Hey, it’s been a while… and I’m back again with yet another shocking true crime that’s gonna make you feel like you have just read what might come out of a Netflix documentary.

As always, here are some warnings before we continue:

⚠️The following article contains graphic details related to canibalism and self-harm tendencies that some readers may find disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised.

Now, what do you think of “Telegram”?

Nothing good about it, I suppose. Thanks to its robust security, straightforward interface, and reliable message encryption, this platform has possibly attracted a host of cybercriminals, whose foul deeds could be nearly impossible to trace.

The same applies to today’s case, which might just be another typical video spread among those shady Telegram groups. But eventually, it has somehow led to one of the largest online manhunts in the Vietnamese cyberspace.

The Videos

Vietnam, on an ordinary day in July 2025.

A short video went viral on Facebook, and it was nothing short of a fever dream. The video featured a man in his 30s placing his head on a cutting board while talking to someone with a mask. Both men were seemingly rehearsing an execution, as the masked man helped his partner adjust his head on the board.

Looking at the image quality of the video, and how “realistic” it seemed, people soon grew suspicious, asking themselves whether this was real or just another AI slop. As everyone was still discussing this bizarre footage, another one emerged. This time, it was a real execution.

That same young man again. The video showed the victim lying on his back, naked. He was masturbating while resting his head on the cutting board. Just then, he started screaming out to his partner, who was standing next to him (naked as well), “I'm c*mming, I'm c*mming!” Taking that as his cue, the said partner immediately struck several blows to the victim's neck with a meat cleaver.

Everyone was stunned. Apart from those who dared to watch and ended up throwing up their lunch, some others started voicing their concerns. If this were real, then who were these men? When did this take place? Did the killer get arrested yet?

Both the murderer and the victim were definitely Vietnamese, since they both had discussed the rehearsal in Vietnamese. Additionally, the graphic execution was one thing, the accurate and decisive chops were another. There was almost a certainty that the executioner wasn't an amateur. He must have done this multiple times.

Soon enough, the third footage appeared. This time, the video was recorded in a kitchen. Yes, it is exactly what you are thinking. Some dishes had already been placed on a table, steamingly hot and ready to be served. Pots and bowls were scattered all over the floor, containing the you-know-what. Blood could be seen accumulating over what should be a drain. You might as well smell that metallic stench through the screen.

Three videos, and every Vietnamese community on Facebook was in an uproar. Normally, something like this would soon catch the attention of the authorities, yet some people just couldn't wait until then. Before long, a name started to appear in every conversation regarding the videos: “Nguyen Xuan Dat,” the alleged victim.

The Willing Victim

A bit of background about Nguyen Xuan Dat, whom I’ll refer to as D. from now on.

D. was born on March 10th, 1989, in a Northern province of Vietnam, Thai Binh. However, he lived with his relatives in Hanoi since childhood. At some point, he returned to his hometown and even worked there before leaving and ceasing contact with everyone for the next 10 years. His mother, who was rumored to be mentally unstable, confirmed his disappearance in the past decade. She had no idea where he had gone. When the police came asking about D., she couldn't provide any useful information regarding his whereabouts.

Unbeknownst to most people, D. led a double life before his demise. On the outside, he was an ordinary labourer and fishmonger in a local market [1], while on cyberspace, D. was an active member of groups and forums for people with an extreme kink: beheading.

In fact, D. had always yearned for his head to be chopped off one day, leading to him getting his username, Dat Beheading. He would frequently post in said groups and forums, namely r/Motherless subreddit and WatchPeopleDie — a platform for anonymous individuals to share footage of others dying, to search for a candidate who could help him fulfill his fantasy.

It could be concluded that the execution was carried out under mutual agreement from both the victim and the killer. However, the identity of the killer remained unknown. Dedicated to uncovering the truth, the online sleuths soon began their investigation.

The “Amateur” Detectives

The Internet is a scary place.

You can search for nearly everything, from cute puppy videos to murderous shootouts caught on CCTV. Even the craziest ideas you’ve ever thought of, some sickos on the Internet might have already posted videos about them.

Basically, the video collection of D.’s demise is no different than those gory clips you might have stumbled on occasionally on social platforms: ISIS propaganda, cartel chainsaw beheadings, etc. However, this case was different — no context, no specific information found, nothing else other than the apparent nationality of the men, Vietnamese. This called for the most curious folks to switch to their detective mode. A group of people who wanted to bring the killer to light had gathered together, calling themselves OSINT & Cyber Investigation Việt Nam.

Please note that the following details of the investigation was extracted from the findings made by both Vietnamese and international online sleuths.

1. The Location

The origin of the videos was the first thing that came to mind. Given the graphic content of the videos, possibilities were that the footage was likely common on platforms like Telegram. Knowing that whoever had spread the videos might hide behind a pseudonym, the online detectives shifted their focus to searching for background information that might come with the videos.

Eventually, they found several groups where the exact videos were initially posted. To be more specific, these were Telegram group chats monitored by Chinese administrators. Individuals who wish to join any of these groups must pay joining fees in yuan (Chinese currency). The common group would cost about 98 yuan (~$14), while the premium one required an entry fee of 198 yuan (~$30) [2].

There were up to 98 photos and 11 videos from different angles, all of which were taken before and after the execution. It was clear that, apart from satisfying his sexual desire as a central motive, the killer also benefited financially from such content, and D. was just another victim whose demise was filmed and traded like a commodity.

Turning to the leaked videos, people began dissecting every little detail they could make out from the poor image quality. First of all, the floor tiles, doors, cupboard design, etc., seen in both videos and pictures are commonly used in Vietnam. Upon zooming in on certain objects shown in the “butchering” video, a bright yellow dish soap bottle with a Chinese label stood out. This item is also available in Vietnam, particularly in areas close to the Vietnam-China border. So, the preliminary conclusion was that the killing took place in a northern region near the border with China.

2. Identifying The Killer

Identifying both the victim and the killer was probably the most challenging part of the investigation.

The information about the victim was only available when his online friends began discussing the abhorrent event. One of them, who went by the name P., claimed that he had been an acquaintance of the victim, as both of them shared the same interest in beheading. Only then did the name D. appear on the watch list of the online sleuths.

a. The clues

Without further delay, people began searching for his name on every social media platform to search for clues. From kink-related threads on Twitter and Reddit to queer dating sites, “Dat Beheading” appeared to be a frequent visitor. D. was deeply devoted to his fantasy, going even greater lengths by requesting a “guro” (gore) manga called Applicant for Death to be translated for him.

“Applicant for Death” is a Japanese manga tells the story of a male protagonist engaging in intercourse with two female characters, only to be executed with an axe by one of them as soon as he ejaculates.

Upon visiting his Facebook account, the online detectives ended up finding more valuable leads. The most notable one was when D. posted his last update on Facebook on January 25th, 2025, which read, “3 hours to go.” Upon cross-referencing this with his other social accounts, some of which showed that D. was last seen online on the same day, speculators believed he might have been killed by then.

Coincidentally, in one of the snapshots posted by P., a short exchange between a person (presumably P.) and D. could be seen. In the photo, D. (or someone got hold of his account) sent a text message that read “D. has been executed” to the receiver, to which they replied, “by who?” D. then responded with a thumbs-up emoji, and the conversation ended there. Noted that this exchange took place exactly a month after the date D. stopped his online activities altogether.

In another screenshot posted by another online friend, this person was seen discussing the execution with D., and the timeline was unknown. The conversation started with D. sending a selfie, in which his head was positioned on the chopping board while a meat cleaver rested on his neck, “Everything is set, counting down now,” he wrote. The friend then replied, “Who will do it? Is it Chung?”, to which D. denied, saying, “No, someone else. Can’t wait for Chung. He accepted, but he just took too long.”

And then another name had been added to the watch list.

b. Who is “Chung”?

People then shifted their focus to a person named “Chung.” They started searching for him almost immediately by browsing through D.’s friendlist. Eventually, they did end up finding several Chungs in his friendlist, but no one really stood out. Simultaneously, the case of D. went viral internationally, to the point where even foreigners started commenting on some of his posts.

His Facebook account was removed mysteriously shortly after. As the investigation ran into a dead end, everything gradually settled down. Soon, November came and changed everything.

All of a sudden, an anonymous user posted several screenshots of their past discussions with D. on OSINT & Cyber Investigation Việt Nam. Did they offer any valuable clues? Yes. In one of the photos, a familiar name reappeared, “Chung.” This time, the investigators were able to see the complete name: Cam Thanh Chung. What’s more, the anonymous user was seemingly someone who was looking for an executioner as well, and this was how he found Chung online. Chung then constantly asked the user to meet up, eventually sending him his address in Lang Son (a mountainous area in the north, close to the border with China). The conversation ended there, but the clues it provided were priceless.

A Vietnamese YouTuber, “Ke To Mo” (roughly translated to The Curious One), was probably the first one to pinpoint the exact culprit. He claimed that he and his team had successfully tracked down Cam Thanh Chung, along with all of his personal information, which had been collected since June. To prove his point, Ke To Mo then posted a picture of a man with his face half covered, presumably the killer in question.

Additionally, Ke To Mo also uploaded a blurred screenshot of a social account, which he claimed belonged to the killer. According to him, the killer was active on a lot of social media platforms under his son’s name, hinting that the name “Chung” was, in fact, the name of the killer’s son.

In just a blink of an eye, a social account was found that matched the blurred details on Ke To Mo’s screenshot, thanhchung11111. With the newly acquired info, the other accounts with a similar “naming structure” were also discovered, namely thanhchung1111 and thanhchung111.

What they had in common, surprisingly, was “doansangls”, an account that followed these “clones” on every social platform.

A bit of background about this man.

His full name is Doan Van Sang (I'll refer to him as Sang from now on). Before the discovery, this 57-year-old man was the deputy head of the Market Management Team No.4 based in Lang Son. He has a loving family with a beautiful wife and 2 children, with the oldest son, you guessed it, named Chung.

Notably, his TikTok account was seen following another account with a username “thanhchung424.” Interestingly, the avatar of “thanhchung424” was the screenshot of Cam Thanh Chung's Facebook account. So, it's clear that Sang and Cam Thanh Chung were one.

People then tried logging into his Google account using two email addresses extracted from his “clones”. Both accounts returned with the same “Verification request” being sent to the same smartphone model, the Oppo Reno 12.

Coincidentally, even when the online detectives attempted to recover D.’s Google account with his phone number (taken from a queer dating site), the same smartphone model appeared.

So, does that mean Sang was the one removing D.’s Facebook account?

C. The Killer

With the suspect locked in sight, the online sleuths did their best to uncover the truth. Unbeknownst to them, they were about to meet one of the boldest and most arrogant killers ever.

Despite being a veteran Facebook user, Sang had unknowningly left numerous traces online that would then be used against him later on. First of all, Sang once made a post about him losing his wallet, in which he left his phone number so that whoever found his belongings could contact him. Well, guess what'll happen if you attempt to log in to a Google account multiple times? Yes, a 2FA verification code will be sent to your registered phone number, if enabled. And coincidentally (again), the phone number to which the 2FA code for D.’s account was sent had the same last digits as Sang's number.

Alright, now all that's left is to prove that he was the killer. And mind you, this is by far the craziest part of the whole investigation.

Luckily, Sang's photos were available everywhere online, from local news outlets to Facebook groups he joined. Therefore, it wasn't a challenge to get a side-profile picture of him and cross-reference it with the selfie posted by the killer.

In the selfie where the killer held D.’s head in his arms like a trophy, he was wearing a green military mask. Odds were that Sang could easily get this item, considering the fact that he was an official. Looking closer at Sang's daily selfies on his Facebook account, the investigators noticed some of his facial features bear an uncanny resemblance to those of the killer, such as the receding hairline, the scar near his left eyebrow, and the dented marks on his forehead.

Most importantly, a large birthmark as well as a tattoo on his left bicep that read, “That day, 13-9,” could be seen in the killer's selfie. Sang was believed to have the same features, judging by his vacation albums, where he either wore tank tops or short-sleeved shirts, exposing his left arm.

Now let’s turn to the crime scene. A video posted on his TikTok account shows him standing on a balcony, with a familiar cabinet visible behind him. This cabinet, which features a tabletop plant pot and has some similar details on its doors, closely resembles the one seen in the “rehearsal” video.

People decided to look up the address that Sang used to send the anonymous user on Google Maps, and it turned out to be an old warehouse with the matching details seen in the video. Ke To Mo even went as far as visiting that place himself, and eventually disclosed that Sang had rented the warehouse to commit the crime. The property was relatively close to a busy road and a local market, which explained the background noises in the videos.

3. The Arrogant Killer

Now that everyone was aware that Sang maintained his online presence under his son’s name. He was particularly enthusiastic about having a sexual slave, preferably male, whom he could do what you might’ve guessed already.

Under the threads of people voluntarily renting or selling their private parts (yeah, you heard it right), Sang, a.k.a thanhchung11111, was seen constantly asking for the price and if he could “eat” it. Apart from pornography websites, Sang was also seen active on some queer dating forums, where he lied about his date of birth to appear younger. He wanted to be the master, he wanted a submissive lover/slave who was willing to let him consume parts of their bodies. As his every past interaction on social media was exposed, Sang did not choose to hide or lock his social accounts. He approached the issue with 100% confidence: challenging the public.

On November 11th, 2025, Sang posted in the OSINT & Cyber Investigation group several short statements, which came across as taunting:

People were furious yet surprised that Sang was confident enough to confront those who were trying to condemn him for his alleged crime. Some even speculated that he tried to sneak into the group to see how the investigation turned out for him, but ultimately got called out and had to put on an arrogant act.

These posts were removed thereafter, leaving people mocking him back. He then posted another post, demanding accountability to be held by those who “illegally” used his images without his consent. This post, which was eventually taken down as well, basically turned him into a laughingstock for the group members.

4. The Arrest

And his inevitable end came shortly after, with Sang being arrested and officially charged with murder on Dec 3. Newspapers nationwide started covering news as the online investigators gloated over their victory. As everyone was celebrating the news, Sang’s family was left broken-hearted by his arrest. It was believed that his youngest child sought professional help to cope with the tremendous shock. Meanwhile, his older son, whose name Sang used for his online activities, faced speculation about his possible involvement with his father.

In the end, considering the gruesome nature of this case, law enforcement warned the citizen against spreading the images, videos, and the resulting 88-page dossier of the case, fearing that these contents might be detrimental to public safety. While it is undeniable that open-source investigations and the emergence of citizen-sleuthing might have benefited law enforcement in certain ways, there is a silver line between vigilance and breaking the law that one should be aware of.

Reference:

[1] https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/who-dunnit-vietnams-online-sleuths-step-up-their-game-tracking-true-crime

[2] https://www.vice.com/en/article/snuff-movie-the-vietnamese-butcher-13k/

This is the story of how a youthful and energetic high school student was unfortunately associated with one of the most hideous and brutal crimes of modern times. After 44 days of agony and torture, death itself seemed like a merciful escape.

What Furuta had gone through can be described in one single word: hell.

Before we move on, please note that the following article contains graphic details and photos that some readers may find disturbing. Viewer discretion is advised.

Among The Wolves

Pretty, bright, and bubbly are how her friends often described her as. Born on January 18, 1971, in Misato in Saitama Prefecture, 17-year-old Junko Furuta was a straight-A student at Yashio-Minami High School. Despite having to maintain a part-time job, she managed to perform well at school.

She had a reputation for being a "good girl," who was far removed from vices such as doing drugs, smoking, or drinking, yet Furuta was very well-liked among her peers. When life was seemingly beautiful and peaceful, tragedy hit like a meteor.

Even Furuta herself wouldn’t expect her life would change abruptly as such. Her bright future ahead was tragically cut short. The young woman soon disappeared and was eventually found dead on March 30, 1989. [1]

Unbeknownst to most, what led to her unfortunate demise was something rather innocent - a love confession.

As a good-looking girl who was constantly scoring As in classes, she had caught both the attention and admiration of every student in her school, including Miyano Hiroshi, a problematic student. Miyano soon found himself deeply in love with Furuta, so much so that he decided to confess his feelings to her, only to find Furuta had turned him down.

Of course, Miyano was furious. Instead of taking the hint and respecting the girl’s decision like a normal human being would do, Miyano plotted to “revenge” Furuta, in an unimaginably violent and cruel manner.

It’s worth keeping in mind that Miyano was not just any regular problematic guy whose sole purpose was simply fucking up his own life and messing with people, he had connections with the local yakuza. Other students had never dared to go against his will, let alone reject him. Furuta was then considered a thorn in his side.

In case you don’t know: Yakuza /jəˈkuːzə/ are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The term is equivalent to “Mafia” or “Gangster” in English [2].

Miyano Hiroshi, along with three other guys - Jō Ogura (a.k.a Jo Kamisaku); Minato Nobuharu; and Watanabe Yasushi, had formed a group of chinpira (low-ranking yakuza) [3]. This group of 16-18-year-old teenagers chose Minato’s house as their frequent hangout, and their vicious plan took place on 25/11/1988.

Got Dragged To Hell

The Hunt

Furuta finished her shift at 8:30 P.M. and cycled along her usual route home from her part-time job [4].

Coincidentally, Miyano and his associate, Minato, happened to be hanging out in the nearby park. Initially, their aim was solely to accost and rape young women, however, there was a shift in their plan as soon as Miyano saw Furuta cycling by.

Following Miyano’s order, Minato violently knocked Furuta off her bike, sending her tumbling to the ground. He immediately fled the scene while Miyano slowly approached the girl under the guise of a concerned passerby. After helping her to her feet, Miyano offered to take the puzzled Furuta home, to which she agreed.

Trusting his apparent goodwill, Furuta was unaware that Miyano was leading her to an abandoned warehouse [5], where he would rape her. By the time she realized the true nature of his intentions, it was too late. He threatened to kill her and her family, using his connections with the yakuza to force her into submission.

And that was the last time her loved ones ever saw Furuta alive.

44 Days Of Agony

After the assault, Miyano was left unsatisfied, to the point that he decided to take her to a hotel in Adachi to abuse her again. As if his scattered ego after the rejection had somewhat healed, he proudly bragged about this newly acquired “achievement” to his three other friends.

But the real nightmare was only just beginning. Now that the other boys were aware of the situation, Miyano decided to take Furuta to meet them at the nearby park. Once again, Miyano exploited his supposed connections with the yakuza to prevent Furuta from any intentions of escaping. The distressed Furuta was then gang-raped by the whole group.

The boys were apparently thrilled at the idea of holding Furuta captive, for the sole purpose of keeping her as their “pet” - something they could assault, abuse, and torture just for a sense of relief. However, keeping Furuta captive was merely impossible, especially when her family had reported her disappearance to the police on November 27th.

The police were prompted to search for Furuta Junko, and the boys were desperate to find a way to derail the investigation, somehow.

They smuggled Furuta into a property that Minato’s family owned. Upon arriving at the house, they forced her to call her parents and lie to them, saying that she had run away and was then staying at a friend’s. Even though her reasoning was so weirdly strange, considering that Furuta was a straight-A student with no reason to be a runaway, her call eventually prevented the police from carrying on the investigation.

Furuta was then kept captive for the next 39 days. Now, here’s the brief timeline of what might have happened to Furuta in 44 days of capture.

Day 1 - Day 11 (November 25th - December 1st, 1988)

Miyano and his associates, in fact, had a history of accosting and raping local young women before, however, they would usually let their victims go afterward. It seems like Furuta was the only exception.

During her time staying at the house owned by Minato’s family in Ayase in Adachi Ward, Furuta was gang-raped every day. It was reported that she had been assaulted a total of 400 times, by not only the four boys who captured her but also other strange men. Some sources even disclosed there might be up to 100 different men who had engaged in the abuse [6].

At some point after the abduction, the boys got ahold of Furuta’s address through her notebook in her backpack. With this profound information they had just gleaned, they threatened to give her address to yakuza members if she attempted to escape, which left Furuta vulnerable and overpowered. Feeling enabled, they humiliated and raped her again and again [7].

On November 27th, Furuta’s family reached out to the police, deeply concerned for the well-being of their daughter. In order to stop the investigation, the boys asked Furuta to tell her distressed parents to stop looking for her, which they did and the search had been canceled. But that wasn’t the only time the boys exploited her vulnerable state for their own gains.

Soon enough, Minato’s parents started to question Furuta’s frequent presence inside their house. Whenever the parents were home, Furuta pretended to be the girlfriend of one of the boys. The fear over her safety was strong enough to keep Minato's parents unaware of the horrors unfolding within their own home.

The situation persisted for several days, the boys decided to leave Furuta naked and starved her as a punishment. The humiliation went on and escalated to an even higher level. They started feeding her cockroaches and coercing her to drink her own urine, to the point that her strength was completely drained from being raped and starved over time.

