Have you ever known someone who committed a serious crime?

[TheGhostsOfMeAndYou]

I’ve been listening to a true crime podcast recently and it got me thinking. One of the episodes was about Fred and Rose West. When Fred was first arrested (at the stage where police had only uncovered three bodies in the garden), his brother and sister-in-law spoke about him and said they couldn’t believe he’d done what he was accused of, as he had always seemed so gentle and polite spoken.

It made me wonder — has anyone here ever known someone who’s committed a serious crime, and did it come as a total shock? Or were there warning signs in hindsight? Did you ever suspect anything at the time? And how did others around them react — was it disbelief, or did some say they weren’t surprised?

Went through school(not friends, in a lot of the same classes, always found him… odd?) with a guy who stabbed his then girlfriends grandmother, to then steal her £104 pension so him and his girlfriend could travel to Skegness. He got 33 years, she was in on it and hasn’t served any time.

Blimey! Imagine being murdered just so someone could get to Skeggy for a day trip 🤯

When the Stockport murders happened and then the riots,I was watching the TV (as horrified as everyone else)

It came up about hull and I was just saying to dp 'I've eaten lunch on that bench' and 'I bought dd some slippers from that shop' when I saw my ex,front and centre of the screen,proudly slinging something at a building and cheering

He was always racist (it's one of the reasons we broke up Tommy Robinson is his hero) and would proudly rant about 'the blacks' and 'British for the british'

He lives around the corner to where the main riots where happening,is unemployed and racist but even i didn't think he'd actually join in

There he was,proudly having his moment and loving it

I cannot believe I had a child with him

Disgusting bastard-he couldn't give a fuck about those 3 little girls,he wanted an excuse to show his true colours with other arseholes

I hope they throw the whole library of books at him

His mum claims he's 'misunderstood' and 'has done nothing wrong' (just like she did when he was arrested for dv against me and the time he was sent to prison for trying to rob a man just outside a bank)

Sorry you had that experience pp, friend's daughter had a similar experience seeing her live-in fiance on tv at the front of a UKIP brexit rally. He returned to their flat to find her gone having left a note, 'you could have told me you hate me because of the colour of my skin'.

Just thought of another one and here was me thinking I knew nobody!!

Worked in a secondary school in the early to mid 90s and one of the teachers I worked with was last year sent to prison for 18 years for sexual assault on pupils, which would have happened during and after I worked there.

He was a well respected teacher and Head of Department and had been there years. Had been retired for almost a decade before it caught up with him.

One of them was wrongly convicted of killing their children and later released, much too late actually because their life was never the same after that. They never recovered from the trauma and eventally died in very sad circumstances

This is quite a famous case isn't it?

I bet they are 🫨

I used to teach in a really rough area of the country. Several of my former students are currently in prison for GBH/ABH. Mostly because of a combination of gang culture and extreme stupidity. One or two are there for terror offences.

I knew a guy who was once an enforcer for one of the London crime families. He's in his 60's and reasonably affable now, but there's always an edge of violence that's best not ignored.

A former manager once confided in me that he spent several stretches in the Brig when he was in the Navy for violence. He seemed to have matured out of the worst of it, but he could be really vindictive, in a quiet way, to anyone who challenged or crossed him. Especially if they were female.

He was bloody competent enough to take that poor Women’s life.
It’s beyond (well I can’t find a word that does it justice) how that poor women never got justice.

My grandfather was in prison for attempted murder, but i think his sentence must have been reduced because he wasn't in very long

A friend who we grew up with and saw regularly murdered one of his parents.

A man I knew from working in a pub was a pedophile.

I did not suspect anything about either of them. Both seemed totally normal.

Very similar situation. Woman I have known since our school days did our local carnival committee out of circa £50k. I was mortified. Didn’t believe she had done it.

Yes! A school mum of one of my sons classmates at primary school (almost 30 years ago) was jailed for murdering her husband (it was actually her lover that did the physical murder but she was in on it too) They both got life with minimum of 25 years or something. Actually rather randomly, my now 35 yr old son bought it up last week as he was wondering if they ever got released.

My maths teacher was convicted of CSA and some of the victims were girls in my year, I had no idea. He was an arsehole and everyone hated him but I would never have guessed he was doing what he was doing. Also knew a guy who killed a baby drink/drug driving and then tried to run away from the scene. He was always a lowlife and his actions didn't surprise me at all, I hope he rots in prison forever for what he did.

If every British man who'd ever committed a sexual offence was placed on the sex offender's register, god knows how many that would be. The majority of victims never go to the police. And even when they do it hardly ever leads to a conviction. I suspect at least half the men in this country deserve to be prosecuted for a sexual offence, and almost every woman on this forum probably has a man in her life (a work colleague, a BIL, a neighbour, etc) who should be on the register.

