Forensic science has leapt forward dramatically over the past two centuries. What began as rumor‑laden accusations and shaky testimony has blossomed into a sophisticated web of DNA profiling, video surveillance, data mining, and the hard‑core physical sciences. One branch of the latter— forensic dentistry—has repeatedly proven its worth. Although bite‑mark analysis has fallen out of favor in many jurisdictions and sparked heated debate, other dental techniques such as DNA fingerprinting from teeth, age estimation, and post‑mortem identification remain indispensable. In this top 10 criminal roundup, we’ll see how human teeth have either cracked cases wide open or, occasionally, led investigators down a misleading path.

Why the Top 10 Criminal Cases Matter

10 Aggrippina and Lollia Paulina’s Golden Teeth

The saga of Lollia Paulina is often cited as the earliest recorded instance of forensic dentistry being used to identify a corpse. Some even argue it marks the birth of forensic science itself. Either way, her golden dental work played a starring role in solving the mystery.

In a power struggle for the Roman throne, Agrippina the Younger coveted Emperor Claudius and saw Lollia Paulina as a rival. After winning Claudius’s hand, Agrippina moved swiftly: she accused Lollia of sorcery, secured a conviction, stripped her of property, exiled her, and ultimately ordered her to take her own life. When a guard presented Agrippina with Lollia’s severed head as proof, the facial features were distorted beyond recognition by death, dismemberment, and the journey home. To confirm the identity, Agrippina turned to the only unmistakable clue—Lollia’s famously gilded teeth. By opening the skull’s jaw and spotting the gold‑filled dental work, she verified that the head was indeed her rival’s, marking what is believed to be the first forensic dental identification.

9 Reverend George Burroughs

The 1692 Salem Witch Trials remain a grim chapter in early American jurisprudence, and they also feature a bizarre forensic episode involving a bite mark. Among the many innocent victims of the hysteria was Reverend George Burroughs, who was accused of consorting with the devil.

One of the accusations hinged on a bite imprint allegedly left on a young victim’s arm. Investigators compared the mark visually to Burroughs’s teeth, and that superficial match was enough to seal his fate: he was convicted and hanged. Decades later, historians exonerated him, but his case stands as the first instance in the United States where bite evidence was presented as a key piece of proof.

8 Jesse Timmendequas and Megan’s Law

Today, every U.S. state enforces Megan’s Law, a set of statutes that make sex offender details—names, photos, addresses—publicly accessible. The law’s origins trace back to a tragic 1994 case involving a young girl named Megan Kanka.

Megan was brutally raped and murdered by her neighbor, Jesse Timmendequas. While a myriad of evidence led to his conviction, one striking piece was a bite mark Megan managed to leave on Timmendequas’s hand as she fought back. That dental imprint helped seal his guilt, and the case ultimately spurred the nationwide push for the child‑protection legislation we now know as Megan’s Law.

7 Thomas Maupin’s Dentures

In the spring of 2001, a woman walking alone on a deserted stretch of road near Memphis, Tennessee, was violently attacked. She survived a stabbing and rape, reported the crime, and investigators collected a trove of forensic evidence at the scene.

Despite the wealth of material, the perpetrator remained at large—until a decade later. Among the evidence was a set of dentures that had been overlooked initially. When the case was reopened, forensic analysts examined the dentures and discovered a handwritten name inside them, linking them directly to the attacker. That revelation led police to Thomas Maupin, who was subsequently arrested and convicted for the assault.

6 Fredrik Fasting Torgersen

The Norwegian case of Fredrik Fasting Torgersen remains a cautionary tale about the perils of over‑reliance on bite‑mark testimony. In 1958, Torgersen was charged with the rape and murder of a young girl, despite a glaring lack of physical evidence linking him to the crime scene.

During the trial, a self‑styled expert witness asserted that a bite mark found on the victim’s breast “with full certainty pointed to Torgersen as the murderer.” This claim became the cornerstone of the prosecution’s case, even though no other corroborating evidence existed.

Over the ensuing decades, the bite‑mark evidence has been heavily scrutinized and widely criticized as scientifically unsound. After serving 16 years of a life sentence, Torgersen was released, and the case continues to spark debate about the reliability of forensic odontology in criminal justice.

5 Bundy’s Big Bite

Ted Bundy, the charismatic yet murderous serial killer, confessed to the deaths of 30 women during the 1970s and admitted to numerous additional kidnappings and rapes. His cunning allowed him to evade capture for years, leaving scant physical evidence behind.

One of the few tangible clues emerged during an attack on a sorority house, where a victim sustained a deep bite on her left buttock. Forensic odontologists Richard Souviron and Lowell Levine created dental casts of Bundy’s teeth and matched them to the imprint, providing a critical link that helped secure his conviction and ultimately end his reign of terror.