It was a harsh winter, the temperature dropped way below zero and Furuta was left naked on the balcony at night. She was trembling in starvation and constant pain as the winter breeze cut on her chapped skin.

The boys started to come up with different ideas to “entertain” themselves, not limited to physically abusing Furuta in the most brutal ways that exceeded one’s imagination. It was reported that they had inserted objects into her genitalia area, one of which was a still-lit lightbulb and sometimes, fireworks. As if it wasn’t enough, they would usually hang her from the ceiling and turn her into a punching bag, which caused severe internal bleeding as her organs suffered from the constant damage.

Day 12 - Day 20 (December 2nd - December 10th, 1988)

Despite enduring brutal torture, Furuta somehow survived. Yet, the violence escalated with each passing day.

They would pour flammable liquid on her limbs and set them on fire multiple times, or apply hot wax on her eyelids and watch her squirled in pain. Then sometimes, they would drop iron dumbbells on her torso and beat her with bamboo sticks, so much so that her ability to urinate and defecate had far been irreparably damaged [8].

Suffering from severe internal injuries had prevented her from consuming food and drink, therefore she would usually vomit whenever she drank water. Despite the sufferings, Furuta almost made it out alive once. It was when she happened to reach the telephone and called for help.

The young deviants were resting after drinking, and Furuta made her way to the nearby telephone. She managed to dial the police, however, her attempt was soon noticed by one of the boys, Miyano Hiroshi himself. Miyano stepped in and ended the call just in time before she could say anything. The police soon phoned back, but the call didn’t reach Furuta.

In fact, the boys were torturing Furuta while Miyano informed the police that the call was a mistake.

To punish her for attempting to escape, even when she failed to do so, they set her legs on fire. The fire was only put out when she stopped screaming and went into convulsions, which the assailants thought she was faking. They continued to beat her up and set her on fire again, however, seeing that Furuta was completely unconscious, they left her alone. She managed to survive this time.

Day 21 - Day 44 (December 11th - January 4th, 1989)

Furuta’s conditions were gravely critical.

The torture kept on going, as they continued to push things even further: pouring hot wax on her eyelids, stabbing her chest with sewing needles, cutting her left nipple with pliers, etc. Her injuries worsened and pus kept on coming out from the wounds. Furuta could no longer walk normally due to the pain, which took her an hour to crawl downstairs to use the restroom.

Desperate and hopeless Furuta begged her captors to end her suffering and “get it over with”, a swift death was nothing short of an escape for her. And of course, they refused to grant her that luxury blessing. On January 1st, 1989, Furuta spent her last New Year's Eve on the balcony, all alone.

Her demise finally came on January 4th, when Miyano challenged her to a game of mahjong. Despite her terrible conditions, Furuta somehow ended up winning against Miyano, which enraged him and the other captors. They started beating her with iron rods, then poured flammable liquid on her legs, face, and stomach and set her on fire again [9].

After 2 hours of constant beating and burning, Furuta drew her last breath. Realizing the girl wasn’t faking her faint, and potentially had died, the boys immediately sought ways to dispose of the body in fear of being arrested. Finally, they all decided to dump her body into an oil drum that was then filled with cement. The oil drum was left at a nearby park and discovered months later.

Only then was their crime brought to light.

The Unconcerned Bystanders

The failed phone call to the police wasn’t the only time Furuta came close to the door of freedom. In fact, some people were well aware of what was going on. However, instead of helping the young girl, they chose to remain silent.

As you already know, Furuta was kept captive at Minato’s house, where she had to pretend to be a boy’s girlfriend. Yes, his parents knew that Furuta wasn’t anyone’s girlfriend and that their son was getting involved in the cruel act against her.

From the moment they started suspecting the unusually frequent presence of Furuta and screams that jolted them out of bed at night, they knew something was wrong. However, they were more worried about Miyano’s connections with the Yakuza and Minato’s violent tendencies, so they turned a blind eye [10].

It turns out that Minato’s parents weren’t the only ones who kept their mouths shut about this. According to u/nona_ssv, a Redditor who lived in Japan, there is a documentary of the incident in which the reporter was interviewing a boy living near the house of horror.

The boy mentioned that on his way home from school, he often heard loud music and a girl shouting “Please stop!” about eight times during the day [11]. The boy didn’t report this to the police, as if the screams weren’t something to be alerted about.

And since the screams were loud enough that the boy could hear it despite the loud music playing, it’s safe to say that the neighbors living close by might have heard it as well. However, it looked like they all kept silent for the same reason: Miyano and his Yakuza acquaintances.

Turn back time to when Furuta made her phone call to the police. Despite having told the officer on the line that the call was a mistake, the police still knocked on their door a few weeks later, not because of Furuta though.

There were two officers dispatched to the house to investigate another rape case, which was reported by 16-year-old Koichi Ihara and his older brother. Both boys confirmed that they were bullied into raping and torturing a girl in Minato’s basement. Believing in the confidence of the Minato’s as they invited them inside for a thorough search, the officers simply declined and walked away, writing on their reports that they had done a “preliminary search” [12]. Not long after, the two officers were soon dismissed for this.

Back to the murderers, what did they get for brutally murdering Furuta? Well, they still got to keep their lives, if that’s what you want to know.

Miyano was sentenced to 17 years in jail in 1990 after he allegedly confessed to the murder by accident, he and Jo Ogura were both arrested for another rape at the time. After having appealed his sentence, Miyano had to serve his time in prison for 20 years.

He was released in 2009 and changed his name to Hiroshi Yokoyama. He started living a lavish life with all the money earned from involving in fraud, which caused him to be arrested in 2013. However, he was soon released without being prosecuted accordingly. Meanwhile, Jo Ogura received a sentence of 5 to 10 years in juvenile prison, since he was 17 at the time of the murder. After being released from prison, he changed his name to Jo Kamisaku and attempted a normal life, only to be arrested again for assaulting a club manager [13].

Shinji Minato and Watanabe Yasushi got a sentence of five-to-nine years and five-to-seven years respectively. They soon got out of jail and led a normal life afterward. While Shinji got arrested again for attempted murder in 2018, Watanabe managed to not re-offend since his release.

The reason why they all got a light sentence was because they were minors at that time, and instead of being charged with murder, they were all sentenced for “causing bodily injury resulting in death.”

The assailants are indeed the worst part of this tragedy, and so were those who turned a blind eye to her screams and allowed her suffering to take place. After all, Edmund Burke was right, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Reference:

[1] https://unseen-japan.com/furuta-junko-horrific-murder/

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakuza

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Junko_Furuta

[4] https://unseen-japan.com/furuta-junko-horrific-murder/

[5] https://allthatsinteresting.com/junko-furuta

[6] https://medium.com/@lisariggio1994/40-day-nightmare-the-torture-and-murder-of-junko-furuta-bd2e131ad18d

[7] https://mru.ink/junko-furuta/

[8] https://vocal.media/criminal/the-brutal-murder-of-junko-furuta-mbig03xv

[9] https://japandaily.jp/did-junko-furutas-killers-ever-get-sentenced-for-their-crimes/#Forty-four_days_of_torture

[10] https://people.howstuffworks.com/junko-furuta.htm

[11] https://www.reddit.com/r/TrueCrime/comments/qces7v/junko_furuta_locations_sources_confirmed/

[12] https://vocal.media/criminal/52-lock-up-junko-furuta

[13] https://thecinemaholic.com/junko-furuta-killers-where-are-hiroshi-miyano-jo-ogura-shinji-minato-yasushi-watanabe-now/

In Part 1: A young lady named Phuong disappeared from her home after visiting Hai Tung, the local herbalist and shaman, for a talisman. Her family was frantically looking for her everywhere and ended up learning about this very shaman.

Somehow, they unearthed a headless body buried at the back of the herbalist’s house. The authorities were called upon, and the mystery of Thien Linh Cai started to unveil.

Haven’t read Part 1? Then check it out to learn more about “Thien Linh Cai” here:

4. The First Victim

Nguyen Thi Nguyet was gorgeous, yet people would often know her for being hard-working.

She had a little stall selling various goods for a living in the town, so she was a bit well-off. However, Nguyet wished for a more abundant life, she thought of finding a shaman for a charm of luck, which she believed would make her business take off to a new height.

Having heard many rumors about the sorcerer called Hai Tung, a herbalist who possessed a great wield of magic and also a long list of 5-star reviews from his past clients, Nguyet decided to test her luck there.

But she did not travel alone. She brought along with her 5 other women, who were looking for the very same solution to prosper their businesses. They traveled on a boat, rowing to the little shelter by the canal, where the shaman resided. As they knocked on the door, a man poked his head out, talking in an almost shouting tonality, “Are you bringing your whole family just to disturb me?”

The door immediately slammed in front of their faces. Confused, the women stood there questioning if this was the same shaman they wanted to meet. Then came Hai Tung’s mistress, whose name was Tran Thi The, she explained that the shaman could only be met at midnight and that they should return in the dead of night.

However, Thi The already laid her eyes on Nguyet, as she was the prettiest one in the group. She carefully instructed the young woman on working with the sorcerer. Following the words of the mistress, Nguyet later came to the doom house, alone [1].

Nguyet crawled through the fences that Hai Tung wrapped around his hut, she covered herself in dirt in the process. Entering the house that was filled with dim red light, Nguyet already trembled in fear. However, she couldn’t turn her heels at this point, she kept thinking about how the talisman would help her business grow and that she would give birth to a son if things went well, so she stayed. Hai Tung appeared and offered the young lady who was covered in mud a new shirt, saying that she should take off her dirtied clothes for him to perform the rituals.

As she was praying to the altar with her hands clasped together, Hai Tung stood behind her. He swung and struck her head with a large stick, killing her on the spot. With the help of his mistress, Thi The, the sorcerer dragged Nguyet’s body to the back of the house, tied her hands and feet with rope, and then started to… uh, he was a necrophile. This deranged sorcerer believed that by assaulting the bodies of his victims, he could "seize" their souls and manipulate them however he wanted.

Her head was then removed from the body, which he later placed on the altar to practice Thien Linh Cai [2].

5. Then Came Another

Life moved on as if nothing had happened, Hai Tung continued his deeds.

Sometime later, another victim came to his doom house, asking for a love charm. Pham Thi Dep was a beautiful girl in her early 20s. She was like a living doll with pale skin, an oval face, and lovely eyes; a rare beauty in the middle of the bustling and hustling life of the town nearby.

Though she was extremely gorgeous, she couldn’t find a lover. Desperate enough, she turned to something as abstract as fortune telling. The rumors then led her to the little shelter by the canal of Hai Tung. Just like how the previous victims entered his house, Dep had to crawl her way through the fences and ended up covering herself in mud.

Hai Tung offered her a new shirt and began examining her palms. Palm reading, who would’ve thought, was what led to her doom. As he was caressing her hand and admiring them at the same time, he couldn’t help himself but start exhibiting inappropriate behaviors.

Dep felt uncomfortable at how the shaman was acting, she stood right up and left. As she was about to reach for the door, he grabbed a wooden hammer and struck a critical blow to the nape of her neck. Dep died on the impact and collapsed to the ground.

After abusing her corpse, he proceeded to sever her head and bury the body in his backyard. Her head was used as a vessel for the spirits while he practiced Thien Linh Cai.

Later, another victim fell into the trap. Le Thi Nguyen was probably his youngest victim.

She was 17 years old, selling lottery tickets for a living. People might wonder what made a 17-year-old find the need to meet a shaman, it turned out the reason was pretty simple: wealth.

Selling lottery tickets wasn’t a well-paid job. It might earn you less than 10,000 VND (~$0.4) for a ticket sold, and the likelihood of selling all the tickets was minimal. Therefore, living off of those tickets was not possible, for Nguyen’s case.

She needed to increase the sales of her tickets, so she sought out this shaman. Just like how the previous victims met their unfortunate demise, her headless body was buried under the staircase inside his house.

6. The Downfall

The authorities quickly showed up at the scene where the corpse was discovered. Policemen came knocking on Hai Tung’s door, asking for a full inspection inside the house. Hai Tung was visibly trembling, he stuttered while letting the officers inside.

Upon thorough search inside and out, the police found a wooden chest that was placed next to the altar, where Hai Tung performed his rituals. Opening up the chest, they found three human skulls inside. Nearby, a small jar containing dark hair was also found.

People were taken aback that Hai Tung wasn’t the kind-hearted and goofy guy that they thought he was. At night, whenever victims came to see Master Hai Tung for treatment, he would give them excuses to make them crawl under the fences. By doing so, they would inevitably get themselves dirty and he got a chance to abuse them. When Phuong, one of his victims, found herself navigating a dark labyrinth of fences, Hai Tung instructed her to discard her dirty attire and don a pristine red shirt for his "treatment." [3]

As she was peeling off her garments, he was close behind. Once his twisted impulses surged, and he pounced from the shadows. According to Hai Tung’s statement, he strangled her with his bare hands, until her cries died out. He then shaved off her pubic hair, putting it in a jar…for later use. Women who came to seek his remedies for their husbands were also often subjected to his shaving, as he believed these "precious materials" would facilitate his practice and therefore, help him claim “Thien Linh Cai” faster.

For the superstitious women who came for a charm, he would try to talk them into sleeping with him, saying that they were lucky enough to receive the gods’ blessing in this way. If the women say yes, well, he would proceed to violate them without hesitation. However, if they disagree, he would pretend to cast spells on a talisman, only to burn it later and mix them in a glass of water, along with some sleeping pills. When they fell unconscious, he violated them anyway. By the time the women realized what he had done to them, it would be too late for them to do anything, most chose to stay silent and endure this “pain” alone [4].

For the women who got killed, he would take their bodies to the backyard and bury them. With the severed heads, they got from the women, he would rush to the neighbors’ house and borrow a big pot. He said it was for boiling pig heads, but I guess we all know what he was trying to do.

As the truth revealed, husbands couldn't contain their jealousy towards the wives who had sought treatment from Hai Tung. Families were torn apart.

Then the case took an unexpected turn as Hai Tung affirmed that the skulls were originally from his Master named Ba, a one-eyed sorcerer residing in Sam Mountain. Master Ba bestowed them upon him as a gift for having completed his apprenticeship.

In the last part: Following the statements of Hai Tung, the authorities were on a constant lookout for a man called Ba the One-eyed sorcerer of the Sam Mountain. No one knew who he was or what he looked like, which posed a great challenge to the search.

Meanwhile, Hai Tung claimed to have mastered the art of Thien Linh Cai and that he would use it to get out of custody. People were ready to see the final performance of the show.

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Imagine this: you’re living in the late 1990s in a poor rural area in the south of Vietnam, where people are more inclined to get their health checked by a traditional herbalist than a certificated doctor.

All of a sudden comes a kind-hearted herbalist, well, kind enough to treat people for free. You come to his hut asking for a remedy, however, you pass out right after taking the medication, and the last thing you feel is the pain of the knife slicing your head off. So what happened?

Before you read: This article is mainly based on my own observation and research, information from various sources will be used for reference but it might contain holes and shortcomings. Read at your own discretion.

1. The Grotesque Herbalist

It all started in 1995, on a small ait in Dong Thap province, appeared a man named Pham Van Tuan who claimed to be a traditional herbalist. His arrival was quite strange: he was on a little boat drifting along the Ma Truong canal. He led a nomadic life on the water and somehow ended up arriving in this small village [1].

He appeared to be a small guy who always kept his eyes down, quite timid at first glance, but people soon found out he was a great person. Ever since his boat anchored there, he would always help the sick villagers with their ailments, offering medical herbs for free. Feeling grateful for the kind and helpful man, people gave him a nickname, “Hai Tung” (if the southern Vietnamese give you a nickname, that means they like you a lot).

Things started to escalate quickly. When he first came to this village, he claimed to have studied Taoism at Mount Sam in Chau Doc. With his knowledge of medicinal herbs, he could treat both ordinary and incurable diseases that the modern medical system could never. Meanwhile, his expertise in incantations let him “repair” relationships between husbands and wives, girlfriends and boyfriends, or even “summon” those who cheated back home.

People rushed into his boat. Some came for the medicine while the others came for his spells. He managed to leave his nomadic life, thanks to the sympathetic locals who lent him a small piece of land to build a modest shelter by the canal [3].

Now that he had a hut, he started to build a “fortress wall” around it. People living close by were taken aback at how this “shaman” could tirelessly dig and build the whole day. Upon being asked why he did so, he would skittishly explain that it was for "preventing the thieves from sneaking in." Occasionally, a few women came to seek treatment at night, and the disappearances began shortly after people heard of what he was doing: practicing Thien Linh Cai.

2. Thien Linh Cai

For people who first come across this term, Thien Linh Cai is simply a kind of Asian “voodoo” that originated in Thailand, called “Kuman Thong”, and spread to other nearby countries, including Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

Upon arriving in Vietnam, it was called “Thien Linh Cai” and Pham Van Tuan was the first ever known serial killer in this country to practice this. However, some might argue that Thien Linh Cai is a variation of the original, so the two should be different. But let’s just take a look at what Kuman Thong is, in case you’ve never heard of it as well.

The Kuman Thong originates from the ritual of summoning the spirits of the dead by Thai sorcerers. It requires the sorcerers to collect the fetus from a deceased pregnant woman, which is then dried. These sorcerers proceed to evoke the spirits of these fetuses, adopting them as their own children and harnessing their powers for specific purposes.

To be more specific, according to ancient Thai manuscripts, the unborn child must be taken to a designated cemetery for a ritual to call upon the spirit of Kuman Thong. The body undergoes a meticulous drying process over a fire while the sorcerer chants invocations and summons the spirit. Upon completion of the ritual, the dried Kuman Thong is coated with Ya Lak, a special lacquer infused with gold leaf, hence it is called "Kuman Thong," meaning "Golden Child."

In some cases, Kuman Thong is immersed in Nam Man Phrai, an oil derived from burning a candle near the chin of either a deceased child or an individual who met an abnormal demise. This practice, however, has become increasingly rare due to its legal restrictions [4].

The reason why people wish to adopt a Kuman Thong varies, however, Kuman Thong is often classified into two main types: good and evil. The evil Kuman Thong is specifically crafted to focus on malicious actions, intended to harm others or a targeted person. In order to achieve this, the sorcerer must feed the spirit with aversion, hatred, anger, and agony, so much so that it turns into a demon.

The good Kuman Thong, on the other hand, is the protective spirit that safeguards the family, brings prosperity, attracts good fortune, and warns of impending misfortune. To achieve this, the Kuman Thong should be summoned by using either white magic or black magic [5], the people who adopt the spirit must shower it with love as if it was their own child. A slight hint of neglect would likely anger the spirit.

In 2015, Thai sorcerers preferred using Luk Thep dolls, hyper-realistic dolls of children, for their Kuman Thong rituals [6]. At least, it could counter the legal restrictions and make it more visually acceptable to the bearers.

Thien Linh Cai is a Vietnamese name for Kuman Thong. Despite referring to the same kind of ritual, it seems like Thien Linh Cai is indeed different from its original.

According to legend, the skull of the deceased often serves as the dwelling place for lingering spirits. Thien Linh Cai is crafted from the severed head of a young, virgin girl. The sorcerer must procure the skull by either taking the life of a person or retrieving the head of a recently deceased virgin, no older than 21 days. This head is then used in rituals to summon the spirit of the deceased into the skull.

After acquiring the skull, the sorcerer must conduct more complex rituals, including setting up a dedicated altar for the victim and offering daily meals. Upon successful completion, the sorcerer gains the ability to command the spirit for reconnaissance, gathering information from distant locales. Furthermore, the higher-ranking sorcerer may even command the spirit to kill a designated target [7].

There are four different levels of Thien Linh Cai [8]:

• Guarding wealth: In ancient times, landowners and aristocrats, wary of potential theft and property loss, would procure young slaves aged 13 to 15, specifically chosen for their virginity. These youths underwent a week-long regimen of fruit consumption to purify their bodies before being adorned in ceremonial attire and buried alive at the entrance of a cavern. The angry spirits will act as the guardians, preventing people from coming near the cavern, except for the owner or the sorcerer.

• Subduing fate: The main purpose of the sorcerer who achieves this level is to control the “dragon's veins” of a particular land (known as the good layer of earth), which presumably has a decisive influence on a man’s fate. This endeavor aims to "slay the dragon," diminishing the land's energy and vitality, thereby thwarting the emergence of talent and potential. If the spell is not powerful enough, the sorcerer risks provoking the gods guarding the land, or being killed by their spells. The sacrificial offerings are still young virgins aged between 13 and 15. The number 9 is often considered the symbolism of eternity, these girls must be born on September 15th. The ritual must precisely begin at 9 o'clock on the 9th day of September in any year containing the number 9.

