Cold Cases Solved By Deathbed Confessions

Teenagers found a woman's body.The body was found near a construction site.This happened on June 3, 1981. The woman died after 61 ice pick stab wounds. Kimberly Compton, an 18-year-old who recently moved to Wisconsin, was the victim.

Within 48 hours, police got an anonymous call from a man claiming to be the killer. He said, “I don’t know why I had to stab her… I’m so upset about it.” Police doubted the confession until he named the weapon: an ice pick. Hours later, he called again. Police tracked the call to a bus station phone booth, but the caller was gone by the time they arrived. Law enforcement then tried to match the man’s voice to past calls.

Their theory worked. A matching call from January 1, 1981, asked for an ambulance to Malmberg Manufacturing Company and Machine Shop. Police found 20-year-old Karen Potack there, attacked and beaten. Another body appeared in the summer of 1982, along with another phone call. The victim worked at a bar and left with a white man other staff members identified as Paul Michael Stephani.Paul Michael Stephani..

While watching Stephani, someone saw a woman stabbed with a screwdriver and called 911. Denise Williams survived the attack and confirmed Stephani was the man who stabbed her.

Stephani first denied the crimes. Still, he was convicted of one murder and one assault charge and received a 58-year prison sentence.More than 10 years later.In 1977, Stephani confessed to his crimes after a terminal cancer diagnosis. He told police he would admit everything if they showed him his mother’s headstone. He claimed responsibility for all crimes police knew about, plus one more death, Kathleen Greening.

In 2018, a man namedShaun(whose last name authorities have not shared) died from cancer in Auckland, New Zealand. Before dying, Shaun shared a confession with his care team, and his condition quickly improved. Before that, he struggled to eat and walk, and Shaun felt he only had days left.

Shaun confessed he became a contract killer for a gang in the 1960s, taking out people who defied their leaders. Shaun did not always know his victims, but he still felt guilt for the acts. After his confession, Shaun regained enough strength to move into a nursing home.

Shaun's victims' cases went unsolved. After being arrested and charged as an accessory to murder in one case, Shaun quit crime. He joined the Navy, where he killed more people to protect his crew. After leaving the military, his guilt made him donate money to charities, volunteer often, and help people in need.

When Shaun confessed, his doctors promised to keep his secret from the police. They claimed he would not serve time for his crimes. Still, they pushed Shaun to write a letter to the police for them to get after his death.

No one knows if Shaun ever wrote that letter to the police. After leaving the hospital, staff told him they would only tell someone if they thought he would hurt himself or another person. Hospital staff choice is debated because Shaun's victims remain unidentified.

In 2009, a man named [Name] confessed to murder after a heart attack, then recovered fully.James Washingtonhad a heart attack while serving time for an unknown crime. On the way to the hospital, Washington felt he would die and confessed to a crime from 17 years earlier. In Nashville, Tennessee, in 1995, Washington stabbed and burned a woman named Joyce Goodener. Police found her body in an empty house.

Police considered Washington a person of interest in Goodener’s case, but they did not officially charge him. Police knew Washington and Goodener were together the day she died, but there was not enough proof for an arrest. No other suspects existed then, so the case died.

After Washington confessed, a prison guard in the ambulance called law enforcement. Washington thought the statute of limitations stopped prosecution for his crime. However, in Tennessee, serious offenses like murder do not have a statute of limitations.

Washington recovered fully in the hospital. Realizing he could be arrested and charged with murder, Washington tried to take back his confession. Police reopened the case, and he was arrested. Washington then pleaded guilty to murder and must serve a life sentence. Washington never talked about his crime, so without his health scare, the case might not have been solved.

On February 2, 1922, in Hollywood, CA, director and actor [Name]William Desmond TaylorWilliam Desmond Taylor was murdered. The media suggested many theories, but few facts about the case existed. Some theories involved two Paramount Pictures executives burning important documents and keys that did not fit any locks in his house, and a failed love affair.

Public knowledge that Taylor was from Ireland and named William Deane-Tanner increased the number of conspiracies. Taylor had a wife and daughter before Hollywood. Taylor quit his father-in-law’s antique store one day and never came back. He worked many jobs across the US before reaching California and starting in the movie business.

