Who doesn't love a good true crime story?
But why are we so obsessed?
I've had Dateline NBC, 20/20, 48 hours and ID Discovery on loop.
Pretty soon the beginnings of a sleuth emerge.
We know when the clues are making sense.
How do the main characters not? Let's dive in...
Redditor Enough_Letterhead121 wanted to get into the world of true crime obsession. You know you want to... they asked:
"What’s a true crime “cold case” that just doesn’t sit right with you?"
I don't know why but I'm obsessed with these kinds of stories. And they are so gruesome. But I'm ready.
Mary Mary
"The Mary Morris murders. Two women both named Mary Morris that were both killed just a few days apart in a really close proximity to each other."
immadriftersbody
"Probably a very sh**ty hitman killed the wrong person."
A_Guy_Named_Matthew
Heather
"Heather Teague. She was dragged into the woods from a riverbank. The abduction was witnessed from across the river by a man using a telescope."
usedTP
"August 26, 1995 is the day she disappeared from a strip of beach along the Ohio River in Spottsville, Kentucky. The guy who 'saw' her abduction? He was across the river in Indiana, watching through a telescope that he used to peep on women sunbathing, like Heather was. He said he saw a bushy haired, bearded man, with a mosquito net around his face, carrying a gun, drag her by the hair."
"Her jean shorts, white Keds sneakers, and plaid bikini top were found, but no sign of Heather. Henderson County Sheriffs and Kentucky State Police zeroed in on Marty Dill, a local creep. He’d had a few run ins with the law before. They went to search his house and bring him in for questioning, and he barricaded himself inside. Oh… and remember the bushy hair and beard? He’d shaved both off four months before Heather went missing."
"He barricaded himself in his house, until his uncle, a KSP trooper, came in and started talking him down. And then there was a gunshot, or a few, and supposedly Marty Dill committed suicide. Except the evidence doesn’t support that. There was a suspected serial killer in the area. Last I saw, he was in prison in Ohio for a murder he admitted to. He has never admitted to any other murders. Heather has never been found."
Madame_Kitsune98
15 Years
"My aunt was on a trip across some of Asia with her friends. The one friend had planned to go to Hong Kong, but the rest didn’t want to, so they decided they would all just meet up at the next country and let her go to Hong Kong by herself. They heard from her when she got off the plane, and not again. It’s been about 15 years."
The_MRT14
Susan
"Woman and husband are out on the patio. She's texting with friends, all good. Husband goes to bed. Wakes up in the morning with cops knocking on the door. His wife was found in a nearby river. At some point in the night, she (or someone) had driven her car a mile up river and left her car near a bridge. But body was found way down river with no way for it to have floated that far or get past the rocky terrain. Someone staged her car up there, dumped her body further down the river. Police found signs of murder, but won't say what exactly."
Jackandahalf@ss
Indiana
"A local case from 1977. A small Indiana town with a population of less than 2,000 had 3 unsolved child murders committed in the same year. After the third murder, the killings stopped and the cases remain unsolved."
Cheetah84380
Lord the world is a dark place. There is mayhem waiting around every corner.
Maine
"The owner of a funeral home business went to Camden, Maine with his wife. They had some kind of altercation. The wife disappeared, and was never found. Police in the home town think they know that there was foul play, but have no leads that they can follow. The case is closed."
jbsinger
Ayla
"Ayla Reynolds. An 18 month old baby with a broken arm disappears from her dads house in the middle of the night while her dad, his sister and his girlfriend are 'asleep.' Blood was found in the basement. It’s been 10+ years and no arrests have been made and her body has never been found. This happened in Maine."
TorchesLightTheWay
Dale
"Dale Hay. His girlfriend Dana was terrorized and followed to her house by a truck after she passed it because the driver was too slow. The driver drives away once, comes back, Dale goes out to yell at the guy and the truck took off but returns later on. So, he chased the truck in his jeep."
"After he was gone a few hours, his girlfriend and son went looking for him and Dale was found dead in his jeep with a single bullet hole in his head. It sounds like road rage but it also seems like the driver wanted someone to come out after them. Maybe they wanted to murder Dale or maybe they wanted to kill Dana and settled for Dale."
