On March 2, 1989, Ramon Laso’s car fell off a 60 foot cliff while he was driving with his 6 year old son. The car burst into flames and the boy didn’t make it, but Ramon was unharmed, despite claims that he was passed out for 15 minutes. He received a large insurance settlement, which he used to open a video rental store. His wife was mysteriously found decapitated by a train 9 months earlier, but this was ruled as a suicide. Since Ramon was living life normally as if his wife and son weren’t dead, his father in law became suspicious and hired a private investigator to find evidence of murder, and he did. Ramon was found guilty in 1993 and was sentenced to 56 years, but by 2001, he was paroled already.

Earl Bradley was a pediatrician that worked in Northeast Philadelphia in the 80’s, as he was successful enough to open his own practice. But his career choice wasn’t because of a genuine desire to help, it was to gain access to victims for his pedophilic urges. In the mid 90s, he was accused twice of sexual misconduct towards his young patients, so he abruptly closed his practice and moved to Lewes, Delaware. He worked at Beebe Medical Center, where more allegations continued to mount. He then opened another private practice, Baybees Pediatrics in Milford, where he masqueraded as a friendly member of the community. But behind this mask, he continued to torment and abuse young children, with his youngest victim being just 3 months old. Despite numerous reports against him, Earl remained free. In 2009, 15 years after the first complaint, he was finally apprehended after yet another incident of him touching a young girl inappropriately. When police raided his practice, they found 13 hours of videotapes, displaying sadistic crimes that lead many to believe that he was the worst child predator in American history, but how did he escape justice for so long?

Africa is a continent rich with wildlife, culture and a history of perseverance. But unfortunately, their abundance of natural resources made them a target for European colonists looking to claim this land, but there were no arranged sales, the land was just taken simply because they felt they were entitled to it. Since many of these African countries were already under European control, these institutions felt like they could do whatever they wanted to the indigenous people. Most know 20th century Germany for their actions while a certain man with a mustache was in charge, but even before he rose to power, the German government had already subjugated an entire group of people, but this was in the small country of Namibia. German leadership was desperate to turn the Herero people into a subservient class,stealing all their possessions, enacting unfair judicial systems that targeted them and just outright killing them. When the Herero people chose to rise up, the Germans claimed to be the victims, calling for the extermination of the entire tribe. It seemed like killing 75,000 people wasn’t enough, as even after a peace agreement was reached, the remaining survivors were put into concentration camps. This was only the tip of the iceberg when talking about an atrocity that seems to be swept under the rug.

As you probably know, child protective service agencies always do a great job of making sure that children are safe. That’s why when LaShawn Ragland reported that his friend Banita Jacks was starving her children, along with another report from a social worker that she was holding them hostage, CPS did absolutely nothing about it. After the death of her boyfriend in 2007, Banita went completely off the rails, isolating herself and her kids, as nobody was able to get in contact with them. Even as the children were pulled from school, nobody came to check on them. Banita’s mother hadn’t heard from her granddaughters in over 2 years, but on January 7, 2008, she found out what happened to them, as this case brought major legislation changes in the nation’s capital.

Gary Evans grew up in a horrible situation, as his father frequently abused him and his siblings. At the age of eight, he became interested in expensive things. So in turn, he started stealing things and pawning them off.. This habit continued all through his early 20s, as a combination of the deaths of both of his parents and his mental health issues, he went on a spree of robbery and murder, as his victims were his close friends whom he had committed crimes with. He was extremely paranoid, feeling like someone was always out to get him, so when these men gave him the slightest suspicion, he shot and dismembered them. When he was finally caught, he used a secret key to break out of his cuffs and escape from the police van, and Gary made sure he wouldn’t face justice for his crimes.

Joseph Taborsky seemed to be on a path of negativity from the beginning, as at only 5 years old, he was stealing jewelry from a neighbor’s house to give to his mother. At 7 years old, he was stealing bikes and committing several burglaries. By the time he was an adult, he met Arthur Culombe, a mentally challenged man who collected guns, and Joseph saw an opportunity and a gullible accomplice. But he would be in jail for murder during a robbery committed with his brother not long after, being sentenced to death. However, due to his brother’s shaky confession being the only evidence against him , Joseph’s charges were dropped and he was released from prison 5 years later. Now emboldened by his newfound freedom, he reconnected with Arthur and the pair would leave an impact on the state of Connecticut that was still felt 50 years later.

Lam Kor-Wan was someone who always struggled socially. He didn’t have a great relationship with his father, plus he could barely make friends at school, let alone talk to women. So when his dad kicked him out after an argument, he had nothing but time to himself, so his perverted sexual urges only increased. It started with him hoarding porn magazines, then it progressed to peeping at his younger sister in the bathroom. Lam then became a taxi driver in 1978, also joining a photography club. He usually drove at night as it suited his personality, but with the camera, he started taking explicit pictures of multiple women without their consent, leading to him gaining a negative reputation in the community. Both of these interests would combine into one of the most notorious killing sprees in the history of Hong Kong.

Alexander Pearce was a petty thief from Ireland that had used all of his chances with the legal system. For his continued crimes, he was sent thousands of miles away to work at a penal colony in what is now Tasmania. In 1822, he and 7 other inmates escaped and set off for the wilderness, but the land was extremely treacherous, barren of anything but vegetation for hundreds of miles. This getaway was poorly planned as after 15 days, the men had run through their food rations and they were starving, and with no other options, they resorted to cannibalism to survive. When Alexander was the only one left out of the 8 escapees, authorities didn’t believe his story about the others being eaten, feeling like he was still protecting his partners in crime. Alexander came to the colony on a forgery charge, but he left it hanging from the gallows, as his daring escape would go down in the stuff of legends.

Bruce Lindahl was a sexual predator who seemed to have friends in law enforcement, so he seemed to avoid any serious jail time despite his increasingly questionable behavior. On the most egregious occasion, he was stopped by police with an unconscious woman in the passenger, bleeding from a knife wound to her head. He told them he was taking her to the hospital, even though he was going in the wrong direction. Bruce escaped this situation with no charges being filed against him. It was only a matter of time before he escalated to murder, but justice would be served in the most ironic way.

John Martin Scripps got his love of traveling from his father, as the pair went everywhere together. But after his father committed suicide when he was 9, John never really got over it, with his grades slipping to the point where he dropped out of school at just 15 years old. He then resorted to a life of crime, resorting to theft and drug possession to earn money. When he was caught, he would go on home release, abscond the terms, then be arrested shortly afterwards. After his most recent jail stint, he came up with a new way of earning money, a much more evil way.

Jaime Osuna came from an extremely abusive household, as his stepfather frequently beat him, even pushing him out of a moving car while he was strapped to his car seat. This constant state of torment caused him to lash out as by 15, he was sentenced to 4 years in prison for stabbing someone at school. When he was released, he covered his face in numerous tattoos, also getting involved with gangs, and his crimes continued. He went back to prison for stabbing another person, but after his release this time, he got married and had a child. But in 2011, his violent tendencies went to a new level as he committed his first murder. For this crime, he was sentenced to life without parole as he laughed at his victim’s grieving family in the courtroom. But the highly monitored environment of prison couldn’t stop him from committing another heinous offense.