While plenty of people have idly fantasized about killing their boss, a select few people have actually done it. Whether it's a work-related dispute, a robbery, or revenge for being laid off, employees giving the ultimate bad performance review happens more often than you might think. Most of these cases involve long-held grudges, but a few appear to have been spur of the moment.
In a few cases, the murder happens because the employee has been discovered stealing from the employer, like in the case of the murder of pop-star Selena by her fan club president. And in a few cases, we'll never know, because the killer was themselves shot dead, or committed suicide.
Here are some cases of employers who killed their bosses, and what became of them.
Photo: Harris County Jail
Domenic Micheli Murdered His Ex-Boss With A Hatchet And Fled
This picture more closely resembles what Domenic Micheli looks like now. He was last seen driving this older model Toyota Yaris. Murder warrant being drafted. See Micheli or the car? 615-862-8600. pic.twitter.com/74u3YwNtpv
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) June 4, 2018
On June 4, 2018, Domenic Micheli fatally stabbed his former manager at a gym near Belle Meade, TN. The victim, 46-year-old Joel Paavola, was leading a workout routine at the Balance Training Center around 7 am when Micheli used a hatchet and another bladed-weapon to kill his ex-boss. Micheli struck Paavola multiple times and then fled. Paavola was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and declared dead.
According to detectives, Micheli was fired 14 months prior to the attack. Paavola's friends told local news sources that Micheli was often paranoid and would post long rants on social media.
Micheli was previously arrested on April 27, 2018, by the Secret Service after driving his car to a White House checkpoint and refusing requests to move.
Jeffrey Johnson Shot His Boss And Caused A Bloodbath At The Empire State Building
After six years working at Midtown, Manhattan, clothing design firm Hazan Imports, Johnson was laid off. He returned to the design firm with a .45 caliber pistol and shot his former boss. After shooting the man to the ground, he started walking toward the Empire State Building. Once he got there, NYPD officers confronted him, and a shootout erupted. Nine people were hurt, while Johnson was shot dead.
Sarah McLinn Nearly Beheaded The Boss Who Was Taking Care Of Her
Harold Sasko was the 52-year-old owner of a Cici’s pizza restaurant franchise in Kansas when he hired 19-year-old Sarah McLinn. Knowing she'd recently been in some dangerous situations, he welcomed her to come live with him. She returned the favor by mixing sleeping pills in his beer, binding his hands and feet with zip-ties, and sawing his head nearly off.
McLinn's defense attorneys argued that dissociative identity disorder was to blame, and that McLinn had as many as four different personalities - one of whom, named Alyssa, was the actual killer. Prosecutors claimed McLinn had researched vulnerable spots on the neck, and planned to flee after the killing. She was found guilty of the crime.
Carter Cervantez And Clarence 'David' Mallory Strangled Their Ex-Manager
Cervantez and Mallory were accused of stealing $18,000 from the Fort Worth American Eagle store they worked at during the summer of 2014, and subsequently disappeared. They came back Thanksgiving weekend to brutally murder their former boss, Ashlea Harris. The store manager was found in her apartment bound with duct tape, beaten, burned, and strangled.
The duo took her keys, which led police to track them back to the American Eagle store, which they were attempting to rob.
Randolph Sanders Executed His Boss After She Found He'd Stolen From Their Nonprofit
Kim Jones, program director at Philadelphia nonprofit Turning Points for Children, was shot in the head execution-style in public by a man who took a gun out of a bag and fled afterward. Several weeks later, Philly police zeroed in on Randolph Sanders, Jones's assistant director, and someone she'd worked with for years.
Jones had determined that Sanders had stolen at least $40,000 from the nonprofit, and was about to go to Philadelphia's Department of Human Services with her findings, which likely would have ended with Sanders being arrested. After Sanders was caught, he confessed to the murder.
Ernesto Hernandez Avalos Beat His Boss To Death With A Shovel
In January 2007, Avalos was a 28-year-old California day laborer. While doing some landscaping work, his boss, Woo Sung Park, told him he was working too slowly. Avalos responded to the criticism by hitting Park in the back of head with his shovel, then beating him to death with it.
Police arrived, and attempted to take Avalos into custody, at which point Avalos grabbed a pick axe to finish Park off. He was sentenced to 26 years to life in prison anyway.
