Last Updated on October 3, 2025 by Matt Staff
You think you know the ’90s crime canon? These criminals left breadcrumbs that never made the movie that helped catch them. The decade’s biggest cases often hinged on tiny, very human pivots.
This gallery leans into those B-sides that shouldn’t matter but did. Here are twenty ’90s criminals with their lesser-known twists, and a reminder that history turns on details.
1. O. J. Simpson
The famed low-speed Bronco “chase” doubled as a rolling negotiation to surrender. O. J. had cash, a disguise kit, and a cell phone in the car. The freeway spectacle minted live police coverage as a must-see on TV.
2. Ted Kaczynski – Unabomber
The investigator of the case published his manifesto. His brother recognized the phrasing and tipped the FBI. The Montana cabin where Kaczynski lived off the grid ended up being a crucial evidence and a symbol of the case.
3. Timothy McVeigh
McVeigh wasn’t caught by a massive dragnet, but by a missing license plate during a routine traffic stop 90 minutes after the bombing. The patrolman who pulled him over found out later who he was.
4. Terry Nichols
While McVeigh was on the road, Nichols quietly surrendered in Kansas. Then, he became the government’s key co-conspirator at trial. His second conviction in state court brought additional life sentences.
5. Andrew Cunanan
Cunanan pawned items that had serial numbers that helped link him to some of his early victims before Miami knew his name. When the newspapers finally ran his photo big, a clerk recognized him from the morning edition.
6. Eric Rudolph
The Centennial Park bomber vanished into the Appalachians for years, living off caches and charity dumpsters. His capture was considered almost mundane because a rookie cop found him behind a grocery store at 4 a.m.
7. Ramzi Yousef
Yousef was the 1993 World Trade Center mastermind behind the attack. He escaped the U.S. but left a lot of digital and paper trails across Asia. He was finally arrested in Islamabad, where he was hiding behind a wardrobe in a guesthouse.
8. Ahmed Ressam
Ressam’s nervous driving and his shaky story at the Port Angeles ferry crossing tipped off a customs inspector. The trunk bomb he carried with him became the headline: the “Millennium Plot” foiled by good instincts.
9. Paul Bernardo
Canadian investigators used early DNA testing to separate Bernardo from unrelated assaults and tie him to the core crimes. The courtroom imposed strict publication bans that made the global coverage unusually careful.
10. Karla Homolka
Homolka’s testimony against Bernardo came with a controversial plea deal that still fuels some debates. Years later, visibility rules tried to balance public anger with her legal status after her release.
11. Fred and Rosemary West
Some excavations at 25 Cromwell Street turned a row house into a crime scene that seemed to never end. Fred died in custody in 1995, and Rosemary faced the trial alone.
12. Harold Shipman
Shipman was a village GP whose murders spanned the ’90s. He forged a will for one victim; an audacious misstep that helped unravel the case. The final inquiry rewrote how Britain tracks deaths.
13. Menendez Brothers
After the killings, Lyle and Erik kept spending on watches, cars, and even courtside seats. These purchases later colored the narrative at trial. Two hung juries led to a retrial and life sentences.
14. Pamela Smart
Smart’s case was among the first trials broadcast gavel-to-gavel, and it turned a local case into national programming. The TV experiment changed how courtrooms, cameras, and public opinion interact.
15. Amy Fisher
The tabloids renamed her “Long Island Lolita”, but the courtroom stripped away the gloss: she was a teenager with a gun and life-altering consequences. Fisher’s victim survived, but the media circus did not slow down.
16. Tonya Harding
Harding never swung the baton, but pleaded guilty to hindering the investigation into the attack on Nancy Kerrigan. The fallout reshaped her career and the way sports handle scandals.
17. Susan Smith
A false carjacking story froze a nation before the confession turned the case inside out. The timeline police built from small inconsistencies was what finally broke Smith open.
18. Michael Alig
The “Club Kid” ringmaster filmed everything. Then, those tapes became evidence after a killing inside their circle. Nughtlife’s neon turned into courtroom fluorescents almost overnight.
19. Shoko Asahara
The cult leader’s Tokyo subway sarin attack in 1995 shocked a nation used to safety and order. Raids uncovered a bizarre blend of apocalyptic doctrine and high-tech ambition.
20. Jordan Belfort
In 1996, the real “Wolf of Wall Street’s” 167-foot yacht Nadine sank off Sardinia after he insisted on sailing into a storm. Everyone survived, but the fiasco later loomed over his courtroom lore.
Explore more historical content:
If these side-door details reframed the ’90s, keep the nostalgia rolling with these 20 Fascinating Mugshots from the Fabulous Fifties, or these 20 Photos of Prohibition Era Sheriffs. You can also enjoy these 20 Infamous 1930s Gangsters Who Ruled the Era.
