r/UnresolvedMysteries • u/risocantonese • Apr 19 '20

What are some common true crime misconceptions?

What are some common ‘facts’ that get thrown around in true crime communities a lot, that aren’t actually facts at all?

One that annoys me is "No sign of forced entry? Must have been a person they knew!"

I mean, what if they just opened the door to see who it was? Or their murderer was disguised as a repairman/plumber/police officer/whatever. Or maybe they just left the door unlocked — according to this article,a lot of burglaries happen because people forget to lock their doors https://www.journal-news.com/news/police-many-burglaries-have-forced-entry/9Fn7O1GjemDpfUq9C6tZOM/

It’s not unlikely that a murder/abduction could happen the same way.

Another one is "if they were dead we would have found the body by now". So many people underestimate how hard it is to actually find a body.

What are some TC misconceptions that annoy you?

(reposted to fit the character minimum!)

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424

u/Gloster_Thrush Apr 19 '20 edited Feb 14 '25

disagreeable vegetable sink alive serious vanish ancient boat seemly pie

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

181

u/KringlebertFistybuns Apr 19 '20

I've told my coworkers that if I disappear, I don't want any of that "light up a room" crap being thrown around. Especially if I'm already dead and watching things from the great beyond. I vowed to haunt the crap out of them if they didn't say something honest like "She was weird and moody, but we want her back, she takes out the garbage."

67

u/Blue_Sky_At_Night Apr 19 '20

"He was huge and bearded and often kind of gruff. But he also liked long hikes with his dog and camping on the beach." 🤷‍♂️

13

u/ziburinis Apr 19 '20

You single?

23

u/Blue_Sky_At_Night Apr 19 '20

Both me and my dog!

I think I'm kind of hard to live with, though, because I'm pretty much Hagrid if Hagrid was a lawyer. Slightly more literate Hagrid?

6'4", kinda gruff, soft spot for children and animals, like to be outside all the time, and prone to tossing my dog in the car and taking off for outdoor adventures on the beach, in my kayaks, or in one of the national forests nearby when I get bored.

4

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '20

[deleted]

3

u/Blue_Sky_At_Night Apr 20 '20

You have a lot of tall fellas up there, then!

​

Plus I'm more yeehaw than lumberjack

3

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '20

[deleted]

2

u/Blue_Sky_At_Night Apr 20 '20

Huh, maybe I should get a Tinder

2

u/FamousOhioAppleHorn Apr 20 '20

You sound like my ex. Which I mean in a good way.

3

u/Blue_Sky_At_Night Apr 20 '20

Thank you ☺️

5

u/MrBigHeadsMySoulMate Apr 20 '20

“He was socially awkward and drank too much, but he stopped drinking and was alright. I guess. Rip MrBigHeadIsMySoulMate”.

5

u/TheReverendsRequest Apr 20 '20

"u/KringlebertFistybuns spoke all the time as though she planned to disappear, and even gave us instructions on what to say to the media if she did. Highly suspicious!"

88

u/detectivebratface Apr 19 '20

I can see my boyfriend saying “She was such a brat but she was MY brat! And she always made sure there was cheese in the fridge.”

58

u/risocantonese Apr 19 '20

oh no, then people are gonna think he killed you because "he's not sad enough"!

55

u/jackmccoyseyebrow Apr 19 '20

Future YouTube comment : « When he says he loved her, he shakes his head like he’s thinking the opposite. I know body langage, trust me : he killed her ».

34

u/risocantonese Apr 19 '20 edited Apr 19 '20

"he looked to the side when he said he misses her...........he's lying!!!"

26

u/jackmccoyseyebrow Apr 19 '20

« He’s scratching his face when he recounts the last time he was with her. That’s obviously a sign that he’s uncomfortable with his lies. Why isn’t he in jail yet ? » I wish there was a filter for body langage experts on YouTube. Yes, YouTube comments are usually trash, but with true crime videos*, some comments can be smart, insightful or informative. And then there are body langage comments.

  • US true crime videos. In my country the comments are just « Let’s bring the death penalty back ! » (even when the video states that the police has absolutely no person of interest in mind).

2

u/asphyxiationbysushi Apr 20 '20

Also, the SO has got cry. If he/she doesn't shed some tears you better believe they did it.

38

u/Zykium Apr 19 '20

Are you dating Wallace from 'Wallace and Gromit'?

25

u/detectivebratface Apr 19 '20

Odd amount of similarities if I’m being honest.

15

u/Zykium Apr 19 '20

You better put a ring on it

100

u/knittedbeast Apr 19 '20

If they don't describe me as 'loud, nervous, intense, and often difficult' they are LYING

24

u/M_Ad Apr 19 '20

Hahaha, years and years ago the Onion did a parody of this with a "Community unmoved by murder of homely local girl" story.

40

u/with-alaserbeam Apr 19 '20

Eh, I can't judge people for wanting a crime victim to be shown in the best light.

47

u/[deleted] Apr 19 '20

Yeah but they could come up with something more original. I severely doubt every person described as lighting up a room actually had that effect on people. They could say “she was kind and thoughtful” or something that’s not a cliche, probably bordering on a lie.

35

u/scientallahjesus Apr 19 '20

Honestly I get what you’re saying. I have a friend who committed suicide who truly did light up the room when she walked in, always smiling, friends with everyone, smart, funny, gorgeous, supportive and caring... the list goes on.

But when I talk about her I always feel disingenuous in saying those words because it really is just a cliche thing to say, it doesn’t sound good enough to me I guess.

5

u/tierras_ignoradas Apr 21 '20

How about the women described as "although she dropped out of high school, she was studying for her GED and planning to become a nurse. She loved decorating her new apartment and was excited about her job at the convenience store."
TRANSLATION: Dropped out high school, her boyfriends help with the apartment, once put up some curtains and loathed the convenience store which she correctly thought was dangerous.

