This is the last photograph ever taken of
Engla Höglund, who went missing on her way home from football practice. It was April 5th, 2008 - The setting: Stjärnsund,
Sweden. A local resident was out testing his new digital
camera, taking random pictures of anything and everything in the area, getting a feel
for how it worked. While doing so, snapped this image of Engla. He had no idea he’d just inadvertently taken
the last ever photograph of her alive. When Engla didn’t return home after practice
that day, her mother called her cellphone. Despite numerous tries, her daughter didn’t
answer. That was completely unlike her. Needless to say she went out looking for Engla,
and in doing so, made a chilling discovery. She found her bike, the same one she was riding
in this photograph, abandoned in the woods. There was no other trace of her anywhere. She notified the authorities immediately. This case got a lot of media attention not
only in Sweden, but across all of Scandinavia. Search parties were formed to look for her,
and areas that were even remotely close to where she’d vanished were scowered with
a fine-tooth-comb. Everyone hoped and prayed that this was just
a case of a child going on an adventure and getting lost in the forest, and that she’d
soon be found safe and well… but as the hours rolled into days, that hope began to
dwindle. When the man who’d been snapping photos
that fateful day realised that he’d actually taken Engla’s picture just before she’d
disappeared, he came forward with his camera. On it, they found another photo that was of
interest - a picture of a red Saab 900, that almost looked to be following the girl. This was the lead the investigators had been
looking for. By tracing the license plate they were able
to track down the car’s owner: Anders Eklund, a 42-year old truck driver. He confessed to killing Engla, and even lead
the authorities to where he’d hidden her remains. Despite confessing to taking Engla’s life,
and despite the miraculous photos showing him following her as she rode home, Eklund
claimed that his actions that day had merely been a coincidence and weren’t premeditated. He said that he’d never met the youngster
before, and when he stepped out of his car to talk to her, she became frightened and
kicked him in the shin. He continued to advance on her, at which point
she began screaming - worried what people might think, he strangled Engla in order to
silence her, and dragged her into the woods. It was all just a “big misunderstanding”. Yeah, okay bud, that sounds like a perfectly
innocent and rational alibi. Eklund’s DNA was tested, and the results
shocking. 8 years prior this, a 31-year old named Pernilla
Hellgren had been strangled until all the life in her was snuffed out - her slayer then
had his way with her, leaving behind vital evidence as a result. The DNA traces at the scene matched with Eklund’s
DNA perfectly. When asked about this, he, again, confessed,
and insisted that he hadn’t meant to take that woman’s life either. It was all just another misunderstanding. Well, that of course didn’t fly. Anders Eklund was sentenced to life in prison
for his heinous actions, and is currently a suspect for other cases still under investigation. At first glance this loos like a pretty ordinary
selfie. Just three young girls smiling, enjoying their
time together, their hair blowing in the wind. But the light on the righthand side of the
photo belies a hidden darkness. That light is actually the headlight of an
oncoming train which hit them moments later. The driver blared his horn, unable to stop
the locomotive - trains can take up to a mile to stop once the brakes are hit - the girls
didn’t even flinch, completely in their own world, having fun. Seconds later they disappeared under the tracks
- their lives extinguished, and a whole lot of grief ignited, for both their families
and the driver of the train. Their names were Essa Ricker, and Kelsea and
Savannah Webster. This image goes to show the importance of
paying attention to your surroundings - you never know what’s coming around the corner. The year was 1961. While going about their business, the crew
of the Captain Theo noticed something floating in the sea beside their ship - it was a disintegrating
cork float. Inside it was 11 year old Terry Jo Duperrault. She’d been drifting in the water for 4 days
without food, water or protection from the elements, and was near the point of death. By some miracle, they’d crossed paths with
her, and were able to save her life. How Terry Jo came to be in this predicament
is harrowing to say the least. Terry Jo and her entire family had been aboard
another ship called Bluebelle - a small sailing ketch that was taking the Duperrault’s from
Green Bay, Wisconsin to The Bahamas. The ship was being skippered by Julian Harvey,
who also brought his 6th wife along for the journey. But it couldn’t have been a happy marriage. While on route, Harvey drowned his wife in
the ocean. After being discovered by Terry Jo’s father,
Dr. Duperrault, Harvey took a large knife and butchered him, along with Mrs. Duperrault,
and Terry Jo’s 2 siblings, leaving her as the only survivor on board. She was awoken by their screams, and found
their bodies topside. Rather than end her life too, Harvey instead
sabotaged the ship, abandoned it in a dinghy and left her to drown in the sea. Just before the boat sank, she was able to
untied the float and launch herself into the sea. During those 4 days at sea, her float began
