Let’s face it: 2020 has been one helluva crazy year—and that extends to crime. From an alleged cannibal accused of killing his Grindr date to a horrific familicide in a suburb near Walt Disney World to an alleged sex cult that started in a Sarah Lawrence dorm room, this year was full of disturbing stories that made our toes curl.
Here are some of the craziest, most shocking crimes of 2020:
The Michigan Man Who Killed His Grindr Date—and Ate His Testicles
Kevin Bacon, a 25-year-old hairstylist and student at the University of Michigan-Flint, went missing on Dec. 24, 2019, after meeting up with Mark Latunski, a man twice his age, on the popular dating app Grindr. His family reported him missing on Dec. 25, and three days later, authorities found Bacon’s body at Latunski’s home, about 30 minutes away from campus.
Police say Bacon was found naked and hanging by his ankles from the ceiling. During a police interview, Latunski allegedly told authorities he stabbed Bacon in the back and slit his throat—before tying a rope around his ankles and hanging him from a rafter. The 50-year-old also admitted that he used his knife to cut off Bacon’s testicles, then cooked and ate them, according to authorities. A judge ruled in January that Latunski will be allowed to plead insanity.
The Real Estate Developer Who Allegedly Murdered His Estranged Wife—Then Killed Himself After His Arrest
Jennifer Dulos, 50, was last seen dropping off her five kids at their Connecticut school in May 2019. Authorities later found her car abandoned on a New Canaan road “in reverse” with its “lights on.” Blood was also on the passenger seat.
In January, after a seven-month investigation that garnered nationwide attention, authorities charged Fotis Dulos, her estranged husband, with murder. Police said Dulos was “lying in wait” near his wife’s home the day she vanished—and enlisted the help of his new girlfriend to hide evidence of his crime. But just days after the charges were announced, the 52-year-old luxury developer attempted suicide in the garage of his Connecticut home. After two days in the hospital, Dulos was declared dead. At the time, his lawyer claimed Dulos penned a note maintaining his innocence and suggesting that his legal team has information proving he didn’t murder his wife.
The Father Accused of Murdering His Wife, Three Kids, and Family Dog Inside Their Home Near Disney World
Anthony Todt, a 44-year-old physical therapist, admitted in January he murdered his wife, their three children, and the family dog inside their rented home near Walt Disney World, police said. Todt was taken into custody on Jan. 15 after federal agents served him with an unrelated arrest warrant. When authorities asked Todt where his wife was, he allegedly told them they were upstairs sleeping.
But during a search of his home, deputies found the bodies of Todt’s wife, Megan, and their three children in the upstairs master bedroom. Police later determined the family had been killed “sometime toward the end of December.”
Todt told police he had consumed Benadryl in an attempt to die by suicide. But six months after his confession, Todt claimed in a letter to his father that it was actually his wife who had drugged their children with a tainted dessert before killing 13-year-old Alek, 11-year-old Tyler, and 4-year-old Zoey. Todt insisted in the July letter that after his wife confessed to killing their children, she drank a bottle of family-sized Benadryl and stabbed herself in the stomach.
The Sarah Lawrence Dad Who Allegedly Ran a Sex Cult Out of His Daughter’s Dorm
Lawrence Ray, the father of a former student at New York’s elite Sarah Lawrence College, faces a slew of federal charges after allegedly starting a sex cult in his daughter’s dorm room. He’s also accused of forcing one woman into prostitution and holding a knife to a man’s throat until he confessed to a crime he didn’t commit.
Prosecutors allege that starting in 2010, the 60-year-old targeted a group of college students after moving into his daughter’s on-campus housing. There, he allegedly preached about “his personal philosophy” and began conducting “therapy sessions” all while presenting himself “as a father figure.” In the end, Ray allegedly laundered about $1 million from five different victims under the guise of self-help.
To ensure his victims’ silence, Ray allegedly extracted false confessions using sleep deprivation, psychological and sexual humiliation, verbal abuse, physical violence, and threats of legal action, prosecutors allege. Ray also allegedly took explicit photos of some of his victims and forced students to give him thousands of dollars to ensure their loyalty. At least one of the students involved in Ray’s alleged cult also engaged in prostitution for four years to pay back debts to Ray that she was manipulated into believing she owed. The student ended up earning about half a million dollars for the 60-year-old. Ray is currently being held in federal custody and is awaiting trial.
The Murderous ‘Devil Worshipper’ Who Was Released on Bail—and Then Killed Again
Four months after Edward O’Neal was released on bail in December, the accused devil worshiper was arrested for allegedly killing his cousin’s ex-boyfriend and admitting the crime to his mother. Authorities say O’Neal was charged with murder in 2016 after stabbing his 16-year-old friend, Ryan Roberts. After being released on bail in June, O’Neal then fatally shot Derrick Mike on Nov. 28 outside his cousin’s apartment complex in Houston, police said.
Authorities say Mike was at the apartment complex to retrieve his belongings from his ex-girlfriend when O’Neal shot him several times. After the crime, he allegedly confessed to his mother, saying that he only did the crime at the behest of his cousin who believed Mike had cheated on her. O’Neal and his family have admitted that he worshipped the devil, but insist he didn’t kill Roberts.
The Alleged Pony Rapist Who Got Caught With His Pants Down
Michael Riego, a 31-year-old accused of sexually assaulting multiple ponies at the New Castle County Carousel Park and Equestrian Center, was arrested in May with his pants down.