Applesintheorchard
Kyron
"The disappearance of Kyron Horman. The kid was at school with his stepmom, she saw him walk down the hall in the school and he was never seen again. Gone. Disappeared without a trace. There's no evidence at all. People like to believe the stepmother killed him or something but there is no sound evidence, and I believe the search for him was the most money Oregon has spent on a missing person case. Over 10 years later and there's still nothing."
EliDrInferno
back in '95...
"Jodi Huisentruit. Disappeared after telling a coworker she overslept and was running late. Signs of struggle outside of her apartment but they never found her. This was back in ‘95."
Emorrisette
The Family
"That family that got murdered in the French alps and the cyclist who came across the scene and the little girl stayed still under her mum's dress for 8 hours Does anyone have an update on this."
Chiditch
"Her sister survived also, despite being shot multiple times and pistol-whipped on the head. They're teenagers now and being re-interviewed for any new leads. Poor girls. I kind of agree with the other commenter who replied to you... sounds like it was a professional hit. Left the gun (shattered, in pieces) at the scene of the crime. Shot the cyclist execution-style. Freaking horrible."
Chetanzi
The Schoolboy
"Philip Cairns. Schoolboy who disappeared while on his way back to school after lunch break in Dublin, Ireland. His school bag was found a few days later in a lane way near his home but no trace of him was ever found."
ruanner82
Midlothian Texas...
"Murder that happened in my town a couple years ago, Missy Beavers in Midlothian Texas? Not sure if anyone knows about this one but she was my grandmas friend and a fitness instructor, while at a church preparing for an early morning workout class someone walked in and was caught on camera wearing what looked like a full swat team uniform."
"And killed her with a hammer basically just destroying her head from what I heard. Apparently they brought in the FBI and they have repeatedly said they have a suspect but no one’s been arrested yet."
sausage-bob
Victims
"It’s not necessarily a cold case, but There were several (2-5) of John Wayne Gacy’s victims who went missing while Gacy was confirmed to be out of town. IIRC, the bodies of those victims were all under his house. That means someone else had to at least kidnap and hold the victim until Gacy returned if the accomplice(s) didn’t actually murder the boys."
YayAdamYay
Engulfed
"Jessica Chambers. She was set on fire inside her vehicle, and was found by paramedics walking down the road fully engulfed in flames."
1GamingAngel
THAT Case
"The Black Dahlia case, the fact that such a gruesome act of murder was committed, and that the lead suspect is very likely the killer, but didn't serve jail time sickens me. Also its quite interesting how one of the suspects died on the anniversary of the last time she was seen alive."
alghihieri
"I know there were several suspects, but I assume you are referring to George Hodel. And if so, it baffles me that his family even thinks he did it. So much so that his son became a detective in part to try and prove his father was guilty."
PennyoftheNerds
Sunderland, UK...
"Nikki Allan, a young child abducted and murdered in Sunderland, UK back in the early 90s. The police arrested a suspect and forced a confession, the judge at the trial threw the confession out due to the police tactics. He walked. Was he the murderer? No one can say for sure."
"He did lose a civil case by default (he never entered a defence,) but has always claimed his innocence. Either way a child murder is free and possibly still walking around. Some people have linked serial killer Steven Grieveson to the case but it doesn't fit his M.O at all."
Mackem101
I don't buy it...
"About three years ago there were suddenly a rash of ladies throwing themselves down garbage chutes in Chicago to commit suicide. All within a year or so timeframe. Generally in the same area downtown. Everyone was saying it was random suicide or just bad luck. I don't buy it."
"I think there was a serial killer or something operating in the city. If you've ever lived in a high rise you know it's damned near impossible to accidentally throw yourself down a garbage chute. And I just don't see most women choosing that as their way out."
ssshield
The latest theory...
"Michael Dunahee. Posters for this kid were everywhere when I was a kid. He disappeared from a playground in Victoria BC in 1991. The latest theory is that he's out there somewhere with no memory of who he was. RCMP recently released a composition of what he might look like now in hopes that it will trigger him to remember and come forward."
Whatshername_Stew
20 years since...
