teen girls. It's suspected he actually had dozens more victims. Or did you know about the unsolved Santa Rosa hitchhiker murders that took place from 1972–1973 in Northern California? There were seven confirmed killings, but possibly a lot more. Perhaps you've gone your whole life not knowing that the R.E.M. song, 'What's the Frequency, Kenneth?' is a reference to the 1986 crime where CBS Evening News anchor Dan Rather was attacked and mugged by two men while one of them repeatedly said, "Kenneth, what is the frequency?' Basically, what I'm saying is, there are A LOOOOOOT of unbelievable, true crime stories out there, especially ones people don't talk enough about. So we wanna know: what's a lesser-known true crime story that we haven't already heard?! Tell us in the comments or via the totally anonymous form below for a chance to be featured in a future BuzzFeed Community post or video! Do you love all things scary, dark, and creepy? Subscribe to the That Got Dark newsletter to get your weekly dopamine fix of the macabre delivered RIGHT to your inbox!
