weird crimes

Read odd news stories and other latest weird crimes news from around the world on Newser.com

Stories 241 - 260 | << Prev   Next >>

Cops: Iowa Man Faked Death, Lured Girlfriend to Home

Sioux City man held the teen, her friend with a BB gun that looked real, say police

(Newser) - The gun looked real enough to the teen and her friend. Police say Zack Lee Smith, a 20-year-old Iowa man, pretending to be his own father, emailed his 18-year-old girlfriend. The email said Smith had died by suicide and told the teen she could pick up her belongings from his...

Woman Infiltrates High School to Find Insta Followers: Cops

Audrey Francisquini, 28, is accused of posing as student, handing out pamphlets in Fla. high school

(Newser) - In 21 Jump Street, undercover cops snuck into a high school to bust up crime. In an incident out of Florida, a woman is accused of sneaking into a high school to commit crimes—and, apparently, to get the word out about her Instagram page. According to an arrest report...

Newborn Taken, Woman Held In Assault With Bear Spray

Police say the attacker met the new mom on Facebook

(Newser) - A Canadian woman is accused of kidnapping a newborn after overpowering a family with bear spray. Police say the accused met the new mom on Facebook and brought over a gift on Friday. She returned to her Ottawa home Sunday afternoon with bear spray, CTV News reports. According to police,...

Cops: Theater 'Patron' Asks for Popcorn, Gets Cocaine Bonus

Police say 'patron' was informant sold drugs hidden in popcorn by movie theater manager in Minn.

(Newser) - When movie patrons ask for a Coke to go with their popcorn, they likely don't mean actual coke (i.e., cocaine). But one such "patron" got exactly that in July at Spotlight Theatres in Mankato, Minn. Per the cops, that supposed customer was actually a police informant who...

Family Behind COVID Cure That's Really Bleach Is Indicted

The FDA warned for years that the 'cure' offered by a 'nonreligious' church was dangerous

(Newser) - A father and three sons accused of selling industrial bleach as a miracle cure face federal charges, reports the AP . Mark Grenon, 62; Jonathan, 34; Joseph, 32; and Jordan, 26, could face life sentences if convicted in connection with a product called Miracle Mineral Solution, which the FDA says...

Man Arrested Over Alleged Birthday Gift Scheme

Takashi Miyagawa is accused of dating 35 women to get birthday gifts out of them

(Newser) - It seems like an awful lot of trouble to go to in order to get $1,000 in gifts. The Telegraph reports a Japanese man has been arrested after allegedly juggling 35 different girlfriends in order to get a year-long stream of birthday presents. Takashi Miyagawa allegedly supplied the women...

Severed Digit, Trail of Blood Lead Police to Suspect

Found at the scene

(Newser) - Authorities in Arizona have arrested a man who police believe severed his finger while slashing his neighbor’s car tires after an argument. Per the AP , Maricopa Police Department spokesman Hal Koozer said Kevin Johnson was arrested and identified as the owner of the finger found on his neighbor'...

Arrests Made in Disappearance of $160K Big Bird

7-foot-tall costume swiped from Aussie circus, then returned with apology note: 'We had a great time'

(Newser) - They may not have known how to get to Sesame Street, but two suspected Aussie thieves apparently knew how to get back to the venue where they allegedly swiped a Big Bird costume. The Guardian reports that the nearly 7-foot-tall, $160,000 outfit, said to be made of ostrich feathers...

Neighbors Help Crack 3-Year-Long Coffee Cup Caper
Driver Tossed Coffee Cups
on Their Lawn for 3 Years
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Apr 24, 2021 7:00 AM CDT

Driver Tossed Coffee Cups on Their Lawn for 3 Years

Police in Lake View, NY, have charged a 76-year-old who apparently held a grudge

(Newser) - The first one must have seemed like a minor annoyance. Somebody tossed an empty coffee cup from McDonald's on the lawn of Edward and Cheryl Patton of Lake View, NY. But as the Buffalo News explains, the minor nuisance became an almost daily occurrence over the next three years....

