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.
Were sinister forces behind the holiday tragedy?
By Orrin Grey
Decades later, her whereabouts remain a mystery.
By Gary Sweeney
Jim Barclay was found in a shallow grave in what was the Wonnangatta Murders. Authorities suspected the cook, John Bamford, until Bamford's body turned up.
By Orrin Grey
In December 1901, authorities found the body of young Nell Cropsey floating in North Carolina's Pasquotank River.
By Gary Sweeney
In 1961, Joan Risch vanished from her Massachusetts home, leaving behind two children, a distraught husband, and a kitchen streaked with blood.
By Gary Sweeney
In 1887, four brothers stumbled across the brutalized body of a young woman in Rahway, New Jersey.
By Gary Sweeney
Giulia Canella swore the photo depicted her long lost husband. Was it really him?
Maybe you can be the one to finally crack the case ... before it cracks you.
When the officer finally lifted the piano's dust cover, he found Sigrid’s lifeless body stashed beneath it...
Her burned and beaten body was found along a lonely country road. Who was the "Pyjama Girl"?
Her brutal slaying electrified the community with terror, sadness, and a demand for justice.
He's one of England's most infamous criminals ... but was he actually guilty?
By Orrin Grey
Neighbors watched William open the back door. There, sprawled across the parlor floor, was Julia's lifeless body.
By Gary Sweeney
Who killed Isidor Fink? Most bafflingly of all ... how?
By Robert Walsh
Can you crack the code to this baffling cold case?
This is completely terrifying.
By Aliza Polkes
When Emily Dimmock's family finally entered her apartment, they discovered a gruesome sight.
He thought they were sleeping ... until he saw the ants crawling across their bodies.
By Orrin Grey
Their lives (and deaths) remain a mystery to this day.