Book ‘Em, Boys — Some of the Most Outrageous True Crime Stories of 2019

Jeffrey Epstein

In May 2006, Epstein was charged with multiple counts of unlawful sex acts with a minor. In June 2008, he appeared in court to plead guilty on two lesser counts and was sentenced to 18 months in jail, and he was eventually released from jail after serving just 13 months of his sentence.

But Epstein was arrested and indicted again in July 2019, for sex trafficking of underage girls. In late July, he was placed on suicide watch after correctional staff suspected he had attempted suicide, but he was taken off of it just days later. He was found dead in his cell on August 10, 2019, and while his death was officially ruled a suicide, some believe it was murder.

Heidi Broussard

Heidi Broussard of Austin, Texas, went missing on December 12, 2019, ABC News reported. Her infant daughter, Margot Carey, also disappeared. Sadly, Broussard’s body was found strangled in a home near Houston just days later on December 19. Miraculously, her baby was found alive in the same house and she was reunited with her father, Shane Carey, on Christmas Eve.

Broussard’s friend Magen Fieramusca was charged with kidnapping and murder charges are pending as investigators work to figure out if Fieramusca kidnapped Broussard and Margot to keep the baby as her own.

Tessa Majors

Barnard College freshman Tessa Majors was walking in Manhattan’s Morningside Park near her college on December 11 when she was attacked, CNN reported. Her attackers allegedly intended to rob her and she was stabbed multiple times in the altercation and died from her wounds.

Police arrested a 13-year-old male and charged him with murder and robbery. A second, 14-year-old suspect, was later arrested. A second male of the same age was later found, and the NYPD announced that they had located that third suspect via Twitter on December 26. The investigation is ongoing.

Valerie Ely

Actor Ron Ely‘s wife Valerie Lundeen Ely was fatally stabbed inside his Santa Barbara home on October 16. The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office announced it was none other than Valerie and Ron’s son, Cameron Ely, who committed the crime. He was later shot and killed by deputies.

James and Denise Closs, Jayme Closs

James and Denise Closs were shot and killed on October 15, 2018, and their daughter, Jayme Closs, was kidnapped, CNN reported. Jake Patterson held her captive in his cabin several miles north of the home her parents were murdered in until January 10, 2019.

It was then that the teenage girl managed to escape and get help, leading to Patterson’s arrest. He was sentenced on May 24, 2019, to life in prison without parole after receiving one life sentence each for the murders and a 40-year sentence for Jayme’s kidnapping.

The Turpin Case

Although much of the Turpin case took place in 2018, the sad saga ended in 2019.

David and Louise Turpin were arrested in January 2018, after their 17-year-old daughter escaped their California home and called 911 to report that her parents abused their children and left some of them chained up, ABC News reported.

Their abuse, including extreme malnutrition, shocked the country, and in April 2019, the couple was sentenced to 25 years to life.

Aniah Haley Blanchard

Aniah Haley Blanchard, the stepdaughter of the UFC fighter Walt Harris, went missing on October 24. On November 25, her remains were discovered in Alabama, NBC News reported.

Three men were arrested in connection with her disappearance — David Johnson Jr. was charged with hindering prosecution, while Ibraheem Yazeed and Antwain Fisher were each charged with first-degree kidnapping, WVTM-13 reported. In December, Yazeed’s charges were upgraded from first-degree kidnapping to capital murder, CNN reported.

Hollywood Ripper

This is another case that began long before 2019 but came to a close this year. In August, a Los Angles jury found Michael Gargiulo guilty of two counts of murder and one of attempted murder after prosecutors said he murdered three young women over several years — including Ashton Kutcher‘s former girlfriend, the Washington Post reported.

22-year-old Ashley Ellerin was dating Kutcher when she was killed. In February 2001, Kutcher went to her home to pick her up for a Grammy Awards after-party, but she never came to the door. A friend found Ellerin’s body the next day. Kutcher even testified in the case against Gargiulo.

Tevin Biles-Thomas

Tevin Biles-Thomas, the biological brother of Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles, was hit with multiple charges in 2019 for a shooting in Ohio on New Year’s Eve, USA Today reported. He was accused of murder, voluntary manslaughter, felonious assault and perjury from the shooting that left three people dead and two more injured.

The medalist and Biles-Thomas did not grow up together, because they were placed in separate homes as children. Biles and her younger sister were eventually taken in by their maternal grandfather and his wife.

Jennifer Dulos

Jennifer Dulos went missing on May 24, 2019. She and her husband, Fotis Dulos, were going through a divorce when she disappeared, NBC Connecticut reported.

Fotis was arrested and charged with tampering with evidence and hindering prosecution in connection with her disappearance. He was not charged with murder, but his arrest warrant stated police “believed” Fotis was “lying in wait” at Jennifer’s home and investigators “believe” he later drove away in her car, which was carrying her body, Radar Online reported.

As of December 26, Fotis is trying to have his divorce case dismissed and to regain custody of his five children.

Savannah Spurlock

Savannah Spurlock disappeared after leaving The Other Bar in Lexington, Kentucky on January 4, the International Business Times reported. She was seen leaving with three men and was not seen for months.

Sadly, Spurlock’s body was recovered in an “unnatural position” in a shallow grave on property belonging to family members of suspect David Sparks on July 10. He was arrested the following day and charged with tampering with physical evidence and for abuse of a corpse. Sparks was later charged in her death by a grand jury in August.

Sparks is scheduled for trial in January 2020.

Elkmont, Alabama Murders

A 14-year-old boy allegedly confessed to fatally shooting five members of his family in Elkmont, Alabama in September 2019.

The boy allegedly killed his father, John Sisk — pictured here — and his stepmother, Mary Sisk, along with the couple’s three younger children — Kane, 6, Rorrie, 5 and 6-month-old Colson. The boy allegedly shot them all in the head as they slept.

Hacienda Nursing Home/Nathan Sutherland Case

Nathan Sutherland was arrested in January after he was suspected of assaulting and impregnating an incapacitated woman who gave birth at a long-term care facility, Hacienda HealthCare, NPR reported.

The woman had been incapacitated for years when she gave birth to a boy on December 29, and the birth began an investigation. Shockingly, employees of the facility realized she was pregnant only after she went into labor.

Ultimately, Sunderland’s DNA sample matched the baby. He was previously a nurse at the facility and was one of the individuals responsible for the woman’s care. He pleaded not guilty in February 2019.

Felicity Huffman/Lori Loughlin/College Admissions Scandal

Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman were indicted on March 12, on charges related to a nationwide college admissions cheating scam. Huffman pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud in connection with the scandal, which involved bribing college entrance exam administrators, and was sentenced to 14 days in prison.

Loughlin, on the other hand, has pleaded not guilty to the charges against her. We may be hearing more about this case in 2020 as well.

Jussie Smollett

Last but not least, Smollett’s case. Although the charges were dropped against the actor for allegedly filing a false police report and staging an assault he reported to Chicago police in January, his reputation has been tarnished by the case.

Will we see the actor’s career redeemed in 2020? Tell us in the comments below.