A confession exists but lacks confirmation. In 1964, Margaret Gibson, a former silent-film actress, suffered a heart attack. She reportedly lay on her kitchen floor while telling a priest she killed Taylor. The priest claimed she was a new Catholic convert and wished to confess her sins before dying.

Willie Edwards Jr.Willie Edwards Jr. worked as a truck driver on January 23, 1957. He filled in for someone sick and stopped at a grocery store for a soda.

While reading his logbook, four white men confronted Edwards with guns. They claimed he said something offensive to a white woman. One of the four men later said Edwards told them he never spoke to any woman and begged them not to hurt him. These men, active Ku Klux Klan members, terrorized the Black man Edwards. They took Edwards to a bridge over the Alabama River and told him to jump or they would shoot.

Edwards jumped over the bridge. He did not survive. Two fishermen found his body in April. Edwards's wife remained to raise their three children alone.

Henry Alexander, Bill Baxley, Sonny Kyle Livingston, and Jimmy York were not convicted of Edwards's murder, though they were charged. The judge shut down the indictment twice.Jumping off a bridge.Jumping off a bridge does not always cause death. Years later, one man confessed. Henry Alexander, dying of lung cancer, told his wife, Diane, he identified Edwards as the man who said something offensive to a white woman—and he knew he was wrong.

Alexander grew up with a strict, racist father and participated in racist crimes, including setting off bombs near civil rights leaders. After Alexander confessed, Diane became angry and disgusted. Since then, she has contacted Edwards's family and apologized. Other members of Alexander’s family do not believe he was responsible or that he confessed. Still, Diane keeps telling the story.

Harvey RichardsonHarvey Richardson, a retired librarian, died of colon cancer at 77. After his death, his family hired an interior decorator company to arrange his house. While checking his bedroom, the decorators found a cardboard folder sticking out of a satchel bag on a dresser. The folder held old newspaper clippings about a murder from nearly 40 years earlier.

The folder also contained anine-page, handwritten letterRichardson confessed to the killing. Police also found an old gun, possibly the murder weapon. The letter appeared old because the pages were yellowing. The Merseyside police reopened the victim's case just weeks before decorators found the confession.

Little is known about Lorraine Jacob. In September 1970, Jacob's body surfaced in an alleyway in Liverpool, England. Richardson had never been a suspect; he was only arrested as a teenager for alcohol charges. Law enforcement thought the confession was true because the details matched the case. They sent the paper for DNA testing; the media never released the results.

In 1975, a 26-year-oldJoan HarrisonJoan Harrison worked as a sex worker in Yorkshire, England, living with her two children. One night, a man sexually assaulted and beat her to death while she was out. Her body was found in an abandoned garage in Preston.

For decades, the case remained unsolved. Many thought serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, AKA the Yorkshire Ripper, killed Harrison. In 1978, Lancashire Police got a letter from someone claiming to be the Ripper; the writer said they killed Harrison. However, when Sutcliffe was arrested in 1981, police proved he was not involved in Harrison’s death, and the case closed.

Thirty-five years later, a man named Christopher Smith broke the case. Smith, a convicted sex offender, also faced theft and assault charges. In 2008, 60-year-old Smith died of lung cancer. After his death, police found a note in a drawer at Smith's Leeds, England home. The note contained Smith's confession that he killed Harrison. Smith wrote that he could not handle the guilt and wanted the truth revealed. He apologized for the pain he caused, then said he loved his daughter and grandkids and could not return to prison. He asked God for forgiveness.

Police could not confirm Smith's confession. Smith was arrested only one week before dying for driving under the influence. Police took a DNA swab from Smith during that arrest. They also took DNA from the murder scene of Harrison. They compared the two samples.

The tests matched. The Lancashire Police Department confirmed Smith killed Harrison. An officer, John Dilworth, who led the CPS Lancashire and Cumbria Complex Casework Unit, told the media Smith would have been prosecuted if he lived.

The murder of a 6-year-oldAdam WalshAdam Walsh was kidnapped from a Hollywood, FL, mall in 1981 and killed. Police found his decapitated head in a canal two weeks later. This death started the show.America’s Most Wanted.Adam's father, John, hosted the show.

America's Most Wanted.The show solved many cases and pushed police to build missing persons units. John also co-founded the Center for Missing and Exploited Children in the US. After Adam's case, missing children's faces appeared on milk cartons and flyers in stores.

