The most notorious unsolved crime in your area

[Olivier La Buse]

Both seem feasible, yes.

Look at tis link at the post of a family member "wishyouknew" you will find more information: TX - TX - Julie Moseley, 9, Mary Trlica, 17, Lisa Wilson, 14, Fort Worth, 23 Dec 1974 #6

 

[LifeIsAMystery]

DC - DC - Relisha Tenau Rudd, 8, SE DC, 26 Feb 2014 - #9

Hey guys... I just started listening to a podcast Through the Cracks. It talks about Relisha. I still think about her often. I am listening to it too, which caused me to come back and skim these threads. I’m a little concerned about the journalist’s portrayal of MYT (she depicts her as a...

www.websleuths.com

 

[MoominMama222]

For Iowa, I'd say Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook. I don't know how to link to another thread but many long-term Websleuthers know their case. It was my first case and broke my heart.

 

[KayyySmalls23]

What about the Las Cruces bowling alley murders? I remember seeing this profiled on U.M. and AMW at the time. It angers me that it was never solved. Las Cruces bowling alley massacre - Wikipedia

I'm a Texas, Born and Raised and an El Paso native. Las Cruces is about a thirty, maybe forty-five minute drive from where I grew up. The Bowling Alley Massacre occurred the year I was born and still to this day has never been solved. 34 years later and no answers for the city, state, victims' families and any true crime follower and it is sad. Even after all these years, no one has come forward with anything that could help solve the crime. At this point, I truly don't believe it will ever be solved. With New Mexico being sandwiched between Arizona and Texas, it would have been fairly easy for the shooter(s) to run across the border and disappear into thin air and sadly, I think that may be what happened.

If you are into podcasts, there is a great podcast on Spotify (and other outlets probably) called Crimes in the Borderland and there is one episode on the bowling alley massacre. Great listen in my opinion!

 

[ilovewings]

I'm a Texas, Born and Raised and an El Paso native. Las Cruces is about a thirty, maybe forty-five minute drive from where I grew up. The Bowling Alley Massacre occurred the year I was born and still to this day has never been solved. 34 years later and no answers for the city, state, victims' families and any true crime follower and it is sad. Even after all these years, no one has come forward with anything that could help solve the crime. At this point, I truly don't believe it will ever be solved. With New Mexico being sandwiched between Arizona and Texas, it would have been fairly easy for the shooter(s) to run across the border and disappear into thin air and sadly, I think that may be what happened.

If you are into podcasts, there is a great podcast on Spotify (and other outlets probably) called Crimes in the Borderland and there is one episode on the bowling alley massacre. Great listen in my opinion!

It is very frustrating and sad when cases such as this go unsolved. You would think with all the technology we have that a case like this could be solved. I am not familiar with the case- You know the police always like to say that criminals always (yes they have said always) leave behind something of themselves at a crime scene. I have come to believe, after all these unsolved crimes that that is simply not the case. There are what I all "perfect crimes"---- too many of those in fact.

 

[crussell821]

For the three states I’ve lived in here’s what I’d say:
California: Zodiac
Illinois: the Tinley Park Lane Bryant Murders
New York: formerly I would have said LISK, but that’s solved now! The other I could think of that is hyper local to me Megan McDonald, but again, that has thankfully been solved!

Megan McDonald Murder: Arrest Made in 20-Year Cold Case Killing of NYPD Detective's Daughter

A 42-year-old New York man has been arrested in the 2003 murder of Megan McDonald, whose baffling case featured on “Dateline” ahead of the solemn 20-year anniversary of her death. New York State Police announced Thursday that Edward Holley, of Wawayanda in Orange County, had been charged with...

www.nbcnewyork.com

 

[CrimeSolver]

I'm a Texas, Born and Raised and an El Paso native. Las Cruces is about a thirty, maybe forty-five minute drive from where I grew up. The Bowling Alley Massacre occurred the year I was born and still to this day has never been solved. 34 years later and no answers for the city, state, victims' families and any true crime follower and it is sad. Even after all these years, no one has come forward with anything that could help solve the crime. At this point, I truly don't believe it will ever be solved. With New Mexico being sandwiched between Arizona and Texas, it would have been fairly easy for the shooter(s) to run across the border and disappear into thin air and sadly, I think that may be what happened.

