20 Convicted Murderers Who Gave TV Interviews Before Being Arrested

20 Convicted Murderers Who Gave TV Interviews Before Being Arrested

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at some of the most chilling interviews given by killers before being found out.

Mitchell Quy

When Lynsey Quy went missing in 1998, the town of Southport was rocked. For the first year and a half following her disappearance, her husband Mitchell perfectly played the role of a dismayed partner. He gave multiple interviews, where he would oftentimes insist upon his innocence. Over time, his demeanor warped from concerned to smug. In one sit-down conversation with a camera crew, he not only remarked that those who suspected him would apologize to him one day– he also told them they would have to just wait and see if he was guilty. It wasn’t until her body was found in 2000 that his ruse came crashing down, and he confessed. He was sentenced to life behind bars, where he still remains today.

Diane Downs

When she first arrived at McKenzie-Willamette Hospital in 1983 with her children, she was seen as one of the victims of a horrific crime. Diane Downs claimed that she and her children had been shot by a carjacker, leading to the death of her daughter Cheryl and the other two being critically injured. The police didn’t fully buy her story, but that didn’t stop her from doubling down on it. She gave a series of interviews, where she playfully re-enacted that fateful night, described the crime in cold detail, and even added new claims. Her repeated insistence upon her innocence reeked of overcompensation. She was arrested in early 1984, and her fate was sealed when her surviving daughter confirmed her mother had shot them.

Chase Merritt

After a murder, everyone is a suspect, even those closest to the victim. That was how Chase Merritt– close friend and business partner to Joseph McStay– found himself being accused of slaying the family in 2013. He gave interviews where he claimed to be the only one that fully complied with the investigation. He revealed that he was the last person to see McStay, and how he regretted not picking up his friend’s final phone call. He even mentioned that the killings had to be random, and that no one who knew the family would want to hurt them. In November of 2014, his veneer of innocence was destroyed when his DNA was found in McStay’s car. He was arrested, and was convicted in 2019.

Tyler Tessier

When beloved teacher Laura Wallen suddenly went missing in 2017, no one seemed more devastated than her boyfriend. During a filmed press conference, Tyler Tessier tearfully begged for her to come home and for anyone who might have her to release her. His emotion seemed so real that to the untrained eye, one would have no idea of his potential involvement. Little did he know that he was a suspect, and that the appearance had been planned to confirm that. Police later used Tessier’s frequent trips to Damascus, Maryland as grounds to get a search warrant. They found Wallen’s body shortly afterward. Tessier was arrested, and while a motive wasn’t determined, it was revealed that her disappearance had occurred shortly after learning about his infidelity.

Richard Satchwell

A foundation made of lies is always bound to crumble eventually. From the moment Tina Satchwell went missing in 2017, her husband Richard insisted upon his own innocence and that she was actually still alive. As the investigation continued, Satchwell moved from print interviews to on-screen ones, where he wept and begged her to return. He also insisted that she’d been seen and talked to by a witness, making it appear that she’d simply left. Little did interviewers know that when they had questioned him in his home, they’d been standing near her the entire time. After his brief arrest in 2023, the residency had been searched, and her body was found encased in concrete. He was swiftly re-arrested, and was convicted in 2025.

Craig Peyer

Days after Christmas in 1986, the body of Cara Knott was found in a ditch just off Interstate 15 in California. A day later, police officer Craig Peyer gave an interview on a local news station to warn other motorists— women in particular. He advised them to stay in their cars and not trust strangers offering to help. The camera picked up markings on his face, indicating he’d been scratched beforehand. At the time, no one had any clue they’d been caused by Cara herself. After his appearance aired, other women in the area reported him unlawfully stopping and harassing them, which led to suspicions against him. Further investigation at the scene found physical evidence linking him to the college student’s death.

Fotis Dulos

While some are able to conceal their involvement for years through interviews, others sound guilty the moment the cameras turn on. When Fotis Dulos took to the news following the death of his estranged wife Jennifer, he fell solidly into that latter camp. He and his girlfriend Michelle Troconis had been charged with evidence tampering, but there wasn’t enough evidence to push for harsher charges. Dulos used the TV spot to proclaim his innocence and chide those who’d already assumed his guilt, urging them to wait for details and for the truth to be revealed. Well, the truth did come out– but those calling Dulos a killer had seemingly been right the whole time. In early 2020, he was arrested and charged with murder.

