Best Criminals Of The Year Featured

The Most Bizarre Crime Stories Of 2019, From Naked Devils To Decapitations

Published December 29, 2019
Updated November 8, 2023

Burglars, murderers, and bears, oh my! Explore the most insane crime news stories of the year before 2020 brings in a new batch.

Scouring crime news stories is a pastime for many hoping to satisfy their morbid curiosity. Indeed, true crime has become one of the most fascinating genres in pop culture in recent years.

So in an effort to keep you abreast of all of 2019’s darkest, dumbest, and weirdest crime news stories, we’ve created this roundup.

From uplifting stories about would-be muggers getting their comeuppance to grisly discoveries and one especially wild tale that reads like a Tolstoy novel, we’ve collected some of the most bizarre true crime news stories of the year.

Crime News Stories That Satisfy: When A Female MMA Fighter Fought Off Her Mugger

In January of this year, a mugger got more than he bargained for when he attempted to steal from who he thought was just a defenseless woman waiting for her uber.

He had no idea that he had just approached Polyana Viana, a UFC fighter who had a 10-2 record.

While Viana stood outside her apartment in Rio de Janeiro, a man approached her and asked for the time. Even after she gave it to him, he refused to leave her alone, eventually attempting to steal her phone.

“When he saw I saw him, he sat next to me,” Viana said. “He asked me the time, I said it, and I saw he wasn’t going to leave. So I already moved to put my cell phone in my waist. And then he said, ‘Give me the phone. Don’t try to react, because I’m armed.’ Then he put his hand over (a gun), but I realized it was too soft.”

So Viana took her chance, believing that even if it was a gun he wouldn’t have time to react. With two punches and a kick, the UFC fighter took down her would-be assailant.

“He fell, then I caught him in a rear-naked choke,” she said. “Then I sat him down in the same place we were before and said, ‘Now we’ll wait for the police.'”

According to Viana, when she told the mugger she was going to call the police, he encouraged her.

“He said, ‘Call the police, then’ because he was scared I was going to beat him up more.”

author
Katie Serena
author
A former staff writer at All That's Interesting, Katie Serena has also published work in Salon.
editor
Leah Silverman
editor
A former associate editor for All That's Interesting, Leah Silverman holds a Master's in Fine Arts from Columbia University's Creative Writing Program and her work has appeared in Catapult, Town & Country, Women's Health, and Publishers Weekly.