The 10 horrific atrocities carried out by Japan’s secret police, the Kempeitai, during World War II reveal a terrifying chapter of history that rivals even the most infamous Nazi crimes. From gruesome mass drownings to secret medical experiments, each episode showcases the ruthless efficiency and brutal imagination of this shadowy force.

10 Pig Basket Massacre

After the Japanese occupied the Dutch East Indies, roughly 200 British servicemen found themselves stranded in Java. They resorted to guerrilla warfare from the hills, only to be captured and subjected to cruel torture by the Kempeitai. According to over 60 eyewitnesses who testified at the Hague after the war, the men were forced into one‑meter‑long bamboo cages—normally used for transporting pigs. The cages were loaded onto trucks and open rail cars, steaming under a scorching 38 °C (100 °F) sun. Dehydrated and desperate, the prisoners were then crammed onto waiting boats, taken out to sea off Surabaya, and the cages were tossed into the ocean. The men drowned or were devoured by sharks.

One Dutch witness, just 11 years old at the time, recounted the horror to a magazine: “One day around noon, the hottest time of day, a convoy of four or five army trucks passed the street where we were playing, loaded with so‑called ‘pig baskets.’ These were usually used to stack pigs for slaughter. In Indonesia, a Muslim country, pigs were only for European and Chinese customers; Muslims considered them filthy. To our astonishment the pig baskets were crammed with Australian soldiers, some still in uniform, some even with their distinctive hats. They were tied in pairs, facing each other, stacked like pigs, lying down. Some were in a terrible state, crying for water; I saw a Japanese guard urinate on them. The trucks drove through town as a show of humiliation for the white race, finally dumping the cages into the harbor to drown.”

Lieutenant General Hitoshi Imamura, commander‑in‑chief of Japanese forces in Java, was acquitted of war crimes by a Dutch court due to insufficient evidence, but later convicted by an Australian military court and sentenced to ten years in prison, which he served from 1946‑54 in Sugamo, Japan.

9 Operation Sook Ching

Following the Japanese capture of Singapore, the city was renamed Syonan (“Light of the South”) and its clocks were set to Tokyo time. The Japanese launched a sweeping program to eliminate Chinese residents deemed dangerous or undesirable. Every Chinese male aged 15‑50 was ordered to report to registration points across the island for intensive interrogation to assess loyalty. Those who passed were stamped with the word “examined” on their faces, arms, or clothing. Those who failed—communists, nationalists, secret society members, English speakers, civil servants, teachers, veterans, and criminals—were taken to holding areas. A simple decorative tattoo could be enough to brand a man as a member of an anti‑Japanese secret society.

For two weeks after the screenings, the “undesirables” were executed at plantations or coastal sites such as Changi Beach, Ponggol Foreshore, and Tanah Merah Besar Beach, where their bodies were washed out to sea. Execution methods varied with the whims of four section commanders: some victims were marched into the sea and machine‑gunned, others were tied together before being shot, bayoneted, or decapitated. Japanese authorities claimed about 5,000 victims, but local estimates range from 20,000 to 50,000.

After the massacre, the Kempeitai instituted a reign of terror and torture, including a punishment where victims were forced to ingest water from a fire hose and then kicked in the stomach. One administrator, Shinozaki Mamoru, was so appalled by the cruelty that he issued thousands of “good citizen” and safe‑passage certificates—normally reserved for collaborators—to protect Chinese civilians. He issued nearly 30,000 such passes, saving many lives, and earned the moniker “Singapore’s Schindler.”

8 Sandakan Death Marches

The Japanese occupation of Borneo gave them access to valuable offshore oil fields, which they guarded by constructing a military airfield at Sandakan using slave labor supplied by prisoners of war. Approximately 1,500 POWs—mostly Australians captured after the fall of Singapore—were sent to Sandakan, where they endured appalling conditions, meager rations of vegetables and dirty rice, and forced labor on an airstrip. British POWs joined them in early 1943.

Early escape attempts triggered a brutal crackdown. Prisoners were beaten or locked in open‑air cages under the scorching sun for offenses such as collecting coconuts or failing to bow deeply enough to a passing guard. Those suspected of operating radios or smuggling medicine were tortured by the Kempeitai, who burned flesh with cigarette lighters or drove metal tacks into their nails. One victim described the torture: “The interrogator produced a small piece of wood like a meat skewer, pushed it into my left ear, and hammered it in. I fainted, was revived with a bucket of water, and the pain was excruciating. I never heard again.”

Despite the crackdown, Australian Captain L.C. Matthews organized an underground intelligence ring, smuggling medical supplies, food, and money to prisoners while maintaining radio contact with the Allies. Arrested and tortured, Matthews never revealed his collaborators and was executed by the Kempeitai in 1944.

In January 1945, Allied bombing forced the Japanese to abandon Sandakan, prompting three death marches between January and May. The first wave, composed of the fittest prisoners, was loaded with Japanese equipment and forced to march through jungle for nine days with only four days’ rations of rice, dried fish, and salt. Those who fell were shot or beaten to death. Survivors were forced to build a new camp. The remaining prisoners were later marched south in two additional waves, while those left behind at Sandakan perished as the camp was torched. Only six Australians survived the entire ordeal.

