NewsBreak Original

How I discovered, developed, and wrote an article, book, and podcast about one of history’s most puzzling disappearances of children. On November 9, 1997, a Sunday, I opened my Minneapolis newspaper. In the classifieds section, I saw an ad pleading for information on a trio of missing brothers — aged 8, 6, and 4 — who had been missing since 1951. I didn’t know it, but that ad had appeared in the newspaper every November for the previous 35 years. I was curious. I called a phone number listed in the ad.

At 17, Michael worked on his parents' dairy farm in the early 1990s. He ran to the store every night for his video and junk food. Work would rock Bonney Lake, Washington, this evening. In her 1991 bright red Cadillac Eldorado, his mother gave him money to buy the usual stuff. After playing Roxette Joyride, he heard "Don't go" at the driveway's end. He stopped the car, looked around, and heard "Don't go" again, louder. This time he hesitated but he turned around, and pulled back in the driveway. "I'll go later," he told his mom when he returned inside. Soon, the house began to shake, a helicopter landed in their back field, and sheriff vehicles flew down their road and into their driveway. The shooter killed their neighbor and paralyzed another on the same road as Michael. #storytime #godstories #stories

Anthony Powell’s DNA was never tested before or during his trial. On March 20, 1991, an eighteen-year-old girl was abducted in Roxbury, Massachusetts. The teen was waiting for the bus home, and it had been around midnight when an unknown man approached the girl. The man had a knife and forced her to walk to a wooded area, where he sexually assaulted her, then ran away.

A meticulous planner, Keyes was a predator who struck at random and left few clues behind. His crimes spanned the breadth of the country, earning him the moniker of a "ghost" among law enforcement. This is the story of Israel Keyes, a man whose reign of terror went largely unnoticed until it was too late.

Author Kouri Richins wrote a children’s book about grief following the tragic death of her husband, appearing on a local TV and radio stations to promote the book and let people know she hoped it would help her three children process the loss of their father.

If you're unfamiliar with the term "catfishing", it's a situation where a person pretends to be someone else on the Internet to try and trick the person they’re talking to. In this story, we’re going to talk about a case where the catfish was able to convince someone to commit murder. The case of Jenelle Potter has so many moments where you’ll want to throw your head into your hands and ask yourself how someone can possibly be so naive.

Why do women kill? According to statistics, their motivations are far different than men. Women usually kill those who are close to them - lovers, family members, and children. They commonly believe that their victim is better off dead or they might kill if they feel their security is at risk, for example, they’re being divorced or written out of a will.

The Baton Rouge woman convicted of murdering her live-in boyfriend will remain in prison while filing appeals, after a controversial post-conviction bail given by a judge was tossed out, the Advocate reports.

Did you know that the average person can unknowingly walk past 36 murderers in their lifetime? Although there are certain indicators you can look out for, there are many instances when they appear normal and ordinary and because of this fact, it may be too late for the victims. In the case of Bosch Huis’ mom, she lived to tell her story which Bosch shared in a viral Tik Tok video.

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina sees over 20 million visitors each year. 20 million. Myrtle Beach is a destination for young and old alike, with no shortage of activities, restaurants, and shopping- and of course, the 60 continuous miles of beach- which is how it received the nickname, ‘The Grand Strand’.

On October 8, 1976, Mr. Wayne Dunlap was excited to take his students on a field trip. This was going to be a trip to the Clingman Dome area of the Great Smoky Mountains. The class was going to hike and see the sights at the Dome, spend the day exploring, and head back to their school, Beardman High School, that afternoon.

In the archives of crime history, few cases have captivated the public's imagination quite like that of John George Haigh, commonly known as the Acid Bath Murderer. Haigh's chilling crimes and the gruesome modus operandi he employed sent shockwaves through the nation in the 1940s. Delve into the dark and disturbing tale of this notorious killer, exploring the details that have both fascinated and horrified generations.

At age 58, Thelma Pauline Melton was living her best life- Or so everyone thought. It was 1981 and Thelma- who usually went by Polly- was living in an Airstream camper with her husband. They lived part of the year in Jacksonville, Florida, and would spend a few months every fall camping in the Great Smoky Mountains.

Kimberly Proctor was a beautiful 18-year-old young woman from Langford, British Columbia, who was taken from this world in one of the cruellest ways by two very troubled teenage boys from school. The things that they did to her - are incomprehensible, and it’s difficult to imagine a human being capable of such a thing, let alone two boys who were so young.

Jacob Morrill, a 24-year-old man, has been arrested for allegedly killing his landlord by beating him with an ax and 'hiding his body under a tarp' according to True Crime Daily.

New court documents peel back the layers of a woman accused of murdering her husband with fentanyl, revealing that she was in debt over her head, and allegedly took out four life insurance policies on him, KSL-TV reports.

A federal judge has yet again delayed the trial of a Pineville, Missouri woman accused of kidnapping and murdering a pregnant woman with the intention of stealing the baby, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

An Orange County dermatologist accused of poisoning her husband with Drano appeared in court on May 18, 2023, to make a plea to the charges against her: she has pleaded not guilty, according to Law & Crime.

Since the April 3, 2022 stabbing death of her boyfriend, Courtney Clenney’s defense attorneys have claimed she was the victim of abuse, not the abuser, and they have now revealed to Law & Crime bits of their evidence which they claim proves their case.

Sherlock Holmes is one of the most famous fictional characters of all time, a private detective with a proficiency in observation, forensics, reasoning, and seemingly, well, everything. He was also incredibly unclean and had a cocaine habit.