10 Incredible Crimes Committed in the Name of Love

From the Paris tragedy to the parachute murder, we count down 10 incredible crimes committed in the name of love.

10. The Diabolical Mother
Diane Downs was willing to do anything to win over the married man she loved. In 1983, Downs ran into an emergency room and announced that her three young children had been shot by a “bushy-haired stranger.” One was dead and the other two were seriously injured. Police warned the public to be on the lookout for the shooter, but it quickly became evident that something was funny about the mother’s story. It turned out the man didn’t want to be with a woman with kids, and Downs decided to take matters into her own hands. She was sentenced to life in prison plus 50 years.

9. The Paris Tragedy
On a March evening in 1914, Henriette Caillaux entered the office of newspaper editor Gaston Calmette and shot him four times with a pistol, mortally wounding him. The reason behind this dirty deed? Caillaux feared that Calmette would publish letters revealing she’d been her husband’s mistress before they married. At her trial, Caillaux claimed her “uncontrollable female emotions” were responsible. Shockingly enough, she was acquitted.

8. The Wife’s Revenge
When Texas resident Clara Harris found out about her husband’s affair, she was determined to do everything she could to keep him. She went to a tanning salon, dyed her hair, and started working out. That still wasn’t enough, so she hired a private detective to keep an eye on him. Things finally turned violent when Harris confronted her husband at a Hilton hotel and slammed into him several times with her car. He died from his injuries and Harris was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

7. The Woman Who Sacrificed Her Daughter
In 1954, Jacques Algarron asked Denise Labbe to prove her love for him by killing her two-year-old daughter. Her first three attempts were a dismal failure, but she finally managed to drown the little girl in a washtub. In court, the couple hurled insults at each other. Labbe called Algarron “a devil incarnate” and Algarron claimed the woman was crazy. Labbe received life in prison and Algarron got away with a 20-year sentence.

6. The Poisoner
When Martha Wise’s family pressured her into ending a relationship with Walter Johns, she retaliated in the worst way. On Thanksgiving Day in 1924, several members of her family suffered terrible stomach pains, and the number of victims continued to grow. Before Wise was caught, 17 people were poisoned with arsenic. Three passed away.

5. The Parachute Murder
While skydiving in Belgium in 2006, Els Van Doren’s primary and reserve parachutes failed to open. She didn’t survive the fall. When police inspected 38-year-old Doren’s equipment, it was discovered that the parachute cords had been cut. It soon came to light that Doren was involved in a strange love triangle with skydiving instructor Marcel Somers and another woman named Els Clottemans. Tired of sharing Somers, Clottemans wanted to take her rival out of the picture – permanently. In 2010, Clottemans was found guilty of murder and walked out of court with a 30-year sentence.

4. The Trial Of The Century
After rejecting the advances of millionaire Harry Kendall Thaw, Evelyn Nesbit revealed that she’d been molested by an architect named Stanford White. Thaw was upset, but he continued to pursue her and the couple eventually wed. While attending a stage show in 1906, Thaw spotted White in the area and took his revenge. He produced a pistol and shot White several times, killing him instantly. The two trials that followed the event caused a media frenzy. Thaw was sent to the Matteawan State Hospital for the Criminally Insane.

3. The Chat Room Murder
Thomas Montgomery thought he’d found love with fellow chat room member Talhotblond, also known as Jessi. When his wife found out about the cyber affair, she sent a letter to Jessi explaining that he was married and old enough to be her father. Horrified, Jessi broke off the relationship and switched to Montgomery’s younger co-worker, Brian Barrett. Montgomery wasn’t happy. On September 15, 2006, Barrett was shot and killed as he left work. The terrible twist in all this? Talhotblond was actually a woman named Mary Shieler. The real Jessi was her daughter, who had no idea what was going on.

2. The Love Triangle
Sarah Ludemann and Rachel Wade both had their eyes on 19-year-old Josh Camacho. The struggle was bitter for the Florida teens, and something was going to have to give. After they taunted each other for months through text messages, it finally came down to a face-to-face confrontation. Unbeknownst to Ludemann, Wade had a steak knife with her, and she stabbed her rival in the heart. Ludemann died and Wade was charged with second-degree murder.

1. The Beauty Salon Shooting
In 2002, Rena Salmon shot and killed her husband’s pregnant mistress. She was furious that Paul Salmon had started divorce proceedings, and she wanted the other woman to suffer. The incident took place in a beauty salon in Chiswick, West London. Salmon was given life imprisonment for her action.

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10 Incredible Crimes Committed in the Name of Love

10 Incredible Crimes Committed in the Name of Love

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