A couple who were friends of ours. No problems, no affairs, nothing anybody knew about.
He murdered her and then committed suicide. Came as a great shock to everyone who knew them.

When I was 33 I had some neighbours where the teenage kids and their friends were a handful - into egging people's houses and stuff and some of them got into petty crime and so on. Their cousin, aged 15, was always hanging around. I liked the other kids even though they got up to stuff, but this guy was more dead behind the eyes and didn't say much and was always up to badness , but then he seemed to take a weird shine to me. One day he knocked on my door and asked me what time it was and I told him and then told him to clear off as I had pupils coming for music lessons. He reached out and touched my breast with one finger, took me a sec to realise what he'd done and I gave him a whack round the ear and said "Get out, now!" ... he said my name and "Can I buff you?" (what a line!)- now bear in mind that he was 15 (and about up to my shoulder in height) and I was 33! - so I closed the door in his face... another time he knocked the door again to try and start conversation, he couldn't think of anything to say and I was closing the door and he asked me slyly what condoms were for. I told him to wise up and closed the door on him again but I remember thinking... that boy's going to get in real trouble... here's something not right about him, he's going to get into proper trouble sexually.
Well I moved away, actually because of the kids hanging about outside - when I was escorting pupils out to their car past them revving past on mini motorbikes and hearing them do drug deals right outside my window - but 4 years later I opened up the local paper to see him in it, he'd been done for rape, and for beating up his pregnant girlfriend. I just thought - I knew it! ... And another while later I saw him in the paper again for taking someone hostage with a knife to their throat. An all-round bad egg!

My hubby worked at a high Street food place and was deputy manager the boss a woman was with a bloke that was a alcoholic he used to kick off when she was at work she used to let him go asleep in the back she gave him a job in the end then the big boss came in to do a safe check my hubby never did the safe count but did the other stuff anyway it was down by 9k and she was in the room and before her boss even said the words where is it she said I took it hoping to put it back with my wages as she used to give the money to her fella or pay his debts. Wouldn't of expected it of her my hubby was gobsmacked and relieved as she could of easily blamed him but luckily they had installed cameras when they thought money was going missing

Yes
He murdered his 7 month old child and the child died in my friends arms in the hospital. The assault was so brutal the child's eyes detached from the retinas.
A complete shock. He was sentenced to 7 years for manslaughter he served 4 years. Hes out now and hes all over the crime/news posts on Facebook acting outraged at the crimes against others and I really really struggle to bite my tongue and not comment under them all to say perhaps people should Google his name and see the horrific crime he committed against his own baby.

Friend of the family who everyone thought was a good dad, pillar of the community etc. Done for grooming a child and sexually assaulting a minor.

A young lad (22) worked behind family post office counter. I’ve Been going in the shop since he was really little. Good kid nice family. Always chatty (as much as a young lad is) Stabbed his pregnant girlfriend. Luckily her and baby survived

Friends husband, nice chap, seemed friendly enough always had time for his friends and neighbours. Sent to prison for armed robbery.

I don’t think you can always tell

Why don't you @Discodance1988? It's a matter of public record surely, and it's true.
He sounds horrendous, and I found your post really hard to read. I hope your friend is doing OK.

Yes, boy from my school tried to burn his child's mother and children alive in a house and held a knife to her throat it was all on itv - kyle butler was his name, he was abusive to school girlfriends and controlling when he was younger.

Someone else I know was bad on drugs and stabbed someone and she only got 3 years (do half inside) but is now back inside for taking crack again as it was against her conditions to stay outside.

Also been tried to be killed by my ex partner for over 3 years to the point I had to play dead just to escape.

Alot of people have done crimes against kids in my area, some people you literally grow up with and it all comes out and its shocking but like one of the other comments say the monsters live amongst us

I've been thinking about it and it turns out quite a few.

Someone I was at school with was given life for armed robbery about 25 years ago. He later took his own life. Wasn't remotely surprised.

A girl I was at school with a few years ago managed to get her father convicted of the csa he'd committed on her as a child. Brave woman who waived her right to anonymity.

A son of my husbands cousin who was convinced of drugs and firearms offences about 5 years ago. A bit awkward as this fellas cousin is a police inspector in the same force.

A teacher at my sons school last year was found guilty of possession of indecent photographs.

My mils art teacher was convicted of possession of indecent photos. He was caught when a workman at his house saw the photos on his computer screen. As he was over 80, he got a non custodial sentence.

Psychopaths/sociopaths and especially serial killers are very good at hiding their true selves. That is how they're able to hurt so many people until they make a mistake and get caught. We're they surprised that Rose was involved? It was my understanding that she was very, very aware in what Fred was doing and did some of it herself.

I worked with a lovely man whose wife (I met at the Christmas party) murdered his children. It was horrific. She's currently serving life, my poor colleague was destroyed by it.