Deathbed confessions were once thought to be the stuff of movies, but it turns out that some people feel the need to share their deepest and darkest secrets before they depart earth. Maybe it’s the self-reflection that comes with nearing the end of life or the feeling of guilt and regret that comes with keeping skeletons in the closet. Whatever the case may be, information tends to come out and there are some cases when the information is too crazy to believe. Here’s a list of some of the most shocking deathbed confessions. 

1. Blame it on The War

A terminal patient who wished to remain anonymous confessed to his nurse that he took the life of his twin brother while they both served in the Army during the Vietnam War. The motive was simple, he wanted his brother’s life and ending his twin’s would allow him to take everything from his home to his brother’s wife. He went through with the plan. He and his clueless “wife” lived happily for some time even having children until she died many years later. While on his deathbed, he confessed to his children who quickly dismissed his claim, casting blame on his dementia. But months later, one of his daughters, while looking in his old bible, found a handwritten confession written decades prior.

2. A Confession He’ll Live to Regret

Many people feel some sense of relief after sharing their deepest secrets but one man, James Washington, would live to regret his decision to confess. While serving a 15-year prison sentence for attempted murder, James suffered a serious heart attack which led many to believe, including James, that he would not make it. Seeing the end in sight, he admitted to taking Joyce Goodener’s life in 1995. Unfortunately for James, he made a full recovery and was later convicted of murder. Despite trying to recant his confession, he received a life sentence and put an end to an unsolved mystery. 

3. Your Brother is Not Your Brother

While on his deathbed, an elderly man revealed to his daughter that her younger brother was not his biological son. Her mother, (the elderly man’s wife) passed away a few years earlier and took the secret with her, but he already knew. When she learned that she was pregnant, it would have caused a scandal if it was revealed that she was pregnant by another man. The elderly man decided to raise the child as his own and no one had any idea. A few months later, the daughter revealed the information to her brother, who didn’t seem to be bothered by the news.

4. No One Will Suspect a Librarian

Librarian and language enthusiast Harvey Richardson lived a modest life in Merseyside, Liverpool where he was never suspected of any criminal activity. At the age of 77, he passed away from bowel cancer and after a few months, his house was put on the market. While rummaging through his things decorators found a satchel with envelopes stuffed with newspaper clippings of a 38-year-old unsolved murder. In the satchel, they also found a nine-page long document of Richardson confessing to the murder of Lorraine Jacob. Why? Because Jacob had stolen his camera after he had taken pictures of her children. 

5. It Wasn’t Me

On the morning of January 12th, 1966, 17-year-old Christine Kett was found bludgeoned by her brother on their cellar steps. After being questioned, his alibi cleared his name from the list of potential suspects. Their mother, who arrived on the scene hours later, went hysterical after learning of her daughter’s passing. She stated that she had not seen her daughter since that morning, but their neighbors told a different story. She remained a suspect but two years later, the case went cold. Seventeen years go by, and the mother who was on her deathbed admitted to her son that she killed her daughter. She made him promise to keep it to himself, but he told police shortly after she died.