The Backroom

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Juana Barraza's youth was everything but normal. Her mother was an alcoholic prostitute, who pimped Juana out when she was 12 years old, in exchange for three beers. When Juana was old enough she left the small Mexican town of Hidalgo for Mexico City. She worked many odd jobs and had multiple failed marriage; having four children from them. She toured central Mexico as a masked wrestler named La Dama del Silencio (The Lady of Silence). She began her career as a criminal in 1995, after the birth of her fourth child. Her and her friend would burglarize the homes of elderly people until her friend's boyfriend (who was a corrupt federal officer) forced Juana to pay him 12,000 pesos ($608) in return that she would not be arrested. In 2002, Juana committed her first murder. As her killing spree began to roll, police announced that there was a possible serial killer they named "El Mataviejitas", who was believed to be a homosexual man or transgender woman who was killing elderly people. Juana would wear all white and pretended to be a city council nurse sent to check on her targeted victim. Juana was eventually caught in 2006 and was tried for 30 murders, only being found guilty of 16. Her sentence? A easy 759 years in prison. Regardless, she will be paroled in 2058 at the age of 101. 

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For many, family and faith are values held close to heart. But imagine choosing faith over your family. This was the case for Lori Vallow. As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Family and faith go hand and hand. Around 2015, Lori began reading a book series by author Chad Daybell. The series was about the end of times and sacrificing everything for the second coming of Christ. Eventually, she met Chad, and the two were instantly linked. Lori didn't just sip the kool aid, she drank the whole bottle. Chad, who was married with five children, told Lori they were married in seven past lives. Lori eventually divorced her fourth husband and went off with Chad. She packed up and moved to Rexburg, Idaho with her kids Tylee and JJ. The children were last seen in September 2019. Lori's oldest son Colby and JJ's grandparents expressed concern for both Tylee and JJ. In October, Colby received a text from Tylee saying that she was okay but too busy to talk. A few days later, Chad's wife Tammy died. According to Chad, she went to bed with a bad cough and never woke up. Weeks after Tammy's death, Chad and Lori got married in Hawaii. Police were sent to Lori's home to conduct a welfare check at the request of JJ's grandmother, who hadn't heard from JJ since August. Lori said that JJ was in Arizona with a family friend, which he wasn't. When police showed up the next day, Lori's home was empty. Chad and Lori fled to Hawaii. Eventually they were arrested and as police and FBI searched Chad's home, human remains were found in the back yard, belonging to Tylee and JJ. 

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Cary Stayner was just 11 years old when his younger brother Steven was abducted in 1972. The Stayner family struggled for years to figure out what had happened to Steven. During this time Cary was emotionally neglected by his parents, as they focused solely on finding Steven (or what remained). In 1980, Steven miraculously returned home after escaping his captor. As much as it was great Steven came home, the Stayner family spend much of the early 80s as subjects to media attention. This was hard on Cary, who hadn't received attention like this from his own parents, let alone an entire nation. Steven passed away in 1989 and things went downhill for Cary. He was arrested in 1997 for possession of Methamphetamines and Marijuana, but those charges were later dropped. He took a handyman job at Cedar Lodge Motel, near Yosemite National Park. In February 1999, Cary murdered three female guest of the motel. In July of the same year, he murdered a female backpacker. He was caught and charged with for counts of first degree murder. He was sentenced to death in 2002. In 2006, California overturned the ruling on Capital Punishment, which abolished the death penalty. Cary Stayner has spent the past 20 years in San Quentin State Prison.

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On the evening of February 24, 1986, John Ruetten came home to find his wife, Sherri Rasmussen, dead on the living room floor. She had been shot three times and had a noticeable bite mark on her arm. LAPD investigators ruled in a burglary gone wrong. Due to the rising gang violence and crack epidemic in Los Angeles, the case went cold. In 2004, evidence that had gone missing was recovered. It was a cotton swab that contained the DNA of a possible suspect that was taken from the bite mark on Sherri's arm. The case continued to sit until 2009, hen it was reopened by police. The DNA was linked to a well respect, veteran LAPD detective named Stephanie Lazarus. Prior to John's marriage to Sherri, he had an intimate relationship with Stephanie. He only saw her as a hook up but she was in love with him. Stephanie became jealous of Sherri, eventually stalking her. While working as an LAPD officer, she killed Sherri and staged the scene to look like a burglary. Stephanie was charged with first degree murder and was sentenced to 27 years to life in prison. At this time, she has exhausted all her appeals

