6 Most Horrific Home Invasion Murders
It’s every person’s worst nightmare. Home is supposed to be a place to feel safe, especially once the doors are locked, the lights are off and our heads are resting on our pillows. Unfortunately, recent history is filled with cases where people have just not been so lucky.
Here is a list of 6 of the most notorious, frightening and gruesome home invasion murders:
Cheshire, Connecticut Home Invasion Murders
One July 23rd, 2007, the small town of Cheshire (once voted as one of the 100 best places to live) was rocked by the grizzly home invasion murders of an everyday, ordinary family.
Two men, Steven Hayes and Joshua Komisarjevsky, followed home their soon-to-be victims, Jennifer Hawke-Petite and her 11 year old daughter Michaela, fully intending to rob the family and nothing more; however, when they saw William Petit asleep on the porch, their plans turned deadly, as they beat him with a bat.
They then proceeded to rob, rape and murder the mother and her two daughters by setting the house on fire. The two men were caught and sentenced to death.
Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman
Before 1994, O.J. Simpson was praised as a fine football player and actor. He seemed like another American idol, until the night his ex-wife and her friend were found stabbed to death outside her home.
The car chase and subsequent trial were the biggest news story of the decade. The trial became a spectacle, less about the facts and more about the circus. Ultimately, O.J was found not-guilty in the criminal court, despite many of the jurors proclaiming his guilt in interviews after the trial.
Afterwards, Simpson and Goldman’s families brought a civil suit for wrongful death against O.J., for which he was found guilty and ordered to pay over $33-million. In 2008, O.J. was convicted of robbery and sentenced to 33 years in jail.
Clutter Family Murders
In 1959, Herbert Clutter, his wife and two of his children were brutally murdered in their home by two ex-convicts. The convicts, Dick Hickock and Perry Edward Smith, were looking to score big when they got a tip from one of Clutter’s employees that the successful farmer kept large amounts of cash nearby.
The information was false, so in a fit of rage, the men murdered the family by shooting them in the heads. The men were caught soon after and sentenced to death. The case became etched in history when Truman Capote wrote his best-selling classic true crime book, In Cold Blood, about the case.
Sharon Tate Murder
Sharon Tate was on her way to becoming a huge Hollywood actress, especially after her highly recognized performance in Valley of the Dolls. On August 8th, 1969, the ready-to-pop pregnant Tate and her 3 friends were murdered by the Charles Manson family in her home.
The victims were stabbed and shot. Tate was said to have begged for her child’s life, but she and the child were stabbed 16 times. The Manson “family” was later charged and sentenced to prison.
Sean Taylor Murder
Sean Taylor had one of the brightest futures in football, but in 2007 and at the young age of 24, he was shot and killed in his Miami home. The shooting came 8 days after his home was burglarized. His girlfriend and 18-month old daughter hid under the bed as 5 men robbed and killed Taylor. All 5 men were later caught. Taylor’s team, the Washington Redskins, honored him by wearing his #21 on their helmets.
JonBenet Ramsey Murder
One of the most haunting cases is also the most mysterious. The 1996 murder of the 6-year old beauty queen shook the community of Boulder, Colorado, as well as the rest of the country.
Ramsey’s face covered every magazine for months, as the case become more and more sensationalized. The killer has yet to be found, but that didn’t stop the media from accusing the parents of the heinous strangling. In 2008, the Boulder D.A. released a statement that DNA proved that the Ramsey family was innocent of the crime.
Although we may all want to believe that we are safe in our homes as soon as the doors are locked, the reality is that danger can be lurking just around the corner. Hopefully, these brutal stories have been enough to convince you to improve your home’s security as well as your family’s safety.
Marcela De Vivo is a freelance writer from California whose writing specializes in home security and improvement, family health, travel and technology. She keeps her family and home safe with the latest in home security. You can follow her on her Facebook and Twitter.