2am Intruders at Denny's Do Just What You'd Expect

They cooked up some eggs, and then some more

(Newser) - Police in Evansville, Ind., are looking to identify two intruders who ventured into a closed Denny's at 2am Wednesday—just to make eggs. The pair "went into the kitchen and prepared some eggs" around 2am, leaving just a few minutes later, then returned around 3am and "made...

Murder After Chinese Family Needed a Body to Cremate

They wanted to bury their son, but the body swap took a grim turn

(Newser) - In some parts of China, particularly densely populated ones, burials are not permitted. The BBC reports one family's desire to get around this ended in murder. The case is only now coming to light and involves a family living in Shanwei city in Guangdong province who wanted to be...

A Conclusion for Man Who Duped the Rich With Fake Wine

Rudy Kurniawan was deported to his native Indonesia after serving 7 years

(Newser) - A one-time California man who bilked wine collectors out of millions by selling cheaper booze he rebottled in his kitchen has been deported to his native Indonesia, US immigration officials said Tuesday, calling him a "a public safety threat because of his aggravated felony conviction." Rudy Kurniawan , 44,...

Reward Offered in Theft of World's Longest Rabbit

Darius, a continental giant rabbit, was stolen in England over the weekend

(Newser) - Darius the continental giant rabbit has the Guinness World Record for being the longest living rabbit in the world, at more than 4 feet long. He also apparently has some admirers. The massive rabbit was reportedly stolen from his owners' yard in Worcestershire, England, on Saturday. "We are appealing...

Alleged Mobster Covered His Face on YouTube Videos, Forgot His Tattoos

Tats were visible on cooking show of alleged 'Ndrangheta gangster from Italy, hiding in DR

(Newser) - Come for the pasta making, stay for the arrest. Since 2014, Marc Feren Claude Biart, a purported member of Italy's infamous 'Ndrangheta crime syndicate, has been on the run from authorities in his home country after allegedly taking part in a Dutch cocaine trafficking operation. The BBC reports...

Fate of Stolen Rare Pine Is Finally Resolved

3 Wisconsin students stole the tree, then destroyed it amid media uproar

(Newser) - Police who were stumped by the theft of a rare pine tree in November from the University of Wisconsin Arboretum said Friday they have cracked the case, per the AP . UW-Madison police said three 19-year-old university students stole the tree as part of a “pledge” activity for the former...

Cops: Mom in Boxing Glove Attacks Girl at School

Florida's Edith Riddle, 34, charged with child abuse after incident outside school's cafeteria

(Newser) - A 34-year-old Florida woman is facing child abuse charges after allegedly fighting a 12-year-old girl at her daughter's middle school while wearing a boxing glove. Edith Riddle—who initially told officials she was unable to remove the boxing glove because it was superglued to her left wrist, per First...

Headmaster Allegedly Lowered Student Into Pit Latrine

Headmaster Lubeko Mgandela has been charged with child abuse

(Newser) - A school headmaster in South Africa was hit with a child abuse charge Wednesday after allegedly sending an 11-year-old into a feces-filled pit latrine to look for a cell phone earlier this month. The BBC reports the boy at Luthuthu Junior Secondary School was reportedly told he would be paid...

Burglar ID'd Thanks to Bite of Sausage

It only took 9 years

(Newser) - German police say they have solved a nine-year-old burglary after DNA found on a half-eaten piece of sausage matched that of a man detained in France over an unrelated crime, reports the AP . Police in the western town of Schwelm said Thursday that the sausage belonged to the victim, and...

Cops Find Stolen 400lb Slide in Kid's Bedroom

It was taken from local playground in December

(Newser) - A man in Washington state did an impressive job mounting a full-size slide on a child's bunk bed—but he's not going to be winning any Handyman of the Year awards. Police in Pasco, part of the Tri-Cities area in southern Washington, say the 400-pound slide was stolen...

Arrest Over QAnon Carving at 'America's Stonehenge'

Police allege Mark Russo, 51, used power tool on rock configuration

(Newser) - Police have made an arrest following a 15-month-long investigation into vandalism at a group of rock configurations in New Hampshire called "America's Stonehenge." Mark Russo, 51, of Swedesboro, New Jersey, has been charged with one count of felony criminal mischief, accused of defacing the stone in Salem...

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