7 Kikosaku

During the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies, controlling the Eurasian (mixed Dutch‑Indonesian) population proved difficult. These individuals often occupied influential positions and resisted the Japanese version of Pan‑Asianism. In response, the Kempeitai introduced a policy called kikosaku, a neologism fusing “kosen” (a Buddhist reference to the land of the dead, “yellow spring”) and “saku” (engineering or maneuvering). It has been translated as “Operation Hades” or “Hellcraft.” In practice, it denoted extrajudicial executions and punishments leading to death.

The Japanese labeled mixed‑blood Indonesians as “kontetsu,” suspecting them of loyalty to the Netherlands, espionage, and sabotage. They also feared communist or Islamic insurgency. Believing judicial processes inefficient, the Kempeitai adopted kikosaku to imprison suspects indefinitely without charge or to execute them summarily.

When the Kempeitai believed only the most extreme interrogation methods would elicit a confession—even at the cost of life—they employed kikosaku. A former Kempeitai member later told the New York Times, “Even crying babies would shut up at the mention of the Kempeitai. Everybody was afraid of us. Prisoners entered by the front gate but left by the back gate—as corpses.”

6 Jesselton Revolt

The city now known as Kota Kinabalu was founded as Jesselton in 1899 by the British North Borneo Company, serving as a rubber hub until the Japanese captured it in January 1942 and renamed it Api. On 9 October 1943, an uprising of ethnic Chinese and native Suluks assaulted the Japanese Military Administration, attacking offices, police stations, military hotels, warehouses, and the main wharf. Armed only with a few hunting rifles, spears, and long parang knives, the rebels managed to kill 60‑90 Japanese and Taiwanese soldiers before retreating into the hills.

In retaliation, two Japanese army companies and the Kempeitai were dispatched to unleash vicious reprisals aimed not only at the rebels but at the civilian population at large. Hundreds of ethnic Chinese were executed merely for suspected support of the revolt. The Japanese also targeted Suluk natives on offshore islands such as Sulug, Udar, Dinawan, Mantanani, and Mengalum. The entire male population of Dinawan was annihilated, while women and children were forcibly relocated. Similar massacres occurred on Suluk and Udar. Japanese estimates claimed only 500 deaths, but other sources suggest closer to 3,000, with the treatment of the Suluks described by some historians as genocidal.

5 Double Tenth Incident

In October 1943, a group of Anglo‑Australian commandos known as Special Z infiltrated Singapore harbor aboard an old fishing boat and folding canoes. They placed limpet mines that sank or disabled seven Japanese vessels, including an oil tanker. The operation went unnoticed, prompting the Japanese to believe the attack had been orchestrated by British guerrillas from Malaya, with intel allegedly supplied by civilians and Changi prison inmates.

On 10 October, the Kempeitai raided the prison, conducting a day‑long search for evidence and arresting suspects. A total of 57 internees were detained for alleged involvement, including an Anglican bishop and a former British colonial secretary. The detainees endured five months of confinement in brightly lit cells without bedding, forced to stand or kneel for interrogation, and subjected to starvation and brutal torture. One suspect was executed for alleged sabotage, while fifteen others died as a direct result of Kempeitai torture.

During the 1946 trial of those involved, British prosecutor Lieutenant Colonel Colin Sleeman described the Japanese mindset: “It is with no little diffidence and misgiving that I approach my description of the facts and events in this case… The keynote of the whole of this case can be epitomized by two words—unspeakable horror. Horror stark and naked permeates every corner and angle of this case from beginning to end, devoid of relief or palliation. I have searched, I have searched diligently amongst a vast mass of evidence to discover some redeeming feature… I confess I have failed.”

4 Bridge House

The Kempeitai maintained a presence in Shanghai since the Imperial Japanese Army occupied the city in 1937, with their headquarters located in a building known as Bridge House. Shanghai’s foreign presence and intellectual culture gave rise to resistance publications opposing the Japanese. The Kempeitai, together with the collaborationist Reformed Government, employed a paramilitary group of Chinese criminals called the Huangdao hui (Yellow Way Organization) to commit murders and terrorist actions against anti‑Japanese elements in foreign settlements. In a notable incident, Cai Diaotu, editor of an anti‑Japanese tabloid, was beheaded and his head was displayed on a lamppost in the French Concession with a placard that read, “Look! Look! The result of anti‑Japanese elements.”

After Japan’s entry into World II, the Kempeitai turned loose on Shanghai’s foreign population, arresting individuals on charges of anti‑Japanese activity or espionage and imprisoning them in Bridge House. Detainees were confined in steel cages and subjected to beatings and torture. Conditions were horrendous: “Rats and disease‑infested lice were everywhere, and no‑one was allowed to bathe or shower, so diseases from dysentery to typhus and leprosy ran rampant.”

The Kempeitai paid particular attention to British and American journalists who reported Japanese atrocities. John B. Powell, editor of the China Weekly Review, recounted his ordeal: “When the questioning began, we had to strip and kneel before our captors. When our answers failed to satisfy them, we were beaten on the back and legs with four‑foot bamboo sticks until blood flowed.” Powell was repatriated but later died after an amputation of a gangrenous leg; many other reporters were permanently injured or driven insane.

In 1942, a group of Allied civilians tortured at Bridge House were released as part of a repatriation deal brokered through the Swiss embassy. The journey was deliberately unpleasant: internees were packed below decks in overcrowded, sweltering conditions as the ship collected more prisoners from Yokohama and Hong Kong before making a slow, grueling voyage to the neutral Portuguese port of Lourenço Marques in Mozambique.

