20 Smoking Guns That Ended Trials
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VOICE OVER: Rebecca Brayton
From damning recordings to unexpected DNA evidence, these crucial pieces of evidence left no room for doubt. Join us as we examine the most definitive smoking guns that sealed the fate of infamous defendants in history's most notorious trials. Which piece of evidence do you think was most compelling in securing justice? Our countdown includes the Watergate tapes that ended Nixon's presidency, fiber evidence in the Atlanta murders, DNA that caught the Green River Killer, the floppy disk metadata that exposed BTK, the kennel video in the Murdaugh case, and those infamous gloves from the O.J. Simpson trial. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
20 Smoking Guns That Ended Trials
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at various pieces of evidence that definitively ended a criminal case, either for or against their infamous defendants.
While not a criminal trial in the traditional sense, Nixon’s infamous impeachment process was made possible thanks to the White House tapes. We mean, it’s literally called The Smoking Gun tape! How could we not include it!? It was discovered during the Watergate investigation that Nixon had installed a secret recording system in the Oval Office, automatically capturing conversations between him and his aides. When Senate investigators demanded the tapes, Nixon refused, citing executive privilege. Sketchy. The tapes were eventually subpoenaed, and one clearly showed Nixon attempting to block the FBI’s investigation into the case. Therefore, Nixon was directly implicated in obstructing justice and lost all remaining political support, resulting in his famous resignation.
A highly controversial case, the West Memphis Three were convicted of murdering three Arkansas boys in 1993, despite a significant lack of evidence. Today, it’s remembered as one of the best examples of the Satanic Panic. In 2007, investigators tested a hair that was found in the rope used to tie one of the victims. It matched none of the West Memphis Three, but Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of one of the victims. Another hair, found on a tree stump nearby, was consistent with Hobbs’s friend, David Jacoby[a]. This new DNA evidence greatly undermined the prosecution, and when paired with evidence of jury misconduct and new statements from key witnesses, it helped exonerate the convicted. All three were released on Alford pleas in 2011.
By the 1970s, Howard Hughes was a recluse, and writer Clifford Irving saw an opportunity. He claimed Hughes had asked him to ghostwrite his official autobiography, even producing letters and voice recordings as proof of his correspondence with the famous aviator. Irving planned to publish the book, falsely assuming that Hughes would stay silent. Well, he didn’t. Hughes got wind of the news, and in January 1972, shocked the world by holding a telephone press conference. Investigators compared his voice to earlier recordings and confirmed its authenticity. Meanwhile, forensic analysis exposed Irving’s recordings as fake, proving beyond doubt that Howard Hughes had never collaborated with him. The hoax unraveled, and Irving was sentenced to two and a half years in prison.
In 1933, famous gangster Machine Gun Kelly kidnapped oil tycoon Charles F. Urschel[b] and held him ransom at his in-laws’ farmhouse for $200,000. After his release, Urschel helped the FBI track his captors by recalling key details, like the presence of mosquitoes and the repeating sound of a nearby oil pump. His meticulous observations led federal agents to Paradise, Texas, and they were even able to pinpoint the exact farmhouse that held Urschel using the sound of the oil pump. Urschel’s fingerprints were found at the property, linking Kelly to the crime. To make matters worse, Kelly’s accomplice was also caught with some marked ransom bills. With overwhelming proof of his involvement, Kelly was convicted and spent the rest of his life in prison.
In 2003, the remains of Laci Peterson were found near San Francisco Bay, a year after her husband Scott reported her missing. Scott was later arrested and sentenced to life in prison for her murder. While the case mostly relied on circumstantial evidence, the most damning proof came from phone calls with his mistress, Amber Frey. Scott told Amber that he was a widower, before Laci was even reported missing. She then worked with police and recorded their calls, during which he repeatedly lied - once claiming to be in Paris while actually attending a vigil for Laci. He also never once expressed concern for his missing wife. These deceptive conversations made Scott appear detached and manipulative, significantly swaying public opinion - and the jury - against him.
