The website wasn’t indexed on any search engines, and for obvious reasons. The administrators of the site’s forum claimed to be members of the Sinaloa drug Cartel, an infamous crime syndicate based in Mexico. Services offered on the website ranged from drug deals to contract killings. Even though the forum appeared to be based in South America, there was an advertisement seeking someone to carry out a service in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. It read, “I am looking to hire for the murder of a woman”...

The jury in George Ince’s first trial had been split 9 to 3, just one vote away from a majority verdict that would have likely seen him sentenced to life in prison. Despite Ince’s acquittal at the second trial, investigators felt that the case was closed and returned the exhibits to Robert Patience, including clothes and the cushions the bullets had been fired through… (Part 2 of 2)

It was one of the busiest nights of the year at The Barn restaurant in Braintree. The bonfire night two-for-£5 deal was going down well, attracting over 300 customers. 24-year-old manager David Patience was waiting for the band to wrap up their set. It was past two in the morning, and he was eager to get to bed. The Patience family home was nearby, less than 100 yards from the restaurant. When the intercom system between the buildings rang, David wondered if his father, who had left not long before, had forgotten something. Robert Patience’s voice was panicked. He told his son, “Come over quickly, there has been a bit of an accident”... (Part 1 of 2)

Shortly before 8 am, on March 30th, 2009, Craig Freear was getting ready to leave his home on Ashbourne Road in Bradford. While his partner Neville was still in bed, Craig quietly approached the front door to set off for work. As the door opened, Craig found himself face to face with a man holding a double-barrel shotgun. Taking a step back through the threshold of the house, Craig recognised the gunman’s eyes through the holes of his balaclava... 

People slowly became suspicious when they hadn’t seen Sheena’s baby for almost two years. Despite the mother’s insistence that the little girl was being well looked after by someone else, there was something troubling about the child’s disappearance. Sheena had been rambling about a Tibetan spirit guide in the sky that commanded her to do things. Her parents worried that Sheena’s interest in the occult had gone too far…

It’s unsettling to believe so many people sought out the footage. They typed in their card details and, with each click, got closer to the gruesome video they had paid to see. The image of a naked man strapped to a bed comes into focus; a masked figure steps into view, a red vegetable knife visible in his hand as he leans over the screaming man… 

Marley pulled on the lead, eager to get to the shrubs at the side of the pathway. Even after being corrected, the dog continued to struggle towards the bushes. Curious to understand why Marley was so desperate to explore that particular spot, Victor parted a section of the hedge. The former RAF Firefighter was not easily alarmed, but he could not believe what he was seeing. It was a severed head...

Following the end of World War II, many projects that had been put on hold were resumed. Trewidden Vean and Nanquitho, areas between Penzance and Land’s End in Cornwall, were flooded to create Drift Reservoir. The 65-acre reservoir provides drinking water for West Penwith, and, over the years, has become increasingly popular with bird watchers. In 2018, record temperatures and a heat wave caused the water level to drop by almost three metres. The remnants of the Lost Valley were partially uncovered, but three years later, something much more sinister was brought to the surface of Drift Reservoir…. 

Emergency responders were relieved to find there were no casualties. The car had been abandoned. Puzzlingly, the vehicle was traced back to a mother who had left Inverness with her three-year-old son hours earlier. What initially seemed to be a burnt-out vehicle left after a joyride turned out to be so much more. It remained a mystery for over four decades…

It was cold and damp on the banks of Loch Lomond on the morning of December 6th 1999. Specialist officers from an underwater search unit of Central Scotland Police were preparing to take part in a training exercise in the highland lake northwest of Glasgow. Loch Lomond is the largest lake by surface area in Great Britain, spanning 22 miles between Central Scotland and the Highlands. The deep water at Rowardennan Pier reflected the sloping green hills surrounding the lake, but as divers went beneath the surface, they made a horrifying discovery… 

It was early on a warm Sunday morning, and very few cars were on the A22 road between Eastbourne and London. A motorcyclist pulled in on the grassy verge and ventured a few yards behind the tree line of Ashdown Forest. The sun shone down between the tall oak trees, casting shadows on the leafy ground. Something stood out amidst the earthy tones of the undergrowth. As the motorcyclist walked closer to the blue fabric that was poking out of the soil, he was overwhelmed by a foul smell...

