Every defense attorney knows their job isn’t to decide whether their client is a good person. It’s to make sure they get a fair trial, no matter what they’ve been accused of. But sometimes, staying impartial can be incredibly difficult.
One Redditor asked lawyers to share the moments they realized their client was a monster, and the stories that followed were deeply disturbing. We’ve rounded up some of the most chilling responses below. Scroll down to read them, just be warned that they contain graphic descriptions of serious crimes.
#1
Court reporter here:
Couple weeks ago a guy got sentenced to 90 years for killing his four year old. He was an abusive father, beat the kid often. Finally he beat him so badly he realize he was going to get caught. So he boiled water and dumped it all over the kid to try and hide the bruises. Then just left the kid. Two days later the kid is walking down the hallway and his body just quits. Loses control of his bowels. Falls over and dies. The father than left him there for four hours before calling 911.
When police got there he said he was clumsy and the burns were from the shower. They found he had 59 blunt force injuries, 16 to the head. The whole time the prosecutor was telling this to the judge during sentencing the guy just sat there shaking his head like was denying it.
I asked the public defender after, "how do you try to get someone like this off?" Basically he told me he tried to get him to have a lesser charge, not murder. And that he believes everyone has a right to a good defense. And he believes to guy has mental problems. But then he admitted to me it was the hardest case he has done because he has a 3-year-old daughter.
That was a hard day at work. I can't imagine what that poor little boy went through before dying. I would have hated to had to cover the trial.
I only hope the prison population hears what he did and give him some good old prison justice.
Couple weeks ago a guy got sentenced to 90 years for killing his four year old. He was an abusive father, beat the kid often. Finally he beat him so badly he realize he was going to get caught. So he boiled water and dumped it all over the kid to try and hide the bruises. Then just left the kid. Two days later the kid is walking down the hallway and his body just quits. Loses control of his bowels. Falls over and dies. The father than left him there for four hours before calling 911.
When police got there he said he was clumsy and the burns were from the shower. They found he had 59 blunt force injuries, 16 to the head. The whole time the prosecutor was telling this to the judge during sentencing the guy just sat there shaking his head like was denying it.
I asked the public defender after, "how do you try to get someone like this off?" Basically he told me he tried to get him to have a lesser charge, not murder. And that he believes everyone has a right to a good defense. And he believes to guy has mental problems. But then he admitted to me it was the hardest case he has done because he has a 3-year-old daughter.
That was a hard day at work. I can't imagine what that poor little boy went through before dying. I would have hated to had to cover the trial.
I only hope the prison population hears what he did and give him some good old prison justice.
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41points
#2
In my hometown a guy drove to the tallest bridge in the middle of the night and threw his 4 kids off of it.
He confessed saying it was all out of revenge to his wife.
He’s on d**h row now.
He confessed saying it was all out of revenge to his wife.
He’s on d**h row now.
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38points
#3
The first and last family law case was assigned to me as a first year associate. My client broke his wife’s jaw, and said if they were home in Russia he would have k****d her because he could pay his way out of prison there.
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34points
#4
**Don't read this unless you have a strong stomach.**
Attorney's wife here. I used to help him file away evidence and reports.
Came across a file with video. Curiosity got the better of me, especially when husband told me NOT to watch it.
File gives this story: Woman was at boyfriend's trailer out in the middle of nowhere, got pissed off at boyfriend, so smacked him in the head with a metal bat and went on her merry way home.
Boyfriend is apparently not a pleasant person and nobody really misses him or looks for him. He is fired from work in absentia.
On day 7 boyfriend's neighbor finally stops by, hears hoarse screaming and calls police.
That's where the video came from. Day 7. One of the cops was wearing a camera on his uniform. It shows him and his partner going through the house, finding dog [feces] all over the floor. Boyfriend's two Rotweillers, who were also in the house, went without food for about 6 days before they started eating bits and pieces of him. The camera shows the moment the cop found the body on its side, rolled it over... AND HE'S BLINKING. Eyes open. With most of his face gone.
The woman didn't even bother to let the dogs out before she left.
I do not help file cases anymore.
Attorney's wife here. I used to help him file away evidence and reports.
Came across a file with video. Curiosity got the better of me, especially when husband told me NOT to watch it.
File gives this story: Woman was at boyfriend's trailer out in the middle of nowhere, got pissed off at boyfriend, so smacked him in the head with a metal bat and went on her merry way home.
Boyfriend is apparently not a pleasant person and nobody really misses him or looks for him. He is fired from work in absentia.
On day 7 boyfriend's neighbor finally stops by, hears hoarse screaming and calls police.
