Famous Unsolved Murders & Cold Cases

Unidentified serial killer terrorized Northern California, 1968-1969. Sent cryptic ciphers to newspapers, claimed 37 victims, never caught.

The brutal 1947 murder of aspiring actress Elizabeth Short shocked Los Angeles and remains unsolved despite countless investigations and confessions.

Serial killer terrorized London's East End in 1888. Five canonical victims, hundreds of suspects, zero convictions.

America's first serial killer constructed an elaborate death trap disguised as a hotel during the 1893 World's Fair.

Since 2012, former police detective David Paulides has documented over 1,700 unexplained disappearances in North American wilderness areas. Victims vanish without trace, often within sight of companions, leaving behind patterns that defy conventional explanation—and a National Park Service that claims it keeps no centralized record of the missing.

Between 1935 and 1938, at least twelve people were beheaded and dismembered in Depression-era Cleveland. The killer was never charged. The lead suspect was a doctor with powerful political connections, and Eliot Ness reportedly let him walk.

Unidentified child found brutally murdered in Philadelphia's Fox Chase neighborhood. Despite decades of investigation, his identity remains unknown.

For thirteen months between November 1966 and December 1967, over 100 residents of Point Pleasant, West Virginia reported encounters with a seven-foot-tall winged humanoid with glowing red eyes. The sightings abruptly ceased after the catastrophic Silver Bridge collapse killed 46 people, forever linking the creature to one of America's deadliest infrastructure disasters.

A mysterious beast killed near Henry, Montana in 1886. The preserved creature defied classification for over a century.

Mysterious serial killer terrorized New Orleans from 1918-1919, targeting Italian grocers with axes. Left cryptic letters claiming to be a demon who spared jazz lovers.

Eight victims brutally murdered with an axe in a small Iowa farmhouse. Over 100 years later, the killer remains unknown.

Six family members brutally murdered with farm tools at isolated Bavarian farmhouse. Killer may have lived in house for days after massacre.