10 Crimes Committed by Horrible Neighbors

10 Crimes Committed by Horrible Neighbors

Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re exploring the infamous cases throughout history of terrible people who, for one reason or another, sought revenge against their nearby neighbors by committing crimes against them.

Noise Revenge

In 2022, Umar Abdullah and his wife welcomed their new baby into their Tampa, Florida, condo, which they’d recently moved into. Yet instead of focusing on their new addition, Umar began receiving messages from his downstairs neighbor, Xuming Li. The PhD student was furious at the noises that the Abdullahs were apparently making. Months later, the Abdullahs began to feel unwell and could smell an unknown chemical. Then, Umar spotted that the front door had been tampered with. So, he placed a hidden camera. Shockingly, it showed Li with a syringe, suspected to be filled with controlled substances, as he discharged the concoction under the door. While Li was arrested, he was deported to China before he could face the charges.

Trash Can Attack

Having a famous parent can’t protect you completely when you go nuclear against a neighbor. Adam, the son of the legendary NBA player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, was facing a common conflict with his San Clemente, California, neighbor: trash cans. As the residences shared a driveway, the neighbor was reportedly annoyed that Adam hadn’t taken the bins in. In 2020, following a confrontation, Adam attacked the man with a knife. The injuries sustained by the neighbor were so severe that he nearly lost his life in the hospital. In 2021, after taking a plea deal, Adam was sentenced to six months in jail, with the option to apply for home confinement. District Attorney Todd Spitzer stated afterwards that the lenient sentence was “an absolute miscarriage of justice.”

The Killing of Ajike Owens

Since 2021, in Ocala, Florida, Owens and her neighbor, Susan Lorincz, had clashed several times, resulting in the police being called six times. Yet in 2023, the conflict sadly became fatal. Reportedly, while Owens’s children played in an outdoor space, Lorincz became furious, seeing the area as her own. So, she yelled racial slurs at the kids and struck one with roller skates. Later, Owens knocked on her door to confront her about what’d happened. While on the inside of the door, Lorincz fired into it, taking Owens’s life. Following her arrest, Lorincz claimed she did it in self-defense. Immediately, this case brought debates about race and the state’s “stand-your-ground” law. In 2024, Lorincz was found guilty of manslaughter and was sentenced to 25 years.

The Murder of James & Lisa Goy

In 2021, a massive snowstorm descended upon Plains Township, Pennsylvania. Like many in the area, James and Lisa Goy were shoveling snow from their driveway. However, the excess snow was being thrown onto the property belonging to their neighbor, Jeffrey Spaide. When he confronted the married couple about it, an argument erupted, soon escalating to threats. Captured on surveillance footage, Spaide went into his house before emerging with a firearm, which he proceeded to use on the Goys. He then went back inside to retrieve another weapon to continue his fatal attack. After taking the Goys’ lives, Spaide entered his home again and took his own life, devastating the community with the senseless violence.

The Hatfield-McCoy Feud

A ferocious familial feud so infamous that it inspired books, films, TV shows, video games, songs, and stage plays. With most of the McCoys living on the Kentucky side of the Big Sandy River and the Hatfields in the West Virginia area, their decades-long conflict is said to have had its first major incident in 1865. It’s believed that Asa Harmon McCoy was killed, seemingly by a Hatfield. This sparked years of the two families trading crimes against each other. Over a dozen people in both families were killed during this vendetta. Following the 1888 “Battle of the Grapevine Creek” between them, several members of the Hatfields were sentenced to life in prison, one being executed, resulting in the end of the feud.

The Murder of Aaron Howard

Living in Abilene, Texas, Howard was known to the authorities and his neighbors for his mental health and anger issues due to receiving treatment for intermittent explosive disorder. In 2018, Howard noticed that a mattress he’d thrown into a dumpster he shared with his neighbors, the Millers, had been removed and placed against his fence. So, an argument erupted between the families. As Howard’s partner recorded the interaction, Johnnie Miller and his son Michael, armed with firearms, approached Howard, who had a baseball bat. The verbal confrontation escalated further into violence, resulting in the Millers taking Howard’s life. In 2023, while Michael was acquitted of murder, Johnnie was found guilty, earning him a 14-year sentence.

Daniel Wozniak's Spree

With ambitions of an expensive wedding and honeymoon with his partner, there was one major problem for local actor Wozniak: he had a massive debt. However, upon discovering that war veteran Samuel Herr, who lived in the same apartment complex in Costa Mesa, California, had a lot of savings, Wozniak formulated a horrific plan. After taking Herr’s life, he then lured his friend, Julie Kibuishi, to the veteran’s apartment. After murdering her, too, Wozniak set it up to look like Herr had committed the dreadful deed and gone on the run. However, when a boy attempted to withdraw Herr’s money for Wozniak, the killer was caught by the police. In 2016, Wozniak was found guilty and sentenced to death.

The Wanda Holloway Cheerleader Case

Most parents don’t like to see their child lose out on a dream. Yet Wanda Holloway’s reaction was incredibly over-the-top. In 1991, her daughter, Shanna, was overlooked for her junior high school cheerleading team for two consecutive years. So, Wanda came up with a dark plan by contacting her ex-brother-in-law, Terry Harper. She asked him to find an assassin to take the life of Verna Heath, whose daughter had gotten into the squad ahead of Shanna, and lived in the same Channelview, Texas, neighborhood as Wanda. Instead of doing that, Harper went to the cops, resulting in Wanda’s arrest. After the first trial’s sentence was overturned, Wanda was retried in 1996, earning her 10 years in jail after entering a no-contest plea.

The Robert Durst Case

The black sheep of the real estate family behind the Durst Organization, tragedy seemed to follow Robert. After all, his wife, Kathleen McCormack, vanished in 1982, and his friend, Susan Berman, was murdered in 2000. However, in 2001, the remains of Morris Black were found. The investigation led back to Robert, his neighbor in Galveston, Texas. After jumping bail, he was eventually tracked down in Pennsylvania. During the trial, while Robert admitted to disposing of Black’s remains, he claimed his neighbor was killed in self-defense when he fought with Black for his firearm. The jury found Robert not guilty of murder. However, he was sentenced to five years for tampering with evidence and jumping bail. In 2021, Robert was sentenced to life for Berman’s murder.

The Crimes of John Christie

In 1953, after Christie moved out of 10 Rillington Place in London, England, his ten-year killing spree came to an end when bodies were found behind wallpaper. The investigation soon found more remains under the floorboards and in the garden. It’s believed Christie had killed at least eight people during that time, including his wife, Ethel. Due to his arrest, it also called into question the sentence received by Christie’s neighbor, Timothy Evans, who was executed in 1950. Evans was accused of killing his wife, Beryl, and their child. Christie even testified against him during the trial. The war veteran soon admitted to killing Beryl, and the authorities admitted years later that Christie was responsible for both Evans’s murders. Christie was found guilty and executed.

Have you ever dealt with a horrible neighbor? Share your tales below.