9 - Richard Sigman
47-year-old college professor Richard Sigman accidentally killed an 18-year-old student during
an altercation with a third party on the morning of July 30 of 2022. Subsequent reports detailed
how Sigman had gotten into an argument with a male patron while at a restaurant in Carrollton,
Georgia. As the dispute escalated in intensity, the professor allegedly threatened to shoot the
other man, at which point he was asked to leave the establishment. Although Sigman complied,
he reportedly waited outside near the parking lot, intending to take revenge
against the man with whom he’d clashed. When the other man exited the restaurant,
Sigman opened fire at him, inadvertently hitting the car that uninvolved student Anna Jones was
sitting in. Law enforcement was called to the scene, and the officers who subsequently took
Sigman into custody noted that he appeared to be highly intoxicated. In the aftermath, the
professor was fired from his job at the University of West Georgia and held in custody without bond.
8 - Charles Lieber Between 2012 and 2015,
a Harvard University professor hid his involvement with the Chinese government and failed to disclose
a portion of his earnings on his federal income tax returns. 62-year-old Dr. Charles Lieber had
been a principal investigator and professor at the prestigious institution since 2008, receiving over
$15 million in federal research grants in the span of 11 years. Unbeknownst to his employers,
however, he’d secretly begun collaborating with the Wuhan University of Technology,
and had also taken part in a Chinese governmental recruitment program. During this time,
he was awarded a monthly salary of $50,000 as well as living expenses approximating $150,000.
Lieber was granted over one million dollars to establish a lab at the Chinese University. In
2018 and 2019, when questioned by US federal authorities about his alleged affiliation with
the Chinese government and the payments he’d received, Lieber denied any wrongdoing. Then,
in December of 2021, the professor was found guilty of making a false income tax and failing
to report foreign accounts, as well as several other financial misdeeds. Lieber’s sentencing
hearing was scheduled for January of 2023. 7 - Wyndham Lathem and Andrew Warren
Northwestern University professor Wyndham Lathem and Oxford University employee Andrew
Warren surrendered themselves to the authorities following a nationwide manhunt in the summer of
2017. Both men were suspects in the murder of Lathem’s 26-year-old boyfriend, Trenton James
Cornell-Duraleau. The latter’s corpse had been discovered in his Chicago apartment on July the
27th, after a cryptic tip was delivered to the building manager. The victim had reportedly been
stabbed over 70 times. Investigators immediately identified Cornell-Duraleau’s partner as their
prime suspect, a hunch only strengthened by rumors of an affair between Lathem and Warren. Security
footage subsequently confirmed that both men had been in the building at the time of the murder.
When attempts to contact the suspects were unsuccessful, a warrant was issued for their
arrests. While 61-year-old Warren eventually walked into a police station in San Francisco,
California to turn himself in, 42-year-old Lathem, who specialized in microbiology and immunology,
surrendered to US Marshals in Oakland. In a peculiar commemoration of the man they’d
brutally murdered themselves, Lathem and Warren made donations to a Wisconsin library in honor
of Cornell-Duraleau. Warren ultimately pleaded guilty to first-degree murder as part of a plea
deal that sentenced him to 45 years in prison. In February of 2022, Lathem was sentenced to a
minimum of 53 years behind bars. 6 - Rie Hachiyanagi
On the night of December the 23rd of 2019, Massachusetts professor Rie Hachiyanagi violently
attacked Lauret Savoy, a colleague with whom she’d become infatuated. The two women worked at Mount
Holyoke College in South Hadley, where they’d reportedly struck up a solid friendship many years
prior to the incident. 50-year-old Hachiyanagi decided to confess her romantic feelings for
her co-worker during the holiday season, but was flatly rejected, which infuriated her. She
began attacking Savoy with garden clippers, a fire poker, and even tossed rocks at her.
Bloodied and terrified, the victim went back on her previous rejection and pretended to be
romantically interested in her crazed assailant. Eventually, Hachiyanagi agreed to call 911,
due to the severity of Savoy’s wounds. When police arrived, they rushed the wounded woman to the ER,
where she was treated for several lacerations and broken bones, most of which were concentrated on
her face. Savoy only revealed the identity of her attacker to police officers once Hachiyanagi was
out of sight, afraid of how her colleague might react. Hachiyanagi was taken into custody while
still carrying Savoy’s keys, cell phone, and glasses. On October the 20th of 2021,
the professor was sentenced to between 10 and 12 years in prison, having been found guilty of armed
assault with intent to murder, home invasion, mayhem, and entering in the nighttime with the
intent to commit a crime. 5 - Karen Halnon
While returning from a Spring Break trip to Nicaragua in 2015,
sociology professor Karen Halnon was arrested at the Miami International Airport for belligerent
behavior during her flight. The 52-year-old Penn State associate professor was charged
with disorderly conduct for allegedly arguing with several passengers, lighting a cigarette,
and ranting about US foreign policy on board the aircraft. After being released on a $500 bond,
Halnon claimed to have been mistreated by members of law enforcement while she was in their custody.
