True Crime Conspiracy Theories

Murder, for much of humanity, is a morbidly fascinating aspect of history. For many of us, it's mind-boggling to think that there are people out there who will murder innocents — and it's even scarier to think how many murder victims never would have guessed they'd die at the hands of these monsters.

In that way, true crime tends to act like a real-life ghost story. We can't explain all the strange disappearances in national parks. Nor, can we make sure that innocent men don't get accused of horrible crimes. There's mystery and intrigue in stories about serial killers — no matter how you look at it.

The weird thing about many killings is that some murder cases remain unsolved for decades or even centuries after they were committed. Some of the "solved" murders also don't seem very...well, plausible. Even more explanations for "accidents" don't appear to be all that possible when you look at the details of the crime.

That's why there are so many true crime conspiracies that continue to make you wonder what really happened during those fateful last moments of a person's life. Here are some of the most notorious, bizarre, and downright convincing conspiracy theories behind the world's most famous murders.

The US government assassinated MLK.

Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the most famous peaceful civil rights activists of all time. He is the one who had a dream, and worked until the day he died to make sure that others took part in that dream. And, for many white supremacists, he was Public Enemy #1.

His assassination was done by a white supremacist by the name of James Earl Ray. It happened in broad daylight. Case closed, right?

Not quite. Prior to his assassination, Martin Luther King had received some very threatening, ominous letters from the FBI telling him to cease his protesting immediately. It was a threatening letter, and many people to this day believe the FBI hired James Earl Ray to kill King.

Years later, the FBI tweeted a tribute to Martin Luther King on the anniversary of his death. This ended up getting a major backlash, since news groups pointed out that the FBI regularly helped conspire against MLK.

Those who believe in government-caused true crime conspiracy theories suggest the FBI was connected to his murder. To this day, the FBI has not been linked to his death. However, it makes you wonder, doesn't it?

The Sodder children didn't die; they were kidnapped by the mob.

This is one of those true crime conspiracy theories that is almost undoubtedly true. The evidence doesn't hold that the "accepted" version of the story is true.

In the 1940s, the Italian-American Sodder family experienced a huge tragedy. A house fire occurred in their home, and the fire department wasn't able to get there on time. Five of the children of the family were never seen again, and they were pronounced dead upon their disappearance.

Once again, at first glance, it seems fairly normal. Fires happen, kids die. However, there's ample reason to believe that there may have been some criminal involvement. Here are some eyebrow-raising clues that have made many criminal investigators question what really happened to those five kids:

• The Sodders were already at odds with the Italian mafia due to their anti-Mussolini sentiments — and had been repeatedly warned because of it.
• The remaining children said that they saw people wandering around the house the day of the fire, and that someone threw something at the roof of the house that caused the spark.
• Years later, a man contacted the Sodders claiming to be their son, only to never be heard from again.
• People claimed to have seen men with the five missing children days after the fire occurred.
• No human remains were found at the fire. However, the fire department planted a charred calf's liver and tried to pass it off as a human heart when the Sodders refused to stop investigating.

Many other true crime conspiracy theories suggest they were used by the mob as trained hitmen, too. To this date, this case remains unsolved and no one knows what happened to the children...except, perhaps, for the Sodder children themselves. Wherever they are.

Russian experimentation caused the Dyatlov Pass Incident.

Technically, this isn't really one of the more murder-y true crime conspiracy theories, because it seems almost paranormal in nature.

The Dylatov Pass Incident happened in the late 50s, where a group of Russian college students decided to go hiking in the Ural Mountains in the middle of the winter. These were experienced hikers, and were going into areas they knew well, by the way.

They all were found, fleeing from an unknown force, in a rush. No other footprints were on the ground. They were discovered in various states of undress, and many of them had various body parts carved out of them — very similar to cattle mutilations. One hiker also had a fractured skull.

Some reports also claim that their bodies were radioactive.

No one knows what happened to them, and the official cause of death was "unknown compelling force." Some claim hypothermia made them go crazy, but that just seems unlikely, considering their experience level and the equipment they brought.

A common belief among conspiracy theorist is that they were accidentally killed by a high-end Russian military experiment... or, that aliens were to blame for it.

