Untrue Crime: 10 Misconceptions About Infamous Killers & Cases

Untrue Crime: 10 Misconceptions About the Most Infamous Killers & Cases

Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re looking at ten common misconceptions and misunderstandings around famous true crime cases.

The Black Dahlia Was an Actress

Pop culture seems to think that the Black Dahlia was some kind of Hollywood actress, but this is far from the truth. The murder happened in Los Angeles, near the heart of the film industry, and the media at the time was fascinated by the idea of young women coming to Hollywood to chase fame and meeting tragic ends. Naturally, the newspapers sensationalized virtually every detail of the case. Reporters often described Short as an “actress,”, but there is no evidence that she had ever worked in film, or even that she auditioned for a movie. But this image sold papers and added a lurid Hollywood glamour to the story, and alas, the legend was born.

Charles Manson Never Committed Violence Himself

There are a ton of myths surrounding the Manson Family, including the supposed fact that Charles Manson himself never personally committed violence. It’s true that he did not touch the six victims of the Tate-LaBianca murders, but to say that he never committed violence is outright false. For example, he once sliced musician Gary Hinman with a sword, and he shot a drug dealer named Bernard Crowe. While Crowe survived, Manson intended to kill him. And in his memoir “Good Vibrations: My Life as a Beach Boy,” Mike Love claims that Dennis Wilson once witnessed Manson killing a Black man and shoving his body down a well. It’s clear that, despite the enduring myth, Manson did indeed have a long history of violence.

Bonnie & Clyde Were Romantic Bank Robbing Outlaws

When you think of legendary bank robbers, you probably think of Bonnie and Clyde. Only, this young couple was less “romantic bank robbers” and more “desperate and horribly violent small-time criminals in way over their heads.” Heck, they barely even robbed banks - they mostly targeted small stores and gas stations, often netting only a few dollars at a time. They were also not romantic Robin Hood figures, as they never fought for a cause or gave money to the poor. The Robin Hood narrative grew out of widespread public resentment of banks during the Great Depression, not from anything Bonnie and Clyde actually did. And lastly, they were not “cool” folk heroes - they were thieves and murderers, claiming at least twelve innocent lives.

John Wayne Gacy Buried All of His Victims Under His House

Two things are widely known about John Wayne Gacy - he worked as a clown and he buried his victims in the crawl space of his house. And while it’s true that many victims were buried under the house, it was certainly not all of them. Gacy killed at least 33 young men and boys, but only 29 were found buried on his property. And even then, 26 were in the crawl space - three more were hidden elsewhere, like under the garage and driveway. The final four victims were not even buried at all, but dumped in the Des Plaines River, as Gacy had run out of room around his home.

Aileen Wuornos Acted in Self Defense

“Monster” and Charlize Theron did a lot towards the public perception of Aileen Wuornos. Wuornos claims that she killed seven men in self-defense while she engaged in sex work, and the story fits a compelling cultural archetype: the abused woman fighting back against predatory men, ignored and misunderstood by society. But the story is just that - a story. The evidence consistently and overwhelmingly contradicts her self-defense narrative, often showing premeditation and opportunism. In other words, she murdered men for their money. Yes, Wuornos suffered a horrific childhood and suffered a degree of mental illness, that is undeniable. But the sympathy should stop there.

Ted Bundy Had a Law Degree

This serial killer is almost mythical in stature, having cultivated an image as an attractive, charismatic, and intelligent psychopath. There’s even an enduring myth that Bundy had a law degree, and that’s why he defended himself in court. But here’s the thing - anyone can defend themselves in court. Yes, Bundy briefly enrolled in law school in the early 1970s, but saying that he “studied law” is being super generous, as he attended classes for only a few months before dropping out. His grades were mediocre, and classmates later said that he didn’t stand out in any way. So, when he acted as his own attorney during his Florida murder trials, it wasn’t because he was a qualified genius - it was because he wanted attention.

H.H. Holmes Had an Elaborate “Murder Castle”

It’s one of the most fascinating stories in all of true crime - H.H. Holmes abducted people from the Chicago World’s Fair, brought them back to his Murder Castle, and killed them with elaborate traps, secret rooms, body chutes, and giant acid pits. Some say he killed up to 200 people! Nah. This is a classic case of yellow journalism clouding facts and legend overtaking history. The “Murder Castle” did exist, but it wasn’t a demonic, labyrinthian death trap, and the “secret death rooms” were never verified by investigators. And Holmes was indeed a murderer, but these were mostly personal and financial killings, not random murders of kidnapped tourists. In reality, that Murder Castle was nothing but a shoddy and poorly-constructed hotel.

Jeffrey Dahmer Was a Reclusive Loner

The infamous Jeffrey Dahmer is often portrayed as a withdrawn and friendless recluse - an image that was amplified by news coverage and pop culture. But this myth goes against the very nature of his crimes. Dahmer was known for his attention-seeking humor in school, and people later reported Dahmer as being quiet and odd but friendly. He had a job, conversed casually with neighbors and co-workers, and he frequently went out to bars and clubs. And he was certainly charismatic enough to pick up his victims, despite their potential reservations. Dahmer was reserved, but he was no Ed Gein - he was a functioning social participant. The horror isn’t that he was invisible. It’s that he was visible, and no one realized what he was doing.

The Columbine Shooters Were Taking Revenge

It’s one of the most persistent myths in all of true crime - that the Columbine shooters, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, were social outcasts seeking revenge on the jocks and popular students who tormented them. This explanation fit an easy moral framework and fed the media’s hunger for a simple explanation. In reality, they weren’t loner outcasts, and they didn’t go after specific individuals. In fact, their original plan was a bombing designed to kill as many people as possible. When this failed, they began shooting indiscriminately. The shooting was mainly the result of Harris’s budding psychopathy and desire for domination coupled with Klebold’s general despair and hatred of the world.

Ed Gein Had a High Body Count

Pop culture has warped Ed Gein into characters like Leatherface and Norman Bates - killers with far higher body counts than Gein himself. He’s almost always remembered as one of America’s most infamous serial killers, a depraved man who murdered people before skinning their bodies, Buffalo Bill style. But while Gein technically fits the FBI’s definition of a serial killer, his body count is far lower than you might expect. In reality, Gein killed “just” two people. What really cemented his place in legend were the masks, skin suits, and skull bowls, but these came from corpses that Gein grave-robbed, not murder victims. It’s still a horrific story, but the distinction must be made - Ed Gein was no Leatherface.

Did you believe these stories? Let us know in the comments below!