4 Sharon Carr’s Cheetos Teeth

In early 2001, a frantic 911 call reported an intruder inside a home where a mother was alone with her two children. The intruder lingered before fleeing through an open window, leaving behind a water bottle and an empty bag of Cheetos.

Police arrived to find the house empty but noted the discarded items. While canvassing the area, officers discovered the intruder, Sharon Carr, hiding in nearby bushes. The breakthrough came when they observed a fine layer of Cheetos dust coating her teeth, a distinctive clue that confirmed her presence at the scene.

This seemingly minor piece of evidence—Cheetos residue on a suspect’s teeth—demonstrates how even the most unconventional forensic clues can clinch a case.

3 Ray Krone Overturned

In 1992, Ray Krone was convicted of murder and labeled the “Snaggletooth Killer,” largely on the strength of bite‑mark analysis that supposedly linked his dental pattern to injuries on the victim’s body.

Like the Norwegian case, Krone’s conviction rested on tenuous bite evidence. However, DNA testing later exonerated him, identifying the true perpetrator, Kenneth Phillips, a repeat sexual offender. Since his release, Krone has worked with the Innocence Project, advocating against the death penalty and highlighting the necessity of DNA evidence to correct wrongful convictions.

2 John Wayne Gacy

John Wayne Gacy, infamously known as the “Killer Clown,” murdered at least 33 young men, many of whom were sexually assaulted and tortured. The discovery of his victims proved a monumental forensic challenge.

Police unearthed 26 bodies from the crawlspace beneath Gacy’s home. Dental records were instrumental in identifying 23 of those victims. In the years since, additional victims have been recovered from the Des Plaines River, with many identified through dental DNA analysis, underscoring the enduring value of forensic dentistry in resolving cold cases.

1 Josef Mengele Identified

Josef Mengele, the notorious “Angel of Death,” conducted horrific medical experiments on Auschwitz prisoners. After World War II, he evaded justice, fleeing to Argentina, then Paraguay, and finally Brazil, assuming multiple identities.

In 1979, while swimming, Mengele suffered a stroke and drowned. His body was recovered under an assumed name, and for decades his fate remained a mystery. It wasn’t until Brazilian and American dentists compared post‑mortem skull X‑rays with those taken years earlier by a Brazilian dentist who had treated Mengele that a definitive identification was made.

American dental scientist Lowell J. Levine declared that the remains could now be identified as Josef Mengele “with absolute certainty.” Thus, the final piece of forensic evidence—teeth—closed the chapter on one of history’s most infamous war criminals.

One does not have to be a great person to do great things. The top 10 iconic tales below demonstrate how misfortune, misdeeds, and sheer happenstance can launch legendary legacies. Some of the most celebrated achievements began with victims caught in criminal webs, while others sprang from the very hands that caused the trouble. Once the chaos settled, these ten figures and institutions reshaped the world in unforgettable ways.

10 The Travels of Marco Polo

Why This Is Top 10 Iconic

Confined within stone walls, Marco Polo’s only true liberty lived in his imagination. After a 24‑year odyssey across Asia that began in 1269, he finally trudged back to Venice, only to discover his homeland at war with Genoa. Denied entry, Polo and his crew violently clashed with Genoese officials, landing them in prison for assault.

While behind bars, Polo entertained a fellow inmate—Rustichello of Pisa—by recounting vivid tales of Kublai Khan’s empire and far‑off wonders. Rustichello penned these recollections, birthing the legendary travelogue “The Travels of Marco Polo.” To spice the narrative, the duo embellished certain episodes, turning the manuscript into an instant bestseller that introduced Europe to paper money, pasta, and fantastical creatures like unicorns and dog‑headed peoples.

The book’s ripple effect was staggering: poets such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge and singers like Olivia Newton‑John drew inspiration from Polo’s accounts; Christopher Columbus famously thumbed through a dog‑eared copy before his 1492 voyage. Even the mystic verses of “Kubla Khan” echo Polo’s description of a grand pleasure‑dome, cementing his legacy as a cultural catalyst.

9 Mars Candies

By most measures, Frank Mars looked like a failure, while his son Forrest turned the family name into a confectionery empire. Frank’s own life was far from sweet: a childhood crippled by polio forced him to help his mother bake desserts, planting the seeds of a lifelong obsession with sugary creations. In the early 1900s, a strained marriage and a floundering product called Mar‑O‑Bar drove Frank to the brink. His wife, Ethel Kissack, eventually left with their son, moving to Canada.

Meanwhile, an ambitious Forrest, fresh from Berkeley and Yale, dove into aggressive advertising for Camel cigarettes. One of his guerrilla campaigns in Chicago involved plastering ads over streetlights, a stunt that earned him a police arrest for vandalism. With a meager $400 left, Frank rushed to bail his estranged son out of jail, sparking a reconciliation over milkshakes.