• Commanding spirits: During the ritual, the sorcerer must hammer nails into the decapitated skull and apply a mixture of dog's blood and squid ink into the eye sockets, nostrils, and other orifices of the skull, effectively sealing them. This measure ensures that the spirits are unable to seek vengeance or rebel, rendering them obedient to the master.

• Commanding Gods: Very few people are aware of this method as it transcends human imagination and is virtually extinct in modern times. In this advanced stage of practice, the sorcerer does not only use the head of the sacrificial offering, but also the limbs, intestines, liver, and other internal organs. These body parts are then interred at specific sites on a mountain or sacred land, creating deities tasked with overseeing a particular region of land or village.

While Kuman Thong requires the fetuses of deceased women as offerings, Thien Linh Cai demands a maiden’s skull as a vessel for the spirits. Both of these superstitious rituals play an important role in providing emotional support to people, akin to the "placebo effect" where they believe it actually helps them achieve their desires, even if it's a mere coincidence.

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3. The Missing Girl

Now, let’s return to Pham Van Tuan, a.k.a Hai Tung.

He took pride in his ability to help women win back their estranged husbands who have grown distant and disinterested. He confidently assured them that his potions would have an immediate and profound effect. Conversely, for those who wished to divorce their husbands, Hai Tung offered a spell that swiftly led to their neglect and unenthusiasm, prompting them to leave. The enticing stories of herbal remedies and magical spells spread rapidly among the villagers, drawing them closer to his home.

With the unwavering trust and honesty of the people in the region, many women regularly turned to him for his spells and potions.

Despite possessing extraordinary abilities, he requested his patients only to visit his house alone and knocked on his door during the "yin" hours, which was midnight. As Thien Linh Cai only exerted its influence at night, only those who followed his instructions would receive the spirits' blessings and achieve the desired effects of his charms.

Thus, from then on, as night fell, Hai Tung’s house welcomed a stream of distinguished ladies and young maidens, eager to reignite their inner sparks with their husbands or escape from unwanted marriages. Many of these women who sought his potions praised his extraordinary skills in dark magic. They lauded his abilities, although some had never visited him personally for potions, some only heard of his name.

On special occasions, he would visit his neighbors to catch a few chickens or ducks. He also didn't hesitate to borrow a large pot, which he claimed was for stewing... large pig heads. No one dared to question his actions, and many villagers believed that was part of the usual rituals where he regularly made offerings to the spirits. After every ritual, Hai Tung would give all the “blessed” offerings to the locals, which they slowly grew uneasy about and refrained from touching. Although they couldn't quite explain why, the faint and pungent odor that hung in the air just made them unsettled.

At the end of May 2000, a young girl named Tran Thi Phuong happened to hear people gossiping about Hai Tung and his spells. She decided to pay him a visit, hoping that his spell would help detach her from her clinging husband.

It all stemmed from her current job at the time, which required her to work far from home. After a few years of landing a well-paid job in the bustling city, Phuong transformed into a gorgeous lady, who often showed up at her poor hometown with a lot of wealth and gifts. Hence, her husband started to get jealous of this “make-over”. He would call her non-stop, urging the wife to come home because he missed her terribly.

Feeling incredibly annoyed at how her husband got too clinging, Phuong turned to Hai Tung for help. Before going to his house to ask for a talisman, she hastily mentioned a few vague words to her family and then left. Since then, the girl disappeared without a trace and never returned. Two months passed with no sign of her, the family was frantically trying to find the missing Phuong, but to no avail [9].

Two days after the disappearance of Phuong, people found her clothes and belongings were still left untouched at home, so it was certain that Phuong hadn't gone to Saigon yet. However, what puzzled everyone the most was the disappearance of her boat. Amidst the confusion over the vanished boat, Phuong's cousin disclosed a crucial detail: two days earlier, they had used the boat to visit Hai Tung at midnight for a talisman.

Without any hesitation, Phuong’s family was prompted to visit Hai Tung. upon being asked about the young girl’s whereabouts, Hai Tung admitted there was indeed a 20-something-year-old girl who had requested a charm, however, she had left promptly afterward, leaving no trace of her identity or whereabouts [10].

Feeling unsatisfied with the answer, the people continued their search for the girl. The villagers were struck with horror when they discovered a foul-smelling patch of land just 500 meters away from Hai Tung’s house. As they kept digging, something slowly emerged in front of their eyes: a headless corpse. Frightened, they quickly reported the discovery to the local authorities.

It was at that moment that they discovered Hai Tung’s true colors, but the horror didn’t just stop there…

—To be continued—

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What the investigators found has obviously stirred a debate, people were both furious and disgusted at the news.

Turned out, apart from exploiting religion and charity for personal gain, Tinh That Bong Lai was also a stronghold where Le Tung Van reigned over his little kingdom. According to law enforcement, most of the people inside the facility are his wives and children, but what makes the public baffled the most must be the fact that his children are also…his wives.

Check out Part 1, if you missed it:

4. The Truth

So the “orphans” are not orphans at all. In fact, the investigators claimed that they were living with their biological mothers inside Tinh That Bong Lai, however, they couldn’t find any clues about the children’s fathers.

Though the police didn’t confirm any information regarding the mothers of the children, the public did its own research. People just couldn’t contain their curiosity.

YouTubers and paparazzi then became unofficial investigators, one of them was an amateur journalist who went by the pseudonym “Nguyen Sin”. Sin was an intelligent man, he managed to find the most profound piece of evidence that shed light on the identities of the mothers in question: birth certifications.

Turns out, the 5 novices who went viral in 2018 were the sons and daughters of the nuns living there: Huyen Trang, Ky Duyen, and Vong Kim Xuan. The investigation went on for months and finally, shook the media once again with the shocking revelations: Hoan Nguyen, Nhat Nguyen, Nhi Nguyen, Trung Duong, Huyen Trang, Huyen Tran, Ky Duyen are biologically related to Le Tung Van. In other words, he is their father.

Now, let’s get back to Le Tung Van here. According to a Facebook post on Nguyen Sin’s official account, he disclosed some critical background information regarding this old man. About twenty years ago, back when there was no “Thanh Duc Care Center”, Le Tung Van had roughly 6-8 wives, with whom he lived in the Binh Chanh district. He was frequently a suspect for stealing and scamming.

In 2007, Le Tung Van was accused of raping a teenage girl. This case was reported to the police by the Vietnam Women's Union along with many journalists, including a journalist named Thai Hieu (from Phap Luat newspaper). However, the man managed to get released out of prison, somehow. Not letting that stop him from doing what he loved, which was scamming, he and his wives continued to forge stamps and legal documents to scam people.

Most of the victims are no longer alive, and a few left got trapped in bankruptcy and poverty while Le Tung Van led a carefree life, enjoying his newfound fame. “Life is indeed unfair, just like how a villain manages to survive till the last act of a movie,” Nguyen Sin adds [2].

The Tangled Family Tree…

As the shocking news uncovered, there were also hints about the father of the children in Tinh That Bong Lai. Fearing that the disclosure of such sensitive information would hurt the children, the government warned the public against spreading unconfirmed rumors. Despite the effort to protect the children, some unidentified sources had already got ahold of a photo of what looks like a DNA report, in which it stated that Le Tung Van is the father of the novices.

According to Nguyen Sin, some of his wives remained faithfully with him during his acts of atrocity, they lived together inside Tinh That Bong Lai. As the investigation went on, the names of the wives (or the women who gave birth to his children) were revealed:

• Le Thu Van (Wife #1);

• Le Thi Thu Van (Biological sister);

• Vong Kim Xuan (Nun);

• Vo Thi Tuyet Xuan (Wife #2);

• Vong Kim Hoa(Wife #3?);

• Cao Thi Cuc (Wife #4);

• Ky Duyen (Daughter) and Huyen Trang (Daughter).

Things get messy from here. Here’s how it started: Le Van Tat (his father) married a woman named Le Thi Phai, and together they had 6 children with Le Tung Van being the oldest. Le Tung Van then engaged in sexual misconduct with his sister, Le Thi Thu Van, and had a son named Le Thanh Minh Tung - the only son who realized what his father did was wrong and then proceeded to cut all ties with him.

Later on, Le Tung Van met and married another woman named Le Thu Van. They had 5 children, who then became his closest allies in Tinh That Bong Lai: Hoan Nguyen, Nhat Nguyen, Nhi Nguyen, Nhat Tue, and Ky Duyen.

Le Tung Van also engaged in sexual misconduct with his only daughter Ky Duyen, and ended up having 2 children in 2014 and 2015.

Cao Thi Cuc became Le Tung Van’s next wife, bearing his children: Huyen Trang, Trung Duong, Minh Tu, and Huyen Tran (the one who lured Diem My). Turns out, Le Tung Van and Cao Thi Cuc had already met before. They started a romantic relationship long before Cao Thi Cuc bought a house in Long An in 2014 where they lived together. People believe that he also brought his family with him when he joined Cao Thi Cuc.

He slept with Huyen Trang, his own daughter, and they had a child in 2014. Luckily, the children who were born from these incestuous relationships were growing up fine without any visible signs of genetic complications.

And so, the life of Le Tung Van inside Tinh That Bong Lai was like an emperor ruling over his kingdom, where the men (his sons) praised him as a living Buddha and the women (including his daughters) worshipped him in the bedroom. Meanwhile, the outsiders were completely fooled by the image that Le Tung Van and his sons had built on social media: charitable and heroic.

Vong Kim Hoa and Vong Kim Xuan are the next concubines to join Le Tung Van in his kingdom. There is no obvious evidence that might imply when they were recruited into Tinh That Bong Lai, but their roles inside this facility are similar to that of the other women: bearing and raising his children.

In the span of 4 years (2014-2018), Vong Kim Hoa has given birth to 3 children and is considered the most “productive” female in Tinh That Bong Lai, dubbed by the media. Meanwhile, Vong Kim Xuan had a child with him in 2018 and the boy is the youngest novice in Tinh That Bong Lai. Both concubines stay by his side loyally, which can be seen in multiple daily vlogs uploaded on their official YouTube channel.

So… Where’s Diem My in this ethically distorted mess?

We will never know, Diem My is still missing and her parents are dried on tears. Until she is found, her role in this mess will remain a mystery. However, according to Nguyen Sin, it seems like Diem My and her supposed “lover” Huyen Tran were both pregnant. Although he didn’t provide any evidence to support his claims, his reputation so far in the investigation was what made people buy into the story.

There is one more detail that later came to light: Diem My wasn’t the only outsider who got brainwashed by this hellhole. Bui Ngoc Tram was an energetic young lady and a die-hard fan of the famous 5 novices from “Crack Them Up”.

Bui Ngoc Tram was working for a hotel in Nha Trang, which happened to be the same hotel where the monks and nuns of Tinh That Bong Lai stayed for their vacation there. In many photos and videos taken throughout the trip, Ngoc Tram always stood next to the people of Tinh That Bong Lai people and dedicated her time to following them around, even joining the monks in the mudbath.

Finally, she decided to join them as a nun in Tinh That Bong Lai. There’s no information on whether or not she was pregnant at some point during her stay in the facility.

Speculation abounds if the children are kept in the dark about their true identities. However, they love their “caretakers”, a.k.a mothers, dearly and some even call the nuns “mom”. Despite how the situation unfolded, the children were also the victims who should be protected from this drama or being taken advantage of for clout. Unfortunately, some people were born without a sense of sympathy.

Both government and non-governmental agencies for children’s rights are currently doing their best to keep the children hidden from the curious eyes out there.

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The Roles

Every emperor has his courtiers who help him secure his kingdom and strengthen his reign over the subjects. So who are the courtiers of Le Tung Van?

Hoan Nguyen, Nhat Nguyen, Nhi Nguyen - The “Preachers”

In every video posted on the official YouTube channel of Tinh That Bong Lai, there are three particular individuals who play an important part in narrating and manipulating the audience the way they want: Hoan Nguyen, Nhat Nguyen, and Nhi Nguyen.

The three helped create and manage the social channels of Tinh That Bong Lai. They would frequently post photos and videos about daily life and updates about the novices (all under the command of Le Tung Van). The videos uploaded usually target both international and national audiences to view, share, and comment on. It’s not a surprise that they managed to gather quite a fanbase of 100K+ subscribers and followers.

The content of these clips was mostly defamation and accusations aimed at the Duc Hoa district police; Buddhist organizations; and the reputation and honor of Most Venerable Thich Nhat Tu (the abbot of Giac Ngoc Pagoda, Ho Chi Minh City) [4].

Besides, they enthusiastically engaged in entertainment activities to promote themselves and Tinh That Bong Lai, especially Hoan Nguyen and Nhat Nguyen. The pair were frequent participants in singing contests (they had their own FB page to post their covers) and they all won several gold medals in bodybuilding competitions.

Their roles are not just that. In some videos where the children needed to perform a skit, they would help the kids learn their lines and master the art of acting. People just couldn’t resist these adorable children after all.

While Hoan Nguyen and Nhat Nguyen share a 4-year sentence, Nhi Nguyen was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison.

Trung Duong - The “Banker”

In order to benefit from charity endeavors in the long run, Tinh That Bong Lai needed a financial manager.

This is where Trung Duong came into the picture. Le Tung Van assigned him to manage the finances and the inflow of charitable funds sent to Tinh That Bong Lai [5]. Unlike his three brothers who frequently appeared in almost every photo and video, Trung Duong kept his life and everything about him offline. He never responded to interviews or media inquiries regarding the issues surrounding the facility [6].

He acted as a caretaker for everyone inside TInh That Bong Lai, from the children to the brothers, watching over everything while his brothers did their tasks. The fact that he hid himself so well posed a significant challenge to the “online investigators” who wished to uncover the secrets of Tinh That Bong Lai.

Most people did not even know this guy existed, or even if they did, they wouldn’t suspect him for his rather “harmless” appearance. Therefore, when news broke that Trung Duong was indicted and temporarily detained, the public was taken aback. As soon as the authorities got ahold of him, the secrets started to reveal themselves.

He received a 4-year sentence.

Cao Thi Cuc - The “Assistant”

She bought the land, built and renovated the building, then turned it into Tinh That Bong Lai. Cao Thi Cuc devoted her time and effort to helping Le Tung Van from the beginning to the end.

She attached herself to Le Tung Van everywhere he went, she never left his side and took care of him, like a housewife. With every new member recruited, Cao Thi Cuc would carry out the rituals, including convent entrance ceremonies and worship rituals, which could be seen in many videos [7].

The investigative agency later identified Cao Thi Cuc as the leader of the Tinh That Bong Lai alongside Le Tung Van. According to the investigators, Cuc was responsible for managing all financial transactions for Le Tung Van and everybody else inside the facility, partially sharing the same task as her son, Trung Duong.

She received a 3-year sentence and Le Tung Van was sentenced to 5 years (due to his age and health conditions).

Other Involvement

Entertainment Entity?

Remember the comedy show that made the 5 novices in Tinh That Bong Lai go viral?

“Crack Them Up Vietnam” was produced by Dien Quan Entertainment, one of the most favorite producers in Vietnam that is behind numerous gameshows that are well-received by Vietnamese audiences, especially in the Southern part. The CEO of the company, a man who goes by the nickname “Color Man”, is speculated to be involved in the mess inside Tinh That Bong Lai.

According to Nguyen Sin, Color Man was well aware of what was going on inside Tinh That Bong Lai, including the true identities of the “orphans”. However, in the pursuit of television fame and audience attention, Color Man and his company fabricated a narrative portraying these children as orphans. They elevated Le Tung Van as a benevolent and compassionate figure. Le Tung Van was then showcased on shows to exploit the public’s empathy.

Political Dissent Organizations?

Le Tung Van and his associates are widely recognized as a notorious group of political dissenters. Through their videos, they consistently express their opposition and disagreement with the government. Now that they have gained somewhat of a 'celebrity' status on the Internet, it's obvious that they would garner support from like-minded individuals.

Therefore, it wouldn't come as a surprise if they received support from huge political dissent organizations, both within and outside of Vietnam, to further propagate their "ideals" and spread rumors (like how they blamed the police for “brutally returning” Diem My to her parents without her consent).

One of Le Tung Van's sons, Minh Tu, is a blatant dissenter who frequently shares content highlighting how the Vietnamese government has violated the rights of the people in Tinh That Bong Lai (which is bullshit). He is believed to be residing in the USA, while his father and brothers are serving their time in prison.

The End To Tinh That Bong Lai?

Well, it’s hard to say if things ended after the arrests. Diem My is still missing, and the children in Tinh That Bong Lai have recently been sent to school, but their future is uncertain. The public already knows what happened to them; it’s just a matter of time until they discover the truth themselves.

At the age of 90, Le Tung Van's health is deteriorating, and his inevitable end is approaching. However, once his sons are released from prison, will they follow the same path?

Will there be a new Le Tung Van? Only time will tell.

What do you think of the article? Leave a comment below!

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Tired of all the dramas (that I brought to your inbox😶)? Then let’s just sit back, get your cup of coffee, and tune into “Notes from the Town Hermit” with me.

Written by , each of her article touches on everyday’s challenge. Though simple, her introspection taught me a lot about the hardships of life and relationships, and how to accept them. This publication is like a soothing melody of solace and comfort for my soul.

📜Highly recommend:

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Platonic Soulmates

Hello and welcome to Fellowship of Oddities. My name is Tiffany, and I write personal essays crafted to give you a unique perspective connecting abstract ideas to real life. Subscribe for free to enjoy occasional posts. Or, join our growing Fellowship of kindred spirits looking to delve deeper into our universal human experiences and unlock…

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2 years ago · 89 likes · 65 comments · Tiffany Chu

Notes from the Town Hermit

In the Absence of a Lost Love, Will an Echo Do?

Hello and welcome to Fellowship of Oddities. My name is Tiffany, and I write personal essays crafted to give you a unique perspective connecting abstract ideas to real life. Subscribe for free to enjoy occasional posts. Or, join our growing Fellowship of kindred spirits looking to delve deeper into our universal human experiences and unlock…

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2 years ago · 22 likes · 24 comments · Tiffany Chu

We’ve been delving into so many cases so far, from Dark web kingpin, serial killer to Internet mystery. So this time, I decided to take you on a trip to Vietnam where we’ll dig into the case of Tinh That Bong Lai.

It has incest, entertainment entity involvement, illegal cult and so much more. Are you ready?

1. The Monks And The Fame

Long before everything started, it was “Thanh Duc Orphanage and Elderly Care Center” spearheaded by a man called Le Tung Van.

This facility was home to more than 50 orphan children across the province and they were living peacefully. Le Tung Van was often seen wearing a Buddhist robe, instructing those in this so-called “Care Center” to call him “father” or “grandfather”. He would name the children who were brought to this place with his own surname, Le.

Until one day, it was exposed by law enforcement and the media that this “Orphanage and Elderly Care Center” wasn’t what it looked like from the outside. Among the 56 individuals residing inside the facility, there were 22 children under 16 years old, 4 people aged 17-18 years old, 21 people aged 19-50 years old, and 9 people from 55 to 60 years old.

To manage them, Le Tung Van divided these individuals into 2 groups: the “study group” and the “work group” (all those aged 15 and above were in the “work group”). “There's no schooling here. There are no teachers, and the houses are still lacking, so where would we get classrooms...,” a woman at the center said [1]. In fact, Le Tung Van forced the “work group” to work as vagrants and beggars to collect throwaways to feed his fish pond.

Occasionally, some children were beaten and chained up by Le Tung Van. He explained to the concerned neighbors that the children were mentally unstable and he was just afraid of them getting lost. There was also another child who, for violating his discipline, was tied up and hung from the ceiling, and then beaten by several people in the care center.

Due to the scandalous revelation, the center had to shut down in 2007. However, Le Tung Van was left unscathed as there was not enough evidence.

7 years later, Le Tung Van moved to Long An province to live with a woman named Cao Thi Cuc. Cuc’s home was turned into a large Buddhist facility for laypeople called “Tinh That Bong Lai”, Van wanted to start anew.

Though they were just Buddhists who practiced at home, they admitted a number of orphan children who were abandoned by their parents at birth as novices, according to the monks residing in the facility.

Five out of six novices quickly went viral across the Internet for their adorable and witty performance on a comedy show called “Crack Them Up” in 2018. After setting an unprecedented record on this gameshow by winning 300 million VND (~$11,000), the lives of these orphaned children received a lot of love and attention from the audience [2].

People started to rush to Tinh That Bong Lai, hoping to see the five novices once or just to send them gifts and money. The public did a quick research on the facility and the people caring for the novices. The monks and nuns who lived there were identified as Le Thanh Hoan Nguyen (Male, 1990), Le Thanh Nhat Nguyen (Male, 1991), Le Thanh Ky Duyen (Female, 1993), Le Thanh Huyen Trang (Female, 1993), Vong Thi Kim Xuan (Female, 1995), Le Thanh Trung Duong (Male, 1995), Le Thanh Nhi Nguyen (Male, 1998), and Cao Thi Cuc (Female, 1960) [3].

