Most interesting unsolved non-serial killer cases

[sdreid]

I don't remember any reports of ashes found on the plane so apparently Alfred didn't "go up".

[Graham]

My missus spontaneously combusts every time she sees me reaching for the Blossom Hill...

Jeff,

Not that it matters, but the Ford Tri-Motor aircraft was not pressurised.

Cheers,

Graham

[Mayerling]

Hi Graham,

You're probably right (or should I say "Wright", ha ha), but what would I know about Ford Tri-motors except it was a specially built one. I bet in the last moments of his existance there was plenty of pressure on Loewenstein!

Best wishes,

Jeff

[jmenges]

Hi all,

My list constantly changes but would include the following:

14) Dr. Hawley Crippen

Hi Jeff,

So you believe the Crippen case is unsolved?

Care to elaborate?

JM

[Stephen Thomas]

Here's an interesting English case from the 1930s. A man gets a big money newspaper reward for 'shopping' the accused woman then uses the money to pay for her legal defence.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/main.jhtml?xml=/property/2001/10/10/pins.xml

[sdreid]

Hi Stephen,

Yes, that is an interesting case with the fake suicide and all. With Mrs. Thomas' and Lydia Everhard's mysterious deaths plus the aunt's demise, Ms. Hearn might even have been a serial killer who got away with it, sort of like Roland Molineux here in the States.

[sdreid]

The U.K. around 1930 had a particular concentration of unsolved cases. You had Croydon in 1929, Mrs. Hearn and Margery Wren in 1930 then Julia Wallace, Evelyn Foster, Vera Page in addition to Hubert Chevis in 1931.

[NoHiddenPath]

Well, hello everybody!

I'm a bit late to the party, but I absolutely wanted to mention the "Hinterkaifeck-Murders" in Germany (1922), as it is one of the most interesting cases that I have come across.

In addition to the links at the end of the article by Steve Huff, I would recommend the website

http://www.hinterkaifeck.net

to anybody with some knowledge of the german language.

I don't know how you feel, but I'm just fascinated by this mysterious case...


Best wishes,

Chris

[sdreid]

Hi Chris,

Thanks for calling that very interesting case to our attention. It reminds me of the Villisca Ax murders here in 1912.

I think we tend to be a little Anglophonecentric when it comes to crime study. About the only unsolved German murder I've studied up until now is Emma Gross in Düsseldorf in 1929. Kürten gets mentioned as a suspect for that one sometimes but it was unlike his other murders.

[Paul O'Henry]

Hi Chris and Stan,

Thank you Chris for mentioning the Hinterkaifeck murder case; I'd read the recommended websites and was hooked. www.hinterkaifeck.net is very interesting, but one needs a good grasp of the german language to to get the most of it.
The theories about who-did-it on this site are pure fiction, there's no evidence of a secret lover (hiding at the loft) nor that the 16-year old son of a neighbour was the killer. This neighbour Lorenz Schlittenbauer seems to be the main suspect, but the tracks in the snow leading to the farm, but not back to the forest and other clues seem to contradict this. The police said robbery despite the fact that a lot of money and jewellery was left in the farmhouse. They even send the heads of the victims to fortune-tellers - weird!
The whole case is weird...
Yes Stan, the crime studies on Casebook JtR are anglophonecentric - but it's not a miracle, isn't it - this is a british website with mainly englishspeaking posters - I'm sure we all miss fascinating (unsolved) cases in the world - my french is scarce as is my dutch and I can order food and wine in Spain and Italy and ask for a bill...

kind regards
Paul

[sdreid]

Hi all,

These family mass murders seem to be particularly prone to remaining unsolved - Hinterkaifeck - Gatton - Villisca - Cabin 28 - Robison - Evangelista. We even have one here locally. All but David Hendricks were slaughtered in Bloomington, IL in 1983. He was convicted but was later acquitted in a second trial. The slayings are still unsolved today.