3 Occupation Of Guam

Along with the Alaskan islands of Attu and Kiska in the Aleutians (whose populations were evacuated before invasion), Guam was the only populated United States territory occupied by the Japanese during World II. Seized in 1941, the island was renamed Omiya Jime (Great Shrine Island), while the capital Agana became Akashi (Red City). Initially, the Imperial Japanese Navy’s Keibitai supervised the island, but in 1944 the Kempeitai assumed control as the war turned against Japan.

The Japanese employed brutal methods to eradicate American influence and force the native Chamorro people into compliance with the Greater East Asia Co‑Prosperity Sphere. Forced labor, initially imposed on Chamorro men in 1943, was expanded to include women, children, and elders. The Kempeitai, convinced that pro‑American Chamorros were engaged in espionage and sabotage, cracked down harshly. Civilians were raped, shot, or beheaded as discipline collapsed. One survivor, Jose Lizama Charfauros, encountered a Japanese patrol while foraging for food, was forced to kneel, and then had his neck chopped with a sword. He was later found by friends; maggots had entered his wounds, keeping him alive by clearing infection. He survived the war with a massive scar on his neck.

2 Comfort Women

The issue of “comfort women,” who were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military during World II, remains a source of political tension and historical revisionism in East Asia. Officially, the Kempeitai oversaw organized prostitution from 1904 onward. Initially, brothels were subcontracted to the military police, who supervised them under the belief that some prostitutes might act as spies gathering military intelligence from talkative clients.

In 1932, the Kempeitai assumed full control of military‑run brothels, constructing facilities in barracks or tents to house women forced into service. These women were imprisoned behind barbed wire and guarded by Japanese or Korean yakuza. Railway cars were also used as mobile brothels. Girls as young as 13 were coerced into prostitution, with prices varying by ethnicity and rank of the client. Japanese women fetched the highest fees, followed by Koreans, Okinawans, Chinese, and Southeast Asians; Caucasian women were also forced into service. It is estimated that up to 200,000 women were compelled to serve up to 3.5 million Japanese soldiers. Conditions were appalling, and the women received little to no compensation despite promises of 800 yen per month for their “service.”

Many questions remain about Japan’s use of comfort women, owing to a high degree of secrecy and the destruction of evidence. In 1945, British Royal Marines captured Kempeitai documents in Taiwan that outlined a chilling policy for dealing with the women in emergencies: “Whether they are destroyed individually or in groups, or however it is done, with mass bombing, poisonous smoke, drowning, decapitation, or what… it is the aim not to allow the escape of a single one, to annihilate them all and not to leave any traces.”

1 Epidemic Prevention Department

While Unit 731’s human experiments are widely known, the full scale of Japan’s biological warfare program is often underappreciated, with at least 17 related facilities spread across Asia. The Kempeitai was placed in charge of Unit 173, located in the Manchurian city of Pingfang. To build the complex, eight villages were razed, making way for research labs, underground bunkers, a large crematorium, and Kempeitai barracks. The facility’s euphemistic label was “Epidemic Prevention Department.”

Shiro Ishii, the program’s director, introduced his staff with a grim statement: “A doctor’s God‑given mission is to block and treat disease, but the work on which we are now to embark is the complete opposite of those principles.” Prisoners sent to Pingfang were typically labeled “incorrigible,” “die‑hard anti‑Japanese,” or “of no value or use.” The majority were Chinese, but Koreans, White Russians, and later Allied POWs from the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia were also incarcerated. The Japanese staff referred to the prisoners as murata (“logs”) and described the facility as a lumber mill.

At these facilities, live human subjects were used to test biological and chemical weapons, as well as exposure to deadly diseases such as bubonic plague, cholera, anthrax, tuberculosis, and typhoid. Vivisections were performed without anesthesia. One researcher recounted a gruesome procedure on a 30‑year‑old Chinese male: “The fellow knew it was over for him, so he didn’t struggle when they led him into the room and tied him down. When I picked up the scalpel, he began screaming. I cut him from chest to stomach, and his face twisted in agony. He screamed terribly, then finally stopped. It was a day’s work for the surgeons, but it left a lasting impression on me.”

Other Kempeitai‑supervised facilities existed throughout China and Asia. Unit 100 in Changchun developed vaccines for Japanese livestock and biological weapons to decimate Chinese and Soviet livestock, while Unit 8604 in Guangzhou bred rats designed to carry bubonic plague. Additional facilities researching malaria and plague were established in Singapore and Thailand, though many records were destroyed before Allied capture.

For further inquiries, David Tormsen can be contacted at [email protected].

The realm of law‑enforcement transport is anything but ordinary – it’s packed with bizarre police vehicles that push the limits of speed, durability, and sheer oddity. From record‑breaking supercars to amphibious quads, each machine on this list showcases a different way agencies around the globe are tackling crime, traffic, and public safety. Some of these rides are already patrolling streets, while others hint at a futuristic vision of policing that’s as wild as it is practical.

bizarre police vehicles in action

10 Hoverbike

Dubai has earned a reputation for field‑testing the most exotic police machines, but even the emirate’s fleet can’t out‑weird the hoverbikes now being trialed by its force. By 2020, Dubai police were slated to patrol the city using eVTOL (electric vertical take‑off and landing) craft built by Hoversurf, a venture that aims to untangle the world’s transportation snarls.