Realizing that this could be a chance to milk the newfound reputation they got, the monks set up a YouTube channel for the children, actively promoted their lives in Tinh That Bong Lai through daily vlogs, and ultimately agreed to let the novices join “Crack Them Up” again, which earned them another 100 million VND rewards (~$4,000).

At some point, they even became the national sweethearts, the public was willing enough to stand by their side when the riot against them occurred on October 24th, 2019.

According to Hoan Nguyen, a group of about 50 strangers forcefully entered Tinh That Bong Lai. They rammed the main door and broke through the side fence to intrude. "After making it inside, they said nothing but ransacked everything recklessly. They did not answer why they were here. Only after they had finished searching did they say they came to find their 22-year-old daughter named Diem My. Then they accused me of kidnapping their daughter, claiming she had been held captive here for over 2 months," said Hoan Nguyen [4].

People were so mad about the fact that one of the monks, Nhi Nguyen, got assaulted with a piece of broken ceramic tile by a stranger, causing severe bleeding. Punches and insults were thrown at the scene, and the children were terrified. The police later arrested the intruders, the public believed they got it coming.

However, little did the public know that the horrifying truth concealed within the walls of Tinh That Bong Lai, once revealed, would justify the riot’s motive.

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2. The Disappearance Of Diem My

The Meeting That Changed Everything

Diem My was born in Ho Chi Minh City on March 18th, 1999, into a fairly wealthy family. Diem My was an energetic and intelligent young lady who aspired to be a capable accountant in the future, according to her family.

She was a junior student at Ho Chi Minh City University of Foreign Languages and Information Technology (HUFLIT). In April 2019, Diem My and her class had a trip to a pagoda in Vung Tau for charity, the kind-hearted girl was enthusiastic about the trip. During the visit, Diem My met a 17-year-old Buddhist nun named Huyen Tran, who was the oldest one of the six orphans in Tinh That Bong Lai.

Huyen Tran was a talented singer, she even made it to the Semi-final round of “The Voice Kid Vietnam” in 2014. The public was awed by her talent and her living conditions as an orphan in Tinh That Bong Lai, they supported her with love. Even one of the biggest Vietnamese singers, Quang Le, offered to adopt her. However, she soon parted ways with him because, well, he wanted her to wear wigs and costumes on stage, which went against her will.

And she was no longer appearing on stage.

When Diem My met Huyen Tran, the young nun invited Diem My to Tinh That Bong Lai, which she accepted. The two then exchanged numbers, Huyen Tran promised to call Diem My after the trip.

Well, she did call her. Diem My was so excited about this visit that she immediately asked her parents if she could travel to Tinh That Bong Lai to meet her new friend, to which they said yes. Unbeknownst to the unlucky parents, their daughter would never be the same Diem My they’ve ever known after this trip.

The Brainwashed Daughter

The daughter who was once kind-hearted and obedient now turned into an aggressive and neglectful person, but she persisted with her intention of becoming a Buddhist nun despite the words of caution from her friends and family.

On September 7th, 2019, Diem My ran away while her parents were out of town. She didn’t leave empty-handed, though. According to her parents, she had taken the family's Air Blade motorbike and approximately 500 million VND (~$20,000) worth of gold and cash before running off.

Believing Huyen Tran was the one behind the irrational acts of their daughter, the parents came to Tinh That Bong Lai, where they met Le Tung Van. Upon asking about Diem My’s whereabouts, he didn’t give them a clue, yet he encouraged them to let Diem My stay here with Huyen Tran as “they love each other dearly, please don’t separate them.”

Fast forward to October 21st, 2019, it came to their knowledge that Diem My was staying inside Tinh That Bong Lai. The distressed parents came to this place once again, asking for their daughter but to no avail. A few days later, they came back with roughly 50 people, including friends and relatives, badging into Tinh That Bong Lai and causing the riot.

The rescue failed miserably, and Diem My was nowhere to be found. Occasionally, she would appear on social media, stating that she is practicing Buddhism at Vung Tau and pursuing the path she has chosen to become a nun.

The Short Family Reunion

Following the riot that went viral on social media, along with the letter asking for help from Diem My’s family, the authorities decided to investigate further into the incident.

According to a police officer named Thang, he recalled the day when he returned Diem My to her parents:

On December 19th, 2019, Diem My returned home safely after undergoing a full medical check-up at the hospital. She continued to live with her parents for 6 months before running off again [6].

The family crumbled as Diem My cut all ties with them. However, on November 1st, 2020, Diem My uploaded several videos on her social media, in which she claimed her parents were abusive and her father had sexually assaulted her during her stay with them. Notably, her statements correspond to what Le Tung Van once publicly announced before, saying that the policemen were kidnapping her and forcing her to go home without her consent.

Social media went wild, people started to form split opinions. Some retained their trust in Tinh That Bong Lai and screamed for justice, while others became doubtful about the true motive of Le Tung Van.

There haven’t been any updates regarding Diem My’s whereabouts since, it’s very likely that she’s still missing. Her desperate parents promised a reward of 1 billion VND (~$40,000) to anyone who found their daughter.

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3. The Father And His Cult

Le Tung Van was born in 1932 in Chau Đoc, An Giang, into a Confucian family with many siblings. His father was a poet named Le Van Tat (1917—1964), who was also best friends with one of Vietnam’s most well-known poets, Han Mac Tu [8].

There were some rumors that before Le Tung Van started engaging in setting up charitable establishments for profits, he participated in an unknown cult when he was young. However, this rumor was never confirmed.

After his Thanh Duc Orphanage & Care Center was shut down in 2007, Le Tung Van traveled to the Southeast and Southwest regions of Vietnam to seek "partners", he wished to set up another Care Center.

In 2014, he luckily met Cao Thi Cuc in Long An province. The woman agreed to transform her house into a place to raise orphans and engage in charity work, Le Tung Van moved in with her. Both of them invested money in repairing, expanding, and converting it into a facility for needy children under the name "Tinh That Bong Lai". The facility operated under the radar to avoid the authorities.

Later, Le Tung Van used his "old formula" from when he ran Thanh Duc Center, but with more caution. He released clips and images on social media platforms to attract both national and international philanthropists. In addition, Le Tung Van gave himself a Buddhist name "Thich Tam Duc".

Van focused on building his image on social media, depicting "Tinh That Bong Lai" as a pagoda for orphans and Buddhists. And so, Tinh That Bong Lai has become a destination for many religious individuals, charitable organizations, and kind-hearted folks who wish to provide financial support for the orphaned children.

While claiming to be Buddhists, the laypeople inside Tinh That Bong Lai never truly practice Buddhism. They were often seen dressed in Buddhist attire and talked about Buddha teachings in videos on their social channels. However, what they taught does not align with the beliefs of Buddha. At some point, they fabricated the entire concept and indirectly slandered the religion they were purportedly following. Sometimes, Tinh That Bong Lai also celebrates Christmas, Le Tung Van and his disciples can be seen dressing as Santa Claus and praising Jesus in many videos. The public obviously found this strange, especially for Buddhists.

After receiving massive backlash for the dramas, Le Tung Van changed the name of the facility to “Thien Am Ben Bo Vu Tru”. Despite the effort, he could no longer keep this place under the radar anymore.

The authorities quickly detected the illegal activities in this facility, along with all the dramas surrounding Diem My and her disappearance, they decided to investigate further into the case rather than just giving warnings as usual.

How the investigation turned out was unexpected. The five novices who went viral in 2018 were not orphans, at all. Their mothers, in fact, lived with them inside Tinh That Bong Lai, and most importantly, they are all biologically related to Le Tung Van [9].

So is the “Master Grandfather” indeed the grandfather? Nope! The novices are his sons and daughters. But things are far more complicated than just that.

End of Part 1.

⭐Next Sunday in “Mystery🔎”

Tinh That Bong Lai: Vietnam's Most Sacrilegious Scandal (Pt. 2)

Preview: What the investigators found has obviously stirred a debate, people were both furious and disgusted at the news.

Turned out, apart from exploiting religion and charity for personal gain, Tinh That Bong Lai was also a stronghold where Le Tung Van reigned over his little kingdom. According to law enforcement, most of the people inside the facility are his wives and children, but what makes the public baffled the most must be the fact that his children are also…his wives.

If you are enjoying Station 101’s articles, feel free to subscribe for more similar posts. Like and share is highly appreciated!

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Back in 2012, the Internet was going insane over a mysterious puzzle that started in one of the biggest online forums. Renowned for being the Internet’s hardest puzzle, however, what fascinated people the most about Cicada 3301 was the anonymous organization behind it.

Buckle up, this ride’s gonna be long.

1. “Cicada 3301” - The Beginning

January 5th, 2012. It was a normal day, at least for people who just simply spent their time on social media, but for code-breakers and online investigators, it was the beginning of an adventure.

In the Paranormal board (which resembles a subreddit on Reddit) of the largest anonymous message board at the time, 4Chan, appeared a quite-out-of-place picture that read:

“3301” was signed at the end. The enigmatic message immediately piqued people's interest, with some speculating that this might be one of the recruitment campaigns held by Google, like what they did in 2004 with that mysterious billboard asking applicants to solve a series of math riddles. Others speculated it might be orchestrated by the National Security Agency (NSA). Well, whatever it was, people decided to join the hunt, beginning with the search for the hidden message. Ultimately, they all wanted to know what was at the end of the rope.

“3301” had turned into some sort of a “scavenger hunt”, a new sensation that not only did the 4Chan community gone wild about but also other large Internet forums across the world. Eventually, they found the answer to the first riddle, hidden in the image.

Some canny individuals working alone quickly found that when opening the image as a text document, they found a wall of text with a small string of readable text.

The string “TIBERIVS CLAVDIVS CAESAR” in the above text block indicates that the last bit of the text could only be decrypted using Caesar Cipher. Once deciphered, the “message” revealed an Imgur link that directed them to a decoy solution image.

This image, however, looks like a dead end. Even when people used the same method as the first clue, they couldn’t figure out what the message was. The riddle got a little bit harder at this point, but some quick-witted folks had pointed out the hint, which was the two words “guess” and “out” which might indicate users were supposed to use the old steganography tool called OutGuess to extract the hidden message.

Using OutGuess immediately revealed the hidden message in the original image, which was a series of book codes and a link to a subreddit providing additional information about the book.

This message indicates that the numbers represent a book cipher, also known as a book code. In a book cipher, numbers correspond to pages, paragraphs, lines, words, or letters in a book. Decoding it requires access to the specific book referenced, and so the quest continued on Reddit.

The attached link led the solvers to a subreddit, in which there were only two pictures, “Welcome” and “Problems?”, and several posts.

It came to their notice that the “Problems?” post was uploaded by the Reddit user u/ImagoOnNib, while all other posts were from u/CageThrottleUs. As time went on, more posts started to appear in the subreddit. A quick observation could be made, perhaps numerous posts attributed to the pseudonym CageThrottleUs contain encoded text, presumably the content of the book. Initially, it appeared that a standard Caesar cipher might have been applied, but upon closer examination, they couldn’t yield any readable texts. The most plausible explanation is that decoding the text requires a specific key.

Solvers also found that the title of the header image is “a2e7j6ic78h0j7eiejd0120”, of which the URL is a shortened version. There were some Mayan numbers in the image that ranged from 0-19 with a dot equaling one; a vertical line equaling five, and so on. From this clue, some individuals managed to decode the title “a2e7j6ic78h0j7eiejd0120” using Vigenère Cipher, they managed to squeeze out a short text, which was sourced from Thomas Bulfinch's Mythology, a renowned literary work that draws from the Mabinogion tales concerning King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, as well as their quest for the Holy Grail.

When using the OutGuess again on the “Welcome” picture, a hidden text revealed that read:

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

- From here on out, we will cryptographically sign all messages with this key.

It is available on the mit keyservers.  Key ID 7A35090F, as posted in a2e7j6ic78h0j.

Patience is a virtue.

Good luck.

3301

This signature at the end was extremely important, especially given the growing popularity of imposters claiming to be Cicada 3301. The PGP (GnuPG) key, identified by the key ID 7A35090F, served as a crucial means to verify 3301’s authenticity.

Using OutGuess on the “Problems?” picture, the seekers found another hidden message:

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

The key has always been right in front of your eyes.

This isn't the quest for the Holy Grail.  Stop making 
it more difficult than it is. 

Good luck.

3301

The key to decrypting all of this was actually “in front of your eyes”, people quickly found the solution to the third riddle. Combining what users had found with the book codes from the previous puzzle, along with a little more than mild coding ability and wordplay, they found a phone number.

To continue the challenge, participants were instructed to dial (214) 390-9608, a phone number based in Texas. Upon calling this now-deactivated number, users were greeted with a voice message that said:

It was later revealed that the other two prime numbers corresponded to the dimensions of the original 3301 image posted on 4chan, measuring 509 and 503 pixels. Multiplying all three prime numbers together yielded a resulting number (adding “.com”) that directed users to a website featuring a countdown clock and a cicada symbol. When the countdown clock reached zero, the website transitioned to a list of geographical coordinates accompanied by the message, "Find our symbol at the location nearest you."

2. “Cicada 3301” - From The Web To Reality

Who would’ve thought? A silly Internet puzzle had come into real life, spreading across the world. People finally believed Cicada 3301 was a global organization that was looking for recruits instead of some random Internet competitions.

As the countdown concluded, precisely at 17:00 UTC on January 9, 2012, the countdown clock was replaced by strings of digits resembling GPS coordinates. Applying OutGuess to the cicada image yielded a distinct message containing coordinates. These coordinates matched those found on the website, except for two missing coordinates: (37.577070, 126.813122) and (36.0665472222222, -94.1726416666667) [5].

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

52.216802, 21.018334
48.85057059876962, 2.406892329454422
48.85030144151387,2.407538741827011
47.664196,  -122.313301
47.637520, -122.346277
47.622993, -122.312576
37.5196666666667, 126.995
33.966808, -117.650488
29.909098706850486 -89.99312818050384
25.684702, -80.441289
21.584069, -158.104211
- -33.90281, 151.18421
3301

The locations spread out globally, including California, Australia, Hawaii, South Korea, Poland, and various other places. If users manage to visit the exact locations according to the coordinates, they would discover posters featuring an image of a cicada alongside a QR code.

Some QR codes were stuck to poles, others on the walls of bus stop shelters. It’s an obvious sign that Cicada 3301 is a resourceful organization with members scattered in different countries. Even if they had several members, this level of dedication meant much more than just a “silly” Internet competition.

Now that Cicada 3301 had just announced its presence to the world, this intricate scavenger hunt was no longer only an online thing. As they scanned the QR codes, puzzlers found that there were two variants of posters, containing two different messages.

First message:

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
 
In twenty-nine volumes, knowledge was once contained.
How many lines of the code remained when the Mabinogion paused?
Go that far in from the beginning and find my first name.
 
1:29
6:46
the product of the first two primes
2:37
14:41
17:3
27:40
the first prime
2:33
1:1
7:45
17:29
21:31
12:17
the product of the first two primes
22:42
15:18
24:33
27:46
12:29
25:66
7:47
 
You've shared too much to this point.  We want the best,  
not the followers.  Thus, the first few there will receive
the prize.
 
Good luck.
 
3301

Second message:

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
 
A poem of fading death, named for a king
Meant to be read only once and vanish
Alas, it could not remain unseen.
 
1:5
152:24
the product of the first two primes
14:13
7:36
12:10
7:16
24:3
271:22
10:7
13:28
12:7
86:17
93:14
the product of the first two primes
16:7
96:4
19:13
47:2
71:22
75:9
77:4
 
You've shared too much to this point.  We want the best,  
not the followers.  Thus, the first few there will receive
the prize.
 
Good luck.
 
3301

As participants delved deeper into the rabbit hole, the references became increasingly obscure. This time, the clues revealed in the 2 messages revolved around a quote from a William Gibson book, Agrippa (A Book of the Dead), that was only released on 3.5-inch self-erase floppy disks.

The floppy disk was programmed to encrypt itself after a single use. Once decrypted, a line of text revealed:

Judging by the “.onion” bit at the end, this could be a link to a website on the dark web which must be accessed via the Tor network, an anonymity-oriented communication network. This is the same type of network that was used to access The Silk Road marketplace.

⭐Learn more about Darkweb:

Using an adequate web browser, participants would find a message in which they were asked to create a new email address and submit it via an attached email form. After submitting their email addresses, solvers were greeted with a message advising them to patiently await further communication: "Got it, thanks. We'll contact you soon."

However, Cicada 3301 sniffed out that the participants worldwide were collaborating to solve the puzzles, and only the quickest ones that reached the website were acknowledged. Soon after, it vanished without a trace, replaced by the statement "We want the best, not the followers."

After a prolonged period of silence lasting nearly a month after the finalists were chosen, another image surfaced on the subreddit signaling the completion of the Puzzle, stating "Search is over" [6]. And then, no one ever heard of what happened next to the contestants who made it to the final destination of the hunt. Following this, Cicada remained silent until January 2013, when their next puzzle started.

Being one of the very few known participants to have solved it since the first challenge appeared online, Joel Eriksson has a glimpse of the mysterious organization behind Cicada 3301.

3. Behind The Wings Of “Cicada 3301”

Who are the people behind these complex puzzles? God knows. But all that we have left of Cicada is a leaked email.

On February 6th, 2012, someone posted a leaked email that was presumably sent to the participants after completing the 2012 puzzle, in which Cicada 3301 introduced themselves briefly:

[...] You have all wondered who we are and so we shall now tell you we are 
an international group we have no name we have no symbol we have no
membership rosters we do not have a public website and we do not 
advertise ourselves we are a group of individuals who have proven 
ourselves much like you have by completing this recruitment contest 
and we are drawn together by common beliefs a careful reading of the 
texts used in the contest would have revealed some of these beliefs 
that tyranny and oppression of any kind must end that censorship is 
wrong and that privacy is an inalienable right.


We are not a *hacker* group nor are we a *warez* group we do not engage
in illegal activity nor do our members if you are engaged in illegal 
activity we ask that you cease any and all illegal activities or decline
membership at this time we will not ask questions if you decline however
if you lie to us we will find out [7].
[...] 

That doesn’t offer too much valuable information on who they are. However, speculation abounds; some suggest that Cicada 3301 was an organization involving certain government intelligence agencies such as the CIA, NSA, and MI6, which may be seeking to recruit skilled cryptoanalysts such as Eriksson - a possibility he doesn’t think is likely.

“It is actually quite common for intelligence agencies and similar organizations to use non-traditional forms of recruitment, but in those cases, they usually announce it officially rather than hiding their identity,” said Eriksson. Comparing it with a similar code-cracking challenge called “Can you crack it?” held by the GCHQ - a UK government-tasked intelligence and security organization, he claimed the GCHQ challenge required much deeper technical skills than the Cicada 3301, but the scope was much smaller and it required a lot less time to solve. “If intelligence agencies used something like the Cicada 3301 puzzles to find people to recruit, they would probably end up with a lot of people that are not really interested in working for an organization such as theirs,” he added.

On being asked about his thoughts on the identity behind the enigmatic Cicada 3301 puzzle, he responded, “It is most likely an underground organization, not related to any government or intelligence agency,” he says. “Based on the references in their challenges–the Agrippa poem by William Gibson, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake, The Book of The Law by Aleister Crowley–and their constant references to prime numbers and the like, they are likely intellectual, anti-establishment, ideologically driven and they seem to be valuing logical/analytical thinking highly. They seem to share a lot of ideology with the cryptoanarchy movement, and old-school hackers” [8].

Despite the theories, Cicada 3301 and its true purpose remain unknown to this day. The Internet has not heard from them again since their last puzzle in 2014.

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Reference:

[1] https://marketingmind.in/back-when-google-made-applicants-solve-a-maths-riddle-to-apply-for-a-job-opening/

[2] https://old.reddit.com/r/a2e7j6ic78h0j/comments/o3hoi/welcome/

[3] https://old.reddit.com/r/a2e7j6ic78h0j/comments/o6n9a/problems/

[4] https://clevcode.org/cicada-3301/

[5] https://uncovering-cicada.fandom.com/wiki/What_Happened_(2012)#The_Start

[6] https://www.unrevealedfiles.com/cicada-3301-most-difficult-cryptographic-riddle-of-the-internet/

[7] https://uncovering-cicada.fandom.com/wiki/The_Leaked_Email

[8] https://www.fastcompany.com/3025785/meet-the-man-who-solved-the-mysterious-cicada-3301-puzzle

Imagine you’re getting comfortable in your sofa as your favorite streamer starts his playthrough as usual. In the next few days, you notice his name starts to appear on every news outlets. And next thing you know, he is charged for the murder of a pregnant woman which occurred at the same time he was streaming. How would you react to the news?

