Unsolved True Crime Cases

On the early hours of August 31, 1888, police found the body of 43-year-old Mary Ann Nichols in Whitechapel, London's East End. This murder is considered the first in a series of serial murders linked to the Jack the Ripper.Jack the Ripper..

Also called “Leather Apron,” Jack the Ripper terrorized London's East End, violently murdering sex workers. Letters claiming to be from the Ripper reached the press and police, trying to provoke the Metropolitan police.

Researchers think Jack the Ripper killed Annie Chapman in 1888 on September 8, Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes on September 30, and Mary Kelly on November 9. The Ripper's killings grew more violent later on.Eddowes's kidney.The kidney was stolen, and some of it appeared in one of the Ripper letters.The Ripper letters.Kelly's body was so mutilated, people could only identify her by her eyes and ears...

Despite identifying many suspects over a century and a half, plus DNA testing, no one knows Jack the Ripper's identity.

On January 15, 1947, Betty Bersinger and her son found the dismembered body of 22-year-old Elizabeth Short during a walk in Los Angeles' Leimert Park neighborhood.

Short's body had been mutilated, cleaned, and placed in an abandoned lot. Most shocking was that Short's body was cut in half, with her lower torso placed several inches from her upper torso. Short's murder became a media sensation; she was called “the Black Dahlia.” in the popular film The Blue Dahlia..

Police investigated about 150 suspects at the time. They thought someone with medical skills tortured, mutilated, and cut up Short, then left her remains in the lot. Days after January 15, the LAPD got an anonymous letter, likely from the killer, along with some of Short's things.

Many people still think Elizabeth ShortDr. George Hodel murdered Elizabeth Short. Hodel was a suspect in his secretary's murder. Hodel's son, Steve Hodel, became an LAPD detective and wrote a book about his father likely killing the Black Dahlia.

The death of famous writer and poetEdgar Allan Poe.The case of Poe has been debated for over 160 years. Poe died near death in a gutter on October 3, 1849, while visiting Baltimore. Wearing someone else's clothes and delirious, Poe hallucinated in the hospital before dying on October 7.

Poe stayed in the hospital for four days but could not give a clear answer about what happened. In his stupor, he reportedly repeated the name “Reynolds” many times.

Since Poe died in 1849, many theories about his death have appeared.Poe died.Several points show Poe's bad relationship with alcohol. He could get very drunk after just one glass of wine. Some people suggest Poe suffered from alcohol withdrawal, or he was beaten while drunk, which caused his death.

Another theory claims Poe was a victim of 'cooping.' This fraud made men vote multiple times by wearing different clothes. Men got alcohol as a reward. An election happened in Baltimore the day Poe was found in the gutter, but proving if he took part is impossible.

Often considered part of the Wineville Chicken Coop Case MurdersThe disappearance of Walter Collins seemed solved after the alleged killer took back his statement. Then, the alleged killer recanted.

Walter Collins, a nine-year-old boy, lived with his mother, Christine Collins, in Los Angeles. He disappeared on March 10, 1928. Five months later, a boy claiming to be Walter appeared in Illinois. Upon arrival in Los Angeles, Christine told the LAPD the boy was not Walter. Nevertheless, the police made Christine take the boy home and placed her in a psychiatric ward for ten days because she refused to accept the boy was her son.

The boy later admitted he was not Walter. The case went cold again. However, the case gained momentum when Gordon NorthcottGordon Northcott and his mother, Louise Northcott, faced murder charges for killing two boys they kept in their chicken coop in Wineville, CA. They also faced charges for kidnapping and murdering Walter.

Gordon first said his mother killed Walter. Later, he told Christine Collins that he and his mother were not responsible for Walter's death. Christine believed Gordon and kept looking for Walter until she died.

Around lunchtime on September 16, 1920, a horse-drawn cart pulled up in front of the US Assay office across the street from the J.P. Morgan building. The man driving the cart entered the midday crowd moments before The cart exploded.

Thirty people died instantly. Metal debris flew everywhere, injuring 300. Thirty-eight people died in total.

Authorities never found out who loaded the cart with dynamite and metal weights. Some suspected a group of Italians named "American Anarchist Fighters" caused the explosion. They were suspected in A separate bombingThis happened only a year earlier.

The transatlantic steamer Archtor passed by the Flannan Isle lighthouseOn December 15, 1900, the captain and crew saw the lighthouse dark. A relief ship went out the next day to check on the three Flannan Isle lighthouse keepers: James Ducat, Thomas Marshall, and William MacArthur.

The rescue crew found no one when the table in the lighthouse kitchen appeared set for dinner. Investigators thought the men likely drowned during a storm while securing equipment at the dock. However, a logbook supposedly kept by MacArthur told a different story.

MacArthur wrote in the logbook about a terrible storm between the 12th and 15th. He stated all three men survived the storm. Some thought the logbook proved a sea monster caused their deaths, but the logbook is now thought to be completely fabricated..More likely than not, the men drowned during a storm. Still, some suspect MacArthur killed his fellow lighthouse keepers before killing himself.

The men likely drowned in a storm. Some still suspect MacArthur killed the lighthouse keepers before killing himself.

On April 4, 1922, police found an entire family murdered at their remote farm.The murders happened at the Hinterkaifeck farm.Neighbors found Andreas and Cäzilia Gruber, along with their daughter Viktoria and granddaughter Cäzilia Gabriel, bludgeoned to death in the barn, stacked on top of each other. Viktoria's two-year-old son, Josef, and the new maid, Maria Baumgartner, were found murdered in their beds.

