#8 - Alisha Canales-McGuire On September the 20th of 2017,
Jerradon Phelps, along with a female accomplice, carried out a contract killing at the behest
of 31-year-old Kevin Lewis. The latter had allegedly plotted revenge against his ex-wife,
Amanda Canales-McGuire, after she’d pressed charges against him in connection to a violent
domestic assault. The abuse accusations had ultimately resulted in him receiving a 39-month
prison sentence. Upon being solicited to help the disgruntled man in an alleged murder-for-hire
plot, 20-year-old Phelps, along with his teenage girlfriend, visited Canales-McGuire’s home in
Snohomish County, Washington. Unaware of the fact that their intended target was
actually out of town, the pair opened fire on 24-year-old Alisha Canales-McGuire, her sister,
who was house-sitting at the time. Although the pair managed to flee the scene undetected,
they were eventually apprehended after Phelps’ girlfriend boasted about the murder to a group of
friends. During a subsequent interrogation, Phelps admitted that he’d been hired to kill Lewis’
ex-wife in exchange for $2,400. The young man and his girlfriend were held in custody on a $5
million bail. Lewis, who was already incarcerated for assaulting his ex-wife, consequently faced
additional criminal charges for his part in the mistaken murder of his former sister-in-law.
#7 - Bethany Farber While traveling to Mexico for a family vacation,
34-year-old Bethany Farber was arrested by TSA agents at Los Angeles International Airport and
told she’d be extradited to Texas for a crime she didn’t commit. The California aesthetician
repeatedly told airport officials that she’d never even been to Texas, and that they had the wrong
person. Nevertheless, Los Angeles police officers handcuffed Farber and booked her into a local jail
on April the 16th of 2021. It would take 12 days for authorities to validate the woman’s identity,
during which time she remained in custody, having been denied bail. Following her eventual release,
Farber filed a civil lawsuit against the Los Angeles Police Department for wrongful arrest
and detainment, claiming before the court that the officers hadn’t made any effort to verify
her identity while they were arresting her. Farber’s attorney produced photographs of both
her and the woman the police had actually been targeting, who was also named Bethany
Farber. The visual presentation was conducted in order to strengthen his claim that the officers
had “acted with deliberate indifference, and conscious and reckless disregard to the safety,
security and constitutional and statutory rights” of his client. In the controversy’s wake,
the LAPD refused to issue a statement to the press, claiming that the ongoing legal procedures
precluded them from commenting on the case. #6 - Lewis and Ashley Dale
Siblings Lewis and Ashley Dale were both murdered in the Liverpool area,
in what police believed were a pair of mistaken identity shootings that occurred 7 years apart.
The first incident took place in November of 2015 when 16-year-old Lewis was confronted by brothers
Paul and John Martin near the Leeds-Liverpool canal. Accompanied by accomplice Jake Culshaw,
the brothers fatally shot Lewis, believing him to have been a rival gang member on
account of his curly hair. A year later, the three co-conspirators were sentenced to 88 years
in prison for the inadvertent murder. Ashley Dale would go on to suffer a similar fate as
her brother’s on August the 21st of 2022, when two men barged into her back garden and started
shooting indiscriminately. She was still alive when emergency services arrived at the scene,
but died from her resulting gunshot wounds soon after arriving at the hospital. Although the
police initially developed the belief that the deadly attack had been targeted towards Ashley,
further investigation into the matter revealed that the 28-year-old woman hadn’t actually been
the shooters’ intended victim. Detectives handling the case requested that any witnesses who might
have seen the attackers fleeing from Ashley’s house contact local authorities to aid them in
their efforts to identify the suspects. #5 - Angela Dalman
While walking outside her apartment building in Langford, Canada, 40-year-old Angela Dalman
was shot to death by a complete stranger on March the 6th of 2020. The alleged assailant,
36-year-old Anthony Dheenshaw, didn’t exchange any words with Dalman leading up to the fatal attack,
nor did he take any valuables from her. According to subsequent reports on the matter, the shooter
had been attempting to take revenge on Derrick Oke and his girlfriend, Kelly Groves. Dheenshaw
had been staying at Oke’s home when his friend asked him to leave because he and Groves were
planning on moving out themselves. After Dheenshaw refused to abandon the property, and while he
was allegedly consuming illicit substances, Oke and several unnamed men attacked him and forced
him out of the apartment. Dalman was said to have shared a close resemblance with Groves,
the intended victim of the shooting, and had shared drinks with the couple during a farewell
party. Dheenshaw thus mistook the innocent woman for his friend’s girlfriend, and gunned her down
in cold blood. The same night as Dalman’s murder, Dheensaw reportedly located Oke but was
unable to take proper aim at him with his weapon, subsequently abandoning his attempt to kill him,
too. The man was arrested the following day. He ultimately pleaded guilty to both attempted murder
and second-degree murder and, in August of 2022, was consequently sentenced to life in prison with
the possibility of parole after 14 years. #4 - Ciera Wells
On March the 21st of 2022, Michigan resident Ciera Wells was driving along a Detroit roadway with her
mother and younger sister when a bullet struck her in the back, prompting her to lose control
of the car. Ciera, who had turned 20 the previous day, consequently crashed into a tree and was
unresponsive by the time first responders arrived at the scene. The victim’s mother, Yquitta Wells,
who had been the one to call the authorities in the wake of the shooting-induced crash, later
testified that Ciera told her she had been shot moments before fainting. Ciera, who was Yquitta’s
oldest daughter, ultimately passed away on her way to the hospital. Police were able to apprehend the
shooter, 19-year-old Marion Johnson, along with a second unnamed suspect later that day. They’d
reportedly utilized a gunfire locator, which led them straight to the suspect’s home. Johnson had
been involved in an accident with a vehicle of similar color and make to Ciera’s earlier that
day, and had sought revenge. He admitted to using a high-powered rifle to fire at the car,
which he’d noticed driving past his residence. Johnson was indicted on several charges,
including first-degree murder and assault with the intention to murder. His criminal trial,
presided over by Judge Kenneth King, was expected to begin on April the 14th of 2022.
