As we wrap up the year and prepare for the next, lets look back on some of the most bizarre and disturbing crimes and hope that we can't make a list like this next year.
Starting in chronological order...
In August, Utah mother Abreail Winkler scammed donors of almost $4,000 after convincing them that her 4-year-old daughter had Leukemia. She even convinced her daughter she was sick with the often-fatal illness and told her she needed to raise money for her "treatment."
Eventually, authorities caught on to her awful scam and charged her with third-degree felony communications fraud.
Another August crime angered people across the nation when Delbert Belton, a World War II veteran, was beaten to death by two teenagers outside the Eagles Lodge in Spokane, Washington.
Police arrested two 16-year-old suspects shortly after the incident in addition to three older juvenile boys for helping hide them during a police investigation. Belton, known as "Shorty," was eventually laid to rest with military honors in a touching ceremony.
The last of the infamous August crimes is topped off by Montana District Judge G. Todd Baugh, who enraged residents across Montana and the country when he sentenced a convicted rapist, whose victim took her own life, to 30 days in prison and later defended his sentencing by claiming the girl was "older than her chronological age."
Loves ones of the victim and activists immediately began protesting Baugh's position and called for him to be resign, right after the victim's mother screamed at him as she left the courtroom during the sentencing.
Moving into November, the McStay family mystery re-entered the national spotlight when a passing motorcyclist discovered the shallow grave that all four members of the family had been buried in.
Three years ago, Joseph, Summer, Gianni, and Joseph Matteo McStay disappeared from their California home without any sign of a struggle, baffling authorities and leading to some controversial theories. After an investigation into the newly found graves, police determined all four deaths as homicides and emphasized their dedication to finding the culprits responsible.
Last but certainly not least infamous, we have the Pennsylvania teenager accused of raping and assaulting an 85-year-old retired nun in broad daylight.
18-year-old Andrew Clarence Bullock was arrested in December after admitting to the shocking crime that left the nun in the hospital with a broken jaw. Despite how upset some of the nearby residents and authorities were after learning of Bullock's attack, the sisters at St. Titus Roman Catholic Church said "As we offer continued prayers of healing for our Sister, we also pray for the young man who has been arrested in the assault."
