Solved Murders - True Crime Stories - The Shocking Kidnapping of John Paul Getty III and His Family’s Cold-Blooded Response PART3 #43

Episode Date: November 2, 2025

#horrorstories #reddithorrorstories #ScaryStories #creepypasta #horrortales #truecrime #gettykidnapping #familytragedy #darkjustice #survivalordeal  “The Shocking Kidnapping of John Paul Getty III and His Family’s Cold-Blooded Response – PART 3” concludes the harrowing saga of the Getty family kidnapping. The story reaches its climax as the young victim struggles to survive amid terrifying circumstances, while the family’s cold decisions continue to shock the world. This final part explores the resolution of the crisis, the aftermath for John Paul Getty III, and the lasting impact of a high-profile crime fueled by wealth, power, and fear.  horrorstories, reddithorrorstories, scarystories, horrorstory, creepypasta, horrortales, gettykidnappingstory, ransomordeal, familydrama, truecrimecase, kidnappedordeal, chillingstory, darkfamilysecrets, survivalordeal, psychologicalfear, crimeandwealth, highstakescrime, shockingfamilyresponse, harrowingordeal, terrifyingtruecrime

There's so much rugby on Sports Extra from Sky. They've asked me to read the whole lad at the same speed I usually use for the legal bit at the end. Here goes. This winter Sports Extra is jam-packed with rugby. For the first time we've got every Champions Cup match exclusively live, plus action from the URC, the Challenge Cup, and much more. Thus the URC and all the best European rugby all in the same place.

Get more exclusively live tournaments than ever before on Sports Extra. Jampack with rugby. Phew, that is a lot of rugby. Get Sports Extra on Sky for 15 euro a month for 12 months. Search Sports Extra. New Sports Extra customers only. Standard Pressing applies after 12 months for the terms apply. I know what you're feeling and I was there too.

And I know you might think that there is nobody to talk to, but I promise that you're not alone. It was never your fault and you deserve support and healing in your own time. Whenever you're ready to talk, Dublin Rape Crisis Centre will be ready to listen. Call the 24-hour National Helpline on 1-800-77-888-8. broken trust, the tragedy of Jean Paul Getty 3 The world carried on without him.

That was the cruel reality Gene Paul had to face. His grandfather had already made it clear that he wouldn't pay, and while the tabloids were busy publishing naked pictures of him on magazine covers like playmen, the boy was rotting away in captivity. It was almost like the universe itself had decided he didn't matter. And the kidnappers noticed. They started slowly, but it didn't take long before the physical and psychological torture became relentless. They didn't just beat him, they broke him in every possible way.

Every day they repeated the same poisonous words. Nobody cares about you. Not your parents. Not your grandfather. Not your family. Nobody. They hammered those words into his brain like nail. They'd rather let you die than lift a finger to save you, they sneered.

Imagine hearing that every hour of every day while you're chained in a damp cave, freezing, starving, and broken. It crushed his spirit. Jean Paul's mind began to unravel. He had always been a boy who liked to joke, who liked to dream, but now he couldn't even trust his own thoughts. He came to believe it. He truly thought the world was laughing at him, ignoring him, and secretly wishing he would just die to make their lives easier. That kind of punishment isn't just physical, it destroys the soul. The cave itself was its own kind of hell. Cold seeped through the stone walls. Moisture dripped constantly, the air heavy with dampness. His bones ached, his back screamed

with pain, and every inch of his body was sore. It was misery layered on misery. And then, things got even worse. On November 4th, Jean Paul turned 17. It should have been a milestone, a step into young adulthood. Instead, it became one of the darkest days of his life. The kidnappers were tired. Weeks had passed, negotiations were going nowhere, and the family still hadn't paid. They decided it was time to prove their seriousness.

They dragged him out of the cave, marched him to a shed, and forced him onto the floor. One man grabbed scissors, cut a lock of his hair, and then, without hesitation, they sliced off his ear. The pain was indescribable. He screamed, he fought, but it was useless. They wrapped the bloody piece in paper and wrote a chilling note to the Getty family. This is Paul's first ear. If within ten days you still believe this is a hoax staged by him, the other ear will arrive. In other words, he will come to you in pieces. The note and the ear were sent to a major newspaper.

And this time, the world could no longer laugh it off. The kidnappers even lowered their ransom. Instead of the original $17 million, they now asked for $3.2 million. Still a huge sum, but significantly less. It was their way of saying, we're willing to negotiate. Take us seriously. Finally, the family began to take notice. But they still dragged their feet.

Every day of delay pushed Jean Paul closer to death. The wound on his ear quickly became infected. Puss oozed from it, his fever climbed, and soon pneumonia set in. He was barely clinging to life. Desperate, the kidnappers tried to save him. They managed to get hold of penicillin, but they weren't doctors. They had no idea about dosages. They pumped him with doses so strong that he nearly died from an allergic reaction.