In December 2008, Adam's case ended. Hollywood Police named Ottis Toole the killer publicly, though they never charged him because Toole died in 1996. Toole died in prison, serving time for five other murders.

The Walsh family and police considered Toole the main suspect. Toole confessed twice to killing Adam, but police hesitated because he falsely claimed responsibility for other murders. Then, in 1996, just before Toole died, he reportedly told his niece he killed Adam. Police officially named Toole responsible after a case review updated the facts.

When police spoke, Adam's family showed no surprise and did not doubt Toole's guilt. John stated investigators found clothing in Toole’s home matching what Adam wore when he went missing.

The family thanked the police for their work, but they kept their anger about the investigation's errors hidden. Immediately after Adam vanished, police failed to get carpet from Toole’s car that had bloodstains. This stopped DNA testing. Also, the FBI did not work for a week after Adam disappeared.

In his book,Tears of Rage.John said, “So many mistakes were made... it was shocking, inexcusable, and heartbreaking.”

OnApril 11, 1976.Two coworkers died in an ice cream shop in Staunton, VA. Constance Smootz Hevener (19) and her sister-in-law Carolyn Hevener Perry (20) were shot before the killer took the $138 and left. The stolen money made police think it was a robbery.

William Thomas, who claimed to see the crime, eventually faced charges for one murder. He was never convicted, and with no other suspects, the case died.

Joyce Bradshaw found a new lead in 2014. Bradshaw worked with Sharron Diane Crawford Smith in the spring of 1976. Bradshaw told police Smith showed her a gun a week before the murders. Smith then reportedly told Bradshaw she had a bullet for her stepdad and a bullet for “that Hevener girl.”

Bradshaw told Detective Bocock her story. Bocock said the bullets did not match Smith's gun, and she passed a polygraph test. Police did not look into Smith again because records showed she had already been cleared.

In January 2015, Smith died from a terminal illness. A month before that, she confessed and was arrested for Hevener and Perry's murders. Smith told police she killed the women that night because they mocked her for being a lesbian. Smith then said she gave the gun to Detective David Bocock, who helped her bury it.

Bocock died later. Smith's statement remains unproven, true or false. Police claim the rest of Smith’s story seems correct. Police do not know why Bocock interfered and continue to investigate that claim.

Seventeen years after the 18-year-old's death,Christine KettHer mother, Christena Kett, confessed to killing the teenager. The case remained unsolved despite many arrests. Many people faced accusations, including Christine’s romantic partner. Some suspects faced hanging, but no official arrests or lynchings happened.

Christena acted like she was grieving badly. Many people in the area reported they felt she was involved. She never faced arrest or conviction.

On January 11, 1867, in Dayton, OH, Christine was fatally beaten with an ax and left unrecognizable. Her brother found her body on the kitchen floor. He also said his gun was near her body. Christine's mother, Christena, planned to blame others for her murder to avoid suspicion. Then, in 1885, 60-year-old Christena confessed to her son, Christine’s brother, about what she did.

Christena Kett admittedShe killed her daughter because Christine got home late one night when she should have made dinner. Christena said she put her son’s gun next to Christine’s body to make it look like she killed herself. However, her attempts to hide the truth failed. The doctor who examined Christine’s body saw cut marks on her skull that a gun could not make.

Christena Kett waited to confess until she was very sick. She also refused to see any doctors. When telling her son about her actions, she made him promise silence until after she died.

On February 13, 1984, 59-year-oldVirginia “Ginny” HannonVirginia “Ginny” Hannon was found dead in Pembroke, MA. She had been stabbed, beaten, and strangled in her home. Hannon lived alone and was a widow. She worked as a lunch lady and the community loved her. Police efforts yielded few leads. Investigators eventually hit a dead end.

Four decades passed before answers appeared. In early February 2020, someone contacted law enforcement with case information. An informant, a friend of Jesse Aylward, told police Aylward committed the murder 36 years earlier. Aylward confessed to the crime while in the hospital before dying at 58. Aylward was 22 when he killed Hannon.

Aylward gave no reason for his actions; no one knows his motivation for killing Hannon. Law enforcement compared his DNA to a crime scene sample, and the samples matched.

Though Aylward was dead by the time the investigation ended, law enforcement needed an official case conclusion. District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz stated, “We identified Virginia Hannon’s killer; that is Jesse Aylward.”