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From deathbed declarations to courtroom outbursts, these killers took their denials to extreme lengths. Join us as we examine infamous murderers who steadfastly maintained their innocence despite overwhelming evidence. Our countdown includes Ivan Milat, Dennis Rader, Richard Ramirez, Harold Shipman and many more! Which case of denial do you think most changed how the criminal is remembered?
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00:00It never entered my mind. There was no reason. We got along great. It was a wonderful marriage.
00:06There would be no reason for me to kill her.
00:09Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at high-profile convictions where the guilty
00:14individual continued to claim their innocence, sometimes for decades, even until their final day.
00:20What if being honest actually made things better?
00:24I have been honest.
00:25Dr. Thomas Neil Cream
00:29The Victorian-era poisoner, known as the Lambeth Poisoner, became infamous for his connection
00:34with a series of deaths tied to strychnine and suspicious medical treatments.
00:38Within minutes, she was finding it difficult to walk and was suffering from excruciating pains.
00:44Dr. Thomas Neil Cream built nearly his entire public persona on denying responsibility for
00:50the deaths that happened under his so-called medical expertise. This denial continued,
00:55in his trial. Even as investigators uncovered a pattern of poisonings and suspicious prescriptions,
01:01Cream maintained a stoic attitude and maintained his betrayal as an innocent man.
01:06The trial took place at the Old Bailey in October 1892, and the jury took just 10 minutes
01:12to find Cream guilty. Sentenced to execution by hanging, witnesses reported Cream shouting,
01:19I am Jack, just prior to the trapdoor being released. Whether deliberate misdirection in
01:24admitting he was Jack the Ripper, a claim unfounded by factual evidence, Cream was one criminal who
01:30refused responsibility till the end. It's always open to speculation that what he intended to say
01:36was I'm Jack the Lad, and not Jack the Ripper.
01:39Harold Shipman. Another infamous personality among convicted killers in the medical field,
01:44Harold Shipman, aka Dr. Death, never admitted to harming any of his patients. Despite all the
01:51evidence against him, Shipman was adamant about his innocence.
01:54Despite overwhelming evidence of his guilt, Harold Shipman continued to maintain his innocence
01:59and shield the motives of his crime, even in prison.
02:03But the thread of crime was clear. From forged documents, unusual drug patterns, and a clear
02:09statistical link between his visits and unexpected death, Shipman offered no explanation and certainly
02:15no admission.
02:16Harold always maintained his innocence to me. He never once, as far as I know, to me or any of the
02:25other prisoners, admitted to the guilt of actually murdering any of the patients.
02:31Presenting himself as a caring doctor who was being unfairly accused, Shipman continued denying
02:36wrongdoing until his death in prison. Shipman's absolute refusal to confess or provide closure
02:42made his case deeply unsettling, leaving investigators convinced that the true victim count will never
02:48be definitely known.
02:50If he had admitted that he had done this, he would unpick and undo the fabric of his entire life.
02:58Rose West. One half of Britain's most infamous criminal partnership, Rose West was convicted
03:03alongside her husband, Fred West, for a series of horrific killings.
03:07Fred and Rose West are one of the most notorious couples in British history.
03:12But, unlike Fred, Rose never accepted responsibility and involvement in the murders she was convicted
03:18of committing. Throughout her trial, Rose distanced herself from her husband, characterizing herself
03:24as being unfairly implicated by circumstance and unreliable witnesses, she was persistent
03:30in her complete refusal of her guilt.
03:32Rose has never confessed to me. Whether she's made any kind of confession to anybody else,
03:37I don't know.
03:38Even after decades in prison, she continues to deny guilt, insisting that Fred was solely
03:43responsible, and that she was misjudged by both the public and the legal system.
03:47Her unwavering refusal to confess adds a chilling layer to an already disturbing case.
03:54It would appear inconceivable that she wouldn't have had knowledge of this.