That night, Forrest suggested adding malt to Frank’s chocolate, birthing the “Milky Way” bar—named for the creamy nougat filling. The success of Milky Way opened the floodgates for a constellation of Mars sweets, including Three Musketeers, Snickers, and M&M’s, turning the once‑struggling family into a global candy powerhouse.

8 Griffith Observatory

Griffith J. Griffith, the man whose name adorns both a park and an observatory, was far from saintly. In 1903, while vacationing in Santa Monica, he threatened his wife, Mary Agnes Christina Mesmer, with a gun, claiming she’d conspired with the Pope to poison him. The paranoid oilman’s delusion led to a near‑fatal eye shot; Mesmer survived, leapt from a third‑story window, and was cushioned by an awning that broke her fall.

Charged with assault with a deadly weapon, Griffith’s defense of “alcoholic insanity” reduced his sentence to two years. Determined to restore his reputation, he pledged further philanthropy, offering $100,000 in 1912 to fund an observatory. The city initially balked, but after Griffith’s 1919 death, his bequest finally secured the funds, birthing the iconic Griffith Observatory in 1935.

Since its debut, the observatory has become Hollywood gold. Its silhouette graces classics like “Terminator,” “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?,” “La La Land,” and most famously “Rebel Without a Cause,” where it serves as a pivotal backdrop for the film’s dramatic moments.

7 The Periodic Table of Elements

Polish king Augustus the Strong, eager to prove his alchemical prowess, fell for the sleight‑of‑hand tricks of Johann Friedrich Böttger, who could seemingly turn silver into gold. Convinced of Böttger’s magic, Augustus imprisoned the charlatan, demanding the secret of turning base metal into treasure.

When Böttger’s deception was exposed, Augustus threatened execution. To save his life, Böttger offered a new lie: he claimed mastery over the production of porcelain—Europe’s coveted alternative to Chinese wares. Teaming up with scientist Ehrenfried Walter von Tschirnhaus, they engineered a high‑temperature kiln that fused kaolin clay with feldspar, unlocking true porcelain.

The breakthrough reshaped trade, breaking China’s monopoly and spawning European porcelain factories. One such venture, Sweden’s Ytterby mine, unearthed unique feldspar deposits that yielded vivid pigments, hinting at a new class of elements later identified as the lanthanides.

Chemist Johan Gadolin later isolated seven elements from Ytterby’s ore, providing the missing pieces Dmitri Mendeleev needed to finalize the periodic table—a cornerstone of modern chemistry.

6 Auntie Anne’s Pretzels

Anne Beiler’s journey from Amish farm to pretzel empire began in tragedy. In the mid‑1970s, a runaway tractor claimed the life of her 19‑month‑old daughter, Angela, plunging Anne and her husband, Jonas, into profound grief that nearly drove them to suicide.

Seeking solace, Anne turned to a local pastor—only to endure further abuse as the clergyman entered a six‑year coercive, violent relationship, raping and terrorizing women across the community, including Anne’s sisters. Determined, Anne helped expose and expel the predator, reclaiming her own agency.

With Jonas running a free clinic, the couple opened a modest concession stand in 1988 to supplement their income. What started as a modest snack shop quickly twisted into a nationwide phenomenon as their soft pretzels captured the public’s taste buds, cementing Auntie Anne’s as a beloved mall‑court staple.

5 Hip Hop

On July 13, 1977, a scorching New York heatwave triggered a city‑wide blackout that lasted 25 harrowing hours. The power loss sparked chaos: over a thousand fires ignited, $300 million in damage accrued, and a record 3,776 arrests followed the massive civil unrest.

Amid the turmoil, DJ Grandmaster Caz argues that the looting inadvertently fueled hip‑hop’s explosion. Stolen sound equipment, from mixers to turntables, fell into the hands of aspiring DJs who otherwise could not afford such gear. The scramble for gear turned block parties into underground labs of sonic experimentation.

Although Kool Herc had already pioneered the genre before the blackout, the sudden democratization of technology accelerated hip‑hop’s spread across all five boroughs, eventually propelling it onto the global stage.

4 The MPAA Ratings

Hollywood’s first major scandal erupted on February 1, 1922, when the murdered director William Desmond Taylor was discovered with a pool of blood. The investigation spiraled into a labyrinth of conflicting testimonies, suspected drug‑runners, and a possible cover‑up involving actress Mabel Normand and jealous rival Charlotte Shelby.

The murder exposed the industry’s hidden vices, prompting studios to adopt the Hays Code in 1930 under Will Hays. This self‑censorship regime dictated moral standards, forcing filmmakers to rewrite classics like “Gone with the Wind,” “Casablanca,” and “Night of the Hunter” to comply with strict guidelines.

By the 1960s, the Code’s rigidity sparked rebellion among filmmakers, leading to its eventual abandonment. In its place, the Motion Picture Association of America introduced the modern rating system we know today—G, PG, PG‑13, R, and NC‑17—granting audiences clearer content warnings.