"Shannon Paulk. 11 yo girl kidnapped and later found murdered in my hometown, Prattville Alabama. It’s been 20 years and they still don’t know who did it."
lariet50
"I lived in Prattville. That case still haunts me."
kurinevair666
Every single one of these cases needs a documentary or podcast immediately. I'll be watching.
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Dating and the search for love and companionship... What a nightmare.
This journey plays out nothing like in the movies.
Every Prince or Princess (or everything in BTW) seems to have a touch of the psycho.
The things people say during what should be simple dinner conversation can leave a dining partner aghast.
Like... do you hear you?
Redditor detroit_michigldan wanted to discuss all the best ways to crash and burn when trying to make a romantic connection. They asked:
"You're on a date and it's going really great. What can another person say to ruin it completely?"
I once had a guy ask me if I was willing to follow him into the woods, depending on the price of the meal.
Yeah. No steak is worth that.
Plans After...
"Thanks for the ride but I have a date with someone else, I figured you wouldn't drive me if you knew I was going on a date with someone else and I really needed a ride."
"Online dating, talked to her for a while, finally got the courage to ask her out and then she said that as we got there."
iareyours
Mirror Image
“'You look just like my wife!'”
catalinachild
"I did have a guy tell me I reminded him of his son. I don’t believe English has a word to adequately describe my feelings at that time."
UnicornMagicRainbow
"That would definitely do it."
chaotica78
Third Wheel
"'Hope you don't mind if my mother joins us.'"
ofsquire
"Actually had a girl do this on a first date because she had anxiety issues. Honestly wasn’t bad except that 90% of the time she was silent and her mom talked over her."
"I didn’t mind that much and wouldn’t have minded trying again when she was more comfortable except that she was let go at the company we worked at and she deleted her social media profiles and she never responded on her number. Ah well."
Seightx
Liar
"'Hey bro aren't you gay? I made out with you last night.'"
"Random dude I've never seen before in front of my (f) date."
JHXC16
Was he lying though?
Filter Issues
"'You looked better on Tinder.'"
waqasnaseem07
"Isn’t it basic knowledge that everybody looks slightly worse than the worst picture you can find?"
no_user_ID_found
The Past
"'My ex used to do that too.'"
xxIvyOF
"Yep. I’ve definitely had two otherwise-decent-guy date-situations sour because the ex-comparisons just would not stop flowing. No woman wants to be seen as interchangeable—I’m not here to perfectly fill that ex-sized hole in your life. Focusing on the present moment and a future we could build together is a courtesy we need to grant each other in earliest dates of dating."
LarkScarlett
Powerless
"'I'm an alpha, you cant handle my top energy.'"
Midnightgay28
"I actually left a dude in the middle of dinner, in part, for saying this. I ordered an Uber under the table while pretending to listen to him. Went to the bathroom, and never came back. That was when I was young. Now I’d just say, 'How about we enjoy this meal in silence, before we head our separate ways.'”
UnicornMagicRainbow
Mommy...
"'Mother says I should be back by 9.'"
"Saying 'mother says' just feels weird."
bunnyrut
"That gives me Norman Bates vibes."
Werewolf_lover20
"'Mother says alligators are aggressive because they have an overabundance of teeth, but lack a toothbrush.'"
sodaextraiceplease
Obvs...
"'If you were going to be murdered, what method would you prefer. Purely hypothetical. Obvs.'"
Specific_Tap7296
If it looks anything like a Dateline NBC episode... RUN!
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Despite the advancement of technology rendering people left to their own devices–literally–to entertain them, there are some leisurely activities that will never go out of style.
Or so you would think.
Do people still knit to pass the time? Are people actively collecting stamps?
It depends on who's asking.
Curious to hear about hobby trends, Redditor gizehgizeh asked:
"What are once popular hobbies that are slowly dying these days?"

Before we've become conditioned to living on our phones, these activities used to keep people occupied.
Before Texting, There Was This
"Letter writing."
– littlekingMT
Literal And Tangible Joy
"Well the internet killed pen pals for sure. I do remember I had a Japanese girl for a penpal maybe back in 2007 or so. I honestly don't remember how it started, pretty sure some website, but that was a fun experience. But now I can just straight up talk to foreign people real time, lol. But yea getting a physical letter that someone took the time to write and mail still is hard to beat feelings wise."