[Mayerling]

Hi Stan,

I just purchased an interesting sociological/historical book by Michael Lesy called MURDER CITY: THE BLOODY HISTORY OF CHICAGO IN THE TWENTIES (New York, London: W.W.Norton & Co., c2007). Lesy is best known for his first book, WISCONSIN DEATH TRIP, which studied the lives of the pioneers who went out to the Dairy State in the 19th Century, and found how violence
(especially suicide) was extremely high. Here he is taking a look at various cases that were front page news in Chicago between 1920 and 1930. Some are well recalled, like the slayings of Dean (Dion) O'Banyon or the killing of Hymie Weiss, or the murders of his wife and "the ragged stranger" by Carl Wanderer. Others cases have left their mark on our culture, such as the two female killers who were the models for the two anti-heroines in the movie ROXY HART and later the musical and movie CHICAGO. Others are totally forgotten today, but in that period fascinated the public - such as the apparent hazing related murder of Leighton Mount (in 1922) on the Everston campus of Northwestern University, or the bizaare transvestite suspect Fred - Frances Thompson, who was tried on rather weak grounds as the killer of a robbery victim named Richard Tesmer. I am halfway through the book, and recommend it if you or anyone can get a copy.

Jeff

[sdreid]

Thanks Jeff,

I'll try to look for that book. Is it mostly solved or unsolved cases? Some of those you mention, I don't recall. Is there a lot of mob stuff in it?

I have a book called Getting Away With Murder that's about unsolved slayings mostly from the Chicago area.

[Mike Covell]

The Chief Suspect in the Christopher Laverack murder has died.

Here is the full story, From Hull Daily Mail.

http://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/news/Chief-suspect-Christopher-Laverack-murder-case-dies-prison/article-181052-detail/article.html

Chief suspect in Christopher Laverack murder case dies in prison


THE only person to have been identified as a suspect in the murder of Anlaby schoolboy Christopher Laverack in more than a decade has died in prison.
The man, who was serving a prison sentence for different offences, was quizzed 18 months ago about the murder of the nine-year-old Anlaby boy in 1984, but was eventually sent back to prison without charge.
The Mail has learned the man, who was in his 50s, from Hull and not related to Christopher, has died.
Detective Superintendent Ray Higgins said it was possible the man's death could lead to new witnesses coming forward.
He said: “That is something we would hope for. It is never too late for someone to come forward.
“Allegiances change over the years, people move on, there are divorces, separations, relationships which breakup, and that is a line of investigation which we are looking at.”
Christopher was abducted in Harpham Grove, east Hull, on March 9, 1984. He was sexually abused and battered to death.
Two days later, his body was found, wrapped in a carpet bag, in Beverley Beck. It is Humberside Police's longest-running unsolved murder case and the only unsolved child murder.
Anyone with information about the case is urged to call Humberside Police on 0845 6060222.

[Mayerling]

Thanks Jeff,

I'll try to look for that book. Is it mostly solved or unsolved cases? Some of those you mention, I don't recall. Is there a lot of mob stuff in it?

I have a book called Getting Away With Murder that's about unsolved slayings mostly from the Chicago area.

Hi Stan,

Actually I just read one of the chapters on organized crime cases, and the interesting thing is that while Capone is definitely mentioned, the spotlight is on his rivals (O'Banion, Weiss, Moran). What comes across is how haphazard the investigations by the police were in the 1920s - witnesses kept changing their identifications, or their stories. In one case a small fellow murdered two men (supposedly alone), both of whom were taller and more powerfully built.
The police were split,some feeling he did it alone, others he had at least two associates. It did not help that he kept changing his confession to fit in with the detectives he happened to be with. Although eventually convicted and hanged, there were real questions afterwards about what actually happened.

I strongly urge you get it. The book is well written and full of surprises. The chapter on that transvestite is a hoot!

Best wishes,

Jeff