If you are into podcasts, there is a great podcast on Spotify (and other outlets probably) called Crimes in the Borderland and there is one episode on the bowling alley massacre. Great listen in my opinion!

Apparently there might be perpetrator DNA to work on using forensic genealogy. This would be the best (only?) hope of solving the case.

 

[SHERLOCKSHELL]

Rachel Hurley rape/murder in 1990 Jupiter, Fl She was 14yrs old.

 

[Charlot123]

Awe. Just realized this was supposed to be about cold cases. Not exactly cold, but it is bizarre and worth diving into if you have not heard about this one:

Texas: Houston
Candyman Lost Boys Serial Killer Dean Corll 1970-1973
This case that has everything:

Serial killer - at least 27 boys
Men killing boys
Disappearing boys who were never found
Parents contacting police and getting nowhere
Police denial of crimes
Accomplices who assist Dean and eventually shoot him
Bizarre crime scenes where the accomplices go on digs with police
Inmates digging up bodies and assisting at crime scenes

The Lost Boys

It was the most shocking crime of its day, 27 boys from the same part of town kidnapped, tortured, and killed by an affable neighbor named Dean Corll. Forty years later, it remains one of the least understood—or talked about—chapters in Houston's history.

www.texasmonthly.com

John Wayne Gacy got his ideas from Dean Corll


Texas runner up: Henry Lee Lucas The bizarre crime that wasn't. All news and more news which turned into the Henry Lee Lucas show

Thank you very much. What a tragic story. It is hard to balance the perception of Henley. Bringing own friends to Corll and later burying their bodies is horrible. At the same time, had Henley not killed Corll, who knows how many years it would have taken to apprehend him, probably, decades. How many more accomplices Corll would get, and how many more boys would have lost their lives. So there might be some consolation for Henley in knowing that there came a moment when he couldn't do it any more. Brooks merely jumped off the boat when the time came. However, the change in both Henley and Brooks seemed to have coincided with their social maturity. One got married, another one, started dating. Thus, they can also be viewed as minor victims of Corll; a controversial situation. (One also wonders how many accomplices Corll could have had prior to his move to Houston, and whether anyone got away with it.)

 

[ilovewings]

New twist in death of 96lb recluse found ‘melted into couch after neglect’

A JUDGE has dropped murder charges for the parents of a woman whose emaciated and decomposed body was found fused to a couch in their home. Lacey Fletcher, 36, died in her parents’ Louisiana …

www.the-sun.com

I found this article about Lacey: it has extremely graphic photos and a lot of information about this case. Just look at the photos of the parents (apparently taken when they were a bit younger)- looks like they haven't a care in the world.
In the article the DA states he was going for 2nd degree- well, that went out the window-- I also wanted to know the date of her death: It has been two years since she died and her parents are walking around free as the breeze. Lots of info I was not aware of- for example, the floor underneath the couch was buckling- the smell was so horrid the coroner had to go outside and vomit-- ask yourself how these so called parents even lived in that home? OMG-- when she died she was alone- her parents were apparently on vacation

These two so called parents should be put in prison to rot until their dying day. But of course that won't happen. I expect a 10 year sentence cause, ya know, they are 66 now---- any stiffer sentence would be a death sentence. Sorry, I don't have a lot of faith in our justice system.

 

[Raynebowtaster]

As far as I can know, in Delaware, Lena Lorraine Thomas murder is still unsolved. I can find more details in other states easier than I can in mine, if anyone can pull details it was magnolia Delaware around 1990

 

[?!?]

As far as I can know, in Delaware, Lena Lorraine Thomas murder is still unsolved. I can find more details in other states easier than I can in mine, if anyone can pull details it was magnolia Delaware around 1990

https://dsp.delaware.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/118/2021/11/Thomas-Lena.pdf

 

[KayyySmalls23]

Apparently there might be perpetrator DNA to work on using forensic genealogy. This would be the best (only?) hope of solving the case.