– skyburnsred
Model Trains
"When I was growing up, every town had a model train store in it. Now I have one in region and everything else has to be bought online."
– Hairy_Effective1172
Pretty Rocks
"Don’t see anyone playing marbles anymore, I had an awesome collection in school."
– sheeple85
"I had some marbles as a kid in the 90s. My grandma got them for me and I had no idea what I was supposed to do with them. I always imagined them as a thing kids in the 40s played with."
– Ryoukugan
People Were Moving Canvases
"Paintball has been dying a slow death since 2006. Sad, really."
– hobo_recycler
Before the general population began hating clutter, collecting was once a "thing."
Precious Coins
"Coin collecting... I'm a silver/gold nut and I'm always hunting for precious metal coins. whenever I go into a shop they get all excited because 'no one under 70 collects coins anymore.'"
– ThatFishySmell99
Post It
"Stamp collecting."
– spooky_scully_mulder
"Collecting in general, really. Of course there are still prominent collectors but it's slipped more into enthusiast and niche territory than being a popular hobby that you might expect anyone to have."
– iuytrefdgh436yujhe2
What A Gem
"Rockhounding was immensely popular back in the 1950's and 1960's. Personally, I think it's a fascinating and fulfilling hobby, but when I go to a meeting at a rock and gem club, I'm usually the youngest one in the room by several decades."
– filthy_lucre
People once enjoyed making things.
Admiring The View
"Stained glass. I learned how to make it from my old man, and my junior high art class teacher also taught it. Very few artisans are still around."
– brobeanzhitler
Metal Vocation
"Black smithing."
– kenworth117
"I bought a forge to try. It’s insanely hard work, and crazy expensive. I still haven’t finished a piece."
– DSentvalue
Scrapbooking
"Yeah. I'm watching the arts and crafts stores around me completely uninstalling their racks for specialty paper. Now the only thing they have is mega packs of repeating colors/images. To boot all the inclusions like papercraft/die-cut things, washi tape, scissors, stickers, etc have gotten so expensive I would rather go buy $5 bags at value village to get an assortment of things versus buying anything new. I really, really miss yard sales for the same reasons."
– Phantasmai
I envy people who have jobs that are basically their hobbies.
Not everyone gets paid doing what they actually enjoy and have a profound level of passion for.
If they do, kudos to them.
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When we first meet someone–whether through mutual friends, at school, or in a new work setting–we generally feel people out to determine if they're worth getting to know.
While the process could take time, some people make our jobs much easier after spotting instant red flags.
Curious to hear about our general radar of people, Redditor xxFluffie asked:
"What is something that makes you immediately dislike someone?"

Some people just think they are absolutely hilarious and never realize they're the only ones laughing.
Next In Line
"They laugh about having screwed someone else over. If you think you're not next, well, you'll learn."
– whiznat
Unfunny
"when you mention you don't like a thing and they immediately do that thing 'as a joke.'"
– wayfinder
Playing Devil's Advocate
"Kneejerk contrarians. People who, no matter what you say you like or believe, just have to dismiss it and say they like or think the opposite."
– BubbhaJebus
People who put others down get slammed here.
Bad Parents
"When they treat their kids sh**ty in public. I don't mean handling tantrums, setting a rule, having to hurry to the train etc. I mean perfectly normal-behaved kids getting in trouble for trailing along peacefully, looking at things, asking questions etc."
"If you don't like tiny humans who learn the world, why have them??"
– raxeira-etterath
Public Humiliation
"Treating people sh**ty in public for laughs. Like being rude to service workers because they think it’s funny. Big red flag."
– Ok_Personality_1080
Simply Uncalled For
"Someone who is a d*ck to other people or animals for no reason."
– xebt1000
Those with ulterior motives rubs people the wrong way.
The Scheme
"If they try to get me to join their MLM scheme."
– spazmcgee1
Hard Sell
"A guy I used to be friends with in high school reached out a couple of years after graduating about a business opportunity he wanted my opinion on because 'you've always been smart', then he set up a Skype call and brought some other dude into the call and they started trying to sell me on what was clearly an MLM scheme. The guy went from friend to 'I'm never talking to you again' in a matter of 10 minutes."
