True Crime Trivia — Answers!

Gypsy Rose Blanchard, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder of her mother Dee Dee, was a victim of what psychological disorder?

A) Conduct Disorder

B) Histrionic Personality Disorder

C) Ganser Syndrome

D) Factitious Disorder Imposed on Another (FDIA)

ANSWER: Gypsy Rose Blanchard is currently serving a ten-year sentence for aiding and orchestrating the 2015 murder of her mother, Dee Dee Blanchard. Dee Dee made claims about Gypsy’s health that resulted in a series of dire diagnoses and medical interventions throughout her whole life — confining Gypsy to a wheelchair and feeding her through a feeding tube despite her perfect health.

Experts believe Dee Dee’s behavior stemmed from the mental disorder Factitious Disorder Imposed on Another (FDIA) [formerly Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy]; because Dee Dee wanted to be a caretaker, she feigned and induced illness in her daughter. The murder was committed with help from Gypsy’s now-former boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, whom she had met online. The entire saga is depicted on Hulu’s original series The Act.

Her release date is set for December 31st, 2023. 

If you guessed D, you’re correct!

One of these offenders was arrested while inside a phone booth. When the police told him to surrender, he was so tall that he put his hands on top of the booth. 

Who was this killer giant?

A) Robert Hansen (“Butcher Baker”)

B) Ed Kemper (“Co-ed Killer”)

C) Ed Gein (“The Butcher of Plainfield”)

D) Richard Ramirez (“The Night Stalker”)

ANSWER: Ed Kemper, also known as the Co-ed Killer, stands at a towering height of 6 feet and 9 inches tall and weighing about 300 pounds. Among law enforcement friends, he was known as “Big Ed.” His height was also the factor that kept him from becoming a state trooper, because he was deemed too large. 

Below is a picture of Kemper with two prison guards in California.

If you guessed B, you’re correct!

Which couple is known for the abduction and murder of at least 5 children between 1963 and 1965?

A) Fred West and Rosemary West

B) David Parker Ray and Cynthia Hendy

C) Ted Bundy and Carol Bundy

D) Ian Brady and Myra Hindley

ANSWER: Ian Brady and Myra Hindley committed what’s known as “The Moors Murders.”

In 1961, 18 year-old Myra Hindley met 23 year-old Ian Brady while working at Millwards, a wholesale chemical distribution company, and the pair soon discovered their perverse inclinations to rape, torture, and kill young children. Between July 1963 and October 1965, Hindley and Brady abducted five children between the ages of 10 and 17—Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey, and Edward Evans—at least four of whom were sexually assaulted, and left the bodies in the moorlands of England near Manchester. (The body of their second youngest victim, Keith Bennett, was never found.)

Both Hindley and Brady were found guily and sentenced to life in prison — Hindley died in 2002, and Brady died in 2017.
If you guessed D, you’re correct!

True or False?

Dr. Henry C. Lee, famous criminologist and forensic scientist, says when he goes to investigate a crime scene, he doesn’t believe what the police tell him.

ANSWER: True! Dr. Lee says every time he goes to a crime scene, he goes in not wanting to be told what happened.

Dr. Lee’s full quote: “I always go in with an open mind … I don’t even believe what the police tell me. They always try to tell you a story. I let the evidence speak for itself; otherwise, you can overlook exculpatory evidence.”

If you guessed true, you’re correct!

What decade did Robert Ressler popularize the term “serial killer” while in the FBI’s Behavioral Science Unit?

A) 1960s

B) 1970s

C) 1980s

D) 1990s

ANSWER: Robert Ressler played a significant role in creation of psychological profiling of violent offenders in the 1970s, which is when he helped to coin the term “serial killer.” The word, however, is a direct translation of the German term “Serienmörder” coined in 1930 by Ernst Gennat. Ressler has since written a book about his work catching serial killers!

If you guessed answer B, you’re correct!

What year was the first woman selected for jury duty in the United States?