The Hoversurf model can hover up to five metres (about 16 ft) and zip along at a top speed of 100 km/h (roughly 60 mph). Its battery permits ten to 25 minutes of flight with a pilot on board, while an autonomous “drone mode” stretches the endurance to around 40 minutes without a driver. Beyond the airborne version, the company also offers a hovercraft capable of ferrying cargo – and, in theory, detainees – across water or flat terrain. While Dubai leads the charge, other innovators such as Uber are already teaming up with NASA, the U.S. Army, and aerospace firms to lay the groundwork for a city‑wide aerial vehicle network.

9 Kalashnikov Shchit

Kalashnikov, famed for its rifles, has ventured into the realm of riot‑control hardware with the Shchit – literally “Shield” in Russian. This rolling barricade is a seven‑metre (24 ft) retractable wall that can protect up to 38 officers at once. When needed, the wall folds inward to negotiate narrow city streets, yet unfurls to a full‑height barrier for crowd dispersal.

Equipped with a high‑pressure water cannon, small firing ports for non‑lethal projectiles, and a roof‑mounted camera that feeds the driver’s cabin (and potentially remote operators), the Shchit blends protection with offensive capability. Kalashnikov’s CEO has hinted at broader plans, promising new wheeled armored designs for both domestic and export markets. Although a rollout date remains unannounced, the vehicle’s debut would undoubtedly turn heads wherever it rolls.

8 Tennessee Highway Patrol Trucks

On the busy interstates of Tennessee, the Highway Patrol has taken a low‑profile approach to catching dangerous drivers. Instead of the typical cruiser, 97 specially‑trained officers operate unmarked 18‑wheelers, each driver holding a commercial licence that lets them haul the massive rigs.

These undercover trucks don’t pull over motorists themselves. When an offender is spotted, the semi’s radio feeds the vehicle’s description to a nearby patrol car, which then conducts the stop. The strategy adds an element of surprise – you might be glancing at a semi in your rear‑view mirror and never suspect a police officer is behind the wheel.

7 Police Tractor

Across the Atlantic, the United Kingdom has embraced a decidedly slower, yet surprisingly practical, approach to policing rural crime. In 2010, Lincolnshire Police rolled out a John Deere 6630 tractor – a five‑ton, £50,000 machine that cruises at a modest 40 km/h (25 mph).

The tractor’s primary mission was to deter agricultural theft. By displaying a police‑branded tractor, the force hoped to encourage farmers to tag their equipment, reducing the incentive for thieves. Though its top speed wouldn’t win any drag races, the vehicle’s heft and visibility make it a useful asset during severe flooding, where its power can assist in water‑related emergencies.

6 Bugatti Veyron

Zooming to the opposite extreme of the tractor, Dubai’s fleet boasts a Bugatti Veyron that claims the title of the world’s fastest police car. Capable of 407 km/h (253 mph) and carrying a price tag of $1.7 million, the Veyron earned its Guinness World Record status after eclipsing an Italian police Lamborghini Gallardo that once held the crown at 370 km/h (230 mph).

While the Veyron’s blistering speed could theoretically chase down suspects, the Dubai authorities primarily use it for high‑visibility patrols in tourist districts, turning the car into a rolling marketing marvel rather than a pursuit vehicle. It joins a fleet of 14 exotic supercars that aim to bridge the gap between law enforcement and the public.

5 Gibbs Quadski

If the hover‑bike and supercar weren’t enough, Dubai’s police also field an amphibious ATV from Gibbs known as the Quadski. In a mere five seconds, the vehicle switches from a land‑bound quad to a water‑capable craft, cruising at 72 km/h (45 mph) on both surfaces – equivalent to 38.9 knots when afloat.

Under the hood sits a BMW‑engineered powerplant delivering 140 hp with dual‑cooling to handle the demands of both environments. The base model retails for about $40,000, a modest sum compared to the Veyron. For those needing extra capacity, Gibbs offers a two‑seat Quadski XL. While it can be outpaced by dedicated boats, Dubai’s own high‑speed fleet – capable of 144 km/h (90 mph) – can give it backup when necessary.

4 Electric Patrol Vehicle

China’s Zhijing Qingyuan has taken a futuristic turn with its Armored Spherical Cabin Electric Patrol Vehicle. Though its design looks like something out of a sci‑fi movie, the car’s purpose is pure protection: it carries Level‑A armor – a standard set by the Chinese Ministry of Public Security – capable of stopping most pistol rounds.

Beyond its bullet‑proof shell, the vehicle offers a 360‑degree field of view and flamboyant scissor doors reminiscent of an Alfa Romeo. Powered by an electric motor, it can hit 80 km/h (50 mph) while keeping its carbon footprint low. As of a month after its October 2014 unveiling, no police department had purchased the model, but a handful of forces expressed genuine interest.

3 Caparo T1

On the British side of the pond, the Caparo T1 made a dramatic entrance in 2015, showcasing a police‑branded version of a near‑Formula 1 machine. Weighing under 500 kg (1,100 lb), the sleek car can rocket past 320 km/h (200 mph), dwarfing the speed of most conventional cruisers.