While Wayne Williams was officially convicted of murdering two men, he remains the prime suspect in the Atlanta murders of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, which resulted in thirty deaths. Many witnesses reported seeing Williams with many of the victims, but the smoking gun came in the form of fiber evidence. Investigators found fibers from Williams’ home, clothes, car, and even his dog on many victims, all but linking him to their deaths. Prosecutors used these fibers to link Williams to at least some of the famous killings, and he was ultimately found guilty of murdering two men, Nathaniel Cater[d] and Jimmy Payne. Perhaps most damning of all, the Atlanta murders stopped once Williams was imprisoned.
The Green River Killer had been active since 1982, and since 1982 police have largely focused on one man - Gary Ridgway. He was the immediate primary suspect and was even arrested in the early ‘80s, resulting in police taking a cheek swab for DNA analysis. However, they were never able to definitively link Ridgway to any of the murders. It wasn’t until 2001 that the case against him was reopened thanks to enormous advances in DNA technology. Investigators were able to test biological evidence left on several victims, and they were a complete match to Ridgway. Ridgway was finally arrested after many decades, and the conclusive DNA evidence helped put him away for life.
BTK committed one of the all-time dumbest blunders in criminal history, resulting in his infamous downfall. Real name Dennis Rader, BTK killed at least ten people in the greater Kansas area between 1974 and 1991. In the early 2000s, after a long silence, BTK started communicating with the police and boasting about his unsolved murders. He asked them whether they could trace a floppy disk if he sent one, and they said no. Well, that was a lie, and investigators quickly used metadata embedded within the floppy disk to identify Rader. They also collected DNA from Rader’s daughter and found a “familial match” with DNA taken from one of BTK’s victims. The evidence was simply unbeatable, and Rader was given ten life sentences.
American serial killer John Joubert was executed in 1996 at the age of 33 for murdering three boys. His first victim, Danny Eberle, was found bound with a very distinctive multi-strand rope, commonly used in military or industrial settings and not found in everyday hardware stores. It also had a unique twisted pattern that made it easy to identify and trace. FBI profilers suspected that the killer had military experience owing to the precision of the bindings, and a tip eventually led police to Joubert, an Air Force radar technician stationed in Omaha. A search of his belongings uncovered rope identical in composition and structure to that used on Eberle. Forensic analysis later confirmed an exact match, helping secure Joubert’s conviction and eventual execution.
The Night Stalker terrorized California in the mid 1980s, breaking into homes and murdering at least fourteen people. On the night of August 24, 1985, a teenager named James Romero was working on his bike when he saw Ramirez outside his house. Ramirez fled the scene in a panic, but Romero noted his orange Toyota and the car’s licence plate. Later that night, Ramirez broke into the home of Bill Carns and Inez Erickson[f], assaulting Erickson and shooting Carns. The orange Toyota was later found abandoned in Koreatown, and police were able to lift Ramirez’s fingerprints from the rearview mirror. This print definitively linked Ramirez to the vehicle seen fleeing multiple crime scenes, including the most recent attack on Carns and Erickson.
The defamation case between Hollywood actors and former partners Johnny Depp and Amber Heard centered around a 2018 opinion piece published in The Washington Post. In the article, Heard asserted that she had been a victim of domestic violence during their marriage. However, Depp sued her, insisting that he was the one subjected to violence at her hands. A crucial moment during the trial was the playing of an audio recording where the couple argued about a past physical altercation that left Depp’s finger injured. On the tape, Heard appears to acknowledge hitting Depp and berates him for complaining about it. This incriminating tape likely influenced the jury’s decision to hold Heard liable for defaming Depp “with actual malice.”
In 2023, actress and lifestyle entrepreneur Gwyneth Paltrow faced a civil lawsuit from retired Utah doctor Terry Sanderson. Sanderson alleged that in 2016, Paltrow collided with him on a ski slope, resulting in permanent traumatic brain injury and severe emotional distress, among other things. Paltrow’s legal team challenged Sanderson’s claims by presenting evidence of the numerous vacations he took after the supposed incident, as well as social media posts depicting him in good spirits. Although Sanderson maintained that these trips were part of his recovery, the jury disagreed with him. They ultimately found him responsible for the accident and awarded Paltrow the requested $1 in damages.
