We all love hitting the town for a night out with pals or loved ones once in a while. But sometimes the fun can take a fatal turn. There have been many cases of young folk who were simply enjoying a good time, only to end up brutally murdered. Here are a look at some of the most shocking cases.
Date with a Serial Killer
Teenager Loren Leslie, from British Columbia in Canada, told friends she was off to meet someone new, after chatting to a man online. On the evening of November 27, 2010, the 15-year-old met up with Cody Legebokoff, 21, and they went for a drive - ending up in some woods. It's then that her date turned violent. At 9.45pm, by chance, a police officer spotted Legebokoff's truck pulling on to a highway from a remote logging road. Suspicious, he stopped him - to find a bloodied wrench in the boot. The vehicle's tracks were traced back to the body of Loren in the forest. He'd beaten her, smashing the youngster's skull. Police would later link Legebokoff to the deaths of sex workers Jill Stuchenko, 35, Cynthia Maas, 35, and Natasha Montgomery, 23. In 2014, he was convicted of all four murders and sentenced to life in prison, making him Canada's youngest serial killer. The judge said: "He should never be allowed to walk among us again."
Wrong Taxi Home
At 2am on March 29, 2019, after a night out with friends in downtown Columbia, South Carolina, politics student Samantha Josephson decided it was time to go home. She called an Uber. When a black Chevrolet Impala pulled up outside the Bird Dog bar, the 21-year-old assumed her ride had arrived and got in. But it was the wrong car. At the wheel was Nathaniel Rowland, who used the child locks to trap Samantha inside and kidnap her. Hunters found Samantha's body dumped in a field later that morning, 65 miles away. She had suffered 120 stab wounds and died from her injuries, despite bravely fighting back. Rowland's car was matched to the one seen picking up Samantha on surveillance cameras and detectives found her blood inside. Cops also linked some of his clothes and a two-bladed knife found near his girlfriend's house to the killing. Rowland, 27, was convicted of Samantha's murder in 2021 and sentenced to life in prison. Her death would lead to changes in US rideshare safety legislation, called Sami's Law.
Meal Out - to Maniac
Shane Gilmer and his partner Laura Sugden enjoyed romantic meals out. But when they returned from their date at an Italian restaurant on January 12, 2018, a killer was lying in wait in a bedroom. Next door neighbour Anthony Lawrence had broken into the attic of their home in Southburn, east Yorks, armed with a crossbow. He'd earlier been served with an eviction notice, after the couple had complained of the smell of cannabis coming from his home. On the pair's arrival Lawrence suddenly burst out - shooting Shane in the arm and torso. Then he shot another bolt into pregnant Laura's head. She managed to pull the arrow out and pleaded for her and her baby's life as she wrestled with the attacker, who also stabbed her in the neck. Laura eventually managed to play dead then escaped to raise the alarm. Shane dragged himself downstairs and called 999 but, after passing on messages for his loved ones to the operator, he would die in hospital. Laura survived her injuries. Having fled the property, Lawrence, 55, was found dead from an overdose in a layby two days later. An inquest in 2021 concluded that Shane had been unlawfully killed.
Crazed at Christmas
On December 13, 2019, Nadine Lott headed out to enjoy festive drinks and celebrate her aunt's birthday. She would spend the evening laughing, dancing and chatting about presents. But it would be her last. The Irish beautician had met Daniel Murtagh in Australia in 2012 and they'd had a daughter together, Kya, but Nadine had ended the relationship four years later. It didn't stop his controlling behaviour and a tirade of abusive texts. Days before her death Nadine was forced to tell him: "Nothing is ever going to happen between us again. I want to make that clear" and "don't threaten me." On the fateful night Murtagh was at her flat in Arklow, County Wicklow, looking after Kya, six, but kept ringing and messaging the 30-year-old saying: "Please come home soon." When Nadine did return in the early hours, the amateur boxer launched a frenzied, drug and booze-fuelled attack, stabbing and beating her with a tyre pump charger. She was left "completely unrecognisable" and died from her "grotesque" injuries three days later. In 2021 Murtagh, 34, was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