A) 1870

B) 1923

C) 1945

D) 1964

ANSWER: In March of 1870, Eliza Stewart Boyd became the first woman ever selected to serve on a jury in the United States in Laramie, Wyoming. 

If you guessed answer A, you’re correct!

Miranda v. Arizona (1966) was a United States Supreme Court case that established “Miranda Rights” to protect individuals’ Fifth Amendment right to refuse to answer self-incriminating questions. What was Ernesto Miranda initially arrested for?

A) Robbery

B) Kidnapping and Rape

C) Murder

D) Drug Trafficking

ANSWER: Ernesto Miranda was facing kidnapping and rape charges when he was arrested in 1963 after the brother of the 18-year-old victim spotted Ernesto’s truck. At the time, he was a person of interest, and not formally in custody when he voluntarily went with the police down to the station. Ernesto eventually confessed, but he did so without being informed of his right to remain silent or have an attorney present. Thus began the legal battle that changed arrests in America forever.

If you guessed answer B, you’re correct!

What is the “CSI Effect?”

A) The urge for an individual person to solve a crime.

B) When a cold case is reopened years later and is solved using new evidence.

C) Jurors in a criminal trial expecting perfect scientific evidence.

D) The belief that any crime scene can be perfectly profiled to find a killer.

ANSWER: The CSI Effect, inspired by forensic television shows such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, is one of the ways how forensic shows have influenced the public’s perceptions of the legal system. Jurors have started to expect undeniable forensic evidence in trials and place less weight on circumstantial evidence. Jurors are also more confident in forensic and DNA evidence, which can lead to a higher conviction rate.

Want to learn more? Check out our resource on The CSI Effect Explained.

If you guessed answer C, you’re correct!

🧠 Doctors used to study the shape of a person’s head to determine whether or not a person was likely to commit crimes. What is this study called?

A) Craniology

B) Phrenology

C) Physiognomy

D) Craniometry

ANSWER: Doctors used to study phrenology! Despite its initial popularity, phrenology started losing support from scientists in the 20th century due to methodological criticisms and failure to replicate various findings. We’re not surprised though…it’s hard to think today that lumps and bumps in your skull would determine whether or not you’d be a killer!

If you guessed answer B, you’re correct!

True or False?

Forensic investigators can always match a bullet with the gun that fired it.

ANSWER: False! If a gun has been modified after firing, or if the bullet is badly damaged, the bullet will no longer match the barrel and a link cannot be confirmed. And, with the rise in popularity of ghost guns, this type of work is getting more difficult.

Which song by The Beatles led Charles Manson to believe that a race war was coming?

A) Hey Jude

B) Let It Be

C) Helter Skelter

D) Strawberry Fields Forever

ANSWER: Manson believed Helter Skelter served as inspiration for the killing spree he orchestrated.

Paul McCartney spoke about the incident in his authorized biography Many Years from Now, saying: “I was using the symbol of a helter skelter (a playground slide) as a ride from the top to the bottom—the rise and fall of the Roman Empire. This was the demise, the going down. You could have thought of it as a rather cute title but it’s since taken on all sorts of ominous overtones because Manson picked it up as an anthem.”

If you guessed answer C, you’re correct!

Who did David Berkowitz, known as the “Son of Sam,” claim to receive orders from to kill others?

A) A police officer

B) The voices in his head

C) His father Sam

D) His neighbor’s dog

ANSWER: Contrary to what the name entails, David Berkowitz claimed he was taking orders from someone named Sam…and in his confession, he says it was from his neighbor’s dog. The strange thing is, Sam was not the name of the neighbor’s dog! The dog, a black Labrador, was actually named Harvey.

If you guessed answer D, you’re correct!

Which real-life notorious criminal is portrayed by Johnny Depp in the 2009 movie ‘Public Enemies’?

Hint: This criminal’s group was accused of robbing 24 banks and four police stations!

