20 Dumbest Mistakes That Got Killers Caught

20 Dumbest Mistakes That Got Killers Caught

Welcome to WatchMojoUK, and today we’re discussing the most foolish mistakes that led to a murderer’s capture.

Stephen McCullagh

In December 2022, Natalie McNally was fatally stabbed by her boyfriend, Stephen McCullagh. To try to convince people he wasn’t responsible, he pre-recorded a live stream and then played it while committing the crime. The stream was morbidly titled “Violent Night”, which featured him killing women in “Grand Theft Auto.” One mission he played was even called “Waste the Wife.” Detectives figured out his plot, using a combination of forensic analysis of his computer, plus CCTV footage of him on the night, and witness statements. After finding out it was pre-recorded, he changed his alibi, saying he was at home drinking and someone was trying to frame him. They didn’t buy it, and he was found guilty.

Levi Bellfield

While we have incredibly sophisticated forensic analysis techniques, sometimes killers are so careful they’re useless. Between 2002 and 2004, Levi Bellfield murdered at least 3 people. One was Amélie Delagrange, but they found no strong evidence at the crime scene. That was until they found images of the killer’s white van on a bus’s CCTV footage. It was low quality, though, so they couldn’t read the license plate, leaving them with over 26,000 possible vans to inspect. Eventually, they stumbled upon someone who sold a similar van to an unnamed man who had been constantly getting parking tickets. It turned out to be Bellfield, who was arrested and found guilty in 2008. If he had parked properly, he might still be active today.

Donald Neilson

Also known as “The Black Panther”, our next criminal robbed three post offices in the early 70s. In 1975, he also tried to kidnap and ransom a teenage girl, but this plot failed, and the girl sadly died. A few months later, two police officers spotted Neilson with a holdall bag. They found this suspicious, approached him, and then he decided to pull out a shotgun and basically took them hostage. This failed, and he was managed to be restrained after intervention from bystanders. Within a year, he was convicted and given a life sentence, then remained in prison until he died in 2011. If he’d complied with the police rather than pulling a gun on them, he may have remained free for longer.

Mark Bridger

In 2012, a Welsh child named April Jones was horrifically murdered by Mark Bridger. Within a day of her being reported missing, the culprit was arrested as he owned a vehicle that an eyewitness spotted Jones enter. They found Jones’ blood and bone fragments in Bridger’s cottage, and to explain this, Bridger said he’d run Jones over by accident. Then, he claimed to have drunkenly disposed of her body. It’s pretty confusing what he thought he’d achieve with this defence, as it contradicted eyewitness statements, but it still implicated him. He was found guilty, given a life sentence, then, soon after the verdict, he told a prison chaplain where he’d actually left the body.

Peter Tobin

This Scottish serial killer was first imprisoned for a decade after a despicable attack on two teenage girls in 1993. After getting out, he murdered again, which prompted police to re-evaluate older cases. This led them to investigate an old house of his in Southsea, which turned out to contain the remains of one of his earliest victims. There was also a dagger with his DNA on it, and loads more evidence to implicate him. If he’d been more careful about hiding these things, it could have taken even longer to capture him. Tobin was given a life sentence and died in prison in 2022.

Luke Mitchell

In 2003, teenager Jodie Jones was dreadfully stabbed to death in Dalkeith by Luke Mitchell, her boyfriend. After she vanished, a search party was organised, and Mitchell joined. Almost instantly, he went straight to the body and claimed to have only then discovered it. Everyone else was distressed, but he was suspiciously nonchalant. Additionally, a tree with the couple’s initials carved into it was found nearby. He became the primary suspect and was found guilty in 2005, earning himself a life sentence in prison. Despite the result, Mitchell still claims he’s innocent, which has unfortunately led to the victims’ families being targets of a lot of cruelty, mainly from his supporters.

Anthony Hardy

Also known as the Camden Ripper, this killer wreaked havoc upon London in the early 2000s. He was infamous for dismembering his victims, which ultimately led to his capture. In December 2002, these remains were found dumped in a bin. They were discovered tied up in a bin bag by a homeless person. Leaving remains in a public bin has to be one of the least discreet ways to dispose of a body, which almost always leads to an arrest. A manhunt began, and it concluded after a week when he was found hiding behind a bin after collecting his insulin. In court, he was found guilty of 3 murders, but some believe he could’ve been responsible for way more.

Wayne Couzens

One of the most publicized cases from the 2020s so far was the murder of Sarah Everard. Police constable Wayne Couzens kidnapped her in London, then drove her to Kent, where he brutally ended her life. He was caught a few days later, and the reason they got him was because of his distinctive rental car. It was captured twice on CCTV, and the pair were both visible alongside the number plate. Couzens also put little effort into covering his trail when disposing of her body, resulting in his arrest and then being given a life sentence for the crime.

Colin Pitchfork

Our next entry was historically significant for being the first person convicted using DNA profiling. Pitchfork murdered at least two girls in Leicestershire during the 80s. The crimes led police to take DNA samples from all men in the area. If you declined, it aroused suspicion. So, Pitchfork decided instead to ask a coworker to give blood in his name, then paid him £200. Someone heard the coworker bragging about it in the pub, and it came out that he was the second person Pitchfork asked. It was reported to the authorities, who promptly arrested him, and he admitted to his crimes soon after.

Jeremy Bamber

The White House Farm Murders were an especially dire chapter of Essex history. An entire family was slaughtered in their home, with only one surviving member, their adopted son, Jeremy Bamber. At first, detectives thought the culprit was Sheila, one of the deceased, which Jeremy hoped would let him remain free. A massive mistake he made was calling the Chelmsford police station to report the crime, rather than 999. He also claimed his dad just rang him, worried about Sheila with a gun, a fact that was heavily disputed, mainly because his father, who had been shot multiple times, wouldn’t have been able to ring him. Bamber still insists he’s innocent, but he was found guilty and given a life sentence.