Welcome to the next issue of Mystery 🔎, this is the story of Stephen McCullagh.

1. The Murder of Natalie McNally

Stephen McCullagh, also went by his pseudonym Votesaxon07 on YouTube, is a reviewer from Woodland Gardens, Lisburn who is renowned for his critiques of a wide range of toys, including HEXBUG toys and prop replicas. His channel has approximately 37,000 subscribers.

He is also known for his gaming livestreams on the platform, frequently playing Grand Theft Auto (GTA) and Robot Wars on his channel. This 33-year-old man has a girlfriend named Natalie McNally, 32, who was 15-weeks pregnant. Natalie was the only daughter of Bernie and Noel McNally, along with her three brothers Niall, Brendan and Declan; she was described to be “a vibrant spirit and commitment to helping others” [1].

It was a pre-Christmas night, when Natalie was spending her time relaxing in front of her decorated tree, watching TV and scrolling through social media at her home. Little did she know, her excitement of being the first time mom and the joy of the McNallys would soon come to an end that same night.

On the morning of December 19th 2022, Stephen came and found his girlfriend, along with his unborn son, Dean, dead from multiple wounds in Silverwood Green [3], he called the police. The McNallys then got the call notifying them about their precious daughter being murdered overnight. The distraught parents and siblings were crumbling to their feet.

The police have established that Ms McNally was murdered sometime between 8.52pm and 9.31pm, with neighbors hearing a scream at around 9pm. They soon listed Stephen as one of the main suspects for the murder of Natalie but they ended up ruling him out thanks to his alibi. But people started to question his involvement in the case as his hidden plan got uncovered gradually.

2. The Fake Alibi

McCullagh and Ms McNally began their relationship in August 2022. By December of the same year, she had been in her 15th week of pregnancy. On December 18th, Natalie McNally had been at her parents' residence in Lurgan, watching World Cup. As she journeyed to Lurgan in her vehicle and reached her destination around 7 p.m., her arrival was captured on CCTV footage capturing [4]. Meanwhile, Stephen had announced on his social media accounts that he would start streaming at around 6p.m. that evening, the streaming session was called "Violent Night Christmas Stream".

Prior to the murder, Stephen had told Natalie of his livestreaming plans via his last text message at 5:57pm, saying: “Right I’m off to stream the night away, wish me luck.” And then, when the murder happened, his viewers still saw him playing Grand Theft Auto for 6 hours straight.

However, there was definitely something off with Stephen while he was live. He constantly said that he couldn’t see the comments due to some technical issues from his end, and so he played the game through and through while speaking to himself, his viewers were left wondering.

During the session, he engaged into a side mission in the game where he killed a woman and made it look like an accident. His inputs during the playthrough was rather chilling as well, saying:

He also believed to have left a message in his livestream when he said “That’s physics, that’s what would happen in the real world... abso-f******-notly followed by abso-f******-Natalie.” [4]

The 6-hour livestream session turned into his trusted alibi that helped him get crossed out as a prime suspect. However, the police later found out the video was actually pre-recorded several days before the murder, presumably December 13th or December 14th, and was broadcasted as if it was live [6].

So what actually had happened?

Stephen McCullagh was meticulously came up with a cold-hearted plan to eliminate his girlfriend. The plot started with him recording a 6-hour long video of him playing GTA and uploading it on his channel as if he was livestreaming. Meanwhile, he made his way to her house and stabbed her to death.

Along with the CCTV evidence retrieved from the surveillance camera, there was a male whose face was covered with with his hood and scarf, carrying a “distinctive” Asda bag for life, walking towards a bus stop at 7.09 p.m. that evening from Dunmurry, two miles from McCullagh’s house, to Lurgan. CCTV footage in Lurgan also captured an individual with a gait similar to McCullagh's at Silverwood Green, where McNally resided with her pet dog and two cats. The investigators also retrieved a CCTV footage on the bus, according to the lead investigator, during the 90-minute journey, the suspect remained “motionless, except to check his face is covered,” even when he “awkwardly” taking a sip from a bottle of Coke.

Upon disembarking the bus at the nearest stop to the victim's residence, the masked man, carrying a bag, proceeded to walk to Ms. McNally's house where he stayed for 40 minutes. The strangest thing was that the suspect was “oddly undisturbed by Natalie's protective German Shepherd” [7], indicating that the suspect could be an acquaintance of the victim.

Police reported that Stephen had travelled back from Lurgan by a taxi. As he stepped out of the house with his attire fully changed, he hailed a taxi to Lisburn and was dropped off near McCullagh's residence [8].

DCI Magennis stated that the taxi driver had disclosed to the police where he had dropped off the passenger, and although he wasn't familiar with Lisburn, the GPS in his taxi confirmed the location.

While McCullagh's phone couldn't be used to place him at the scene, the officer noted that his device displayed "absolutely no activity whatsoever" from 6 p.m. until it was "swiped open" at 11:16, just three minutes after the taxi dropped off its fare nearby.

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"That's peculiar behavior in itself," remarked the officer, "that there's no movement or activity for five hours at a significant time." [9]

Even after the tragic incident, Stephen remained in contact with the McNallys for weeks. To the distraught family’s unbeknownst, Stephen had left his phone at their home, leaving it secretly recording for 40 minutes as an attempt to gather information about the investigation and determine if they considered him a suspect, according to the prosecutors.

However, with the evidence of up to 4,000 hours of CCTV footage, along with the inconsistencies in his narrative and his dubious alibi, he ended up being remanded back in custody on January 31st, 2023.

3. The Tragedy Stemmed From Jealousy

A post-mortem examination revealed that the victim's death resulted from neck compression, stab wounds to the neck, and blunt force trauma to the head. While a knife was recovered, the blunt object used in the attack was yet to be located. This somehow matches the description of Stephen’s “livestream” at the night of murder, “Violent night”, which the prosecutors believed was his foreshadowing of the event.

Eventually, it came to light that what drove Stephen McCullagh to slay his partner was jealousy. It looks like Stephen found out that his girlfriend had exchanged 33 WhatsApp messages with an ex-boyfriend [10] on December 15th and 16th, according to the police. It was also disclosed in Stephen’s trial that sexualized communication between the two was involved and likely the reason that led to the tragedy.

Stephen allegedly had accessed McNally's phone nine times the night before her death, using a passcode she had previously shared with him:

Therefore, the police decided to arrest two men in connection with the brutal murder, Stephen and a 46-year-old man who was arrested on bail on 13 January, 2023. However, according to a PSNI spokesperson, they were “no longer considered suspects in the case” on February 7th, 2023 [11].

During his hearing on February 2nd which lasted nearly an hour, McCullagh remained silent and appeared emotionless for most of the lengthy hearing [12]. Although his next court appearance was supposed to take place on February 24th, McCullagh did not attend the scheduled hearing at Craigavon Magistrates' Court today. Upon request from his defense barrister, Craig Patton, the case was adjourned for four weeks to “consultations in prison and respond to undisclosed points raised in written submissions by the prosecution” [13].

On March 6th, 2023, a barrister for Stephen McCullagh made an application at the High Court in Belfast on Monday, however, he was refused bail. Fast forward to January 12th 2024, guess what? Stephen McCullagh pleaded not guilty for the murder of Natalie McNally.

However, due to the overwhelming amount of CCTV footages that will be presented to the jury, defence barrister John Kearney KC suggested that the trial be conducted in Belfast. Following this, Mr. Justice O'Hara scheduled the trial to take place on Monday, September 9th, 2024.

After deciding the trial date and selecting Belfast as the provisional venue, the senior judge announced his intention to review the case in March.

McCullagh was then handcuffed and escorted from the dock by prison staff. As he passed by and into custody, he did not acknowledge Ms. McNally's family and friends.

The public is still demanding justice for Natalie.

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Reference:

[1] https://www.shortform.com/podcast/episode/rotten-mango-2023-03-21-episode-summary-youtuber-faked-a-livestream-to-allegedly-create-an-alibi-for-murder-case-of-stephen-mccullagh

[2] https://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/man-32-charged-with-the-murder-of-natalie-mcnally-1427309.html

[3] https://antweight-anarchy.fandom.com/wiki/Stephen_McCulla

[4] https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/courts/natalie-mcnally-murder-accused-stephen-mccullagh-researched-most-painful-ways-to-die/1177014102.html

[5] https://www.itv.com/news/utv/2023-03-06/court-told-of-natalie-mcnally-murder-accused-hidden-messages-as-bail-refused

[6] https://www.businessinsider.com/youtuber-mccullagh-fake-livestream-alibi-murder-natalie-mcnally-court-2023-2#:~:text=The%20Guardian%20said%20that%20a,the%20footage%20was%20pre%2Drecorded.&text=In%20the%20stream%2C%20McCullagh%20claimed,due%20to%20a%20technical%20glitch.

[7] https://www.shortform.com/podcast/episode/rotten-mango-2023-03-21-episode-summary-youtuber-faked-a-livestream-to-allegedly-create-an-alibi-for-murder-case-of-stephen-mccullagh

[8] https://www.armaghi.com/news/lurgan-news/natalie-mcnally-full-file-against-alleged-killer-stephen-mccullagh-ready-next-month-court-hears/216006

[9] https://www.itv.com/news/utv/2023-12-01/prosecutors-ready-for-natalie-mcnally-murder-trial-court-told

[10] https://www.itv.com/news/utv/2023-03-06/court-told-of-natalie-mcnally-murder-accused-hidden-messages-as-bail-refused

[11] https://www.armaghi.com/news/lurgan-news/two-arrested-by-police-investigating-natalie-mcnally-murder-no-longer-suspects/199671

[12] https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/courts/natalie-mcnally-murder-accused-stephen-mccullagh-researched-most-painful-ways-to-die/1177014102.html

[13] https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/natalie-mcnally-case-against-murder-26319686

[14] https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/courts/stephen-mccullagh-pleads-not-guilty-to-murder-of-natalie-mcnally-with-trial-date-set/a1696988014.html

If you are a diehard fan of “The Conjuring” or simply heard of the movie, you might already know what is the “Amityville Horror”. But does the story behind the murders of DeFeo indeed has something supernatural to it? Let’s find out!

Before you read: The following article might include graphic and disturbed images. Read it at your own discretion. You have been warned.

1. The Tragedy of The DeFeo Family

It was 6:15 P.M in the tragic evening of November 13th 1974, six people within a family at 112 Ocean Avenue was found dead by gunshots. The murderer was arrested, identified as the oldest son of the family, Ronald “Butch” DeFeo Jr. Investigators also found a 35-caliber Marlin rifle which was believed to be the murder weapon [1].

The scene was gruesome. The victims were sound asleep on their beds when DeFeo Jr. shot them in their backs. He murdered his entire family, including his parents Ronald DeFeo Sr., who worked as a car salesman, and his wife Louise, along with their daughters Dawn (18) and Allison (13), and their sons Marc (12) and John Matthew (7).

All six family members were discovered lying face down in their beds, with their hands raised above their heads. Strangely, nobody in the neighborhood claimed to have heard any gunshots, and there were no indications of a struggle in the crime scene. Detectives investigating the case remarked that this incident marked the highest number of killings in a single event on Long Island in recent history [1].

Retrieving a .35-caliber Marlin rifle from his secret gun stash, he proceeded to enter his parents' bedroom and fatally shot them while they were asleep. He then moved to his brothers' bedroom, where he shot them in their beds. He concluded by shooting his sisters at close range in their respective bedrooms. The entirety of these tragic events unfolded within a span of 15 minutes.

He was sane enough to take a shower afterwards, dress for work and gather his bloodstained clothing along with the murder weapon, placing them inside a pillowcase. On the way to his workplace at the dealership at 6 a.m., he disposed of the evidence by discarding it into a storm drain.

Butch then called home, feigning ignorance about his father's absence from work. Around noon, he left his workplace out of boredom and spent the day with friends. To establish an alibi, he informed each person he visited that he couldn't reach anyone at home. At 6 p.m., he contacted a friend, pretending to be shocked, and claimed that someone had broken into the house and shot his family.

Butch admitted killing his family around 3:30 a.m., and called the police at 6 p.m.

Family Background

Ronald Joseph “Big Ronnie” DeFeo, Sr. was born on November 16, 1930, to parents Rocco and Antoinette DeFeo. He was an extremely good-looking man, slender with a powerful gaze. It didn’t take long enough for a handsome man such as Big Ronnie to capture the attention of Louise Marie Brigante, the daughter of Michael and Angela Brigante. She soon fell in love with him.

Louise had always wanted to become a model. A beautiful young woman who was “beautiful enough to hobnob with the best, including legendary singer Mel Torme.” [2] They were the perfect couple, and soon got marriage after a brief courtship. However, Louise’s parents never approved of this relationship, so when the two got married, they cut all ties with them until their first child was born, Ronald Joseph Defeo, Jr.

As the time passed, the DeFeo family soon greeted more members to come: Dawn Theresa DeFeo on July 29, 1956; Allison Louise DeFeo on August 16, 1961; Marc Gregory DeFeo on September 4, 1962 and finally, John Matthew DeFeo on October 24, 1965.

They resided in the upscale neighborhood of Amityville on Long Island, where their Dutch Colonial residence boasted amenities such as a swimming pool and a nearby boat dock. Within the home, life-sized portraits of the family hung on the walls. Though the DeFeo family was described as “a nice, normal family” on the outside [3], Butch was actually struggled to live in the family. Big Ronnie was reportedly authoritarian, abusive and short-tempered, and often engaged in fights with his wife and children. He would frequently took his frustration and rage on his eldest child, Butch. As a overweight boy himself, Butch was also targeted at school by bullies, who would taunt him relentless. However, it was his father that encouraged him to stand up for himself at school, while abusing him at home.

All of this had shaped the later Butch, who was also short-tempered and often lashed out physically on his father and friends as he matured [4]. Growing concerns for the well-being of their child, Big Ronnie and Louise arranged an appointment with a psychiatrist for Butch, which made him angry and unwilling [5]. Even Big Ronnie himself denied going to the psychiatrist as he didn’t he needed help as well.

And so, to manage the troubled son, they resorted to bribing him with money and gifts. They would buy anything he wanted to keep him satisfied.

2. What Was Ronald DeFeo Jr.’s Motive?

Are there any motives behind Butch’s actions? Multiple.

The fact that the DeFeo started to spoil Butch had given him the chance to turned to using LSD and heroin. Butch was soon expelled from school due to his violent behavior.

Some people believe that the actual motive behind this was his addiction, suggesting that he killed his whole family while under the influence of drugs. However, the idea was soon opposed as a prosecution expert testified that he was sane at the time of the murders [6] so again, his motive for killings remained unclear, but there was one time when he asked police officers how to collect his parents’ insurance, leading the prosecutors to believe that his motive was after their money [7].

People started to turn to his relationship with Big Ronnie. Their relationship reached a breaking point when Butch felt dissatisfied with the money he received from his father, so he orchestrated a staged robbery with the assistance of a friend, whom he later shared the stolen money with. The plan started with Butch being robbed while on his way to a bank, where he was supposed to deposit twenty-thousand dollars on behalf of another dealership staff member. When questioned by authorities about the incident, he refused to cooperate. This defiance led to a heated confrontation between him and his father on the Friday preceding the murders, during which his father angrily accused him of being influenced by evil forces. In response, Butch threatened to kill his father [8].

It wasn’t just that. In his 2002 book titled "The Night the DeFeos Died: Reinvestigating the Amityville Murders," Ric Osuna examines the irregularities surrounding the case. He delves into the challenges faced by the defense team in accessing evidence that had not been presented, as well as the haste exhibited by authorities to apprehend a suspect even before obtaining a coherent understanding of the events. In the end, he concludes that Butch killed his parents with the help of a friend, along with another theory suggests that his 18-year-old sister Dawn was responsible for the deaths of their younger siblings, and so Butch subsequently shot Dawn after witnessing the horrific act.

Also in the book, Osuna presents some pieces of evidence that might support his theory over Dawn’s involvement, which are the affidavit signed in 1974 by Dawn’s boyfriend, indicating her desire to move to Florida with him against her parents' wishes, and also a comic song written by Dawn some time earlier, “The night the DeFeos died”, in which she fantasizes about her family's murder. However, please note that Dawn’s involvement was never made clear and merely an assumption of the author.

After all, it all seems like his atrocious act stemmed from his hatred towards his father. But the Hollywood only concentrated to the more favorable factor that later gave birth to numerous movies based on the event - the involvement of devils.

The chilling crime turned to a more spiritual side as Butch confessed to hear “voices” in his head that urged him to kill his family. The rumor soon spread like wildfire. When another family, George and Kathy Lutz, along with their three children, moved into the home approximately a year later, they continued to fuel the story, alleging that the house was plagued by sinister and malevolent spirits. And so, people were leaning on the tale that Butch had been haunted by demons and killed his family under the influence of Satan.

However, in a letter that he sent to Marvin Scott, a journalist at PIX11, he dismissed those assertions of supernatural forces in the house, stating, "There was no demon. You know who the demon is. I am the demon." [10]

3. The Aftermath

The trial of Ronald Joseph DeFeo, Jr. in October 1975 garnered significant attention for two specific reasons: the extreme brutality of his crime and the peculiar aspects of his defense. His attorney constructed an argument asserting that he was a mentally unstable individual who committed the murders as an act of “self-defense” against the demonic voices inside his head as he claimed.

And eventually, in November, he was convicted of six counts of second-degree murder. Subsequently, he received a sentence of six consecutive terms of 25 years to life in prison.

Ronald Joseph DeFeo, Jr. then drew his last breath at the Albany Medical Center in New York on March 12, 2021 at the age of 69.

4. Amityville Horror And The Paranormal Investigators

Ever heard of Ed and Lorraine Warren? The well-known paranormal investigators also paid the Amityville home a visit as a part of their investigation on the case.

As the Amityville house gained more and more traction from tourists or risk-takers alike, Lorraine and her husband, Ed Warren, had come to visit the house in 1976. In one of her interviews with CNN in 2005, she was asked what was it like to go into the Amityville Horror House, to which she responded:

20 days after the Lutz family fled from the nightmare experience at the Amityville house, Marvin Scott reached out the Warren and asked them to come over for an investigation.

Ed Warren assembled a team of reporters, investigators, and parapsychologists to meet at 112 Ocean Avenue, along with the Lutz family. However, the family declined to return to the home for the investigation.

During the investigation, Ed experienced a physical force that pushed him to the ground while using religious provocation in the basement. Similarly, Lorraine felt overwhelmed by the presence of a demonic entity and was troubled by her psychic impressions of the DeFeo family's bodies laid out on the floor, covered in white sheets. She also sensed a physical sensation of being pushed back. (Pretty much like what happened in the movie.) [12]

The investigate team then managed to capture a photo of a little boy peering from a room, taken by the professional photographer Gene Campbell through his camera setup on the second floor [13]. This was the only photo that captured something paranormal and of course, it shocked the public.

Although some argue that the "ghost boy" was a member of the team during the investigation, and the glowing eyes were caused by the infrared film, most people simply do not accept that theory. The debate regarding the authenticity of the photo, as well as the true identity of the person in it, continues to persist.

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Reference:

[1] https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/amityville-horror-true-story-defeo-family-murders
[2] https://amityvillemurders.com/the-defeos/the-defoe-family.html

[3] https://www.nytimes.com/1974/11/15/archives/neighbors-recall-defeos-as-nice-normal-family-drink-and-play-music.html

[4] https://www.biography.com/crime/ronald-defeo

[5] https://criminalminds.fandom.com/wiki/Ronald_DeFeo,_Jr.

[6] https://www.oxygen.com/family-massacre/crime-news/amityville-horror-true-story-behind-ron-defeos-family-massacre#:~:text=In%201974%2C%20as%20his%20parents,%2C%20%22The%20Amityville%20Horror.%22

[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_DeFeo_Jr.

[8] https://allthatsinteresting.com/ronald-defeo-jr

[9] https://english.elpais.com/usa/2022-01-10/it-wasnt-ghosts-but-something-worse-the-brutal-truth-about-amityville.html

[10] https://pix11.com/news/local-news/long-island/i-am-the-demon-a-look-at-letters-amityville-horror-killer-ronald-defeo-sent-to-pix11s-marvin-scott/

[11] https://edition.cnn.com/videos/us/2019/04/20/lorraine-warren-paranormal-investigator-amityville-horror-bts-vpx.cnn

[12] https://tonyspera.com/amityville/

[13] https://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/amityville-ghost-boy.php

Along with Jeffrey Dahmer, they have become two of the most notorious serial killers of all time. But while Dahmer was famous for his separation anxiety and his appetite for his victims, Ted Bundy was characterized as a sex addict and a sadistic pervert who killed for his pleasure.