Despite its mind‑boggling performance, the Caparo T1 never entered regular patrol duty. Instead, it served as a showcase vehicle, appearing at events and demonstrations to illustrate what could be achieved when law‑enforcement teams think beyond the badge‑car paradigm. Its presence underscores the idea that, for the most extreme crimes – even those waged on social media – a lightning‑fast ride can make a statement.

2 Pedal Car

When you picture a police cruiser, you likely imagine a roaring V8 engine. Hampshire Constabulary threw that notion out the window in 2010, unveiling a pedal‑powered patrol car built by an officer in collaboration with students from Ringwood Comprehensive School. The human‑powered vehicle tops out at 32 km/h (20 mph) after roughly 40 hours of hands‑on construction.

Designed to combat antisocial behaviour, the pedal car aims to break down barriers between officers and local youth. While it can’t outpace a speeding sedan, its novelty makes it a perfect tool for community engagement, even earning a spot in that year’s British Pedal Car Grand Prix. The project demonstrates that policing can sometimes be as simple as a pair of pedals and a lot of imagination.

1 Lenco BearCat G3

In the United States, the Lenco BearCat G3 stands as the heavyweight champion of tactical transport. Weighing in at eight tons and built on a Ford F‑550 chassis, the BearCat can accommodate up to ten officers while shrugging off .50‑caliber rounds. Its top speed reaches 130 km/h (80 mph), and it can double as a battering ram, a winch‑equipped rescue platform, and even a shield against chemical attacks.

The vehicle’s real‑world credibility was proven in October 2010, when a gunman unleashed an AK‑47 at a BearCat in Tyler, Texas. Not a single officer was injured, highlighting the machine’s protective prowess. Today, BearCats are deployed in every U.S. state, offering a psychological edge in high‑risk confrontations and serving as a vital component of modern SWAT arsenals.

Squirrels often star in cute cartoons and plush toys, but the real‑world critters are far wilder: they can glow pink, cause flight delays, and even become the center of a police arrest squirrel story. These nut‑loving rodents hide mysteries as tightly as they stash acorns—breeders have been struck by a mysterious virus, a purple squirrel baffled experts, a dead squirrel turned into high‑price art, and even the Prince of Wales is considering Nutella‑based contraception to curb invasive species.

10 The Home Wrecker

In 2014 a 64‑year‑old magistrate named Margaret Bousfield awoke to a cacophony echoing through her Hartlepool home. The alarm’s wail made her think a burglar was on the prowl, but the intruder turned out to be a soot‑covered squirrel that had apparently slipped down the chimney. The frantic rodent was desperate to escape, and the living‑room bore the evidence: sofas shredded, carpets torn, curtains ripped, and window frames mangled. A neighbor opened a window, allowing the critter to dart out in a flash. Replacements for the sofa and carpets were required, and the total repair bill topped £7,000, a hefty claim that the insurer ultimately settled.

9 They Glean Safety Levels From Birds

Birds typically panic at the sight of a predator, and other prey species, such as squirrels, have learned to hide when avian alarm calls sound. While this behavior is well documented, scientists in 2019 wondered whether the reverse could be true: could squirrels use bird chatter as a cue that danger had passed? Researchers in Ohio gathered a group of eastern gray squirrels—about 54 individuals—and played recordings of a red‑tailed hawk, a known squirrel predator. After the hawk’s shriek, the squirrels were exposed either to ambient noise or to the casual chatter of songbirds. Observations over three minutes showed that squirrels hearing the bird chatter emerged from hiding more quickly than those left in silence, suggesting they indeed rely on birds to signal safety.

8 New York Squirrels Are Tough

A 2014 investigation examined how urban squirrels adapt to the bustle of city life. Rural squirrels typically bolt at any approaching human, treating us as predators. However, the study found that city‑dwelling eastern gray squirrels in Manhattan’s Lower East Side behave more like seasoned New Yorkers: they largely ignore humans, navigating sidewalks and subways with confidence. Yet, they still react negatively to direct stares or other subtle threatening cues, sprinting away when they feel watched. This blend of fearlessness and selective caution appears essential for thriving alongside millions of human commuters.

7 The Squirrel Breeder Deaths

Encephalitis, or brain inflammation, can arise from many sources, but three German men who died between 2011 and 2013 presented a puzzling case. All three were hobbyists breeding the exotic variegated squirrel (Sciurus variegatoides) from Latin America. Their symptoms progressed to coma and death, and standard tests failed to pinpoint a cause. Eventually, virologists identified a Borna‑like virus, VSBV‑1, in both the men’s brain tissue and the squirrels they kept. The virus, known for jumping between mammalian hosts, was confirmed in the squirrels, but its origin and transmission route remain mysterious.

6 Nutella Birth Control

It sounds like a joke, but Prince Charles actually backed a plan to curb invasive gray squirrels by feeding them Nutella laced with GonaCon, a contraceptive that reduces fertility in rodents by about 90 %. The Prince, a champion of the native red squirrel, helped convene experts in 2017 to combat the gray squirrel’s spread and the parapoxvirus it carries, which has decimated the red population to roughly 135,000. The Animal and Plant Health Agency proposed traps that only gray squirrels could enter; once inside, the animals would be smothered in Nutella containing the contraceptive, aiming to lower gray squirrel numbers without harming reds.

