10 True Crime Cases With Jaw Dropping Twists

10 True Crime Cases With Jaw-Dropping Twists

Welcome to WatchMojoUK, and today we’re discussing the most shocking reveals in UK true crimes.

The Grindr Killer

Many people are anxious about putting themselves on dating apps, worried that they may meet someone dangerous. While it’s rare, it’s not impossible, as proven by the Grindr Killer, also known as Stephen Port. Between 2014 and 15, he killed four people he met on dating apps. Police initially believed there was nothing suspicious about his victims’ deaths. They thought they lost their lives due to accidental overdoses, but they eventually noticed a pattern, leading them to discover a serial killer was at work. Many people criticised the police for their poor handling of the first cases, as if they’d handled things better, a few lives may have been saved.

Malcolm Webster

In 1994, Malcolm Webster’s wife, Claire Morris, died in a brutal car accident in Aberdeenshire. A police officer and a fireman thought it was suspicious, but no foul play was officially found. A few years later, he got married to another woman named Felicity Drumm in New Zealand. It didn’t take long before she was nearly killed by Webster, but thankfully survived. He married another woman in secret around the same time, who believed she was also nearly killed by Webster. It took until 2009 before he was charged, after authorities investigated him for embezzlement, then realised the full extent of his misdeeds.

Christopher Halliwell

In 2011, Sian O’Callaghan sorrowfully lost her life at the hands of taxi driver Christopher Halliwell. It only took the police a couple of days to capture the perpetrator, and then he was found guilty in late 2012. In custody, he admitted to a separate murder of Becky Godden-Edwards, which happened years earlier. Halliwell even led police to where he’d left the body. Regrettably, the detective responsible had breached guidelines, so it didn’t count as valid evidence. That didn’t stop justice from being served, as he was charged with the murder in 2016. Halliwell has been linked to at least 6 other disappearances, too, but these haven’t been confirmed yet.

Gareth Williams

For quite a few years, Williams worked in the British Secret Service, either SIS or MI6. In 2010, his corpse was found stuffed in a padlocked sports bag, left in his bathtub. It was immediately considered a crime scene, and an investigation ensued. They found no way Williams could have feasibly put himself in that situation, but they eventually concluded that it was probably an accident. This was a shock to many, as the facts just didn’t add up. In 2015, a former KGB agent stated that Russian spies were responsible. This has spurred a ton of conspiracy theories, with loads of people believing something was covered up, but we may never truly know.

John Darwin

In March 2002, a kayaking accident led to the disappearance of John Darwin. It was suspicious because conditions had been calm when he vanished, perplexing rescue teams. He was never found, allowing his wife to claim £250,000 in life insurance. It turned out Darwin had never died all along; it was an insurance scam. First, he was living next door to his wife in a bedsit, then he began planning his move abroad, specifically to Panama. It all came crashing down when police were tipped off about a call from Anne to her husband. After some visa issues, he was forced to come back to Britain. Darwin pretended to have amnesia, but it didn’t fool authorities, and the couple was sentenced in 2008.

Babes in the Wood Murders

Two young children horrifically lost their lives in the Wild Park nature reserve in East Sussex in 1986. At first, a man named Russell Bishop was the prime suspect, but he was acquitted in 87. A few decades later, it turned out police had bungled the case substantially. In 1990, Bishop was sentenced to 14 years for a similar murder. After decades of hard work by the victim’s families, the case was reopened, and he was finally found guilty in a 2018 trial. One of the biggest reasons for this development was advancements in DNA analysis, which revealed that a sweatshirt from the crime scene had belonged to Bishop.

John Christie

One of the most influential cases in ending the death penalty in Britain was that of John Christie. In the 40s and 50s, he was responsible for killing at least 8 people. Christie managed to frame his neighbour, Timothy Evans, for the crimes. This resulted in Evans being found guilty, and then, in 1950, he was executed. It was one of the most significant police failures in UK history. Christie continued to murder after Evans’ hanging, which eventually led police to realise the true extent of his crimes. It became a pivotal case in the abolishment of capital punishment, which finally happened in 1965.

Dennis Nilsen

Starting in 1978, Nilsen took the lives of at least twelve people over the course of 5 years. After every murder, he performed exceedingly cursed rituals that involved leaving his victims in the bath for weeks. Nilsen would dispose of the bodies by either setting fire to them or simply flushing them away. This led to major issues with the plumbing, prompting Nilsen to get someone over to fix it. When the plumber found human remains in his piping, Nilsen said someone had been “flushing down their KFC.” It’s since gone down in history as one of the worst ways to cover up a murder, which resulted in Nilsen getting a life sentence.

The White House Farm Murders

In 1985, police discovered a horrendous crime scene near Essex. They found the remains of a family of 5, with only one survivor - Jeremy Bamber. Police first thought one victim, Sheila Caffell, had done it herself, then taken her own life. This had all been orchestrated by Jeremy, who was the true killer. He nearly got away with it, too, but then his partner told the police he had planned the entire atrocity, all for some inheritance money. In 1986, he was convicted of the murders and given a minimum 25-year sentence, but it’s unlikely he’ll ever be free again.

The Pembrokeshire Murders

Next is one of the most infamous cold cases in history. John Cooper was responsible for 4 murders in total during the 80s. His first two victims lost their lives in 1985, then he killed another two in 1989. In 1998, he got a 14-year sentence, but not for the murders; it was instead for burglary. Advancements in forensic science meant that a 2009 review of the Pembrokeshire Murders case found hard evidence that Cooper was responsible. This led to him being arrested the same year, and then in 2011, he was finally convicted for the 80s murders. He was given a life sentence and has zero chance of ever leaving prison.

Were there any cases with especially horrifying reveals we didn’t mention? Let us know in the comments below!