Jane Lavender

Bank worker Sooraj Kumar was convicted in India of murdering his wife, Uthra, by sedating her and forcing a deliberately starved cobra to bite her while she slept. The death followed an earlier suspicious snake attack, prompting Uthra’s family to contact police. Investigators uncovered a motive involving her dowry and life-insurance payout, arrested several relatives over alleged evidence destruction and conspiracy, and recovered some of her jewellery. Kumar was convicted in 2021 and received two life sentences.

Gerrit Jan van Dorsten kept six of his children isolated in a hidden dungeon and other confined spaces at a Netherlands property from 2007 until 2019, claiming he was protecting them from an imminent apocalypse and evil spirits. The children endured beatings, food deprivation, confinement in cells, a kennel and a caravan, and grew up without schooling or official registration. One son, Jan Zon van Dorsten, escaped and alerted police at a village bar, prompting a rescue operation. Van Dorsten was charged with unlawful deprivation of liberty and alleged sexual abuse but was deemed too ill to stand trial after suffering a stroke. An Austrian handyman identified as Joseph B. was accused of helping isolate the family but was acquitted of the charges reported.

Jason Thornburg was convicted of murdering David Lueras, Maricruz Mathis and Lauren Phillips in Fort Worth, Texas, during September 2021. Prosecutors said he dismembered the victims, consumed parts of their bodies and burned the remains to conceal the killings. Thornburg claimed God had ordered the murders as human sacrifices, while his defence argued insanity; prosecutors cited his efforts to dispose of evidence and evade arrest as proof he was legally sane. A jury found him guilty on all three capital-murder counts in November 2024 and sentenced him to death.

Lena Zavaroni became a national star at nine after winning Opportunity Knocks, toured internationally and met celebrities including Frank Sinatra and Liza Minnelli. Her father later discovered that she was suffering from anorexia nervosa, leading the family to move south to support her as repeated medical and psychiatric interventions failed. After stopping her performing career, Lena underwent brain surgery in 1999 in the hope of recovering from the illness and returning to singing, but contracted pneumonia after the operation and died aged 35.

Seventeen-year-old Carlos Sousa Jr. was killed at San Francisco Zoo on Christmas Day 2007 after Siberian tiger Tatiana escaped her enclosure and attacked him and brothers Kulbir and Paul Dhaliwal. Sousa distracted the tiger while trying to protect his friends, but suffered fatal injuries. Police shot and killed Tatiana after finding her continuing to attack one of the brothers. An investigation found concrete chips in the tiger's paws, suggesting she pushed against the moat wall to escape, while the zoo defended the enclosure's compliance with some standards. The enclosure was later reinforced with taller walls, glass fencing and electrified wire. Lawsuits brought by the surviving brothers and Sousa's parents were settled.

Jun Lin, a Chinese computer engineering student living in Montreal, was murdered and dismembered by Luka Rocco Magnotta in May 2012. Magnotta distributed several of Lin's body parts to Canadian political parties and schools, while other remains were found near his apartment and at a lake. After fleeing to Europe, he was arrested in Berlin and later convicted in Canada of first-degree murder and related offenses, receiving a life sentence with no parole eligibility for at least 25 years. Lin's father said the family was satisfied that the Canadian trial had delivered justice.

Kindergarten teacher Cassandra Cline, 45, was fatally attacked by an eight-foot alligator while walking her dog near a lagoon at the Sea Pines resort on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, in 2018. She reportedly tried to pull her dog away during a struggle but was dragged underwater and later died despite firefighters finding her alive. Her mother described her as a generous, devoted teacher, while local residents and Sea Pines Living officials expressed shock and concern. Authorities tracked and killed the alligator; Cline's dog survived unharmed.

Gail Mattson, a 79-year-old Minnesota woman, was killed when an aggressive bull elephant charged and overturned her safari truck in Zambia on March 30, 2024. Four other passengers suffered minor injuries and another was hospitalized in South Africa. The safari company’s CEO, Keith Vincent, said dense terrain and vegetation prevented the guide from moving the vehicle out of danger quickly enough. Mattson had considered the safari her final major overseas trip and was remembered by her family as an adventurous woman who raised two children alone and had travelled extensively.

Cindy Waldron was fatally attacked by a large crocodile while wading with her childhood friend Leeann Mitchell at Thornton Beach near Cairns in Queensland in 2016. Mitchell tried to hold on to Waldron but lost her grip and was later treated for shock and injuries. A crocodile caught days afterward was killed, and human remains believed to be Waldron’s were found in its stomach. Officials said the attack occurred in an area with warning signs and was avoidable, while Waldron’s family visited the beach to mourn her.

Scientist Deasy Tuwo was killed in January 2019 after reportedly falling into the enclosure of a 17-foot crocodile named Merry at a pearl farm on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island. Colleagues discovered the animal holding her body and, with rescue workers, eventually recovered it. Officials believed the crocodile may have consumed parts of her body. The crocodile was reportedly kept illegally, had previously attacked another crocodile, and was taken for medical tests, but its owner and eventual fate were not known.

Hylda Baker rose from performing in childhood to become one of Britain's best-known comedians, starring in television programmes including The Good Old Days, Our House and Nearest and Dearest, as well as films and stage productions. Her career declined after she developed difficulties remembering lines, later attributed to Alzheimer's disease, and her final television role came in 1978. After being diagnosed in 1981, she moved from Brinsworth House to a psychiatric hospital in Surrey, where she died of bronchial pneumonia in 1986, reportedly penniless and largely forgotten.

Peter Adamson, best known for playing Len Fairclough in 1,730 episodes of Coronation Street from 1961 to 1983, experienced alcoholism, workplace disputes and career-ending allegations of indecent assault against two girls, charges for which he was acquitted. After selling controversial stories about cast members and later giving an interview about the allegations, he was dismissed by ITV and written out of the soap. He moved to Canada, returned to the UK, was declared bankrupt in 1991 and eventually relied on benefits in Bury. Although he secured occasional later acting work, he died in 2002 at age 72 as a recluse with little money, leaving two sons.