10 Times Criminals Accidentally Confessed

10 Times Criminals Accidentally Confessed

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at 10 Times Criminals Accidentally Confessed.

For this list, we’ll be considering the most noteworthy instances where criminals mistakenly admitted to their crimes or accidentally gave prosecutors legal grounds that led to charges and convictions.

What other accidental confessions have you heard of? Let your tongue slip in the comments below!

David Jungerman

Kansas City, Missouri attorney Tom Pickert was fatally shot in front of his home on October 25th 2017. Pickert had recently helped his client win a $5.75 million civil settlement against millionaire businessman David Jungerman. While Jungerman’s van was spotted by witnesses at the scene, he denied any involvement in Pickert’s murder. However, when police searched his house, they found some incriminating evidence, including a digital audio tape containing what appeared to be a confession. Apparently unaware that he was being recorded, Jungerman allegedly admitted to being responsible for Pickert’s death. This recording helped prosecutors secure a conviction of first-degree murder and armed criminal action.

William Korzon

For nearly 40 years, the whereabouts of Gloria Korzon remained unknown. Gloria had been married to William Korzon since 1967 and suffered domestic violence for years. In 1981, she mysteriously disappeared. Although her family believed that Korzon had a hand in Gloria’s disappearance, there was simply no way of proving it. Until 2019. After police reopened the case, they reached out to Korzon who immediately inquired if they had found her body. The only problem was that police didn’t even know there was a body to find. By all indications, Gloria was still presumed missing. As a result, Korzon was charged with criminal homicide. He eventually pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was sentenced to seven-and-a-half to 15 years in prison.

Aaron Burrell

It’s rather unusual for a 911 call to be made, not by the victim of a crime, but by the perpetrator. That was the case for a burglary that occurred in New Mexico in September of 2014. One of the suspects in the case, Aaron Burrell, mistakenly butt-dialed 911 after making his getaway from the crime scene. For nearly 45 minutes, dispatchers listened in as Burrell and his accomplice, Yvonne Thyberg, gloated about their alleged actions and how they successfully made their getaway. It didn’t take long for police to trace the call down to Burrell, who was arrested alongside Thyberg on multiple criminal charges related to the burglary. A third suspect, Marvin Myers, was also arrested but later released.

Guy Sileo

When 31-year-old chef Jim Webb was found dead at his restaurant, police suspected his business partner Guy Sileo. They however discovered that Sileo seemingly had an alibi for the night of the murder. Webb had been shot in the back of his head, but the manner of his death was withheld from the public. So it made police all the more suspicious when Sileo, while consoling Webb’s wife, asked her “Who would want to shoot Jim?” Upon further investigation, Sileo’s alibi quickly fell through. And authorities found out that he and Webb had both taken out $650,000 life insurance policies on each other. In 2001, Sileo was charged with Webb’s murder and received a life sentence upon conviction.

Ivan Milat

Regarded as one of the worst serial killers in Australia’s history, Ivan Milat was responsible for the deaths of at least seven people between 1989 and 1992. During his trial in 1996, Milat was said to have exuded an air of confidence unusual for a criminal with a mountain of damning evidence against him. That confidence seems to have contributed to his downfall. While being questioned about a glove used to commit the crimes, Milat first responded with “I wore no…” before realizing his mistake and stopping. He then proceeded to deny ever seeing the glove. Prosecutors took advantage of Milat’s slip-up and were eventually able to convince the jury that he was, in fact, the Backpacker Murderer.

Aryan Circle Members

On July 1st 2016, Clifton Hallmark, an Aryan Circle member, was shot and killed by one of his associates, Jeremy Jordan, at a pre-Independence Day party. Instead of reporting the crime, the group recruited Hallmark’s wife and another woman to take his body to a local gas station and stage his death as the result of a robbery. But when the women called 911, they discussed the details of their intended cover-up, while dispatchers listened. In addition, surveillance footage from the gas station showed that no robbery had taken place. That was all police needed to arrest Jordan on charges related to the murder. Seven other Circle members, including the two bumbling women, were charged with accessory after the fact.

Merl Mackey

Reality shows often get a bad rep for their exploitative and sometimes unpleasant nature. But in this case, one reality show helped crack a decades-old murder case. Back in 1981, Evelyn 'Laverne' Mackey vanished from the Florida home she shared with her daughter and her husband Merl Mackey. The mystery behind her disappearance remained unsolved until 2015 when the reality show “Cold Justice” took investigators to interview Merl Mackey one more time. After being grilled for hours, Mackey initially claimed that Laverne’s death was an accident. But when he began going into detail, he inadvertently revealed that the incident had been premeditated. Mackey eventually pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and received a 10-year prison sentence.

Anthony Garcia

While some fictional criminals get tattoos of prison blueprints to help them escape, some of their real-life counterparts’ inkwork have landed them behind bars. In 2008, Anthony Garcia had his mugshot taken after he was arrested at a routine traffic stop. When police took a second look at the picture, they were struck by the distinctive tattoo across his chest. Turns out the elaborate design was actually a vivid recreation of a 2004 murder carried out by Garcia. Several details from the crime scene were depicted in the tattoo, including the liquor store where it occurred and the direction the victim’s body fell. An undercover policeman was able to extract a further confession from Garcia, which led to his eventual conviction.

Nancy Crampton-Brophy

If you plan to get away with killing your husband, it might help to not publish an essay and title it “How to Murder Your Husband”. The murderous wife in this case is Nancy Crampton-Brophy, a writer whose husband, Daniel Brophy, was shot and killed at his workplace. His wife’s infamous essay had raised suspicions among the police, who arrested and charged her three months later. While in jail, Crampton-Brophy allegedly let it slip to one of her cellmates that she was close by when the shooting happened, before quickly correcting her mistake. The cellmate in question took the stand during her trial and testified against her. In the end, Crampton-Brophy was found guilty of second degree murder and locked up for life.

Robert Durst

In January 2022, real estate heir Robert Durst died in prison after being convicted of the murder of his longtime friend Susan Berman. Durst had gained international recognition after his involvement in the HBO miniseries “The Jinx”. The critically acclaimed documentary revolved around Durst and the three murders he was suspected of carrying out. During the final episode, Durst was presented with damning handwriting evidence implicating him in Berman’s murder. In a shocking turn, he walked into the bathroom and muttered what seemed to be a confession. Although it was later revealed that the clip was edited by the filmmakers, Durst was arrested and charged with the crime, in part due to the evidence presented in the series.