Number 8 Margaret Cirko
35-year-old Pennsylvania woman Margaret Cirko was arrested, in March of 2020, following a stunt that
resulted in a store discarding over $35,000 worth of food products. In what was described
as a “twisted prank” Cirko had entered Gerrity’s Supermarket, in Hanover Township, where she began
making verbal threats by claiming she was sick. The incident occurred roughly two weeks after the
coronavirus crisis had been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Cirko went through
the aisles, intentionally coughing and spitting on fresh produce and various other items, including
parts of the store’s meat and bakery displays. She then tried to shoplift a 12-pack of beer before
staff demanded she leave the store. Even though the woman wasn’t actually suspected to have been
infected, Gerrity’s owners reported that they had to take all the necessary precautions, even if it
meant eliminating thousands of dollars’ worth of food. Over 15 employees were involved in the
clean-up and disposal efforts, with owners noting the distasteful prank’s only silver lining was
that it had enabled them to test and potentially reinforce their safety protocols. Cirko was
arrested and charged with one felony count of threats to use a “biological agent” and one
felony count of criminal mischief. Additionally, she faced misdemeanor counts of criminal attempt
to commit retail theft and disorderly conduct. She was held at Luzerne County Prison, on a $50,000
bail, and a mental health evaluation was ordered. Number 7 Angela Timmons
An April’s Fools prank involving the false report of a shooting resulted in the arrest of a woman
from Spartanburg, South Carolina, in 2014. The daughter of 54-year-old Angela Timmons received
a text from her claiming that shots had been fired at the Virginia College campus. Timmons, an
employee at the learning institution, had written to her daughter that she’d heard gunfire outside
the office. She then claimed to be “hiding for her own safety.” The daughter called 911 after Timmons
had failed to answer several follow-up messages. According to the Spartanburg County Sheriff
Chuck Wright, over a dozen of his deputies were dispatched to the site of the supposed shooting
only to find that no such incident had occurred. Timmons, who admitted to the alarm-raising prank,
was taken into custody on several charges, including aggravated breach of the peace and
disturbing a school. The woman became the target of criticism once news of the prank
began circulating online, with a number of users arguing she’d made light of the serious issue of
mass shootings at US learning institutions. Number 6 Erica Marie Farmer
A woman from Gulf Shores, Alabama, carried out what she characterized as a prank gone too far,
in late February of 2021. Erica Marie Farmer’s neighbor arrived home, on February the 28th,
and noticed that her goat had disappeared from her yard. She then learned that photos of the animal
had been uploaded on social media by 34-year-old Farmer. The latter had painted the goat with
food coloring and shampoo, making its body blue, hooves pink and horns green with orange. The owner
called 911 and deputies descended upon Farmer’s home, where they found the goat. Farmer admitted
to coloring it but maintained it had all been a prank, claiming that she didn’t know it was her
neighbor’s goat as it was often at her cousin’s house. Farmer’s uncle, Gary Mitchell, confirmed
that the goat had wandered onto his property and hadn’t been stolen. Farmer was, nevertheless,
charged with animal cruelty and theft of property in the second degree. Under Alabama law,
any theft of livestock is to be considered a felony. Farmer, who was released after posting
$6,000 bail, talked to a media outlet and called the fact that she was facing felony charges
for the prank “a little ridiculous”. Number 5 Shona Cox and Vicki Albone
After a prank gone wrong, in August of 2018, two young British women were jailed on the Greek
island of Corfu. Shona Cox and Vicki Albone, both aged 20, had met a group of men on Issos Beach,
on August the 24th. The women dared one of their new acquaintances, identified as Christopher,
to run into the sea in just his boxers. Then, in what they described as a “harmless prank”,
Cox and Albone hid Christopher’s clothes several sunbeds down from their own. They went back to
their four-star Labranda Sandy Beach resort, where a team of local officers approached them
later in the evening. They demanded that the women return the clothes and Rolex,
valued at close to $550, which they’d purportedly stolen from Christopher. According to the police,
the latter claimed that he and his friends had chased the women back to the resort,
after realizing they’d taken his property. However, Cox and Albone maintained that the chase
had never occurred and denied stealing or even seeing the watch in question. The holidaymakers
were taken back to the station, where they were ordered to give written statements and find an
attorney, even though it was a Saturday. It marked the beginning of a nightmarish experience for
the two holidaymakers. They were strip searched and then detained in a cell that reportedly had
urine on the floor and blood-smeared walls. Cox and Albone weren’t given food or fresh water for
over 24 hours. At one point, the former got sick and vomited but, instead of helping,
a guard reportedly threw boiled sweets at her. The women’s phones were confiscated but then returned
to them the following day, for 15 minutes, so that they could contact their families.
