In this episode of Rotten Mango, host Stephanie Soo examines a case involving a series of videos documenting a planned murder. The investigation reveals how online communities and forums dedicated to extreme interests played a role in connecting the victim and perpetrator. The summary details the contents of three videos that were created and shared online, as well as the background of both individuals involved.
The episode covers how online investigators used OSINT techniques to uncover the killer's identity by analyzing physical features and tracking digital footprints across multiple platforms. Soo discusses the relationship between the victim and killer, including their interactions in various online communities and how their shared interests ultimately led to the crime. The summary also explores the broader context of content moderation in online spaces where users discuss and share extreme interests.

Sign up for Shortform to access the whole episode summary along with additional materials like counterarguments and context.
A series of three meticulously planned videos documents a murder, forming a disturbing narrative trilogy. The first video shows a "rehearsal" where a man in office attire allows himself to be tied up by a masked individual. The second video captures the actual execution, showing the victim's decapitation in a bathroom setting. In the final video, the masked perpetrator dismembers the victim's body and appears to prepare it for consumption.
These videos are notable for their distinct camera angles and raw, unedited aesthetic, suggesting they were intentionally created as a cohesive narrative rather than random footage.
Stephanie Soo investigates online communities where individuals share extreme interests like cannibalism and necrophilia. She describes forums such as "Cannibal Cafe," where users openly discussed their dark fantasies and desires. The victim, identified as Wen Swan Dat, had been active in these communities since 2019, expressing his desire to be beheaded.
Soo notes that while forum participants often argue these interests are harmless when kept as fantasies, the lack of oversight in these online spaces has led to a concerning normalization of extreme content. She points to examples like Chinese Telegram groups and the former subreddit "watch people die" as evidence of this troubling trend.
OSINT investigators played a crucial role in identifying the killer by analyzing distinctive physical features and tracking online presence. They compiled a comprehensive dossier linking various accounts and uncovering connections between the victim and the suspect. The investigation revealed that the killer, later identified as Do An Sang, had been following the victim across multiple platforms under the name Duan Seng.
The case reveals a complex dynamic between the victim and killer. Wen actively sought out communities sharing his extreme interests, particularly his fascination with beheading. Do An Sang claimed that Wen had introduced and persuaded him to participate in the act. The killer's online activity and the methodical way the crime was carried out suggest previous experience with similar acts, including discussions about trading body parts and expertise in disposal methods.
1-Page Summary
A series of three graphic videos depicting a murder has been meticulously planned and produced, with each installment building on the last to form a twisted narrative.
The collection of videos, intended to be consumed by an audience, shows an escalation from rehearsal to a full execution and subsequent butchering.
The first video in the trilogy, "Rehearsal," shows two men—one dressed for the office and the other in a tracksuit and an anonymous mask—in an office setting. The office-dressed man allows himself to be tied up without resistance. They engage in an odd interaction where the man being tied up appears contemplative, annoyed at the masked man's slow pace. He assumes a position with his head on a wooden block and gazes into the camera, while the masked man mockingly performs a sawing motion with a cleaver above his neck without making contact.
The second part, "The Execution," begins with the office-dressed man lying on a plastic tarp in a bathroom. This installment escalates as the presumed killer enters and uses a meat cleaver to forcibly decapitate him. The video captures this grotesque act from both a top-down view and a close-up side angle, contributing to its shocking realism.
In the chilling third installment, "The Butchering," the masked man dissects and methodically dismembers the victim. The gruesome footage shows organs being placed in water buckets and limbs cooked in pots, with the implication of these body parts being prepared for consumption, accompanied by a detailed description of the "meals" prepared from the victim's remains.
These videos are notabl ...
The Graphic Murder Videos and Their Disturbing Content
Stephanie Soo investigates the disturbing online communities where individuals with extreme interests, such as cannibalism and necrophilia, communicate and share their dark fantasies.
Soo delves into the "Cannibal Cafe," a now-defunct forum where people with a penchant for cannibalism would congregate to discuss their sinister cravings. She unveils posts where individuals presented themselves as willing meals and lamented the scarcity of genuine cannibals to fulfill their fantasies. Even though the Cannibal Cafe was shut down after a notorious crime in 2001, the existence of this and similar forums points to a considerable number of individuals interested in such extreme activities.
Wen Swan Dat created multiple accounts across various forums detailing his beheading fantasies. Soo speaks about Wen's online history, which shows postings since at least 2019, where he conveyed his longing to be decapitated by an axe, sword, or in a female-led execution. Wen's infatuation is evident in his interactions, such as asking for the Vietnamese translation of a manga about death and expressing a desire to meet someone to fulfill his dark fantasy.
Participants within these dark forums rationalize such discussions, claiming that entertaining these interests as mere fantasies is non-threatening in the absence of actual victims. Soo, however, indicates the thin line between fantasy and reality in these groups.
The ease with which one could access graphic content ...
Online Communities and Forums for Extreme Interests
An online investigation by netizens and OSINT investigators aided in uncovering the identity of a killer who might have been seeking new victims or involved in multiple incidents.
Netizens analyzed photos of the killer, noting distinctive features such as a blue face mask, scars, a stocky build, a birthmark near his armpit, and a tattoo with the numbers 139. OSINT investigators found a closely associated account with every platform the victim, Tan Chung, was on. This account, Duan Seng, always followed the victim across every platform.
OSINT investigators, operating anonymously on platforms like Facebook and Twitter, compiled over a 100-page dossier PDF document detailing every case aspect. Soo mentions an investigative group called Osint and Cyber Investigations in Vietnam which released a document translated into English to aid the investigation into the Vietnamese butcher case. They focused on identifying the victim through online traces and connections, using a phone number to link various online accounts. They discovered the victim's age to be 36 and linked multiple user accounts with variations of his name and the word "beheading."
Authorities eventually arrested an individual named Do An Sang, who confessed to the crimes. However, the online community played a critical role in connecting clues and compiling evidence.
Rui Qian notes that until everything was crystal clear, the police did not get involved. There was real-time discovery by the internet community in the recent months, not by the police. The investigation encountered blocks as the authorities seemed uninvolved and there was difficulty discussing the case publicly, impacting the community's access to evidence.
The ...
Online Investigation to Uncover Killer's Identity
The case explores the complex relationship between a victim with morbid fascinations and a killer with a history of violence. The victim, Wen, harbored extreme interests, while the killer, Duan Seng, had a history that suggests premeditated expertise.
Wen actively sought communities and individuals that shared his extreme interests, particularly his fascination with beheading. In 2025, Wen ominously posted on Facebook about the imminence of his own execution.
Wen's postings on various forums indicate his active pursuit to find someone willing to actualize his dark fantasies. He communicated his fetish for wanting to be beheaded, which was corroborated by an anonymous friend speaking to online investigators. Wen expressed this desire openly in the forums he participated in.
While direct evidence of Wen's conspiracy with Duan Seng is not provided, the connections suggest that Wen’s posts may have led to him meeting someone like Duan Seng who could fulfill his desire. Leaked messages between Wen and a friend mention Chung, connected to the beheading. Do An Sang claimed that he had been introduced to and persuaded by Wen to engage in this macabre act.
Duan Seng, suspected to be the butcher, exhibited both a familiarity with and confidence in discussing topics such as cannibalism and violence that hint at more than just theoretical knowledge.
Victim's Relationship With Killer and Dark Desires
Download the Shortform Chrome extension for your browser