The initial incident on the plane, which had been recorded by a fellow passenger, quickly went viral
after being uploaded online in the aftermath. In the video, Halnon loudly exclaimed that the
US had declared war on Venezuela and called the latter country’s former president Hugo Chavez
a “great hero”. She even justified lighting a cigarette by stating “every revolutionary
smokes”. During a subsequent argument with another passenger, Halnon was accused of being a security
threat. Several fellow travelers expressed their irritation with the fact that they’d be missing
their connecting flights due to the delays the woman’s arrest would cause once they landed.
4 - Rainer Reinscheid On July the 27th of 2012,
University of California professor Rainer Reinscheid was arrested after police discovered
threatening emails targeted towards officials at his late son’s school. 48-year-old Reinscheid’s
alarming messages described his threats to kill the school’s assistant principal in vivid detail.
He also reportedly discussed shooting at students and burning the building down. The German-born
professor blamed school officials for the death of his young son, Claas Stubbe, but
hadn’t actually sent the emails to his prospective victims. Before his threats ever came to fruition,
the messages were discovered by the police while they examined his cellphone after he was arrested
three days earlier for starting a fire in a Los Angeles park. In the ensuing investigation,
detectives were also able to link Reinscheid to several other instances of arson. During
his trial, the disgraced professor apologized for his actions and pleaded for mercy from the court.
In August of 2013, Orange County Superior Court Judge Gregg Prickett sentenced Reinscheid to 14
years in prison for his crimes. 3 - Joseph Schiele
On February the 15th of 2017, police raided the home of Oakland University professor Joseph
Schiele, after receiving tips of illicit activities taking place at his residence.
Four college-aged people were found inside the house, as well as several illegal substances.
The 49-year-old professor had been teaching at the university since 2004 and had been awarded
tenure seven years prior to his subsequent arrest. Although Schiele was generally regarded
as popular among students, the man had been anonymously accused of hosting parties for coeds,
including young adults below the legal drinking age. The professor consequently faced charges of
possession with intent to deliver, felony firearm, and operation of a drug house. In March of 2018,
Schiele was sentenced to between 3 and 4 years in prison by Judge Cheryl Matthews.
The man was informed that he’d be deported to his native country of Canada upon his release.
Today’s topic was requested by Deborah Dorosz. If you have any other topics
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2 - Dirk D. Obbink Before June of 2019, Dirk D. Obbink was
considered an expert in papyrology, the study of ancient literature, having been employed at such
illustrious institutions as Oxford University, the Oxyrhynchus Papyri Project, and Christ Church
Oxford. After suspicions began to arise regarding the veracity of some of the documents Obbink had
authenticated, an investigation was launched and his privileges at his various places of employment
were revoked. In October of 2019, Obbink was accused of stealing papyri and selling the
materials to museums, as well as removing texts belonging to Oxford University. The investigation
uncovered that more than 120 historical pieces had gone missing under Obbink’s watch. Several
of the museums the disgraced professor had sold the pieces to, ultimately agreed to return them to
the institutions. Despite the seeming abundance of evidence against Obbink, he wasn’t arrested until
April of 2020. Then, in December of the following year, the man lost a federal lawsuit centered
around the fraudulent sale of ancient papyrus and was consequently ordered to pay $7 million
as restitution. The exact number of historical documents Obbink stole couldn’t be accurately
calculated by investigators. 1 - Nicolae Stefan Pop
Nicolae Stefan Pop, a 51-year-old business administration professor at York University
in Toronto, Canada, was arrested and charged with two counts of assault on February the 7th of 2020.
Subsequent reports indicated that the incidents in question occurred separately. The first was
on January the 3rd and the second 13 days later, although authorities suggested that there could
potentially be other unreported assaults. Pop boarded the TTC subway train in Toronto,
and took a seat next to a pair of young women, who he proceeded to grope. The victims managed
to take pictures of the assailant and later posted them online in order to
warn other potential victims. The women received immediate support from the public,
and other users shared similar experiences. Several York University students recognized the
man in the photos as Professor Pop, and promptly contacted the police to report his misconduct.
Thanks for watching! Would you rather teach a class full of juvenile offenders or have your
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