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Original poster

Gosh, some murderers are stupid!

24 replies

Wendyer · 19/12/2021 22:10

Well, I mean if you’re of a mind to murder someone, stupidity is the least of your problems. But I’m just watching a true crime documentary where the murderer:

a) Went to Walmart at 3.30am and bought a suitcase and latex gloves
b) Paid for the suitcase with his credit card
c) Got himself filmed entering the store
d) Got himself filmed in the carpark

OP posts:
Skiptheheartsandflowers · 19/12/2021 22:12

If there's one thing I've learned from Line of Duty, it's that CCTV will always get you in the end.

Amazing how many criminals though also tie themselves in a knot by having googled 'how to kill someone with X implement and hide the body' without thinking it might be possible to trace their search history later on.

Buytoomuchonebay · 19/12/2021 22:13

I think a lot,deep down,WANT to be caught before they kill again

Either that or they ain’t the brightest spark in the matchbox

I knew a lad who murdered a bloke and was seen by many people (my daughter as well) walking down the street covered in blood

He thought it was funny

Bramble88 · 19/12/2021 22:15

watching the same thing, not sure how he could be so stupid!

ScottishAngryBird · 19/12/2021 22:16

Well only the ones that have been caught are stupid, I’m sure there are more killers out there, yet to be discovered....

Redglitter · 19/12/2021 22:16

I've watched a number of true crime things recently and I can't believe how many of them are caught out by their mobile phones location.

Original poster
Wendyer · 19/12/2021 22:19

@Buytoomuchonebay

I think a lot,deep down,WANT to be caught before they kill again

Either that or they ain’t the brightest spark in the matchbox

I knew a lad who murdered a bloke and was seen by many people (my daughter as well) walking down the street covered in blood

He thought it was funny

That’s horrible. I hope your daughter wasn’t too distraught.
OP posts:
ladygoingGaga · 19/12/2021 22:22

I think that some really are that dumb, some are just stringing the inevitable out, some genuinely re tell themselves a story and believe it.
I’ve seen every iteration

TheVanguardSix · 19/12/2021 22:22

I think the majority are sociopaths or have sociopathic tendencies and really believe they’re above the law or the rules don’t apply to them. This combined with possibly just being plain thick and/or high on drugs/alcohol (so many murderers have fried their brains).

The guy who murdered my friends left bloody footprints everywhere… pretty much from my friend’s house all the way back to his where the shoes were found. He was a total nut and also off his head.

Original poster
Wendyer · 19/12/2021 22:23

It is strange isn’t it how stupid some of the things they do is? I mean, I have never felt the slightest inclination to harm anyone (except maybe the cat when he’s brought in a mouse) but even I’d be on the lookout for video cameras if I was buying cleaning materials in the dead of night.

OP posts:
Original poster
Wendyer · 19/12/2021 22:25

@TheVanguardSix I’m so sorry :(. How awful.

OP posts:
Original poster
Wendyer · 19/12/2021 22:27

But I think you must be right about some of them being sociopaths and just believing themselves to be cleverer than everyone else.

OP posts:
PoncyPoinsettia · 19/12/2021 22:27

Those programmes are strangely fascinating. It always strikes me that if you planned things meticulously, you could probably get away with it.

It's also horrible how many of those murders are carried out by someone the victim knew. Yet stranger danger is something we are all taught from a young age.

ScottishAngryBird · 19/12/2021 22:32

Police often say that criminals are stupid however, if a criminal is just one person, and the police are a whole load of other persons, with all the means to trace, investigate and interview, then who really is stupid when you think of it, some criminals are free for years and years after they murder someone, and yet they don’t get caught for years so who truly is the stupid one, you have 1 criminal versus a department of police so obviously police will mainly win here.

There are also a large amount of sociopaths and psychopaths who are killers and they are usually reported to be clever, but it’s clearly not always the case, and anyway, I think some killers truly want stopped.

TheOldRazzleDazzle · 19/12/2021 22:33

When I was a student a man was arrested very close to where I was living after being spotted in a wooded area with a suspicious bloody-looking bundle and scratches on his face. I remember seeing the e-fit, which was essentially stereotypical villain. It was this case www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/sep/26/police-cases-they-cant-forget

Animood · 19/12/2021 22:49

Well we only catch the stupid ones don't we? So it might seem like loads of murderers are dumb, but the smart ones we never hear about because they're never caught.

Meadowbreeze · 19/12/2021 22:59

I think all you need to do is have a look on the missing persons website, I'm sure not all of those people have genuinely ran away.
Not all of them are stupid, it scares me more, the ones we haven't found or even know about.
The ones that are found do come across as stupid. I was really obsessed with Sherlock Holmes when I was younger and it always seemed so simple when he explained how he got to the conclusion. It was fascinating. I think that's similar to what we watch. Its so blindingly obvious but actually anyone could be going to the shop and getting those things, it takes skill to spot the actual killer on CCTV. I imagine them looking for the killer on CCTV in the shop, is the last bit of the puzzle once they already know lots.
The way they figured out Sarah Everard's murder was incredible. Seems so simple when you watch it altogether and he seems incredibly stupid doing what he did in front of cameras, getting his supplies, but equally he could've got away.

Chimley · 19/12/2021 23:05

And the people who turn off their phone (to hide their location) and then turn it back on again when the crime has been committed. I mean that narrows down the time of death perfectly!

Hen2018 · 19/12/2021 23:10

The 2 murderers local to me (years ago now) killed someone then went to get a takeaway, blood spattered and dishevelled, and decided to boast to people in there about what they had done.

They then drove home and were arrested within the hour.

Pegasussnail · 19/12/2021 23:11

Some terrible cases may they Rest in Peace. Grace Millane is one that is one my mind a lot and I watched a recent documentary where the date was all caught on cctv and worse. Do much left in social media too. Maybe they do want the fame in a sick way. A record.
Tragic losses

Meadowbreeze · 19/12/2021 23:13

@hen2018 that's crazy. I really think people like that are just off their face or are so deeply entrenched in their hatred towards someone it drives them crazy. The ones that always freaked me out in films where those very quiet meticulous murderers. Very eerie.

Hen2018 · 19/12/2021 23:37

They were so young at the time (18 and 20) and the murder itself was planned meticulously.

NannyGythaOgg · 20/12/2021 00:28

And then you get the ones where the police do not add 2 and 2 together.

The Yorkshire Ripper was interviewed at least 3 times (sometimes for unrelated issues) and allowed to go free.

I do think, where police have their suspicions, CCTV makes it easier to join the dots

PlanktonsComputerWife · 20/12/2021 00:32

I suppose you need to Google "unsolved murders" to get a sense of how many "clever" murderers there are.

ShesGotAMapOfTheWorld · 20/12/2021 00:32

CCTV played a massive part in identifying the killers in the case I was on jury duty for. You are not wrong.

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