They also used the devices to record their living conditions. Their court hearing was then delayed,
as their accusers had left for Athens, and, over the following days, the women were allowed to
return to their hotel. They were eventually found not guilty and cleared to leave the country.
Number 4 Carl Ericsson In January of 2012, a pensioner from
South Dakota gunned down a former classmate over a locker room prank that had reportedly occurred
over five decades prior. In the 1960s, Carl Ericsson was a student sports manager at Madison
High School while Norman Johnson was a prodigious student athlete. The prank had reportedly involved
the latter pulling Ericsson’s jockstrap over his head in the locker room. Johnson played football
in college and obtained a degree in education before returning to Madison High School,
where he worked as a teacher and track coach for 30 years. On January the 31st of 2012, Ericsson,
a Watertown resident, went to the home of his former classmate. He rang the doorbell and, when
72-year-old Johnson answered, asked him to verify his identity. Ericsson then shot him in the face
twice with a .45-caliber handgun, killing him. He was arrested but, during his ensuing trial,
pleaded not guilty on account of mental illness. A psychiatrist noted that Ericsson had a long
history of anxiety problems while also suffering from recurring and treatment-resistant depression.
His defense attorney confirmed that the prank had been a triggering factor in the shooting
while Ericsson himself stated, during his May arraignment, “I guess it was from something that
happened over 50 years ago. It was apparently in my subconscious.” The victim’s family would
argue that Ericsson had been jealous of the former teacher’s success and standing in the community. A
plea deal was ultimately struck in which Ericsson admitted to murder in the second-degree, for which
the 73-year-old was sentenced to life in prison. Number 3 Tori Wheeler
A teenager from Wagoner County, Arizona, cut her boyfriend’s neck, in the spring of 2013, following
what police reported had been an April Fools prank gone wrong. 18-year-old Tori Wheeler told her
boyfriend, Derek Bauer, that she was pregnant. He became angry upon hearing the news at which point
Wheeler produced a knife and threatened him. She would later tell the authorities that her wielding
of the blade had also been part of the prank. As tensions escalated, Bauer threatened to call
the police, which enraged Wheeler. The teenager slashed her boyfriend’s neck and bit him twice.
Bauer was taken to a local hospital and, even though his injuries weren’t life-threatening,
the cuts to his neck required seven stitches to mend. In the aftermath, Wheeler
faced charges of assault with a deadly weapon. Today's topic was requested by Instagram follower
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Number 2 Jeovanni Rosario and Raymond Hernandez In 2011, a woman in New York City was nearly
killed after a prank resulted in her being struck by a falling shopping cart. On October the 30th,
Jeovanni Rosario and Raymond Hernandez, who were both underage at the time, threw the cart from
four floors up at the East River Plaza Mall. It crashed on top of Marion Hedges, a real estate
agent and charity volunteer, who was shopping for Halloween candy for less privileged children.
Surveillance videos of the incident would show the boys, as they dropped the steel and plastic cart,
as well as the moment in which the woman was struck outside an East Harlem Target
below. Hedges’ son, reported as being around the same age as Rosario and Hernandez, was with her
at the time but wasn’t harmed. Hedges suffered life-threatening head injuries and, although she
survived, experienced long-lasting brain damage in the aftermath. Rosario and Hernandez were
taken into custody and admitted to the near-fatal prank. The latter was ordered to spend six months
in a therapeutic group home while the former was sentenced to six to 18 months at the Graham
Windham School for at-risk kids in Westchester. Number 1 Fatal “La Llorona” Prank
Following a prank in which she’d dressed up as a ghost, a woman was fatally shot in
the neighborhood of San Miguel Dorami, in the municipality of Naucalpan de Juarez,
Mexico. The incident took place in October of 2021, a few weeks before the Day of the Dead. The
victim’s name wasn’t released by local authorities but it was mentioned that she was in her early
20s. She’d donned a white gown with a veil and began wandering the streets pretending to be
La Llorona, the Weeping Woman. In Latin American folklore, La Llorona is the ghost of a white-clad
woman who roams the earth mourning the death of her two children. Parents usually tell the story
to prevent their young from wandering off after dark. In keeping with the legend, the prankster
was reportedly heard shouting “my children” repeatedly. A bystander filmed her antics moments
before she was shot. As reported by multiple media outlets, one neighbor was so surprised and scared
by the ghostly presence that he opened fire on the woman. She was fatally struck by several bullets
and the shooter then fled the premises. The clip of the ill-fated prank as well as a gruesome
image of the deceased victim was shared online in the incident’s wake. No arrest had yet been made
according to the latest updates on the matter. Thanks for watching! For $100 would you
play a ding-dong ditch prank on Mike Tyson? Let us know in the comments section below!