to fall to pieces, forcing her to balance on the side of it with her legs in the water. As such, parrot fish kept biting her feet. It’s hard to imagine what Terry Jo went
through. Losing your whole family in one fell swoop
is horrifying enough, but to then drift alone for 4 days, just waiting to either drown,
perish from thirst or sun exposure, or to be picked apart by sea creatures… it doesn’t
bear thinking about. And all this at 11. Harvey had been picked up by another ship
the day after the incident. In the dinghy with him was the lifeless body
of Terry Jo’s younger sister. He said that a freak accident had destroyed
their ship, and that although he tried to save the youngster’s life he was unable
to. When it was later revealed that Terry Jo had
in fact survived and been rescued, Harvey checked into a motel under a fake name, and
ended his own life with a razor blade. Had Terry Jo not been rescued, he’d likely
have gotten away with it. It’s likely that Harvey wanted his wife
out of the picture to get his hands on some insurance money. One of his previous marriages had ended after
a car accident claimed the life of other wives, which netted him a healthy sum, and to of
his past boats had also sunk under mysterious circumstances, yielding even more for him. What’s unknown is why he left Terry Jo alive
onboard the vessel. Many years later, in an interview, she herself
said "I think he probably thought I would go down with the ship." Take a look at this seemingly normal photograph
- just looks like a picture of your typical dorky uncle alongside his daughter, right. Well, that man is actually Dennis Rader, better
known as the BTK killer. Over the span of 17 years he took the lives
of 10 people in the Wichita, Kansas metro area, including an entire family. He used everything from ropes and plastic
bags to belts and pantyhose to strangle his victims. What made his actions even more harrowing
however, was that he liked to tie up the remains of those he’d slayed, and leave them in
strange, contorted positions. He’d even take pictures of their bound bodies. He did so because he got satisfaction out
of it. That was his motivation. This photo, taken during his daughter’s
graduation, was captured less than 2 years before his arrest. Now Dennis Rader was obvious a deplorable
human being, and even in his day to day life, he did some very despicable things. For example, he became a dogcatcher in Park
City, and people noted how he took special joy in bullying single women. One neighbor even complained he killed her
dog for no reason. Still, for the most part, he managed to fit
in well enough and avoided being detected by the authorities for 17 long years. He’d send investigators letters taunting
them for their inability to find him, along with little dolls with tied up hands and feet,
symbolising those he’d taken the lives of. But for all his boldness, Rader had one major
weakness - he was completely tech illiterate. So, one day he sent a letter to the cops,
and asked if they'd be able to trace him if he sent them a floppy disk - they of course
said they wouldn’t be able to, and he actually sent them one. They couldn’t believe their luck. The BTK mastermind had made one of the most
foolish mistakes imaginable. The investigators found some metadata on a
deleted document that said “last modified by Dennis”. From this they were able to little down the
suspects until it was obvious who the perp was. But that’s where this photo comes back into
play - you see, despite being able to link the floppy disk to Dennis Rader, this still
wasn’t considered enough to bring him in. They needed a DNA sample. His daughter, pictured in the photo, had just
graduated from Kansas State University’s Medical Centre. While there, she had to have a Pap smear done. The authorities got a court order to take
the smear and test the DNA - from that, they established a familial link to DNA found at
the crime scenes. And that’s what brought Dennis Rader down. Rader was very upset that the police had lied
to him about the disk being safe to send: '“I need to ask you, how come you lied to
me?” Rader asked the lead detective on his case. He simply answered: “Because I was trying
to catch you.” But this is a video about creepy photos, and
while this one does become a lot more dark when you know the backstory, here are a few
other pictures of Dennis Rader that are just equal parts bizarre and terrifying. When the cops searched Rader’s house for
evidence after his capture, they came across a treasure trove of pictorial evidence. Some were of BtK’s victims, but others were
of himself, masked and dressed up in women’s clothes. These images help give us an insight into
his mind at the time he was active. Unsettling stuff to say the least… Now here’s a case of something, or should
I say “someones” hiding in plain sight. What you’re looking at on screen is basket
baller Mark Jackson’s official 1989-1990 trading card - until recently, this card was
just like any other. In August 2018 though, a keen eyed collector
spotted something unusual in the picture. Behind Jackson, sitting court-side, are the
Menendez brothers - Lyle and Eric. The photo was taken after they’d both killed
their parents for insurance money in their Beverly Hills mansion. In August of 89, the two men, 21 and 18 at
the time, burst into the family living room with a pair of shotguns, and fired 15 rounds
into the back of their mother and father while the couple watched TV, hitting them in the
