Top 10 Mysterious Unsolved Murder Controversies

Murders and mysteries are like the two faces of the same coin; they go hand in hand. Homicide has always been wrapped in a thick blanket of mysteries all over the world. Many a times a case is cracked open from head to toe but nothing can be nailed down. Every year a large number of homicides go unsolved all across the globe, but only a few of them carry the potential to be such infamy that they remain in public minds forever. This is a list of 10 such unsolved murder mysteries that shook the world with terror but the culprit remains unknown till date:

10. The Boy in the Box, Philadelphia

Date: February 25, 1957

On 25th of February, 1957, body of a young Caucasian male aged between 4 years-6 years old was found in a pitiable condition in a box in the Fox Districts of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. With multiple bruises all over his body, the young boy was found wrapped in a sheet, completely naked. Even though the case attracted a lot of attention from the higher authorities and shook the States with fear, the case remains unsolved till date. Neither the culprit nor the identity of the boy could be detected even though there were ample DNA investigations that went on into this case. No one till this date even recorded any missing case of any child matching the identity of this boy, therefore the identity of the young boy is still wrapped in mystery.

9. The Axeman of New Orleans, New Orleans

Date: 1918-1919

An Italian grocer and his wife was brutally murdered with an axe while sleeping at night; exactly one month after this another grocer was discovered lying dead in the pool of blood in his own house by the neighbours. The case gained a lot of attention from the mass and media and also the concerned authorities yet little could be done as no apparent case could be built up due to lack of concrete evidence. Though there was a suspect Joseph Mumfre but there were no evidence to link him to the murders of total 8 in number, marking this case as unsolved and closed in police files.

8. Jon Benet Ramsay Murder, United States of America

Date: December 2003

A beautiful 6 year old girl sweeping the America away with her beauty and childish charm – that was Jon Benet Ramsay, who was found murdered in the basement of her own house. She participated in many of the US child beauty pageants and was also named Queen after winning one of them. But one fine morning she was reported missing by her mother with a ransom note left behind after which her lifeless body was discovered in her own house. With this scenario the parents became the prime suspect for obvious reasons. Yet the case records a number of loopholes left by the police as they were said to be casual while sweeping the crime scene and focusing only on the parents as the suspects. Despite this nothing concrete could be found against them and the case is still unsolved.

7. Highway of Tears, Canada

Date: Unknown

Well this one surely makes a perfect plot for a horror movie. The Highway 16 of Canada is a long desolated stretch where a number of girls were reported missing over the years. The girls were said to be hitchhiking on this track and that’s how they ended up amidst loud screams and endless blood. Though there have been several suspects in this case nobody could be pinned down and the case remains unsolved till date.

6. Tamam Shud Case, Australia

Date: December 1, 1948

Unknown and unsolved – these two words go hand in hand for this case. On the morning of December 1, 1948 a man was found dead under a streetlamp at Somerton Beach, Australia. His clothes were all torn off and the clothes in his suitcase also had the same fate with all their tags removed. The even more surprising fact was that this man’s dental records and fingerprints never matched any of the records in the database making it look like this man never even existed. What came as more of a hard blow after this was the autopsy report that confirmed his good health with no sign of poison or anything that may lead to his death.  A piece of paper was found with some inscriptions taken from The Rubaiyat by Omar Khayyam and also had the phrase Tamam Shud written on it which literally means “finished”. Further trail of investigation lead to a more complex trail of evidences ranging from a library book, jumbled letters, missing pages – all indicating that someone took a great deal of trouble in hiding this man’s identity or rather removing it forever. More than 60 years have gone by but nothing could be decoded of this case.

5. The Gruesome Case of Black Dahlia, Los Angeles

Date: January 15, 1947

A young girl comes to Hollywood with dreams of making it big but is slashed down by the harsh realities of life. This has been the plot of many on and off screen stories both within outside and within the Hollywood studios, yet the one of Black Dahlia remains the most unusual because of its most cruel and horrific ending. Eliabeth Short, the young and aspiring Hollywood beauty had her fair share of complaints with life ranging from poverty to a career that was never ready to take off. Going the usual way in such cases Short sought solace in the arms of rich men with big fat wallets who would often pay for her lodgings and meals and even drinks. Therefore, needless to say, when she was discovered literally slashed with her body cut into two and intestines tucked into her buttocks there was a horde of suspects in line. The case remains one of the most famous unsolved murders till date inspiring many film and book adaptations to its credit.

4. The Doodler, California

Date: January 1974-September 1975

Also known as Black Doodler, The Doodler of California refers to an unidentified serial killer who went onto a killing spree in between January 1974 to September 1975 slaying at least 14 people in San Francisco, California. The noteworthy fact in this is that all the murders were aimed at the gay community of San Francisco with the hatred towards them being taken to an all new step altogether. His signature style was that he used to sketch these victims first and then stabbed them to death. It still remains unsolved because of the surviving victims who refused to disclose their sexual orientation by testifying against the prime suspect, thus paving the way for the killer to walk free.

3. The Zodiac Killer, California

Date: 1960s and 1970s

One of the most notorious killers of all time The Zodiac Killer shook the Californian police with his expertise yet unstable mind. Cryptic letters and phone call went hand in hand with repeated murders in this case making it one of the most talked about case of the town. Till date only one of four total ciphers could be decoded. Signing his letters with a crossed circle symbol this unidentified killer stated in his letters about the fun he thinks murdering these people is who he believes will be his slaves in his afterlife when he will be born in paradise. No authority till date could catch this maniac or decode the rest of ciphers.

2. Jack, The Stripper, London

Date: 1964-65

Jack, The Stripper is the name given to an unknown serial killer for the murders that came to be known as “nude murders’ in London in between 1964-65. Quite similar to Jack, The Ripper, this man killed possibly 8 women, all prostitutes, dumping their bodies in either Thames or around London, all nude.

1. Jack, The Ripper, London

Date: 1880s

A notorious killer and the most famous and unidentified as well, Jack, The Ripper, killed 5 prostitutes in London. The only difference that differentiates this killer from Jack, The Stripper is the escalated amount of gruesomeness involved in each case. He killed the victims by strangling them first and then cutting their arteries of the throats followed by a varied process of mutilation. This is remains one of the most famous and grotesque unsolved murder mysteries of all time.

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