Khaberni - The year 2025 witnessed a series of trials and bizarre crimes that amazed audiences around the world and prompted observers to say that truth is sometimes stranger than fiction, especially since they weren’t limited to simple thefts or individual crimes, but included organized acts and horrific crimes executed by characters with unexpected motives.
This made them a point of interest for global media, which highlighted some of these as the top stories that could be transformed into dramatic Hollywood scripts, particularly because they not only attracted the attention of the police and courts but also sparked extensive debates about crime, punishment, and justice, demonstrating that reality sometimes can be more thrilling and exciting than any fictional scenario.
Louvre Museum Theft
The Louvre Museum experienced a bold theft carried out by four thieves who quickly stormed the site and escaped with jewels worth $100 million in less than eight minutes, where surveillance cameras captured their arrival in a truck and using a ladder to access the balcony, before speeding away from the scene. Despite their capture and being charged with organized theft, the stolen jewels have not yet been recovered.
The Black Widow in Iran
Iranian authorities managed to uncover a series of murders carried out by Kalthoum Akbari, a 56-year-old known as the “Black Widow.”
Over twenty years, Kalthoum married and killed between 11 and 15 elderly men by poisoning them with drugs like diabetes pills and sedatives, aiming to take their money and transfer it to her family. In the end, she was sentenced to death ten times after the murder of 11 of her former husbands was proven, while the family of one of the victims agreed to accept blood money instead of executing the death sentence.
The Golden Toilet Theft
A unique artwork—a fully functional golden toilet—disappeared from Blenheim Palace in Britain just two days after it was displayed in an exhibition by artist Maurizio Cattelan.
In 2025, three men were convicted of being responsible for the theft, namely James Chin, Michael Jones, and Fred Du, and reports stated that the gold used in the toilet was worth £2.8 million and is suspected to have been melted down, with it not being found to date.
Crime “The Body in the Blue Barrel”
In a horrific case in Meerut, India, the wife of a merchant navy officer, Swarup Raghubut, and her lover poisoned him and cut his body into 15 pieces, then placed the body in a blue barrel filled with cement in March.
The crime was discovered after his six-year-old daughter pointed out to her grandmother "Daddy is in the barrel," leading to the arrest of the suspects, who confessed to their crime; they are still in pre-trial detention while the trial continues.
The Fall of Sean "Diddy" Combs
The music world was shaken globally by the downfall of Sean Diddy Combs after a series of sexual assault and human trafficking lawsuits since 2023, followed by several inspections of his properties, then a criminal trial in 2025 where he was convicted of multiple charges including transporting people for prostitution.
In the sentencing session on October 3rd, Combs apologized to his victims and family, before being sentenced to 4 years and 2 months in prison, alongside a fine of $500,000, and was subjected to judicial supervision for 5 years after his release.
