The Backroom

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On the night of December 8, 1980, former member of The Beatles, John Lennon, was shot four times in the back outside the Dakota on 72nd Street in New York City. The gunman was a 25 year old man from Hawaii named Mark David Chapman. Chapman was, at one time, a huge Beatles fan. He also had become fixated with the novel "The Catcher in the Rye" and its protagonist, Holden Caulfield. Like Caulfield, Chapman started to resent people who were phony. Chapman was upset with Lennon's lavish lifestyle and anti-christian beliefs. In a 1966 interview with the Beatles, Lennon stated that the Beatles were possibly "More popular than Jesus". Chapman remained at the scene and was arrested. Lennon was rushed to Roosevelt Hospital by police car, but was pronounced dead on arrival. Chapman, against his defense team's wishes, immediately plead guilty and was sentenced to 20 years to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole starting in 2000. Since 2000, Chapman has been denied parole eleven times.

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On December 8, 2004, heavy metal group Damageplan began their set at Alrosa Villa Nightclub in Columbus, Ohio. Damageplan was put together by drummer Vinnie Paul and his brother "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott after their original band, Pantera, broke up the previous year. Five minutes into Damageplan's set, obsessed Pantera fan, Nathan Gale, stormed the stage and shot Dimebag Darrell in the head. Gale also shot and killed 3 others, as well as injuring three more. Three minutes after the first shot, Colobus police officer, James Niggemeyer, arrived and shot Gale in the head, killing him instantly. The motivation for Gale's attack is still unclear. Most assume he was upset that the Abbott brothers broke up Pantera. The year before, Nathan Gale was diagnosed with paranoid schizphrenia. 

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 On April 19, 1993, the FBI carried out an assault on  Mount Carmel Center, the compound for the religious group Branch Davidians. The assault started when two armored vehicles knocked down walls on separate ends of the compound and slowly pumped tear gas in to get the members to pour out. Three fires started within the compound and within minutes the entire building was engulfed in flames. In total, 74 Branch Davidians, which included 25 children. The event ended a 51 day standoff between the Branch Davidians and the FBI and. ATF. Originally, the Branch Davidians were being investigated for gun trafficking and alleged child abuse, when on February 28, ATF agents traveled to Mount Carmel to execute a search and arrest warrant. It is known that Koresh had several wives, the youngest being 14 years old and also had multiple children with each wife. The Branch Davidians believed that an apocalyptic event and second coming of Christ was imminent and Koresh was the messiah, who would lead the Davidians to salvation. 

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The Bra Boys are one of Australia's most notorious surf gangs. That's right.....surf gang. The gang is a hallmark example of how serious and violent surf culture can be. The group hails from Maroubra, NSW, Australia. The most notable members of the Bra Boys are the Abberton Brothers (Koby, Jai, Sunny, and Dakota), all of whom have extensive criminal backgrounds. Although their potential connection to organized crime and events of violence, The Bra Boys are one of the most respected within the surfing community around the world. 

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In late September 1982, 12 year old, Mary Kellerman, took extra strength Tylenol and died soon after. Several others died after taking Tylenol is the hours and days after Mary Kellerman. All the deaths took place in the Chicago area. After the first day of the deaths, a lab tested the Tylenol and discovered that it was laced with cyanide. Johnson & Johnson took immediate action and recalled all their products. It wasn't known if this was only in the Chicago area or Nationwide. This even sparked new methods in packaging over the counter drugs and food as well. No suspect has ever been brought to justice and the case still remains a mystery.

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Between 1975 and 1998, Dr. Harold Shipman is suspected of murdering at least 250 patients with deadly doses of diamorphine. Shipman was the only one to sign the death certificates and the bodies were either cremated or buried with no questions asked. The majority of his victims were elderly women, who were all in good health. Shipman also forged the wills of his victims, making it seem that the victim had left all their assets to Shipman. Shipman was loved by many around town. He was convicted of 15 counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison in 2000. Harold Shipman took his own life in 2004. His killing spree and death brought many changes to the UK's medical field, funeral practices, and even prison systems. 

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Continuation of Part 1. 

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The horrors of 25 Cromwell Street haunt the town of Gloucester in the United Kingdom. Fred and Rose West committed unimaginable crimes within the walls of their home. Raping and murdering an unknown amount of young females, including runaways and lodgers. They even raped their own children. Fred West grew up believing incest was normal, as his mother is believed to have molested him. Rose was also molested by her father on several occasions growing up. Fred worked many odd jobs around town, while Rose was a prostitute, whose main clients came from the local West Indian population and even Rose's own father. Their crimes are some of the most vile and disgusting in England's history. They were pure evil

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On April 22, 1974, two vans carry a total of six men pulled up to the Hi-Fi Store in Ogden, Utah. Four men went in, while two stayed in the vans. Two men held five people hostage. They forced them to drink Drano and some were shot in the head. One girl was raped before being killed. Two survived the incident, but suffered permanent injuries. Only three of the men were found at a local air force base where they were stationed. Two were charged with three counts of first degree murder and two counts of aggravated robbery. The were both sentenced to death and executed. The third was just charged with aggravated robbery, as he was the getaway driver and had no knowledge of the killings. He was sentenced to five years to life but was paroled in 1987. 

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Aileen Wuornos is one of the most notorious female serial killers. Her upbringing was far from normal. After being abandoned by her mother, Aileen and her brother were adopted by their grandparents. Aileen's grandfather would sexually and physically abuse her. As she grew older, Aileen became a reckless danger. She hitchhiked to Florida, where she began to sell her body. Between 1989 and 1990, Aileen killed seven men who picked her up for her services. She claimed that it was in self-defense, but her stories were inconsistent. She had stolen cars from two of her victims, and pawned many items that belonged to the victims as well. She was tried and convicted for six of the seven murders, as one body was never found. She was received six death sentences. During her time on death row, she claimed that the prison guards were trying to harm her. She was evaluated by many psychologist and was determined that she was a sociopath. She was executed on October 9, 2002.