3 The Tour De France

In 1899, a violent clash at the Auteuil Racetrack in Paris set the stage for what would become the world’s most famous cycling race. Comte Jules‑Albert de Dion, enraged by the Dreyfus affair, joined a mob that assaulted President Émile Loubet, breaking his cane and beating a policeman until the weapon snapped.

The scandal‑ridden newspaper Le Vélo condemned de Dion’s actions, prompting him to launch his own rival publication, L’Auto‑Vélo. Seeking to outshine his competitor, de Dion conceived an even grander sporting spectacle—a multi‑stage bicycle tour that would captivate the nation.

The resulting event, the Tour de France, grew from a newspaper stunt into a grueling, iconic competition that tests endurance, strategy, and national pride each summer.

2 Superman

In 1932, Mitchell Siegel, a Lithuanian‑born clothing merchant, fell victim to a robbery gone wrong. Three gunmen burst into his shop, firing two missed shots that nonetheless terrified Mitchell into a fatal heart attack.

His son, Jerry Siegel, transformed that personal tragedy into a cultural phenomenon, sketching the first Superman adventure a year later. The character’s invulnerability to bullets mirrored Mitchell’s fate, while the hero’s crusade against injustice echoed Jerry’s own yearning for protection.

A day after Mitchell’s death, a reader named L. Luther penned a letter to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, rebuking calls for vigilante justice and arguing that ordinary citizens need not become super‑heroes—an ironic counterpoint to the very myth Jerry was creating.

1 Kentucky Fried Chicken

Harland “Colonel” Sanders, the real man behind KFC’s white‑suit image, was anything but genteel. In North Corbin, Kentucky—dubbed “Hell’s Half‑Acre”—bootleggers ruled, and a bitter rivalry with restaurateur Matt Stewart sparked violent confrontations.

When Stewart defaced Sanders’ billboards, Sanders armed himself and, alongside two Shell employees, confronted Stewart. A shoot‑out ensued: Stewart wounded Gibson, Shelburne shot Stewart’s thigh, and Sanders took a shoulder hit. All three escaped prosecution, and Stewart received an 18‑year sentence, leaving Sanders free to expand his business.

Freed from his nemesis, Sanders opened a stand‑alone restaurant, eventually turning the Colonel’s name into a global fast‑food empire, forever changing the way the world eats fried chicken.

When Johnny Depp and Amber Heard faced off in court in 2022, it seemed like the world was watching. Live video feeds captured every second. Blogs and YouTube channels dissected each day’s proceedings. Viewers watched thousands of hours online. No one wanted to miss a salacious moment. However, trial journalism has a winding history that began ages before Johnny and Amber. In fact, today’s frenzied court coverage all links back to one case: the 1935 trial of Bruno Richard Hauptmann, the man convicted of kidnapping Charles Lindbergh’s baby.

Media coverage was overwhelming in that trial. Journalists from hundreds of news outlets descended on the courthouse. Photographers climbed over tables, and flashbulbs exploded in witnesses’ faces during testimony. The coverage was so intense that the American Bar Association banned cameras from courtrooms. For four decades, the ban mostly stayed in place. But as time passed, judges slowly began to re-grant access. In 1991, federal courts started allowing cameras in civil trials. Months later, Court TV was formed and immediately began wall-to-wall coverage.

Today, almost every state allows cameras in court with varying rules. Ever since, television viewers have flocked to watch real-life courtroom drama. And here are ten of the most-followed TV trials ever.

Related: Top 10 People Found Guilty At Trial Due To Surprise Evidence

10 Ted Bundy

Serial killer Ted Bundy’s 1979 trial was the first one televised nationwide. A month before he took the stand to face murder accusations in Tallahassee, the Florida Supreme Court decided to allow journalists to film trials in the state. So when Bundy went on the stand, the courtroom was filled with more than 250 reporters from across the world.

The murderer was handsome and charismatic, and news agencies couldn’t get enough.

Bundy’s outward charm may have hidden his horrific and murderous desires, but it also made for great TV. Shocked at the scene inside his courtroom, Judge Edward Cowart likened the cameras to “a space center.” Bundy was eventually found guilty of the two murders with which he was charged and later sentenced to death. Along the way, millions of people tuned in to watch the case. Today, experts point to Bundy’s public spectacle as the birth of salacious true crime news coverage.^[1]

9 The Menendez Brothers

Lyle and Erik Menendez were attractive, athletic, and rich. So when they were accused of murdering their parents in 1989, the brothers quickly rose to infamy. Detectives said the pair shot their wealthy parents and then spent their money before being arrested. The boys countered with claims that they had been victims of sexual abuse. The story resembled a soap opera, and television producers pounced.

When the case first went to trial in 1993, Court TV cameras showed it all. Jurors were deadlocked during deliberations, and the judge declared a mistrial. Both sides prepared for a second showdown. Court TV was happy to air that one, too, after the network gained three million subscribers during the first trial. The public was so invested in the spectacle that the LA District Attorney’s Office was getting dozens of calls every day from viewers with ideas on how to prosecute the brothers.