Letecia Stauch

In January of 2020, members of the Colorado Springs community were shocked to learn about Gannon Stauch’s disappearance. Various members of his family came forward to plead for his safe return, including his step-mother Letecia, who had been the last one to see him. She granted KKTV News an interview, where she faced away from the camera the entire time. As if that wasn’t odd enough, she also victimized herself and referred to Gannon in the past tense, despite the fact that his death hadn’t been confirmed at that point. In the background, a rental van could be seen— the same one believed to have transported his body. Two months later, Stauch was charged with his murder, and later sentenced to life in prison.

Scott Peterson

Laci Peterson and her husband Scott made national headlines when the latter reported the former’s disappearance in 2002. The following year, her remains were discovered and he was arrested. Before then, he’d taken to the airwaves to plead his innocence on national television. He made two appearances on “Good Morning America”, where he not only revealed his affair, but denounced every claim made about him thus far. Everything from the life insurance policy he’d taken out on her to the blood in his vehicle had a convenient explanation, seemingly proving his innocence. Any excuse he made evaporated upon the uncovering of her body. He was later tried and convicted, resulting in a death sentence that was commuted to a lifetime one in 2021.

Susan Smith

For just over a week, she created a media storm that nearly fooled the country. In October of 1994, Susan Smith took to the police following a tragedy— a man having kidnapped her sons while stealing her car. She weaponized the perpetrator’s race as well, adding an extra layer of racism to her misdeeds. She gave several news interviews, where she doubled down on her lies by begging for both of her sons safe return and insisting she had nothing to do with it. In early November, however, her innocent ruse came crashing down. She admitted to not only fabricating the story, but to letting her children drown. After less than three hours on the stand, she was found guilty and given two life sentences.

Chris Watts

This harrowing case is reminiscent of the 2014 film “Gone Girl,” except this time, the husband actually did it. On August 13th 2018, a pregnant woman named Shanann Watts and her two daughters, Bella and Celeste, were reported missing from their Frederick, Colorado home. By the next day, while an extensive investigation into their disappearance was ongoing, Shanann’s husband Chris Watts granted an interview to a local news station. Watts pleaded for the safe return of his wife and daughters, only to be arrested the very next day for their murders. The oil field worker eventually confessed to the crimes, apparently motivated by a desire to start a new life with his mistress. He was handed five life sentences, without parole.

Darren Vickers

In May 1997, Jamie Lavis, a schoolboy from Openshaw, Greater Manchester, vanished without a trace. Over the next few days, a man named Darren Vickers befriended Lavis’ parents Karen and John, claiming to be a bus driver who was the last to see the boy before he went missing. Vickers warmed his way into the Lavis’ lives, appearing on TV as their unofficial spokesperson, and participating in searches for the lost child. At some point, he even moved into their house and slept in their bed. It was soon revealed that it was Vickers who had kidnapped the boy and taken his life. Two years later, after Lavis’ body was finally discovered, Vickers received a life sentence for the murder.

Ian Huntley

Best friends Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman left a family barbecue at Wells’ house in Soham, Cambridgeshire in August 2002 and were never seen alive again. Both young girls lost their lives after being lured into the house of Ian Huntley, who lived in the local community. For about two weeks, Wells and Chapman were thought to be missing, with hundreds of police officers working full-time to find them. During this period, Huntley appeared on multiple TV networks, granting interviews in which he appeared to speak for the community. Huntley’s strange behavior in some of these interviews soon raised suspicions that eventually led to his arrest. He was found guilty of both murders and received two life sentences.

Debra Kincy

In October 2015, Debra Kincy of Oakland Park, Florida called 911 to report the discovery of her neighbor’s dead body. 64-year-old Charlotte Nicholas had died on her own kitchen floor, reportedly of multiple stab wounds. The following day, Kincy appeared in a teary interview with a news reporter, in which she described the tragic scene she had discovered and her supposedly close relationship with the victim. But it turned out that was far from the truth. Apparently, Kincy and Nicholas had had a heated dispute over jewelry that drove Kincy to murder the retired nurse. Surveillance footage from a local pawn shop showed Kincy selling off Nicholas’ jewelry while wearing a blood-stained shirt. She was swiftly arrested on murder charges.

