889 articles
Washington and Colorado serial rape cases
The Washington and Colorado serial rape cases, also known as the Marc O'Leary case, were rapes committed by Marc O'Leary in 2008 and from 2009 to 2011.
Watts family murders
Watts family murders: 2018 Frederick, Colorado killings by Chris Watts of pregnant wife Shanann and daughters Bella and Celeste; guilty pleas, life without parole, Netflix's American Murder.
Weev
Weev, Andrew Auernheimer (born 1985), American hacker and troll behind the 2010 AT&T iPad email breach; CFAA conviction vacated in 2014; later Daily Stormer webmaster.
Westies
The Westies were an Irish-American organized crime gang, also called Coonan's Crew, based in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, active from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s under James Coonan, allied with the Gambino family and dismantled by 1988 federal RICO convictions.
Westroads Mall shooting
Westroads Mall shooting: December 5, 2007 mass shooting at the Von Maur store in Omaha, Nebraska; 19-year-old Robert Hawkins killed eight, wounded five with a stolen AK-47, then died by suicide.
Whipping Tom
Whipping Tom, the nickname of an unidentified predator who attacked lone women in London alleys in 1681, recorded in the pamphlet Whipping Tom Brought to Light; a copycat, Thomas Wallis, struck in 1712.
White van speaker scam
White van speaker scam: parking-lot fraud selling cheap speakers and electronics at inflated prices using fake MSRPs, surplus-stock stories, and cash demands; documented in the US, Australia, and New Zealand, now also online and with projectors.
Wichita Massacre
Wichita Massacre (Carr brothers case), December 2000 crime spree in Wichita, Kansas, in which Reginald and Jonathan Carr robbed, raped, and executed five people on a soccer field, killing four; death sentences upheld after Kansas v. Carr (2016).
Willie Sutton
Willie Sutton (William Francis Sutton, Jr., 1901-1980), 'The Actor' or 'Slick Willie,' American bank robber famed for disguises, six prison escapes, FBI Ten Most Wanted capture in 1952, and the disputed 'where the money is' quote.
Winter Hill Gang
Winter Hill Gang: Irish-American organized crime group from Somerville, Massachusetts, also called the Irish Mob, led successively by Buddy McLean, Howie Winter, and Whitey Bulger; fought the McLaughlin Gang in the 1960s and collapsed after Bulger's 1994 flight and 2011 arrest.
Wonderland murders
The Wonderland murders were the unsolved 1981 bludgeoning deaths of four people in a Laurel Canyon house in Los Angeles, tied to the Wonderland Gang drug dealers.
World's End Murders
World's End Murders: 1977 killings of Helen Scott and Christine Eadie, 17, after leaving the World's End pub, Edinburgh. Killer Angus Sinclair convicted at 2014 retrial under the Double Jeopardy (Scotland) Act 2011 after a 2007 acquittal, jailed 37 years.
Yakuza
Yakuza (boryokudan, gokudō): Japan's organized crime syndicates, active since the 17th century, structured on oyabun-kobun bonds, led by the Yamaguchi-gumi, Sumiyoshi-kai, and Inagawa-kai, legally never banned but restricted since the 1992 Botaiho.
Yamaguchi-gumi (山口組)
Yamaguchi-gumi (山口組), Japan's largest yakuza syndicate, founded 1915 in Kobe by Yamaguchi Harukichi as a dock labor-broking group; designated bōryokudan since 1992, split in 2015 forming the Kobe Yamaguchi-gumi, with about 3,100 members at end-2025.
Yaser Abdel Said
Yaser Abdel Said (ياسر عبد السيد), Egyptian-born American taxi driver convicted of capital murder for the 2008 shooting deaths of his daughters Amina and Sarah in Irving, Texas; FBI Ten Most Wanted fugitive #504, captured 2020, sentenced to life without parole.
Yolanda Saldívar
Yolanda Saldívar (born 1960, San Antonio) is the former nurse, Selena fan club president, and boutique manager who murdered the Tejano singer on March 31, 1995; convicted of first-degree murder in Houston in 1995, serving life in Gatesville, Texas, parole denied March 2025, next review 2030.
Zebra murders
The Zebra murders were racially motivated random killings of white victims in San Francisco, October 1973 to April 1974, by a group called the Death Angels; four men, Cooks, Green, Moore, and Simon, were convicted and sentenced to life.
Zina
Zina (زنا, zinā) is the Islamic-law category of unlawful sexual intercourse, covering fornication and adultery, proved by confession or four male witnesses and punished by lashes or stoning; modern codes in Iran, Mauritania, Pakistan, and Afghanistan enforce it, often against rape survivors.
Zoosadism
Zoosadism: sexual pleasure derived from torturing animals; distinct from zoophilia and bestiality. Studied in psychology, criminology, and forensic science; publicized by the 2018 Furry Zoosadist Leaks.