A man became a TikTok sensation after making several videos about having no idea that his roommate in prison was a serial killer.
Jesse Crosson, who goes by @second_chancer on TikTok, uploaded the video on December 15 and received more than 10.8 million views, 4,300 comments, and 10,700 shares.
At the age of 18, Crosson was sentenced to 32 years for two crimes he described as "unconscionable." About a year in, Crosson was assigned a peculiar roommate.
"In prison I lived with a serial killer for six months before I ever knew he was a serial killer," Crosson said in the video.
He explained that in 2004 when he was 19, he was at Nottoway Correctional Center in Virginia and got a job in the woodshop. He said he was moved to the pod where all the woodshop workers slept.
In the video, Crosson said when he walked into the cell he saw a "little old man" watching TV and drinking coffee. He said he felt relieved that he was not paired with a "young and crazy" roommate.
He said he and Greg got along really well. He said they had normal conversations, played Monopoly together, and that Greg even taught him how to shave.
Crosson said he felt bad for Greg because he never received any calls or mail so he asked his stepmom if she would write to him. He explained that one time when his stepmom came to visit she said, "you know Jesse, your roommate's a serial killer."
He then said he had to go back and have an awkward conversation with Greg about how his stepmom didn't feel comfortable writing to him anymore since she found out he was a serial killer.
Crosson said Greg looked at him and said "yeah you did your homework" before letting out a creepy laugh. He told Newsweek that he lived with Greg for about three months after he found out about what he'd done.
In August, Crosson was granted a conditional pardon by Virginia Governor Northam after just under 19 years in prison.
Now, Crosson posts videos to his more than 515,000 followers on TikTok. Many of his videos recount various experiences in prison, others are about his life before prison and what he learned about the criminal justice system.
In the comments of the video, Crosson said his roommate was Greg Barker, a man featured on NBC's "Unsolved Mysteries" and "America's Most Wanted."
Many users commented about how serial killers tend to be the inmates who fit in the best.
"That's how serial killers are able to kill repeatedly. They tend to fit right in," one user commented.
One user claiming to be a correctional officer said that the murderers are on average the "easiest inmates to deal with."
In May 1992, Barker pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to 110-years in prison for the murder of Hilda Roche. Detectives believed Barker was also connected to numerous unsolved crimes.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Samantha Berlin is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting on trends and human-interest stories. Samantha ... Read more
