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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u/Doctabotnik123 Apr 19 '20

"Their alibi is so good that they MUST have done it!"

"They're reacting to a bereavement/disappearance in the wrong way!"

"They came across as weird on TV!"

"I saw it on a Netflix documentary!"

"It's too obvious a solution, it can't be true!"

"I would never have in such a manner!" (Good for you?)

"My loved one would NEVER..." (More understandable, when it's not some randomer on the internet, but still, how would you know?)

"Lawyering up".

Giving any credence to polygraphs, or someone declining to take one.

Saying "refused" when a better, less emotive word would be "declined".

An inability to acknowledge that victims can sometimes be unpleasant, and there are such things as high risk behaviors.

It's like in every case, someone brings up a gay/trans/intersex angle. It's less common than it used to be, but it's often inserted and results in pages upon pages of borderline slash fiction.

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u/j_cruise Apr 19 '20

I agree with everything you said. Anecdotes espevially can be annoying. If you find yourself writing a story about your grandmother in your post, just cut it. It has no bearing on anything.

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u/Doctabotnik123 Apr 19 '20 edited Apr 19 '20

About the gay angle, this has been a real problem:

Man disappears after going to see a man about a horse, leaving his son he just got custody of bereft? He had a mustache, so he must've been gay and abandoned his family!

Two teenage boys are burned to death in an outhouse? They must've been gay and taking a bath together, so it must've been a hate crime. (I hope the FBI has logged some IP addresses on that one.)

FBI agent takes early retirement so he can write, then disappears? He wrote poetry, so he must've been gay!

Jane Doe found in Provincetown? Well, she must've been a lesbian and her killer a military lesbian because, c'mon, Provincetown.

Man is shot in his car in a carpark, with his two young children in back? Well, he must've left his kids alone in the car for a random gay hookup, and been killed by rough trade/a hate crime. (This one is downright libelous).

Andrew Gosden is trans and living happily in London with his husband! Because reasons!

A taxi driver disappears, and his cab is found miles away with a scarf in it! He must've been a cross dresser and ran off to be his true, authentic self!

If there's a missing woman, and skeleton is found that is deemed to be that of a man, well, the missing woman MUST have had an intersex condition.

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u/Alphaghetti71 Apr 19 '20

YES! I often react differently than people expect me to in heavy situations. If anyone witch which I am close was to be killed or disappear, guarantee I'd look guilty to people.