The 1935 trial of Bruno Richard Hauptmann for the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby was one of the first cases hailed as the “trial of the century.” Hauptmann had been arrested after a significant portion of the ransom money was traced to him. However, he claimed that the money belonged to a former business partner who owed him a debt. Perhaps the most damning evidence against Hauptmann was handwriting analysis that seemed to suggest Hauptmann had written the ransom note. During the trial, eight handwriting experts took to the stand to testify to that. Despite the evidence against him being largely circumstantial, Hauptmann was convicted and sentenced to death. Since then, some have raised doubts about his guilt.
In February 1970, U.S. Army Captain Jeffrey R. MacDonald reported the murders of his pregnant wife and two daughters by four intruders. Despite evidence implicating MacDonald, the Army dismissed the case, but it was later reopened in civilian court. The prosecution focused on MacDonald’s pajama top, which he claimed to have used as a defense, bearing 48 holes allegedly from an ice pick. However, investigators found the holes too neat to have occurred during motion, suggesting that the cloth was stationary, likely covering his wife’s body when the punctures occurred. They demonstrated that if the pajama was folded correctly, the 48 holes could have been made by 21 thrusts, the exact number of wounds on MacDonald’s wife. Consequently, MacDonald was convicted of the murders.
The Kyle Rittenhouse case was a highly controversial one that ignited intense political debates. In August 2020, Rittenhouse shot three men during a protest against police brutality in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Two of the men died while the third, Gaige Grosskreutz, sustained severe injuries. Rittenhouse argued that he was safeguarding local businesses from violence and only fired in self-defense after the men drew their guns on him. When Grosskreutz took the stand at trial, he was confronted with footage showing him pointing his gun at Rittenhouse. Although Grosskreutz admitted to being armed, he insisted that he had no intention to shoot Rittenhouse. Nevertheless, the jury sided with the defendant’s self-defense plea and acquitted him of all charges.
For years, Alex Jones spread falsehoods about the tragic Sandy Hook shooting, suggesting that it was staged, and accusing victims and their families of being actors. As a result, many affected families sued Jones for defamation and won. During his deposition, Jones had claimed that he couldn’t find any text messages on his phone about the incident. However, at trial, it was revealed that Jones’ own lawyers had accidentally sent two years’ worth of text messages related to Sandy Hook to the lawyer representing one of the victims’ parents. Needless to say, this came as a rude shock to him. In the end, Jones was ordered to pay the family nearly $50 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
Through her company Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes promised to revolutionize blood testing by using just a few drops of blood to detect several ailments. However, these claims were inaccurate, and Holmes attempted to validate them by forging documents to sway investors. Two particular sets of these documents played pivotal roles in her trial. The first, a counterfeit endorsement from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, falsely suggested that they had endorsed Theranos’ technology. The second set of documents presented inflated revenue projections of $40 million through purported contracts with drug companies, which were later proven to be bogus. These documents were all the jury needed to convict Holmes of fraud and sentence her to over 11 years in prison.
A member of South Carolina’s prominent Murdaugh family, Alex Murdaugh became the prime suspect after his wife, Maggie, and their son, Paul, were killed in June 2021. For several months, Murdaugh claimed that he was not present when the murders took place. But an unexpected source, his own son, Paul, unknowingly helped secure a guilty verdict from beyond the grave. Moments before his tragic death, Paul made a video in the family’s dog kennel, which captured Murdaugh’s voice, thus shattering his supposed alibi. Prosecutors presented this incriminating footage in court, following which Murdaugh changed his story but still maintained his innocence. However, the jury was already convinced. They deliberated for less than three hours before returning a guilty verdict.
Throughout the 1970s, Ted Bundy reigned terror on women in the U.S., claiming the lives of at least 30 individuals. Although he had killed several victims prior, Bundy’s first murder trial was for the 1978 deaths of Margaret Elizabeth Bowman and Lisa Janet Levy, two Florida State University students. Before taking her life, Bundy had bitten deeply into Levy’s flesh, leaving a very visible bite mark. This would become key physical evidence during his trial. Two forensic odontologists seemingly matched the bite impressions to castings of Bundy’s teeth, which they presented to the jury. While this evidence was crucial in securing Bundy’s conviction, bite mark analysis has since been proven as unreliable and shown to have resulted in several wrongful convictions.
