Welcome to the 33rd episode of Wild Society!

In April of 1996, James Smith walked into a police station confessing he had accidently killed his girlfriend of three years, 17 year old Kelly Anne Bates. What transpired from that event became one of the most horrific cases of abuse and torture ever recorded in modern day history.

A small village tucked away in the Iya Valley of Japan now has more scarecrow dolls than people. The dolls outnumber the residents ten to one. Tsukimi Ayano has made over 400 dolls that resemble people who have passed or people who once lived in the village and have left. The town of Nagoro lures around 3,000 people a year from all over the world who are interested in seeing these unique, life-size dolls. We will let you decide if you think it is creepy or cool!

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Kelly Anne Bates Sources:

• Murderpedia
• Crime and Investigation UK
• Manchester Evening News
• The Mirror
• Wikipedia

Scarecrow Village Sources:

• All That’s Interesting
• Unusual Places
• New York Times
• CNN
• Wikipedia