 "A woman holds a placard with a portrait of Gisele Pelicot during a gathering in support of the Frenchwoman, who was the victim of a mass rape orchestrated by her then-husband Dominique Pelicot at their home in the southern French town of Mazan, the day after the verdict in the trial for Dominique Pelicot and 50 co-accused, in front of the courthouse in Avignon, France. The slogan reads 'Thank you Gisele'. Reuters")
Stories of true crime fascinate the world. There’s a lot of interest in criminals and their motives.
Some of our most-read stories of 2024 were on hit-and-runs and murders, sex crimes and school shootings. Assassinations grabbed headlines – the failed bids of US President-elect Donald Trump and Slovakia Prime Minister Robert Fico. In India, the murder of politician Baba Siddique came as a shocker.
The most heartbreaking of all stories were those of sexual abuse – the horrific mass rape of Frenchwoman Gisele Pelicot and the rape and murder of a junior doctor at a hospital in India’s Kolkata.
As we prepare to say goodbye to the year, here’s a recap of the crimes and criminals who left us shaken.
France mass rape trial
One of the biggest villains of 2024 is Dominique Pelicot. The former electrician was sentenced to 20 years and has been dubbed the worst sexual predator in recent history. What was his crime? He drugged and raped his now former wife Gisele and invited 70 other men to rape her while she was unconscious. Along with him, 50 others were found guilty. Here’s how the case unravelled .
UnitedHealthcare CEO murder
In a murder that shocked America, Brian Thomson was shot to death on December 4 outside New York’s Hilton. The CEO of UnitedHealthcare, America’s biggest health insurer, was there to attend the investor day hosted by the company.
The search for Thomson’s killer continued for days. On December 9, he was arrested at a McDonald’s. Luigi Mangione is 26; he came from a wealthy family and was a former Ivy League student. So what pushed him to commit a murder? Here’s everything we know and how Mangione now charged with murder became the internet’s hero .
Donald Trump rally shooting
1. One of the most defining images of 2024 is the picture of Donald Trump, his first up in the air, his face bloodied. It was taken minutes after a bullet was fired at the US President-elect, who was then campaigning for the polls at Bulter in Pennsylvania. Trump survived, the bullet reportedly hit the “upper part” of his ear.
The FBI identified the gunman as Thomas Matthew Crooks, a 20-year-old. A registered Republican, he was killed by a Secret Service sniper. But who was Crooks and how did he hoodwink all the security? How did he plan and execute the audacious attack ? We explain
2. The assassination attempt on Trump once again triggered the debate on gun control in the US. Thomas Matthew Crooks used an AR-15, America’s most popular weapon. A similar AR-platform-style weapon was used by a 14-year-old who went on a rampage inside a high school in Georgia in September, killing four people and injuring nine others. But why are AR-15s used so frequently ?
Donald Trump’s hush money trial
In an election year, Donald Trump was in the news for another reason – the hush money payment case . In May, he was convicted of felony crimes, as a New York judge found him guilty of all 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to adult actor Stormy Daniels, who said the two had sex.
Trump is the first President-elect who will enter the White House after being convicted of a felony. He has now lost the bid to dismiss the conviction, as a Manhattan judge ruled recently that the Supreme Court’s presidential immunity decision does not apply to this case. What is the case and what does this mean for Trump as he prepares to take charge?
Southport stabbings
In a heartbreaking story, three young girls, aged six to nine, were killed in a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event in Southport in the UK. A 17-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of murder and attempted murder. He was identified as Axel Muganwa Rudakubana , who was described by neighbours as quiet and introverted.
The 29 July incident led to unrest that shook the UK. Crowds that gathered turned violent after a vigil and attacked the police and a mosque and chanted anti-Muslim slogans. But what was the connection between the slogan and allegations of Islamaphobia ?
The Gurpatwant Singh Pannun assassination plot
The alleged failed plot to kill Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun continues to haunt India-US ties. The FBI has accused Indian agents of involvement in the assassination attempt.
