From shadowy government plots to mysterious murders, dive into the darkest corners of criminal history as we explore the most compelling conspiracy theories that continue to captivate true crime enthusiasts. These controversial cases have sparked endless debate and speculation, challenging the official narratives.
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00:00Question mark. Question mark. And that's where I came in.
00:04Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the craziest and most widespread conspiracy theories related to true crime.
00:11One day, men will look back and say I gave birth to the 20th century.
00:20Number 10. The government killed John Lennon.
00:23This evening, John Lennon arrived at the emergency room at the Roosevelt Hospital.
00:28He was dead at the time of his arrival.
00:30On the night of December 8th, 1980, John Lennon was shot and murdered by Mark David Chapman.
00:36To this day, his motive remains murky, leading some to question the official story.
00:40It's also true that both the CIA and the FBI surveilled Lennon and even sought to deport him to silence his influence.
00:47And he looked at me, as I mentioned earlier, he said, is that all?
00:52Do you want anything else?
00:54And I felt then and now that he knew something subconsciously that he was looking into the eyes of the person that was going to kill him.
01:05One conspiracy theory posits that they went even further and either hired Chapman as a hitman or brainwashed him into becoming an assassin, Manchurian candidate style.
01:15However, most historians and experts dismiss the theory, arguing that Chapman was simply a deranged fan who grew resentful of Lennon's lifestyle and public image.
01:24In recent years, Chapman has expressed some remorse for killing Lennon.
01:27But Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, has reportedly submitted a number of letters asking the board to deny parole.
01:34Chapman has now been denied 12 times.
01:36He will again be eligible to seek parole in two years.
01:40Number nine, the smiley face theory.
01:42They are hundreds of young men from all across the country.
01:45Their deaths labeled as accidental drownings.
01:48Now, these retired detectives say it's murder.
01:52Sometimes the line between conspiracy theory and genuine theory is a little blurred.
01:57Such is the case with the smiley face theory.
01:59Some professionals believe that a network of killers is responsible for the drowning deaths of dozens of college-aged men across the United States since the 1990s.
02:10Found near most of the bodies was smiley face graffiti, suggesting that the symbol is some type of calling card for the criminal organization.
02:17You're talking about almost 300 young men across the country that have been drugged, abducted, held for a period of time, murdered on land and deposited in the bodies of water to make it look like a drought.
02:29The major proponents of the theory are New York detectives Kevin Gannon and Anthony Duarte and criminal justice professor Lee Gilbertson.
02:37It's an interesting theory, but it is often dismissed owing to a lack of evidence, the frequency of drowning deaths and the proliferation of smiley face graffiti.
02:45The graffiti is omnipresent, saying that these signs are everywhere.
02:49So, of course, they're going to show up more than one would expect when you're around a crime scene.
02:57Charles Manson was brainwashed to kill the hippie movement.
03:00Well, Bobby Bosley didn't do it by himself.
03:03I know that.
03:04What's that? Kill Gary Hinman?
03:07There are some interesting things connecting Charles Manson with MKUltra.
03:11In the late 1960s, Manson and his followers spent time around the Haight-Ashbury Free Medical Clinic, which was allegedly associated with a known MKUltra researcher named Louis West.
03:22The CIA's program also experimented with LSD as a means of mind control, and they were known to infiltrate drug taking hippie movements, movements like the Manson family.
03:33So you and a bunch of friends like you all live in Spawn Movie Ranch?
03:38Yeah.
03:39Ergo, it's very possible that at some point in time, Manson was embroiled in MKUltra experimentation, which in turn resulted in his infamous killings.
03:48Some argue that the killings were even engineered by the CIA as a means of discrediting the anti-government counterculture movement.
03:55However, the evidence is merely circumstantial, and there is no smoking gun to support the theory.
04:00Now we come to the question that has been asked since these murders occurred.
04:04Why?
04:04Number seven, JonBenet Ramsey was killed by her brother.