“If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.” Those were the famous words uttered by Johnnie Cochran, one of O. J. Simpson’s defense lawyers during his 1995 murder trial. Simpson stood accused of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. At the crime scene, detectives found a pair of bloodied gloves, which they believed Simpson had worn during the murders. Lead prosecutor Marcia Clark rejected the idea of Simpson trying on the gloves in court, but her assistant prosecutor, Christopher Darden, proceeded with it, anticipating a “big moment.” His expectations were dashed however when the gloves didn’t seem to fit Simpson’s hands. The jury later adhered to Cochran’s words and infamously acquitted Simpson of the murders.
[b]URR-shull https://youtu.be/rQp-fo3fCyk?t=117
[c]FRY:
https://youtu.be/KRC01uCAQQo?si=9Unelrsbp7nm71__&t=62
[d]KAY-tur https://youtu.be/-8plPi7qFUY?si=lP80K3VO1Gg_ON4B&t=5
[e]JOO-burt https://youtu.be/QNsC-kFnRqQ?t=41
EBBER-lee https://youtu.be/QNsC-kFnRqQ?si=wFEFOGEpIpEIlo61&t=101
[f]eye-nez https://youtu.be/xt-rg19VNmw?si=QyjDW7cwrRNa65QC&t=83
[g]gross-kroytz https://www.youtube.com/live/Bv21bE9PWtE?si=9OAILp9A8587wdSl&t=516
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at various pieces of evidence that definitively ended a criminal case, either for or against their infamous defendants.
The Smoking Gun Tape
Richard Nixon’s ImpeachmentWhile not a criminal trial in the traditional sense, Nixon’s infamous impeachment process was made possible thanks to the White House tapes. We mean, it’s literally called The Smoking Gun tape! How could we not include it!? It was discovered during the Watergate investigation that Nixon had installed a secret recording system in the Oval Office, automatically capturing conversations between him and his aides. When Senate investigators demanded the tapes, Nixon refused, citing executive privilege. Sketchy. The tapes were eventually subpoenaed, and one clearly showed Nixon attempting to block the FBI’s investigation into the case. Therefore, Nixon was directly implicated in obstructing justice and lost all remaining political support, resulting in his famous resignation.
The Rope Hair
The West Memphis ThreeA highly controversial case, the West Memphis Three were convicted of murdering three Arkansas boys in 1993, despite a significant lack of evidence. Today, it’s remembered as one of the best examples of the Satanic Panic. In 2007, investigators tested a hair that was found in the rope used to tie one of the victims. It matched none of the West Memphis Three, but Terry Hobbs, the stepfather of one of the victims. Another hair, found on a tree stump nearby, was consistent with Hobbs’s friend, David Jacoby[a]. This new DNA evidence greatly undermined the prosecution, and when paired with evidence of jury misconduct and new statements from key witnesses, it helped exonerate the convicted. All three were released on Alford pleas in 2011.
The Voice Recordings
Clifford IrvingBy the 1970s, Howard Hughes was a recluse, and writer Clifford Irving saw an opportunity. He claimed Hughes had asked him to ghostwrite his official autobiography, even producing letters and voice recordings as proof of his correspondence with the famous aviator. Irving planned to publish the book, falsely assuming that Hughes would stay silent. Well, he didn’t. Hughes got wind of the news, and in January 1972, shocked the world by holding a telephone press conference. Investigators compared his voice to earlier recordings and confirmed its authenticity. Meanwhile, forensic analysis exposed Irving’s recordings as fake, proving beyond doubt that Howard Hughes had never collaborated with him. The hoax unraveled, and Irving was sentenced to two and a half years in prison.