By the time Lyle and Erik were convicted at the second trial in 1996, millions of people followed along. Court TV’s ratings win encouraged other networks to air trial content. Fortunately for producers, the perfect case was right there for the airing…^[2]

8 O.J. Simpson

O.J. Simpson had it all: The former college football sensation and pro football star was a successful actor with a big bank account and a beautiful family. So when he was accused of murdering his ex-wife in 1994, his fall from grace shocked the world. His bizarre slow-speed police pursuit was broadcast live on TV and set the tone for the public’s fascination. When he went on trial in 1995, attention quickly trumped the Menendez case, and Simpson became the biggest media spectacle ever.

When the jury declared him not guilty of murder, more than 150 million Americans—almost 60% of the country—watched on TV. Telecom companies nationwide recorded a 50% drop in phone use during the verdict. Water companies saw usage decline as viewers delayed bathroom breaks to watch. After the trial ended, CNN and Court TV saw viewer declines for non-O.J. content.

Concern over the fall in ratings pushed news outlets to cover more trials. O.J.’s public interest never waned. Two decades later, nearly 14 million people watched the ex-football star’s parole hearing following a nine-year prison sentence for armed robbery.^[3]

7 Adolf Eichmann

While Ted Bundy’s 1979 murder rap kicked off the true crime craze in America, it wasn’t the world’s first televised trial. That dark distinction belongs to war criminal Adolf Eichmann. In his military life, Eichmann was responsible for transporting millions of Jews to Holocaust death camps during World War II. After the war, he escaped to Argentina and went into hiding. Fleeing kept him from consequences at the Nuremberg Trials after the war. Eichmann’s luck didn’t last forever, though.

In 1960, Israeli special agents tracked him down in South America. A year later, he went on trial for war crimes related to the genocide. Israeli courts allowed the entire trial to be televised, becoming the world’s first courtroom TV event. Millions of people tuned in to watch the shocking testimony of Holocaust survivors. The broadcast proved extremely significant: it was the first time much of the world learned about what happened in the concentration camps. Eichmann was found guilty of war crimes and executed by hanging in 1962.^[4]

6 William Kennedy Smith

William Kennedy Smith was a medical student in 1991 when he visited Florida with his uncle. At a bar one night, he met a woman named Patricia Bowman. The two went back to William’s place. Once there, something went wrong, and Bowman accused him of assault and rape. Smith wasn’t just any medical student, though. He was John F. Kennedy’s nephew. And the uncle with whom he’d been traveling was Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy. So when Smith went on trial later that year, Court TV was ready.

The network covered every moment of the trial and saw its ratings surge. Every night, non-24-hour entertainment news shows like Inside Edition aired key moments from the testimony. Media interest was so intense that tabloid shows took unethical steps for access. One prosecution witness admitted she was paid $40,000 to take part in two TV interviews on A Current Affair.

As for Smith, he was acquitted of the charges against him. Journalists offered the acquittal as a victory for having television cameras in court since the coverage allowed millions of Americans to see the justice system at work.^[5]

5 Jeffrey Dahmer

Like Ted Bundy more than a decade earlier, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer drew a macabre following once his crimes came to light. When Dahmer was charged with 15 murders and ordered to stand trial in 1992, 24-hour news channels were relatively new. When looking to fill time around the clock, networks jumped at the opportunity to cover Dahmer’s shocking exploits. In Milwaukee, where many of his murders took place, interest was particularly high.

But Dahmer’s violent acts proved a bit too disturbing even for tabloid TV coverage. Court TV aired the trial on a 20-second delay as producers rushed to edit out grisly testimony about the victims’ remains. Other networks weren’t able to sanitize their footage as quickly. The disgusting content didn’t damage viewership, though. When the jury’s guilty verdict came back, more than 60 news organizations aired it around the world. Dahmer was sentenced to 957 years in prison for the murders. Two years later, he was killed by another inmate.^[6]

4 Rodney King

The 1992 trial of four Los Angeles police officers over the brutal beating of Rodney King didn’t garner as much of a worldwide following as some on this list. But no trial in American history has had as violent an aftermath as this one. It started in 1991 when King was attacked by several LAPD officers after a pursuit. A witness secretly recorded a video of the beating. When it aired on news networks, people nationwide were outraged over King’s treatment at the hands of the cops.

Four officers were ultimately charged with assault and excessive use of force. Tensions were so high that their 1992 trial had to be moved to nearby Ventura County. Courtroom coverage proved lucrative for networks, with viewers in southern California especially interested. That was nothing compared to what happened after the verdict, though.