04:08Since the murder of child beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey more than 20 years ago, investigators and journalists have been scouring for clues to the unsolved mystery.
04:17But that search may prove to be a costly one for CBS, whose recent docuseries reexamining the case evidence is now the subject of a gargantuan lawsuit.
04:26People look for scapegoats in times of uncertainty.
04:29JonBenet Ramsey was murdered in her Colorado home on Christmas night, 1996, her body being found the next morning.
04:36It was obvious that she had been murdered, but the perp has never been identified.
04:40Enter Burke Ramsey, JonBenet's older brother.
04:44Some theorists speculate that Burke accidentally killed JonBenet during a routine sibling conflict, likely hitting her over the head with a blunt object.
04:53CBS has taken a young man and they have falsely branded Burke as a child killer since age nine.
05:03And he will live with the impact of that accusation by CBS for the rest of his natural life.
05:09Their parents, not wanting to lose their son as well, proceeded to cover up the crime.
05:14This theory remains one of the most debated aspects of the case.
05:17But there is no definitive proof that Burke was responsible.
05:21And he has been officially cleared by law enforcement.
05:24Did you hit your sister over the head with a baseball bat or a flashlight?
05:30Absolutely not. Number six, the Phantom Killer was a deranged soldier.
05:34You've heard this one serial killer stalking young couples on Lovers Lane, but it isn't fiction.
05:39It's the real deal. A legendary predator that people in Texarkana have always known as the Phantom Killer.
05:47Whether you call them the Phantom of Texarkana, the Phantom Killer or the Phantom Slayer, one thing remains consistent.
05:53They murdered five people throughout the greater Texarkana area in early 1946.
05:59The killings technically remain unsolved, although most officials believe that a career criminal named UL Swinney was responsible.
06:06I would say that I'm 100 percent sure that it was UL Swinney that committed several of the Phantom Killer murders.
06:19And he got away with it.
06:20But there is another theory or conspiracy theory.
06:24The area is home to two military bases, the Red River Army Depot and the Lone Star Army ammunition plant,
06:32both of which were active during World War Two.
06:34Owing to the tactical precision of the murders and the perps use of a standard issue 32 caliber weapon,
06:40some believe that a soldier was responsible and that the military covered it up to prevent bad publicity.
06:46UL Swinney, car thief, habitual criminal, longtime con.
06:50In the end, a lot of the evidence does seem to point to him and thus mystery solved.
06:56Well, maybe not.
06:58Number five, Marilyn Monroe was silenced to avoid leaking information.
07:02Monroe died from an overdose of sleeping pills.
07:05Speculation surrounding Monroe's death continues to this day.
07:09The world was left shocked on August 5th, 1962, when it was announced that Marilyn Monroe was found dead at the age of 36,
07:16the result supposedly of an intentional overdose.
07:20But some are convinced that the Kennedy family was nefariously involved.
07:24The rumors about John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe are, of course, legion.
07:29Robert Kennedy was another matter that was beginning to interest me more.
07:34Monroe was very close with President John F. Kennedy, and the two were supposedly having an affair.
07:40One theory contends that Monroe obtained classified information from Kennedy,
07:44including details about UFOs, the Bay of Pigs invasion or nuclear warfare, and that she was silenced to protect these secrets.
07:52Some believe the Kennedys ordered a hit after she plans to expose the information,
07:57and some believe that the FBI killed her after learning she knew the secrets.
08:01Either way, the result is the same.
08:03An unnamed informant quoted Marilyn as saying she just days earlier lunched with President Kennedy at Peter Lawford's house on the beach.
08:13They had, she said, discussed the morality of atomic testing.
08:17Number four, the government conducted the Oklahoma City bombing.
08:21It's like a garbage pile. It's unbelievable.
08:24Everywhere you dig, you find somebody. Everywhere.
08:28Whether it's 9-11 or Oklahoma City, some people are absolutely convinced that the American government has a history of blowing up public buildings.
08:36There was a prominent militia movement growing in the early 1990s, and anti-government sentiment abounded.
