Father and Son Stumble Upon VHS Tape Revealing Chilling Evidence of Arson Crimes

When a father and son found a VHS tape by the road, they had no idea it would expose a terrifying crime spree.

Sophia

• Published in Interesting
• September 7, 2024

In a twist straight out of a horror movie, a father and son made a disturbing discovery when they found an old VHS tape that ultimately helped solve a series of arson crimes. The eerie footage they uncovered led to the capture of two young criminals who had been terrorizing a California community.

The year was 1989, and a motorist, along with his son, was driving near Stockton, California, when they noticed something unusual by the side of the road. Curiosity got the best of them, and they decided to investigate further.

What they found was a mysterious VHS tape wrapped in an old army jacket. The jacket also contained a pestle and mortar, herbs, and a model of a human skull—items that wouldn’t be out of place in a horror film.

Intrigued and a bit unsettled, the father and son took the tape home, unaware of the horrifying content it contained. As they played the tape, they were confronted with footage that was both shocking and disturbing.

The tape captured a series of fires that had been deliberately set by arsonists over several weeks. Even more chilling was the voiceover by one of the arsonists, who spoke in a menacing whisper, delivering eerie, sinister messages as the fires burned.

The arsonist’s voice, dripping with malice, declared, "The fire that I will destroy, and burn your soul up, ancient spirit of evil."

He continued with phrases like, "This is what I've been doing on your week's vacation. I said I'll do it!" and "Just take a good look at that and you tell me that I cannot start fires." The voiceover was accompanied by visuals of roaring flames, turning the tape into a haunting record of the arsonists' crimes.

The most unnerving part of the tape came as the arsonist taunted the fire department, saying, "The fire department's trying to put it out, what a laugh," while sirens wailed in the background.

The chilling footage made it clear that these criminals were not just committing crimes—they were reveling in them.

Realizing the gravity of what they had found, the father and son handed the tape over to the producers of the TV show Unsolved Mysteries.

When the tape aired, it sent shockwaves through the community and beyond. Viewers were horrified by the footage, but some recognized the voices and settings.

Tips started pouring in, eventually leading to the arrests of two young men, a 17-year-old and a 19-year-old, who were responsible for the fires.

Due to their ages at the time of the crimes, their identities were not publicly released. However, the 19-year-old confessed to setting the fires and appearing in the video. The tape that the father and son had stumbled upon became the key piece of evidence that brought these dangerous criminals to justice.

This chilling story serves as a powerful reminder that even the most ordinary moments can have profound and unexpected consequences. A simple act of curiosity—stumbling upon an old VHS tape by the roadside—unraveled a horrifying crime spree, ultimately leading to the capture of dangerous criminals.

Sophia