head and chest. They then went to a movie theatre, dumping
their equipment and changing their clothes on the way, and afterwards drove home and
pretended to discover their parent’s lifeless remains. This image was taken before the authorities
caught the two men, who were both going about their lives as if they’d done nothing wrong. In fact, they were living extremely lavishly
now that their parents were out of the picture. When the insurance money came through, they
both went on a spending spree, spending over a million dollars in 6 months on Rolex’s,
cars, tennis lessons, parties, and, relevant to this video, court-side tickets. For nearly 30 years, the 2 sociopaths had
been hiding in the background of an official piece of NBA merchandise, completely unnoticed. Little did anyone realise the image captured
2 sociopaths, living it up on money they made from taking their parent’s lives. Makes you wonder what else is hiding in the
background of other photos that just hasn’t been noticed yet. Shortly after this photo was taken, the brothers
were apprehended. The spoiled siblings had huge egos and thought
they could get away with anything, even parenticide. Thankfully, that turned out not to be the
case. They both received life sentences, to be served
in different jails. They’ve both gotten married while behind
bars - Lyle twice. Before this discovery these Mark Jackson cards
went for about 10 cents each. Now they’re going for a lot more. The photo on screen is of Issei Sagawa, also
known as Pang, a notorious celebrity in Japan. At only 4ft 9, he’s small in stature, but
not in personality, and among certain crowds, he’s still a popular figure. His notoriety was at its peak between 1986
and 1997 however, during which time he was constantly on Japanese television as a guest
speaker and commentator. He appeared in horror movies, and wrote high-selling
cookery books. Cookery books… notice how this photo is
of him eating a dish - well, that was his claim to fame. Pang was a cannibal. In 1981, while studying in Paris, France,
he invited his classmate, Renee Hartevelt, a 25 year old Dutch woman, to translate poetry
together for an upcoming assignment. While reading a poem at a desk in his apartment,
Pang shot her in the back of the neck with a hunting rifle. He then had his way with her remains. His ultimate plan was to eat her - Pang considered
himself short, weak and ugly - Renee on the other hand was tall and beautiful. He believed that by eating her, he could absorb
her energy. He tried to bite into her flesh raw, but found
it to be too difficult and unpalatable. So, he calmly walked to a local store, purchased
a butcher’s blade, and began slicing off parts of Renee’s body to cook. He ate most of her face and chest, taking
photos at each stage of his dining experience - of both himself and of her. When he was finally sated, he stored other
parts of her in his refrigerator for later, placed the remainder of her body into two
suitcases, tried to dump them in a lake. Luckily he was caught redhanded while doing
so, and the officers found Renee’s body parts inside the cases he was carrying. Luckily for Pang, and unluckily for the rest
of us, his parents were extremely rich. His father hired a top lawyer for him, and
he was able to escape jail time after being declared legally insane. He was held in a French hospital, but when
a Japanese author published a story about Pang, people in the land of the rising sun
became morbidly curious about his story - he gained a sort of macabre celebrity status,
which no doubt contributed to the French authorities decision to deport him back to Japan, where
he was quickly determined to be sane after all. Pang checked himself out of hospital, and
remains a free man to this day, having served no prison time for his actions. This photo of Pang you’re looking at now
was featured on the cover of a well-known Japanese magazine Spa. It featured an article in which he reviewed
a restaurant - disturbing, considering what he’d done. Pang also went on to write a best-selling
book about his killing of Renee - certainly not a book for the faint of heart, as it goes
into explicit detail about what he did. It’s strange and disappointing that someone
like that could not only escape justice, but also become famous and profit from his despicable
crimes. Now, given the context, this image of Pang
eating with a cocky, dead-eyed stare becomes something truly haunting. He got away with it, and he loves it. You’ll be happy to know that things have
changed. Nowadays Pang’s detested by the younger
generations and has fallen out of the limelight. He struggles to find employment. Issei Sagawa was born in Kobe, which is currently
where I’m living right now… yeah, I think I’d rather we were famous for our beef than
for this guy. This image is of Steven Weber Jr, proposing
to his girlfriend while free diving at The Manta Resort on Pemba Island, Tanzania. It was captured moments before his underwater
marriage proposal turned tragic. The couple were staying a room that was completely
submerged in the water with glass windows, so you could see out into the ocean all around
you. Steven dived into the water, swam down the
the glass window, and showed a note to his girlfriend Kenesha Antoine, who was watching
and filming him from the other side of the tank. “I can’t hold my breath long enough to
tell you everything I love about you but ... everything I love about you, I love more every day.” On the back it read, "Will you please be my