Marked Bills & Fingerprints
Machine Gun KellyIn 1933, famous gangster Machine Gun Kelly kidnapped oil tycoon Charles F. Urschel[b] and held him ransom at his in-laws’ farmhouse for $200,000. After his release, Urschel helped the FBI track his captors by recalling key details, like the presence of mosquitoes and the repeating sound of a nearby oil pump. His meticulous observations led federal agents to Paradise, Texas, and they were even able to pinpoint the exact farmhouse that held Urschel using the sound of the oil pump. Urschel’s fingerprints were found at the property, linking Kelly to the crime. To make matters worse, Kelly’s accomplice was also caught with some marked ransom bills. With overwhelming proof of his involvement, Kelly was convicted and spent the rest of his life in prison.
Phone Calls to Amber Frey[c]
Scott PetersonIn 2003, the remains of Laci Peterson were found near San Francisco Bay, a year after her husband Scott reported her missing. Scott was later arrested and sentenced to life in prison for her murder. While the case mostly relied on circumstantial evidence, the most damning proof came from phone calls with his mistress, Amber Frey. Scott told Amber that he was a widower, before Laci was even reported missing. She then worked with police and recorded their calls, during which he repeatedly lied - once claiming to be in Paris while actually attending a vigil for Laci. He also never once expressed concern for his missing wife. These deceptive conversations made Scott appear detached and manipulative, significantly swaying public opinion - and the jury - against him.
Fiber Evidence
Wayne WilliamsWhile Wayne Williams was officially convicted of murdering two men, he remains the prime suspect in the Atlanta murders of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, which resulted in thirty deaths. Many witnesses reported seeing Williams with many of the victims, but the smoking gun came in the form of fiber evidence. Investigators found fibers from Williams’ home, clothes, car, and even his dog on many victims, all but linking him to their deaths. Prosecutors used these fibers to link Williams to at least some of the famous killings, and he was ultimately found guilty of murdering two men, Nathaniel Cater[d] and Jimmy Payne. Perhaps most damning of all, the Atlanta murders stopped once Williams was imprisoned.
DNA
Gary RidgwayThe Green River Killer had been active since 1982, and since 1982 police have largely focused on one man - Gary Ridgway. He was the immediate primary suspect and was even arrested in the early ‘80s, resulting in police taking a cheek swab for DNA analysis. However, they were never able to definitively link Ridgway to any of the murders. It wasn’t until 2001 that the case against him was reopened thanks to enormous advances in DNA technology. Investigators were able to test biological evidence left on several victims, and they were a complete match to Ridgway. Ridgway was finally arrested after many decades, and the conclusive DNA evidence helped put him away for life.
Floppy Disk Metadata
Dennis RaderBTK committed one of the all-time dumbest blunders in criminal history, resulting in his infamous downfall. Real name Dennis Rader, BTK killed at least ten people in the greater Kansas area between 1974 and 1991. In the early 2000s, after a long silence, BTK started communicating with the police and boasting about his unsolved murders. He asked them whether they could trace a floppy disk if he sent one, and they said no. Well, that was a lie, and investigators quickly used metadata embedded within the floppy disk to identify Rader. They also collected DNA from Rader’s daughter and found a “familial match” with DNA taken from one of BTK’s victims. The evidence was simply unbeatable, and Rader was given ten life sentences.
A Very Unusual Rope
John Joubert[e]American serial killer John Joubert was executed in 1996 at the age of 33 for murdering three boys. His first victim, Danny Eberle, was found bound with a very distinctive multi-strand rope, commonly used in military or industrial settings and not found in everyday hardware stores. It also had a unique twisted pattern that made it easy to identify and trace. FBI profilers suspected that the killer had military experience owing to the precision of the bindings, and a tip eventually led police to Joubert, an Air Force radar technician stationed in Omaha. A search of his belongings uncovered rope identical in composition and structure to that used on Eberle. Forensic analysis later confirmed an exact match, helping secure Joubert’s conviction and eventual execution.
