Unsolved cases
Homicides and other crimes with no one held responsible. Some are a century old. Some are from this year.
Texarkana Moonlight Murders
The Texarkana Moonlight Murders, a term coined by the contemporary press, was a series of four unsolved serial murders and related violent crimes committed in the Texarkana region of the United States in early 1946. They were attributed to an alleged unidentified perpetrator known as the Phantom of Texarkana, the Phantom Killer, or the Phantom Slayer. This hypothetical suspect is credited with attacking eight…
2000 · MassachusettsUnsolvedKilling of Molly Bish
The murder of Molly Anne Bish is an unsolved child murder that occurred in Warren, Massachusetts, after 16-year-old high-school student Molly Anne Bish disappeared while working as a lifeguard on June 27, 2000. Her disappearance led to the most extensive and expensive search for a missing person ever undertaken in the state of Massachusetts. In June 2003, Bish's remains were found in Hampden County, 5 mi (8 km) from…
1981UnsolvedWonderland murders
The Wonderland murders, also known as the Four on the Floor Murders or the Laurel Canyon Murders, are four unsolved murders that occurred in Los Angeles on July 1, 1981. It is assumed that five people were targeted to be killed in the known drug house of the Wonderland Gang, three of whom—Ron Launius, William "Billy" Deverell and Joy Miller—and the girlfriend of an accomplice, Barbara Richardson, died from extensive…
1938UnsolvedKing D. Gray
King D. Gray (1886–1938) was an American cinematographer active in Hollywood from the 1910s through the 1930s. He was shot and killed in front of a post office in Hollywood in 1938 at the age of 52; his killer has never been identified.
Year unknown · KentuckyUnsolvedAlberta Odell Jones
Alberta Odell Jones (November 12, 1930 – August 5, 1965) was an African-American attorney and civil rights icon. She was one of the first African-American women to pass the Kentucky bar and the first woman appointed city attorney in Jefferson County. She was murdered by an unknown person.
1940 · TennesseeUnsolvedElbert Williams
Elbert Williams (October 15, 1908 – June 20, 1940) was an African-American civil rights leader from Brownsville, Tennessee who was killed by unknown persons. He was one of the five charter members of the NAACP branch in Brownsville. Killed in 1940, Williams is the first known NAACP member to be lynched for his civil rights activities.
2017UnsolvedMurder of Wharlest Jackson
Wharlest Jackson (December 7, 1929 – February 27, 1967) was an American civil rights activist who was murdered by a car bomb, with evidence of involvement by the Silver Dollar Group, a white supremacy organization affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan. The case was officially closed by the United States Department of Justice in 2017. Although it names a number of suspects from the original interviews in the 1960s, as of…
1995UnsolvedKilling of Michael Nigg
Michael Nigg (April 28, 1969 – September 8, 1995) was an American man who worked as a waiter at a Beverly Hills restaurant. He was shot and killed during an apparent robbery attempt in Hollywood. The Los Angeles Police Department later arrested three suspects but soon released them for lack of evidence.
1911UnsolvedAtlanta Ripper
The Atlanta Ripper was an unidentified serial killer who is suspected of killing at least fifteen Atlanta women between 1911 and 1912.
1968 · KentuckyUnsolvedBarbara Ann Hackmann Taylor
Barbara Ann "Bobbie" Hackmann Taylor (née Hackmann; September 12, 1943 – c. December 1967), also known as the "Tent Girl", was notable as an unidentified homicide victim for nearly 30 years after her body was found on May 17, 1968, near Georgetown, Kentucky. She was referred to as "Tent Girl" because of the material wrapped around her.
2010 · DelawareUnsolvedJohn P. Wheeler III
John Parsons Wheeler III (December 14, 1944 – c. December 30, 2010), known as Jack Wheeler, was an American veteran, businessman, and activist, who held multiple positions in the U.S. government for five decades and helped create the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. He was murdered by an unknown person in or around Wilmington, Delaware in 2010. In the 1960s, Wheeler served in a non-combat position in Vietnam during the…
1929 · MarylandUnsolved
Yosef Alon
Yosef (Joe) Alon (Hebrew: יוסף (ג'ו) אלון), born Josef Plaček (July 25, 1929 – July 1, 1973), was an Israeli Air Force officer and military attaché to the U.S. who was shot and killed in the driveway of his home in Chevy Chase, Maryland. The killer was never identified and Alon's murder remains unsolved.