wife. Marry me???" He then pulled out a ring, and, after a few
seconds, swam up for air. Unfortunately, Steven drowned before he could
reach the surface. After his death was announced, his girlfriend,
Kenesha Antoine, wrote on her Facebook page “You never emerged from those depths, so
you never got to hear my answer, 'Yes! Yes! A million times, yes, I will marry you!!'" This is a photo of Pavel Kashin, a Russian
free-runner - the image, taken on the 2nd July, 2013, captures his final stunt on the
edge of a 16 story high building in St Petersburg. A split second after this picture was taken,
Pavel made a fatal mistake when he failed to land his backflip correctly. He lost his footing, and plummeted over the
side of the building. He was 20 years old. His parents who saw this final image of their
son, issued a statement saying that they hope the photos will deter other daredevils from
risky jumps. Not exactly one photo for this entry, but
a whole set - I know I’m cheating a little here, but stay with me. Regular viewers of this channel might remember
a video I made a little while back - 5 video clips with disturbing backstories. In it, I talked about the Dating Game Killer
- Rodney Alcala - a man who appeared on a TV dating show back in the 70’s who later
turned out to be a serial murderer. I know lots of you might have missed that
episode, seeing how it got hit by the yellow button of demonetisation and its reach got
stunted - so for those of you who didn’t tune in, the short story is that between 1968
and 1979, Alcala claimed the lives of at least 8 people across various states in the US,
though his exact number of victims remains unclear, and could be as many as 130. Alcala’s modus operandi was simple, but
effective - he’d pretend to be a professional photographer, and offer his potential victims
the opportunity to have a private, high quality photo shoot. Lured in by his good looks and charm, many
people - mostly women - accepted his proposal. Once he’d gained their trust by taking a
few snaps of them in public, he’d then invite them to join him in a more… private setting. When he had them alone and to himself, that’s
when Alcala would not only take their final pictures, but their lives as well - usually
via strangulation. When he was finally apprehended, investigators
found Alcala’s camera, along with multiple photo albums. There were thousands of pictures of hundreds
of different people - all of them potential victims. As such, it remains unknown just how many
lives Alcala claimed during his 11 year rampage. Over the years the authorities have been able
to track down some of the individuals from the photos, but many of them remain unaccounted
for. Despite them publicly requesting anyone from
the photos to come forward and let them know they’re alright, the identities and wellbeing
of many of the photographed people remains unknown to this day. Despite their innocent appearance, any of
these photos could be of people he slayed. Until we hear from them, we may never know. Do you recognise anyone in these images? If so, you might hold the answer to a small
part of a very large, very sinister mystery. This image shows the crew of the ill-fated
Apollo 1 mission, huddled around a model of their command module, hands clasped in prayer. The photo was taken during a promo-shoot for
their upcoming mission, but the story behind this particular image is both dark and tragic
in equal measure. You see, this picture wasn’t released along
with the other promotional material. Of course The Apollo Program didn’t want
people thinking their astronaughts didn’t have complete faith in their ship… nor did
they want people thinking this mission even had a chance of failing - but the crew knew. They’d expressed their concerns about their
spaceship’s problems prior to the photoshoot, specifically about the amount of flammable
material in the cabin, but their points fell on deaf ears. So, command Pilot Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom,
Senior Pilot Ed White, and Pilot Roger B. Chaffee, the 3-man crew, presented this parody
image to ASPO manager Joseph Shea, along with the message “It isn't that we don't trust
you, Joe, but this time we've decided to go over your head.” Shea gave the order to remove the flammable
material from the cabin, but didn’t supervise the removal himself. During a test in which the 3 crew members
were inside the command module, an electrical fire broke out. One of the crew could be heard shouting “Hey! We’ve got a fire in the cockpit!”. Because the test had been labelled as low-risk,
emergency preparedness for it was poor. All the engineers could do watch their monitors
as the module filled with smoke. The plug-door hatch couldn’t be opened due
to the pressure from inside the module, and soon the whole inside of it was engulfed by
flames. “We have a bad fire! We’re burning up!” screamed another of
the crew over the intercom. Then, silence. The flames spread so rapidly, they never stood
a chance. Their concerns had been valid all along. Though intended to be a tongue in cheek jab
at their boss, this image now stands as a testimony to 3 brave men who understood extreme
risks in the name of progress. It’s thanks to their sacrifice that the
Apollo mission was ultimately a success. Shortly before his untimely end, Command Pilot
Grissom had told a reporter, “If we die we want people to accept it. We hope that if anything happens to us it
will not delay the program. The conquest of space is worth the risk of
life.”
