We all have our dark impulses, but whether we act on them or not separates us from the evildoers.

It's a shivering thought when you think about it, but even those who've committed atrocious and violent acts have, at one time, been normal people.

But let's examine who "normal" people are. Is it someone who's a wallflower, extremely insecure but adept at hiding it, or outgoing individuals who appear to do good in society but operate differently behind closed doors?

Regardless of what it means, it's someone we all know, and strangers online shared their experiences after Redditor MrDownhillRacerer asked:

"Folks who knew somebody in school who would later make the news for being charged with murder: what was that person like?"

Warning: These detailed examples of violence are not for the squeamish.

Sometimes the quiet ones are suspect. You never know what they're thinking. Are they painfully shy? Or stealthily malicious?

The Illustrator

"Kinda strange dude but very quiet and soft-spoken. Good at pencil drawing. About 5 years after high school he stabbed his uncle to death."

"Drove to his girlfriend’s house, took a sh*t in her front yard, forced her into the car and drove her to another state. Let her go and turned around and drove back."

"Asked to use the phone at a gas station and was told no until the cashier looked up and realized he was absolutely covered in blood. Called the cops and surrendered. Never saw that one coming."

– ironfoot22

Ruined By Vengeance

"His mom (a teacher at the high school) was hit by a negligent semi-truck driver in front of the school and passed pretty much instantly. 8 years later he got arrested for hiring someone to hunt down the truck driver."

"What makes it truly tragic is when he got arrested he had just won a very messy custody battle for his kid from his incredibly abusive and horrible ex-wife."

"He was a good kid, he just never quite moved on from what happened."

– Revolutionary-Ad5783

Different In The Eyes

"Went to high school with Jimmie Holmes, the Aurora theater shooter. Same graduating class, same circle of friends."

"He was a typical nerd like the rest of us; into anime, video games, MTG(edit: Magic: the Gathering) during lunch in the calc teacher's classroom."

"He was a bit eccentric, but we all were back then, trying to fit in with other weirdos. I never knew about his mental health/illness struggles."

"It was... sobering, to see him on the news. It didn't register that it was him at first, he looked like a completely different person. And not just physically... His eyes were the most striking part. You could almost see the mania. They didn't look like that before."

– iRhuel

Unpredictable circumstances led to fatal consequences.

The Death Blow

"Not murder but manslaughter. He was popular, cocky, well off, entitled, but really no different than most of the preppy/rich kids. He wasn’t even really a bully so much as a jerk. I was not cool nor popular but I got to know a different side of him as his tutor."

"Despite his popularity and stunningly good looks (dude could have easily been a model), he was dyslexic and would stutter if he got nervous. He wasn’t dumb but he struggled to learn and covered his insecurity with bravado."

"Anyway, about a month after his 21st birthday he got into a bar fight. From all accounts both he and the victim were equally drunk, equally belligerent, and fighting over the typical stupid sh*t young drunk men fight over."

"He caught the other guy with one of those one-in-a-million punches that killed him."

"Despite having considerable family wealth he didn’t fight it, took responsibility, and pled guilty without a plea deal. He got seven fixed with thirteen indeterminate, got paroled at ten (note: the victim’s family asked parole be denied at the 7yr hearing, had no objection to release at 10)."

"We stayed in touch and I can say this guy took what he did very seriously, spent his incarceration working on his education and bettering himself, and is now out, staying sober, working, and engaged."

– Distinct_Safety5762

Could it be that some people are just born evil? These examples leave one pondering.

Master Manipulator

"She was my childhood bully and I always thought she was a psychopath. She ended up convincing her boyfriend (affair partner) to kill her husband (father of her children) while he was on leave (Army)."

"Convicted of conspiracy to commit murder."

– Mishamaze

Notorious Kansas Killer

"I know someone who was best friends with Dennis Rader all through childhood up until he was identified as BTK [bind, torture, kill]. Rader is in a f'k load of their childhood photos because they were always at each other's houses growing up."

"It messed up every member of that immediate family when it became undeniable that Rader was BTK. To say they had no idea would be a massive understatement."

"It caused its own kind of trauma trying to acknowledge that these seemingly separate entities were actually the same person, one who they trusted and allowed around their kids."

"They were also forced to accept that they were with him immediately before or after some of the crimes."

"Knowing you spent those years terrified of BTK and then realizing he was in your house the whole time is a unique kind of mindf'k."

– SlipperySloane

Meeting The Green River Killer

"My ex father in law worked at a trucking company in Renton acrossed from a Kenworth truck assembly plant. He would stop at a convenience store every day at 5am and get coffee and there was always a guy that he would talk to and make small talk with. He introduced himself as Gary."

"A few years later, he was watching the news and Gary's picture came up on the TV. Apparently, it was Gary Ridgeway the Green River killer."

"He said he was a normal guy, nothing abnormal about thier conversations."

– dGaOmDn

Beyond Bullying

"In elementary school, an older, bigger kid who lived a few houses down from me was picking on me one afternoon on the bus ride home."

"My memory is foggy, but I recall my brother intervened and the kid, in retaliation, crushed my brother against the seat of the bus until the bus driver stopped him. I always knew him as a bully; stereotypically so, too. He was big for his age. Aggressive."

"20 years or so later, it turned out that he'd murdered his girlfriend's husband. He bragged about it to his friends and eventually was arrested."

"The police suspected he'd killed others before, buried their bodies on his property or in the state park. In an interview with the local paper, one of the detectives said something to the effect of, 'I've investigated violent crimes for 30 years. And this guys scares me.'"

– AmericanHigh

The Young Prodigy

"There was a 'child prodigy' in my HS that won tons of awards, entered and succeeded at Science Fairs, etc… I was in a standard electronics course with him, he was very nice, but I remember he was basically a full grown man at 15."

"Dark heavy beard, signs of a receding hairline, and super built. He was well known for lifting weights. When he was 29 he executed his wife in their driveway."

– fosgobbit

Excuses For Everything

"Attempted murder. She always had an excuse for why she did bad things. Cheated on tests? She didn't have time to study! Stole money from work? My bills were due! Hit her husband? He was too feminine!"

"Went into so much debt that they lost their home? She deserved nice things! Hired a hitman? Her husband wouldn't give her money for drugs!"

– Ohhmegawd

It's nearly impossible to tell what people are capable of in the heat of the moment.

And whenever we think about what so-and-so from our high school days are up to now, let's just hope they're not in the news ever for committing murder.