Some crimes stay a mystery no matter how hard people try to solve them. Who was Jack the Ripper? What happened to Amelia Earhart? Who killed JonBenét Ramsey? Where did D.B. Cooper disappear to? People have been asking some of these questions for years—and while there are a lot of theories, so far, there’s been no luck in solving them. Are certain crimes impossible to solve, or are people not looking in the right places? Are the answers out there for these cold cases?
These stories explore unsolved crimes old and new. Is there evidence lost to history? Are there people out there keeping secrets? Are some people just really good at hiding? These stories feed into innate human curiosity. There’s something unsettling about not having all the answers and it’s only natural to try and find them. Some questions have become impossible to answer, but the stories are fascinating nonetheless.
If you’re as fascinated (and disturbed) by unsolved true crime cases as we are, start with these stories:
And when you’re done with those, peruse the stories below.
In 1947, the butchered body of Elizabeth Short was discovered in a vacant lot outside downtown Los Angeles.
By Adam Karlin
What could lead a mother to hurt her own children?
By Kara Nesvig
Who killed the Reverend and his pretty choir singer?
By Orrin Grey
On a quiet summer night in 1929, a mystic healer and his family were slaughtered in their home by a mysterious axe-wielding killer.
In 1874, little Charley Ross followed two strangers into a buggy and vanished from the streets of Philadelphia, never to be seen again.
In the 1970s, Fred and Tom were two ambitious film students catching an advance screening of Star Wars. But their high times were about to come crashing down...
By Fred Rosen
In 1984, Günther Stoll scribbled down a cryptic message then disappeared into the night to his death. Could his final note be the key to his killing?
By Adam Karlin
Mysterious fishing boats strewn with rotting corpses are washing up along the shores of Japan, and officials are baffled.
By Crime Feed
She fought to expose the hazardous conditions of the Kerr-McGee nuclear facility—and just may have paid for it with her life.
In 1845, the doomed Franklin expedition set sail for the Northwest Passage, never to be seen again.
In 1989, Jacob Wetterling vanished without a trace. 26 years later, authorities have finally announced a person of interest in the case.
By Crime Feed
In "Who Killed My Daughter?", a mother searches for the truth behind her daughter’s tragic death.
By Paola Crespo
Deep in the heart of southern Spain, eerie faces have appeared on the kitchen floor of one family’s home.
This lonely ranch in Utah is haunted by ghostly voices, strange sightings, and UFO encounters.
She had a string of marriages – and famous suitors – but her final relationship with Robert Blake ended when she received a shot to the back of the head.
For years, the residents of an Ohio town were plagued by messages that revealed their darkest secrets.
Frightened citizens sealed their windows when reports of mysterious gas attacks spread from house to house. Could a mad gasser be on the loose?
In 1958, Johnny Stompanato was stabbed to death in Lana Turner's Beverly Hills home. Was this a case of tinsel town murder or justifiable homicide?
Their songs live on ... but the events surrounding their tragic deaths remain a mystery.
Meet the mind behind the Cold Case Investigative Research Institute, a real-life detective club that tackles unsolved murders throughout history.