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In December 1972, Steven Stayner was abducted by Kenneth Parnell, a convicted child molester and sex offender, while walking home from school in Merced, California. Parnell's plan was to raise the boy as his own, even changing his name. While in captivity, Stayner was raped by Parnell on a few occasions, even being molested by Parnell's girlfriend. As Steven grew older, Parnell would have Steven try to abduct other young boys. Steven later stated that he purposefully sabotaged the abductions On Valentine's day 1980, Parnell had Stayner's friend abduct five year old Timmy White. On the evening of March 1, 1980, while Parnell was at his night job, Steven and Timmy left the house and hitchhiked to near by Ukiah. The next morning, the boys were returned to their families and Parnell was arrested. Steven struggled to adjust to life outside of captivity, as Parnell would let the boy do basically anything he wanted. Stayner was shattered by the way his parents treated him like a teen rather than the seven year old he was when he left. He felt lost. His drinking habit continued to escalate as the mental and emotional toll had continued to weigh on him. Eventually, he got married and had two children. Unfortunately, on September 16, 1989, he was killed in a motorcycle accident. He was 24 years old. Steven's disappearance and escape was heavy on him and his family. This case wasn't the last time the Stayner family made national news....

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While attending the University of York, Neil Entwistle met Rachel Souza, an American student studying in England. The two fell in love and eventually got married in 2003. The couple lived in Worcestershire where their daughter Lillian was born in 2005. The Entwistles migrated to the US, settling in Massachusetts, Rachel's home state. They stayed with Rachel's mother and stepfather before finding a home in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. Ten days after moving into their home, the love story came to a tragic end. On January 22, both Rachel and Liilian were found shot to death in the master bedroom, under a pile of bedding. Hours after the deaths of his wife and daughter, Neil bought a one way ticket to London at 5am and departed Boston at 8:15,  a day before the bodies were found. On January 23, a Massachusetts State Police trooper contacted Entwistle to tell him what had happened. He said that he left that morning and bother his wife and daughter were alive, when he came back, they were dead and he didn't know what to do. He also stated that he planned to kill himself but couldn't do it, so he fled the country. His recently viewed a website that stated "how to kill someone" and searched for escort services in the days leading up to the murders. At the time of the murders, Neil had been fired from his job for several months and his wife never knew. He also had $30,000 worth of credit card debt. He  was eventually arrested in London and extradited back to the US to stand trial. His trial began on June 2, 2008 and was found guilty on June 25, 2008. He was sentenced to two life sentences and ten years probation to run concurrently. 

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In the early morning of July 23, 2007, the town of Cheshire, Connecticut would horrifically be changed forever. After following 48 year old Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her 11 year old daughter, Michaela Petit the night before, Joshua Komisarjevski and his crime partner, Steven Hayes broke into the Petit Family house. Komisarjevski struck the patriarch of the family, Dr. William Petit, over the head with a baseball bat. Both Komisarjevski and Hayes then tied Dr. Petit up in the basement before going upstairs. They then tied up Jennifer and the Petit's daughters, 18 year old Hayley and 11 year old Michaela in their rooms before ransacking the home. Hayes then forced Jennifer to drive to the bank as it opened for the day and take out $15,000. Jennifer told the bank teller what was happening and the teller contacted local police. Upon returning to the home, Hayes and Komisarjevski sexually assaulted Jennifer. Dr. Petit could hear the assault. In a quick moment of adrenaline, Dr. Petit escaped through the basement and ran for help. Komisarjevski had already raped Michaela by the time Hayes and Jennifer returned. After realizing William Petit had escaped, Jennifer was strangled and the two began dumping gasoline all over the house. They went upstairs and doused the girls with gasoline before leaving. The house was then set ablaze. Both men were arrested a block away after crashing the Petit family car. Jennifer, Hayley, and Michaela Petit were all killed. According to autopsy reports, both Hayley and Michaela were alive when the house was set on fire. Both men were eventually sentenced to death by lethal injection. In August 2015, Connecticut voted to abolish capital punishment. As a result, sentences were commuted to life imprisonment.