When the officers were acquitted of the assault charges, frustrated Angelenos erupted. Five days of rioting throughout the city resulted in more than $1 billion in property damage, 63 deaths, and more than 2,300 injuries. With the horrified nation looking on, President George H.W. Bush had to send in the National Guard to restore order.^[7]

3 Casey Anthony

It’s impossible to hear Casey Anthony’s name without thinking of Nancy Grace. A former prosecutor, Grace was a popular TV commentator on HLN when Casey’s two-year-old daughter Caylee was found dead in Florida in December 2008. On her primetime show, Grace seized on the case. She famously called Casey “Tot Mom” on air and obsessively analyzed evidence. The TV host slammed Casey for allegedly misleading police about Caylee’s last-known whereabouts. After pictures of the mom partying after her daughter’s death were uncovered, Grace erupted.

As Casey’s trial began in 2011, HLN went into overdrive. Grace’s fanatical coverage paid off for the network. HLN viewership nearly doubled during the six-week trial. On the day of the verdict, 5.2 million people tuned in live—the channel’s highest ratings ever. When the jury unexpectedly announced Casey’s acquittal, audiences watched as Grace memorably fumed, “the devil is dancing tonight,” and “Caylee’s death has gone unavenged!”^[8]

8 Jodi Arias

Police suspected Jodi Arias of murder after her ex-boyfriend Travis Alexander was brutally stabbed to death in 2008. It took more than five years for the legal process to run its course, though. During that time, sordid details about the former couple’s life made it one of the first true crime stories to go viral online. The case was complicated, and Arias’s first two trials ended in hung juries. She eventually admitted to killing Alexander but claimed it had been in self-defense.

In court, prosecutors presented evidence that Arias took pictures of her ex as he was bleeding to death. Just as she did with Casey Anthony, Nancy Grace hammered home shocking details about Arias’s love life and mindset for the entire 19-week trial. HLN’s viewership skyrocketed on the day Arias was sentenced to life in prison following a guilty verdict in May 2013. Her lawyers were shocked by the “circus-like atmosphere” of the television coverage at the trial. They filed an appeal, arguing the court failed to protect their client from the relentless media coverage. Thus far, her conviction has been upheld.^[9]

1 Lindsay Lohan

Former child star Lindsay Lohan’s 2010 trial didn’t cover the same level of crime as the rest on this list. In her case, the Parent Trap star was called in front of a judge after two drunk driving arrests and multiple probation violations. But the Hollywood star was an emotional wreck in court. Viewers watched as Lohan sobbed uncontrollably while addressing the judge. The media frenzy increased after cameras picked up a profane message subtly painted on her fingernails.

In the end, Lohan’s sentence was relatively minor. The judge ordered her to spend 90 days in jail and another 90 days in rehab. Her story drew a new kind of attention, though: TMZ streamed the July 2010 verdict live online and drew nearly 2.5 million website hits. With that threshold crossed, online virality quickly began to usurp must-see TV. But no matter the broadcast technology, the public’s interest in scandal has never slowed. From Hauptmann to Heard, viewers are as interested in high-pressure trials today as they’ve ever been.^[10]

Think gangsters are godless? Think again! Whether to ease a troubled conscience, secure a place in heaven, or guard against one’s rivals and police, patron saints and deities are common in crime. Some are borrowed from mainstream religions, history, or folklore, while others are entirely new. They also range from good to evil, or at least to darkly amoral. Here are the world’s top ten – from the least to the most fear-inducing. 

10. Nino de Atocha

The Holy Infant of Atocha, a Spanish baby saint, is traditionally depicted with a basket of bread to feed convicts. As the patron saint of prisoners, he’s popular with drug traffickers such as Pablo Escobar, leader of the Medellín cartel, who had altars in safe houses and visited a shrine while in Spain. El Chapo’s son Ovidio Guzman also pays tribute; he was wearing an amulet of the saint when he was arrested in 2019.

The Holy Infant is especially popular with hauchicoleros (gasoline thieves) in Mexico. Hence he’s often depicted holding not a basket but a gas can. In this guise he bears the name Santo Nino Huachicolero. 

According to the Catholic Church, gangsters use images of the saint (or pseudo-saint really) to gain the support of the public. But in this case it’s probably the half-price gas that ultimately wins them over.

9. Saint Jude

As one of the Twelve Apostles, Saint Jude is the only “narco saint” recognized by the Catholic Church. He’s also known as San Judas Tadeo (Saint Jude Thaddeus). Traditionally he’s the last choice to pray to for help, just in case prayers to Jude get to Judas Iscariot instead, the apostle who betrayed Jesus Christ.

Being the last resort in the way, he’s the patron of hopeless lost causes – first choice for criminals, prisoners, “youth on the edge”, and fugitive drug lords like Benjamin Arellano Felix. In fact, so popular is Saint Jude with the criminal underworld that police stake out his center of worship, the San Hipolito church in central Mexico City. Once a month, thousands of devotees, including some of the best known gangsters, descend on the church and the boulevards around it, giving undercover cops with long distance lenses the chance to update their photos.