Fingerprints
Richard RamirezThe Night Stalker terrorized California in the mid 1980s, breaking into homes and murdering at least fourteen people. On the night of August 24, 1985, a teenager named James Romero was working on his bike when he saw Ramirez outside his house. Ramirez fled the scene in a panic, but Romero noted his orange Toyota and the car’s licence plate. Later that night, Ramirez broke into the home of Bill Carns and Inez Erickson[f], assaulting Erickson and shooting Carns. The orange Toyota was later found abandoned in Koreatown, and police were able to lift Ramirez’s fingerprints from the rearview mirror. This print definitively linked Ramirez to the vehicle seen fleeing multiple crime scenes, including the most recent attack on Carns and Erickson.
Audio Recordings
Depp v. HeardThe defamation case between Hollywood actors and former partners Johnny Depp and Amber Heard centered around a 2018 opinion piece published in The Washington Post. In the article, Heard asserted that she had been a victim of domestic violence during their marriage. However, Depp sued her, insisting that he was the one subjected to violence at her hands. A crucial moment during the trial was the playing of an audio recording where the couple argued about a past physical altercation that left Depp’s finger injured. On the tape, Heard appears to acknowledge hitting Depp and berates him for complaining about it. This incriminating tape likely influenced the jury’s decision to hold Heard liable for defaming Depp “with actual malice.”
Terry Sanderson’s Post-incident Travel
Gwyneth Paltrow Ski Crash TrialIn 2023, actress and lifestyle entrepreneur Gwyneth Paltrow faced a civil lawsuit from retired Utah doctor Terry Sanderson. Sanderson alleged that in 2016, Paltrow collided with him on a ski slope, resulting in permanent traumatic brain injury and severe emotional distress, among other things. Paltrow’s legal team challenged Sanderson’s claims by presenting evidence of the numerous vacations he took after the supposed incident, as well as social media posts depicting him in good spirits. Although Sanderson maintained that these trips were part of his recovery, the jury disagreed with him. They ultimately found him responsible for the accident and awarded Paltrow the requested $1 in damages.
Handwriting Analysis
Lindbergh Kidnapping TrialThe 1935 trial of Bruno Richard Hauptmann for the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby was one of the first cases hailed as the “trial of the century.” Hauptmann had been arrested after a significant portion of the ransom money was traced to him. However, he claimed that the money belonged to a former business partner who owed him a debt. Perhaps the most damning evidence against Hauptmann was handwriting analysis that seemed to suggest Hauptmann had written the ransom note. During the trial, eight handwriting experts took to the stand to testify to that. Despite the evidence against him being largely circumstantial, Hauptmann was convicted and sentenced to death. Since then, some have raised doubts about his guilt.
A Pajama Top
United States v. Jeffrey R. MacDonaldIn February 1970, U.S. Army Captain Jeffrey R. MacDonald reported the murders of his pregnant wife and two daughters by four intruders. Despite evidence implicating MacDonald, the Army dismissed the case, but it was later reopened in civilian court. The prosecution focused on MacDonald’s pajama top, which he claimed to have used as a defense, bearing 48 holes allegedly from an ice pick. However, investigators found the holes too neat to have occurred during motion, suggesting that the cloth was stationary, likely covering his wife’s body when the punctures occurred. They demonstrated that if the pajama was folded correctly, the 48 holes could have been made by 21 thrusts, the exact number of wounds on MacDonald’s wife. Consequently, MacDonald was convicted of the murders.
Video of Gaige Grosskreutz [g]Holding Gun
The Trial of Kyle RittenhouseThe Kyle Rittenhouse case was a highly controversial one that ignited intense political debates. In August 2020, Rittenhouse shot three men during a protest against police brutality in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Two of the men died while the third, Gaige Grosskreutz, sustained severe injuries. Rittenhouse argued that he was safeguarding local businesses from violence and only fired in self-defense after the men drew their guns on him. When Grosskreutz took the stand at trial, he was confronted with footage showing him pointing his gun at Rittenhouse. Although Grosskreutz admitted to being armed, he insisted that he had no intention to shoot Rittenhouse. Nevertheless, the jury sided with the defendant’s self-defense plea and acquitted him of all charges.
