Reported incidents
Murder of Gina Castillo
In January 1998, Mario Padilla, 16, and his cousin, Samuel Ramirez, 14, stabbed Padilla's mother, Gina Castillo, forty-five times, killing her. The case became known as the "Scream murder" and fell under intense media scrutiny after the boys claimed they were inspired by Scream and Scream 2. They would also admit to needing the money acquired from Gina's murder to fund a killing spree and purchase two Ghostface costumes and a voice-changer used by the character in the film. During their trial, psychologist Madeline Levine, who studied the effect of violence on children, stated "There were a whole bunch of reasons why they acted out that way. But did the movie provide a blueprint? Absolutely." [1]
The case was expected to highlight the effect of violent films on teenagers but the presiding judge, John Cheroske, ordered that evidence pertaining to Scream be barred and that the case not be referred to as the "Scream murder", refusing media access to the courtroom, intending that the case be tried as "murder and nothing else". [2] [1]
Murder of Ashley Murray
On January 17, 1999, Ashley Murray, 13, was stabbed multiple times in the head and back before being left for dead by then-friends Daniel Gill, 14, and Robert Fuller, 15; he was later found and rescued by an elderly dogwalker. Gill and Fuller were dubbed the "Scream attackers" after it emerged that they had watched Scream shortly before the attack and drawings of the Ghostface mask were found amongst their possessions, though their actions were additionally blamed on physical abuse, drugs and exposure to black magic in their home life. [3] Murray, who later testified against the pair, himself stated that he believed the film may have influenced the pair to attack him. [4]
Murder of Alisson Cambier
In November 2001, a 24-year-old man, Thierry Jaradin, stabbed a young girl, Alisson Cambier, 30 times; similar to the way the victim was stabbed in the movie. He had been wearing the Ghostface costume, and later confessed that he was inspired by the Scream movie franchise. [5]
Murder of Cassie Jo Stoddart
On September 22, 2006, Cassie Jo Stoddart, a high school student, was murdered by her classmates Brian Draper and Torey Adamcik in her aunt and uncle's house in Pocatello, Idaho, United States. [6] Draper and Adamcik claimed that they were inspired to murder Stoddart by Scream, which led to them being nicknamed "the Scream Killers". Adamcik and Draper recorded documentary-style videos about how they were horror movie fans, especially Scream, and wanted to reenact a similar murder in real life. [7]
2022 Cocoa, Florida, incident
In January 2022, following the release of the fifth film, Logan Smith, 18, of Cocoa, Florida, tried to strangle a jogger to death after watching Scream, with intent to keep the corpse. [8]
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