Top 10 Most Mysterious Deaths and Murders That Will Probably Remain Unsolved
A list of some of the most brutal and unimaginable killings and murders that have left questions for decades.
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Death of Julia Wallace
On January 19, 1931, at a local cafe where William Wallace attended a chess club, a man called Wallace by phone, giving his name as R. M. Qualtrough. Although Wallace only attended the chess club occasionally, the caller seemed to know he would be there that night, as he left a message for him with the club's captain, requesting him to go to 25 Menlove Gardens East the following night at 7:30 p.m. Since Wallace worked as an insurance agent, such things weren't particularly unusual.
When he got to the area the following evening and tried to find the road, he couldn't locate the address. There was a North, a South, and a West Menlove Gardens, but no East. As time passed with no sign of his destination, he eventually gave up and returned home, where he found his wife violently battered to death in the living room.
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Murder of Laetitia Toureaux
One evening on May 16, 1937, Laetitia Nourrissat Toureaux boarded a metro train that left Porte de Charenton station in Paris. She was the only person in the first-class compartment. Just a minute later, when the train stopped at Porte Dorée, three people boarded through the doors on both ends of the carriage. Although she was still the only person in the compartment, she had been fatally stabbed, with a dagger protruding from her neck.
Further investigation revealed that she led a double life. By day, she worked in a glue factory under her own name, and at night, under another name, she frequented seedy nightclubs and worked as a surveillance and message-delivery specialist for a private detective agency. It was eventually revealed that she was a spy, infiltrating the fascist organization La Cagoule, which is believed to have discovered her identity and killed her.
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Death of Elizabeth Short (The Black Dahlia)
On January 15, 1947, a naked woman was found lying just feet from the sidewalk, with her waist sliced cleanly in half and not a drop of blood at the scene. According to FBI records, her body appeared professionally dissected, and one breast was cut off. The woman was identified as Elizabeth Short, an aspiring actress who met a grisly fate.
Several dozen people have claimed responsibility for the crime, but none of them appeared to be telling the truth. The case has not been solved since.
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Death of the Isdal Woman
The Isdalen Valley in Norway is also called "Death Valley" due to its long history of suicides and falling accidents. That name took on a new meaning when a man and his two daughters found a corpse hidden off a hiking trail. Oddly, her body was burned on the front but not the back, and anything indicating her identity was removed or erased. Unclaimed suitcases were later found at Bergen's luggage department, but suspiciously, all the labels on the items inside that could reveal her identity had also been removed. Investigators found that she had used the name Fenella Lorch at a hotel, but learned that it wasn't her actual name. She had been using several names with multiple passports.
Multiple investigators theorized that she may have been a spy, but there was little evidence to back it up. The official conclusion was that her death was a suicide, but many find that hard to believe.
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Death of JonBenét Ramsey
On the day after Christmas in 1996, JonBenét Ramsey, a beauty pageant winner, was found dead in the basement of her family's Colorado home eight hours after she was reported missing. She was discovered beaten and strangled, with duct tape placed on her mouth. People have speculated that the Ramseys may have had something to do with the crime and that the whole thing was staged to cover it up, but no one was ever charged in connection with JonBenét's death.
An unusually lengthy ransom note was found at the crime scene, demanding a total of $118,000, which was almost the exact amount of her father's bonus that year. Not only is it odd that the author knew almost the exact amount of the father's bonus, but it's also odd that JonBenét was found inside the house despite the fact that the author specifically said that JonBenét's body would not be delivered if they were not paid.
In a twist, the ransom note was written on a notepad and with a pen that belonged to the Ramseys, which indicates it was written inside the house. It was two and a half pages long, far longer than you would expect from a ransom note of any kind. All of this is really strange, not just because of how unusually long the ransom note is, but also because writing this would have taken a long time. Considering this was written under the time pressure of actually being inside the house, why would you write such a lengthy note? And why would you stop to write a ransom note in the first place?
Another strange aspect of the case is that the supposed kidnapper never called the Ramseys to arrange to get the ransom money. It's very unusual for a kidnapper to forget such a crucial step.
