Buzz
While booby traps are often seen in films, they are not just a cinematic device. In reality, people have constructed these mechanisms to deter intruders, including criminals and sometimes even law enforcement, from entering their properties.
Unfortunately, booby traps don’t always target the intended individuals. Numerous people have fallen victim to their own devices, resulting in fatalities or severe, life-altering injuries in some cases.
10. Louis Dethy
In 2002, Belgian authorities investigated an apparent suicide at a residence in Charleroi, Belgium. The deceased, 79-year-old Louis Dethy, was initially thought to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the neck. However, further investigation revealed that Dethy had accidentally triggered one of the many booby traps he had installed in his home, leading to his fatal injury.
Terrifyingly, Dethy designed the trap to harm his own family. He was enraged with his wife for divorcing him and his 14 children and 37 grandchildren for cutting ties with him. His frustration peaked when his mother bequeathed his house to one of his estranged daughters. Although Dethy owned the house, the land belonged to his mother.
As an act of vengeance, he equipped his three-story residence with multiple shotguns, a stack of plates, and an explosive crate filled with beer.
A police officer narrowly escaped death when a shotgun discharged as he opened a wooden chest, missing him by mere centimeters. Military engineers spent three weeks locating and deactivating all 19 traps. Dethy left a hint implying the existence of a 20th trap, but it was never discovered by the engineers.
9. Julius Jackson
In November 1986, police officers arrived at a Houston, Texas home following reports of a shooting. Outside, they discovered homeowner Julius Jackson suffering from a gunshot wound to his left leg. Jackson warned the officers against entering his house, which they later discovered was rigged with booby traps. Jackson had inadvertently fallen victim to one of his own devices.
Ironically, Jackson had installed the booby traps himself. He claimed that his home was frequently targeted by burglars, having been robbed ten times over five years. To deter intruders, he rigged shotguns to fire at knee level when triggered.
Jackson was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. A bomb squad was called to deactivate the remaining traps. While authorities did not disclose the exact number of traps, his ex-wife mentioned that Jackson had boasted about placing a shotgun in every room of the house.
8. Ernest Michelberger
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
In 2015, Ernest Gaylord Michelberger tragically died after being sliced in half by a chainsaw inside his Savannah, Georgia home. The gruesome scene resembled a horror movie, but it was no fiction. Michelberger had accidentally activated a booby trap he had installed himself.
His son, Gunner, revealed that Michelberger had rigged his home with two chainsaws and several guns, fearing burglaries from minorities moving into the neighborhood. However, before any break-in occurred, Michelberger accidentally triggered one of the chainsaws, which fatally severed him at the waist.
7. Edwin Smith
In October 2018, 68-year-old Edwin Cleve dialed 911 after a booby trap in his Cleveland County, North Carolina home misfired. He informed the dispatcher, “I just blew my arm off,” detailing how a rigged shotgun he had set up discharged and severely injured his arm.
At the time of the incident, Smith was feeding squirrels through his back door. A man believed to be a Cleveland County Sheriff’s deputy saved him from bleeding to death by applying a tourniquet. The dispatcher overheard Smith telling the officer, “F**king squirrels did me in, buddy.”
6. Daniel Ricketts
In 2013, 50-year-old Daniel R. Ricketts was tragically decapitated after his quad bike collided with a nearly invisible piano wire strung between two marijuana plants on an illegal farm in Albany County, New York.
Though piano wires may seem harmless, they are incredibly strong and razor-sharp. Combined with Ricketts' likely high speed at the time of the accident, the wire acted as a lethal weapon, as sharp as a blade.
Ironically, Ricketts owned the illegal marijuana farm and had set up the piano wires to safeguard his crop from thieves, rival criminals, and possibly law enforcement. The wire was intended to decapitate intruders.
Instead, Ricketts became the victim of his own trap. The wire caught his neck, throwing him off his bike and nearly severing his head. He died instantly at the scene. Authorities confirmed he was intoxicated at the time and discovered multiple leg traps and barbed wires scattered across the farm.
5. Ronald Cyr
On Thanksgiving evening in 2019, 65-year-old Ronald Cyr dialed 911 after being shot inside his Van Buren, Maine home. Emergency responders arrived to provide first aid and rushed him to the hospital, but Cyr ultimately died from his injuries.
4. Langley Collyer
The Collyer brothers resided in Harlem, New York. Homer, the elder brother, was blind and confined to his bed, while Langley, the younger, cared for him. The brothers lived in isolation, avoiding interaction with others, surrounded by numerous booby traps and 120 tons of clutter inside their home.
Before Homer lost his sight, the brothers led a more public life. However, after Homer became blind, they withdrew from society, retreating into their home. Langley sealed the windows and ventured out only at night to gather food and collect random objects, which he hoarded until their house resembled a garbage dump.
Langley installed numerous booby traps throughout the house to deter nosy neighbors and newcomers. He also fed Homer a hundred oranges weekly, believing it would restore his brother’s vision. So confident was Langley in Homer’s recovery that he saved every newspaper he found, anticipating the day Homer could read them again.
Unfortunately, this hope never materialized. Langley was killed when a booby-trapped tunnel collapsed on him as he carried dinner to Homer. Homer, blind and helpless, eventually starved to death.
Their deaths came to light in March 1947 when a foul odor from the house prompted a complaint. Police discovered Homer’s body but initially suspected Langley had fled, sparking a manhunt. Langley’s partially decomposed body was later found in the tunnel, just 10 feet from where Homer had perished.
3. Jos Potvin
Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons
In October 2010, authorities discovered the body of 75-year-old Jos Lawrence Potvin in his Levis, Quebec City home. Initially suspected to be a suicide due to a gunshot wound, further investigation revealed his death was accidental.
Before his demise, Potvin had reported to police that burglars were attempting to break into his home. However, officers found no evidence to support his claims.
Despite this, the increasingly paranoid Potvin rigged a shotgun to his bedroom door, designed to fire when someone stepped on a tripwire. For reasons unknown, Potvin triggered the trap himself, resulting in his immediate death.
2. Another Unnamed Man
In 2018, residents of a Tomball, Texas neighborhood contacted 911 after hearing gunshots from a nearby home. They believed the shooter had locked himself inside the property.
Harris County Sheriff’s deputies arrived to find a 73-year-old man outside the house with multiple wounds on the right side of his abdomen. The homeowner warned officers, “There’s danger in the home.” A deputy tried to enter but retreated after hearing a gunshot from within.
SWAT teams arrived to confront the alleged shooter but discovered no one. Instead, they found a booby-trapped explosive device rigged by the elderly homeowner. The device contained small metal fragments and shotgun shells, designed to detonate when triggered. A Sheriff’s spokesperson stated the man had set the trap to deter burglars.
1. Unnamed Man
On September 17, 2017, Tubac Fire Department firefighters responded to an explosion at an unoccupied home in Amado, Arizona. Inside, they discovered an unnamed man, whom they rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Investigators discovered that the man owned the building and was constructing a pipe bomb with a friend when the explosion occurred. Authorities concluded the bomb was intended to safeguard the property, though the specific threat or motive remained unclear. The device detonated prematurely, resulting in the man’s injuries.
