Man Concocts Worst Murder Scheme Ever

A New York man has been sentenced to prison for trying to hire someone to run down his ex-girlfriend, who he abused. Not bizarre, right? But Clyde Gardner's original murderous plan was quite bizarre, notes the AP. His idea was to: Kill a bear. Then skin it. Then don the pelt and wait for his ex to take out her garbage. He'd then attack her, using the bear's claws to maul her to death. And, to ensure he got away scot-free, he'd also wear the bear's paws on his feet, thereby avoiding leaving any human footprints.

Shockingly, he abandoned that plan. Unfortunately, his plotting didn't end there. The 57-year-old former demolition derby driver allegedly then asked a friend to kill his ex in a car crash, and gave the friend instructions on how to do it. As so often happens in these cases, the friend decided to go to the cops instead of running the woman down, and Gardner has five to 15 years in prison to show for it. (More weird crimes stories.)