I had not heard that but seeing that as of now I am a resident of the Midwest/Northern region, Indiana to be exact , I don't hear anything unless I go searching for it.

I think you worded it just right, at this point in time all these years later, forensic genealogy might be the only hope of solving this case.

I still can't believe that no one saw any out of place vehicles parked there or even the intruders going in or coming out; regardless of how quick it might have been. Although Las Cruces does have a decent sized university, NMSU; I can't imagine that there wasn't one person out and about that morning that didn't see something that looked or seemed out of sorts and thought to report it after hearing what happened.

I maybe totally missing the mark here but lack of evidence left behind and the violence shown that day has led me to think that it might have been a murder-for-hire type of crime. Did anybody ever look into the books/accounting or what might have been going on that "maybe, just maybe" no one knew was happening?

 

[KayyySmalls23]

It is very frustrating and sad when cases such as this go unsolved. You would think with all the technology we have that a case like this could be solved. I am not familiar with the case- You know the police always like to say that criminals always (yes they have said always) leave behind something of themselves at a crime scene. I have come to believe, after all these unsolved crimes that that is simply not the case. There are what I all "perfect crimes"---- too many of those in fact.

I agree and I think as far as we have come with technology that many cold cases should be able to be solved. Unfortunately, technology can only do it's job when they is evidence left behind or when there is enough evidence to be tested multiple times throughout the decades.

It's long been said the perfect crime doesn't exist but like you, I beg to differ. While it is the basic principle of forensics that every contact leaves a trace; there are many a way to prevent contact therefore preventing any trace from being left behind.

Another angle to look at when diving into cold cases would be eye-witness testimony or knowledge of the crime by someone who was there and never spoke up. I grew up watching a TV drama, Cold Case, that was centered around the Philadelphia Homicide Detectives assigned to solving cold cases. Many a time during the hour-long episodes, the cases they solved were because a relative or loved one brought the case back to their attention years, if not decades later. Some cases were solved because someone came forward with a deathbed confession or with information that they had long since buried away. Some were even children of the victims who witnessed their parent(s) murder and didn't remember until later in adulthood. There was even an episode I remember where the parents of a 13 yo young man covered and protected him into adulthood because he had accidently shot and killed his little sister while trying to shoot the man having an affair with him mother.

I babbled myself down memory lane to say more times than not, I think solving cold cases relies heavily on people; especially those people that hold secrets they've kept locked deep down inside their memory banks.

 

[ilovewings]

I agree and I think as far as we have come with technology that many cold cases should be able to be solved. Unfortunately, technology can only do it's job when they is evidence left behind or when there is enough evidence to be tested multiple times throughout the decades.

It's long been said the perfect crime doesn't exist but like you, I beg to differ. While it is the basic principle of forensics that every contact leaves a trace; there are many a way to prevent contact therefore preventing any trace from being left behind.

Another angle to look at when diving into cold cases would be eye-witness testimony or knowledge of the crime by someone who was there and never spoke up. I grew up watching a TV drama, Cold Case, that was centered around the Philadelphia Homicide Detectives assigned to solving cold cases. Many a time during the hour-long episodes, the cases they solved were because a relative or loved one brought the case back to their attention years, if not decades later. Some cases were solved because someone came forward with a deathbed confession or with information that they had long since buried away. Some were even children of the victims who witnessed their parent(s) murder and didn't remember until later in adulthood. There was even an episode I remember where the parents of a 13 yo young man covered and protected him into adulthood because he had accidently shot and killed his little sister while trying to shoot the man having an affair with him mother.

I babbled myself down memory lane to say more times than not, I think solving cold cases relies heavily on people; especially those people that hold secrets they've kept locked deep down inside their memory banks.

