Top 10 Horrible Cases of Mistaken Identity
Alfred Hitchcock pretty much made his living
telling stories of mistaken identity, and
his tales painted thrilling adventures left
in the wake of an innocent man being pursued
by mysterious people who thought he was someone
else.
Of course, real life is typically not like
the movies, and while films usually feature
happy endings, unfortunately that’s seldom
the case with instances of mistaken identity.
Here is a list of real-life cases, most of
which ended horrifically.
10.
Teen Mistakenly Shoots Younger Brother
There is not much good about shootings in
the cases of mistaken identity, so we are
just going to jump in with an incredibly tragic
instance, to let you know that few things
good come of these situations.
In early-2013, a 16-year-old Florida teenager
believed that a burglar had entered his house
and, knowing his parents owned a firearm,
located it and shot the person he thought
was an intruder.
It turned out to be his 12-year-old brother.
Their parents were out when the incident occurred,
and when the older teen heard strange noises
coming from another part of the house, he
called out for his brother.
There was no response, leading him to believe
something was amiss.
The younger brother approached the older one,
startling him and prompting the shot.
The older brother immediately called 911,
but his brother was dead before paramedics
could get him to the hospital.
9.
Unnamed Man Mistaken for Bank Robber, Held
at Gunpoint by Cops
This past April, a bank in Sarasota, Florida,
was robbed in the middle of the day.
Not long after that, an unnamed man was out
riding his bike when police descended on him,
pointed guns at him, and threw him on the
ground.
As you might be able to guess, he was not
the same man who had just robbed the bank.
The real robber had walked into the bank and
after demanding money, escaped on foot.
The police found the innocent man, who has
remained anonymous by his own request, not
too far from the bank and, seeing that he
fit the description of the criminal, assumed
he was the culprit.
It did not help that, while handcuffed, he
was identified by a witness as the bank robber.
Of course things eventually started to sort
themselves out when the police realized he
did not have any of the stolen money in his
possession, nor did he have a gun or any other
sort of weapon, and in fact was dressed differently
than the real culprit.
Fortunately common sense prevailed and he
was let off the book, though we’re guessing
it wound up being the least pleasant lunch
break he ever had.
8.
Assam Rifles Fire on Each Other
For those who are unaware, the Assam Rifles
are a paramilitary force in India with a history
that dates back to 1835, who have served in
several wars over the years.
Today they work under the Ministry of Home
Affairs and help provide internal security,
such as fending off rebels and helping to
provide border security.
It was in this capacity that two AR personnel
were killed recently when, unfortunately,
two groups from within AR mistook each other
as rebels and opened fire on each other.
One of the groups had received information
about underground movement and set up an ambush,
but sadly a separate AR group was on a foot
patrol in the area when something set off
the firefight.
Unfortunately, it appears as though poor coordination
within the Assam Rifles contributed to the
two deaths.
7.
Carlos DeLuna
Considering life is not a Disney movie, cases
of mistaken identity are oftentimes tragic.
This was certainly case for Carlos DeLuna,
who was sentenced to death for a crime he
did not commit, only for it to be later discovered
that he was the tragic victim of mistaken
identity, and had been innocent all along.
Naturally, they only figured this out after
he was dead.
A study by a Columbia University law professor
and his students concluded that the state
of Texas executed an innocent man when DeLuna
was put to death.
DeLuna had been arrested and convicted of
stabbing a gas station attendant to death,
but maintained his innocence until the day
his execution finally arrived.
According to the law professor, James Liebman,
the police failed to pursue other leads and
DeLuna received poor legal defense.
It did not help that DeLuna had been arrested
several times in the past but, as Liebman
pointed out, he had no blood on him when he
was taken into custody, and the police ignored
potential evidence that the crime might have
been committed by DeLuna’s friend Carlos
Hernandez.
And when we say might have, we mean “probably
did” considering that years later, just
before he died in prison, Hernandez confessed.
6.
Abby Guerra and Marlena Cantu
Imagine being told that you lost your daughter
in a fatal car crash, and planning the entire
funeral only to be told later that she was
in fact still alive.
And now imagine being in the opposite situation,
believing your daughter had survived the same
crash, only to discover days later she had
actually perished.
That’s exactly what happened to the families
of Abby Guerra and Marlena Cantu, and it’s
sadly also a scenario that you’ll see popping
up on this list a little later as well.
In 2010, Guerra and Cantu, who lived in Arizona,
were involved in a deadly car accident on
their way home from Disneyland, which is a
fact that makes this whole thing that much
sadder.
It was believed that Guerra died at the scene,
while Cantu was taken away to the hospital
for treatment.
However, six days later, once swelling began
to go down on the girl in the hospital, Cantu’s
family discovered it was Guerra, and not their
daughter, who had in fact survived.
Guerra’s family had put on a car wash to
raise funds to pay for her funeral but, once
the mistake was discovered, the funds instead
went toward her medical expenses, as well
as the funeral of Cantu.
5.
Margie Carranza and Emma Hernandez
Earlier this year, residents of Southern California
were put in a state of crippling fear when
former Navy reservist and LAPD officer Christopher
Dorner went on a shooting rampage, killing
four people (including two police officers),
and injuring three more members of the LAPD.