03:58Colin Pitchfork. Colin Pitchfork was not the first convict to deny the allegations against
04:03him, but he was also the first person convicted using DNA profiling after the murders of two
04:09schoolgirls. But it was actually medical science that linked the girls' deaths and ultimately
04:14solved the case." Before the DNA breakthrough cornered him, Pitchfork spent years repeatedly
04:20insisting his innocence. After the murders of two teenage girls, Pitchfork maintained that
04:25investigators were targeting the wrong person.
04:27He even went so far as to persuade a co-worker to take a DNA test for him,
04:38reinforcing his supposed innocence. When DNA evidence finally and undeniably tied him to the
04:44crimes, he confessed, but only after all avenues of denial were exhausted. Nonetheless, Pitchfork's
04:50prolonged refusal to admit guilt, even in the face of mounting evidence, made his eventual exposure
04:56a landmark in criminal justice.
04:58He seemed to be able to justify everything that he'd done without any feeling.
05:03H.H. Holmes. Regarded as one of America's earliest serial offenders, H.H. Holmes became notorious for
05:09his Labyrinth Murder Castle. A master of contradiction, Holmes confessed to more than two dozen murders,
05:15but also later recanted nearly all of them. Claiming innocence, and that he had fabricated many of the
05:20stories behind the murders, Holmes denied any wrongdoing. The constant shifting of his story
05:25made it impossible for investigators to know which details were true.
05:29He was no longer an individual who had any real human feelings.
05:34Admitting guilt one moment and denying it the next, Holmes manifested a cloud of uncertainty around himself.
05:40Even near his execution, he changed his narrative again.
05:43His refusal to clearly accept responsibility ensured that the full truth behind his crimes
05:48remains uncertain, adding an eerie mystique to his legacy.
05:52Well, I think he's certainly America's most, uh, gruesome serial killer.
05:57He was a cunning, planning killer.
06:01Jeffrey MacDonald. A former Green Beret doctor, Jeffrey MacDonald was convicted of the killings of
06:06his wife and two daughters, but he steadfastly denied this reality. From the start, he claimed
06:11intruders broke into his home, attacking him and murdering his family.
06:15And there were, to my immediate view, three people. It turned out there were four.
06:20In the extensive investigations and multiple trials, contradictory evidence was discovered.
06:25But MacDonald did not change his stance, continuing to maintain that his account is accurate.
06:30He has appealed repeatedly, giving interviews asserting his innocence and criticizing investigators for
06:36ignoring key details. Judge Dupree refused to allow him to be released on bail pending an appeal.
06:41So he was escorted off to prison, still declaring his innocence.
06:45His refusal to accept the court's findings has kept this case alive for decades, turning it into one of
06:51America's most debated legal sagas and ensuring MacDonald remains a symbol of enduring denial.
06:57When I came to, the house was silent. And my first memory, as strange as it sounds, is the smell of
07:03Johnson's floor whack.
07:04Pamela Smart. Convicted of orchestrating her husband's murder through a teenage accomplice,
07:09Pamela Smart has always denied she ever planned such a crime.
07:13And I simply said that I do not think that having an affair is a motive to murder someone.
07:17Even decades later, Smart continues to deny orchestrating anything, claiming she was
07:22manipulated and unfairly portrayed by witnesses seeking reduced sentences.
07:26Even with testimony, recordings, and media scrutiny, Smart claimed she was framed,
07:31and that the full story never came out.
07:33I have been portrayed as a black widow, ice princess, a killer, and none of those things
07:40could be further from the truth.
07:42In interviews and appeals, she maintained that prosecutors ignored evidence that could have
07:47cleared her. Firmly refusing to admit guilt, though she did take some responsibility in a 2024 video
07:54statement. Smart's ongoing declarations of innocence continue to fuel public interest
07:59in a case that sensationalized early 1990s crime coverage.
08:03I had to acknowledge for the first time in my own mind, in my own heart, how responsible I was.
08:14Susan Smith. She initially said her children were kidnapped during a carjacking. She would proceed
08:19to defend said story tearfully in public.
