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Some of the most chilling true crime cases involve a family member turning on their own. From a quiet accountant with a dark secret to a man committing a massacre before Christmas, these stories reveal unsettling motives and tragedy behind familicide. Join us as we explore haunting accounts including Metallica Rose Harrison, Christopher Watts, Ronald Gene Simmons, and more, exposing the shocking truths of murder within families.
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00:00Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're examining some of the most disturbing cases of familicide ever recorded.
00:07What was, for many, a cozy and comfortable Easter Sunday in 1975, is now known as the day James Jim
00:15Rupert wiped out his entire family.
00:19Metallica Rose Harrison
00:20Metallica Rose Harrison had never wanted to be a mom and resented her son for stealing her husband's attention, according
00:27to chilling allegations in a search warrant.
00:30The 27-year-old mom was, quote, dominant, controlling, and felt resentful towards the child.
00:36A family getaway at Pennsylvania's Great Wolf Lodge took a horrifying turn on October 12, 2026.
00:42Police responded to a 911 call from 27-year-old Metallica Rose Harrison, who reportedly said she tried to harm
00:48herself.
00:48According to investigators, she then allegedly admitted to killing her husband, Charles, and their son, Tristan.
00:54Police found her at the resort with cuts to her wrist and to the neck.
00:57That's when police found the bodies in the hotel room.
01:00The Monroe County District Attorney says at that press conference, this is just the start of a lengthy investigation.
01:06Harrison was taken into custody and charged with two counts of criminal homicide.
01:10Authorities recovered multiple knives from the resort room and the family's home in Tawanda, Pennsylvania.
01:15According to her family, Harrison never showed any signs of mental illness and appeared completely normal on a video call
01:21just hours before the gruesome murders.
01:24Days later, relatives still have no idea what could have caused the mom to snap.
01:29The exact motive for the murders remains unclear, though relatives have claimed Harrison never wanted a child and grew jealous
01:35of the attention Tristan received from his father.
01:37Those who live nearby say they're sending prayers for a family that is dealing with loss and the heinous crimes
01:45from one of their own.
01:46God bless him. You gotta be with him. That's all I can say.
01:51Menhaz Zaman.
01:52What happened inside this Markham home was not normal.
01:55Four family members slaughtered. A sister, mother, father, and grandmother.
02:00For years, Menhaz Zaman's family believed he was studying engineering and preparing to graduate.
02:05The truth was far different.
02:07The Markham Ontario resident had dropped out of college years earlier and kept up the charade to avoid disappointing his
02:12parents.
02:13In July 2019, at 24, he killed his mother, father, grandmother, and sister in their family home, fearing his deception
02:20was about to unravel.
02:22He told me that he told his parents that their graduation was July 28th and that he couldn't have stalled
02:30it any longer.
02:32He said that I did this because I don't want my parents to feel the shame of having a son
02:36like me.
02:37He then shared images of their bodies with members of an online gaming community on Discord, exposing the horrific crime
02:44to people who knew him virtually.
02:45As soon as I saw the picture, I went to another Discord server and I told them that Menhaz sent
02:53a picture of someone dead who he claims to be his mom.
02:57Zaman pled guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and one of second-degree murder.
03:01In 2020, he received life sentences with no possibility of parole for 40 years.
03:06Personally, I don't think Menhaz's punishment is just, he shouldn't get what he wants, which is staying alive as long
03:15as possible.
03:16Xavier Daboun de Légounès
03:18In April 2011, investigators uncovered the bodies of Agnes Daboun de Légounès and her four children buried beneath the terrace
03:27of their family homes in Nantes, France.
03:29On a donc dans ces tombes, il y a le corps d'Agnès, la maman, et le corps de trois
03:35des enfants, d'Arthur, de Benoît, d'Anne, et la même les deux chiens, dans la même fosse.
03:42The family had seemingly vanished weeks earlier, while their father, Xavier, had disappeared around the same time.
03:47In the days before the killings, Agnes' employer received a resignation letter, and the children's school fees were paid in
03:53full, suggesting preparations had been made in advance.
03:56Elle explique que, bon ben voilà, je savais bien que j'ai des liens avec les Etats-Unis, les Américains
04:05m'ont recruté pour infiltrer un réseau international de drogue.
04:12Xavier remains the prime suspect, but despite an international search, he has never been found or brought to trial.
04:18With no conviction and so many unanswered questions, the case remains one of France's most haunting suspected familicides.
04:25On voit une famille heureuse, une famille, et c'est ça qui me, comment dire, qui me révolte, et qui
04:34me met en colère, c'est comment tu peux décider qu'un jour, tu vas enlever le futur à tes
04:40enfants.
04:41For more breakdowns of compelling cases and true crime stories, scan the QR code on screen to join Ms. Mojo's
04:4724-7 live stream.
04:49Christopher Korolkowitz.
