True Halloween Murder Stories | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Entertainment

2 True Halloween Murder Stories That Will Make You Skip Trick-Or-Treating This Year

Warning: Graphic content.

139
halloween

If you've read my previous articles, you can see I have an interest in true crime. Purely because I am astonished that a human being can resort to this behavior. Every day I listen to the podcast "My Favorite Murder" and I decided to do my own take on an episode of crimes. Each episode, "My Favorite Murder" details two crimes that they have researched. So, for this article I have researched two murders that occurred on Halloween. Plus, with the interest in the new "Halloween" movie, I've decided to continue on the trend of two real-life Michael Meyers.

Warning: These two crimes include the saddening deaths of two children.

The Murder of Martha Moxley

When: Halloween 1975

Where: Greenwich, Connecticut

The Story: On the afternoon of Halloween, Martha Moxley's body had been discovered on her family's property. Martha had supposedly been bludgeoned about 14 times with a golf club and stabbed with the handle. The murder was defined as "overkill." The golf club had been identified as Rusthon Shakel's, her neighbor, as the clubs had his wife's name engraved on them. So, the 15-year-old had last been seen the night before, Mischief Night, with friends. Including of those friends were Rusthon's sons, Tommy and Michael. Tommy was the initial suspect for the crime due to the fact that he was the last to see Martha. He had claimed, years later, they were sexually intimate that night together in the yard.

However, Martha had previously dated his brother, Michael. This tragic love triangle gets messy as Michael reveals he had seen his ex-lover and own brother together. Michael had stated he had an alibi which would later be debunked after further investigation. His friends announced that his where-a-bouts were completely unknown. Supposedly, Michael was hiding in a tree spying on Martha, then later had climbed into his window at home to avoid being caught outside the home. The father, Rusthon, had hired Sutton Investigators to help exonerate his son.

This, however, only revealed more complications. Much of the evidence was revealed to be controversial and circumstantial. An extra fact added to this as the Shakel's were related to the famous Kennedy's. The suspected son, Michael, supposedly told a fellow friend, "I'm going to get away with murder. I'm a Kennedy." Many years later, in January of 2000, Michael had been found guilty of murder but was released on a $500,000 bond. The case was later re-tried in 2002, in which Michael received a sentence of 20 years to life. Unfortunately, in 2013 there were claims of ineffective legal representation, so the judge decided to redo the case.

From this most recent trial, Michael Shakel got out on a $1.2 million bond. To this day, justice has not been served for Martha Moxley's horrendous death on Halloween of 1975.

The Death of Timothy O' Bryan

Houston Chronicle

When: Halloween 1974

Where: Houston, Texas

The Story: On Halloween evening, father of two Ronald O'Bryan offered to take his children trick-or-treating with friends within their suburb. Ronald had laced Pixy Stix with cyanide that he had unsealed and restapled. He then gave the poisonous candy to the four friends and his two kids. Only Timothy, Ronald's 8-year-old son, had eaten the candy as the others could not open their deadly treats. Little Timothy then died soon after ingesting the poison. Supposedly, Ronald had planned to poison his children for the $40,000 insurance claims that he had just taken out on Timothy.

The other children were just to be collateral damage. O'Bryan had planned to give the candy to his son before bed, but he reported that his son vomited a lot after eating his candy. Ronald acted as a parent distraught and shocked over the unexpected death of his child. Panic was thus inflicted throughout the city. Houston was in fear if there was a killer on the loose, poisoning children.

However, Ronald was not to get away with this heinous crime. He never admitted to the crime, but his wife did testify against him which would end in a death sentence. The jury had found him guilty within an hour of debate. The prosecutor of the trial had stated, "He's the man that ruined Halloween for the whole world." Ronald O'Bryan was given a lethal injection on March 31, 1984.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Entertainment

11 Ways To Survive Finals As Told By Leslie Knope

Because you know you're going to be stressed out, and Leslie knows exactly how to survive.

38
Everything hurts and I'm dying

So finals are on their way. That's right everybody, finals are about to start.

But hey, don't panic. Start getting your affairs in order and prepare for a week of hell. Here's a few things Leslie Knope wants you to do to make your finals week just a little bit less stressful:

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

40 Perfect Gifts for 'I Have No Idea What I Want For Christmas' 🎁✨

It's a time of love, family, memory-making, and gift-giving. But also a time of stressing over the perfect gift.

117859
Christmas gifts
StableDiffusion

It's officially December. There is less than a month of 2023, and I still feel like yesterday was summer. Now comes the merriest time of the year, the Christmas season.

Everyone has been waiting for this time of year since mid-October (which is way too early, in my opinion) or before. It's a time of love, family, memory-making, and gift-giving. A lot of times when I ask friends and family what they want, I get a lot of "I don't know" or "I don't care."

Keep Reading...Show less
Kent State University
Great Value Colleges

If you go to or went to Kent State, then more than likely you have done or will do some of these things.

1. You’ve slipped and fallen on the ice at least once.

The winters at Kent are brutal, and while the heated sidewalks and some great snow boots are always a help, there’s no chance you won’t bust it on the ice at least once in your four plus years at school.

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

5 Reasons Why Finals Week Is The Worst For People Who Love Christmas

Christmas is on the brain during the month of December, not finals! How do you expect me to study?

139
santa claus with red background
Photo by krakenimages on Unsplash

Christmas is literally so close. We can almost taste it. But there is just one thing standing between you and the big day: FINALS. It's not the studying, lack of sleep, last minute cram sessions or crappy food intake that is the worst... but the fact that you cannot focus because, well, CHRISTMAS. How do professors expect you to focus when Christmas is soooo soon. For all my fellow Christmas lovers out there, I feel your pain.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

Library Struggles Every College Student Will Understand

Are you really a college student if you don't stay up all night studying in your pajamas?

709
sleeping in the library
Daily Fun Lists

One of the most dreaded places on campus is the library. Nothing awesome ever happens here. Usually, the only reason you're here is because you've procrastinated so long that the library is the only place you'll actually get stuff done. It gives you this feeling of sadness and impending doom. You have no idea how this is going to go or how long you'll be here, but you do know it is about to be the most excruciating experiences yet. But it has to get done, so you drag yourself to the lovely library.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments