It is an inherent fact that mankind has been committing criminal acts since before there were even words for the crimes themselves. Whether the behavior is a product of genetic disposition or environmental factors, humans are capable of horrendous feats that defy logical comprehension. It is often rather shocking to learn just how depraved humanity can be and how easily these misdeeds seem to be perpetrated towards children. It is disturbing to see photos of crime scenes where you can clearly see images of children’s toys or clothes, making you cringe at the thought of just how those objects got there in the first place. Here is a list of the most heinous crimes committed that involved a child’s toy in some way.

10 Sex Toys With Ridiculously Ancient Origins

10 Gonzalo Carreno Nieto

There is an old saying that if you really want something you should go out and get it. A 43-year-old man named Gonzalo Carreno Nieto put that axiom to the test when he used a toy hand grenade to commandeer a Boeing 727 during a Colombian flight from Medellín to Bogotá. Nieto claimed that he had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and needed $100,000 in order settle down in Cuba to live out his remaining days. Showing the passengers and pilot the hand grenade, Nieto claimed he would blow up the plane if they did not listen to his demands. The pilot, Luis Eduardo Gutierrez, who probably deals with grenade-toting madmen all the time, was extremely calm and even gave Nieto advice on what to do next.

After freeing the 130 passengers, Nieto commanded the pilot to fly to Panama and Aruba to collect the money. Gutierrez told Nieto that Cartagena would be more likely to have the money he sought and Nieto agreed to finally allow the plane to land after a 12-hour flight. Once the plane landed, Nieto jumped out a rear exit and disappeared into the night. In the early hours of the next morning, Colombian navy personnel found Nieto hiding in a swamp near the airport. It is uncertain how Nieto intended to get away with the act; however, officials have noted that he suffered from drug addiction and mental anguish after spending time in prison.^[1]

9 Andri Lynn Jeffers

It is one thing to convince people that a toy grenade is an actual weapon, it is quite another to convince them that a stuffed animal is one. That minor hurdle did not deter Andri Lynn Jeffers from attempting to rob a gas station with one in Yavapai County, Arizona. In recanting the story to the police, the clerk stated that Jeffers strolled into the station, claiming she had a bomb under her sweater and wanted money. The clerk, noticing the lumpy object under Jeffers garment, refused her request by stating the safe could not be opened just before closing time.

Jeffers grew angry and stated she would blow up the gas station if the clerk did not comply. Grabbing a bag from behind the counter, Jeffers commanded the clerk to fill the bag with money. The clerk, like a stone guardian, stood his ground and remained completely indifferent to the crazed woman’s demands. Accepting defeat, Jeffers evacuated the premise but was apprehended shortly after at her home thanks to the quick thinking of the clerk who saw Jeffer’s license plate as she fled. While in police custody, Jeffers admitted to the robbery-as if they needed a confession-and revealed that the bomb she carried was actually a stuffed toy penguin.^[2]

8 Brown-Haired Gunman

While in most cases of toy gun crimes, the suspect is attempting to fool others in to believing they have the real thing and intend on using it. In certain cases, it is not the toy itself that is the danger but rather how the individual has modified it. On Forth Road Bridge, a 35-year-old toll booth operator named Lynda McArthur was attacked by a brow-haired man wielding a water gun filled with an unknown solvent during a routine transaction. The suspect was in a blue van that was driven by an unidentified blond-haired man who was receiving change from McArthur at the time of the incident.

According to McArthur, the brown-haired man leaned over the driver and shot a blast of solvent from a water gun that hit her directly in the eyes. As the van rolled away, McArthur was left dazed as her eyes began burning from the unknown liquid. She hastily called for help from the bridge operator and was immediately taken to the hospital. The responding police officer believed that the incident was an isolated prank gone wrong; however, due to the incident the security on the bridge has been significantly tightened to prevent future attacks. Although the incident frightened Lynda McArthur to her core, she did not suffer any permanent damage to her eye sight.^[3]

7 Jose Vaszquez

In what appears to be rather disturbing trend, several costumed characters have been conducting inappropriate behavior in New York City’s Times Square. Not wanting to break the cycle, 44 year-old Jose Vaszquez, dressed as Woody from the movie “Toy Story”, decided his costume gave him special privileges than most. As the lone sheriff in his own perverted mind, Vaszquez began groping and assaulting multiple women during his numerous outings.

Police were tipped off by the victims and sent a pair of undercover detectives to apprehend Vaszquez. The detectives found Vaszquez parading around in his standard Woody attire and despite his status as “sheriff”, he was promptly arrested. He was charged with multiple counts of sexual misconduct and is most assuredly banned from participating in any further Woody public appearances.^[4]

6 Raquel & Martin Barreras

As discussed in the introduction, humanity is capable of deplorable behavior and it’s even more unacceptable when there are children involved. Despite how heinous child related crimes, people still commit severely disturbing acts against our most vulnerable societal members. Raquel and Martin Barreras could easily win the worst parents award for their deadly inconsistent method of raising children. While the couple treated their other four children in a seemingly appropriate manner, they did not care much for their fifth child, 3-year-old Roman Barreras. Raquel, who had a history of drug related crimes, had her children taken away at one point; however, the court deemed her husband, Martin Barreras, capable of raising them.

Now in their father’s custody, the couple resumed their abusive ways which eventually lead to the death of their youngest son. According to court records, Roman was forced to stay in a separate building behind the house and was not allowed to eat with the other children. Despite Martin claiming he stood up to his wife about the abuse, little Roman eventually died of starvation. Instead of alerting authorities and holding a funeral, the couple simply dumped their son’s body into a toy chest and left it in the backyard. After the family was evicted from the home, the landlord came across the toy chest with the boys remains and alerted police. Raquel was charged with first-degree murder and child abuse, while Martin was only charged with child abuse.^[5]

10 Toys That Did More For the US Than Most People

5 Amy Zielinski

While it may be idiotic to rob even a single store using a toy gun, some people take it to the next level of stupidity by going on a robbing spree with one. 34-year-old Amy Zielinski began her pointless endeavor at a BP Amoco station one particular Sunday. Police stated Zielinski walked in with what appeared to be a handgun and successfully robbed the station before fleeing in a red Pontiac. Feeling confident from her latest crime, Zielinski wanted to tempt fate a second time and fifteen minutes later she was at it again. The victim this time, a humble pecan vendor stationed outside a barber shop. Zielinski ran up to the vendor and postured that she had a gun in her pants by grabbing her waistband. Demanding money, Zielinski took the wallet of the vendor only to throw it back once she realized it was empty. Zielinski again fled the scene in the red Pontiac.

Before the police could even finish interviewing the second victim, there was a report of a woman attempting to rob a Variety Store. According to reports, Zielinski walked into the store and asked for cigarettes. Just as the clerk reached for the packs, Zielinski lifted her shirt to reveal her waistband and demanded all the cash. The clerk, who did not see a gun, refused her requests until Zielinski fled the scene. An officer on patrol spotted the Pontiac later the very same day and pulled Zielinski over. In the car, officers found the toy gun that she had used and ushered her off to jail. Amy Zielinski was charged with armed robbery and two counts of attempted robbery.^[6]

4 Edwin Tobergta

Sexual crimes fall under a sickeningly number of varieties, from assault to molestation to rape, with each case more heinous than the last. While we have an ordered system for labeling these offenders, there is simply no class that can hold the sexual misconduct of Edwin Tobergta. The 35-year-old has been caught committing sexual acts with inflatable items not once, not twice but four separate times. The first incident recorded was in 2002 when Tobergta was caught performing what appeared to be intercourse with an inflatable pumpkin. In 2011, Tobergta began an odd relationship with a neighbors small pink pool raft and was later caught pleasuring himself with the raft in an alley.

In 2013, Tobergta was caught yet again with the same pink raft only this time he was charged with public indecency due to the presence of children during the offense. His latest sexual escapade occurred in 2014, when he was found in a moment of passion with a pool raft-possibly the same one-by the side of a public road. When Tobergta was arrested, the police went through normal procedure and took a standard mug shot. In the photo one can clearly see the print on Tobergta’s shirt which appropriately states, “I’m out of my mind. Please leave a message.”^[7]

3 William “Bill” Philippi

The owner of a toy shop, 85-year-old William “Bill” Philippi, may have used his status as a toy peddler to seduce a young girl while she was within his shop. The girl, an 11-year-old resident of Hermiston, held on to the devastating secret for more than a year before reporting the incident. According to reports, the event occurred late 2009 at Philippi’s store, Toys ‘N More, where he allegedly had intercourse with the victim. When news broke to the community, there were mixed emotions about the supposedly “nice” Bill Philippi.

A few residents claimed he was wrongly accused and that the incident was simply a misinterpretation of events. While others, who worked in the stores near the toy store, claim that Philippi had committed similar acts before this specific incident and were not at all surprised he had been arrested. Regardless of the truth, residents in the area state they will not be visiting the store anytime in the future. Philippi was charged with five counts of sexual abuse and two counts of penetration.^[8]

2 David Rennie

It takes a special type of person to want to prey on others, but it is an entirely different kind of horrible when the victims are children. 51-year old, David Rennie, was the executive director for a Salvation Army warehouse in Toronto where they housed a number of donated goods. Over the course of two years, Rennie was able to steal over 100,000 items from the warehouse. \During the investigation, the police located a warehouse north of Toronto that was filled with nearly 150 pallets that contained toys and baby furniture.

Immediately following the incident, the spokesman for the Salvation Army stated that Rennie was fired and the goods had been recovered just in time for the holidays. Rennie had stolen over $2 million in toys and used his status to keep the thefts hidden during the entire two-year robbery. It was later revealed that Rennie’s girlfriend, Xiao “Diane” Wang was also involved in the heinous act and was arrested. Pending a court hearing, Rennie was charged with possession of stolen merchandise, breach in confidence, and outright theft. While Wang was charged with conspiracy to commit a crime and possession of money used in a crime.^[9]

1 Jason Lee Vickery

Florida has become known as a place with rather bizarre news stories and cases of human beings behaving well beyond the realm of normality. For Jason Lee Vickery, it was just another day when he decided to break into a random house in St. Augustine to masturbate. While inside the home, Vickery became distracted from his quest when he found a remote control helicopter that he played with for a long period of time. Apparently all that playing made Vickery hungry as he proceeded to eat a salad that he had evidently brought with him.

With a full belly, Vickery decided it was time to do the deed and proceeded to the second floor bathroom. In the midst of self exploration, Vickery heard the sound of voices coming from outside of the house. Waiting in the backyard were deputies who had been called in on a disturbance in the area. Vickery had apparently brought more than just a salad, as the deputies found marijuana, chewing tobacco, a towel, and a wig within his possession. Jason Lee Vickery was charged with the crime of theft, as well as larceny.^[10]

10 Terrifying Toys From The Past

About The Author: Robert Butler is an aspiring writer with a penchant for toy related stories.

Toys come in all shapes, sizes and colors. They roll, squish, inflate, talk, buzz and a whole lot more. Pretty much everyone, at one point or another, has played with a toy. And, toys are huge business—in 2018, world toy sales hit 90.4 billion.

Toys are designed to be used for fun. But, as the list below shows, these supposedly silly little objects of diversion can also play the difference between life and death.

SEE ALSO: 10 Terrifying Toys From The Past

10 Remote Controlled Toy Truck Saves Soldiers

Ernie Fessenden had a brother serving in Afghanistan and wanted to make sure he came home safe. So, he hooked up with hobby shop owner, Kevin Guy, and, together, they added a wireless camera and infrared lighting to a remote control toy truck and shipped it off to Afghanistan.

One day, Ernie’s brother, Chris, lent the toy truck to a group of soldiers about to head off for patrol. Out in their Humvee, the soldiers sent the remote control toy truck racing ahead looking for danger. It found it. The toy truck got caught up in some wires and -BOOM!—500 pounds of explosives detonated. The soldiers were not hurt.

When Ernie heard about the incident, he was amazed, “At first I was just absolutely shocked…It could have been [Chris] out there…Then after that it was, ‘Do you need another truck?’”

Guy was elated, “It’s like we went over to the bad guys and stuck a stick in their eye with a toy…”

Without the souped-up remote controlled toy truck, the soldiers would have either had to walk or drive—possibly triggering an explosion that could have ended one or more of their lives.^[1]

9 Inflatable Toy Turtle Saves 13 Lives

In July of 2017, heavy rains battered the Chinese city of Liuyang—located in Hunan province. At one point, in one part of the city, 13 people were trapped in their homes with water rising quickly around them.

With no boats nearby and knowing that time was a factor, some quick thinking policemen ran to a nearby toy store. There they found their solution— a bright green inflatable toy turtle.

Returning to the scene, the police quickly put the inflatable to use and rescued those 13 people in just under 2 hours. Though heroic, the officers were a bit embarrassed by the inflatable frog, “Sorry for our vessel being… too cute…But, most importantly, the people are all safe.”

A goofy toy usually associated with small children and swimming pools became something much grander for those 13 people on that fateful day.^[2]

8 Man Uses Toy Lightsaber To Fend Off Knife Attack

Attention “Star Wars” fans, apparently, Luke Skywalker is alive and living in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

According to witnesses, on the night of Thursday, March 17th, 2017, a stepdaughter and her stepfather got into a nasty scrap. The 17 year-old young woman’s weapons of choice were two kitchen knives. Ah, but her stepfather had the upper hand—he had lightsaber.

Though only a toy lightsaber—it did the job. Witnesses said that he hit his stepdaughter several times to fend off her attack.^[3]

7 Stuffed Animal Saves Girl

For those unaware, Minions are little yellow animated characters that began their movie life in the 2010 hit, “Despicable Me.” Since then, they have starred in their own movie, which grossed $1.159 billion worldwide back in 2015. Off screen, they are doing much more amazing things.

On the night of July 16th, 2015, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, a 5 year-old girl was playing at home in her family’s third floor apartment. Somehow, she fell backwards out of her bedroom window. At the time, she was playing with a stuffed Minion teddy bear. Miraculously, it cushioned her fall and saved her life. She escaped her brush with death with just a broken arm.

In the movies, Minions may work for supervillains, but, in real life, at least in the eyes of one lucky little girl, they are superheroes.^[4]

6 A Doll Saves A Girl During WW2 Bombing

The Germans bombed the hell out of the UK in WW2. Though it suffered far less sustained attack than London, Wales lost 984 of its’ people—another 1,221 were seriously injured.

In September of 1940, in the Welsh town of Haverfordwest, a German bomb was dropped near a house where 2 year-old Dorothy Owen lived.

When it hit, her mother ran upstairs to find that the ceiling of her young daughter’s bedroom had fallen in. Frantically clearing debris, she found, miraculously, that her daughter was still alive. The solid head of a doll she was clutching when the ceiling came down shielded her own head from being hit.

Escaping with just a cut on her cheek and neck, Dorothy went on to live a long life and, not surprisingly, she still has the doll that made it all possible.^[5]

5 Toy Clicker Saved Allied Troops On D-Day

On D-Day, June 6, 1944, allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, France. 135,000 men took part in what proved to be a decisive turning point in the war against the Nazis. Of those men, 4,400 were killed and many more thousands were injured or missing.

