My Innocence Is RUINED After Learning These Disturbing Truths
Crystal Ro
Mon, December 22, 2025 at 1:47 AM UTC
5 min read
Hi, friends! I'm Crystal, and I write the That Got Dark newsletter, BuzzFeed's weekly roundup of all things creepy, macabre, and horrible AF. And if you looooove this kind of content, you should subscribe!!!!!
Here's what the newsletter is covering this week:
Warning: Graphic content ahead, including stories of murder.
1. Most of you are probably very familiar with the JonBenét Ramsey case, but what you may have forgotten (or never even known) is that it unfolded around Christmas, and that she may have been killed on Christmas night, in a house still glowing with lights and wrapped presents.
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On Dec. 26, 1996, 6-year-old JonBenét was found dead in the basement of her family’s Boulder, Colorado home. She had suffered a blow to the head and died by strangulation, and a ransom note found inside the house quickly turned suspicion inward.
ZUMA Press, Inc. / Alamy
Over the years, attention has focused on her parents, her brother, and the possibility of an intruder, while the Ramsey family endured intense public scrutiny, legal battles, and decades of speculation. Despite multiple investigations and renewed DNA testing, no one has ever been charged with her murder.
2. On Christmas Eve 2008, in the middle of the holidays, when houses are full, doors are open, and families gather to celebrate, one of the darkest Christmas crimes in modern US history unfolded in Covina, California.
That night, a man named Bruce Pardo arrived at his former in-laws’ home wearing a Santa Claus suit and opened fire on the people inside, killing nine, including his ex-wife. He also used a homemade flamethrower to set the house on fire, during which his costume ignited and badly burned him.
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Pardo fled the scene and was later found dead at his brother’s home from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Investigators said the attack was linked to a recent divorce and severe financial problems.
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3. The eerie and tragic story of the Sodder Children, who disappeared on Christmas Eve.
On Dec. 24, 1945, a fire destroyed the Sodder family’s home in Fayetteville, West Virginia. Of the 10 Sodder children, five made it out…and five vanished. Authorities said the missing children, who ranged in age from 5 to 14, had died in the fire — but no remains were ever found, and the blaze wasn’t hot enough to completely cremate bodies.
The parents, George and Jennie Sodder, never accepted that explanation and spent decades chasing leads, reported sightings, and publicly asking for information. Both died without ever learning what happened to their children.
4. The weird Wikipedia page about a creepy thing called the Yule cat.
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In Icelandic folklore, Christmas comes with a threat: If you don’t receive new clothes before the holiday, the Yule Cat will eat you. Known as the Jólakötturinn, this enormous supernatural cat is said to roam the countryside during Christmastime, hunting people, especially children, who didn’t get new clothing as gifts.
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It’s a story rooted in old labor traditions, used to shame or scare people into working harder, which makes it less festive folklore and more a reminder that some holiday traditions were built on fear, punishment, and a deeply messed-up idea of motivation.
5. Famous Death Anniversary this week: George Michael on Dec. 25, 2016, from heart disease.
The British pop star was 53 years old when he was found dead at his home in Goring-on-Thames, England, on Christmas Day. An inquest later ruled that he died of natural causes, specifically dilated cardiomyopathy with myocarditis.
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The timing of his death carried an unavoidable irony: for decades, Michael had been closely associated with the holiday season because of “Last Christmas,” the iconic Christmas song he recorded with his former group Wham!. His death added a darker note to the song’s legacy and to the holiday season.
6. Finally, the story of killer Charles Starkweather.
Normally, I highlight the story and last meal of a serial killer, but this week’s entry comes with a technical exception: Starkweather is classified as a spree killer rather than a serial killer. I'm including him because his crimes unfolded during the holiday season.
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In late 1957 and early 1958, Starkweather — with his teenage girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate, by his side — murdered 11 people across Nebraska and Wyoming, including Fugate’s family, just days before Christmas.
The spree ended when Starkweather was pulled over by a Wyoming state trooper after a string of sightings; he was arrested without a fight, while Fugate was taken into custody separately. Starkweather was convicted and executed by electric chair in Nebraska in 1959 at age 20, while Fugate later served time in prison before being paroled. The case shocked the country and went on to inspire films like Badlands (1973).
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His last meal: Declined the traditional steak dinner, requesting cold cuts instead.
SEE MORE SERIAL KILLERS' LAST MEALS HERE
Do you have a weird, creepy, or shocking story you want to share? Perhaps there’s a strange Wikipedia page you want to talk about? Tell me all about it at thatgotdark@buzzfeed.com, and who knows, maybe it’ll be featured in a future edition of That Got Dark!
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