08:30But as the investigations began, Susan Smith's story began to reveal cracks. When investigators
08:36uncovered contradictions, she ultimately confessed to driving her car into a lake with her sons inside.
08:42However, in later statements, Smith attempted to distance herself from responsibility, suggesting it was
08:47an impulsive act rather than intentional harm.
08:51Susan's story was not consistent, and she was failing lie detector tests.
08:55Despite her earlier fabricated kidnapping story, Smith continues to insist she never meant to kill
09:01her children. Alternating between remorse and claiming full responsibility, Smith's shifting
09:06accounts have made her case one marked by denial, emotional manipulation, and lingering public unease.
09:12Phil Spector. Phil Spector, legendary music producer, maintained throughout his trial and imprisonment
09:27that the death of actress Lana Clarkson was accidental.
09:30I have no motive.
09:33Despite evidence presented at two trials and a conviction for second-degree murder, Spector insisted
09:38that Clarkson's fatal injury occurred due to her own actions, and that he had nothing to do with it.
09:43He would maintain this facade even when witnesses described patterns of threatening behavior.
09:48I did not have anything to do with her death.
09:51Arguing that accounts against him were exaggerated or fabricated, Spector would find himself imprisoned
09:57for life. There he would remain until his passing, maintaining his innocence in interviews and through
10:03his legal team. His refusal to accept the court's findings remains part of his complicated legacy.
10:09Despite his iconic musical legacy, Phil Spector has left years of hurt and violence in his wake,
10:15which finally led to murder. Michael Peterson. The subject of the documentary series The Staircase,
10:22Michael Peterson was convicted of killing his wife Kathleen. There's no evidence. There was no reason for
10:28me to kill her. There was no weapon. There was nothing. Years of appeals, legal twists,
10:34and an eventual Alford plea allowed him to maintain his claim of innocence legally while accepting
10:40sentencing outcomes. Even when convicted, Peterson continued asserting that investigators
10:45overlooked alternative explanations, including a theory involving an owl attack.
10:50It's a lot more plausible that the owl did it than I did it, but I don't know. Again,
10:55I don't want to go back there. It would be, you know, too painful. He would continue to argue along
11:00those lines, repeatedly stating that the prosecution misinterpreted injuries and relied on faulty
11:06assumptions. His persistent refusal to admit guilt, even while accepting legal consequences,
11:12makes his case one of the most debated examples of long-standing personal insistence on innocence.
11:18Did you ever imagine that you would be considered a suspect? No.
11:23Drew Peterson. A police sergeant turned criminal, Drew Peterson was convicted of murdering his third
11:28wife, Kathleen Savio. Despite this, he has consistently argued that her death was accidental.
11:34At the sentencing, Peterson screamed out,
11:36I did not kill Kathleen. Someone replied, Yes, you did.
11:41Throughout investigations, he dismissed suspicions as misunderstandings on personal vendettas. The numbers
11:47just didn't add up, and suspicions heightened when prosecutors linked him to the disappearance of his
11:52fourth wife, Stacy. Through it all, Peterson remained firm.
11:55No, I didn't do that. I want them to know the truth, and believe the truth.
12:00The courts were wrong, and he was innocent. This unwavering denial, despite the extensive
12:05circumstantial evidence, kept his case in the spotlight, and positioned him as one of the most
12:10steadfastly defiant convicted figures of the 21st century. Scott Peterson, rounding up the third
12:24Peterson in our list. In a case that dominated social media, Scott Peterson was convicted of
12:29the deaths of his wife, Lacey, and their unborn child.
12:33Did you murder your wife? No, no. I did not. And I had absolutely nothing to do with her disappearance.
12:41Throughout the trial, he claimed that he had no involvement, and that investigators
12:45overlooked other possibilities. Despite a conviction supported by strong circumstantial evidence,
12:51Peterson continues to appeal, arguing that media coverage influenced the verdict.
