These criminals may soon walk among us. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks of the most infamous criminals who will soon be released from prison or eligible for parole.
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00:00 "Picton should not walk on this earth. He doesn't deserve to take one step out of where he is."
00:06 Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at the most infamous criminals
00:10 who will soon be released from prison or eligible for parole.
00:13 "There was never an intentional to kill Selena."
00:16 Yaki Arklov, a former mercenary and war criminal.
00:21 Yaki Arklov was convicted in 1999 for his role in the ruthless murder of two police officers.
00:27 Working with a group of other men, Arklov embarked on a robbery spree across the Swedish province of
00:32 Östergötland. On May 28, 1999, the group robbed a bank in Shisha, Sweden. As they made off with
00:38 millions in stolen money, two police officers spotted their vehicle and pursued them. Gunfire
00:43 erupted, and the police officers were killed. Originally sentenced to life in prison for his
00:48 participation in the killings, Arklov may be free as soon as 2026 due to a controversial ruling that
00:54 commuted his sentence to 41 years. The prosecution has filed an appeal on this decision.
00:59 Elena Kiličić. In 2002, Elena Kiličić murdered her husband following an argument about money.
01:06 "The story was that she didn't know where he was. Gee, dear Boris, probably off to Moscow."
01:13 But Elena did say she'd had a fight with Boris just before their trip to Disney World.
01:18 "She admitted the fact that they were, you know, they were speaking about divorce."
01:22 Boris Kiličić, a wealthy businessman who made his fortune in jet fuel,
01:26 threatened to leave Elena in financial ruin after he discovered her ongoing affair with a man named
01:31 Messiah Justice. Following the dispute, Elena murdered Boris in the basement of their lavish
01:36 Staten Island home. After killing her husband, Elena took her children to Disney World, telling
01:42 them that their father had left. "And the whole family was supposed to go for the pinnacle of
01:46 American vacations, a week at Disney World. Only Boris didn't join them." Sentenced to 22 years to
01:53 life, Elena Kiličić will go before parole commissioners in 2024 in a bid to secure her freedom.
02:00 "I was like in a dream. Guilt."
02:02 Michael Taylor. In 1990, Vietnam veteran James Zappalardi was murdered in a heinous hate crime.
02:10 The perpetrator, Michael Taylor, set out with an accomplice intending to rob Zappalardi.
02:14 "When two men from Staten Island, Michael Taylor and Philip Sarlo, brutally murdered my brother
02:20 Jimmy, not for money, not for revenge, but out of prejudice and hatred." Instead, Taylor killed him.
02:29 Afterward, the two men attempted to rob Zappalardi's home using his keys. The crime was
02:34 the first case ever in Staten Island to be officially ruled a hate crime based on sexual
02:38 orientation. "You know, not just a local news story, it really made national news for a couple
02:43 of years." The pair had harassed Zappalardi in the past and had previously spent time in jail for
02:49 physically assaulting another man. Taylor is currently serving 23 years to life in prison
02:54 for the murder and is scheduled for a parole hearing in May 2024. Robert Pickton. Notorious
03:00 Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton shocked the country with his crimes. "But as he was led away
03:05 in handcuffs, few would have expected that those rumors would lead to something far more grave."
03:11 "The eccentric, scruffy farmer being labeled as one of the deadliest serial killers in history."
03:18 Also known as the Pig Farmer Killer, Pickton was convicted in 2007 for murdering six women.
03:23 An extensive investigation revealed evidence of additional murders, and it's believed he
03:28 began killing in the early 1990s, not long after inheriting his family's Port Coquitlam pig farm.
03:34 "Reports that people were disappearing on his smallholding and that he was
03:39 disappearing on his smallholding. But when the police went there, what could they find?
03:43 Pigs, meat, nothing." He was sentenced to life in prison, but under Canadian law, he would become
03:51 eligible for parole after 25 years. As of February 2024, Pickton is able to seek day parole. Families
03:58 say they are sick to their stomachs, thinking he would be able to apply for day parole. "Anybody
04:05 who did what he did does not deserve to walk the streets again." However, no hearing has yet been
04:13 set. Patrick Goodman. In 2002, Patrick Goodman was convicted of killing his girlfriend's son
04:19 in San Francisco. The brutality and senselessness of the murder shocked investigators and the
04:24 prosecution, who vowed to put Goodman behind bars and keep him there. "We have to be advocates for
04:29 public safety. And we have to make sure that people, one, serve the time that they were sentenced to,
04:36 but then also that when it's time for them to integrate back into the public, that they are
04:40 ready to do so." He was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Despite protest from the
04:46 San Francisco District Attorney's Office, Goodman was granted parole in December 2023. He is
04:52 currently awaiting a mandatory review of the parole board's decision. Unless California Governor Gavin
04:57 Newsom chooses to exercise his authority to overturn the parole decision, Goodman will be
05:02 officially released in April 2024. "Overturning such decisions is not unheard of. The governor
05:09 did that eight times last year and 21 times the year before." Edmund Kemper. Standing at an imposing
05:16 6-foot-9 inches tall, Edmund Kemper looms large as one of America's most notorious serial killers.
05:22 "No matter how he appeared outwardly, he is the definition of violence and evil.
05:32 You pray nobody else is out there like that again." Convicted in 1973 for the murders of
05:39 eight people, Kemper has been in prison for over 50 years. Before his infamous killing spree,
05:45 Kemper was convicted of slaying his paternal grandparents. "And then a month later,
05:48 I'm up living with my grandparents in the mountains, and 10 months later, I murdered them."
