These terrifying crimes were committed on the scariest day of the year. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at the most horrific crimes that have occurred on All Hallows’ Eve.
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00:00 Mr. O'Brien had a raincoat on and unbeknownst to his friends who he was with, he had the
00:06 pixie sticks shoved up the sleeve of his raincoat.
00:11 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at the most horrific crimes that have occurred
00:16 on all Hallow's Eve.
00:18 It was just unheard of.
00:21 This sort of thing did not happen in Fond du Lac ever.
00:25 The dastardly dentist.
00:27 Some dentists give floss and toothbrushes on Halloween, others stick to cavity-inducing
00:32 sweets to drive up business.
00:39 William Vincent Shine crossed a line on Halloween 1959 when he gave trick-or-treaters heart-shaped
00:46 laxatives.
00:47 The authorities unearthed 450 pills, at least 16 given to children.
00:52 While some became ill, thankfully nobody died.
00:59 Within the ensuing days, the police tracked down Shine and nurse Hazel Engleby, who was
01:05 believed to be his accomplice.
01:07 Although they claimed to have only passed out lollipops, the evidence suggested otherwise.
01:12 Engleby got off, but Shine was found guilty, receiving a brief jail stint and a $525 fine.
01:18 The state dental board put him on probation as well.
01:21 In the following years, Shine's marriage collapsed as he was also tried for insurance fraud.
01:27 The Trick-or-Treat Murder
01:29 Just an hour of Halloween remained in 1957 when Peter Fabiano answered the door.
01:35 Instead of a late trick-or-treater, Fabiano was confronted by a grown person concealed
01:40 behind face paint and a domino mask.
01:43 The stranger was also hiding a gun in their paper bag, firing at Fabiano.
01:48 His wife Betty overheard, but by the time Peter was taken to the hospital, it was too
01:52 late.
01:53 The shooter was revealed to be Joan Rebell, who was enlisted by Betty's friend Goldine
01:57 Pitzer.
01:58 Infatuated with Betty, Pitzer claimed that Peter had been mistreating his spouse, convincing
02:02 Rebell to execute him.
02:04 Both were sentenced to five years to life, although Pitzer was a free woman when she
02:07 died in 1998, while Rebell vanished from the public eye.
02:13 Killed over Candy
02:14 It's common for people to get defensive over their Halloween candy, but murder is
02:18 never a rational reaction.
02:20 In 2011, 55-year-old Liddell "Peoples" Halloween candy mysteriously disappeared.
02:25 Peoples accused his sexual partner Maria Adams since his possessions typically went missing
02:31 when she spent the night.
02:32 Although Adams denied snatching the treats, Peoples found his candy in her coat pocket.
02:37 Thus ensued a fight involving thrown plates and steak knives, with Adams being stabbed
02:42 to death.
02:43 Peoples considered abandoning Adams outside, but since they'd recently engaged in intercourse,
02:48 he knew the police would trace the crime back to him.
02:50 So he got dressed and called 911, leading to his arrest.
02:54 Found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder, Peoples received a 30-year prison
02:58 sentence.
03:00 The Halloween Killer
03:01 Trick-or-treater Lisa Ann French planned to spend Halloween 1973 with her friend Ann Parker.
03:07 Since Parker was grounded, though, French flew solo.
03:10 She eventually arrived at the house of Gerald Miles Turner, never to be seen alive… again.
03:16 After being a suspect for nine months, Turner finally confessed, being sentenced to more
03:20 than 38 years.
03:22 Turner was released early in 1992 for "good behavior," but he returned to prison in 2003
03:28 upon violating his parole.
03:29 Although Turner completed his sentence in 2018, French's mother launched an online
03:34 petition to keep him incarcerated.
03:36 This sort of thing did not happen in Fond du Lac, ever.
03:39 Turner has since been moved to the Sand Ridge Secure Treatment Center as the courts decide
03:44 his fate.
03:45 Fifty years later, this heinous crime continues to affect the Fond du Lac community.
03:49 Johnny Frank Garrett
03:51 In the early hours of Halloween 1981, Sister Tadea Benz was found dead in her convent room.
03:58 Several days later, the police apprehended teenager Johnny Frank Garrett, who was a neighbor
04:02 of the 76-year-old nun.
04:04 Garrett was convicted of assaulting and murdering Benz with his execution set for January 6,
04:10 1992.
04:11 "We're assembled here today to witness the execution of Johnny Frank Garrett."
04:16 Pope John Paul II appealed on Garrett's behalf, resulting in a reprieve that lasted
04:21 a month.
04:22 Although forensic psychiatrist Dr. Dorothy Lewis argued that Garrett was living with
04:25 multiple personality disorder and childhood trauma, the execution ultimately went through
04:31 on February 11, 1992.
04:32 "Anything you want to say to us right now, son?"