The arrest followed a months-long investigation after equestrian center workers had noticed their ponies and horses had unexplained injuries on their back legs dating back to September 2019. The workers reported that some of the older horses had trouble walking, while some of the smaller ponies, who are used for riding lessons, were found with cords still tied above their back hooves.
During the investigation, police obtained footage of a man entering the stalls around midnight with a bucket of grain, where he tied a 31-year-old mare’s back hooves together, pulled down his pants and sexually assaulted the horse. After the stomach-churning attack, the man got dressed and left the stall. In May, after authorities began nightly watches of the pony stall, police saw the same man checking out various ponies. They eventually caught him tying up a pony’s back legs and stormed the stall—where they found Riego crouching in the corner with his zipper undone.
The Romanian Billionaire Who Was Poisoned by a Call Girl—at a Sex Club With ‘Virgin’ Ponies
Constantin Dinescu, a Romanian billionaire with ties to a $65 million art heist, was fatally poisoned in August, and authorities claimed the 69-year-old’s favorite Ukrainian sex worker—who worked at a club that occasionally features virgin ponies—was behind it.
Known as the “baron of luxury,” Dinescu was first reported to have fallen ill at his home on Romania’s Lake Snagov on Aug. 9. A preliminary investigation, however, determined that he had actually gotten sick in his car near the sex club before he died in a Bucharest hospital on Aug. 15. Investigators now believe Dinescu was poisoned by a Ukrainian call girl—one of several high-priced prostitutes who slept with the 69-year-old at the club. At the time of his death, Dinescu was reportedly still under investigation for his suspected involvement in a 2017 art heist at the Kunsthal art museum in Rotterdam. Several of the pieces involved in the heist have never been found.
...All of the Fort Hood Scandals
Fort Hood, a U.S. Army base in Texas, has been the site of several disturbing murders and sexual harassment cases in 2020.
In July, the remains of Vanessa Guillen, a 20-year-old Private First Class stationed in Fort Hood, were discovered in a shallow grave near Leon River. A day after her body was discovered, a military officer, Aaron Robinson, died by suicide after being confronted about his involvement in Guillen’s disappearance. Officials named Robinson and his girlfriend as suspects in the 20-year-old’s murder.
Before Guillen went missing, she allegedly told family members, friends, and colleagues that she had been sexually harassed by her superiors on two separate occasions. The family said Guillen’s sexual harassment allegations prompted the military base to “cover-up” her initial disappearance. According to the Guillen family attorney, Robinson bludgeoned Guillen’s head with a hammer at the base’s armory after she remarked on his relationship with the estranged wife of a former Fort Hood soldier. Robinson then allegedly took Guillen’s body to a river and enlisted the help of his girlfriend to dispose of the remains.
Four months later, a Fort Hood soldier was arrested for the murder of Chelsea Cheatham, a 32-year-old found dead inside a Days Inn motel last year. Authorities say Cory Gafton, an active duty Soldier assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division at the Army post confessed to the slaying.
In December, the Army announced that 14 staffers at the base have either been dismissed or disciplined following an investigation into the assault and sexual harassment at Fort Hood. The investigation also uncovered 217 unreported accounts of sexual harassment and 93 credible accounts of sexual assault—but only 59 of those incidents had been reported.
The Thwarted Attempt to Kidnap Michigan’s Governor and Overthrow the Government
As the coronavirus pandemic surged amid the run-up to the 2020 presidential election, over 14 men in Michigan allegedly planned to overthrow the Michigan government, kidnapping Gov. Gretchen Whitmer so they could put her on trial for “treason.”
Eight men tied to a militia group called Wolverine Watchmen are facing state charges for their alleged roles in the plot to kidnap the state leader at her vacation home before Election Day. Six other men were charged by the feds in connection with the kidnapping plot—which included tactical training with at least one local militia and several unsuccessful attempts to make bombs. The group also discussed attacking the state Capitol building and storming a police facility as part of their broader mission to “instigate a civil war.”
Through a militia member turned informant, the FBI became aware that two of the men were discussing “the violent overthrow of certain government and law-enforcement components” and agreed to “take violent action” against state governments they believed were violating the U.S. Constitution. That included kidnapping Whitmer due to her “uncontrolled” power grab amid the pandemic. The group also discussed taking out Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam for his COVID-19 restrictions.
The Doomsday Couple Accused of Killing Their Kids—and Then Fleeing to Hawaii
Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow, members of a community of doomsday preppers who wed two weeks after Vallow’s husband died, are at the center of a bizarre investigation into the deaths of her two children who were missing for months.
Authorities say 7-year-old J.J. and his 17-year-old stepsister Tylee Ryan were last seen in September 2019, although it wasn’t until relatives asked police to check on them in late November that they were reported missing. In January, after Vallow repeatedly lied about the kids’ whereabouts and then fled to Hawaii with her new husband, authorities served the mother-of-two an order instructing her to return the two minors. Vallow was eventually arrested in Hawaii after failing to produce her children. She’s been charged with conspiracy to conceal, destroy, or alter evidence.
In August, after a nearly nine-month search, investigators found the remains of the two children in the backyard of Daybell’s Idaho home. The little boy’s head, arms, and feet were bound with duct tape, while the teenager’s remains appeared to have been burned. Vallow and Daybell have not been charged with the children’s deaths, though the affidavit notes that Vallow believed they had become “zombies.” Daybell, an author of apocalyptic novels for a Mormon audience, is facing charges of hiding evidence when authorities began to investigate the disappearance of Vallow’s children. Both face a combined trial in 2021.
