10 Times the Internet Got It Wrong in a True Crime Case

Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re looking at some of the worst examples of amateur online detectives accusing the wrong person.

Bondi Junction Killer

In April 2024, a suburban Sydney shopping center fell victim to a terrifying attack. The culprit, Joel Cauchi, stabbed multiple people, killing six. It ended when he was shot by a police inspector who he tried to attack. Afterwards, the internet got involved—and incorrectly identified Ben Cohen, a university student years younger than the actual criminal. It went so far that even a local news network falsely named Cohen. Now, he’s trying to take legal action against those responsible for the false claims. Meanwhile, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner is trying to get Elon Musk’s X to remove footage of the stabbing, as part of the country’s Online Safety Act.

2015 Bangkok Incident

In August 2015, a violent explosion went off at a shrine in Bangkok. It resulted in 20 deaths and 125 injuries. Police arrested two suspects, both Uyghurs from Xinjiang, China. One confessed to the crime, but retracted it later, claiming he only confessed because of violent police mistreatment. So, the real culprit is likely still out there. This motivated the internet to get involved, which quickly started to think that Sunny Burns, an Australian actor and model, was responsible. After hearing the rumors, Burns went to the local police to proclaim his innocence, and they believed him. Burns later said online that he still loves Thailand.

Riverside California Fight

In August 2017, a fight broke out between two men in Riverside, California. Adam Valles’s attempt to break it up turned out to be fatal. Police released images of the two men responsible, asking the public to speak up if they recognized them. This caused the internet to point the finger at two separate men, who weren’t at all responsible. One was Tyler Dancy-Washington, whose details were leaked on social media. This led to him receiving incredibly brutal messages, some threatening his life. Police had to delete comments mentioning the innocent man from their social media. And they also released a post absolving him of blame.

Michael Brown Shooting

18-year-old Michael Brown was fatally shot in St. Louis County, Missouri, in 2014. Police officer Darren Wilson was found to be the culprit. But before that discovery, the hacker group Anonymous got involved. They did an amateur investigation, which yielded a wildly incorrect answer. Anonymous concluded that a man named Bryan Willman was at fault, even though he wasn’t even a police officer for the correct department. Willman became so terrified by all the threats, the police had to provide protection. Anonymous’s defense was that they didn’t fully dox him, only releasing his name and photo—but they should’ve foreseen the internet’s response.

University of Idaho Deaths

In November 2022, four students died from knife wounds in Moscow, Idaho. The current suspect is Bryan Christopher Kohberger, who is now at risk of receiving the death penalty for his crime. Before he was the main suspect, a TikTok psychic named Ashley Guillard accused University of Idaho history professor Rebecca Scofield. But her theory was proven wildly incorrect, and police determined Scofield was not a suspect. Still, that didn’t stop the TikToker from releasing fairly intense videos targeted at Scofield, while seeming to remain entirely convinced her theory was correct. The false accusations resulted in a defamation trial that Scofield ultimately won.

Sandy Hook Tragedy

One of the worst school shootings in American history occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012. Adam Lanza killed 26 people, 20 of whom were children, and 6 adult staff members. Lanza then took his own life. Earlier that day, he shot and killed his mother, too. On the perpetrator's body, police found identification for his brother, Ryan. Soon after it became public, his Facebook images were broadcast on news stations across the country. This led to tons of comments on his social media, saying horrible things about Ryan. What’s baffling is the fact that the shooter was confirmed dead. Therefore, all the comments were aimed at someone they thought had died. Ryan Lanza declared his innocence online.

Charlottesville Car Attack

In 2017, a white supremacist named James Alex Fields Jr. drove his car into peaceful protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia. They were anti-protesters, there to oppose the Unite the Right rally. Shortly after, a right-wing news website, GotNews, claimed Jerome Vangheluwe was responsible. According to them, he was “anti-Trump” and generally left-wing. They found him by looking into the vehicle’s license plate, which revealed Vangheluwe’s son had owned the car in 2011. Turned out, he sold it long before the attack happened. In response, Vangheluwe sued GotNews, which had to shut down as a result.

Maryland Cyclist

Following the death of George Floyd in 2020, there was a huge international movement bringing attention to police brutality—particularly the Black Lives Matter movement, which garnered significant opposition. One opponent was a bicyclist in Maryland named Anthony Brennan, who assaulted three people peacefully hanging up flyers for Black Lives Matter. The incident was all recorded by one victim, and after being uploaded online, it almost immediately went viral. The internet wrongly named Peter Weinberg as the culprit, which led to his home address getting publicly released. On the bright side, Weinberg received actual apologies from online abusers, rather than doubling down.

2017 Westminster Attack

Outside the Houses of Parliament in 2017, Khalid Masood injured over 50 people by driving his car along the sidewalk. This ended with him being fatally shot by a police officer. Afterwards, a man named Abu Izzadeen was initially identified as the criminal. This accusation made its way onto national news channels, spurred on by internet outrage. Even Donald Trump Jr. retweeted a claim that Izzadeen was responsible. Turns out, Izzadeen had a perfect alibi; he was already in prison, making it impossible for him to be there. Channel 4 News was the primary accuser. After realizing its mistake, it broadcast an apology for the false accusation.

The Boston Marathon Incident

In 2013, the Boston Marathon fell victim to two horrifying explosions. Three people were killed and hundreds more injured. Two brothers, Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, were responsible. But before they were apprehended, Redditors awfully blamed a man named Sunil Tripathi. He’d been missing for almost a month, and his family had been using social media to try to find him. Tripathi became target number one for both the internet and the media. It turned out, he had died weeks before the attack, taking his own life on account of his severe depression.

Do you think something should be done to stop false accusations online? Let us know in the comments section!