05:52 He became eligible for parole in 1979, and several parole requests have been denied over the years.
05:59 "The jury declared Edmund Kemper sane and found him guilty of first-degree murder on all eight
06:05 counts. He was given seven years to life on each count, and the terms are being served concurrently."
06:13 He was most recently denied parole in 2017, and will again be eligible to seek a hearing with
06:19 the parole board in 2024. Susan Smith. In 1994, Susan Smith gained national notoriety after she
06:28 claimed that her two children had been kidnapped during a carjacking. "Susan appeared with her
06:32 husband David to make a tearful plea for the return of their children." "I can't sleep, I can't eat,
06:37 I can't do anything but think about them." When Smith appeared on the news begging for the return
06:43 of her children, no one suspected the demure, glasses-wearing South Carolina mom was capable
06:48 of murder. However, police grew suspicious of her, and eventually, her story began to unravel.
06:54 "Susan Smith has been arrested and will be charged with two counts of murder."
07:00 Smith was arrested and subsequently confessed to killing her sons. Sentenced in 1995 to life
07:06 in prison, Smith will be eligible to seek parole for the first time in November 2024.
07:11 "This year, the murder mom is up for parole, but her family is not offering much support,
07:17 saying they're not interested in helping her. And her ex-husband David says he plans to file
07:21 an affidavit urging the parole board to keep her locked up." Yolanda Saldívar. In 1995,
07:29 rising star Selena Quintanilla was murdered by the president of her fan club, Yolanda Saldívar.
07:34 "34-year-old Yolanda Saldívar was arrested late yesterday after a nine-hour standoff with police.
07:39 Crowds cheered as Selena's alleged killer gave herself up to authorities. She's accused of
07:45 shooting Selena once in the back with a .38 caliber revolver." In the mid-1990s,
07:51 Selena was a Tejano music sensation who was poised to break into mainstream pop success.
07:56 Selena's family discovered that Saldívar had embezzled a significant sum of money from the
08:00 songstress. "There was money missing everywhere. Mr. Quintanilla brought all the evidence he had
08:05 discovered. He brought all these checks and asked Yolanda point blank, 'How do you explain this?'
08:10 Yolanda had no explanation, none whatsoever." Selena met with Saldívar on the morning of
08:15 March 31, 1995, to collect a few financial documents. By some accounts, Selena also
08:22 intended to fire Saldívar at that time. An argument ensued and Saldívar pulled a gun on Selena.
08:28 "She was angry. She was losing everything. She was angry with Mr. Quintanilla for what he had done.
08:36 She was going to lose the life that she knew. She was going to go back to being nobody,
08:40 and this was not going to happen. If she was going down, everybody was going down."
08:46 Sentenced to life in prison in 1995, Saldívar would become eligible for parole in March 2025.
08:53 Mark David Chapman. On December 8, 1980, the news of John Lennon's death reverberated around the
09:00 world. "John Lennon, outside of his apartment building on the west side of New York City,
09:05 the most famous perhaps of all of the Beatles, shot twice in the back,
09:10 rushed to Roosevelt Hospital, dead on arrival." Fans of the legendary Beatles musician were
09:18 horrified to learn he'd been killed by an obsessed fan named Mark David Chapman.
09:21 An unremarkable man with no prior criminal convictions, Chapman was in a deteriorating
09:27 mental state and drinking heavily before the killing. "He said, 'Is that all? Do you want
09:33 anything else?' And I felt then and now that he knew something subconsciously that he was looking
09:44 into the eyes of the person that was going to kill him." On the evening of the murder, Chapman
09:48 waited outside Lennon's apartment building and shot the unsuspecting singer as he returned home.
09:53 He was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. Chapman was also ordered to undergo psychiatric
09:58 treatment. He's been denied parole 12 times. "I'm here today to call on the New York State
10:05 Parole Board to deny the release of Mark Chapman." In 2024, he will make his 13th
10:13 appearance before the parole board. Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel
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10:23 occasional videos or all of them. If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings
10:27 and switch on notifications. Anthony Senter and Joseph Testa
10:33 During the 1970s and 80s, the Gemini twins were two of the most merciless hitmen in the world of
10:39 New York organized crime. "Other crew members included Joey Testa and Anthony Senter, who were
10:46 so close they were nicknamed the twins." Anthony Senter and Joseph Testa were childhood friends
10:52 who earned their unusual nickname because they primarily operated out of the Gemini Lounge in
10:56 Brooklyn and always worked together. "The gang used to hang out at a bar here on Flatlands Avenue,
11:02 Brooklyn. Today it is a church, but at the time it was called the Gemini Lounge and was the DeMeo
11:11 Gang's clubhouse and base for operations." They gained a reputation for how ruthless and
11:16 efficient they were at making people disappear. In 1989, Senter and Testa were convicted on 10
11:23 counts of murder and racketeering. "It was not some case that was built overnight,
11:28 done in a week. It was years of investigating." Both were sentenced to life in prison. In 2022,
11:36 to the dismay of his victims' loved ones, Senter was granted parole. He was sent to a halfway house
11:41 in December 2023, while Testa is set to get out per USPC orders in April 2024.
11:48 Are there more notorious criminals about to be released back into society? Let us know who we
11:53 should have included on our list. "Smith is now serving a life sentence at Leith Correctional
11:59 in Greenwood and is eligible for parole, believe it or not, in 2024."
12:04 [Music]