10 Most Disturbing Interrogations Caught On Tape

10 Most Disturbing Interrogations Caught on Tape

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be looking at the most unsettling police interrogations in which suspects acted in a disturbing manner or made troubling confessions.

Jerrod Murray

For most, taking another person’s life is an unimaginable act with severe consequences. So it’s pretty spine-chilling when a murderer discusses it like just another mundane activity. Back in 2012, Jerrod Murray was a freshman at Oklahoma’s East Central University. On December 5th, he fatally shot another student solely for the thrill. During his interrogation, Murray wastes no time in taking responsibility for his actions. This should be a good thing, but his abject lack of remorse and matter-of-fact descriptions of the violent act are deeply disturbing, to say the least. Murray states that he would like the death sentence, but in reality, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity and remanded to a mental health facility.

Richard Cottingham

Dubbed the Torso Killer, Richard Cottingham terrorized New York and New Jersey between 1967 and 1980, claiming the lives of at least 18 women and girls. He was arrested in 1980 and sentenced to life imprisonment for multiple murders in both states. Since then, even more grisly details of his crimes have emerged. In this 2014 interrogation, Cottingham bluntly admits to committing murders in other states like Florida, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. When questioned about his true victim count, Cottingham delivers a chilling response and callously laughs it off. He also downplays his actions, seemingly shifting the blame to his victims. Cottingham has since pleaded guilty to more murders and will spend the rest of his natural life behind bars.

Nicole Poole Franklin

On December 9th 2019, in Des Moines, Iowa, a boy and a girl were struck by a car. Initially, these incidents seemed unrelated. However, they were eventually linked to one woman: Nicole Poole Franklin. Franklin admitted responsibility for both hit-and-run incidents, but what made her actions even more troubling was the motivation behind them. Speaking with two detectives, Franklin confessed to intentionally hitting the girl because she perceived her to be Mexican and believed she was taking away people’s jobs. This admission transformed the case from a simple hit-and-run into a federal hate crime. Consequently, Franklin was sentenced to 25 years in Iowa for attempted murder and received a concurrent 25-year federal sentence for hate crime charges.

Damian Arguello

A domestic dispute between Damian Arguello and his wife, Crystal, took a tragic turn when he fatally stabbed her and their infant son, Rayven. Arguello was arrested shortly after and interrogated by two detectives of the Aurora, Colorado police department. The first thing Arguello does during the session is ask for a cigarette. When this is brushed off by one of the detectives, he withdraws and barely says anything. However, once his request for a cigarette is granted, Arguello immediately opens up, admitting to resenting his wife and stabbing her in the heat of their argument. Arguello would later plead guilty to first-degree murder for both deaths, earning himself a life sentence.

Spencer Spielman

On October 13th 2016, Patricia Dresser was found deceased in her Greenfield, Indiana home. The following day, Spencer Spielman, a handyman Dresser had previously hired, was arrested when he was pulled over while driving her car. At the outset of his interrogation, Spielman vehemently denies any involvement in Dresser’s death. Sensing they’ve hit a wall, the detectives try a different approach. They pause the interrogation and take Spielman outside for a cigarette break. Upon returning to the room, the wall apparently comes down. Spielman confesses to struggling with Dresser and then mimes how he had taken her life. He was found guilty of murder and robbery, and ultimately sentenced to 55 years in prison.

Zachary Littleton

In October 2009, 25-year-old Samira Watkins was reported missing by her sister after visiting her boyfriend, Zachary Littleton. Afterwards, Littleton, a U.S. Navy officer was questioned by the authorities and claimed that he hadn’t seen Watkins on the night of her disappearance. At some point in the interrogation, Littleton refers to Watkins in the past tense, even though her status was still unknown at the time. Days later, her body washed up close to the Pensacola Naval Air Station in Florida. It was eventually revealed that Littleton, who was married to another woman, had impregnated Watkins and apparently murdered her when she refused to terminate the pregnancy. He was imprisoned for life as a result.

Nga Truong

When an infant suddenly died in Worcester, Massachusetts in 2008, his teenage mother, Nga Truong, quickly became the prime suspect. Truong endured a disturbing two-hour interrogation, without any adult or lawyer present. Throughout the taped session, the clearly distressed teen sits opposite two detectives who push her to her wits’ end, despite the absence of any incriminating physical evidence. Eventually, Truong buckles under pressure and confesses to smothering her child. That unfortunately landed her in jail for nearly three years. In 2011, however, the case was dismissed after a judge determined that the cops had employed “deception, trickery and implied promises” to extract the confession. Truong later sued the city of Worcester and received a $2.1 million settlement.

Michael Hernandez

In 2004, a heinous crime unfolded at Southwood Middle School in Palmetto Bay, Florida involving two teenagers. On February 3rd, Michael Hernandez fatally attacked his friend Jaime Gough with a knife he had brought onto school premises. Hernandez was taken into custody that same day and, in a recorded interrogation, he detailed the crime in a very matter-of-fact manner, expressing zero remorse or regret for it. As Hernandez recounts the incident, he seems to revel in the memory of it, almost as if expecting some form of commendation from the interrogator. Despite being a teenager at the time, Hernandez was tried as an adult and sent to prison for life, where he died in 2021.

Cynthia Cdebaca

An entire family was plunged into turmoil in 2014 by the shooting death of Geoward Eustaquio at the hands of his mother-in-law Cynthia Cdebaca. Cdebaca had lived with the family for years and cited Eustaquio’s alleged violent behavior as her motivation. On February 11th, Cdebaca fired 15 shots at her son-in-law, pausing twice to reload her weapon. When questioned about the incident, Cdebaca immediately expressed her disdain for Eustaquio before devolving into a fit of laughter. Soon after, she confessed to shooting him and, perhaps most shockingly, celebrated upon learning of his death. It’s horrifying, bewildering and heartbreaking, all at once. At the age of 66, Cdebaca was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 50 years to life.

Michael Bever

On July 22nd 2015, in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, brothers Michael and Robert Bever murdered five members of their family and severely injured another. This was to be the first step of their bizarre plot to kill at least 50 people across various locations. Fortunately, they were apprehended before executing any more violence. Michael Bever, the younger brother, revealed their sinister intentions to authorities when he was questioned. He also disclosed that they had accumulated tons of weapons and ammunition through online purchases. Even more troubling was his mention of being inspired by other serial killers, as well as the 1999 tragedy in Columbine. Both brothers were eventually found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.

Which of these taped interrogations unnerved you the most? Let us know in the comments below.