04:50On July 24th, 2026, a house fire in Grand Haven Township, Michigan, brought emergency crews to a devastating scene.
04:57All eight members of the Korolkowitz family were dead.
05:01Units made inside, made entry inside to battle the fire because there was smoke showing from the residence.
05:07When they got inside, they noticed that there was several numerous people deceased inside the home.
05:12They then notified the sheriff's office and we began an investigation into that.
05:16Investigators identified them as 47-year-old Christopher, his 39-year-old wife Amanda, and their six children.
05:23Autopsies found that all eight died from gunshot wounds.
05:26Authorities ruled Amanda and the children's deaths homicides, while Christopher's death was self-inflicted.
05:32When the suspect is also deceased, there's no prosecution that takes place, but it doesn't change in the fact that
05:39we're trying to get answers for family.
05:41We're trying to get answers for the community.
05:43We're trying to get answers for our own responders.
05:46Investigators said he killed his family before setting fires in multiple parts of the home and taking his own life.
05:51The tragedy came just weeks after he lost his job at the American Heart Association and reportedly began experiencing financial
05:57difficulties.
05:58The deaths left the entire community of Grand Haven in shock.
06:02We may never know what her relationship was with her husband on a day-to-day basis.
06:08Because those who knew and loved Mandy say she was incredibly private to others, always appearing optimistic and happy.
06:15John List.
06:16In the fall of 1971, the List house stood empty.
06:21The family was away visiting a sick relative.
06:24But when a month went by, with no signs of activity, neighbors grew suspicious and decided to call the police.
06:32When relatives and neighbors stopped seeing the List family in late 1971,
06:36few could have imagined what had happened inside their Westfield, New Jersey mansion.
06:39John List, an accountant and former Sunday school teacher, shot and killed his wife Helen, his mother Alma, and their
06:46three teenage children.
06:48He disapproved of his daughter's growing interest in an acting career, a profession he considered to be immoral.
06:55In the mind of John List, there was only one place he could send his family to save their souls.
07:01List had planned everything meticulously, even rerouting mail before their murders.
07:06He also left a letter for his pastor, claiming his family had strayed from their faith and that he had
07:11killed them to secure their place in heaven.
07:13He then disappeared and started a new life under another identity.
07:16Two days after the bodies were discovered, police found List's abandoned car in a parking lot at JFK Airport in
07:23New York.
07:24The date on the parking voucher was November 10th, but there was no evidence List had taken a flight.
07:30For nearly 18 years, the case remained unsolved until the tip following an appearance on America's Most Wanted led authorities
07:36to him in Virginia in 1989.
07:38Wanda Flannery told the FBI that her former neighbor recently moved to Richmond, Virginia, and was using the name Bob
07:47Clark.
07:47The FBI closed in, and agents arrested Robert Peter Clark at the accounting office where he worked in Richmond.
07:55List was convicted of the five murders and sentenced to life in prison, where he died in 2008.
08:01Christopher Watts.
08:02We got back Monday or Tuesday, and then she flew out to Arizona Friday morning, and then she got back
08:10last night.
08:12About 2 a.m.
08:13The flight got delayed.
08:13She left about 11.
08:14She got here at 2.
08:15In August 2018, Shanann Watts and her daughters Bella and Celeste disappeared from their Colorado home.
08:22Shanann was 15 weeks pregnant with a boy whom she planned to name Nico.
08:26Her husband, Christopher Watts, initially told investigators he didn't know where they were, even appearing publicly to plead for their
08:32return.
08:33I hope that she's somewhere safe right now, and with the kids.
08:38But, I mean, because she had just taken off, I don't know.
08:41But if somebody has her and they're not safe, like, I want them back now.
08:46However, he later admitted killing Shanann and the girls, whose bodies were found at an oil site where he worked.
08:52Reports revealed that Watts had been having an affair and had grown resentful of his wife and children.
09:11In November, he pled guilty to five counts of first-degree murder, charges related to the children's deaths, unlawful termination
09:18of pregnancy, and tampering with bodies.
09:20Under this agreement, he avoided the death penalty and instead received multiple life sentences without parole.
09:26What I can tell you most affirmatively today is the spotlight that he tried to shine on Shanann, falsely, incorrectly,
09:34and frankly, a flat-out lie, has been corrected.
09:37The spotlight shines directly where it belongs, on him.
09:40Rhonda Bell Martin
09:41Over a period of 14 years in Alabama, Rhonda Bell Martin's relatives fell ill and died under suspicious circumstances.
09:48Investigators eventually focused on her after her fifth husband, Ronald Martin, who was also her former stepson,
09:55survived arsenic poisoning, but was left paraplegic.
09:59Suspicion begins to swirl around Rhonda.
10:03Obviously, they now begin to look at the wife who was already, it was controversial, this marriage, and they begin
10:10investigating Rhonda's past.