Dorner had posted a manifesto that included
the names of several police officers, so it
made sense to that the LAPD would be a bit
wary when a truck, matching the description
of Dorner’s, was seen near the house of
one of those officers early one morning, while
he was still at large.
Of course, what did not make as much sense
was that police opened fire on the truck,
riddling it with bullet holes despite not
being clear on whether or Dorner was inside
or even if it was actually his truck.
As you must have gathered by now, it was not.
Instead, inside the truck were 47-year-old
Margie Carranza and 71-year-old Emma Hernandez,
who were out delivering copies of the LA Times
when the police fired at least 102 shots at
the truck.
Neither was killed, thankfully, but Hernandez
did take two bullets in the hail of gunfire.
This was not the only incident of mistaken
identity on that day alone, either; just thirty
minutes later, another man was shot when police
believed he was Dorner.
That one is even more baffling though, as
the victim was a thin white man, while Dorner
was a large black man.
4.
Ronald Cotton
Rape is an awful thing.
We aren’t exactly breaking down any barriers
by telling you that.
What’s also awful is being falsely accused
of committing such a heinous crime, which
is exactly what happened to Ronald Cotton
in 1984, when Jennifer Thompson, then a 22-year-old
college student, claimed that Cotton was the
man who had raped her, leading to his conviction
and serious prison time.
One night, a man broke into Thompson’s house
and raped her, and she burned his face into
her brain.
Or at least she thought she had.
Unfortunately for Cotton, he had been accused
of sexual assault at the age of 16, when the
mother of his then-girlfriend found him in
bed with her daughter and called the police.
The previous accusation did not help his case
when Thompson looked at his photo at the police
station and identified him as the man who
raped her.
As it turns out, mug shots of both Cotton
and the actual attacker show a striking resemblance,
in terms of facial structure.
After 11 years in prison, DNA evidence cleared
Cotton, and in a truly inspirational story
of forgiveness, he and Thompson became good
friends, even writing a book together.
3.
Krystle Campbell
In the event of any public tragedy, there
is bound to be confusion in the aftermath.
After 9/11, authorities spent weeks attempting
to confirm the number of casualties.
That’s why it is tragic, but not entirely
surprising, that in the wake of the April
2013 Boston Marathon bombings, one family
was subject to a case of mistaken identity,
leading them to believe their daughter was
alright.
Sadly, that was not the case.
Krystle Campbell was one of the three people
killed in the bombings.
However, when her father went to the hospital
to try to learn whether she was okay, he was
told his daughter was alive, but would possibly
lose her legs.
However, when he gained access to the hospital
room, he discovered the victim was not his
daughter.
He was soon after informed that Krystle had
died at the scene of the bombings.
2.
Whitney Cerak and Laura Van Ryn
One of the most amazing cases of mistaken
identity in recent memory is also one of the
most heartbreaking, as it involves two families.
Tragedy was replaced by a miracle for one,
while hope became despair for the other.
The two families were those of Whitney Cerak
and Laura VanRyn, two friends who were involved
in a horrific car crash in 2006.
The friends shared a strong resemblance, as
both were young, attractive blondes, and apparently
it was this resemblance that led to the confusion.
What was the confusion, you ask?
Oh, only that the coroner originally pronounced
Whitney dead, while in fact she lay severely
injured in the hospital for weeks under the
assumption she was, in fact, Laura.
Even the families were convinced, as Laura’s
family sat at her bedside until her facial
swelling had died down enough to finally confirm
that she was not their daughter.
Whitney was alive, despite having recently
had a (closed-casket) funeral attended by
more than 1,400 people.
As it turns out, her parents never looked
at the body to confirm it was their daughter,
and there was no DNA test, as it was taken
at the word of the people who had been asked
to identify her that they were not mistaken.
1.
Adolf Beck
It could be argued that the case of Adolf
Beck is the most famous and extraordinary
mistaken identity victim in history, as his
case spawned books and remains not only one
of the most notorious cases of mistaken identity,
but also wrongful conviction on record.
In fact, his case has even made its way into
textbooks studied in law schools.
Beck, who lived in Britain, found himself
facing 15 convictions, all because a random
woman whom he met on the street one day in
1895 thought he looked like a man who had
a few weeks prior robbed her of a fairly small
amount of money.
Unfortunately for Beck, the same swindler
was wanted for several other similar thefts,
leading to all of those convictions.
Astonishingly, the other victims of the actual
thefts identified Beck as the culprit, with
some even picking him out of a lineup.
There had been similar crimes committed in
1877 and a police officer was set to identify
as the same thief, who had served four years
in prison earlier.
This was despite the fact that Beck had been
living in Peru at the time of those earlier
crimes.
The judge ignored this apparent evidence of
innocence and sentenced Beck to seven years
in prison, of which he wound up serving five.
While he was imprisoned, yet more evidence
mounted in favor, such as how the actual thief,
named John Smith, had been circumcised.
After examination, it was discovered Beck
remained uncircumcised.
The judge was presented this new conclusive
evidence but ignored it, leaving Beck to finish
out his sentence and confirming his status
as one of the worst judges in recorded history.
After being released, he was accused yet again
in 1904 and was convicted again as well.
This time, however, fortune finally smiled
on Beck when the real John Smith was arrested,
pulling off yet another swindle while Beck
sat in jail.
Luckily, the judge didn’t ignore the evidence
this time around, and Beck was a free man.