George Hill Hodel was also the Zodiac Killer.

Most people know George Hill Hodel as the Black Dahlia Murderer — one of the most famous killers to have ever been active in Hollywood. The murder of Elizabeth Short was one of the most brutal killings anyone ever witnessed. But, could Hodel have been responsible for more?

Hodel's own son, Steve Hodel, has come forth to claim that his father was the Zodiac Killer, as well. Steve Hodel found evidence of dead bodies on his father's property, and also proved that his father's handwriting was very similar to the handwriting on the notes left by the Zodiac Killer.

George Hodel was one of the top suspects in the LAPD investigation of the Zodiac Killings. However, he never confessed to it. Steve Hodel, though, believes he has solved a case that an entire department couldn't. Could his father really have been two of the most famous killers of the time, all wrapped up into one?

Courtney Love Murdered Kurt Cobain.

Few true crime conspiracy theories are as popular as this one. In fact, it's arguably one of the most well known true crime conspiracies of all time. Kurt Cobain was a tortured artist and an extremely heavy heroin user. So was his wife, Courtney Love.

If you watch videos of them together, it's clear that they loved each other. However, many believe that they may have had a far more rocky past than they wanted to admit to — even on family videos. It was known that the couple was experiencing marriage problems shortly before Cobain died.

The truth is that Cobain took a lot of heroin, and chose a very strange "Hemingway-style" angle when he shot himself. Tom Grant, a PI who was hired to figure out the case, claimed that there's no way that Cobain could have killed himself with the sheer amount of heroin that was in his system.

Simply put, he shouldn't have had enough strength in him to actually put the gun in his mouth — nor the wherewithal to actually pull the trigger — in the state he was in. Grant, along with many others, believe that Love may have drugged him and killed him out of jealousy or a codependent frenzy.

The suicide note is also suspect, since it looks like it was written by two different people. Could Cobain's handwriting have changed with the amount of drugs in his system?

The official report is that Cobain killed himself. However, fans of Cobain swear that this is one of the few true crime conspiracy theories that's on the money. After all, why would a rock star kill himself at the height of his popularity?

Missing Shelly Miscavige

Anyone who has not been under a rock has heard about Scientology, and may have been aware that it's considered to be a cult. Going Clear, a documentary about the religion, showed that there was a lot of strange goings-on inside the doors of the mysterious sect.

Many true crime conspiracy theories exist about Scientology and what they have done to victims. However, few of the true crime conspiracies out there involve one of the highest-ranked members of the church. This one is an exception to the case.

L. Ron Hubbard, its founder, attracted a lot of criticism for his extremely abusive and exploitative behavior towards his followers. Hubbard was known for sexually assaulting cult members, hitting them, and also punishing them with serious cruelty.

Hubbard died, and left the Church of Scientology to be furthered by his right-hand man. David Miscavige, the current head of the Church of Scientology, doesn't seem to be better than Hubbard. In fact, many former high-ranking church officials claimed he killed his wife.

According to those in the loop, David Miscavige's wife, Shelly, worked directly underneath him and viewed him more as a boss than a husband. They slept separately, showed no affection to one another, and were icy at best.

As Miscavige rose through the ranks of Scientology, David became meaner and meaner to his wife. Once-icy behavior quickly turned to abuse. Shelly made the mistake of making decisions without consulting David. She was stripped of all rights and responsibilities — and was also assigned a watcher.

Within months, she was never seen again. Scientologist officials claim she's alive and "on a special mission." However, isn't it a bit difficult to be unseen in public for seven years or more? Wouldn't she at least check in with police to show she's alive?

Leah Remini, a former Scientologist, filed a missing persons report on behalf of Shelly — and seems to believe she was killed by the church. However, no evidence has come of her whereabouts, live or not.

It'd be unsurprising if David Miscavige beat his wife to death. His best friend and former higher-up, Hubbard, was a known wife beater and had a toxic family life, too.

Some people claimed to have seen a very frail, frazzled, and terrified Shelly Miscavige hiding in California. She's always seen with two terrifying-looking men, too. So, is that her? Or, did David really kill her?

This is one of those true crime conspiracy theories that really is hard to make sense of, no matter how you look at it.