Top 10 Normal Social Media Posts with Disturbing Backstories

Jia Lijun believed he’d made an unusual friend: a walrus at the Xixiakou Wildlife Park in China. He documented his trip to the park on WeChat, where he referred to the walrus as “so strong, so big.” Unfortunately, he made a terrible mistake when he entered the walrus’s enclosure, turned his back on the huge animal, and attempted to take a selfie. The walrus grabbed him and pulled him into the water. According to staff at the zoo, it may have been acting playfully rather than aggressively; but after a struggle, Jia and a zookeeper who tried to help him were both drowned.

Back in 2013, the supermarket company Tesco sent a tweet to its followers that read, “It’s sleepy time, so we’re off to hit the hay.” This seemingly innocuous statement became unexpectedly popular, receiving hundreds of comments and over two thousand retweets – but not for a positive reason. Only a few days earlier, Tesco had been accused of selling burgers with horse meat in them; an accusation which, unfortunately, turned out to be true. Tesco’s ill-timed reference to “hitting the hay” caused an uproar on Twitter and prompted an apology by the company spokesperson.

In 2014, one Philip Bradbury made a request to US President Donald Trump on Twitter. He wrote, “My parents who passed away always said you were a big inspiration. Can you please RT for their memory?”. He included a picture of a middle-aged couple. Not one to refuse a fan, Trump obligingly retweeted … and became the butt of jokes throughout the UK. It turned out that the “parents” in the photograph were none other than Fred and Rose West, notorious English serial killers who murdered at least 12 people before they were caught in the 1980s. Everyone should be cautious about retweeting posts from unknown sources, but especially presidents!

When Charlie Carver’s Facebook page announced his marriage to Kala Brown, his girlfriend, family and friends were more worried than excited. The day before, both Carver and Brown had mysteriously disappeared, and the fact that Brown had left her dog alone and unattended was suspicious. As days passed, several more Facebook posts appeared, some disturbing – such as news stories about the missing couple and violent messages. Police were able to track the location of Carver’s and Brown’s cell phones, which had ended up near the property of real estate broker Todd Kohlhepp. There they found Brown, tied up in a crate, and Carver’s body. Kohlepp had abducted them both, murdered Carver, and posted the Facebook messages in Carver’s name.

When Alan Hruby posted a picture of himself relaxing in a hotel with college roommates, probably no one who saw it guessed that his parents and sister were dead at home. The housekeeper found them the next morning; they had all been shot. In spite of the post on social media, which might have been an attempt to create an alibi, suspicion fell on Hruby pretty quickly. The young college student was a compulsive and extravagant spender, so desperate for money that he had previously stolen his grandmother’s credit card. As it turned out, Hruby had murdered his three family members in cold blood, believing he would then inherit their money.

Amritpal Singh was an amateur pilot who liked to post pictures from the air to social media. While admiring his lovely photos, friends and family members probably never stopped to think about the possible danger to Singh himself; but sadly, it eventually caught up with him. In May of 2014, Singh’s plane crashed not far from the Front Range Airport in Colorado. He and his passenger, a friend, were killed in the crash. Evidence showed that both of them had been taking pictures and selfies with their phones; authorities believe that the flashes temporarily blinded Singh, making him lose control of the plane. Those old selfies feel different in retrospect.

In 2017, when travel vlogger Sarah Funk visited the Mitsero Red Lake in Cyprus, she and her partner probably thought the place was creepy enough. A mining company excavated there long ago, then abandoned the site, leaving an acidic crater that fills with red water every winter. Funk posted a video on YouTube of herself at the lake, with what appeared to be an old suitcase floating in the water nearby. Two years later, a Cypriot army captain confessed to murdering several people, putting their bodies in suitcases, and throwing them into the Red Lake. So chances are, without realizing it, Funk was near one that day in 2017.

Based on her social media posts, Gabby Petito’s travels across the United States with her boyfriend Brian Laundrie seemed idyllic. An aspiring influencer, she documented them hiking, camping, and having fun on the beach. However, all was not as it seemed. Witnesses told police that they saw an altercation between the couple; police found Petito distraught. About a month later, Laundrie returned to Florida in their van – alone. Not long after, Petito’s body was discovered in a national park in Wyoming. Laundrie, the prime suspect, was found dead in a swamp some time later. He had taken his own life, and in his notebook, he admitted to killing Petito.

When Sydney Loofe didn’t come to work one day in November of 2017, concerned friends and family contacted the police. Investigators saw that her last post to social media had been a selfie with the caption, “Ready for my date.” She had been in contact with a woman on Tinder named “Audrey”. They also found that her phone had pinged at an apartment near Lincoln, Nebraska. However, the apartment’s residents, Bailey Boswell and Aubrey Trail, had disappeared. The couple posted videos on social media claiming they didn’t know what happened to Loofe, but had fled because the police were after them. After Loofe’s remains were discovered not long afterward, both were convicted of first-degree murder.

Our top pick is one of the most disturbing stories in social media history. Dee Dee Blanchard had a joint Facebook account with her daughter, Gypsy Rose, where she would post asking for donations. Rose was apparently suffering from leukemia, muscular dystrophy, and other ailments. As it turned out, however, Dee Dee had been lying to doctors and friends for years; Rose had no serious medical conditions, and had been confined to the house and forbidden to speak to anyone. When Rose was 20, she met a sympathetic young man online, and they hatched a plan to murder her mother. Once it was done, Rose announced the fact on their Facebook page. Although Rose is now in prison, she says she feels freer than before.