12:56One of the things that really upsets him is this concept that he did not want to have a child,
13:02and he wanted to talk a little bit about that, and the fact that he would never,
13:07ever harm Lacey and Connor. His supporters cite circumstantial elements,
13:13while detractors point to trial evidence. But Peterson himself has never wavered.
13:17Even after more than two decades, Peterson's refusal to admit guilt fuels public debate and media
13:23coverage. The persistence with which he denies the conviction is a major reason the case remains
13:28so widely debated to this day.
13:31Peterson, can you both see and hear the proceedings, sir?
13:35Yes, sir. I can, thank you.
13:36Charles Ng. One half of the terrifying Leonard Lake-Charles Ng murder duo, Ng has long insisted
13:43that he was unfairly blamed for crimes he claims Lake orchestrated alone.
13:48The details are murky, but somehow Ng stayed in touch with Lake, who became a mentor for the
13:54young would-be killer. It did not matter to Ng that investigators uncovered a bunker full of
13:59videotapes, journals, weapons, and victims' belongings. It did not matter that this evidence
14:04showed Ng participating in horrific crimes. Still, he continued to deny direct responsibility.
14:11Throughout his extradition battle, trial, and years on death row, Ng has maintained that he
14:16was merely a bystander swept up in Lake's violence. His denial feels especially unsettling,
14:21because the evidence paints a fair, darker picture, leaving many to believe he refuses to
14:26admit the full scope of his actions.
14:29But at least he's locked away. I don't think he'll ever get out.
14:33Robert Durst
14:34Through his lawyers, Durst denies all wrongdoing.
14:38Like something out of a real TV show, this killer went to the grave without uttering a confession.
14:43At least, not a formal one.
14:45Decades after being connected to several mysterious murders,
14:49Robert Durst agreed to participate in a documentary series about the cases.
14:53While mic'd up, Durst went to the restroom and muttered an admission of guilt decades in the making.
15:03His legal defense tried to throw it out,
15:05claiming it was the innocent ramblings of a weary old man. But the jury didn't buy it. Durst passed
15:10away in 2022 after serving a year of his life sentence, having never officially admitted to any
15:16wrongdoing.
15:17Do you know who did?
15:19No, I do not.
15:20Darlie Routier
15:22Convicted of murdering her young son Damon, who suspiciously met the same fate as his brother Devin,
15:28Darlie Routier has spent decades insisting an intruder broke in and attacked her family.
15:33And I did not murder my children. I love them.
15:37It didn't take long before investigators discovered inconsistencies in her story.
15:42Blood spatter evidence contradicted her initial claim, and later, a televised video of her behaving
15:48oddly at her son's grave thoroughly swayed public perception.
15:51At the graveside, Darlie spraying silly string.
15:55I was in disbelief.
15:58It was on the local news, and the prosecutor was watching.
16:02Despite all of this, Routier continues to argue she was wrongly accused, stating that she has
16:08no memory of harming her children, and the real killer is still on the loose. Routier's unwavering
16:13denial has fueled ongoing debate in what is an emotionally charged case of a mother who lost her
16:19way.
16:20Even if my name is cleared and I'm exonerated, there's no winning for me.
16:26Rodney Alcala, the dating game killer, presented one of the most unsettling cases in criminal history.
16:32Please welcome Rodney Alcala.
16:34Although he eventually entered a guilty plea to two murders, Rodney Alcala reportedly denied
16:39every allegation said against him. Representing himself in court, Alcala maintained he was
16:44wrongly accused and misunderstood. His resolve towards a claim of innocence did not stop the
16:49photographs, forensic evidence, and multiple witness accounts that stacked up against him.
16:53This only reinforced Alcala's stance.
16:56He wanted to tell his side of the story because he thought he was the smartest guy there were.
17:01At one stage, he even went to the extent of suggesting a different suspect. Alcala's refusal
17:06to confess to any crime, paired with the extensive evidence, made his trial one of the most disturbing
17:11displays of sustained denial in modern criminal history. Alcala is one of those killers who
17:19believed he was cleverer. He could hide in plain sight.
