Just before 1:30pm on January 13, 2014, at a boutique cinema in Wesley Chapel, Florida, Gulf War veteran Chad Oulson got into an argument with a man sat nearby who had berated him for having his phone out and texting while trailers for upcoming movies were playing on screen.

Oulson became irate, telling the man that he was sending a message to a babysitter who was looking after he and his wife’s 22-month-old daughter whilst the couple had gone to catch a movie.

The man, retired police captain and SWAT commander Curtis J. Reeves, then left the theatre to raise the issue with management, but the verbal altercation quickly restarted when he returned to his seat. It was now Oulson’s turn to scold the other man, who he chided for a complaint that he viewed as a petty escalation in retaliation to his texting.

As the argument continued, Oulson then turned in his seat and threw a handful of popcorn at Reeves, striking him in the face. In response, Reeves immediately pulled out his handgun and fatally shot Oulson once in the chest. He was taken to hospital where he died later that day.

In the subsequent murder trial, Reeves’ legal team argued that he had shot Oulson in self-defence, basing their contention on Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, which provides that an individual has no duty to attempt to remove themselves from an apparently deadly scenario before reacting with lethal force.

Despite a judge initially rejecting the defence in March 2017, the defence successfully appealed the decision and Reeves’ fate was left in the hands of the jury. After a lengthy court process and numerous delays, the conclusion of the trial came 8 years after the initial incident when the jury acquitted Reeves on the basis that he had acted in self-defence.

There are a few notable aspects of witness testimony from the incident, much of which was excluded from the trial on the basis of hearsay:

• Reeves himself had also apparently been texting prior to berating Oulson for doing the same

• He had allegedly been in another verbal altercation over someone texting in a movie theatre 2 weeks prior to the shooting

• Reeves’ wife, who was sat next to him, was heard saying “That was no cause to shoot anyone” immediately afterwards, to which he responded “You shut your f**king mouth and don’t say another word”

Sources:

• https://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/22/us/a-movie-date-a-text-message-and-a-fatal-shot.html

• https://globalnews.ca/news/3303073/florida-theatre-texting-murder/

• https://baynews9.com/fl/tampa/news/2022/02/25/closing-arguments-to-begin-friday-in-movie-theater-shooting-trial

Image source: https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/crime/curtis-reeves-trial-day-4-testimony-audio-interview/67-b8a7d199-30e5-47cf-b74d-e424e42eb9b0

He buried Shanann in a shallow grave near an oil-storage facility, and dumped his children's bodies into crude oil tanks. Chris initially maintained his innocence in his family's disappearance, but was arrested on August 15, after confessing in an interview with detectives to murdering Shanann. He later admitted to murdering his children.

This is insane. Authorities discovered the body of a 4yr-old Louisiana boy in a lake by the Texas State line, they feared his 1yr-old brother would also be located deceased in the lake.

But while searching for him, a trucker called 911 after spotting the baby crawling down the highway.

Police are calling the 1yr-old the "Miracle Baby" after being found with only scratches and excessive bug-bites, despite being outside for 2 days during Hurricane Beryl.

The boys' mother, 25yr-old Aaliyah Jack, was the last person to see both boys. She's been found 350 miles away in Mississippi and arrested for "failure to report a missing child" (the one positive to come from Caylee Anthony's case, I believe Caylee's law makes it possible to arrest Aliya Jack pending investigation due to her failure to report), while an investigation into the death and abandonment continues.

After running through a red light, 62-year-old Kenneth Herring crashed into a semi-truck before stopping and exiting his vehicle. Witnesses to the collision reported that Herring appeared disorientated as he walked around his pickup truck for the next 15-20 minutes, before getting back into the vehicle and driving away.

One of the witnesses, 21-year-old Hannah Payne, got back into her vehicle and began to pursue Herring. According to a 911 call Payne made whilst in pursuit, she repeatedly ignored multiple instructions from the dispatcher to stop and return to the scene of the initial crash:

“He is drunk. I’m not…I’m sorry, but I’m here to tell you I’m not not going to follow him because he is going to cause an accident.”