5 A Support Squirrel Delayed A Flight

Emotional‑support animals can be lifesavers, but when a squirrel becomes the designated companion, airline policies get tricky. In 2018 a woman booked a Frontier flight from Orlando to Cleveland with her squirrel, claiming it was a support animal. When staff discovered the passenger had not disclosed the animal’s species—rodents are prohibited on Frontier planes—they demanded she leave the aircraft. The woman refused, leading to police involvement. The standoff caused all passengers to be off‑loaded and wait outside for two hours before the woman and her squirrel were escorted off the plane.

4 Police Took A Squirrel Into Custody

Police Arrest Squirrel: The Unexpected Custody Tale

In August 2018, emergency services in Karlsruhe fielded a frantic call from a man being chased down the street by a hyper‑active baby squirrel. The tiny animal darted after him, refusing to let go. When police arrived, the squirrel, exhausted, curled up and fell asleep on the man’s leg. Officers nicknamed the sleepy critter Karl‑Friedrich and rescued the bewildered citizen. The squirrel was taken into police custody as a temporary mascot before being transferred to an animal rescue centre. Officials explained that orphaned baby squirrels sometimes latch onto humans as surrogate parents, a behaviour observed in two other squirrels rescued that same day.

3 Purple Pete

In 2008 a bright‑purple squirrel appeared at Meoncross School in Stubbington, baffling staff and pupils alike. Dubbed “Pete,” the animal’s fur was uniformly violet, not the usual gray, and no obvious stains or paint spots explained the hue. Experts ruled out a genetic mutation, suggesting the squirrel might have chewed on a purple ink cartridge from a nearby printer, then meticulously groomed itself, spreading the pigment evenly across its coat. The mystery of Pete’s coloration remains unsolved, but his story highlights squirrels’ penchant for nibbling on almost anything.

2 Dead Art

Italian provocateur Maurizio Cattelan is known for shocking installations, and in 2012 his piece “Bidibidobidiboo” featured a dead squirrel perched on a tiny table next to a miniature pistol. Displayed at the Whitechapel Gallery, the work sparked debate over animal representation in art. The squirrel, apparently a taxidermied specimen, appeared lifeless and surrounded by a cluttered kitchen setting, evoking a sense of melancholy. The piece had been loaned by collector Patrizia Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, who had acquired it six years earlier, and it underscored Cattelan’s flair for blending dark humor with visual intrigue.

1 Flying Squirrels Glow Pink

When a professor in Wisconsin shone an ultraviolet torch on a flying squirrel in 2019, the animal’s fur emitted a bright fluorescent pink glow. While many reptiles, birds, and insects display fluorescence, mammals rarely do—opossums being a notable exception. To determine whether this was an oddity, researchers examined 135 squirrel specimens across the Field Museum in Chicago and the Science Museum of Minnesota. Only three members of the Glaucomys genus (flying squirrels) exhibited the pink fluorescence. Scientists hypothesize that this trait may aid nocturnal species in low‑light environments, assisting with camouflage, communication, or navigation.

One of the most interesting tools for solving crimes is the police sketch: an artistic recreation of a subject based on the memory of a witness or the remains of a victim. These sketches tend to be pretty unsuccessful for various reasons, including the unreliability of the witness’s memory and the artist’s ability.

Due to this, it is a common tactic for forensic artists to focus on exaggerating defining features of an individual to differentiate and jog the memories of potential informants. The result is often a sketch or composite that looks cartoonishly inhuman or nightmarishly alien. This is a list of 10 of those wild police sketches and their equally weird backstories. Be warned, while some of these sketches are absolutely hilarious, there is a fair share of nightmare fuel as well.

10 The Girl in the Suitcase

In 2014, two suitcases were found, each containing the body of a woman. The first was quickly identified as Laura Simonson, but the second required more work. Police released a sketch of the woman, but her body was so badly decomposed that they decided to really lean into accentuating certain features to extremely inhuman proportions. This is a common tactic utilized by sketch artists because it helps differentiate the subject from the hundreds of other human faces people see daily. It also helps jog people’s memories by highlighting and magnifying the subject’s most defining features. The result, in this case, is an artist recreation that looks like a terrifying alien-chipmunk hybrid.

Despite this, a family saw the sketch and noted that the prominent buck teeth, small lower teeth, high cheekbones, and small eyes bore a striking resemblance to a loved one they hadn’t heard from in a while. With that lead, authorities were able to compare dental records and confirm the identity of Jenny Gamez.

Jenny was killed and stashed away by a former police officer after they met online. The night she was killed was their first date. Thanks to the sketch artist who decided to enhance the features of Jenny’s face to extreme levels, law enforcement was able to identify her quickly. This is a good reminder that while it may seem disrespectful to release a sketch that ridiculous, there’s a reason for doing so.^[1]

9 Deandre Charles

Also in 2014, a Rabbi named John Raskins was visiting Miami when he was shot and killed. A witness to the crime provided their own sketch of the suspect to the police. Despite it looking like a character from Bob’s Burgers, police used the sketch to quickly find their suspect: 14-year-old Deandre Charles.

Police released a mugshot of the suspect along with the sketch they used to catch him. While the sketch was thoroughly mocked, it does sort of look like him. Like, you know those apps where you can turn yourself into a Simpsons or South Park character? It’s kind of like that.