His body swelled, his breathing turned ragged, and once again he hovered on the edge of death. Panic set in. The kidnappers, now terrified of killing their golden goose, started giving him alcohol constantly, day and night. It was their crude way of numbing his pain, keeping him warm, and keeping him alive. They shoved bottles at him until he was drunk nearly every hour of every day. They thought they were saving him, but in reality, they were turning him into an alcoholic. This detail, as small as it seemed at the time, would go on to shape the rest of his tragic life. days became weeks weeks became months still the giddy family dragged their heels no ransom was paid

no rescue attempt succeeded jean paul remained forgotten on the many days of christmas the guinness storehouse brings to thee a visit filled with festivity experience a story of ireland's most iconic beer in a stunning Christmas setting at the Guinness Storehouse. Enjoy seven floors of interactive exhibitions and finish your visit with brett taken views of Dublin City from the home of Guinness. Live entertainment, great memories and the gravity bar. My goodness, it's Christmas at the Guinness Storehouse. Book now at ginnestorehouse.com.

Get the facts. Be drinkaware. Visit drinkaware.com. There's so much rugby on Sports Exter from Sky. They've asked me to read the whole lad at the same speed I usually use for the legal bit at the end. Here goes. This winter sports extra is jam-packed with rugby For the first time we've got every Champions Cup match exclusively live Plus action from the URC, the Challenge Cup and much more

Thus the URC and all the best European rugby All in the same place Get more exclusively live tournaments than ever before on Sports Extra Jam-packed with rugby Phew, that is a lot of rugby Get Sports Extra on Sky for 15 euro a month for 12 months Search Sports Extra New Sports Extra customers only

Standard Pressing applies after 12 months for the terms apply I know what you're feeling and I was there too And I know you might think that there is nobody to talk to, but I promise that you're not alone. It was never your fault, and you deserve support and healing in your own time. Whenever you're ready to talk, Dublin Rape Crisis Center will be ready to listen. Call the 24-hour National Helpline on 1-800-77-8888. His father, Eugene, begged his own father, the billionaire Jean-Paul Getty Sr., to step in.

Eugene had no money, no assets, nothing. He pleaded with the old man to at least loan him the money to save his son. But the grandfather, cold as ever, devised what he thought was the perfect plan. He told Eugene he would pay no more than $2.2 million, because that was the maximum amount he could write off as tax deductible. Not a penny more. And the money wouldn't go directly to the kidnappers. No, he insisted on lending it to Eugene, who would then have to pay it back, with 4% interest. Think about that.

His grandson was mutilated, tortured, and close to death, and the old man treated it like a business transaction. Cruel, calculated, and heartless. But Eugene was desperate, so he agreed. Finally, after months of horror, the nightmare came to an end. On December 15, 1973, Jean Paul was released. They dumped him at a gas station in Loria, in the province of Potenza. He was filthy, weak, and scarred.

News of his release spread instantly. Reporters, photographers, and television crews swarmed him, eager for a glimpse of the boy who had endured one of the most infamous kidnappings in modern history. His mother, overjoyed, asked him to call his grandfather and thank him for paying the ransom. Jean Paul did as she asked. But when he called, the old man didn't even pick up the phone. He refused to talk to him, proving once again how little he cared. Nine of the kidnappers were arrested.

Among them were two high-ranking members of the Pendrangida Mafia. But justice was shallow. Only two were convicted. The rest walked free. And the majority of the ransom money? It was never recovered. Jean Paul was free, but the scars, both physical and emotional, never left him. The following year, his girlfriend became pregnant. They decided to marry, even though she was already five months along. This decision, unsurprisingly, angered his grandfather once again. To the old man, it was scandalous. But Jean Paul didn't care. He was determined to move forward.

The couple had two children, and on the surface, they seemed happy. But inside, Jean Paul was broken. He suffered from post-traumatic stress. He trusted no one, not his family, not his friends, not even himself. During his captivity, the kidnappers had kept him alive with massive amounts of alcohol. Now he couldn't live without it. He drank to numb the memories, to distract his mind, to silence the voices that told him he was worthless. He also leaned on drugs and medications, battling his demons but always falling back into the same traps.

Despite everything, he tried. He wanted to be a good husband, a good father, a good man. He even underwent surgery in 1977 to reconstruct his ear. He tried his hand at acting, appearing in small roles in films like Raoul Ruiz's territory and Vim Wenders the State of Things. For a brief moment, it seemed like maybe, just maybe, he was finding his footing. The family moved to New York, where they mingled with the legendary artist Andy Warhol and his circle.

But the city became his downfall. By endless parties, fueled by drugs, alcohol, and chaos, Gene Paul spiraled out of control. His wife couldn't take it anymore. She packed up their kids and left. Alone, abandoned, drowning in addiction and trauma, Jean Paul made a desperate choice in 1981. He mixed a cocktail of alcohol, valium, and methadone. His body couldn't handle it.

He suffered liver failure and a massive stroke that left him. tetraplegic, partially blind, and unable to speak. And just like before, the family turned their backs on him. The only person who stayed by his side was his mother. She brought him home, cared for him, and begged Eugene to provide financial support. Eugene refused. She had to take him to court, eventually winning a monthly allowance of $28,000 to care for her disabled son.

Gene Paul regained a small degree of mobility in 1987, but his life was never the same. He lived the rest of his days trapped in his broken body, haunted by the past, until his death on February 5, 2011, at just 54 years old. His story became one of the most infamous tales of wealth, cruelty, and betrayal. The kidnapping of Jean Paul Getty III wasn't just about ransom, it was about the shocking indifference of a family where money meant more than blood. But now the question is yours, what do you think? Was justice ever truly served?

Or was Jean-Paul Giddy III just another victim swallowed by the greed and coldness of a family empire? The end.