Natasha Leigh

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...

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...

 The Ogress of Reading was active for over thirty years during the Victorian era killing an estimated 400 children. Amelia Hobley was born at some point in 1836 to a master shoemaker and his wife. She was the youngest of five having three older brothers and an older sister. They were all born in a village called Pyle Marsh to the east of Bristol. She had fallen in love with literature and poetry one of few children at the time to learn how to read and write. It would provide a minimal escape from caring for her mother as she battled with Typhus, a battle she would eventually lose in 1848. Typhus fever is a group of diseases caused by bacteria carried and spread by fleas, lice, and harvest mites and in the 1830s was fairly common in close-knit areas such as London. Not only had Amelia witnessed her mother have violent fits and eventually pass, but she would also watch her older sister Sarah Ann die of unknown reasons in 1841. Sarah was only six years old. In 1845 another of Amelia’s...

Cary Stayner claimed he didn’t know why he killed four women, especially after living through his younger brother’s kidnapping and death just a decade before. top row left to right JULIE SUND & CAROLE SUND bottom row left to right JOIE ARMSTRONG & SILVINA PELOSSO Cary Stayner was only eleven when his seven-year-old brother Steven was kidnapped by child molester Kenneth Parnell. The following seven years the family were forced to grieve for the boy’s life without knowing if he was truly gone. Cary said that throughout the time his brother was held captive, he felt neglected by their parents. Cary later claimed that during the time that Steven was kidnapped, he was being molested by his uncle Jesse.  Steven escaped from his hell sadly passing only nine years later. A year after Steven passed, Jesse, the uncle Cary claimed molested him, was murdered. Cary was living with Jesse at that point in time, his life spiralling shortly after the deaths. Cary was reported to have a...

A family of criminals that terrorised villages in Russia despite being a successful family. The ‘Gang of Amazons’ were a family of six that committed robberies and murders as and when they pleased over a span of six years, from 2007 to 2013. They lived in Divnaye, a small village in the centre of Apanasenkovsky District in Stavropol, Russia and they would say they were going on camping trips as a guise for their crimes. The matriarch of the family — Inessa Tarverdiyeva — was a successful nursery school teacher. It’s rumoured that she had a former lover leave her for another woman, he worked as a policeman in the area and it’s said his leaving fueled her extreme hatred of anything law enforcement related. The patriarch of the family — Roman Podkopaev — was a registered dentist. He was also the prime suspect in the suspicious death of Inessa’s first husband, they married shortly after his death. Inessa’s daughters from her first marriage were also involved in the crime spree. Her eldest ...

 Carol Bundy and Doug Clark killed potentially eight people in a short few months, their reason, depraved sexual desires. Carol Bundy was born on August 26th 1942, her parents were both abusive alcoholics, which led to Carol having a very troubled childhood. Her mother died when she was young, most likely around 11. Her father began sexually abusing her at age 11, which is why I believe that was around the point her mother died. The abuse stopped when her father remarried and began putting her in various foster homes. Not much else is known about Carol’s early life, the next confirmed thing in her life was she got married at age 17 to a 56-year-old man. They divorced for unknown reasons and Carol soon remarried. The new marriage was abusive and whilst they were together, Carol had two sons. Those boys were young when Carol escaped the abusive relationship, got her own apartment and started her life again. Her new apartment block was managed by John ‘Jack’ Murray, a married part-tim...

Unsolved serial killers always bring about theories, rumours and the unknown. LISK also brought unnamed victims. Minimal known about the Long Island Serial Killer sometimes referred to as the Gilgo Beach Killer, Craigslist Ripper or Manorville Butcher. It’s believed that they were active for around 20 years between the 1990s to the 2010s. Despite starting in the 90s, LISK was only discovered in 2010 as police were looking for, at the time, missing woman Shannan Gilbert. To start with, we’re going to briefly look at some of the theories around the case before tackling the ten that are officially linked with LISK. There are many more cases that are unofficially linked to LISK. The first theory is that LISK was a regular “John”. A majority of the identified women were known to be sex workers at the time, with some getting offered high pay for a job right before they went missing. If this was the case it’s theorized that LISK only attacked when circumstances were just right; otherwise, the...

The heinous crimes committed over the span of four years are certain to leave a scar on the world. The story of Ted Bundy has been shared to the point it overshadows the people that should be remembered, the victims. Before we go any further there are a few things that I feel should be shared about Bundy from his life. One; during the years 1974 to 1978, Bundy escape police custody multiple times. Two; Bundy was a psychopathic, egotistical, delusional liar that seemed scared to die. Three; Bundy confessed to multiple murders while also saying some crimes he would never speak of as the victims were “too close to home”, “too close to family”, or they were “very young”. With that done, these are the named “confirmed” victims of Ted Bundy. On January 3rd 1974, Karen Sparks (aka Joni Lenz) was at her local laundromat, when she noticed an older man watching her. She said that every time she would look at him he would look away instantly. Brushing off the strange occurrence, Karen went back t...