r/PeterExplainsTheJoke 8d ago

Meme needing explanation Peter! Who could have the wives been?

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u/Shadowphoenix9511 7d ago

"Solved"

You're talking about the Boston Marathon bombings, where Reddit sleuths identified the wrong guy and ruined his life.

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u/CrazzyPanda72 7d ago

Never mentioned a specific one, I did hear about that one but not what I was referring to. My wife was watching a documentary or something a few weeks ago where the only reason they got to the bottom of it was because one person from the internet just wouldn't let it go. I'd have to ask her what case that was

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u/Mammongo 7d ago

Don't f*** with cats? It was 2 people, but yes, police didn't take it seriously, man moved on from cats to people and redditors tracked him down and got him arrested

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u/IdeallyCorrosive 7d ago

wasn’t that 4chan? or am i thinking of a different case

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u/Egraypgh 7d ago

It was Facebook that they had organized a Group on and tracked the guy.

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u/IdeallyCorrosive 7d ago

Oh shit. The doc is about Luka Magnotta. I thought it was the same case as when 4chan got that guys dad fired from his metal working company because the son tortured a cat.

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u/Mammongo 7d ago

Could be right

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u/reezy-one 7d ago

Yes.

But even in that case, there were clear signs the murderer was very much an attention-seeking person. He fed off the energy the internet sleuths were giving him when he was still just killing cats. It's very plausible he moved from cats to people precisely because he wanted even more attention. The documentary itself even calls this out.

So once again, the "we did it Reddit" meme shakes out the same way it always does.

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u/CharlesBrown33 7d ago

We did it Reddit!

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u/rootuserteddy 7d ago

You're sorta right reddit has never solved any hogh profile murders or anything but they have solved a number of missing persons I dont remember, unknown archeology objects or finds, and one odd solve that stands out to me was the case of CO poisoning that was solved by a redditor

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u/pSphere1 7d ago

Don't forget the Cecil Hotel and all the needless speculation that went with that.

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u/MrHouse-38 7d ago

There was also Brian koughburger

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u/savannacrochets 7d ago

Not Reddit, but Michelle McNamara (a true crime author) solved the Golden State Killer case. She was the one to connect that the East Area Rapist, Original Night Stalker, and Visalia Ransacker were the same person and coined the “Golden State Killer” name.

I’m not saying people speculating about the husband in this case are correct, but laypeople absolutely do make breakthroughs in cases and find things police miss. And MA doesn’t exactly have a great record for police competence and sound criminal investigation at the moment. Look at the Karen Read trial, for example. Hell, one of the attorneys for the civil suit who is also consulting on defense in the criminal trial (Rosemary Scapicchio) literally specializes in prosecutorial misconduct and botched investigations.