The invention of "catfishing," where people pretend to be other people online, has spurred more than just a popular reality show. The phenomenon makes it easy for deranged individuals to lure unsuspecting victims while hiding behind a fake, misleading profile. These catfish crimes prove how a tiny white lie can have tragic and disastrous results and result in murder. And according to Nev Schulman, host of Catfish, the odd online trend is the go-to outlet for bullies and people with violent tendencies. "I think people have this sense that on the Internet, you're not accountable for what you do," he told Teen Vogue. "There's no reason that people can't find happiness and can't be supportive of each other. If you need to go online and hurt someone's feelings, it's because you're trying to divert and pass along unhappiness." From complex love triangles to just outright insanity, these catfish stories that have ended tragically prove that you should be careful with who you trust on the Internet.
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These Crazy Catfish Murder Stories Prove You Can’t Trust People Over the Internet
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ABC
A shut-in creates a fake profile to get back at cyberbullies.
Because of her health issues and her strict parents, Jenelle Potter was a shut-in with zero social life. As a result of her upbringing, she lived most of her life on social media where she would make fake profiles and be whoever she wanted to be. However, her life took a strange turn once she started making some real-life friends.
One of them, Billy Payne, she had a crush on, but Billy's wife, Billie Jean Hayworth, was her arch nemesis. After Jenelle mysteriously started getting rude comments left on her Facebook wall, which she suspected were from Billie, she unfriended the couple. Jenelle would later tell 20/20 that Billie was "jealous of her looks." But as the harassment continued, Jenelle decided to go to Plan B.
She told her parents of a CIA agent named "Chris" who was protecting her from the cyberbullies. "Chris" told her parents all the horrible things Billy and Billie were doing to Jenelle. Fed up, Jenelle's father, with encouragement from "Chris," shot and killed both Billy and Billie.
However, once police searched the Potters' home and confiscated their computers, they found out that "Chris" was actually Jenelle. All three were sentenced to life in prison, although Jenelle still maintains that "Chris" was real. Police also couldn't find any evidence of the "harassment" Jenelle claimed came from Billy and Billie.
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ABC, Getty Images
A 40-year-old starts an online romance with a teenager named "talhotblond."
When Thomas Montgomery started chatting with a teenage girl he met in a chatroom named "Talhotblond," he lied and told her he was 18 instead of 47. Together, the two had a cyber affair that lasted until Thomas' wife found out. Realizing he could no longer pursue the relationship anymore, Thomas came clean to Talhotblond about his real age. Horrified, the teen turned her attention to Thomas' 22-year-old co-worker, Brian Barrett. As the two grew closer, Thomas became violently jealous.
In 2006, as Brian sat in his car, Thomas shot him with a sniper rifle. As investigators arrived at the scene and started questioning co-workers, they learned about the love triangle. Worried about Talhotblond's safety, police arrived at her home where they found not a teenager, but Mary Shiele, a middle-aged mom. It turned out Mary had been pretending to be her teenage daughter and was catfishing the two men all along.
Thomas is currently serving a 20-year sentence, and, although Mary was never convicted of anything, her daughter and husband no longer speak to her.
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Getty Images
A woman catfishes her niece only to uncover a murder plot.
Patra Williams was fed up with her 19-year-old niece, Marissa Williams, being irresponsible over the Internet. The teen would often invite strangers she met online to the house for sex and booze. After Marissa continued ignoring her threats to stop, Patra decided to create a fake Facebook profile as "Tre 'Topdog' Ellis" to monitor her niece and teach her a lesson.
After friending her niece, the two began talking regularly. In their talks, Marissa revealed that she hated her aunt and wanted to get out of Alabama. Things took a darker turn when the niece revealed that she wanted Tre to kidnap her and kill her aunt, her aunt's fiancé, and even the family dog. Scared, Patra called 911 and Marissa was arrested for solicitation to murder. However, during her probation, she ran away and is now a fugitive. Although this story didn't end in murder, it came dangerously close.
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Getty Images
A man pretends to be a British rock star to lure an American teen to his house.
_ Warning: This story contains graphic details._
Back in 2011, David Russell pretended to be rocker Oliver Sykes, lead singer in the metal band Bring Me The Horizon. With his fake Facebook profile, he caught the attention of teenager Maricar Benedicto, who flew from America to meet him. Once they met at the train station, he took her to the forest where he blindfolded her and slit her throat.
Maricar, miraculously, managed to run away and escape. When David was arrested and put on trial, prosecutors said his computer search history was full of Google searches on "how to kill someone with your bare hands." He's currently serving a life sentence in prison. This is another story that thankfully didn't end in murder, but it's still pretty horrifying.
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Getty Images
A man creates a fake Facebook profile to lure a man to his death.
Manuel Guzman was just 17 years old when he started making fake Facebook profiles. He then used the fake accounts to lure men to parks where he would rob them for drug money. Eddie Leal, a 23-year-old boxer, fell for one of the fake accounts after he fell in love with a beautiful woman named "Rebecca." After building a connection online, Eddie was lured to a park where he expected to meet "Rebecca" for the first time. But when he got there, Manuel jumped out instead. He opened fire on the car, killing Eddie instantly.
During Manuel's trial, the prosecution called it a "thrill kill" and "one of the most disturbing trials this court has had to preside over." While on the stand, Manuel confessed to not really knowing why he decided to kill Eddie instead of just robbing him like the others. "For the first time, someone came. I looked in the mirror crying while holding a gun and told myself, 'You don’t have to do this,'" Manuel said. "That’s the night they said I killed Eddie. All I remember is waking up in my bed. I was scared."
He's currently serving life in prison. Because he committed the crime as a minor, he managed to escape the death penalty.
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Getty Images
A teenager creates fake Facebook friends to gain his victims' trust.
Tony Bushby was only 19 when he became obsessed with fellow student Catherine Wynter. He created a series of fake Facebook profiles to create the illusion of having a circle of friends. He then used these profiles to communicate with Catherine, fooling her into thinking the friends were real.
Once he had gained her trust and became her boyfriend, he showed up to her house one day and stabbed her to death. Horrifyingly, he committed the crime while Catherine was babysitting her niece and nephew. "What in his eyes was a game to him, grooming her, controlling her," Catherine's mother tearfully testified in court. " He is evil and we will never forgive him." Tony is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence.