Incriminating Text Messages
The Alex Jones Defamation TrialFor years, Alex Jones spread falsehoods about the tragic Sandy Hook shooting, suggesting that it was staged, and accusing victims and their families of being actors. As a result, many affected families sued Jones for defamation and won. During his deposition, Jones had claimed that he couldn’t find any text messages on his phone about the incident. However, at trial, it was revealed that Jones’ own lawyers had accidentally sent two years’ worth of text messages related to Sandy Hook to the lawyer representing one of the victims’ parents. Needless to say, this came as a rude shock to him. In the end, Jones was ordered to pay the family nearly $50 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
Falsified Documents
United States v. HolmesThrough her company Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes promised to revolutionize blood testing by using just a few drops of blood to detect several ailments. However, these claims were inaccurate, and Holmes attempted to validate them by forging documents to sway investors. Two particular sets of these documents played pivotal roles in her trial. The first, a counterfeit endorsement from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, falsely suggested that they had endorsed Theranos’ technology. The second set of documents presented inflated revenue projections of $40 million through purported contracts with drug companies, which were later proven to be bogus. These documents were all the jury needed to convict Holmes of fraud and sentence her to over 11 years in prison.
Kennel Video
The Murder Trial of Alex MurdaughA member of South Carolina’s prominent Murdaugh family, Alex Murdaugh became the prime suspect after his wife, Maggie, and their son, Paul, were killed in June 2021. For several months, Murdaugh claimed that he was not present when the murders took place. But an unexpected source, his own son, Paul, unknowingly helped secure a guilty verdict from beyond the grave. Moments before his tragic death, Paul made a video in the family’s dog kennel, which captured Murdaugh’s voice, thus shattering his supposed alibi. Prosecutors presented this incriminating footage in court, following which Murdaugh changed his story but still maintained his innocence. However, the jury was already convinced. They deliberated for less than three hours before returning a guilty verdict.
Bite Marks
Ted Bundy’s First Murder TrialThroughout the 1970s, Ted Bundy reigned terror on women in the U.S., claiming the lives of at least 30 individuals. Although he had killed several victims prior, Bundy’s first murder trial was for the 1978 deaths of Margaret Elizabeth Bowman and Lisa Janet Levy, two Florida State University students. Before taking her life, Bundy had bitten deeply into Levy’s flesh, leaving a very visible bite mark. This would become key physical evidence during his trial. Two forensic odontologists seemingly matched the bite impressions to castings of Bundy’s teeth, which they presented to the jury. While this evidence was crucial in securing Bundy’s conviction, bite mark analysis has since been proven as unreliable and shown to have resulted in several wrongful convictions.
Bloodied Gloves
The People v. O. J. Simpson“If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.” Those were the famous words uttered by Johnnie Cochran, one of O. J. Simpson’s defense lawyers during his 1995 murder trial. Simpson stood accused of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. At the crime scene, detectives found a pair of bloodied gloves, which they believed Simpson had worn during the murders. Lead prosecutor Marcia Clark rejected the idea of Simpson trying on the gloves in court, but her assistant prosecutor, Christopher Darden, proceeded with it, anticipating a “big moment.” His expectations were dashed however when the gloves didn’t seem to fit Simpson’s hands. The jury later adhered to Cochran’s words and infamously acquitted Simpson of the murders.
What do you make of this evidence? Let us know in the comments below!
[a]juh-COH-bee https://youtu.be/tY94bpHILPI?si=Kg10OE0WvDnVgDTg&t=1860[b]URR-shull https://youtu.be/rQp-fo3fCyk?t=117
[c]FRY:
https://youtu.be/KRC01uCAQQo?si=9Unelrsbp7nm71__&t=62
[d]KAY-tur https://youtu.be/-8plPi7qFUY?si=lP80K3VO1Gg_ON4B&t=5
[e]JOO-burt https://youtu.be/QNsC-kFnRqQ?t=41
EBBER-lee https://youtu.be/QNsC-kFnRqQ?si=wFEFOGEpIpEIlo61&t=101
[f]eye-nez https://youtu.be/xt-rg19VNmw?si=QyjDW7cwrRNa65QC&t=83
[g]gross-kroytz https://www.youtube.com/live/Bv21bE9PWtE?si=9OAILp9A8587wdSl&t=516