The saint, who wears a green robe with a flame on his head, is credited with all sorts of “miracles”, including keeping fugitives, thieves, and drug runners out of jail. According to the priest at San Hipolito, however, criminals misunderstand. “The saints will not help you to do bad things or carry out illegal activities,” he told Vice in 2016. On the contrary, Saint Jude is also popular with police.

8. Amaterasu

Sun goddess Amaterasu is the principal deity of Japanese mythology – daughter of the creators Izanami and Izanagi. Ruling over the Takama no Hara (“High Celestial Plain”), Amaterasu (whose name means “shining in Heaven”), is chief of the kami, or spirits, and worshiped throughout Japan. She’s also revered by the yakuza, who honor her with rituals of worship, as well as the initiation of new members. In one famous legend, Amaterasu retreats from the world to a cave, bringing disasters to heaven and earth.

Different specializations of the yakuza may worship other patron deities. For example, one of the two main branches, tekiya (merchants, originally of medicines), honors Shinno the god of medicine, while the other main branch, bakuto (gamblers), honors Hachiman the god of war. All yakuza, however, honor Amaterasu and the Emperor of Japan.

An important ritual in which she features is the Sakazuki, or “Cup Exchange”. Held in strict secrecy at a time and place not revealed to participants until moments before, the ceremony centers on an altar beneath three scrolls – each representing a god. Amaterasu is on the right, the Emperor on the left and Shinno in the middle.

7. Jesus Malverde

In Mexico, Jesús Malverde is the mythical hero of the poor and downtrodden. He’s basically the Mexican Robin Hood, complete with thick black mustache and neckerchief. Mal verde in Spanish means “bad green”, a name the folkloric bandit earned hiding in shrubs wearing green camouflage to jump out and rob passers-by. Typically, his victims would be wealthy and the spoils would be shared among the poor. Hence Malverde’s other names, the Generous Bandit and the Angel of the Poor.

He’s also thought to have been a real person, at least by those who revere him. According to legend, Malverde’s real name was Jesús Juarez Mazo. Said to have lived between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, he was (allegedly) hanged by the government on May 3, 1909.

Today, he belongs to a tradition of “narco saints”, prayed to by drug traffickers like El Chapo who see in Malverde an image of themselves – especially in his home state of Sinaloa. There, a roadside shrine to the saint has become a popular place of worship. His image appears throughout Mexico, though, on figurines, candles, key chains, t-shirts, and so on.

6. Guan Yu

The legendary general Guan Yu was a real historical figure, a loyal duke of the warlord Liu Bei. He’s also a character in the Chinese literary classic, Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Also known as Guan Gong and Emperor Guan, he’s become an important deity in Hong Kong with shrines all over the city. He even features in Hong Kong popular culture, including the Young and Dangerous film series.

Statues of Guan Yu typically show him with a halberd in his right hand. But if you see one with the halberd in his left, it may belong to a triad–at least according to rumor.

While Guan Yu is worshiped by all sorts of people, from businessmen and policemen to simple private citizens, triads revere him as the embodiment of their most cherished values: humanity; honesty; obedience; wisdom; loyalty; and faith. He’s also a reminder of their strict moral code.

5. Saint Michael

Mafiosi are known for displays of religious devotion, with altars often found at their hideouts. The Catholic Church, however, to which this devotion is directed, has remained largely silent on the issue. Only recently have popes openly condemned mafiosi. Pope John Paul II was the first, to which they responded by bombing several churches. Then, in 2014, Pope Francis officially excommunicated associates of the mafia for occupational “adoration of evil.” But it hasn’t stopped them.

The ‘Ndrangheta mafia of Calabria, for instance, has two patron saints: the sword-wielding archangel Saint Michael and the maternal Madonna di Polsi (“Our Lady of Polsi”, commemorating a local apparition of the Virgin Mary). ‘Ndrangheta leaders from all over Italy and the world actually used to gather at the Madonna’s famous sanctuary in Calabria.

Although different ranks in the ‘Ndrangheta’s complex hierarchical structure are each associated with a different saint, it’s to Saint Michael and the Madonna that members swear allegiance. The initiation ritual, or “baptism”, involves cutting a finger and dropping blood on a prayer card of Saint Michael or the Madonna, which is then burned and the ashes applied to the cut. Hence in 2007 when a bitter blood feud culminated in the murder of six young people outside a restaurant, investigators found prayer cards and a statue of Saint Michael, as well as images of “Our Lady” in the back.

4. Maximon

Seeing some depictions of Maximón, aka San Simón, you’d be forgiven for thinking he was Jesús Malverde; he often has the same mustachio’d “cowboy-cum-gangster aesthetic”. But this wish-granting saint is a Mayan god, belief in whom dates back to pre-conquest Guatemala. He’s also a bit of a trickster; in one legend, fishermen asked him to keep their wives faithful and Maximón slept with each one.

