Latest Stories

Most recently published stories in Criminal.

That Night
That Night Red and blue lights have been flashing around my rental cabin for the past two hours. Voices and beeps come in and out of walkie-talkies and voices from outside answer back. I peek out back to the frozen pond and see nothing but chaos. Police walk back and forth from the pond to their cars. Rescue drivers are getting gear up to get into the frigid water. Two detectives are taking statements from a couple who were ice fishing out on the pond. It’s five in the evening in this small town in Maine. In the last two months since I've been here nothing interesting has happened. It’s usually quiet and uneventful. That is until tonight. All of sudden there’s even more commotion coming from outside.
By Natasha Avery4 years ago in Criminal
It's Her Own Fault
In time, the town would forget, the story would become myth. Only to be brought up again late at night, by the patrons of the dive bar on Oak Street, murmuring into their pints. “Remember those girls?” The bartender would shoot them a warning glance. The winters outside were cold enough without certain topics sending shivers down your spine. But gossip has a life of its own. It twists under door frames, and lives in the corners of our minds. And it thrives in the space between school desks, written on scraps of paper passed hand to hand, whispered in bathroom stalls.
By Justine Kefauver4 years ago in Criminal
My (short) Time Imprisoned
Do I love the police? No. Do I like the police? Not really. Time is the most valuable commodity there is; so valuable, in fact, that it is hails from the realm of the priceless. If you ask an old woman on her deathbed whether she'd rather have a bank full of money or six extra hours of life, there is only one thing she will choose. In fact, our salaries and wages that we earn are based solely on how much our time is worth.
By Benett S4 years ago in Criminal
Family Business VII
FAMILY BUSINESS VII-THE LONG THAW The Renaissance The Bronx borough, part of the five boroughs consisting of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island that make up New York City was going through a renaissance transformation in the early 1970s after many years of aging infrastructure and decline.
By Thomas Doyle4 years ago in Criminal
The Juror who Fell in Love With Richard Ramirez: "It was His Job"
Richard Ramirez terrorized the Los Angeles area during the 1980s, breaking into homes late at night with a .22 revolver handgun, knives, machetes, and other weapons used to murder his victims. He sexually assaulted most female victims before murdering them and left Satanic messages on the wall written in blood spatter.
By Criminal Matters4 years ago in Criminal
Triple Homicide at Palm Springs
On October 12, 1978, San Francisco social heiress Sophia Friendly was getting ready to have dinner at her Palm Springs home, when at around 7pm someone unexpectedly came to the door of the mid-century modern home, but what happened next is not overly clear.
By Armchair Detective4 years ago in Criminal
Mom Marries Son's Killer Six Days After His Murder
I cannot say what I really think about this woman. No love in this world would allow me to stand by someone suspected in my child’s death, much less put a ring on my finger and carry their name. In fact, I would likely lose my mind and soon become Inmate #1234567 myself, smiling in my mugshot holding a “Yeah, I did it” sign.
By Criminal Matters4 years ago in Criminal
How did the Drug Kingpin Evade Authorities for so Long?
“If it were up to me, and this is just me, drugs would all be legal,” Detective Garth McFadden said. “At the same time, they’re illegal now and I have to enforce laws I didn’t write.”
By Skyler Saunders4 years ago in Criminal
Amber Heard's Facade Is Crumbling!
This will likely be one of many pieces to appear from me in the near future as the defamation law suit against Amber Heard progresses.
By Chloe Medeiros4 years ago in Criminal
What did the Victim Have in His Pocket?
Detective Carlos Herrara had survived liver cancer three years ago, and was in remission. Dying didn’t cross his mind. He felt like the only death he was concerned with was not his own but the man shot dead in Wilmington, Delaware. The Daily Delaware covered the case in December 2020.
By Skyler Saunders4 years ago in Criminal
The Greengrocer's Dilemma
It had been a long day, and Danny White was closing the shop. He was the sole proprietor of 'A Bite At The Cherry'. A hipster's hangout, the health shop consisted of a smoothie bar, a nut station, vegan food, and a massive fruit and vegetables section. His grandmother would have been ashamed at the old shop's metamorphosis, but the rapid fall of the greengrocer had been inevitable. For Danny, inheriting the old family 'fruit and veg' retail business was not the legacy it once was; changes had to be made.
By Tom Brad4 years ago in Criminal
Green Means Stop
Red light! Green light! Red light! Green light! The words echoed around in her head like a pinball bouncing frantically off the sides of a billowing pinball machine desperately trying to find its way out. As she gripped the staring wheel it would be easy to say that she was white knuckled, but the glow from the streetlight lulled her into a 1000-mile stare as her hands began to glow under its neon spell like epoxy on marble. Her thoughts had a grip on her whole body now, and it was if she could feel the icy grip of death despite it being an uncomfortable 87 degrees and always humid on the Philadelphia streets. Silence fell over her like a blanket which was rare seeing as how there is barely a moment of stillness at this time of night.
By Shalonda Purdy4 years ago in Criminal