1978 · MassachusettsUnsolvedBlackfriars Massacre
The 1978 Blackfriars Massacre, also known as the Blackfriars murders, is an unsolved Irish mob and/or Italian-American Mafia massacre that occurred on 18 June 1978, at Blackfriars bar in Downtown Boston, Massachusetts. Five people were killed, including former Channel 7 investigative news anchorman, Jack Kelly, allegedly over a robbery gone wrong.
1980UnsolvedJeannie Mills
Jeannie Mills (née Gustafson; July 2, 1939 – February 27, 1980), formerly Deanna Mertle, was an early defector from the Peoples Temple organization headed by Jim Jones. With her husband and Elmer Mertle, she co-founded the Concerned Relatives of Peoples Temple Members organization in 1977. Mills was murdered in 1980 along with her husband and one of her daughters, in a killing which remains unsolved.
1962 · MississippiUnsolvedMurder of Paul Guihard
Paul Leslie Guihard (1931 – 30 September 1962) was a French-British journalist for Agence France-Presse. He was murdered in the 1962 riot at the University of Mississippi while covering the events surrounding James Meredith's attempts to enroll at the all-white university. The only journalist known to have been killed in the Civil Rights Movement, his murder remains unsolved.
1974UnsolvedBarbara Colby
Barbara Colby (July 2, 1939 – July 24, 1975) was an American actress. She appeared in episodes of numerous television series before a 1974 appearance on The Mary Tyler Moore Show led to a main cast role on the new series Phyllis; after filming three episodes, she and a colleague were murdered outside an acting class, in an unsolved shooting.
1964UnsolvedMary S. Sherman
Mary Stults Sherman (April 21, 1913 – July 21, 1964) was an American orthopedic surgeon and cancer researcher affiliated with the University of Chicago and the Ochsner Foundation Hospital in New Orleans. Her unsolved 1964 murder has been tied to conspiracy theories related to the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
1990UnsolvedD. Scott Rogo
Douglas Scott Rogo (February 1, 1950 – August 18, 1990) was an American writer, journalist and researcher on subjects related to parapsychology. Rogo was murdered in 1990 at the age of 40. His case remains unsolved.
1977 · ArkansasUnsolvedStar Stowe
Star Stowe (born Ellen Louise Price; March 19, 1956, Little Rock, Arkansas – March 16, 1997, Coral Springs, Florida) was an American model. She was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for its February 1977 issue. Stowe was murdered by an unknown assailant.
1996 · CaliforniaUnsolved
Seagram
Seagram Miller (April 13, 1970 – July 31, 1996) was an American rapper from Oakland, California, United States. Seagram released two albums, The Dark Roads (1992) and Reality Check (1994). He was killed in a drive-by shooting on July 31, 1996, which remains unsolved.
1977UnsolvedCharles Nicoletti
Charles Nicoletti (; December 3, 1916 – March 29, 1977), also known as "Chuckie the Typewriter", was an American mobster of the Chicago Outfit, who along with his partner Felix Alderisio served as the top hitman under boss Sam Giancana before and after Giancana's rise and fall. Nicoletti was shot in the back of the head three times as he sat in his car on March 29, 1977, his murder remains unsolved.
Year unknown · MissouriUnsolved
Ken McElroy
Kenneth Rex McElroy (June 16, 1934 – July 10, 1981) was an American criminal, convicted attempted murderer and child rapist who resided in Skidmore, Missouri. He was known as "the town bully", and his unsolved killing became the focus of international attention. Over the course of his life, McElroy was accused of dozens of felonies, including assault, child molestation, statutory rape, arson, animal cruelty, hog and…
Year unknown · District of ColumbiaUnsolved
Alma Preinkert
Alma Preinkert (October 22, 1895 – February 28, 1954) was the registrar at the University of Maryland before being murdered by an intruder at her Washington, D.C. home. A Maryland alumna and a beloved figure in the university community, her murder sent shockwaves through the area. Although a large investigation ensued, her attacker was never identified.
1885 · CaliforniaUnsolved
Huang Yuanyong
Huang Yuanyong (黃遠庸), (Pen name: Huang Yuansheng 黃遠生, Wade-Giles: "Huang Yüan-yung") (15 January 1885 – 25 December 1915) was a renowned Chinese author and journalist during the late Qing dynasty (清朝) and early Republic of China (民國初年). Huang made significant contributions to journalism and literacy in China, particularly as an innovator in both journalistic methodology and writing style. His unsolved assassination…