10:12Authorities accused her of poisoning her mother, two husbands, and several of her children,
10:17reportedly administering doses of rat poison over time.
10:20Martin confessed to multiple deaths, though she later denied responsibility for two of her children's deaths.
10:25Rhonda was so aware of her compulsion to kill, she actually advised prison authorities that if she were released, she
10:35probably would do it again.
10:36According to reports, she relished the sympathy cards and public attention that followed her relatives' deaths.
10:42Crucially, she was only convicted and sentenced to death for murdering her fourth husband, Claude Carol Martin,
10:47not for every death attributed to her.
10:49She was executed by electrocution in 1957 at the age of 50.
10:54I think Rhonda wanted her body donated to science so that her brain could be studied,
10:59kind of as a grand gesture on her way out.
11:03It was also another way of not taking any responsibility for the murders.
11:19The house at 112 Ocean Avenue in Amityville, New York would later become famous for ghost stories,
11:25but the real horror happened on November 13th, 1974.
11:28That night, 23-year-old Ronald DeFeo Jr. moved through the family home with a .35 Marlin rifle,
11:34shooting his father, mother, two brothers, and two sisters as they slept.
11:38All six were found face-down in their beds.
11:51DeFeo initially reported the murders himself, but claimed that a hitman had killed the family.
11:55He eventually admitted his role, saying that once he started, he just couldn't stop.
12:10A jury convicted DeFeo of six counts of second-degree murder,
12:14and he received six consecutive sentences of 25 years to life.
12:17The reported experiences of the Lutz family, who moved into the house the following year,
12:22inspired the 1979 classic, The Amityville Horror.
12:25Why didn't you open the door? Why didn't you answer me?
12:28Jackie! Why didn't you unlock the door? You were Jackie knocking?
12:33Jody wouldn't let me.
12:35Jody? Who's Jody?
12:36She's my friend, and she comes to play with me.
12:40Jesus Christ, what the hell are we standing here listening to?
12:43James Rupert
12:44Easter Sunday is meant to be a day spent celebrating with family.
12:48On March 30th, 1975, that day turned inexplicably sour in Hamilton, Ohio.
12:54Jim Rupert had been out drinking.
12:56Around four o'clock in the afternoon, he came down, did a little socializing,
13:02and, um, went upstairs.
13:05And he walked down the stairs, and he had four loaded weapons.
13:09James Rupert walked downstairs at his mother's home and opened fire with multiple firearms,
13:14killing his mother, Charity, his brother, Leonard, sister-in-law, Alma, and their eight children.
13:19In total, he claimed 11 victims that day.
13:22As his relatives took their last breaths around him, Rupert sat on the couch.
13:26He waited there for three to four hours before he called police to tell them someone's been shot.
13:33Rupert had a long harbored intense resentment toward his brother,
13:36as he was more financially successful than him.
13:38At his first trial, he was convicted on all counts.
13:41But after that was declared a mistrial, Rupert was later convicted of two murders
13:45and found not guilty by reason of insanity in the remaining nine deaths.
13:48His brother was better looking.
13:50He was more successful.
13:52He had the wife that Rupert wanted to date.
13:56Um, he had all these children.
13:59He had a good job as an engineer, and Rupert was an unemployed draftsman.
14:04He received two consecutive life sentences and died in prison in 2022.
14:09Ronald Gene Simmons
14:11What happened in Pope County has stunned Arkansas and has rocked the nation.
14:16A mass murder of almost unbelievable proportions.
14:1816 dead, including 14 who may be members of the same family.
14:23No case on this list reaches the sheer staggering scale of what Ronald Gene Simmons carried out
14:28in rural Arkansas in December 1987.
14:31In the days surrounding Christmas, Simmons systematically murdered 14 members of his own family.
14:37His wife, Rebecca, their adult children, daughters-in-law, sons-in-law, and grandchildren
14:42at the family's property in Dover.
14:44Police believe those in the grave were killed first, possibly Wednesday or Thursday.
14:48Then the five in the house arrived from out of town.
14:51Police say they were probably killed immediately.
14:54After burying some of the bodies in a large pit and leaving the others around the property,
14:58Simmons drove to the nearby town of Russellville and shot two additional people dead in a workplace rampage.
15:03After his arrest, Simmons remained completely silent and offered no explanation for his actions.
15:09A mad dog, a recluse, a weirdo, and a nice guy.
15:13All descriptions of this man.
15:15So far, Gene Simmons has said nothing to police.
15:19Showed no emotion, except at the mention of family.
15:22He was later convicted of the crimes, sentenced to death, and, after refusing all his appeals,
15:27executed by lethal injection.
15:28It remains the deadliest case of familicide in U.S. history.
15:33And the community is quivering, too.
15:35Those who knew the family feel fear when they think of 16 murders in their small community
15:40and no motive.
15:42Which case on this list had you never heard of before?
15:45Let us know below.
15:46Let us know below.
15:47Let us know.
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