– Mental-Afternoon-164
A Timeline
"Good gawd, this! I've had more than one exposure to this abject bullsh**tery..."
- Back in the late 80's/early 90's I was invited to a meeting of literally the OG "Pyramid" where you're recruited to pay in, and then you go out and recruit others to pay in, and the last in line got f'kall.
- In 1995 I had a coworker try to reel me into Amway, which was a hard no.
- In 2000 it was Pampered Chef, though to be fair they did have useful products.
- In 2009 a coworker tried to get me into some stupid video calling service that was obviously stupid from the description. He even got offended when I called bullsh*t.
– Mystical_Cat
Too much ego is a no-go.
I Can Do Better
"Being a b*tch just to stroke their own ego."
"We get it, you can lift 5lbs more than the 12 year old, you don't have to rub it in their face just because you're slightly better"
– Livia_Pivia
Can't Top This
"Oh, you did <story that's been told>? That's nothing! I did <implausible story>.
"I get the whole empathy through relating common experience, and I'm someone who does that (which drives some people crazy on its own), but there's a big different by empathising through common experience, and one-upmanship."
– Tisarwat
Lacking Conversational Etiquette
"Starting to talk over me when I was already talking."
"Stop it you rude, arrogant jerk."
– R33Gtst
If one or more of these traits sound familiar to you, you're not alone.
We don't have time for braggadocios, pyramid-schemers, and conversation interrupters.
And that's just for starters.
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Children tend to believe just about anything they hear.
That there are monsters under your bed, watching too much TV will make your head explode, and silly faces will be permanent if you make them too often.
The sky is truly the limit when it comes to silly things that children will believe.
Some call it naivitée, other's youthful innocence.
But it's hard not to look back with embarrassment on certain things we believed as a child, that today might simply seem dumb.
Redditor Disastrous_Toe_6548 was curious to learn the multitude of silly things people believed when they were children, leading them to ask:
"What's the dumbest thing you believed as a kid?"
Pleading to deaf ears...
"My dad told me he had hearing loss and couldn't hear me if I whined because my pitch would get too high."
"Would completely ignore me until I asked him questions in a normal voice."
"Trusted him implicitly until I was 12 and he yelled at my younger brother for whining."- Tyrion_Stark.
Get it while you can.
"That they took everything off the shelves when the supermarket closed."- fgyfddg.
Silly superstitions.
"My grandfather used to tell me that if I played with the fire, I'd pee the bed."
"I believed him for a while, until I got older."
"I think he was just trying to protect me from the fire."- teddypa1981.
"Rain, rain go away..."
"That if it was raining where I was, it was raining everywhere in the world."- morningshartz.
Age is just a number.
"My parents used to seem really old to me, so much so I believed they grew up like cave people as children, wearing giant leaves for clothes and what not."- Laleena_.
So that's how they're made!
"That smokestacks from the power plant created clouds."- Scaniarix.
An instant cure.
"The sun gives you sunburns, therefore, moonlight should heal them."- velocipeter.
Better safe than sorry.
"Don't drink and drive meant all drinks."
"My dad was super confused when I told him he wasn't allowed to have any soda until we got home."- hulagirlslovetoparty.
Don't believe everything you see on TV.
"There was an episode of Mickey Mouse where Mickey couldn’t reach something at first, so he tried again and somehow his arm was long enough to reach it."
"As a small kid I believed that if I couldn’t reach something, I should just try reaching for it again and my arm would then somehow be long enough to reach it."- That-Dutch-Person.
The miracle of childbirth.
"That babies are pooped out."
"When I was like 7 I was listening to my aunt as she explained that childbirth was pretty intense and painful for her, and I was all solemnly like, 'yeah, sometimes just my poops are painful, I don’t think I could get a baby out' and she went 'um, WHAT?' and her reaction made me realize real quick that I had f*cked up somewhere and I tried to change the subject while my mind was just reeling lol."- thesoundingfurrows.
Oh to be a child again.
And to believe literally everything you're told.
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