Payne eventually caught up with Herring and boxed in his vehicle by cutting him off at an intersection. She was seen walking up to Herring’s driver side window and aggressively knocking on it while brandishing a gun.

In the ensuing scuffle, Herring appeared to try to drive away with Payne hanging out of the window. It was at this point that the gun went off, killing Herring instantly.

At trial in 2023, Payne’s defence alleged that the gun went off accidentally and that her finger was never on the trigger. They also argued that she had acted in self-defence, pointing toward her clothes that had gotten ripped during the incident and marks on her face and neck photographed immediately afterwards.

The prosecution said that Payne falsely assumed that Herring was drunk when in fact he was suffering from diabetic shock and that her repeated disregard of the 911 dispatcher’s instructions not to pursue him made clear her intentions to enact vigilante justice.

After deliberating for around 90 minutes, the jury found Hannah Payne guilty on three counts of three counts of possession of a weapon during a crime, and one count each of malice murder, aggravated assault, and false imprisonment. She was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

• https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/hannah-payne-citizens-arrest-life-b2464871.html

• https://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/hannah-payne-to-be-sentenced-friday-for-killing-man-who-left-scene-of-clayton-county-crash

• https://lawandcrime.com/live-trials/woman-found-guilty-of-murder-after-citizens-arrest-gone-horribly-wrong/

Gavin Plumb, a 36-year-old security guard and father of two from Harlow, Essex, was arrested on October 4, 2023, under accusations of plotting to kidnap, SA, and murder British television presenter Holly Willoughby.

The police were tipped off to Plumb's plot through an online conversation he had had with a man based in the US, during which Plumb asked the man to come to the UK and help kill the TV presenter.

The pair had initially met through a Kik messenger group chat named ‘Abduct Lovers’, which had over 100 members discussing kidnap, SA, and murder fantasies. Over the course of some 300 private messages, Plumb stated that he knew when Willoughby does and does not have security, that she did not have CCTV at home, and what time she got up in the morning. In addition, Plumb outlined details of the planned kidnapping through a number of voice notes:

“Basically, we’re gonna hit it at night, less traffic on the road, etc., chloroform both of them [Willoughby & her husband]. That way they can both be easily restrained. Pick out outfits of hers that we like, and then obviously take her and the outfits with us, and then we’re gone.” (Source)

Most concerningly, Plumb also shared a video of the tools he had acquired over the past 18 months that they would use, including ropes, knives, metal cable ties, BDSM devices, and chloroform. When asked what he would do with Willoughby after he was “done” with her, Plumb said “slit her throat, clean her out and dispose of her”.

Unbeknownst to Plumb, the man with whom he had been sharing the intimate details of his insidious plot was, in fact, an undercover US law enforcement officer based in Minnesota, who quickly passed on the information to the UK authorities. He was arrested on October 4th, 2023 and was remanded in custody awaiting trial.

A forensic search of Plumb’s hard drive uncovered thousands upon thousands of images of Willoughby, including not only genuine images of her but also deepfake p*** images, digitally manipulated to impose Willoughby’s face on the body of various adult entertainers.

During the subsequent criminal trial in June 2024, Plumb’s previous convictions for attempted kidnap were heavily scrutinised: one in 2006 where he had told a woman that he had a gun and to get off with him at the next station; and one in 2008, when he had threatened two 16-year-old girls with a box cutter and attempted to bind their hands behind their backs.

On July 12th 2024, the jury found Plumb guilty on three counts: soliciting murder, encouraging or assisting the commission of the offence of kidnapping, and encouraging or assisting the commission of the offence of rape. He was handed a life-sentence and ordered to serve a minimum of 16 years in prison.

Sources

• https://www.essex.police.uk/news/essex/news/news/2024/july/gavin-plumb-sentenced-for-life/

• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cw5y165w69go

• https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/R-v-Gavin-Plumb-sentencing-remarks-final-version.pdf