That's where the video came from. Day 7. One of the cops was wearing a camera on his uniform. It shows him and his partner going through the house, finding dog [feces] all over the floor. Boyfriend's two Rotweillers, who were also in the house, went without food for about 6 days before they started eating bits and pieces of him. The camera shows the moment the cop found the body on its side, rolled it over... AND HE'S BLINKING. Eyes open. With most of his face gone.
The woman didn't even bother to let the dogs out before she left.
I do not help file cases anymore.
29points
#5
I'm on the other side, but I've got a defendant who went to prison for starving three adopted children to the point that they needed weeks of hospitalization, then got out of prison and married a guy with children so that she could start starving them, too. Listening to her interview where she attempts to justify what she did to both sets of kids disturbed me more than any of the murder cases I've worked on.
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28points
#6
LEO- my worst is those who target the most vulnerable. There’s a particular thought process that goes into that. It’s dark and predatory on another level.
A well known burglar would sneak into houses at night, tie up, and subsequently beat old people. He didn’t even need to. They were no threat and most never woke up. But he’d wake them up and then tie them up.
Or another guy we got recently who only [abused] children with disabilities. He had access to loads of kids. But he only targeted kids with disabilities.
The worst though was the guy who [abused] his 12 week old. I cried after that shift it was that tough, dealing with both him and the baby was super tough. He was a real monster, really horrible. You could tell he got off on the whole thing and smiled the whole time. He also loved that it clearly had annoyed us and made us mad. Some people are barely human.
A well known burglar would sneak into houses at night, tie up, and subsequently beat old people. He didn’t even need to. They were no threat and most never woke up. But he’d wake them up and then tie them up.
Or another guy we got recently who only [abused] children with disabilities. He had access to loads of kids. But he only targeted kids with disabilities.
The worst though was the guy who [abused] his 12 week old. I cried after that shift it was that tough, dealing with both him and the baby was super tough. He was a real monster, really horrible. You could tell he got off on the whole thing and smiled the whole time. He also loved that it clearly had annoyed us and made us mad. Some people are barely human.
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27points
#7
My mom is a lawyer. This is the story about how she quit being a public defender.
When you are a public defender you don't get to choose your cases. She got assigned a young man who, with the help of his gifriend, had gotten a kitten from a "free to a good home" ad in the paper. They then brought it home and gave it to their dog as a chew toy. I think they also filmed it.
So yeah.
She said she needed a shower after every meeting with him. Canceled her PD contract after the case concluded.
When you are a public defender you don't get to choose your cases. She got assigned a young man who, with the help of his gifriend, had gotten a kitten from a "free to a good home" ad in the paper. They then brought it home and gave it to their dog as a chew toy. I think they also filmed it.
So yeah.
She said she needed a shower after every meeting with him. Canceled her PD contract after the case concluded.
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25points
#8
Not me but my uncle. His client was a child [abuser] and when my uncle asked him why he did it, the guy said "man, she was asking for it". The victim was an 8 year old girl.
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24points
#9
I had a client who was accused of domestic violence. Essentially he threw his girlfriend out of a second story window. Now he’s got a terrible history but so do a lot of my clients and his attitude is a little entitled (also typical). But he also knows the deal and wants a plea deal. So I’m not really prepared when he absolutely refuses the no jail offer from the state (keep in mind there were like 5 witnesses). Why? Because they wanted him to pay for her medical bills. Ok, a [jerk] but whatever not the worst.
What did it was his counteroffer.
“I ain’t paying [her] bills. Tell them I’ll pay for the window.”
Prosecutor was not happy.
What did it was his counteroffer.
“I ain’t paying [her] bills. Tell them I’ll pay for the window.”
Prosecutor was not happy.
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22points
#10
EDIT: Very disturbing content warning.
Even though I’ve made a throwaway I’m going to be a bit vague because I still take my ethical duties to former clients seriously and can’t breach privilege or the NDA I signed. This is a story from a long time ago, during the summer after my first year of law school when I was briefly working at a well-known criminal defense firm.
The client whose case I was working was one of several defendants charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Three individuals had committed the murders, and several others had either helped plan it, abducted the victims, came along to watch, or ***filmed*** it.
In order to see whether our client was one of the individuals present at the scene, I had to watch multiple videos of the murders. I watched multiple people brutally killedd in about the worst possible way you can imagine - they were chopped into pieces while they were alive and had their skulls stomped in. It wasn’t some grainy security footage. It was HD video taken by bystanders just a few feet away. The videos showed someone’s brain squirting out of their head and another person screaming as their hands and arms were hacked off. I also had to listen to the audio to see if our client’s voice could be heard. The screams were bad. The laughter was worse. It has stuck with me for years and years, and I don’t see it going away any time soon.
