10 Convicted Murderers Who Gave TV Interviews Before Being Arrested

10 Convicted Murderers Who Gave TV Interviews Before Being Arrested

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at 10 Convicted Murderers Who Gave TV Interviews Before Being Arrested.

For this list, we’ll be examining the most heinous murderers who gave interviews to unsuspecting news crews before they were caught and charged for their crimes.

What other killers have feigned innocence for TV cameras? Let us know in the comments!

Chris Watts

This harrowing case is reminiscent of the 2014 film “Gone Girl,” except this time, the husband actually did it. On August 13th 2018, a pregnant woman named Shanann Watts and her two daughters, Bella and Celeste, were reported missing from their Frederick, Colorado home. By the next day, while an extensive investigation into their disappearance was ongoing, Shanann’s husband Chris Watts granted an interview to a local news station. Watts pleaded for the safe return of his wife and daughters, only to be arrested the very next day for their murders. The oil field worker eventually confessed to the crimes, apparently motivated by a desire to start a new life with his mistress. He was handed five life sentences, without parole.

Darren Vickers

In May 1997, Jamie Lavis, a schoolboy from Openshaw, Greater Manchester, vanished without a trace. Over the next few days, a man named Darren Vickers befriended Lavis’ parents Karen and John, claiming to be a bus driver who was the last to see the boy before he went missing. Vickers warmed his way into the Lavis’ lives, appearing on TV as their unofficial spokesperson, and participating in searches for the lost child. At some point, he even moved into their house and slept in their bed. It was soon revealed that it was Vickers who had kidnapped the boy and taken his life. Two years later, after Lavis’ body was finally discovered, Vickers received a life sentence for the murder.

Ian Huntley

Best friends Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman left a family barbecue at Wells’ house in Soham, Cambridgeshire in August 2002 and were never seen alive again. Both young girls lost their lives after being lured into the house of Ian Huntley, who lived in the local community. For about two weeks, Wells and Chapman were thought to be missing, with hundreds of police officers working full-time to find them. During this period, Huntley appeared on multiple TV networks, granting interviews in which he appeared to speak for the community. Huntley’s strange behavior in some of these interviews soon raised suspicions that eventually led to his arrest. He was found guilty of both murders and received two life sentences.

Debra Kincy

In October 2015, Debra Kincy of Oakland Park, Florida called 911 to report the discovery of her neighbor’s dead body. 64-year-old Charlotte Nicholas had died on her own kitchen floor, reportedly of multiple stab wounds. The following day, Kincy appeared in a teary interview with a news reporter, in which she described the tragic scene she had discovered and her supposedly close relationship with the victim. But it turned out that was far from the truth. Apparently, Kincy and Nicholas had had a heated dispute over jewelry that drove Kincy to murder the retired nurse. Surveillance footage from a local pawn shop showed Kincy selling off Nicholas’ jewelry while wearing a blood-stained shirt. She was swiftly arrested on murder charges.

Gerard Baden-Clay

Gerard Baden-Clay had reported his wife Allison missing on the 20th of April 2012. The two had been married for roughly 15 years and had welcomed three daughters in that time. Just a few days later, while authorities searched for Allison in the area around their Queensland, Australia home, Baden-Clay stood before news reporters with tears in his eyes. Alas, they were nothing but crocodile tears. At the time, the real estate businessman was just a suspect in the case. But when Allison’s body was discovered in a creek 10 days after her disappearance, it quickly became clear that her husband was the culprit. Apparently, Baden-Clay was having an affair, and hoped to cash in on his wife’s sizable life insurance policy.

Neil & Margaret Archer

In 2015, 20-year-old mother of one, Jody Meyers, disappeared from her hometown of Mannum, South Australia. Afterwards, her fiancé Neil Archer and his mother Margaret, gave multiple TV interviews in which they appealed for Meyers to return home. But these emotional performances were just that… performances. In reality, Archer had already murdered Meyers and buried her under a concrete slab in his parents’ backyard. His mother had helped him cover it up. The two were caught after surveillance cameras showed that they’d used Meyers’ ATM card to withdraw money for the cement used to bury her. Archer also confessed to his younger brother, who eventually turned him in to the police.

Stephen McDaniel

Back in 2011, Lauren Giddings was a recent graduate of Mercer Law School who was preparing for the bar exam. Sadly, before she could achieve her dreams of becoming a lawyer, her neighbor and former classmate, Stephen McDaniel, broke into her apartment and murdered her. After Giddings was reported missing, McDaniel granted an interview to the local news station WGXA, putting on the act of a concerned neighbor and friend. Things took a bizarre turn, halfway into the interview, when McDaniel learnt that some of Giddings’ remains had been discovered. This strange interview, coupled with incriminating evidence found on his computer, were all police needed to bring him in for questioning. McDaniel eventually pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life.

Kristi Abrahams

It’s an image that could bring almost anyone to tears. The mother of a missing child stands before a bevy of reporters but can’t stop crying long enough to speak. In this case, that mother was Kristi Abrahams, whose daughter Kiesha had supposedly disappeared from the Sydney, Australia home they shared with Abrahams’ partner Robert Smith. But the case turned out to be far more deceptive than what was portrayed. Abrahams had repeatedly behaved violently towards her daughter, culminating in one incident that tragically took the girl’s life. Together with Smith, she burnt and disposed of Kiesha’s remains, before falsely reporting her missing. Abrahams and Smith were eventually convicted and handed varying prison sentences.

Matthew Haverly

When the body of a woman was found in a creek in Wyalusing Township, Pennsylvania, it didn’t take long for reporters to turn up in the area, interviewing local residents. One such person was Matthew Haverly, who initially expressed shock at the strange occurrence. Then, Haverly began offering theories as to what could have happened to the woman and even talked about how concerning the situation would be for his mother. Bizarrely, the body found was that of Haverly’s mother, Patricia, who had been murdered by Haverly himself just hours earlier. The same day the interview was given, Haverly was arrested by police. After claiming to have blacked out during the incident, Haverly pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter.

Stuart Hazell

In August of 2012, Tia Sharp was reported missing from her grandmother’s home in New Addington, South London. At the time, Sharp’s grandmother Christine Bicknell lived in the house with her then-boyfriend Stuart Hazell, who soon became a person of interest in her disappearance. On August 9th, Hazell appeared in an interview that ITV News had conducted with Sharp’s family and denied any involvement in her disappearance. The very next day, however, Sharp’s body was discovered in her grandmother’s house and Hazell was eventually arrested for her murder. Incriminating pictures and videos of the girl were found in Hazell’s possession. He pleaded guilty to the murder and received a life sentence.