A) John Dillinger

B) Al Capone

C) Baby Face Nelson

D) Clyde Barrow

ANSWER: American gangster John Dillinger was the leader of the Dillinger Gang during the Great Depression. He was imprisoned several times and escaped twice. At the height of his criminality, he personally orchestrated at least 12 separate bank robberies between June of 1933 and June of 1934. He died from police gunfire while trying to escape a theater in July of 1934. 

If you guessed answer A, you’re correct!

This Alaskan serial killer — known as the “Butcher Baker” —  would kidnap women and fly them deep inside the wilderness and let them go. Unfortunately, this created an illusion of hope, but this sick killer wanted to hunt the women and take their lives.

Hint: Thanks to a survivor who escaped and left her shoes behind as evidence, this monster was arrested.

A) Israel Keyes 

B) Robert Hansen 

C) Peter Sutcliffe

D) Richard Ramirez  

ANSWER: Robert Hansen was arrested after survivor Cindy Paulson escaped his aircraft and flagged down a truck driver. She was able to describe Hansen perfectly to the police, share that he had a stutter, identify his plane, help map out other possible victims, and even prove she left her shoes behind as evidence.

If you guessed answer B, you’re correct!

Andrew Cunanan was an American spree killer who murdered five people over the course of three months in the spring of 1997. Who was Cunanan’s final victim?

A) John Lennon

B) Sharon Tate

C) Notorious B.I.G.

D) Gianni Versace

ANSWER: Andrew Cunanan’s final victim was world-renowned Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace. Versace was murdered on the steps outside of his Miami mansion on July 15, 1997. Although a motive has never been revealed, it’s believed that Cunanan developed a hatred towards wealthy gay men because he thought he was HIV positive and wanted revenge on the world.

If you guessed answer D, you’re correct!

🧠 True or false?

If a criminal defendant is found to be not guilty by reason of inanity, they are released from custody.

ANSWER: False! Not only is it incredibly hard to prove that a criminal defendant is not guilty by reason of insanity, but if they are, the person is committed to a forensic psychiatric hospital (or similar mental healthcare setting) rather than being released. They will remain hospitalized for an unspecified amount of time — sometimes more time than the original crime sentence.

In his 23-year career in the Colorado Springs Police Department, Lt. Joe Kenda of “Homicide Hunter” says he only worked on one serial killer case. Who is that 1980s serial killer?

A) Jeffrey Dahmer

B) Carroll Cole

C) Ronald Lee White

D) Joseph James DeAngelo

ANSWER: When the trail goes cold on a string of heartless murders, Lt. Joe Kenda finds himself connecting the dots in his first and only search for a serial killer: Ronald Lee White. White would stab and dismember his victims before scattering their body parts across multiple locations in Pueblo County, Colorado. Kenda recently detailed his search in Investigation Discovery’s 2-hour Homicide Hunter special.

If you guessed answer C, you’re correct!

Three prisoners famously escaped from what prison surrounded by water in 1962?

A) Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary

B) Eastern State Penitentiary

C) Texas State Penitentiary

D) Stanford Prison

ANSWER: Frank Lee Morris, Clarence Anglin, and John William Anglin escaped the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary.

The trio put decoy heads made of soap and plaster in their beds, fooling guards into thinking they were in their cells. They escaped through a kitchen smokestack and strung 50 raincoats together to make a raft.

If you guessed answer A, you’re correct!

Time to put your ‘Criminal Minds’ hat on! 🎩

In Criminal Profiling, an “Offender’s Signature” is…

A) When an offender names themself for the media

B) Extremely violent behavior

C) Behavior that’s unnecessary to the crime

D) When an offender signs their name at the scene

ANSWER: In Criminal Profiling, an “Offender’s Signature” is behavior that the criminal does that’s unnecessary to the crime. A “signature” has also been called a “calling card.” The purpose of the behavior is that it serves a greater psychological or emotional need for the offender.

A light-hearted example is the two burglars from Home Alone who clog a sink and leave the water running at every house they rob!

If you guessed answer C, you’re correct!