04:35 "I would like to tell you for a final time that I am innocent."
04:40 Garrett's last words have been debated, but many believe that he thanked his family
04:44 for looking after him before telling the rest of the world to kiss his rear end.
04:49 Egging Gone Wrong
04:50 Nobody likes getting egged on Halloween, but it's generally a harmless prank that doesn't
04:55 stick with people beyond November 1st.
04:57 "Hand over the candy, old dude, or we egg your house back to the Stone Age!"
05:01 Some eggs crack louder than others, however.
05:04 According to the New York Times, at least 24 individuals were wounded or killed due
05:08 to Halloween eggings between 1984 and 2010.
05:13 Among the most tragic cases occurred in 1998, when Carl Jackson accompanied his girlfriend
05:18 and her son to a party.
05:20 On the way, their car was hit with eggs.
05:23 Jackson confronted the teenagers responsible before returning to the passenger seats.
05:28 Suddenly, one teen removed a gun, killing Jackson with the shots.
05:32 Curtis Sterling was sentenced to 20 years for the senseless crime.
05:35 Jackson's mother annually sent Sterling a Halloween card reading, "I'm glad you're
05:40 still there."
05:41 Son of Sam Strikes Again?
05:43 "His neighbors described him as basically nice, quiet, kept to himself."
05:49 On Halloween 1981, Ronald Sisman and his girlfriend Elizabeth Plattsman were having a photoshoot
05:55 when masked strangers knocked on the door.
05:57 Although they initially ignored them, the two eventually answered.
06:01 Not long after, the couple was found dead in the ransacked apartment, their driver's
06:05 licenses and Sisman's .25 caliber pistol missing.
06:09 Some suspected that the crime was drug-related.
06:11 The most bizarre theory links the murders to David Berkowitz, aka Son of Sam, who was
06:17 incarcerated at the time.
06:18 An informant claims that Berkowitz told him that his cult was going to commit a Halloween
06:22 ritual killing at an apartment resembling Sisman's.
06:26 Griffin also supposedly possessed a Son of Sam snuff film.
06:29 No such video was ever found, nor were those responsible for the murders.
06:35 The Liskey Griffin Family Massacre Devin Griffin thought he was the target of
06:39 an elaborate Halloween prank when he returned home to find his mother, stepfather, and brother
06:45 slain.
06:46 Realizing that this wasn't a gag, Griffin alerted his aunt, who called the authorities.
06:54 It wouldn't be long until the police arrested Griffin's older stepbrother, William "BJ"
06:58 Liskey, who was hiding out in a family cabin.
07:01 Following a phone call with his biological mother, Liskey confessed, attributing his
07:05 crimes to mental illness and Satan's influence.
07:08 He was sentenced to three life sentences with no possibility of parole.
07:12 Liskey was only about four years into his sentence when he took his own life in 2015.
07:18 Meanwhile, Devin Griffin graduated and married his high school sweetheart, starting a family
07:23 together.
07:24 The Toolbox Killers Last Murder For five agonizing months in 1979, teenage
07:41 girls were targeted by Lawrence Bittiker and Roy Norris.
07:45 These two were nicknamed "The Toolbox Killers" due to their instruments of torture.
07:49 Their reign of terror came to an end after October 31st of that year.
07:53 Shirley Lynette Ledford was hitchhiking home from a Halloween party when Bittiker and Norris
07:58 picked her up.
07:59 She apparently knew Bittiker, who was a regular at the restaurant where she worked.
08:03 Ledford, tragically, didn't survive the night, but she would be the pair's last known victim.
08:08 Twenty days later, Bittiker was arrested for another crime while Norris was apprehended
08:13 for violating parole.
08:14 It was only a matter of time until they were linked to Ledford and four others, dying in
08:19 prison.
08:44 The Man Who Killed Halloween Finding himself $100,000 in debt, Ronald
08:49 Clark O'Brien attempted to erase his financial woes in the most monstrous way imaginable.
08:55 Taking his son Timothy and daughter Elizabeth trick-or-treating in 1974, O'Brien gave them
09:00 pixie sticks laced with potassium cyanide, hoping to collect the life insurance.
09:06 To throw suspicion off him, O'Brien gave poisoned pixie sticks to three others.
09:11 While those three and Elizabeth never ate their candy, Timothy tragically did.
09:16 During an autopsy and a look into O'Brien's finances, the police quickly connected the
09:20 dots.
09:21 The following June, it took a jury less than an hour to find O'Brien guilty and just over
09:26 an hour to settle on the death penalty.
09:28 History remembers O'Brien as the Candy Man, or the Man Who Killed Halloween.
09:34 Which Halloween crime shook you to the core?
09:36 Let us know in the comments.
09:47 And as always, thanks for watching!
09:57 (gentle music)
10:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]