Natasha Leigh

A woman stabbed her husband 193 times, but was it cold-blooded murder or a battered wife finally defending herself and her children? Susan, Jeff and their children. (children’s faces blocked for privacy.) On January 18th 2003, Susan Wright called her attorney Neal Davis requesting that he come to her home as she urgently needed to talk with him. When he arrived, Susan confessed that on the 13th, she had killed her husband in self-defence and buried his body in the backyard. The events of that night are unclear; most “facts” online are alleged, but the widely shared timeline is as follows. Jeff Wright returned home from boxing class in a cocaine-induced rage. Susan was used to the substance-fueled anger, taking the fury and violence so that it wasn’t focused on the couple’s two young children. That night, however, she could not keep the children safe; 4-year-old Bradley got hit in the face by his father. He then moved his anger back onto his wife, beating and raping Susan while threaten...

The end of a brand new relationship with a wealthy local man caused a woman to drive her two children into a lake since he didn’t want a “ready made” family. October 25th 1994, a frantic mother reported that her car had been hijacked with her two young sons still strapped into the backseat. Michael Daniel Smith, age 3 years, and Alexander Tyler Smith, age 14 months, had been kidnapped. Susan could only tell the police that when she stopped at a traffic light, an African-American man rushed the car, forcing her out before speeding away. Right away, Susan began making public pleas on TV, desperately calling for the safe return of her children. While she was in front of cameras, a nationwide search was taking place to find either the boys, the man who had taken them or the family car. Teams were sent out to the lakes and ponds as a part of the publicised search efforts. Through basic maths, it was determined that the car would’ve only made it around 30 feet from the shoreline. It would be...

A seven-year-old left her home to collect a butterfly she had found days before, not knowing that day would be the last time she saw her family. Janice Pockett July 26th 1973, would be the last day the Pockett family would see the sweet soul of 7-year-old Janice. They had just gotten home from grocery shopping, and like most siblings, Janice and the younger Mary were bickering over something minor. All of their built-up energy needed to be released, so when Janice asked their mother, Kathryn, if she could take her bike out into the neighbourhood, Kathryn took the opportunity gratefully. Janice left the house after grabbing an envelope, dressed in navy blue shorts with an American flag printed on them, a blue and white striped top, and white socks with blue shoes. She planned on taking her metallic green Murray bike to get a dead butterfly she had hidden under a rock a few days prior. This would be the first and only time she had ever left the house entirely by herself. Half an hour wen...

 A two-day-old baby gets kidnapped. Seventeen years later, she would be reunited with her biological parents after she went to school with her biological younger sister. On April 28th 1997, Celeste Nurse went to the Groot Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, to deliver her and her husband’s first daughter via caesarean section. The surgery was a success; both Celeste and Zephany were healthy afterwards. They would be kept in the hospital for a few days to monitor Celeste’s healing stomach. Two days after the birth, Celeste remembered seeing a woman dressed in maroon pants and an oatmeal top comforting Zephany in her bassinet. Celeste recognised the clothing as a nurse’s uniform and fell back to sleep, thinking that her baby was being cared for by a professional. The next time that Celeste woke, it was to a different nurse questioning her repeatedly. “Where is the baby?”. That was how Celeste learnt that her 2-day-old daughter wasn’t safe in her bassinet. The hospital staff c...

The killer who claimed he killed and tortured 80-plus unnamed hitchhikers while he worked in murder-for-hire schemes. Donald Henry Gaskins was born in Florence County, South Carolina, to mother Eulea Parrott and an unnamed father. It’s said that he was the last in a string of “illegitimate” children, but all of their names have been restricted for privacy. As he grew up, Gaskins was small for his age, and school bullies quickly started to call him “Pee Wee”, a nickname which caught on, but he absolutely hated. To put it into perspective, when Gaskins was finished growing, he was around 5ft 4in and weighed about 130 lbs. His height could come from genetics, or it could be from the fact his mother was awfully neglectful of all the children. It is likely from a mixture of both. The neglect was reported to be so severe that Gaskins didn’t know his government name — Donald — until his first appearance in court at around 13. To add to the neglect, Gaskins was also abused by an unnamed male r...