Before you read: This article is mainly based on my own observation and research, information from various sources will be used for reference but it might contain holes and shortcomings.

The article might contain graphic and disturbed images. Read at your own discretion.

1. Ted Bundy, “The Lady Killer” (literally)

A fairly good looking man who reportedly had an IQ of 136. However, his innocent appearance was his best weapon yet.

Born Theodore Robert Bundy on November 24th 1946 in Burlington, Vermont, his birth brought shame to his mother and his religious grandparents. Eleanor Louise Cowell, or Louise, gave birth to Ted when she was 22 years old in a home for unwed mothers. Ted then was brought up as an adopted child by his grandparents in Philadelphia without knowing who his biological father was, meanwhile he was told that his mother was his sister [1]. In 1951, his mother/sister met Johnny Culpepper Bundy, a cook, at an adult singles night at Tacoma's First Methodist Church. They got married shortly after and Ted became Johnny’s adopted son and got his last name, Bundy [2].

Ted spent his elementary years at a local school in Tacoma before he started at Woodrow Wilson High School. Despite having chosen an “isolated” life from his peers at school, which he claimed to, most of the people who went to high school with him would describe him as “reasonably well-known and well-liked” [3].

Ted led quite a troubled life when he was in high school where he would steal skiing tickets to have his way up the slopes. Later on, he became prolific with his stealing that he was arrested for suspicion of committing burglary and auto theft [4]. Luckily, his record was expunged and so he managed to apply to university.

After graduating from high school in 1965, he enrolled at the University of Puget Sound, a liberal arts college located in Tacoma, where he spent a year. Subsequently, he transferred to the University of Washington (UW) in 1966 with the intention of pursuing Chinese studies, but allegedly discontinued his studies two years later [5]. However, during his time in UW, he dated a rich brunette named from California, Diane Edwards, a girl of his dreams.

She had everything that he ever wanted: money, class, and influence. She was beautiful as well, however, their love seems to be one-sided as Diane didn’t love Ted like the way he did, and boy was he deeply in love with her.

In The Ted Bundy Tapes, Ted admitted that “The relationship I had with Diane had a lasting impact on me.” After Diane broke up with him, supposedly due to his lack of motivation, he was believed to have picked up a tendency to kill those who resembled his first love, according to many criminologists who have studied his pathology [6].

In 1968, heartbroken Bundy, after a brief drop-out, returned to school as a psychology major, with the aim of being the ideal man that Diane wanted. He worked as a driver and bodyguard for Republican Lieutenant Governor candidate Art Fletcher; became deeply involved in a gubernatorial campaign for Republican governor Dan Evans later in 1972, surrounded himself with influential Republicans. He somehow won her back, the pair started discussing about marriage but all he wanted was revenge - to make her fall in love and dumb her the way she dumbed him.

Ted had his revenge and entered into a relationship with Elizabeth Kloepfer, a young single mother who worked as a secretary at the university’s medical school. His killing spree started during this time.

a. The First Kill

There are arguments over who was the first victim whose life was claimed by Ted Bundy. While most believe his first victim was a young girl named Ann Marie Burr who vanished in 1961 (when he was 14), some others asserted that his first victim was Lynda Ann Healy, a Washington college student who mysteriously vanished in the night from her bed in 1974 [7].

It was actually 18-year-old Karen Sparks that became the first victim of Ted Bundy. He managed to get inside her home through the basement, assaulting her with a metal rod from her bed frame. She was sexually abused with the same object, which penetrated so deep that it had caused her severe internal damage, along with brain damage from the hit. She was left to bleed as Ted escaped from the scene, he believed he was seen. Karen luckily survived the attack.

During his time of recovery from his relationship with Diane, he immersed himself in violent pornographic literature as he claimed it had a “crystallizing effect” on his violent tendencies and helped fuel his fantasies into actions [9]. And unfortunately, Lynda never knew one day she would cross path with America’s most prolific murderer.

Healy grew up in a pleasant suburb near Seattle with her parents and two siblings. In 1974, as her senior year of college began, the 21-year-old resided in a green house near the campus with four other women. She was a diligent student and gained recognition for her morning weather and ski reports on a local radio station.

In February 1st 1974, the day of her missing, she was still seen by her roommates the day before, one even claimed to have spoken with her at 12 A.M. before she went to bed. Just hours later, at 5:30 A.M., Healy's alarm rang as usual for her early morning session at the radio station. However, when her roommate Barbara Little entered her room upon hearing the alarm, she found Healy missing. Despite the thin partition separating their rooms, Little hadn't heard any disturbances during the night [10].

The police was called, apart from the blood drops found on her pillow and head area of the sheets on her bed, there were no signs of foul play. The police then found her nightgown in her closet, its collar was soaked with blood. They concluded that the abductor might have dressed her up with another outfit before taking her away.

After interviewing the roommates, the police believed that several items were missing from the room: the clothing Lynda wore the night before, a pink satin pillowcase, her backpack, and her house keys. The girls also noticed the backdoor was widely opened, which alarmed them as Healy would usually enter the house through the side door.

It was reported that Healy’s skull and her mandible was found and identified through dental records. The police overlooked Ted Bundy as the main suspect, and so, he successfully got away.

Note that, victims of Ted Bundy were lured, kidnapped, sexually and physically assaulted before he mutilated their bodies. Some victims were never found.

b. The Spree

Donna Gail Manson

Just a month later, March 1974, another 19-year-old college student at Evergreen State College in Olympia went missing. The police received a call from her roommate named Deanna Ray, stating that she had not seen her friend for 1900 hours and couldn’t contact Donna or her parents [12].

Her disappearance had not been reported for six days due to her habit of hitch-hiked travelling without prior notice. Therefore, her friends simply thought she was travelling elsewhere for a few days. It was believed that Ted abducted her around 7 P.M. on March 12th 1974 as she was on her way to attend a jazz concert on campus [13]. Unfortunately, her body was never recovered.

Susan Elaine Rancourt

Rancourt, originally from La Conner, enrolled at what is now CWU with the intention of pursuing biology as part of the premed curriculum. During her high school years, she was recognized as a cheerleader and homecoming queen. She was admired for her sensible demeanor and purity, earning her the nickname "Prudence Pureheart" from her family [14]. Susan crossed her path with Ted when she left a meeting for prospective dorm counselors at Central Washington State College.

Later, it was revealed that Ted had used to same tactics to lure Susan, as well as other students, by showing up with an arm in a sling and asking for help [15].

Her skull was then found on Taylor Mountain in King County, along with four other victims’.

Roberta “Kathy” Parks

Roberta was a student from Oregon State University in Corvallis. She disappeared on May 6th 1974 on her way to have a coffee with her friends in at the Memorial Union [16].

Her skull was also recovered on Taylor Mountain, along with Susan Elaine Rancourt’s.

At Least 30 Women Killed

1974 witnessed the disappearances of multiple college students as well as teenage girls in Utah, Colorado, And Idaho. Ted Bundy was believed to use the same tactics, where he would pretend to be an injured man and ask the victims to help him move heavy things from his Volkswagen. Once they got inside, he would bludgeon or cuff them and then drove off, pretty much like the Buffalo Bill from the The Silence of The Lamb if you ask me. His innocent looks was what caught them off-guard.

There were witnesses said that there was a strange man in a sling, often asking for help with a stack of books or a briefcase near the campus where the victims were last seen. It took some time for the police to actually make the connection between this handicapped man and the disappearance of the girls.

So now the police finally got to know the mysterious man they were looking for: sandy blond hair, 5’10”, 160 pounds driving a tan Volkswagen Bug. Even with that information, they wouldn’t think Ted was right under their noses: an active Republican that “worked for the Washington State Department of Emergency Services” and even got nominated “by the Seattle Police Department to become the director of the Seattle Crime Prevention Advisory Commission.” [19]

Despite knowing Ted had a brown Volkswagen, there was no follow-up on the lead.

He must’ve felt so invincible that he continued his hunting, ended up killing more than 30 young women and teenagers in a span of four years, from 1974 to 1978.

c. Why Ted Bundy became Ted Bundy?

• Victims are young women and children: The first thing to bear in mind is that Ted Bundy didn’t just aim at young women only, his victims were children as well, such as Kimberly Leach and Lynette Dawn Culver. Both of them were 12 years old at the time when he abducted and sexually abused both.

• Ted Bundy is a necrophile, which means that he found arousal in decapitated corpses and often spent the night with them. He admitted keeping the heads of victims as his mementos.

• Bit marks are often seen on victims’ bodies: He had a tendency of biting his victims on their breasts, butts and everywhere.

• He had multiple tactics to gain women’s trust and sympathy, such as posing as an authority figure or pretending to be injured or handicapped.

It would be reasonable to categorize Ted Bundy as a “lust killer” who killed for his sexual pleasure. However, Bundy was an interesting case, especially how he managed to evade law enforcement and contained himself when he was arrested. Ted Bundy would meticulously plan his next moves and never acted out of haste. He learned from his past mistakes and improved his plans, and most importantly, he knew how to use his charisma and intelligence to display a facade of normalcy.

It is believed to a trait often seen in psychopaths that enables them to keeping themselves emotionally stable while telling lies, also called a “mask of sanity”. Some of them even managed to pass a polygraph test. Ted Bundy showed no signs of remorse or regret, he even sane enough to plan his escape from prisons twice. According to Hervey Cleckley, who is considered to be the "father of psychopathy," he diagnosed Bundy as a psychopath.

One thing that shaped the mentality of a serial killer is the environment in which they were brought up. Ted Bundy was given birth by a 22-year-old single mother, he was lied to about his family, which partially drove him insane when he found out. Ted was also believed to be traumatized when he was young. According to Bundy himself, his grandfather/father was "an extremely violent and frightening individual” who kicked dogs, swung cats by their tails and beat people who angered him. It is safe to say that Ted Bundy was somewhat influenced by his grandfather as they possessed the same interests: pronounced interest in pornography (Bundy was exposed to porno at a young age); a tendency toward violent behavior (his grandfather tortured the family’s pet in front of him).

And it has been proved that serial killers who have experienced childhood mistreatment often sexually assault their victims before murdering them, which matched Ted Bundy’s acts when he abducted his victims. According to psychiatrist Dorothy Lewis, Bundy's family background might have worsened his violent behavior and "altered states," suggesting the possibility of a "psychomotor seizure disorder" and “brain changes”. But not everyone who experienced childhood trauma act out the way Bundy did.

After an evaluation session with Dr. Al Carlisle, it was determined that Ted Bundy was a narcissistic psychopath. It was his narcissistic nature that made him believe he could get away with his acts and that the fates of his victims depended on him. This is why he chose to lure his victims into his traps, as it was the only time when he had ultimate control. Meanwhile, his psychopathic side contributed to his lack of empathy, either towards the victims or their families, which made him feel that killing them was not a big deal, serving as motivation for repetition.

So what can be deduced about Ted Bundy? A narcissistic psychopath who turned his family resentment into his motive to kill, of which the “rewards” was sexual satisfaction and a sense of achievement.

There is one more thing to add, which is really interesting to me, is that almost every serial killer would have a “cooling-off period” in there relentless hunt. It could be a few days of peace between each murder, some might take a break of few months or years before unleashing the terror again. It seems like except for the time when Ted was arrested, he was active for most of the time and only took some days off before hunting his next prey. From a social-psychological perspective, the emotional cooling-off period between murders stands out as a crucial behavioral trait that sets serial killers apart from other types of murderers. It’s practically how you define a serial killer.

2. The Monster And Its Arrest

In the summer of 1974, despite being in a relationship with Elizabeth Kloepfer, Ted somehow met Carole Ann Boone and they both fell in love. However, the women never actually know about one another.

Ted started to bring nightmare to Utah by the time he moved to Salt Lake City to enroll at the University of Utah Law School. He would drive in his Volkswagen, and hunt for those unlucky young women. However, on October 11 was a horrible yet lucky day for Rhonda Stapley. Rhonda, the freshman in pharmacy, was waiting for a bus heading back to the University of Utah when she met a strange man, offering her a ride in his Volkswagen.

After the young girl had climbed onto his car, he immediately drove off to Big Cottonwood Canyon, where he repeatedly garroted and abused her sexually. In one brief moment, he turned his back on Rhonda, she grasped the chance and ran for her life. She only made it back in one piece after jumping into a nearby river. However, instead of reporting the incident, Rhonda chose to stay silent for fear of being blamed and ridiculed.

Fast forward to November 8th, 1974 - the day that marked a pivotal moment in the eventual apprehension and prosecution of the infamous Ted Bundy.

It was a late night, Carol DaRonch was at the Fashion Place Mall in Murray, Utah when a strange man approached her. Unbeknownst to her, this strange man was Ted Bundy. He was polite enough to introduce himself, flashing his badge and stating that he was a police officer named “Roseland” and that he was investigating a break-in of Carol’s vehicle.

The young lady accepted the offer to come with him as she just “wanted to be helpful to an authority figure” [20]. She agreed to get on his car to the police station. There was no police station, apparently, and Carol was able to tell something was off about this “police officer”:

His friendly demeanor quickly dissipated as he drove her to elsewhere other than the police station. He struck, Carol fought for her life. He forced her wrist into a pair of handcuffs and threatened her at gun point. Since she had rejected his suggestion to fasten her seatbelt as they drove approximately half a mile from the mall, so she managed to break free and ran off.

As Ted was about to bludgeon her into submission, there was an old couple who happened to drive by, Wilbur and Mary Walsh. Feeling like this was the only chance to survive the ordeal, Carol quickly got into their car to escape from Ted.

The thing about serial killers is that when they fail to catch one prey, they do not call it a day. Failure is not acceptable, so they would find another. As Carol DaRonch was taken to the police station, Ted Bundy immediately approached another victim, Debi Kent, a 17-year-old high school student. Unfortunately, Debi wasn’t as lucky as Carol.

Meanwhile, growing suspicious of her boyfriend, Elizabeth Kloepfer decided to report him to the police. Though she couldn't confirm anything, she believed that young women were disappearing wherever he went. As a sketch of the killer and a description of his car were distributed nationwide, Elizabeth noticed and reported Ted's tan Volkswagen [22].

Ted Bundy continued his hunt until August 16th, 1975, a patrol officer observed a suspicious Volkswagen within his patrol zone. Upon stopping the vehicle, he discovered handcuffs in the back of the car and subsequently apprehended the driver, Ted Bundy. But he was released shortly after, since they had no substantial evidence to hold him.

The police started to keep an eye on Ted. They believed this man was behind the disappearances across the midwest, so they looked at the evidence they had, ultimately piecing together that Bundy was undeniably the one they were looking for.

Ted then sold his Volkswagen in September 1975, the very vehicle he attempted to abduct Carol DaRonch with, which authorities confiscated from the new owner. Upon inspection, they discovered hair samples that could be linked to multiple women. And so, October 1975, Ted was put in a lineup and Carol eventually identified him as “Officer Roseland”.
He was arrested. But if you think this is the end for him, you’re wrong.

Escaping Prisons

You did not read it wrong, Ted Bundy escaped the prisons that held him, not once but twice.

On February 23rd 1976, Ted Bundy was found guilty in the trial for DaRonch’s kidnapping and was sentenced from one to 15 years in the Utah State Prison. Meanwhile, investigators discovered evidence connecting Bundy to the murder of Caryn Campbell in Colorado. During a search of his vehicle, authorities found hairs, one of which was identified as belonging to Caryn Campbell, a 23-year-old nurse who was found dead near Snowmass, Colorado, in February 1975. Campbell had disappeared a month earlier while on vacation with her fiancé at a ski resort. And so, Ted Bundy was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Campbell and was extradited from Utah to a jail in Aspen, Colorado, to face trial.

However, he found his opportunity to escape:

On June 7th 1977, Ted jumped out of a window from the second-story window of the building, sprained his ankle, but still managed to break into a cabin on the mountain and stayed low for a few days. After six days, he was brought back to custody for driving a stolen car.

He didn’t give up that easily. Just several months later after he was moved to Garfield County Jail in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, Ted Bundy escaped from his jail again, almost like Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption.

Realizing that his previous attempt failed due to lack of planning, Bundy began saving money, amassing around $500 in cash over the next six months, most of which was smuggled in by his girlfriend, Carole Ann Boone. Bundy also obtained a floor plan of the jail and a hacksaw from fellow inmates.

Inside his cell was an unsecured grate in the ceiling. Bundy planned to cut a hole around it and squeeze through the small one-foot square gap before navigating through the crawl spaces above to reach one of the jailer’s rooms. To fit into the narrow hole he intended to cut into the ceiling, Bundy needed to lose weight.

For the second time, Ted Bundy escaped from his prison, squeezing himself through the ducting and made it to the jailer’s apartment on December 30th, 1977. No one was there to witness, he just casually put on civilian clothes and went to his freedom.

The first thing he did was to book a flight out of Chicago, hop on a train to Ann Arbor, Michigan, then get a southbound drive to Atlanta, and finally, travel by bus to Tallahassee, Florida. While spending his time in Florida in 1978, he killed several more young women, including 12-year-old Kimberly Leach, before finally got caught again.

He stood trial again for the murder at The Chi Omega House [24] which became the first high-profile court case broadcast on TV. He was found guilty of two murders, three attempted first-degree murders, and two burglaries. He was given the death penalty for the murder convictions. In the second trial took place in Florida, Ted Bundy got married to Carole Ann Boone while she was testifying on his behalf.

On February 10th 1980, he was sentenced again for the death of Kimberly Leach and received the death penalty by electrocution. Ted and Carole had a daughter in 1982 [25].

And finally, putting an end to his terror, Ted Bundy was executed by electric chair at 7 a.m. on January 24, 1989 at Florida State Prison.

Reference:

[1] https://www.biography.com/crime/ted-bundy

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Bundy#Early_life_and_education

[3] https://allthatsinteresting.com/ted-bundy

[4] https://allthatsinteresting.com/ted-bundy-education

[5] https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/a27288400/ted-bundy-education/

[6] https://www.distractify.com/fyi/2019/01/28/TVCfIFB-u/ted-bundy-girlfriend-diane-now

[7] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/did-ted-bundys-murder-spree-000003837.html

[8] https://allthatsinteresting.com/ann-marie-burr

[9] https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-02-08-me-1969-story.html

[10] https://www.oxygen.com/martinis-murder/who-was-lynda-ann-healy-ted-bundy-first-known-victim

[11] https://thecrimewire.com/multifarious/Ted-Bundys-Victims-Part-One

[12] https://killerinthearchives.blog/case-file-donna-gail-manson-1974/

[13] https://www.classcreator.com/Auburn-WA-Auburn-Senior-1972/class_profile.cfm?member_id=5452811

[14] https://www.yakimaherald.com/news/local/happened/it-happened-here-missing-cwu-student-a-victim-of-ted-bundy/article_6bda4c42-e02f-5edd-8902-79c0bba28c7e.html

[15] https://www.dailyrecordnews.com/news/years-ago-today-ted-bundy-struck-herecwu-student-susan-rancourt/article_e3c298e3-cdb3-553b-9b59-c723245574ca.html

[16] https://killersamongus10.wixsite.com/tedbundy/roberta-kathleen-parks

[17] https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Ted-Bundy-Tactics-PC25JQYPYDV#:~:text=Looking%20helpless%20and%20using%20his,them%20in%20a%20brutal%20manner.

[18] https://allthatsinteresting.com/ted-bundy-victims

[19] https://www.thestranger.com/features/2018/10/24/34376418/does-ted-bundy-still-haunt-the-northgate-mall

[20] https://people.com/crime/true-story-carol-daronch-now-ted-bundy-movie/#:~:text=Bundy%20approached%20the%20teenage%20DaRonch,to%20flash%20to%20reassure%20her.

[21] https://killerinthearchives.blog/trial-transcript-mary-and-wilbur-walsh-1976/

[22] https://www.ranker.com/list/elizabeth-kleopfer-facts/hugh-landman

[23] https://abcnews.go.com/US/notorious-serial-killer-ted-bundy-escape-custody/story?id=61032623

[24] https://abcnews.go.com/US/chi-omega-survivor-ted-bundy-murders-asleep-evil/story?id=60894306

[25] https://www.oxygen.com/snapped/crime-time/what-happened-ted-bundys-daughter

When we talk about Asian parents, the first thing that often comes to mind for many people is “Tiger parenting” and their high expectations for academic achievement imposed on their children, a stereotype depicted by the Western media, Hollywood if you will.

Such depiction, though deeply negative and exaggerated, isn’t necessarily wrong as as they do stem from real experiences. While many Asian children do navigate the pressures placed upon them and find success in various fields (although not all of them manage to become doctors or lawyers), some take quite a tragic turn. Jennifer Pan is one of them.

Before you read: This article is mainly based on my own observation and research, information from various sources will be used for reference but it might contain holes and shortcomings. Read at your own discretion.