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As a respected decorated police officer, Drew Peterson took down some of Chicago's toughest drug dealers during the 80s and 90s. He could keep bad guys off the streets, but he couldn't keep his wives. Married four times, Peterson was unfaithful, controlling, and abusive. He was an arrogant asshole who really played the nice guy part. After two failed marriages, he married Kathleen Savio in 1992. Things turned sour soon after and Kathleen filed for divorce in 2003. The next year, Kathleen's body was found in a dry bathtub. Her body had scrapes and bruises and an unexplained gash on her scalp. Her death was ruled an accident. Drew was considered a suspect but those involved in the investigation knew Drew personally and all evidence that point to foul play was non existent. At age 49, he married 19 year old Stacy Ann Cales. The had two children together and she even adopted Savio's children. In 2007, after not showing up to help her sister, Stacy was reported missing. Drew was in the media quite frequently after this. He taunted reporters and camera crews outside his house. Finally in 2009, he was arrested and charged with Savio's murder after the case was reopened. Questions started to rise about Stacy as well. According to Drew, she ran away with another man. But according to Drew's stepbrother and some neighbors, Drew and his stepbrother loaded Drew's SUV with a blue, 55 gallon barrel in the middle of the night. Stacy Ann Peterson has never been found. He was convicted of Kathleen Savio's murder in 2012 and was sentenced to 38 years in prison. In 2015, Peterson asked another prisoner, who later turned out to be an informant, to kill the prosecuting attorney in his ex wife's murder case. Peterson was charged with soliciting murder for hire and was sentenced to an additional 40 years in prison. 

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On the night of November 13, 1990, the small seaside town of Aramoana, New Zealand would be shaken to its core. After an argument over a dog on his property, David Gray shot and killed his neighbor, Garry Holden. Gray then shot at Holden's daughters, killing two. Gray set fire to the Holden house with the bodies of the two girls inside. He then shot at a family who stopped to help, killing four, including two six year old boys. His rampage continued through the night. By the next morning, he had barricaded himself inside a house. He ate and soon fell asleep. He had killed 13 people, including four children and a police officer. Almost 24 hours after his rampage began, Gray was found and a shootout ensued. Once out of ammunition, Gray came out and taunted police, telling them to kill him. He was shot five times but survived. He eventually died on his way to the hospital. This was New Zealand's largest mass murder in history until 2019. The events in Aramoana sparked swift changes to New Zealand's firearms legislation, which tightened the purchases of military grade semi-automatic firearms in 1992. 

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Marvin Gaye, known for his R&B hits "Let's Get It On", "Sexual Healing", "What's Going On" and more, was shot and killed by his own father on April 1, 1984. He was one day shy of his 45th birthday. The murder had stemmed from an argument between his mother, Alberta Gay, and his father, Marvin Gay Sr. Marvin and his father always had a rough relationship. It had reached its peak. Because it was April 1st, many believed the news to be a hoax. A year prior, Marvin embarked on a comeback tour after spending time in Europe. Halfway through the tour, Marvin began using cocaine again to cope with the pressure of touring. He eventually became so paranoid that he'd wear a bulletproof vest up until he got on stage. Between August 1983 and April 1984, Marvin's mental health continued to decline. He was so low, death was always on his mind. He contemplated his own suicide many times. As his parents fought, Marvin saw this as an opportunity to provoke his father, to the point were he grabbed a gun and shot his own son. As Marvin laid dying, he whispered to his brother "I got what I wanted... I couldn't do it myself, so I had him do it... It's good, I ran my race, there's no more left in me". Marvin Gaye was pronounced dead on arrival at 1:01 pm. His father, Marvin Gay Sr., was sentenced to a six year suspended sentence and five years if probation. His siblings continue to believe that Marvin's death was a suicide by the hands of their father. His sister has stated that Marvin "knew what he was doing".