Along with the standard equipment carried by American paratroopers that day was a tiny item that was mostly known as a toy that kids found at the bottom of a Cracker Jack box. It was known as a “cricket” because of the clicking noise it made when you pressed down on it with your thumb.

For Capt. Sam Gibbons, of the 101st Airborne, this tiny kid’s toy was a lifesaver. Parachuting into Normandy in the dark, Gibbons landed in a pasture surrounded by German troops. Half an hour of crawling later, he made his way onto a road. There, he came into contact with another soldier. Unsure if he was an American or German soldier, Gibbons clicked his cricket, “I gave him a click and he responded with two clicks. Boy, was I glad to see him.”

For the next few hours, Gibbons clicked away and managed to assemble a small combat patrol to fight the Germans while fellow allied soldiers stormed the beach.

The “cricket”—a brass and steel version of the tin prize—was added to each paratrooper’s pack at the last minute. Along with the guns and grenades they carried, this simple child’s toy kept death at bay on that famed northern coast of France all those years ago.^[6]

4 Kids Use Squirt Guns To Put Out Fire

There are few ways for a kid to cool off on a hot summer day that are more fun than a squirt gun fight. Carrying today’s giant super soakers, kids giggle their way into hysterics engaging in soaked shootouts with their friends while any parents caught in the crossfire yell for mercy.

On May 31, 2016, those parental yells must have turned into whoops of congratulation for five kids from West Fargo, North Dakota. In the midst of an all out water war, taking place on the grounds just outside their apartment complex, the boys and girls smelled smoke.

The smell of smoke lead them to the deck outside of a man’s apartment. It was on fire and the flames were spreading fast. Worse yet, the man was housebound, on oxygen and couldn’t leave his unit. The kids snapped into action as they turned from soaking each other to soaking the flames of the growing fire.

By the time the Fire Department arrived on the scene, the fire was smouldering and pretty much put out.^[7]

3 Stuffed Toys Save Adults Too

British politician, Geoffrey Clifton-Brown thought of throwing away the bag full of stuffed foxes he was given by a Chinese Internet firm. Then he thought of his family and decided to keep them. Good thing he did.

While walking outside a hotel in Beijing, Clifton-Brown fell down a concrete shaft. “Finally the crunch came 20 feet down this sheer concrete shaft with a concrete floor,” the shaken MP said.

Those stuffed toys he thought of trashing ended up cushioning his fall, “I took this huge bag of stuffed foxes and by pure luck it literally saved my life.”^[8]

2 Video Game Driving Skills Save The Day

These days, it seems like you can’t surf the net or flip channels without running into talk of whether or not video games kill. To some, that question remains an open one, while the answer to whether or not video games save lives has been answered in the affirmative by a 10 year-old boy from Golden, Colorado.

One day, Gryffin Sanders and his 4 year-old brother were passengers in a vehicle being driven by their grandmother. Suddenly, mid-sentence, she passed out. After failing to wake her up and with the car veering into oncoming traffic, Gryffin jumped into action. With the vehicle traveling at a high speed, he carefully steered off to the side of the road and into a muddy ditch. They slowed to a stop and everyone was alright.

His grandmother was eventually airlifted to a hospital where she recovered.

Interviewed afterwards, Gryffin credited the driving experience he gained by playing Mario Kart for helping him stay cool and steer to safety.^[9]

1 Little Red Wagon Saves Childrens’ Lives

A dad was out one day pulling his 15 month old son and his 2 year-old daughter on a red plastic toy wagon. All was well until a woman driving towards them momentarily took her eyes off the road and ploughed into the wagon—sending the two children under her car.

Miraculously, the siblings survived and it is all because of that little red wagon they were riding in. Amazingly, even though it was sucked under the woman’s car and dragged for 50ft, the wagon stayed solid and protected the two young children from otherwise certain death.^[10]

About The Author: Lifelong writer of scripts, songs, short stories and lists. Loves movies, music, politics and hockey. Founder and Writer of the film blog, “So Many Films, So Little Time”