08:43In order to stem the growing movement, the American government blew up the Alfred P.
08:47Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City and blamed it on a radicalized extremist.
08:52It hurts down deep for everyone here.
08:54The curious now have come to see it for themselves.
08:56And still those who hold out hope come to even though there is so little hope left.
09:02In doing so, the public sentiment would shift back to the federal government and order would be restored.
09:07In truth, Timothy McVeigh conducted the bombing as an act of revenge against the U.S. government
09:12and their controversial handlings of both Ruby Ridge and Waco.
09:16Together again to remember those lost, those who survived, and those changed forever.
09:22Number three, Jack the Ripper was a royal.
09:25With all due respect, sir, I believe this was done by someone with at least a working knowledge of dissection,
09:31either an educated man such as a doctor or...
09:33An educated man? That's preposterous. No well-bred man would do this.
09:37While widely debunked, the theory that Jack the Ripper was a member of the royal family has persisted for well over a century.
09:44But exactly which member remains contested.
09:47Some think it was Queen Victoria's grandson, Prince Albert Victor,
09:51who committed the murders after growing mentally unstable.
09:54And some think it was the Queen's personal physician, William Gull.
09:58The story goes that the prince had a secret child with a working-class woman of the neighborhood
10:03and that Gull was ordered to silence all who knew the secret.
10:06Regardless of who it was, the royal family proceeded to cover it up and blamed it on a shadowy serial killer.
10:12Of course, there is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that either of these stories are true.
10:17Nordinum is a derivative of opium. Apart from doctors and addicts, not many would recognize it.
10:28How long have you chased the dragon, Inspector?
10:31Number two, Kurt Cobain was murdered.
10:34We talked to an FBI expert. He said, if you want to get away with murder, you kill a junkie.
10:40Shortly after turning grunge mainstream and becoming a spokesman of Gen X, Kurt Cobain took his own life at the age of 27.
10:47Naturally, some believe he was murdered.
10:50This theory has been largely fueled by supposed inconsistencies in the official account.
10:55For example, Cobain had extremely high levels of heroin in his system,
11:00and some think this amount would have incapacitated him instantly, thereby making the fatal gunshot impossible.
11:06For me, the most compelling piece of evidence that convinces me almost to a certainty that Kurt was murdered was the level of heroin in his body.
11:15His letter also appears to have two different handwriting styles.
11:19The main culprit in the theory is Cobain's wife, Courtney Love, and she has faced excessive blame and ridicule ever since.
11:26However, those who believe in the theory often rely on mere speculation rather than definitive forensic proof, none of which points to a murder.
11:35Should the case be reopened, my answer is unequivocally, unhesitatingly, yes, the case should be reopened.
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12:02This is widely known as the magic bullet or the single bullet theory.
12:06But this lab claims after years of research, the same bullet hitting both men is scientifically impossible.
12:13What is arguably the biggest true crime in history occurred on November 22, 1963, when President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed while driving through Dealey Plaza.
12:23The official story is that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone and shot the president.
12:26But there are, quite literally, countless conspiracy theories arguing against this.
12:31And I think he felt nobody appreciated his worth.
12:35He wanted to make a name for himself.
12:39He wanted to be somebody.
12:42And he saw that this was possible.
12:49Many people have been blamed for Kennedy's assassination, including the CIA, the Soviets, the Mafia, Fidel Castro, Lyndon B. Johnson, and yes, even the Illuminati.
12:58Perhaps the most famous theory concerns a second shooter on the grassy knoll who was responsible for the fatal shot to Kennedy's head.
13:05It doesn't matter which one you believe.
13:07The point is, almost no one actually thinks it was Oswald.
13:11I never realized Kennedy was so dangerous to the establishment.
13:15Is that why?
13:17That's a real question, isn't it?
13:19Do you personally believe in any of these theories?
13:21Let us know in the comments below.
13:23Why? The how and the who is just scenery for the public.
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