A disturbing fact: Seven-year-old Cäzilia likely died for hours under her mother and grandparents in the barn. She lay holding fists full of her own hair, which she likely tore out while trapped.

In 1918 and 1919, an unknown assailant attacked and killed Italian grocers and their families in New Orleans, LA. The individual eventually became known as the “Axeman of New Orleans” after murdering Joseph and Catherine Maggio on May 22, 1918.The Axeman used an axe from the couple's home to bludgeon them. The Maggios were two of six people the Axeman killed; he also injured six others.Missing items included Andreas's keys. People knew Andreas and Viktoria had served time for incest. Josef might have been both Andreas's son and grandson.

Some people thought Viktoria's husband, who supposedly died in the war, killed the family. Neighbors, including the first person to search the property, were also suspects.

In 1918 and 1919, an unknown man attacked and killed Italian grocers and their families in New Orleans, LA. The person later became known as the “Axeman of New Orleans” after murdering Joseph and Catherine Maggio on May 22, 1918.

The Axeman used an axe from the couple's home to beat them. The Maggios were two of six people the Axeman killed; he injured another six.

On March 16, 1919, a New Orleans paper published a letter from the Axemanthat read:

I love jazz music. I swear by all the devils in the nether regions that everyone will be spared in whose home a jazz band plays at the time I just mentioned… One thing is certain: some of your people who do not play jazz that Tuesday night (if there is any) will get the axe.

Jazz played in New Orleans that night. The Axeman's true identity stayed unknown. Some think Joseph Mumfre, a gang leader who targeted Italian families earlier, did it.

Christina Kettlewell is listed in the 'Unsolved True Crime Cases' as 'The Death Of Christina Kettlewell'.She was 22. Christina eloped with 26-year-old Jack Kettlewell on May 12, 1947. Christina's family opposed the marriage. They objected partly because Jack's roommate, Ronald Barrie, seemed too close to the couple. Barrie joined them on their honeymoon at a cabin in Severn Falls, Ontario, that Barrie owned.

Barrie, Jack, and Christina arrived at the cabin on May 17. Christina died by May 20. Barrie claimed he returned from the river to find the cabin burning. He found Jack unconscious in the living room, and Christina was gone. Christina's body later appeared face down in nine inches of water.

Christina soon appeared in the papers as the “The case is called 'Eight-Day Bride'.,” and authorities started an inquest into her death. Barrie's story changed during the inquest. He showed the court three letters Christina wrote proving she planned to kill Jack and end her own life. A handwriting expert confirmed Christina wrote the letters then. Some people now guess the letters were fake.

Others suggest Barrie and Jack had a secret relationship. No proof exists for this. The facts about Christina Kettlewell's death stay a mystery.

On January 4, 1935, a 19-year-old was involved.Artemus Ogletree is the subject of the 'Murder In Room 1046'.Artemus Ogletree was found beaten and murdered in room 1046 of the Hotel President in Kansas City, MO. Investigators thought his name was Roland T. Owen at that time.

Owen checked into the hotel days before his murder. He acted strangely. People heard him fighting a woman once. Another time, a man's voice came from Owen's room.

On the morning of January 4, hotel staff found Owen on the floor of his room. He was beaten and bleeding. Owen was tied up, strangled, beaten in the head, and stabbed many times. Owen survived these severe injuries. When asked who attacked him, he reportedly said, “Nobody is identified in relation to the 'Murder In Room 1046'..” Owen eventually died from his injuries. It took nearly two years to correctly identify him as Artemus Ogletree.

Evidence was limited. A woman's fingerprints appeared on a glass in Ogletree's room. A bottle of sulfuric acid was also there. An anonymous donor sent cash for Ogletree's burial. Flowers reached the funeral home with a note: “Love for ever - Louise.” To this day, no one knows who Louise is or who killed Artemus Ogletree, also known as Roland T. Owen.

In 1935, at a Sydney, Australia aquarium, a tiger shark vomited a human arm. This shocked visitors and the owner, Bert Hobson, who had just brought in the tiger shark.

The human arm was clearly cut off, not bitten off. It also hada distinct tattoo.The tattoo showed two men boxing. This helped police know the arm belonged to 45-year-old boxer Jimmy Smith.

Smith.Smith did odd jobs for rich criminal Reginald Holmes. Authorities thought Patrick Brady murdered Smith at Holmes's order. Holmes denied the charge, then tried suicide. When the attempt failed, authorities opened an inquest into Brady, and Holmes testified. Holmes died in his car the morning of the inquest. Brady denied killing Smith until he died in 1965.

Dorothy Arnold.Dorothy Arnold last shopped on Fifth Avenue in New York on December 12, 1910. Arnold was a rich socialite. People saw her in many stores that day. She met a friend and said she would walk home through Central Park. Arnold never reached home. Her family hired Pinkerton investigators to secretly search for her.

The Arnolds waited six weeks to call the police. When the story hit the news on January 25, 1911, the whole country talked about Dorothy Arnold.

Many theories exist about what happened to Arnold. Some guess the 25-year-old killed herself after a failed writing career. Her family thought she had beenabducted and killed.

During the investigation, Edward Glennoris claimed he was paid to hide a woman's body. The woman wore a signet ring matching Arnold's. He also claimed a man matching Arnold's boyfriend, George Griscom Jr., asked him to hide the body. Griscom was out of the country during Arnold's disappearance, and Glennoris took back his statement after police questioned him.

Other ideas suggested Arnold died during an abortion or was robbed and killed in Central Park. No body or clues ever solved the case.