1. Are Children Born Evil?

Looking at the innocent girl above, it's hard to believe she would be the one to come up with the kill-for-hire attack targeting at her own parents. But before we jump to that part, let’s learn why she did what she did.

Jennifer Pan was born on June 17, 1986 in Markham, Ontario, Canada. She was the daughter of Huei Hann and Bich Ha Pan, the Sino-Vietnamese immigrants who were described as strict parents.

To Jennifer, having strict parents meant achieving straight-A performance at school was a must. Every order from her parents was absolute, and she had to obediently attend extra classes, piano sessions, figure skating, and martial arts.

She was an excellent student when she was at Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School in Markham. At some point, her parents often referred to her as their “golden child”, and not to disappoint them, Jennifer even won a scholarship for early admission to Ryerson University in Toronto [1].

True to her father’s wish, she soon graduated from University of Toronto’s prestigious pharmacology program with flying colors and was then accepted to work in a blood-testing lab at SickKids hospital [2]. A truly golden child to her parents, a dream child of any parents.

If your instinct says “No way, it’s too good to be true” while reading what I’ve written above, then you’re right. Those were just blatant lies fabricated by Jennifer herself.

The truth? Well, Jennifer did not graduate anything, she didn’t even make it out of high school and universities were basically out of her league.

Jennifer’s parents had escaped Vietnam in 1979. Her father, Hann, was brought up in Vietnam and moved to Canada as a political refugee while her mother, Bich, came separately. Later, they met and got married in Toronto, settled in Scarborough, and had two children: Jennifer in 1986 and Felix three years later. [3]

Hann and Bich devoted their lives to offering their children the opportunities they had never experienced. Both of them worked at the auto parts manufacturer Magna International. They eventually bought a large home, a Lexus and a Mercedes, and saved up $200,000.

Hoping their children would work as hard as they did to lead an easier life, they put Jennifer in piano classes when she was four. Turns out, Jennifer was indeed a brilliant child. She showcased her talent and had already amassed a collection of trophies and awards by the time she reached elementary school. It wasn’t enough, they enrolled her in figure skating where she trained almost everyday. Jennifer was exceptionally talented and at some point, she was even expected to compete in the National Competition and become a worthy contender for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. However, Jennifer got a serious knee injury in which she tore her ligament at the age of 14 [4]. Her dreams came to an abrupt end.

Her dream was blown off like a candle. Couldn’t fulfill her parents’ wishes to become an extraordinary athlete, Jennifer was forced to meet her parents’ expectations in a more traditional way: education. There was nothing else she could do but follow the order, then she got into Mary Ward Catholic Secondary School where she played the flute in the school band [5].

The issue is Jennifer's academic prowess didn't match her athletic abilities. To take matters further, her parents even forbade her from going to any high school parties, sleepovers and even dating boys to make sure she wasn’t distracted from her educational accomplishments.

And so, in order to live up to the impossible expectations of her parents, Jennifer had no choice but to forge her report cards. And this is when things started to go south.

2. The Double Life

According to an old friend of Jennifer, Karen K. Ho, Jennifer was an excellent student during her elementary school years. However, by the middle of Grade 9, her grades began to decline, averaging around 70% in all subjects except for music, where she excelled as she was in the senior stage band.

So instead of having a heart-to-heart conversation with her parents, Jennifer decided to deceive them with lies. Old report cards, scissors, glue, and a photocopier came in handy. She fabricated a new report card with perfect As, which of course made her parents brimmed with proud.

Believing that universities typically didn't consider how well students performed in Grade 9 and 10 for admissions, she convinced herself that it wasn't significant.

During this time, both Hann and Bich took turn to pick her up when classes ended every day, and they closely supervised her extracurricular activities [7]. Despite feeling trapped in the never-ending loop of lies and strict management of her parents, Jennifer still involved in a romantic relationship with Daniel Wong in Grade 11.

Jennifer found solace in Daniel, who was one year older, somewhat goofy and outgoing, accompanied by “a big laugh, a wide smile and a little paunch around his waistline.” [3] And this relationship was surely something that her parents would never approve of.

The appearance of Daniel seemed to mark a new chapter in Jennifer’s life, as he was her biggest ally until the crime unfolded. Daniel was also known as an active marijuana dealer and had been charged for drug trafficking once.

As her grades kept declining, Jennifer still received an “early acceptance” to Ryerson University in Toronto. However, Jennifer failed Calculus in Grade 12 and couldn’t graduate high school, thus her early admission was rescinded. Fearing that her parents would take things too far once they found out she had failed so miserably to fulfill their wishes, Jennifer put up a smile and said that she’d be starting at Ryerson in the fall and planning to pursue two years of science before transitioning to the pharmacology program at the University of Toronto, as her father’s wish [8].

Of course, the Pans were extremely satisfied at the news. Her father was so pleased that he bought her a laptop as a reward for this extraordinary accomplishment. Meanwhile, Jennifer bought used biology and physics textbooks and school supplies to complete the ruse.

Whenever her parents questioned how she managed to cover her tuition fees without requesting money from them, she modified documents indicating that she had won scholarships and was receiving an OSAP loan. The Pans' worry dissipated, replaced by proud smiles.

Each day, Jennifer would pack her books and take buses downtown, pretending as she was going to classes. But in fact, she showed up in public libraries or cafes, jotting down whatever she found related to her supposed “major” in her notebooks. Sometimes, she spent her time visiting Daniel at York University. Jennifer found some jobs to cover her needs, such as taking shifts East Side Mario’s as a server, tutoring piano and even working as a bartender at a Boston Pizza, where Daniel worked as a kitchen manager.

Until the time when she was supposed to transfer to pharmacology program at University of Toronto, Hann asked if his daughter would still be able to switch. She said yes and confirmed to be accepted into the program. The family was thrilled. Hann had always wanted to ask her more about her studies, but only to be intervened by his wife, saying "Let her be herself. Too much interference will not be good."

3. The Truth Revealed

Everything was in order; Jennifer spent time in the libraries filling her books with copious notes, visiting her boyfriend, and working part-time elsewhere. She told her parents that she wanted to stay with a friend named Topaz for three nights a week. Bich, aware of her daughter's long daily commute, persuaded Hann that it was a good idea.

You already know the truth, Jennifer never stayed at Topaz’s, she was with Daniel and his family in Ajax from Monday to Wednesday. She lied to Daniel’s parents, saying that her parents were fine with her staying here and always brushing off their invitations to have Hann and Bich over for dim sum.

Finally, after two years of pretending, it was supposedly time for Jennifer to graduate from U of T. Jennifer and Daniel hired someone online to fabricate a counterfeit transcript, straight As of course. And for the graduation ceremony, Jennifer told her parents that there were insufficient seats available due to the extra-large class size [9].

However, her lies did not collapse for such an excuse, but for something she had disclosed to her parents while she was “studying” at University of Toronto. As she said she was volunteering at SickKids Hospital in a blood-testing lab, her father knew something was off:

And so, the Pans decided to follow her to school to find out the truth. They decided to drive her to work the next morning, but as soon as the car stopped, she bolted and disappeared. Hann told his wife to follow her through the waiting area of the ER, where she hid for a few hours after realizing her mom was tailing her.

The next day, Hann and Bich decided to call Topaz for his daughter’s whereabouts, only to receive an answer that Jennifer didn’t stay with her. Jennifer came home and confessed the truth. Hann was so mad that he confiscated her laptop and cellphone, threatened to kick her out of the house [10].

She admitted to having stayed with Daniel the whole time and confessed that she had never been to the University of Toronto or SickKids hospital for volunteering. However, she omitted some other facts: she had never graduated from high school, and her time at Ryerson was fabricated.

Her devices were confiscated for two weeks. Afterwards, her time spent on the devices must be under close supervision of her parents, her messages were also randomly checked. No boyfriend, no outings, no freedom whatsoever. Jennifer returned to her old route: studying, only under a stricter management. However, despite the odds, Jennifer still communicated with Daniel in secret, sneaky calls and whisperings in the dark were practically her love language.

Hann found out that his daughter still entangled herself with Daniel Wong, he gave her a ultimatum: Cut ties with him or leave the family forever. She chose to remain at home not have contact with Daniel [11]. Later, it was revealed that Daniel broke up with Jennifer, feeling weary of their secret romance and moved on with another girl named Christine.

Things were supposed to end there, where Jennifer would continue her calculus and got her high school credit, applying to a college as her parents still hoped she could become a laboratory physician or a nurse. But no.

The nightmare began from here.

4. The Heinous Plot And The Strike

a. The Plot

Jennifer felt suffocated, her long-time boyfriend broke up with her, her parents supervised almost everything she did. Eventually, when she was given a brief moment of freedom, she came up with something sinister.

In spring 2010, Jennifer reached out to one of her elementary classmates for help, Andrew Montemayor, who frequently bragged about committing theft at knifepoint during their school days.

As someone who suffered the same parent issue, Andrew was willing enough to help by introducing her to his roommate, Ricardo Duncan. The two met on several occasions, in which Jennifer often vented about her parents. However, at some point in July 2010, Duncan deliberately ended his friendship with Jennifer over a phone call as she requested him to “come kill my parents.”

As her request was denied, Jennifer went and looked for someone else who could help her get rid of the “stress” in her life. Daniel Wong re-entered the conversation.

They were reportedly back together, exchanging texts and calls on a daily basis. Jennifer knew Daniel had numerous criminal contacts through his drug dealing business.

Daniel introduced Lenford Crawford, who went by the nickname “Homeboy”, to Jennifer. Together, they had plotted the strike under the guise of a home invasion gone wrong.

Jennifer enlisted the help of two more men, David Mylvaganam and Eric Carty, and agreed to the price of $10,000 for double assassination. If everything went well, she would inherit $500,000 from her parents’ insurance.

But did thing go well to their plan? Nope.

b. The Strike

On November 8th 2010, after exchanging the details of the plot and when to execute it, Jennifer received a text from Homeboy that read ““After work OK will be game time,” marking the time when the crime began.

In the evening of that same day, Jennifer was watching TV in her room and Hann was reading Vietnamese news downstairs. Her mother, Bich, had gone out for dancing class with her friend and cousin. The clock hit 9:30, Bich came home and changed into her pyjamas.

Five minutes later, Jennifer received a call from David exchanging the last details about the plan. Jennifer then came downstairs, on her way to say good night to her mom, she unlocked the front door, creating an infiltration opportunity for David and his accomplices.

At 10:02 p.m., light in the study room upstairs turned on, and switched off a minute later, signaling the assailants. Lenford Crawford, David Mylvaganam and Eric Carty entered the resident through the front door, carrying firearms.

The attack occurred. The intruders took the Pans to the basement, covered their heads with blankets. They went upstairs and tied Jennifer to the banister while she was yelling for her parents frantically. How ironic, her parents begged the criminals to leave Jennifer unharmed.

Carty after directing Jennifer back inside received a sum of $2,500 in cash and $1,100 in U.S. funds in her mother’s nightstand, he continued to search for her mother’s purse in the kitchen. To wrap up, they shot the parents. Bich Ha Pan was killed instantly with 3 shots at close range, Hann got shot twice but was lucky enough to survive and crawled his way to the neighbor’s house.

Jennifer pulled out her phone and called 911. She reported that her family was being attacked by three unknown assailants, and she heard “a couple pops” and constantly yelling for her parents on the phone. She was more panic when she heard her father moaning out of agony while making his way outside.

Ambulance and policemen arrived at the crime scene, escorting Hann to hospital and taking Jennifer in for questions. She was stilled considered an innocent victim/witness of the event, but as the investigation went on, she gradually became the chief suspect.

5. The Aftermath

Jennifer was called in for questions four times. In the first time, she was still the witness and victim of the crime. But then, inconsistencies started to appear in her testimony, which she changed way too frequently. Policemen then called her in for the second and third time, she wasn’t aware of the fact that she had become the main suspect from that moment.

Hann woke up from a coma in the hospital, he said that his daughter might have something to do with three random burglars broke into their home, as he saw Jennifer “whispering to one of the hitmen in a friendly and soft manner” [7]. However, his testimony was not considered reliable as he suffered from minor brain damage, which could be used to defute his testimony in court; not to mention the potential personal resentment toward his daughter.

In the last interrogation, Jennifer finally admitted being a part of the crime.

And so, Jennifer was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years for the first-degree murder charge. Additionally, she received another life sentence, to be served concurrently, for the attempted murder of her father. Wong, Mylvaganam, and Crawford were also given the same sentence.

Unlike the other co-accused, Eric Carty was found dead in his cell at a British Columbia prison, according to the police, he could’ve been stabbed to death [14].

Jennifer, now 38, is still spending her time in Grand Valley Institution for Women in Kitchener, Ontario [15], however, it looks like she doesn’t quit fighting for herself. As of May 2023, Jennifer and her three accomplices filed appeals, leading to the Court of Appeal for Ontario (ONCA) ordering new trials for their first-degree murder convictions [16]. However, the ONCA dismissed most of the grounds of appeal. Therefore, while the appeal was partially successful in reducing the charge from first-degree murder to attempted murder, it was not entirely successful in overturning all convictions [17].

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Reference:

[1] https://allthatsinteresting.com/jennifer-pan

[2] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/07/27/tragedy-of-golden-daughters-murder-plot-against-parents-resonates-with-asian-immigrant-children/

[3] https://torontolife.com/city/jennifer-pan-revenge/

[4] https://www.tuko.co.ke/facts-lifehacks/celebrity-biographies/441206-where-jennifer-pan-here-everything-know/

[5] https://yandere.fandom.com/wiki/Jennifer_Pan

[6] https://www.news.com.au/world/north-america/jennifer-pan-canadian-golden-girl-of-deadly-lies-and-murder/news-story/ea41b34df27314929cf03ec074b4b169

[7] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jennifer_Pan

[8] https://nationalpost.com/news/toronto/from-straight-a-student-to-murderer-tragedy-of-golden-daughters-fall-resonates-with-asian-immigrant-children

[9] https://viendongonline.com/article/vu-an-jennifer-pan-vi-sao-con-thuc-hien-am-muu-giet-cha-me-goc-NSk0xMtH.html

[10] https://kenh14.vn/tham-kich-co-gai-goc-viet-thue-sat-thu-giet-hai-cha-me-minh-tai-canada-do-ap-luc-hoc-tap-20161124114332849.chn

[11] https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/man-tells-murder-trial-about-his-daughters-web-of-deceit/article17663656/

[12] https://jenniferpantrial.wordpress.com/2014/08/07/testimony-recap-pan-approached-others-to-murder-parents-part-2-the-reaper/

[13] https://www.thesun.co.uk/living/3056622/girl-24-hired-thugs-kill-parents-dad-exposed-lies-cover-up-failing-grades/

[14] https://www.yorkregion.com/news/eric-carty-linchpin-in-jennifer-pan-murder-plot-dies-in-jail/article_51662791-a55f-5634-96b7-e4af1f1b6d6e.html

[15] https://www.buggedspace.com/jennifer-pan-planned-the-perfect-murder-of-her-parents-but-her-father-came-back-from-coma/

[16] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/jennifer-pan-new-trial-1.6849590

[17] https://www.thecourt.ca/appeal-watch-r-v-pan-a-legally-messy-murder/

Hey, welcome to the next article in “Mystery🔎”! So last time, we’ve discussed about Bitcoin and well, the dark side of it. Let’s continue our discussion with how some people manipulated the security and anonymity of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies for illegal activities. Starting with “Alpha_02” - the notorious kingpin of the Dark web!

Before you read: This article is mainly based on my own observation and research, information from various sources will be used for reference but it might contain holes and shortcomings. Read at your own discretion.

1. The World of Dark Web

Before we delve deep into this special individual, let’s first get to know about his kingdom in the darkest part of the Internet.

How large is the Internet?

Now, let’s just imagine the World Wide Web is actually a huge iceberg. The visible part of the iceberg is called the “Surface web”, consisting of almost everything you see on the Internet: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and so on. Whatever information you are looking for will likely appear in the results of search engines.

Alright, get your scuba gear on, we’re gonna dive a little bit deeper. Deep web is right below the Surface web, the name "Deep web" itself is an umbrella term that refers to parts of the Internet that cannot be fully explored using conventional search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo (this applies for contents that are behind a paywall or require subscription). In fact, most of the content found on the deep web is legitimate and noncriminal, something like email messages, chat messages, private content on social platforms, electronic bank statements, electronic health records (EHR), and other types of content accessible through the Internet, as long as you can find the way.

While most people might assume Deep web is already the deepest and most danergous part of the Internet, but it’s not necessarily true. Though both data in Deep web and Dark web doesn’t always show up in your search results, Deep web and Dark web are not the same.

While the Deep web is more like a grey area in the middle, the Dark web is perhaps a nightmare. Some people argue that the Dark web has anything you want, as long as you have the right sum of money and manage to locate the right people who are willing to do it, from black markets for stolen credit cards and personal information, firearms, malware, prostitution, sex trafficking and drugs to cyber attack services, like access to botnets that can conduct DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) attacks.

Botnets are networks of hijacked computer devices used to carry out various scams and cyberattacks. [1]

A distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack is a malicious attempt to disrupt the normal traffic of a targeted server, service or network by overwhelming the target or its surrounding infrastructure with a flood of Internet traffic. [2]

However, thanks to its anonymous & highly secure nature, the Dark web is not just the home for criminals only. There could be journalists collaborating with whistleblowers to uncover corruption within corporations and government entities; individuals living under oppressive regimes seeking access to independent news outlets censored by conventional web browsers; or simply those who wish to gain access to free academic research and ad-free search engines. But the kingpin we’re looking for is none of them.

2. AlphaBay - The Successor Of “Silk Road”

I hope the title of this part does not confuse you much. But if it does, allow me to explain.

So, privacy and security are what the Dark web offers to its users. Then how will they purchase the services or sensitive information while remaining under the radar? A medium that leaves no trails of who they are, ah yes, cryptocurrencies.

What cryptocurrencies, exactly? A lot, Ethereum, Monero, and the most popular one, Bitcoin, for its ease of use and fast speed. And the platforms for these figures to meet up and trade goods? Plenty.

In 2011, the largest black marketplace called Silk Road was launched in the Dark web, serving its sole purpose of being the home for illicit drug sellers and interested buyers online. For ultimate privacy, the site used various anonymization techniques, including the network called Tor, the only way to access the market.

What is Tor? Tor—short for The Onion Routing project—is an open-source privacy network that enables anonymous web browsing. The worldwide Tor computer network uses secure, encrypted protocols to ensure that users' online privacy is protected. Tor users' digital data and communications are shielded using a layered approach that resembles the nested layers of an onion. [3]

Soon enough, it was not just a haven for the drug dealers anymore as it slowly expanded to offer more items: hacked passwords, illegal data, guns, and other contraband.

The Silk Road only met its end in 2013 when an FBI agent discovered the hidden marketplace and coordinated efforts with the DEA, IRS, and Customs agents to shut down the site. Despite the challenges posed by Tor and Bitcoin in concealing addresses, federal agents successfully tackled the illicit drug market. The mastermind behind the Silk Road, Ross William Ulbricht, was then arrested, along with his laptop used to run the marketplace. [4]

With the Silk Road being raided by the authorities, the online criminals immediately moved to other marketplaces to continue their businesses, but they were soon shut down as well… or just turned into a rug pull (also known as exit scam).

And then, in the midst of chaos, AlphaBay joined the conversation. The platform was reportedly launched in September 2014 and officially opened worldwide on December 22nd, 2014 [5]. Seeing the growing traction with 14,000 new users in the first 90 days of operation, AlphaBay soon turned into the next successor of the Silk Road. The admin of the network was someone who went by the name of “Alpha_02”. When the FBI successfully shut down the site, it was revealed that Alpha_02 was a young man named Alexandre Cazes, and how surprise, he was only 23 years old when he created the largest black market ever known in 2014 and 25 years old when he was arrested.

3. The Hunt And The Hidden King

AlphaBay emerged in late 2014, despite the growing competition between online markets trying to expand illicit trade on the Dark web.

The site proved nothing outstanding compared to others, however, the site's anonymous leader, Alpha_02, appeared to be more savvy than many of the operators of rival markets. Alpha_02 was a prominent figure in the cybercriminal community, specializing in credit card theft and fraud as a "carder." He had gained recognition on the Tor Carding Forum, a dark web platform where hackers exchanged stolen data. Moreover, he even managed to sell his 16-page "University of Carding Guide," which was a document educating newcomers on various illicit techniques, such as how to "social engineer" bank customer service representatives to authorize fraudulent transactions using spoofed phone numbers [6]. He was the idol of idols in the cybercriminal world.