Another crime solved by a sketch… or was it? The problem with this case is that law enforcement didn’t use the sketch as a tool to form a lead. Instead, they treated the sketch as proof in and of itself. Deandre Charles was investigated and on trial for three years before DNA evidence exonerated him.

Could you imagine being charged with murder because someone made a goofy sketch that kind of, sort of resembled you? Deandre was justifiably upset and is now suing the authorities on allegations that prosecutors had the DNA evidence to exonerate him but still pursued a guilty verdict. To Charles’s credit, he has channeled his anger into a musical career as Papito El Franklins. He’s actually pretty talented.^[2]

8 Horrible Drawing, Great Results

Jocelyn Park was visiting one of her favorite stands at the Central Market in Lancaster, PA, when she noticed an unfamiliar man standing behind the booth holding a wad of cash. After failing to subdue the man, Jocelyn contacted the police, but before she did, she thought she should jot down a description of the man while it was still fresh in her memory. That is when the graphic designer with two art degrees decided to do one better and draw the suspect. The quick sketch was… simple. The sketch quickly went viral, with people mocking it relentlessly online and newscasters stifling laughter any time it was revealed.

Jocelyn noted that she was hurt by the criticisms, but she was unwavering in her confidence that the suspect would be caught based on her artistic rendition, no matter how amateur it appeared. Sure enough, an officer saw the sketch and thought it looked like someone they knew. The officer then produced a photo lineup, and Jocelyn pointed out the same suspect. About a week after Park’s drawing, Hung Phuoc Nguyen was arrested.

After her highly ridiculed drawing resulted in an arrest, the public’s perception began to change. Many began to admit that there was a strong resemblance between Jocelyn’s sketch and the perpetrator. Jocelyn was vindicated. Nowadays, Jocelyn has started a side hobby where you can email her a photo of yourself at [email protected], and she will make a quick sketch of you. While the last story showed how dangerous a simple sketch by a witness can be if treated as evidence, this story shows the other edge of the sword.^[3]

7 The Crimes of Lettuce Head

To properly describe this absurd recreation, we first need to discuss the art of E-FITs. An E-FIT, short for electronic facial identification technique, is a computer-generated facial composite based on descriptions from a witness. People have a hard time describing facial features, but they instantly recognize a face when they see it, and that is exactly what an E-FIT attempts to do. Witnesses describe certain aspects of an individual. The computer will piece together these features and provide witnesses with slight variations of the generated composite for them to choose from until they (theoretically) hone in on the most accurate recreation.

As you can expect, this can lead to some really crazy results, but none wilder than the infamous “lettuce head.” This is an E-FIT created by an elderly victim who had £60 stolen from her handbag. The burglar was described as having “wavy blonde/greying hair,” but that was not what was released to the public. A Hampshire Constabulary spokesperson said they unleashed this new cryptid onto the world because they believed the clarity of the facial features would have made it wrong to withhold the E-FIT. They followed that up with, “We are, though, currently experiencing technical problems with the quality of the hair and are waiting for an upgrade to the system.” No kidding. Surprisingly, lettuce head has not been identified or captured. As one commenter notes, “Maybe he returned to his roots.”^[4]

6 Big Mouth

I know what you’re thinking: another E-FIT malfunction. Not so. This E-FIT was generated exactly as the victim described the perpetrator. In fact, the Warwickshire Police were aware of how ridiculous the E-FIT looked when they released it on Twitter. Going as far as to say that the victim agreed to the quality of the picture. Despite the ridicule and memes (you really should check out the post on Twitter for some comedy gold), the Warwickshire Police posted a follow-up thanking everyone for the exposure they were giving it online.

Apparently, this was a case of a distraction burglary where the suspect pretended to be a worker from a housing company, coerced his way inside the victim’s home, and stole a small sum of cash. I can definitely see why the victim was distracted, and I don’t think it was simply his charm that got him into the home.

Sadly, that seems to be the end of the story for ol’ smiley here. Unfortunate for the victim because she hasn’t received justice from the theft, but maybe it’s good for society because it lets us continue our lives without thinking about a man with a giant mouth attempting to enter our home and steal our money. He’s like the evil tooth fairy… the toothy fairy? I’ll see myself out.^[5]

5 John List Clay Bust

Extra points for this artistic recreation for deviating from the norm. While most artists on this list decided to forego realistic proportions and focus on exaggerating features to ridiculous results, this artist decided to do the opposite and create a hyper-realistic three-dimensional representation of the suspect.

In May 1989, Frank Bender, a forensic artist, appeared on the television show America’s Most Wanted with a life-like clay bust. The clay bust was an age-progressed approximation of a man named John List. List had a familiar story: nice guy, perfect family, lucrative job, perfect life. The only problem was that List got fired from his lucrative job. He pretended to go to work for weeks until the debt started piling up. List decided he wanted a do-over in life, so he shot and killed his wife, children, and mother who lived with them. After that, List went on the run and was successful for 18 years. Then the episode of America’s Most Wanted aired.

Less than two weeks after airing, the FBI went to Virginia and arrested an accountant named Robert Clark. Someone who had seen the John List episode thought Robert Clark looked a lot like the clay bust of John List and called in a tip. Fingerprint evidence confirmed that Robert Clark was John List, and he was convicted in 1990.^[6]

4 Cheryl Bowman

In the morning hours of a Houston day in 1989, individuals searching for aluminum cans stumbled upon the decomposing body of a woman. The woman wore a large amount of jewelry, had very nice teeth, and nicely polished red nails, and that’s about it. There are a lot of things that are unknown about this case, and it is unclear whether any other information regarding this case is based on fact or speculation. One thing that has made this Jane Doe case live on, however, is the unusual sketch of the woman.