Although Maximón’s devotees are mostly Catholic (hence his association with San [Saint] Simón), the Church tends to see him as the devil and worship of him as witchcraft. It’s easy to see why. In one prayer for protection, he’s conjured “in the name of Satan, Luzbel, and Lucifer.”

His priests are chain-smoking drunks, often practicing in private homes surrounded by bottles of Quetzalteca rum. But there’s also the Temple of San Símon at San Andres Itzapa, a town in the Guatemalan highlands. This is Maximón’s mecca, a blue and white temple shrouded in incense. Pilgrims come from all over Central America to pour rum on Maximón’s effigy and tobacco on its lap before praying for some tangible help – a new house, perhaps, or protection from jail. Alternatively, they might ask the witches outside to place a curse on their enemies.

3. Bawon Samdi

In Haitian Vodou, Bawon Samdi (aka Baron Samedi) is in charge of the largest family of lwa (spirits), the Gede, who represent death and fertility. He therefore has unparalleled knowledge of the land of the dead. Whenever he leaves for the land of the living, he wears dark colored glasses that allow him to keep an eye on that realm. He’s also depicted wearing purple and black top hat and tails and carrying a long, black, skull-handled cane.

Bawon is a trickster god, ridiculing the living with his careless and offensive behavior. He smokes heavily, swears, is “lewd and licentious”, likes to eat black goats and roosters, and drinks intoxicants such as black coffee, vodka, and gin. He also srinks kleren, a type of rum he makes himself with 21 hot peppers and which no other lwa can handle. Worship traditionally takes place from October 31st until November 2nd. This is Haiti’s Festival of the Dead or Fet Gede, during which death and sexuality are celebrated with songs, drumming, dancing, prayers, and possessions by the lwa. Bawon Samdi and his wife Granny Brijit are the guests of honor.

It’s easy to see why Bawon appeals to criminals. In 2021, Wilson Joseph – leader of the 400 Mawozo gang) – actually dressed up as him, invoking the spirit to threaten politicians and police in a publicly recorded video. Haitian dictator François Duvalier also channeled Bawon Samdi. Like many gods, he appears in various guises, one of which is even more crime-specific: Baron Kriminel, the “Saint of all Criminals”, is called upon to intervene in worldly criminal justice. It’s said that when he appears, he forces people to question what’s truly right and wrong – beyond the law – and who is truly innocent.

2. Korofo

The Nigerian gang Black Axe, notorious for its email scams, is more vicious than many people realize. In addition to sharing templates (or “formats”) for scams on secret message boards, members (known as Axemen) share photos of their mutilated victims. They call these unfortunates mugu or maye, meaning “idiots.”

At home, Black Axe is seen as a cult. Not only does it selectively recruit young men with few legitimate prospects, it also has an occult-style initiation ritual featuring savage beatings, symbolic rebirth, and an oath of loyalty to the gang. This is where Korofo comes in, invoked in words like “may Korofo squeeze life out of you if you ever betray the movement” – the “movement” being the Neo-Black Movement (NBM) from which Black Axe emerged.

Often abbreviated to “Krf” or “Kf” online, Korofo is fairly nondescript for a god. It’s not clear what he looks like or even what he does, aside from snuffing out life – possibly because he’s only a few decades old. He, or rather it, appears to have been mistakenly deified in the 80s. According to the NBM’s own research, Korofo wasn’t originally a god at all but an aja ile (“underground cult”). The traditional Yoruba incantation that mentions his name says: “Korofo is the one which consulted the oracle about Olodumare [God] and declared that it’s death would never be held of.” Black Axe simply substituted its own name for Olodumare’s, henceforth venerating Korofo as protector.

1. Santa Muerte

Unlike the other “narco saints”, Santa Muerte is not thought to have been a real person. In fact, she’s the embodiment of death. Also known as Holy Death, she’s portrayed as a skeleton in a white gown, carrying a scythe and globe – “a cross between the Grim Reaper and the Virgin of Guadalupe”. Her devotees aren’t all criminals, but criminals tend to be devotees – appeasing her with offerings of tequila, cigarettes, cash, jewelry, and corpses. Although she’s often worshiped side-by-side with Malverde, only to her are human lives offered. One common practice among Mexican gangsters is to leave severed heads at her shrines. They also pray to her before undertaking hit jobs.

And the cult of Santa Muerte has been spreading. Authorities in the US have recorded a number of Santa Muerte killings, as well as bumper stickers, tattoos, altars, and cash bands adorned with images of the saint. In Las Vegas, there’s a whole sanctuary complete with life-sized effigies. 

Since 2000, when her popularity took off, Santa Muerte has accrued upwards of 12 million followers. This makes the cult one of the fastest growing new religions in the world. And while the Catholic Church has officially condemned her worship, calling it “blasphemous and satanic”, they’re reluctant to deal with it further – probably out of concern that many prefer her to the pope and would rather leave the Church than Santa Muerte.