In the first few months of operation, AlphaBay primarily served its main customer segment: hackers. Therefore, most of the listings on the site back then was mostly stolen credit card data and hacked accounts. However, as the traffic grew stronger, plus the other competitors gradually got exposed and raided by the law enforcers, AlphaBay saw itself expanded to a larger scale with the increasing number of vendors (moved from shutdown marketplaces), more lucrative contraband started to appear on the site: ecstasy, marijuana, meth, cocaine, and heroin—all available for shipment via mail. It soon became evident that Alpha_02's ambitious vision was joining the two separate extremes of the Darknet world, cybercrime and drug trade, into one single large as hell marketplace.

With just a blink of an eye, AlphaBay had become the market leader, the dominator of all black markets in the Fall of 2015, just roughly one year later. AlphaBay somehow remained undefeated as Agora, its closest competitor, had shut down operations in August of the same year due to concerns about a potential vulnerability in Tor, which could compromise the location of its servers.

A massive wave of clientele just flocked to AlphaBay, and by December 2015, the marketplace had total users of approximately 200,000 with 40,000 active vendors [8]. This newfound fortune also increased the number of listings on the site, which was reportedly more than 21,000 product listings for drugs, surpassing Silk Road and its peak of ~14,000 listings and making it “10 times the size of Silk Road” [9].

The fact that AlphaBay exposed not a single flaw within its security system gave law enforcement agencies worldwide a hard time. Agents who monitored the site confirmed that they found little to no operational security lapses that could provide a lead on its servers or its founder.

Noted that, just before AlphaBay claimed its top spot on the Leaderboard, Alpha_02 decided to change his username to "ADMIN" and declared that he would no longer contact anyone via private messages outside of AlphaBay's staff. Therefore, almost all responsibilities of managing the site then were passed down to his second-in-command and head of security, known by the moniker “DeSnake”, who was believed to be the Co-Founder of AlphaBay. Below DeSnake were several Moderators whose pseudonyms were “Raspi”; “Disc0”; “Russ0”; “Botah”; “BigMuscles” and “MountainHigh9” (retired). The site also had Scam Watch personnel named “Onionhood” and “Vass”, tasked with monitoring potential phishing attempts against AlphaBay’s users; a PR Manager known as “Trappy” actively searched for broader black markets via public forums like Reddit and the AlphaBay forum.

AlphaBay continued to thrive, reaching +300,000 users and generated around $500,000 per day from the commission of 2-4% for every transaction. For extra privacy, AlphaBay introduced a feature called “Tumbler” in April 2016 which basically “washes” the coins through multiple transactions.

How Tumbler worked: “When you tumble cryptocurrencies, you essentially take bitcoin from several different wallets, combine them, redistribute them into different wallets and then do it again. Essentially, tumblers take a set of bitcoins and return another set of the same value (minus a processing fee) with different addresses and transaction histories, thus effectively “laundering” the coins. [11]

Witnessing the growing empire knowing they could do nothing about it, the law enforcement met their dead end.

You think this is the end? Of course not! When authorities were pinching their eyebrows in confusion wondering how they could tackle the case, a tip appeared. Looks like Alpha_02 had just doxxed himself.

The FBI agents received a tip from an anonymous person in December 2016. Along with the email sent from the mysterious figure was a screenshot of the welcome email sent directly from AlphaBay to new users back in December 2014. And ironically, Alpha_02’s personal email was included in the header information of the email, which was “Pimp_Alex_91@hotmail.com”. (Bruh.)

It looked like “Alex” was his real name and “_91” was when he was born, in 1991. The hunt began.

From this personal email, law enforcement quickly found a LinkedIn profile linked to the same email address, which belonged to a Canadian man named Alexandre Cazes, born on October 19th, 1991.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Alex described his past experience as a Freelance Software Designer and also, ran his own company, a legitimate computer repair business in Canada called EBX Technologies.

Again, this email address was also linked to a public post on an online tech forum on December 3rd, 2008. The post was uploaded under the username “Alpha02” about how to eliminate viruses from a digital picture. At the end of the post was Alex’s full name and his email address. And then, they found several more accounts registered under his name, used to maintain his PayPal account.

And finally, the rabbit hole led law enforcement to the critical piece of evidence exposing where they could find Alex: a Facebook account of a Thai woman, who was believed to be his wife.

3. The Arrest

Alexandre Cazes, 25 years old at the time, was a multi-millionaire. His cash, his digital assets, luxury cars, and properties were estimated to be $23 million. [13]

Alex was living his opulent life in Thailand with multiple properties and companies. From 2014 to 2016, Alex successfully established a minimum of six offshore firms, primarily located in Belize and Hong Kong. These enterprises maintained bank accounts in Switzerland, the Seychelles, and New Zealand, along with virtual offices in Geneva and Hong Kong. With these shell companies, he was able to obtain citizenship of the country in which his companies were based. As a result, he was able to unlawfully purchase a five-bedroom villa in Phuket, valued at $7.6 million with a shell company based in Thailand.

He also had a wife, a Thai woman named Sunisa Thapsuwan. However, Alex wasn’t a man who values “being faithful” as a virtue. He had multiple mistresses that he usually brought to his other properties around Thailand. Apart from managing AlphaBay, he spent hours driving through the streets in his luxury car.

Having located Alex, the authorities knew it was time to put an end to the largest marketplace on the Darknet. The best thing about this arrest is that it wasn’t only the FBI that was gonna tackle Alex down.

Hansa, a direct rival to AlphaBay at that time, was used as a platform to facilitate the sale of illegal drugs, toxic chemicals, malware, counterfeit identification documents, and illegal services. [14] Despite having a hard time locating the servers of Hansa, authorities still managed to find their lair in the Netherlands.

In co-operation with the Dutch National High Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU), FBI and Europol, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), and police forces from 7 countries worldwide, had established “Operation Bayonet”. And the biggest Darknet bust of all time is about to unfold.

Here’s how it goes: the NHTCU and foreign police forces will hijack Hansa Market’s servers, which were located in the Netherlands, Germany, and Lithuania. A honeypot was created; FBI, Europol, and DEA will arrest Alexandre and shut down AlphaBay, luring thousands and thousands of cybercriminals to move to Hansa Market. When law enforcement has gathered enough information on high-value targets and identified them all, Hansa Market will be shut down immediately.

While the Dutch law enforcement watched over the Hansa Market, the FBI approached close to Alex’s property, with the help of Thai policemen. A female Thai officer drove a car, deliberately ramming her car through the front gate of Alex’s home in Phutthamonthon, Thailand [15]. The purpose was to catch him off-guard so that he couldn’t lock his laptop.

And it worked! Being startled by the sound, Alex ran downstairs to check on the commotion. By the time he realized what was actually going on, it was already too late. As he tried to escape the grasp of policemen, FBI agents went upstairs to search for his laptop, they silently prayed that it wasn’t locked, as it would take them forever to decrypt it.

Luckily, Alex was still logged in as the admin of AlphaBay, along with two other files that remained open: AlphaBay.com staff, and his and Ms. Sunisa's assets [16]. They had successfully overthrown the king of the Dark web.

As expected, once AlphaBay was shut down in July 5th, thousands of criminals immediately flocked to other marketplaces, including Hansa. Once the data was fully collected, Hansa Market was taken down as well. And that’s the end for the two largest black markets.

4. Happy Ending?

Just several days after his arrest, Alexandre Cazes was found dead while in custody at Thailand's Narcotics Suppression Bureau headquarters in Laksi district, Bangkok [18]. He reportedly hung himself using a towel. Meanwhile, Alex’s wife, Sunisa, was facing a money laundering charge.

Alexandre himself was a talented young man. It was such a shame how he used his intelligence for such a deed. But if you think AlphaBay has gone all the way down to hell with Alex after his death, you’re painfully wrong.

AlphaBay was reactivated by none other than DeSnake in August 2021. The site is believed to continue its lucrative business in the Darknet, under the new reign of a new king.

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Reference:

[1] https://www.kaspersky.com/resource-center/threats/botnet-attacks

[2] https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/ddos/what-is-a-ddos-attack/#:~:text=A%20distributed%20denial%2Dof%2Dservice%20(DDoS)%20attack%20is,a%20flood%20of%20Internet%20traffic.

[3] https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/tor.asp

[4] https://www.fbi.gov/history/artifacts/ross-william-ulbrichts-laptop

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AlphaBay

[6] https://www.wired.com/story/alphabay-series-part-1-the-shadow/

[7] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/alexandre-cazes-millionaire-cars-property-alphabay-1.4215894

[8] https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/alphabay-takedown

[9] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/20/business/dealbook/alphabay-dark-web-opioids.html

[10] https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/982826/download

[11] https://securityboulevard.com/2020/02/bitcoin-tumbling-leads-to-multicount-indictment/

[12] https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/982821/download

[13] https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/alexandre-cazes-millionaire-cars-property-alphabay-1.4215894

[14] https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/alphabay-largest-online-dark-market-shut-down

[15] https://www.vice.com/en/article/59wwxx/fbi-airs-alexandre-cazes-alphabay-arrest-video

[16] https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/1296395/thailands-richest-couple

[17] https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/alphabay-largest-online-dark-market-shut-down

[18] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AlphaBay#:~:text=12%20July%202017%3A%20Cazes'%20suspected,due%20to%20face%20US%20extradition.

You might have read about it, you might also heard about it, or even if you have absolutely no slightest idea of what it is, you might have already come across the name “Black Dahlia” somewhere. Assuming that you want to learn more details about this case, probably supplementing what you’ve already known about it, Station 101 welcomes you to dive in this curious case of Elizabeth Short!

1. The Morning Walk And The Unfortunate Maiden

If you search the keyword “Black Dahlia”, the first thing you may see is this photo of a fair lady in her 20s. Her name is Elizabeth Short, a 22-year-old Hollywood starlet.

On an ordinary morning of January 15th 1947, a mother named Betty Bersinger and her 3-year-old daughter was going for a walk in the Los Angeles neighborhood when they ran into this gruesome sight that would forever haunt their minds: a mutilated body of a lady sliced in half at her waist, eyes gouged out and completely naked.

Shocked at the sight unfolded before her very eyes, the mother immediately called the police. It was 10:40 a.m, the police received an anonymous call from a woman describing a person in an empty lot on South Norton Avenue between 39th and Coliseum. [1]

The body was placed near the sidewalk and posed in such as way that the mother reportedly thought that it was “a mannequin at first glance.” [2] Despite the horrified crime scene found, there wasn’t a single drop of blood found, which implied that the victim was murdered somewhere else.

The name “Black Dahlia” was dubbed by the press, referencing to her rumored penchant for sheer black clothes and for a movie that came out at that time - “The Blue Dahlia”.

A manhunt began but to no avail.

2. Who Is Elizabeth Short?

Upon discovering the body of Short, the FBI was called to the scene and then her identity was revealed 56 minutes later, using her blurred fingerprints retrieved from the “Soundphoto” (a primitive fax machine used by news services) from Los Angeles.

Elizabeth Short was born on July 29, 1924 in the Hyde Park section of Boston to Phoebe and Cleo Short, she was the third daughter in her siblings of five: Virginia, Dorothea, Elizabeth, Eleanora and Muriel.

The girls were well-educated, they were taught the virtue of being polite, proper, and independent by their mother. The oldest one, Virginia, studied opera and starred at Jordan Hall in Boston. Meanwhile, Dorothea enlisted and trained as a cryptologist during World War II. All the girls were adored and praised by neighbors for their warm and kind-hearted manners.

Cleo Short, the father of the five, was a successful businessman in building miniature golf courses. Unfortunately, his business seemed to go well until the Great Depression hit in 1929. As a great father figure himself, Cleo faked his own death, staging his suicide, and deserted his family in 1930. The burden was then left on Phoebe Short’s shoulders, their mother, to be the breadwinner of the house. Several years later, for some reasons that only God knows why, Cleo contacted Phoebe and asked to reunite, only to get her adamant rejection. [3]

Time was hard, especially for a mother working as a bookkeeper to provide for the family of six, not to mention her sickly third child who was struggling with asthma and bronchitis. Yes, it was Elizabeth. Her health conditions forced her to drop out of school in 1940, and then ended up working as a waitress in Miami, Florida while living with her family and friends there.

Elizabeth later moved to California to live with her father, Cleo, after he sent her some money and invited her to join him there. However, things didn’t turn out well between the two. After arguing with her father, Elizabeth left and, according to the FBI’s database, applied for a job as a clerk at the commissary of the Army’s Camp Cooke, near Santa Barbara when she was in California in January 1943. And several months later, September of 1943, Elizabeth was arrested for underage drinking. Turned out, her photos had appeared in the FBI’s massive collection twice at that time.

3. The Unsolved Crime

According to the documents on this infamous case, the cuts on her body was executed in such a clean and professional way that the law enforcers believe the killer must be someone with excellent medical background or one that possessed great dissection skills of sort - such as a butcher. There were cement bags found nearby filled with blood.

There were no trails of blood left at the scene, implying that the murderer could have washed the wounds carefully before leaving it out here to be exposed. Apart from the severed body, investigators noticed that her face was slit from ear to ear, resembling a Glasgow smile while her breast and thigh muscles had been removed.

Her small and large intestines were found neatly stuffed under her buttocks [4]. Elizabeth was placed on the ground lying face up, deliberately posed with arms stretched over her head and her legs were widely spread. Though her skull had no signs of breakage, bruises due to blunt damage were found on the front and right side of her head, which led to blood clotting.

Another thing to bear in mind about this case is that the mutilation of the body only happened after the victim had died.

a. The Anonymous Call

Throughout the investigation, there were roughly 50 individuals, both men and women, claiming themselves to be the Black Dahlia killer. And of course, they were proved to be false confessions and the real killer was never found.

The police relentlessly conducted multiple interviews with Elizabeth’s relatives and acquaintances, however, they could all manage to provide their alibi. Only 6 days later, January 21st 1947, the city editor of the Los Angeles Examiner named James Richardson received an anonymous call from a person who claimed to be the notorious murder of the case.

“Is this the city editor?”, the nameless voice rang through the phone. “Well, Mr. Richardson, I must congratulate you on what the Examiner has done in the Black Dahlia case.” Then, the unknown man suggested an offer which, according to Richardson, made he “feel shiver up my spine”:

“I’ll send you some of the things she had with her when she, shall we say, disappeared?” [6]

Several days later, the American Post Office found a suspicious package which was reportedly addressed to “The Los Angeles Examiner and other Los Angeles papers”. According to the FBI, inside the package was an letter using cut-out word from newspaper clippings saying “This is Dahlia’s belongings” along with Elizabeth Short’s birth certificate, business cards, photographs, names written on pieces of paper, and an address book. [7] All documents attached in the package was reeked of gasoline as an attempt to remove the fingerprints of the sender.

After contacting every name and numbers written in the address book, the police still found themselves facing a dead end. However, they managed to rule out several prominent suspects, most of who were doctors. Well, some accounts suggest that Short may have been acquainted with several doctors in Los Angeles and that she may have undergone an illegal abortion performed by one of them.

Below are the three suspects that I found linked the most to the case.

b. The Suspects

Dr. Walter Bayley

The reason why this 67-year-old doctor was considered a suspect in this case was due to several crucial details.

Well, first and foremost, he was a surgeon, duh? But not every surgeons based in L.A should be listed as suspects apparently, but Dr. Bayley was only a block away from the crime scene. Besides, this man could not possibly carry a fully intact corpse of a young lady around so it would be reasonable if he felt the need of cutting her in half.

So did he ever meet Elizabeth? According to a Los Angeles Times writer named Larry Harnisch and other sources, Bayley’s daughter was a dear friend of Virginia, Elizabeth’s sister, and possibly, Virginia’s husband as well. So at some point, this family connection was perhaps how Bayley and Elizabeth might come in contact. [8]

But due to the lack of evidence, the police couldn’t confirm this to be true. He had no prior record of violence or crime, which made it harder for the authorities to conclude if Bayley was actually the killer.

Mark Hansen

Hansen’s name was embossed on the address book which was sent to Richardson by the killer. This was later identified to be Hansen’s.

Mark Hansen was an immigrant from Denmark, he moved to the US in 1919. Later, after becoming a renowned businessman and a Hollywood resident in 1940s, he met Elizabeth when she was working as a waitress in the Florentine Gardens, his nightclub. At that time, he was described as a 55-year-old man with graying hair and an accent.

Hansen owned at least 4 dwellings, a theater called Larchmont Theatre, a couple more theaters located in Whittier, one in San Pedro, one in Walnut Park, three in Oxnard and three in downtown Los Angeles, and a night club on Hollywood Boulevard.

And of course, there were rumors of a romantic involvement between them, Hansen reportedly allowed Short to stay at his residence on occasion, and at some point she did quit her job and move in with him, though things didn’t last.

On March 14th 1947, a pile of men’s clothes in tatters was found, including a blue jacket and long pants, a brown and white t-shirt, white jockey shorts, and a brown Moccasin shoe on the sidewalk of Breeze Boulevard near the beach. Inside the shoe, they found a letter, believed to be a suicide note scribbled in pencil, it read: "To whom it may concern: I have waited for the police to capture me for the Black Dahlia killing, but have not. I am too much of a coward to turn myself in, so this is the best way out for me. I couldn't help myself for that, or this. Sorry, Mary." [9]

Comparing the handwriting, the police deemed it was Mark Hansen’s. Upon being interviewed, Hansen denied the note was his, but confirmed the purse and shoes found at the top of a garbage bin in an alley near the crime scene to be Short’s.

Ann Toth, Short’s roommate and friend, told investigators that Hansen’s motive stemmed from Short’s rejection of his sexual advances. However, this claim was later proven to be false, plus his undeniable alibi, leading to Hansen not being charged.

Dr. George Hill Hodel

On January 26th, another letter was sent to the Examiner. However, this one was different from the last, as it was handwritten.

However, there was no one appeared at the police station at the time mentioned in the letter. Instead, what actually showed up was another letter, using cut-out letters again, that said:

The police found themselves nowhere close to solving the crime. There was a time when the public and investigators turned their wheel towards the possibilty of Elizabeth Short being a lesbian, but to no avail.

When everything once again came to a dead end, Ralph Asdel - one of the first investigators to work on the case, realized he might have met the killer somewhere. It was a man driving a blue Ford, he was found parking in a lot near the place where Elizabeth’s body was discovered. However, when the police arrived, Ralph was busy securing the crime scene and couldn’t take note of the vehicle plate.

Turned out, the man in question was George Hill Hodel Jr., another surgeon. Before the murder of Elizabeth, Hodel had been accused of being involved in the death of his personal secretary and also, called to court for allegedly raping his own daughter but was acquitted due to lack of evidence.

This has raised enough red flags, you think. Well, there’s more.

Side note: According to Ralph Asdel, there was another similar case happened 1 month later, after the Black Dahlia. The victim was Jeanne French, naked and left to be exposed on an avenue in Grand View, Los Angeles. On her stomach, there were words written in lipstick that said: “F*ck you BD”. The two crime might be related as “BD” could be “Black Dahlia” in short.

Until one day in 2013, a journalist of the Los Angeles Examiner named James Collins found out about something might linked to the Black Dahlia case.

On 15/9/1981, the policemen in the Philippines found a naked body of a young girl, severed in pieces on Cebu Island, next to a bag of cement filled with blood… Similar details but here’s the interesting part: the Philippines policemen admitted that there was indeed an American doctor came here running a clinic since 1950. However, he had returned to the US in 1990. The man’s name was George Hodel.

The case was reopened but Hodel had died in 1999. Steve Hodel, his son who was working for the FBI at that time, decided to take matter to his hands. In the storage of Cummins Funeral, he found his father’s belongings, one of which was 2 photos of a young woman, who he believed to resemble Elizabeth Short.

The analysis results of these 2 photos, along with the photos of Elizabeth stored in the FBI's archives, show that they are all the same person. Comparing his handwriting to that of the anonymous letter sent on 26/01, there were some similarities found. The house which George Hodel bought in 1945 was only 10km away from the crime scene. However, they couldn’t find trace of his blue Ford to compare to the wheel marks found at the scene.

The case seems to remain unsolved to this day.

Reference:

[1] https://web.archive.org/web/20071012172144/http://blackdahlia.info/modules/news/article.php?storyid=1

[2] https://www.fbi.gov/history/famous-cases/black-dahlia

[3] https://killerswithconscience.wordpress.com/2014/05/20/cleo-short/comment-page-1/

[4] https://cand.com.vn/ho-so-interpol/thuoc-duoc-den-vu-an-mang-bi-an-nhat-nuoc-my-i676472/

[5] https://www.reelreviews.com/shorttakes-56/morbidly-hollywood-no-ad/black-dahlia-death3

[6] https://www.theblackdahliainhollywood.com/?p=2370

[7] https://www.novelsuspects.com/articles/a-brief-history-of-the-black-dahlia/

[8] https://murderdahlia.tumblr.com/post/68112050478/suspect-1-walter-bayley

[9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Dahlia