The sketch depicts the woman smiling with her hand covering the top half of her face. It makes sense because this pose shows some of the defining characteristics of this woman: her jewelry, painted nails, and teeth. In addition to this, a narrative has developed that the sketch depicts the woman covering the top half of her face because she was decomposed or beaten so badly to the point that there was nothing recognizable. While I cannot find confirmation of this anywhere, it makes sense and adds to the case drama. The woman was later identified as Cheryl Bowman, but little information about how she was identified can be found.

This sketch certainly has a lot of things going for it. The hand covering the face and the cheshire-like smile create a creepy “I know something you don’t know” mystique like some kind of macabre peek-a-boo. Kudos to whoever drew this because not only did it help in getting the victim quickly identified, but it has continued to spark interest among internet sleuths who may someday discover what exactly happened to Cheryl Bowman.^[7]

3 Glenn Edwin Rundles

How about another hilariously rudimentary sketch that makes the suspect look like a cartoon character? Rundles’s sketch was released concerning a robbery at knifepoint. These sketches are released after getting approval from the victim, which is something I think is important to mention since this sketch was developed from two witnesses. This means that two people looked at this sketch and thought, “Yup, that’s him.”

An officer saw the sketch and thought it looked a lot like Rundles, who was identified by the victims. Once again, we see the sketch artist getting the last laugh. In fact, Rundles saw the sketch in the paper and thought it looked so much like him that he attempted to alter a tattoo on his neck to hide his identity. Maybe go for the fake mustache and glasses next time.^[8]

2 Selene Delgado Lopez

As we’ve seen, these police sketches have the ability to sear themselves into one’s mind. Combine that with the viral power of the internet, and a police sketch may be able to imprint itself into the mind of an entire population. In this way, these police sketches can evolve and take on an identity of their own. Such is the case of Selene Delgado Lopez.

Back in the ‘90s and ‘00s, Mexican Channel 5 (Canal 5) would air short segments between their regularly scheduled programming called “Servicio de la comunidad.” Segments would show photos of missing persons while a narrator read a description of the person and their last known whereabouts. A frequent entry on these segments was Selene Delgado Lopez. For years, her grainy photo was featured on Servico de la comunidad, but there were never any updates to her photo or personal information. Something about the photo and the frequency of her appearances struck a chord with people, and Selene became somewhat of an urban legend, with multiple theories swirling about her.

Due to the lack of information regarding Selene, a popular idea emerged that Selene was not a real person but an AI-generated image. A YouTube video surfaced comparing the facial features of Selene’s photo to multiple other photos and sketches from around the world. It appeared that Selene’s facial dimensions matched a certain police sketch extremely well. It was a police sketch of Derrick Todd Lee, the Baton Rouge serial killer.

Derrick Todd Lee tormented the Baton Rouge area in the ‘90s and early ‘00s when he was caught partly due to this sketch. Even after his capture, it’s no wonder that this sketch has continued to live on through the internet. The stark expressionless face, coupled with those wild, wide eyes, really conveys the sentiment of a cold, calculated and violent murderer. I do admit that the comparison of Selene and the sketch make them look eerily similar, but it just feels like a coincidence.

The full story of Selene Delgado Lopez is way too big for the scope of this list, but suffice it to say, it’s a wild ride. One involving a Facebook hoax, creepy videos posted by the official Canal 5 Twitter, and video game mods. All this stemmed from a creepy missing persons alert and an even creepier police sketch unleashed onto the internet.^[9]

1 The Ina Jane Doe

In 1993, two Illinoisan girls discovered a severed head tangled in the bushes of Wayne Fitzgerrell State Park near Ina, Illinois. Authorities determined that the head belonged to someone who had died within the previous two weeks but could not find a match to any local missing persons. As a result, we have what I believe to be the most terrifying police sketch ever.

So, what gives with this drawing? As mentioned before, it is a common strategy for artists to amplify certain characteristics of a person to ridiculous proportions to conjure memories from people who may recognize them. In this case, the Ina Jane Doe had Wryneck Syndrome, a twisting of the neck that causes the head to tilt at an odd angle. That explains the awkward pose. The artist also decided to exaggerate her facial asymmetry, which gives her a somewhat ghoulish appearance.

Unfortunately, the artist’s efforts did not produce any leads for law enforcement, and the case went cold. It took 29 years, but the case was eventually reexamined in 2022, and the Ina Jane Doe was identified as Susan Hope Lund via DNA analysis. It is unclear why this case was chosen for analysis, but it is possible that the notoriety of the police sketch may have drawn interest from the investigators.

It is clear that Susan bears very little resemblance to that famous sketch: her wryneck is not nearly as noticeable, nor is her facial asymmetry. While the resolution of identifying the Ina Jane Doe has been helpful to the family since her kids were led to believe by law enforcement that she abandoned them and didn’t want to be found, there still remains the mystery of her murder. To this day, that police sketch continues to make the rounds on the internet, imprinting itself into the minds of those who see it. Now it can also imprint the story of Susan Hope Lund and possibly help solve her murder.^[10]