I agree that solving cold cases relies heavily on people ( even not cold cases rely on people to solve cases). What would the police do without those tips that come in? By the way I love Cold Case (the series) - there are reruns on Start TV every day at 3 pm!!! that was a great series

 

[KayyySmalls23]

I agree that solving cold cases relies heavily on people ( even not cold cases rely on people to solve cases). What would the police do without those tips that come in? By the way I love Cold Case (the series) - there are reruns on Start TV every day at 3 pm!!! that was a great series

Yes I try to catch them when I can! If you have a Roku streaming device, you can find every episode on the Roku Channel for FREE! I think I've rewatched the whole series two or three times now.

That show was also what brought my attention to the "Boy in the Box" case that has it's own thread on here somewhere. I found it scrolling through after I had joined a few years back and after reading it, a core memory was unlocked and I remembered Cold Case (the series)! I know a lot of the cases they showed were probably dreamed up by writers in a back room but I can't help but wonder how many of the cases shown on there might have come from an unsolved box in the back room of the Philly PD.

 

[ilovewings]

Yes I try to catch them when I can! If you have a Roku streaming device, you can find every episode on the Roku Channel for FREE! I think I've rewatched the whole series two or three times now.

That show was also what brought my attention to the "Boy in the Box" case that has it's own thread on here somewhere. I found it scrolling through after I had joined a few years back and after reading it, a core memory was unlocked and I remembered Cold Case (the series)! I know a lot of the cases they showed were probably dreamed up by writers in a back room but I can't help but wonder how many of the cases shown on there might have come from an unsolved box in the back room of the Philly PD.

Cold Case (the series) was so unique- each and every episode over the years reflected a period of time, say the 1940's, or whatever time period of that episode, where they had to duplicate the clothes and hair style of that time-- as well as the background of automobiles, furnishings, etc. I imagine it was very expensive to produce that series: they would never do that now.

 

[Breia Lee]

In AR there is the Amanda Tusing Case from 2000:

CRACKING A COLD CASE: New detective assigned to 23-year old Craighead Co. murder mystery

A fresh set of eyes on a Craighead County murder mystery has led investigators towards new information, and new hope the case will be solved.

www.kait8.com

Of course there is the 1993 Stevie Branch, Michael Moore and Christopher Byers case.

The initial 3 suspects were convicted but took an Alford Plea and were released. Which leaves the question: who killed the children?

Head of DNA firm says allowing testing of WM3 evidence could provide new clues

A hearing Thursday will consider a request for new DNA testing by one of three men convicted of the murders of three 8-year-old West Memphis boys.

www.ualrpublicradio.org

Who Is The Real Killer Behind The 'West Memphis Three' Murders? | Oxygen Official Site

Find out more about the investigation into the West Memphis Three, including where Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley are now.

www.oxygen.com

During the course of my job I met and interviewed Echols in 1991 and 1992 (before the murders). When I first heard about the murders he immediately came to my mind. Based on what I learned I do believe he is guilty.

Of course there is the 1995 abduction of Morgan Nicks.

MSN

 

[brillaba]

Not to be too speculative but it seems all signs point to the son. The fact he stole the car to buy drugs leads me to wonder how he was able to just take the car if his dad was keeping such a close eye on him/knew he may not be trustworthy enough to borrow the car. I've seen sooo many cases of family members killing others for money, and adding drugs in to the mix makes it potentially more hostile.
Also it's very coincidental that this took place during a time when the mom was scheduled to be out of the home. Makes me think this may have been planned, or at least that someone took advantage of the fact one of the adults of the home was absent. So maybe a focus on who knew she was out of the house and why could point to some persons of interest as well.
I work domestic violence and this has "domestic" written all over it based on my education/experience.

This case was solved in 2022; Robert Hoagland assumed a new identity in New York & lived 9 years undetected. His true identity was discovered upon his death. Wild, right?!

 

[lightofmine99]

Alabama:

Murder of Amore Wiggins / Opelika Jane Doe (Opelika)
Disappearance of Brittany Wood (Mobile)
Disappearance of Susan Osborn and son Evan (Wetumpka)
Disappearance of Ruth Dorsey (Opelika)
Autauga Co. Jane Doe (Marbury)

There's a couple more that could qualify but these are the first that come to mind. Also, serial killer Nannie Doss was born in Blue Mountain and Natalee Holloway (RIP) was from Mountain Brook.