Gerard Baden-Clay

Gerard Baden-Clay had reported his wife Allison missing on the 20th of April 2012. The two had been married for roughly 15 years and had welcomed three daughters in that time. Just a few days later, while authorities searched for Allison in the area around their Queensland, Australia home, Baden-Clay stood before news reporters with tears in his eyes. Alas, they were nothing but crocodile tears. At the time, the real estate businessman was just a suspect in the case. But when Allison’s body was discovered in a creek 10 days after her disappearance, it quickly became clear that her husband was the culprit. Apparently, Baden-Clay was having an affair, and hoped to cash in on his wife’s sizable life insurance policy.

Neil & Margaret Archer

In 2015, 20-year-old mother of one, Jody Meyers, disappeared from her hometown of Mannum, South Australia. Afterwards, her fiancé Neil Archer and his mother Margaret, gave multiple TV interviews in which they appealed for Meyers to return home. But these emotional performances were just that… performances. In reality, Archer had already murdered Meyers and buried her under a concrete slab in his parents’ backyard. His mother had helped him cover it up. The two were caught after surveillance cameras showed that they’d used Meyers’ ATM card to withdraw money for the cement used to bury her. Archer also confessed to his younger brother, who eventually turned him in to the police.

Stephen McDaniel

Back in 2011, Lauren Giddings was a recent graduate of Mercer Law School who was preparing for the bar exam. Sadly, before she could achieve her dreams of becoming a lawyer, her neighbor and former classmate, Stephen McDaniel, broke into her apartment and murdered her. After Giddings was reported missing, McDaniel granted an interview to the local news station WGXA, putting on the act of a concerned neighbor and friend. Things took a bizarre turn, halfway into the interview, when McDaniel learnt that some of Giddings’ remains had been discovered. This strange interview, coupled with incriminating evidence found on his computer, were all police needed to bring him in for questioning. McDaniel eventually pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life.

Kristi Abrahams

It’s an image that could bring almost anyone to tears. The mother of a missing child stands before a bevy of reporters but can’t stop crying long enough to speak. In this case, that mother was Kristi Abrahams, whose daughter Kiesha had supposedly disappeared from the Sydney, Australia home they shared with Abrahams’ partner Robert Smith. But the case turned out to be far more deceptive than what was portrayed. Abrahams had repeatedly behaved violently towards her daughter, culminating in one incident that tragically took the girl’s life. Together with Smith, she burnt and disposed of Kiesha’s remains, before falsely reporting her missing. Abrahams and Smith were eventually convicted and handed varying prison sentences.

Matthew Haverly

When the body of a woman was found in a creek in Wyalusing Township, Pennsylvania, it didn’t take long for reporters to turn up in the area, interviewing local residents. One such person was Matthew Haverly, who initially expressed shock at the strange occurrence. Then, Haverly began offering theories as to what could have happened to the woman and even talked about how concerning the situation would be for his mother. Bizarrely, the body found was that of Haverly’s mother, Patricia, who had been murdered by Haverly himself just hours earlier. The same day the interview was given, Haverly was arrested by police. After claiming to have blacked out during the incident, Haverly pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter.

Stuart Hazell

In August of 2012, Tia Sharp was reported missing from her grandmother’s home in New Addington, South London. At the time, Sharp’s grandmother Christine Bicknell lived in the house with her then-boyfriend Stuart Hazell, who soon became a person of interest in her disappearance. On August 9th, Hazell appeared in an interview that ITV News had conducted with Sharp’s family and denied any involvement in her disappearance. The very next day, however, Sharp’s body was discovered in her grandmother’s house and Hazell was eventually arrested for her murder. Incriminating pictures and videos of the girl were found in Hazell’s possession. He pleaded guilty to the murder and received a life sentence.

Which pre-arrest TV spot do you find the most unsettling? Let us know in the comments below!