17:23Richard Ramirez.
17:25The Night Stalker killed at least 13 times, 13 people who were awakened in the night to face death.
17:31Targeting his victims after nightfall, the Night Stalker, Richard Ramirez, was convicted of a
17:35series of attacks and murders across California. But the criminal in the spotlight denied any
17:41involvement in his crimes, claiming that evidence linking him to numerous attacks was fabricated
17:46or misinterpreted. Ramirez repeatedly insisted he was being framed by the justice system,
18:00and maintained his stance even after being convicted of multiple charges.
18:05Throughout courtroom proceedings, he displayed little interest in addressing the allegations,
18:09instead asserting his innocence and criticizing investigators. At one point, Ramirez shouted,
18:15Hail Satan as he was led from the courtroom, while pleading innocence to the murders he was
18:20convicted for. The subsequent trial turned into one of America's most notorious courtroom dramas,
18:25punctuated by continual outbursts from Ramirez.
18:29David Berkowitz. The man known as the Son of Sam, terrorized New York City in the 1970s.
18:35Spreading panic across the city that never sleeps. David Berkowitz is an American serial killer who
18:41committed multiple shootings and a stabbing between 1975 and 1977. Playing complicated games of guilt
18:48and denial, Berkowitz recanted key details of the crimes he had committed. Claiming he didn't act alone,
18:54or wasn't responsible for every attack, Berkowitz insisted that he obeyed the orders of a demon
18:59manifested in the form of a black dog named Sam that belonged to his neighbor. He confessed to
19:05carrying out the shootings, and claimed that the devil was talking to him through neighbor Sam Carr's dog,
19:11instructing him to kill. On other occasions, Berkowitz suggested a cult committed the murders,
19:17and he only participated partially, even with an eventual guilty plea. His shifting stories and
19:22tendency to minimize his own involvement have kept doubts, mysteries, and chilling speculation alive.
19:28There's no question that Berkowitz would have gone on. Dennis Rader. Before ultimately confessing,
19:34Dennis Rader, or the notorious BTK killer, initially denied all involvement in the killings
19:40linked to his cryptic letters. That man was Dennis Rader, the president of the congregation
19:46at Christ Lutheran Church. Living a double life for decades, Rader alienated himself from public
19:52speculation on his involvement in the crimes attributed to the mysterious figure BTK. Even
19:58after resuming communication with authorities in the early 2000s, he initially presented himself as
20:03merely an observer in the case. After years of denial and misleading statements, Rader eventually
20:09gave a full confession. I had never strangled anyone before, so I really didn't know how much pressure
20:15you had to put on a person or how long it would take. Nevertheless, his early denials became part of
20:20what made the BTK case so chilling. Rader's long-standing refusal to admit guilt, until digital
20:26evidence cornered him, was a major factor in the case's enduring notoriety. Because Dennis Rader was
20:32pleading guilty, there was to be no trial.
20:50Ivan Milot, Australia's most infamous backpacker murderer, maintained his innocence from conviction,
20:57until his passing. Despite physical evidence, witness testimony, and extensive investigations
21:02linking him to the killings, Ivan Milot insisted he was wrongly accused.
21:07He has actually said to me, I have not done this.
21:11Refusing every opportunity to confess, Milot denied closure to victims' families. Throughout appeals,
21:17interviews, and correspondence, Milot repeatedly claimed the justice system targeted him unfairly.
21:23Milot would always say, oh, it was planted, I was framed. But he would always have an answer,
21:28he would always have a reason or an answer to support what he was saying.
21:33In a resolve for denial that lasted decades, Milot's case was an unwavering rejection of
21:39responsibility rarely seen in such high-profile cases. So much so, that upon his deathbed,
21:45Milot wrote a declaration of innocence, taking his secrets to the grave.
21:49But even on his deathbed, mercy was beyond Ivan Milot.
21:53Which of these cases do you think are remembered differently by the criminal's maintenance of
21:57innocence? Let us know in the comments.
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