John Haigh

You may know him better as the Acid Bath Murderer, a title that explains how he disposed of his victims’ bodies. After killing at least 6 people between 1944 and 49, with his last victim being a wealthy widow. Haigh believed that if they couldn’t find a body, he couldn't be charged. Police became suspicious of him on account of his prior criminal record, so they searched his property and arrested him. When being interrogated, he decided to confess to 9 murders, because he thought the truth was “too fantastic to believe.” It turned out it wasn’t, and alongside this, pathologists found traces of dissolved remains outside his property, including gallstones. It led to him getting the death penalty in 1949.

Ian Huntley

In 2002, two young girls lost their lives after school caretaker Ian Huntley kidnapped them. Huntley was given a two-term life sentence in 2003, but nearly got away with it since his partner gave a false alibi. Police became suspicious of him because he was weirdly interested in the case. He kept asking them how it was going, inquired about how long DNA evidence lasts, plus he did a few slightly incriminating TV interviews. Huntley also told an officer, “You think I’ve done it? I was the last person to see them.” This made him a prime suspect, but if he’d kept his mouth shut and stayed out of the limelight, the police may have never cracked the case.

Robert Black

Between 1981 and 86, Black killed at least four young girls, which got him a life sentence. He targeted girls under 11 years old, but in 1988, he misjudged the age of a target. When he grabbed her and tried stealing her away, she fought back hard and managed to get away. She also wasn’t alone, and her friend rushed to help. He then abducted another child in 1990, this time right in front of a man mowing his lawn, who gave his license plate straight to the police, and he was arrested in almost no time.

Neville Heath

Aliases are commonly used by killers to keep themselves hidden. Neville Heath is a perfect example of this, as he used a ton of different names to avoid detection. In 1946, he killed two women, but was caught after using an abysmal alias, if you can even call it that. Heath brought a woman with him to a hotel, then signed the room in his real name, except it was preceded by “lieutenant-colonel.” This turned out not to work, leading him to be arrested and then charged with murder, earning him the death penalty.

The Moors Murders

Few British serial killers became as widely reviled as the Moors Murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley. They committed their crimes between 1963 and 65. The pair got pretty excited about their atrocities, leading Hindley to invite her brother-in-law to a murder. He was disgusted by what he saw, leading him to vomit after coming home to his wife. A few hours later, he called the police and told them what the pair had been up to. The pair were soon arrested and spent the rest of their lives behind bars. Hindley died in 2002, after trying to appeal her conviction multiple times. Brady lived until 2017, but he had never dreamed of being released and wanted to die a lot sooner.

John Christie

This case was majorly influential in the abolishment of the death penalty. During the 40s and early 50s, Christie’s home, 10 Rillington Place, became the site of at least 8 murders. He decided to hide these bodies around the flat, in places like behind wallpaper, under the floorboards, and in the garden. Christie nearly got away with it after framing a neighbour, Timothy Evans, who was sadly given the death penalty. In the end, his final blunder was illegally subletting his apartment. The landlord found them, kicked them out, then gave a neighbour permission to use Christie’s kitchen. The neighbour ended up stumbling upon some corpses, and Christie was given the death penalty within a matter of weeks.

Harold Shipman

One of Britain’s most infamous serial killers was Harold Shipman, also known as the Angel of Death, who is believed to have killed hundreds between 1975 and 1998. He was a doctor who used his power to kill the elderly with lethal doses of medicine. People eventually became suspicious of how many of his patients died. An investigation was launched, but it failed to find any wrongdoing. His nefarious ways came crashing to a halt when his final victim’s daughter became suspicious of the will her mother had left, which left most of her wealth to Shipman. Police were notified, then they discovered he owned the typewriter used to forge the will, and they finally realised the pattern, landing him a life sentence in 2000.

Peter Sutcliffe

The Yorkshire Ripper despicably killed at least 13 people in Yorkshire and Manchester during the 70s. It led to an immense manhunt, with police questioning Sutcliffe nine times but failing to realise he was their killer. He was brought down not by a mistake in covering up a murder, but instead because he was spotted driving with false plates. In custody, police realised he looked a lot like descriptions of the Yorkshire Ripper. This led them to check where he was arrested, and it turned out he’d dumped a knife, hammer, and a rope there. Police asked him about them, and he confessed.

Joanna Dennehy

The Peterborough ditch murders were carried out by Joanna Dennehy in 2013. She wanted to kill 9 men, just like Bonnie and Clyde, claiming she found killing fun. Her first 3 victims were targeted, and then she decided to pick two dog walkers to stab at random. Dennehy dumped one victim’s remains in a bin, then, for some reason, decided to show the remains to a 14-year-old. It wasn’t what led to her arrest, that happened after attacking the second dog walker, but it was a massive piece of evidence used against her. The judge did not hold back in the trial, calling her “a cruel, calculating, selfish and manipulative serial killer,” then giving her a life sentence.

Dennis Nilsen

Between 1978 and 83, Nilsen killed over 12 people, many of them young boys. He committed these crimes in his house in North London, where he would also dispose of the bodies. One of his disposal techniques was simply flushing the remains down the toilet. This led to major plumbing issues, so Nilsen called someone to fix them. The plumber discovered human remains, and Nilsen told him, “Someone has been flushing down their Kentucky Fried Chicken.” After further inspection, the police were informed, and Nilsen became a prime suspect since the remains all came from his flat. Like most killers on this list, he got a life sentence for his disgraceful deeds.

Did you already know about these cases, or did you learn something new today? Let us know in the comments below!