In a report in late April, The Washington Post identified R&AW agent Vikram Yadav as the person who hatched the plot. But who is Yadav? This story explains .
Pune Porsche hit-and-run
2024 saw several hit-and-run mishaps grab headlines in India. One of them was the Pune Porsche accident. The mishap that led to the death of two young engineers was caused by a 17-year-old boy, who was the son of a prominent realtor.
The speeding car driven by the allegedly drunk teen hit the engineers who were returning after dinner. The case was front-page news for weeks – the teen’s family tried to ‘bribe’ doctors and reached out to politicians and the boy was granted bail on the condition that he write an essay . After all the uproar and protests, the accident was revisited and the teen was sent to a remand home. The accused’s parents were also arrested for the alleged cover-up.
Baba Siddique murder
1. In India, as the country celebrated Dusshera, a shocking murder took place in Mumbai’s affluent suburb of Bandra – that of former Maharashtra minister Baba Siddique. Three armed individuals fired at him outside his son’s office. The crime was carried out by the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, whose leader is currently in Patiala jail. Here’s how the assassination was planned .
2. After the killing of Siddique, the Lawrence Bishnoi gang threatened that anyone helping Bollywood actor Salman Khan would be targeted. Siddique was known to be close to the Hindi film industry and his iftar parties were often the talk of town.
But what is the Bishnoi gang’s enmity with the Bollywood superstar ? It is linked to a case that dates back to 1998 in which the actor was embroiled.
Kolkata rape and murder
1. In mid-August, doctors and students came onto the street in protest. It was against the death of a trainee doctor at a government-run hospital in Kolkata. The 31-year-old medic was raped and murdered but the RG Kar Hospital tried to downplay the case as an incident of suicide.
The accused in the case was identified as Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer, who had access to the hospital premises. The CBI has filed a chargesheet against him. However, he claims that he is innocent and is being framed by the government. We look at the life of Roy , who had a history of drinking.
2. While Roy is the main accused in the case, the spotlight is also on Dr Sandip Ghosh. He received flak for his poor handling of the RG Kar rape and murder. Known for his close ties to the Trinamool Congress, the doctor too was not new to controversy . He resigned from his post at the medical college but was reinstated to another place. But as protests refused to die down, he was arrested and recently got bail.
Bengaluru CEO kills 4-year-old son
A bone-chilling story shook Goa last January. A mother, who checked into a service apartment in Candolim with her four-year-old son, murdered him. She stuffed his body into a bag and was trying to flee when she was caught near Karnataka’s Chitradurga district.
The woman was identified as Suchana Seth , the CEO of a Bengaluru-based start-up. She was getting a divorce but was unhappy with a recent court order that allowed her estranged husband to meet their child. Is that what drove the mother to suffocate the boy to death?
Bengaluru fridge murder
In 2022, 27-year-old Sharddha Walkar was murdered by her live-in partner Aaftab Amin Poonawala in Delhi. He killed her, then chopped her body into pieces and stored it in a fridge. Two years on, similar copycat murders continue.
This September, the body of a 29-year-old woman was found in her home in Bengaluru’s Vyalikaval. It was dismembered into close to 50 pieces and stored in a refrigerator. The incident came to light after neighbours complained of a foul smell .
The woman was identified as Mahalakshmi and she was killed by a colleague; the two were reportedly having an affair. The man, Mukti Ranjan Ray, 30, died by suicide in Odisha days later. Here’s what happened .
The suicide of Bengaluru-based techie
The shocking suicide of a Bengaluru-based techie Atul Subhash became a subject of debate in India. He left a 24-page suicide note and an 81-minute video in which he blamed his estranged wife and in-laws for harassment and also spoke about the divorce proceedings.
After days on the run, the woman Nikita Singhania and her family members were arrested. But who is she and how did the law catch up with her ? Find out in these stories which are among the most-read in December.
That’s our annual roundup of 2024’s crime stories. One can hope the next year is more peaceful.