#3- Eddie Clark
On May the 17th of 2021, four members of the Argueta family from Houston, Texas allegedly
conspired to commit a revenge murder. Leading up to the family’s drastic decision, 39-year-old
Florinda Argueta had filed several police reports in which she claimed that someone had repeatedly
fired gunshots at their home and vandalized their automobile. She reportedly accused her son’s
ex-girlfriend of being the culprit responsible for harassing them. Florinda’s 19-year-old son, Joe,
testified that he’d seen a black Dodge Charger driving away from their residence following
several of the alleged incidents. On the day of the family’s attack on their serial tormentor,
Joe, along with his father, Luis, and uncle, also named Joe, saw what they considered to be
a suspicious car near their home. Although it was a dark gray Dodge Challenger, a different model
from the one Joe had previously identified, the three men decided to give chase anyway,
carrying with them a baseball bat and a gun. The Challenger’s driver, 29-year-old Eddie Clark,
tried to get away from the Arguetas, but was subsequently shot in the abdomen,
causing him to crash into a tree. Clark’s three pursuers continued following him as he got out
of his disabled vehicle and fled on foot. He eventually collapsed to the ground, allowing
the family to catch up with him. According to accusations leveled by the prosecution, the
Arguetas demanded to know who had dispatched Clark to mess with them, but he was too severely injured
to respond. The victim was still alive when police arrived, but he succumbed to his wounds before
reaching the hospital. Joe and Florinda Argueta were arrested on the night of the murder and
subsequently released on bail pending their trial, while Luis and Joe’s uncle remained on the run.
#2 - Jodie Chesney
Essex college student Jodie Chesney was enjoying a night out with her classmates on March the 1st
of 2019 when she was stabbed in the back by a pair of young men. Chesney had reportedly been sitting
in a park along with several friends when the two assailants, Aaron Isaacs and Svenson Ong-a-Kwie,
approached her, mistaking her for a rival gang member. Isaacs and Ong-a-Kwie, who allegedly sold
illegal substances in the area, believed their rivals were trying to “move in on their turf”,
prompting them to fatally stab Chesney in retaliation. The victim’s friends witnessed the
attack and quickly called for help as the young men fled the scene. Chesney’s injuries ultimately
proved too severe, and she died en route to the hospital. Clara Sharp, one of the classmates who’d
been with the victim on the night of the incident, told investigators that Chesney had screamed in
pain upon being stabbed, but then grew quiet and unresponsive. Detective inspector Perry Benton,
who headed up the investigation, indicated that they initially struggled to identify
the suspects. There was very little evidence for the police to go on, given that there existed no
apparent connections between the victim and her attackers. When Isaacs and Ong-a-Kwie were finally
identified and officers were sent to arrest them, they both unsuccessfully attempted to
flee by way of a fence in the backyard. The two suspects blamed each other for the murder during
their subsequent criminal trial, a strategy that proved fruitless in their defense efforts. The
jury deliberated for six hours before coming back with a guilty verdict. Isaacs was consequently
sentenced to a minimum of 18 years in prison, while Ong-a-Kwie was ordered to serve no less
than 26 years behind bars. In the victim’s honor, her father founded the Jodie Chesney Foundation,
an institution meant to educate parents and teenagers on the dangers associated with knives.
#1 - James Rynerson
James Rynerson was accidentally released from prison on May the 21st of 2018, after being
mistaken for fellow inmate Marvin March. The two men had briefly shared a cell while serving their
respective sentences in Mesa County, Colorado, but March was transferred to a different sector of the
institution sometime before his release order was issued. As the records had not been properly
updated, 38-year-old Rynerson, who’d been arrested on charges of menacing, disorderly conduct,
and trespassing, was mistaken for his former cellmate. The bailiff and booking technicians
tasked with facilitating the release made no attempts to validate the inmate’s identity,
failing to check his wristband or the picture on his file. Rynerson went along with the mistake,
going so far as to sign March’s name on the release papers. He was given his former cellmate’s
debit card and leather jacket and left the prison at around 9 pm on the 21st. Two hours later,
however, Rynerson was returned to the authorities by his wife, who’d noticed him walking into their
garage and questioned the reasoning behind his premature release. In the wake of the incident,
additional charges were brought against Rynerson, including forgery,
criminal impersonation, theft, and escape. Thanks for watching! Would you rather be mistaken
for a serial molester or be allergic to TV screens? Let us know in the comment section below!