Classic Cold Murder Case of Most Interest Poll

[eileenhawkeye]

I'm also always surprised at what murders seem to generate interest. I would think that murders where there are large deaths within a family would be more interesting because they really would hit close to home. Can you trust that slightly weird person that everyone has in their family.

But you don't really hear a lot about people like.

James Ruppert who murdered 11 members of his family in Ohio at Easter in 1975.

Gene Simmons who murdered 13 members of his family and a couple of other people at Christmas in 1987 - Arkansas - he was later executed.

I feel like cases of people killing their families only get national attention for a day or two in today's media, so it makes sense that there isn't much interest in cases that happened decades ago.

 

[STANDREID]

A lot of family massacres end in the perps suicide either by their own hand or forced from police.

 

[Dreamnine]

One of the more puzzling - but perhaps fairly obscure - cases is the Fager family murders at the end of 1987 in Wichita, Kansas. A father, shot, and his 2 daughters who were found in the hot tub.

They had a suspect, but his memory was 'hypnotically refreshed' and inadmissible - he was cleared.

 

[STANDREID]

One of the more puzzling - but perhaps fairly obscure - cases is the Fager family murders at the end of 1987 in Wichita, Kansas. A father, shot, and his 2 daughters who were found in the hot tub.

They had a suspect, but his memory was 'hypnotically refreshed' and inadmissible - he was cleared.

Yes, very puzzling.

 

[STANDREID]

The time spans I listed for serial killers are just for the canonical victims with the exception of ONS where I mistakenly wrote 85 when I should have said 86.

 

[ScarlettScarpetta]

I agree. How often do you hear about a woman who has killed her children. MaryBeth Tinning comes to mind, she killed about 7 of her babies.

Or the women who do nothing while her boyfriend kills her children - Jillian Tait.

Or kills them because her new boyfriend doesn't want kids - Susan Smith and Diane Downs are examples.

Or kills them to get back at her husband - Susan Eubanks

For the insurance - Frances Newton, Robin Lee Row

And the ones who were just out of their minds - Andrea Yates.

And it's not a recent phenomena - we have Belle Guiness,

It always seems as soon as a woman is arrested, the "Why did she do it - it must have been something in her past". It hardly ever goes to she's just an evil person.

What bothers me most is that the law does not reflect the loss. If an infant is killed that should carry an automatic life sentence to me because you killed a PERSON who never got to live their life. I think it is time they stop saying that mothers kill their babies and start calling them people. A woman killed a person she gave birth to. That should not give her any leeway because it happened to be her child.
OFF SOAPBOX>

 

[STANDREID]

I agree.

 

[STANDREID]

Only two of the cases on the list involved only the murders of preadolescents.

 

[perfectingpink]

One of the more puzzling - but perhaps fairly obscure - cases is the Fager family murders at the end of 1987 in Wichita, Kansas. A father, shot, and his 2 daughters who were found in the hot tub.

They had a suspect, but his memory was 'hypnotically refreshed' and inadmissible - he was cleared.

Butterworth was not only cleared, but given a not guilty verdict after his trial. I went to school and worked with the oldest daughter and her and her family's death still haunts me.

 

[STANDREID]

Only two of the cases on the list involved only the murders of preadolescents.

And the Babysitter Murders were essentially of tweens.

 

[morf13]

A lot of interesting cases here, and I would like to learn more about many of them and see them solved. However, only voting for one, I voted for the Zodiac Killer case, it's perhaps America's Jack the Ripper.

 

[STANDREID]

Yes I agree, Zodiac is America's Jack the Ripper as far a the general public is concerned.

 

[stereot]

I'd say Lyon sisters / Grimes sisters / Reker sisters / Yogurt Shop Murders in Texas in 91 / JonBenet Ramsey / Memphis Three

 

[Dragonfyree]

I agree with the Grimes sisters. That is a really weird case.

I've only seen one book on it (and I didn't think it was written very well).

Never seen anything on the dozens of crime shows on ID Discovery.

Not really sure how they died - I think it was exposure - but what happened before that - I'm sure they didn't just lay down in the snow on their own. There is so much contradictory information, you don't really know what happened.

Lyon sisters is also interesting, but I thought I had heard on the news a couple months ago that they have some new evidence on this case?

I don't find JonBenet very interesting - I've always thought it was the brother and the parents covered it up.

 

[stereot]

Lyon sisters is also interesting, but I thought I had heard on the news a couple months ago that they have some new evidence on this case?

Not just evidence, but a suspect - a guy named Lloyd Lee Welch:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/24/lyon-sisters-welch-_n_6746504.html

 

[stereot]

As for Grimes sisters, a theory is that a man named Ken Hansen did it:

http://www.myfoxchicago.com/story/24003303/who-killed-the-grimes-sisters-new-theory-emerges

He was convicted for Schuessler-Peterson murders in 1995.

See also:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silas_Jayne

 

[Mintgiver]

And BTK himself wrote a letter to the police saying that it wasn't his murder, but he liked the killer's style.

 

[STANDREID]

And the Babysitter Murders were essentially of tweens.

Villemin is the only poll listed case you can unequivocally call a child murder.

 

[STANDREID]

The top three account for more than 45% of the votes.

 

[paul1980]

About Crime Investigation Australia

The re-enactments can be poor and expose the show's low budget.

take the Beaumont Children episode:

nine year old "Jane Beaumont" is wearing a bright pink "Speedo" little girl's swimsuit. Was Speedo even around in 1966? And even if they were, did their girl's swimsuits really look like that?