Thankfully my internship at that firm ended a few weeks later at the end of the summer. I never looked up the sentence from the case, and have no desire to. In our case there was no presumption of innocence - the individuals involved had all taken pleas in hope that the prosecutors wouldn’t seek the death penalty. The only thing that would change was whether our client would get the death penalty (if he was present/filming) or life in prison (if we showed that he played a more minimal role). Working in criminal defense meant setting my judgement for people aside so that they could be afforded the rights guaranteed to them by the constitution. I still did my job to the best of my ability, but I found myself lying awake at night for several weeks in a row, praying to every god that I knew that each of those [monsters] involved would fry in the electric chair, and that someone would laugh at their screams too.
After that internship, I never returned to criminal law. I now practice civil law where I help people recover for wrongs done to them.
Even though I’ve made a throwaway I’m going to be a bit vague because I still take my ethical duties to former clients seriously and can’t breach privilege or the NDA I signed. This is a story from a long time ago, during the summer after my first year of law school when I was briefly working at a well-known criminal defense firm.
The client whose case I was working was one of several defendants charged with conspiracy to commit murder. Three individuals had committed the murders, and several others had either helped plan it, abducted the victims, came along to watch, or ***filmed*** it.
In order to see whether our client was one of the individuals present at the scene, I had to watch multiple videos of the murders. I watched multiple people brutally killedd in about the worst possible way you can imagine - they were chopped into pieces while they were alive and had their skulls stomped in. It wasn’t some grainy security footage. It was HD video taken by bystanders just a few feet away. The videos showed someone’s brain squirting out of their head and another person screaming as their hands and arms were hacked off. I also had to listen to the audio to see if our client’s voice could be heard. The screams were bad. The laughter was worse. It has stuck with me for years and years, and I don’t see it going away any time soon.
Thankfully my internship at that firm ended a few weeks later at the end of the summer. I never looked up the sentence from the case, and have no desire to. In our case there was no presumption of innocence - the individuals involved had all taken pleas in hope that the prosecutors wouldn’t seek the death penalty. The only thing that would change was whether our client would get the death penalty (if he was present/filming) or life in prison (if we showed that he played a more minimal role). Working in criminal defense meant setting my judgement for people aside so that they could be afforded the rights guaranteed to them by the constitution. I still did my job to the best of my ability, but I found myself lying awake at night for several weeks in a row, praying to every god that I knew that each of those [monsters] involved would fry in the electric chair, and that someone would laugh at their screams too.
After that internship, I never returned to criminal law. I now practice civil law where I help people recover for wrongs done to them.
21points
#11
Basically he was watching his neighbor through the window in various stages of undress, got worked up. Minutes later the victim showed up at his shop to purchase some food, she was alone, he closed the door behind her and yeah, well that's it. Got 25 years for that. That girl was 7!!! 7 years old!!! You have no idea how often in our country the mentality of "Well if I'm worked up and there is a possibility of release close by, regardless of whom or what or what age or consenting or not that possibility is or might be, I'm in titled to take it" - surfaces.
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20points
#12
My brother was a Public Defender (the free lawyer issued by the court). The case that made him go private practice was one where a guy beat his infant son to death with a claw hammer because the kid wouldn't be quite. He said the guy just seemed to feel it was a proper response. He didn't want to work the case for obvious reasons plus he just had a kid if his own. I think the guy got the death penalty (shocker).
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19points
#13
I have a family member who used to work in the court system (Lawyer)Once he told me that a kid pushed their grandma down the stairs and left her there to d**. Laughing and taunting her when she screamed in pain.
To clarify when I say young I mean under 13 years of age.Yeah.....
I guess demon children really do exist.
Also not sure how this case ended since I don’t think they were tried as an adult. But hey that’s the courts for ya.
To clarify when I say young I mean under 13 years of age.Yeah.....
I guess demon children really do exist.
Also not sure how this case ended since I don’t think they were tried as an adult. But hey that’s the courts for ya.
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18points
#14
When this person (an executive) said she was firing any employee who had a serious illness or injury. While promoting fundraisers at a local church for cancer sufferers, no less (in part because employees, thinking she'd be sympathetic, would reveal their confidential health info to her).
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17points
#15
During a mediation conference my client bragged about continuing to physically discipline her pregnant teenage daughter justifying it because “her face ain’t pregnant”.
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17points
#16
I listened to a 911 call where the victim's throat was slit while on the call by our client. I will never forget her gurgling and sounding like she was dying (somehow she ultimately lived through this) saying, "He killed me, he killed me."
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16points
#17
Criminal defense lawyer. I can name a few instances where I was just absolutely disgusted with my client. Caveat, these are mostly years ago when I was taking just any old case. I most practice white collar and federal now.
