These are some of the most breathtakingly unbelievable unsolved murders out there today. Each one will have you wanting to become a private investigator ASAP. Soon you'll be playing detective trying to decide who did it and who's innocent.
1. Amber Hagerman
At nine years old, Amber was abducted off of her bicycle from a complete stranger in broad daylight and never seen alive again. She was found nude with her throat slashed five days later.
Her abductor was never identified, and while this was devastating for her family, it started one of the most beneficial systems used in America (and now, all over).
The Amber Alert sends notifications to smart phones, emails and is broadcasted on the radio minutes after a child is reported stolen. While the child must meet specific requirements before having an issued Amber Alert, the system has safely returned a number of children.
Unfortunately, the murder of Amber in 1996 still remains unsolved.
2. Arlis Perry
October 13, 1974, Arlis Perry’s body was found in inhumane conditions inside her church. Arlis’s husband was ruled out as a suspect due to evidence found at the crime scene.
Two suspects saw Arlis enter and begin to pray, but left moments later, noting another young man entering the church.
Minutes later, a security guard entered and noted that neither Arlis nor the person who just entered were there and he locked the doors. In the morning, the same security guard found Arlis’s body raped and brutally beaten with an ice pack.
Surprisingly enough, a coworker came forward with information about a man who visited Arlis the day before her death. His description matched the man whom the two church goers mentioned seeing on the night of her death, but this man wasn’t looked in to and was never identified.
This is extremely frustrating, because he is most likely her murderer and he will never be found. As some sort of sick joke, her grave marker was stolen a few days after she was buried, but that was never investigated either.
This case is scary and infuriating as the murderer could have been found with a little bit more investigation. Arlis Perry’s murder is still unsolved and open.
3. The Grimes Sisters
Coming in at #3 is the only double unsolved murder on the list. In December of 1956, sisters Barbara Grimes, 15, and Patricia Grimes, 12, disappeared on their walk home from a movie theater.
The sisters where dedicated Elvis fans and had watched two showings of an Elvis film before never returning home that night. A missing person’s report was filed. In January of 1957, the bodies of the sisters were found showing on a snowy embankment with evidence of blunt force trauma.
The girls’ stomachs still contained undigested food suggesting that they died within five hours of their meal at the movie theater. Although their toxicology reports state that the girls had died soon after leaving the movie theater, there were multiple unconfirmed sightings of the girls in the weeks between their disappearance and the discovery of their bodies.
There were a few suspects, but nothing ever came of them. The case was closed, but in 2013 was reopened in hopes of finding new evidence based off of modern technology.
4. Elisa Lam
There isn’t much on this case, but it’s very tragic and needs to have more coverage. Lam, a student blogger who often wrote about her mental illness, was staying at The Cecil Hotel during her disappearance.
Fifteen days after her disappearance, police uncovered elevator surveillance that showed Lam acting strange within the elevator. She entered, pressed many buttons, peaked around the corner and walked in and out multiple times before finally allowing the doors to close.
A few days later, hotel guests complained about the water pressure forcing maintenance to check the water tank. On February 19, Lam’s body was found nude in a 1,000-gallon water tank on the roof of The Cecil.
Many argued that video footage suggested that she was hiding from someone, others were convinced her bipolar disorder took her over before she willingly entered the water dank and drowned.
You see, it is very difficult to get to the roof of The Cecil without the help of hotel staff and regardless, the water tanks are heavy and would be difficult for Lam to open and close after being inside. Many factors don’t add up, but the case is still unsolved today as nobody was ever charged for her unfortunate death.
5. Jon Benet Ramsey
In my opinion, this is the most confusing, interesting and unbelievable case on the list. JonBenet Ramsey was a six-year-old beauty queen who was found murdered in her home’s basement located in Boulder, Colorado on December 26, 1996.
The case is still open, and nobody has been charged. The day after Christmas, Patsy Ramsey, JonBenet’s mother, found a ransom note demanding $118,000 from the family in order for JonBenet’s save return.
Oddly enough, her body was later found in the home’s basement. Her parents remained under suspicion until Patsy Ramsey passed away. There were a couple bumps within the investigation as well as a false confession, and there was DNA evidence found linking someone unknown unrelated to the Ramsey’s to the case.
This case is so frustrating and unfortunately it remains unsolved.
Frustrating is the only word used to describe these stories. If only different steps were taken and a different order of events occurred, these murders would probably be solved. I guess that's why they're not and we're all still asking ourselves, "WHY?"