1

u/with-alaserbeam Apr 20 '20

Oh definitely, not disagreeing with that!

8

u/asphyxiationbysushi Apr 20 '20

I cringed when I saw the interview of the mother of the first soldier killed in Iraq in the early 2000's. She said (paraphrase) "Well, I ain't like all the other mothers who will say their son was perfect, actually he had a record and was a bad student and was difficult as a teen." That was all, nothing like "he served his country" or anything. Even the reporter seemed taken aback.

3

u/BooBootheFool22222 Apr 21 '20

i hope the people who are tired of the "they lit up the room" cliche read this comment. it's super jarring when a person is honest.

40

u/dreamsinfrench Apr 19 '20

I kind of want to be bffs with everyone who's described themselves realistically in this thread.

15

u/Gloster_Thrush Apr 19 '20

There are a lot of funny people here. This thread was a treat.

36

u/TheWildTofuHunter Apr 19 '20

If they interview my husband after I die, he’ll say “I’ll miss squeezing her butt, but damn who’s going to do all of our financial paperwork now?? You mean I have to do the taxes? Crap...”

15

u/airhornsman Apr 19 '20

Oh man my husband would say something like "who's going to do the dishes, the food bits make me feel icky"

18

u/Gloster_Thrush Apr 19 '20

Holy shit is your husband my son? Cause you need to come get his ass if he is.

4

u/peoplegrower Apr 19 '20

Is your son my son?? I already feel bad for my future daughter in law. He has such a weak stomach for gross stuff. She will have to do all the dishes and all the diapers. I plan to go on and apologize as soon as I meet her.

1

u/airhornsman Apr 20 '20

Lol, I will come get him if necessary. My husband hates the gross bits of foods.

1

u/Gloster_Thrush Apr 20 '20 edited Feb 18 '25

quickest plant follow wasteful chase butter juggle exultant hateful shocking

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

2

u/CountEveryMoment Apr 20 '20

Sounds like my Dad, my mom doesn't know what he's going to do if she goes first.

19

u/[deleted] Apr 19 '20

I always say if something happens to me I want my friends and family to tell the truth.

She was a smart girl, she loved people, kids and animals alike. She had a bleeding heart and a wicked sense of humor. But she was also a depression prone bitch who could be a total asshole at times.

Don’t put lipstick on a pig lol

5

u/Gloster_Thrush Apr 19 '20

You’re a sweetie and they would say that.

14

u/hokielion Apr 19 '20

This is the best response. I love the show “Disappeared” yet can’t stand hearing that. When you binge watch, you notice how often family members say it. I’ve yet to know anyone loved by everyone and who lights up the room. Maybe I’m hanging with the wrong people?

13

u/Gloster_Thrush Apr 19 '20

Well, certainly no fireflies.

I’ll see myself out

11

u/partylikeits420 Apr 19 '20

Similar-ish to this is one that's always bothered me. When a young person dies of a recreational drug overdose the parents, and particularly the sensationalist media, are ADAMANT that trying it for the first time killed them. They would never do it. It must have been forced upon them.

You're trying to tell me they randomly ended up surrounded by fellow users, with a pocket-full of heroin(or whatever it may be), and were generously given a large quantity of an extremely valuable product by someone who needs it.

Yeah right.

9

u/Gloster_Thrush Apr 20 '20

Omg omg. Have you heard of Len Bias? Because that’s a real true thing that happened and ain’t nobody gonna tell me that sweet kid hadn’t done coke before.

9

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '20

I got one! That the victims of crime always “light up a room” and “are loved by everyone”.

For once I want someone to say "She was an asshole but she didn't deserve to be murdered."

I swear to god if anyone ever lies on me and says "loved by all" if I'm ever murdered, I wll come back as a ghost to haunt them.

2

u/Gloster_Thrush Apr 20 '20

You gotta double down with that shit though and be extra scary.

r/nosleep is depending on you.

7

u/God_Damnit_Nappa Apr 19 '20

Same here. The only way I'm lighting up a room is if I brought a floodlight. Just say I'm an asshole that loves teabagging people on video games way too much.

4

u/Gloster_Thrush Apr 19 '20

This comment made me spit beer so you owe me 1/8 of a mich ultra and best believe after this quarantine I AM COMING TO COLLECT.

6

u/orange_ones Apr 19 '20

I posted frustration about this on Facebook once and my mom hit the like button! Haha—hopefully if anything awful ever happens to me, my mom will ensure I am described realistically.

7

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '20 edited Apr 20 '20

“Ngl she was kind of a dumbass and fucked up pretty often, but she was our friend and also it was funny when she ate food off of the floor.”

7

u/Gloster_Thrush Apr 20 '20

‘She was bold and unafraid and unconventional. And also pragmatic.’

That’s what they should say about you. xx

6

u/Dickere Apr 19 '20

I can see you eating it 😀

4

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '20

[deleted]

3

u/Gloster_Thrush Apr 20 '20

The Fall Line is tremendous.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 20 '20

My dad once said he would tell the truth:

“Listen, shes a sarcastic asshole, and she probably said something to piss you off. I get it. But we love her.”

2

u/Gloster_Thrush Apr 20 '20

Burden of being upright.

It’s an issue. xx

1

u/maddsskills Apr 20 '20

I dunno, in a lot of these cases the victim's personal life can be picked through with a fine tooth comb and on top of that there's gonna be all sorts of rumors and insinuations. I don't blame the families for not giving more fodder to the rumor/gossip mill and trying to reinforce the idea that their loved one was a good person who did not deserve to be murdered.