Ellie and her partner Marcus walked around to the large conservatory at the back of the house. Through the glass doors, they could see the silhouettes of two familiar figures sitting in their favourite armchairs, although something did not seem right with Carol and Stephen Baxter…

The Burton Mail published the article in March 1990. A local couple had the good fortune of winning a Vauxhall Astra with two years' worth of free petrol. The accompanying picture is fuzzy. Sandra and Ryan James pose almost formally and rigidly while standing behind the vehicle with the garage owner poised to hand over the keys. The next time the couple were mentioned in the newspaper, it would not be for such joyous reasons…

The officer called out to identify himself, but there was no response from behind the closed door. He tried to open it but was met by resistance. After managing to wedge the bedroom door a few inches, PC Francis saw the body of an elderly man on the floor. Blood and brain matter were pooling around his head. As PC Francis radioed for support and the London Ambulance Service, he heard a voice say, “You’re too late. He’s been dead for an hour”... 

Hazel was safety conscious, but the fact that she was not answering the door made George concerned that something had happened to her, so he alerted the police. When officers gained entry to the property, they found a pile of boxes blocking a cupboard under the stairs. Faint cries pleading for help were coming from inside. The reality of what had happened to Hazel was far beyond what George could have ever imagined… 

There is a timeless saying that bad things happen in threes. Some believe the superstition originates from the wartime phrase ‘Three on a match’ — which refers to three soldiers using the same match to light a cigarette. It was said that the light of the match would be seen by an enemy marksman, and by the time the third soldier lit their cigarette, they would be shot by the gunman who had them in their sights. While there is no scientific proof to support the notion that tragedies continue to happen three times in a row, there are certain stories where the belief rings true... 

A man in his mid-sixties wearing a light-coloured casual jacket and dark trousers caught the couple’s attention. Concerningly, he was clenching a piece of wood in his hand. Stephen slammed the brakes and got out of the vehicle. He realised another man was lying horizontally on the pavement, being struck about the head repeatedly with the length of wood. Blood was pooling on the path surrounding the injured man. Stephen instinctively yelled out, telling the assailant to stop. The attacker wrapped the wood in a plastic bag and turned to walk away. As he left the scene, he hollered back to the man he had just attacked: “You’ll not fucking do that again”... 

Something caught Thomas’ attention at the bottom of a set of stone stairs known to locals as the ABC steps. Twenty-six stone platforms jutted out from the steeply sloping hill towards the canal towpath, a stone for each letter of the alphabet. A young girl was curled up at the bottom of the stairs, her legs folded beneath her as if she were crying. Thomas wondered if she was upset or had fallen, but the reality was far worse... 

From the path, that quiet spot on Redcar Beach in North Yorkshire was concealed by sand dunes. As the tide was going out on the crisp morning of April 30th 1977, the body of a man was held in place by the saturated sand. Eventually, hours after the sun had come up, he was found. There were no apparent signs that he had been injured, and bystanders wondered what happened…

Tony Wesson was looking forward to spending time with his fiancée, Suzanne. They both enjoyed working out at the local leisure club, and weightlifting was the perfect way to blow off some steam at 6 pm on a Friday evening. It was July 1st, 1988, and the sun was still shining over Tewkesbury Walk in the Shaftesbury area of Newport, Wales. Despite the nice weather, the curtains were closed inside Suzanne’s home. Using the key that Suzanne had given him, Tony unlocked the door to the flat and walked inside. The only light in the hall came from the sunbeams that shone through the bathroom window across from Suzanne’s bedroom. The rays of light drew Tony’s attention to something on the bedroom door, a bloodstain…