In 1981 in Kansas, Melinda Raisch became the center of a deadly love triangle that ended in brutal betrayal. Unhappy in her marriage to David Harmon, Raisch began an affair with Mark Mangelsdorf, and together the two conspired to eliminate Harmon rather than pursue divorce.

In early 2017, William "Billy" Boyette and accomplice Mary Rice led law enforcement on a violent, week-long manhunt across the Florida Panhandle and South Alabama. The spree began on January 31 with the double homicide of Boyette's ex-girlfriend and her friend in Milton, Florida, followed by two more fatal shootings during carjackings and home invasions in Alabama and Beulah, Florida.

In 1992, the movie American Me directed by Edward James Olmos portrayed a fictionalized rise of a Mexican Mafia leader inside California’s prison system, aiming to expose the brutality and cyclical violence of gang culture. But its stark realism angered members of the real Mexican Mafia, who reportedly saw it as a humiliating portrayal. After the film’s release, several people connected to the production, including consultant Ana Lizarraga, were murdered in what many believed were acts of retaliation. Danny Trejo, who appeared in the film and had real-life prison experience, later revealed that he warned Olmos during production that certain scenes could provoke serious backlash from gang leadership, and he has spoken publicly about the tension and fear surrounding the fallout.