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Death of Natalie Wood
Natalie Wood, born Natalie Zacharenko (July 20, 1938 - November 28 or 29, 1981), was an acclaimed American film and television actress. She gained fame for her performances in Rebel Without a Cause opposite James Dean and as Maria in West Side Story. She remains a cultural icon, in part due to the mystery... read more
On the evening of November 28, 1981, Natalie Wood was on a weekend boat trip to Santa Catalina Island off the coast of Southern California, with her husband, Robert Wagner, and her co-star, Christopher Walken. The following morning, Wood's body was found floating in the water. It was never determined how she entered the water.
The cause of death was ruled an accidental drowning, but an autopsy revealed that the actress had bruises on her body and arms, as well as an abrasion on her left cheek. Was it an accidental drowning or homicide?
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Murder of Lorenzo González Cacho
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Deaths of Kris Kremers and Lisanne Froon
The nighttime and missing photo, state of their belongings, and remains point to a murder rather than just an accident.
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Death in the Tamam Shud Case
On December 1, 1948, at 6:40 a.m., a man was found washed ashore on Somerton Beach in Adelaide, Australia. He had nothing to identify him, and even the tags on his clothes were removed. Police found bizarre items in his pockets, including a piece of paper that read "Tamám shud," a phrase from an 11th-century book of Persian poems meaning "The End." No suspects have been named, and the case remains unsolved.
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Death of Günther Stoll (YOGTZE Case)
In the early hours of a morning in 1984, Günther Stoll was found severely injured in his car. He had been out drinking the previous night, and it was initially thought to be a simple traffic accident. Unfortunately, before he could explain what happened, he died on the way to the hospital. Authorities concluded that he had been run over before being placed back in his vehicle.
On a scrap of paper, he had written "YOGTZE," which is not a word in any language. Nobody has cracked the code. The day before he died, Stoll declared to his wife, "Now I get it!" before making the note and leaving the house. The case has remained a mystery to this day.
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Disappearance of Amelia Earhart
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Death of Marilyn Monroe
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Murder of Tupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur, also known as 2Pac, was an American rapper and actor born on June 16, 1971, in East Harlem, New York. Tupac sold over 75 million records worldwide and has been referred to in multiple major publications such as Rolling Stone as one of the greatest music artists of all time. 2Pac was... read more
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Death in the Blazing Car Murder
In 1930, Alfred Rouse planned to fake his own death and flee. He bludgeoned a man over the head with a mallet and burned the body in his car. Eventually, Rouse was caught and hanged for the crime. However, the identity of his victim remains unknown.
It was thought that the victim might have been William Thomas Briggs, who had gone missing on his way to a doctor's appointment around the same time the murder took place. He was similar in appearance to Rouse and would have made an ideal victim for the hoax. However, recent DNA evidence did not match, raising two questions: Who did Rouse murder, and what actually happened to Briggs?
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Death of Peg Entwistle
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Death of Elisa Lam
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Death of Kenneka Jenkins
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Death of Katherine Korzilius
The song August 7, 4:15 is a tribute song referencing her mysterious death.
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Death of Marsha P. Johnson
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Death of Harry Oakes
On the morning of July 8, 1943, the beaten and partially burned body of the richest man in the Bahamas, Sir Harry Oakes, was found in his own mansion. He had been bludgeoned and set on fire.
Count Alfred de Marigny, his son-in-law, was arrested and charged shortly afterward, after two detectives brought in by the Duke of Windsor allegedly uncovered evidence. Oakes never liked his son-in-law, and de Marigny stood to inherit a large fortune if Oakes died. This gave him two motives, and since his fingerprint was found at the crime scene, he was immediately put on trial. However, when the defense showed that the duke's private detectives had planted the fingerprint to expedite the case, de Marigny was declared innocent. No one else has ever been tried.
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Disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa
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Death of Rolando Salas Jusino
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Deaths in the Hinterkaifeck Murders
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Murder of Peter Ivers
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Disappearance of Madeleine McCann
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Deaths in the Dyatlov Pass Incident
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Death of Kendrick Johnson