1. I won a DUI case because the government messed up on something right before trial was to begin. My client gives me a hug and COMPLETELY reeks of alcohol. He has driven to court. I took his keys and called his mother.
2. Client who was accused of [abusing] a 12 year old. He was mid 40s at the time and I had to shut him down real quick when he tried to tell me how the 12 year old was coming on to him.
3. I represented a woman for a grand theft charge. Left her in my office to get some things copied before she left. After she left, I realized my sunglasses and car keys were stolen. I tracked her down in the lobby and told her I was not going to represent her anymore and I would call the police if she didn’t empty her pockets in front of me and give me my things
4. I had a client who was released after 25 years in prison for MURDER and then the SAME day he beats up his prospective new landlord. He ended up getting another 10 years. He was unrepentant and laughed about how he hit the guy so hard his eye ball popped out. I thought, ‘this guy deserves to be in prison.’ Took the case to trial anyway and (shocker) lost and he got 10 (the max).
5. Client who pretended to be a doctor so he could sell steroids. According to the Gov, he had numerous clients who were made to believe that his steroids would cure their cancer. They paid him hundreds of thousands of dollars and some of them died. I just thought that was pure evil.
1. I won a DUI case because the government messed up on something right before trial was to begin. My client gives me a hug and COMPLETELY reeks of alcohol. He has driven to court. I took his keys and called his mother.
2. Client who was accused of [abusing] a 12 year old. He was mid 40s at the time and I had to shut him down real quick when he tried to tell me how the 12 year old was coming on to him.
3. I represented a woman for a grand theft charge. Left her in my office to get some things copied before she left. After she left, I realized my sunglasses and car keys were stolen. I tracked her down in the lobby and told her I was not going to represent her anymore and I would call the police if she didn’t empty her pockets in front of me and give me my things
4. I had a client who was released after 25 years in prison for MURDER and then the SAME day he beats up his prospective new landlord. He ended up getting another 10 years. He was unrepentant and laughed about how he hit the guy so hard his eye ball popped out. I thought, ‘this guy deserves to be in prison.’ Took the case to trial anyway and (shocker) lost and he got 10 (the max).
5. Client who pretended to be a doctor so he could sell steroids. According to the Gov, he had numerous clients who were made to believe that his steroids would cure their cancer. They paid him hundreds of thousands of dollars and some of them died. I just thought that was pure evil.
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16points
#18
I've done a lot of prison legal aid, and I could tell stories about child [abusers] that would turn you green, but instead I'll turn you green a different way.
I had a kid (17) who was mildly cognitively disabled, due to brain trauma he sustained at the hands of his birth parents, who ended up with a really wonderful foster care family and thrived.
He was a popular kid in school, good athlete, got a girlfriend and invited her to meet up and be teenagers one night in a corn silo - which I guess is a thing that country kids do? I don't know, this all comes from the pre-sentence investigation report I read before taking his case, but this girl met him at the silo and they were hanging out inside.
By his account, they were having a nice time and he was really enjoying himself, then for no particular reason, he picked up a 2x4 and bashed her skull in. He then used a combination of very crude farm implements (shovels, hoes) to chop her body up and bury it in the corn and went home like nothing had happened.
Hey, you asked.
I had a kid (17) who was mildly cognitively disabled, due to brain trauma he sustained at the hands of his birth parents, who ended up with a really wonderful foster care family and thrived.
He was a popular kid in school, good athlete, got a girlfriend and invited her to meet up and be teenagers one night in a corn silo - which I guess is a thing that country kids do? I don't know, this all comes from the pre-sentence investigation report I read before taking his case, but this girl met him at the silo and they were hanging out inside.
By his account, they were having a nice time and he was really enjoying himself, then for no particular reason, he picked up a 2x4 and bashed her skull in. He then used a combination of very crude farm implements (shovels, hoes) to chop her body up and bury it in the corn and went home like nothing had happened.
Hey, you asked.
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16points
#19
She tried to sell her baby. I found out during a hearing, in front of the judge.
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16points
#20
Oh, I can share a good story. I had a teacher in high school who was a former lawyer. We always asked him why gave up his practice to start teaching. He finally caved and explained that his last case was the defense of three people. Apparently there had been a fourth. It was two couples, who in the act of a drunken decided to kill, partially eat, and dismember one of the women. I guess it seemed like a good idea at the time. As a lawyer, he said it was pretty open and shut, but he had to get his clients the best result possible, and he was exposed to all the horrid details, the pictures, and their reasoning. My teacher had such a far off look when he explained it that we could see it really got to him.
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15points