Most Intriguing Classic Unsolved Single Murder Poll

[STANDREID]

The majority of these have inspired some type of movie/TV screen dramatization.

 

[theunredacted]

Gareth Williams, the British spy whose rotting corpse was found zipped up in a bag in 2010.

 

[STANDREID]

Before 1975, the only two I'd heard of were Sheppard and Percy.

And Percy was the only one I knew when it was ongoing.

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Although they still endure in England, I think the last of the classic U.S. detective magazines ceased publication around early 1999. If there were any extant after that, I couldn't find them.

Not only do they endure here in the UK, they are positively thriving. So much so that a new one was launched as recently as July 2015:

http://www.imagine-publishing.co.uk...ith_crime_fuels_launch_of_real_crime_magazine

 

[MelmothTheLost]

Just demographics I suppose.

To some extent, yes, but the UK situation was also very different.

1. Most of the cases which really caught the public imagination and were widely reported were solved, and their fame came from the high profile trials as much as anything. Think of the Evans, Christie, Haigh, Heath, Armstrong, Bentley and Cummins cases, for instance. This was the era of the superstar defence counsel and famous pathologist. Blockbuster trials almost seemed to overshadow the crimes which were the subject of them.

2. On the whole, the crimes best remembered today from from that era were generally serial killers. All of the above mentioned were serial killings except for Armstrong, Bentley and Evans. Or one-offs such as the Great Train Robbery.

3. On the whole, the other crimes from this era which are still remembered are those of children who simply disappeared, such as Sheila Fox (1944) and Moira Anderson (1957) (though the latter is now regarded unofficially as solved while her body is still missing).

There are other single murders that you could have chosen, some of which would probably have a higher recognition than Rose Harsent, such as:

Bella Wright (Green Bicycle Case) (1921)
Bella in the Wych Elm (1943)
Charles Walton (1945)
Emily Armstrong (1949)

But the reality is that there are surprisingly few (known) unsolved murders in the UK during this period. Some of the ones which have best recognition are more recent such as April Fabb, Genette Tate and Suzy Lamplugh.

 

[STANDREID]

To some extent, yes, but the UK situation was also very different.

1. Most of the cases which really caught the public imagination and were widely reported were solved, and their fame came from the high profile trials as much as anything. Think of the Evans, Christie, Haigh, Heath, Armstrong, Bentley and Cummins cases, for instance. This was the era of the superstar defence counsel and famous pathologist. Blockbuster trials almost seemed to overshadow the crimes which were the subject of them.

2. On the whole, the crimes best remembered today from from that era were generally serial killers. All of the above mentioned were serial killings except for Armstrong, Bentley and Evans. Or one-offs such as the Great Train Robbery.

3. On the whole, the other crimes from this era which are still remembered are those of children who simply disappeared, such as Sheila Fox (1944) and Moira Anderson (1957) (though the latter is now regarded unofficially as solved while her body is still missing).

There are other single murders that you could have chosen, some of which would probably have a higher recognition than Rose Harsent, such as:

Bella Wright (Green Bicycle Case) (1921)
Bella in the Wych Elm (1943)
Charles Walton (1945)
Emily Armstrong (1949)

But the reality is that there are surprisingly few (known) unsolved murders in the UK during this period. Some of the ones which have best recognition are more recent such as April Fabb, Genette Tate and Suzy Lamplugh.

For true, we had no Edward Marshall Hall or Bernard Spilsbury here in the States. Regarding the additional cases you mention, most are in the top 100 of my eventual top 1000+ classic unsolved murder case list
(right now, I'm up to around 730). Green Bicycle interests me most, I think, even though there's a chance that it could have been an accidental shooting rather than a murder. I decided to limit the listing to what I did to keep it from becoming too unwieldy. We all have our "favorites" and once you go past a top 5 probably no two lists would match exactly.

 

[Cici_Cyclone]

I think Genette Tate's murder/disappearance is widely accepted as being perpetrated by Robert Black. Although much of the evidence of this is circumstantial and his recent death has led to a halt on the newer investigation into this.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[MelmothTheLost]

I think Genette Tate's murder/disappearance is widely accepted as being perpetrated by Robert Black. Although much of the evidence of this is circumstantial and his recent death has led to a halt on the newer investigation into this.

I'd agree that this is the case amongst those who have kept up to date with the Tate and Black cases, but the linking of Genette to Black is fairly recent in terms of public awareness. I suspect it's going to end up one of those cases that doesn't end in a formal conviction but where there's a general consensus that a particular person dunnit.

 

[Backwoods]

I also consider Lindbergh as basically solved although I doubt that Hauptmann acted alone. Regarding the Bordens, since there are some other credible theories and no conviction, I do not consider that case solved. I do, however, agree that Lizzie most likely did it.

No matter how one feels about the Lindbergh kidnapping case, I wanted to post that there is a new book (focusing on the early phases of the crime and investigation) just out that I personally feel will be a must-read for anyone interested in the case:

http://www.buybooksontheweb.com/product.aspx?ISBN=9781495810428#

There have, of course, been many Lindbergh case books and all kinds of theories. This book, though, is the result of years of intensive archival research by author Michael Melsky, who is also the administrator of a very fine online forum on the case. Whatever else, I KNOW there will be facts revealed -- and well documented -- in Michael's book that you won't find in any other. And some longstanding "myths" will be exploded, too, I expect.

I am thrilled that Michael has finally released volume one of his study of the case -- cannot wait to read it! I hope he will continue on to do additional volumes on later aspects of the case, as he has said he may.

 

[CursSleuth]

I'm also surprised at some of the cases that have no votes but I guess Dahlia is just too tough a competition.

[h=1]Georgette Bauerdorf would have been another good entry.[/h]

 

[Ambitioned]

This isn't really a single murder but Winnie Ruth Judd was jailed for a double murder.

The trunk murders

Ruthless

Most people think she's guilty but one author named Bommersbach (bit of a ditz IMO) is convinced she's innocent and wrote a book called "The Trunk Murderess."

Anyway some light reading if you're ever so inclined.

 

[PrimeSuspect]

Deidre Kennedy, Ipswich - 17 months old, abducted from her bed after 10 pm, 13 April, 1973. Her body was found the next day on the top of a park's toilet block. Deidre had been bashed, sexually assaulted and strangled and the killer had dressed her in a woman's half-slip, panties and step-ins, stolen from next door.
Her thigh showed bruising inflicted by bite marks.

This terrible crime is basically unsolved even though there is a suspect, here is the article about this complicated case.

The case ran cold until 1984 when a detective sergeant who had worked on the Deidre Kennedy case had a chance meeting with two old friends in Toowoomba.

The men were former police officers who had gone into the RAAF as military policemen and were investigating a case at Amberley airbase.

A RAAF recruit by the name of Raymond Carroll had been looking at a young woman's personal pictures and underwear.

Detective Sergeant John Reynolds interviewed Carroll and took hair samples and a cast of his teeth.Carroll said he was at Edinburgh air base at the time of Deidre's murder but an instructor said Carroll was not present for the passing out parade and a fellow recruit recalled him being granted leave for a family medical emergency.

When Carroll was asked under oath at the murder trial in February, 1985, whether he had killed Deidre Kennedy, he replied: "No, I did not".

The jury didn't believe him and he was convicted and given life imprisonment by trial judge Angelo Vasta.

The critical evidence from eminent odontologists was that Carroll had made the bite marks on Deidre's body.

However, Carroll was later acquitted, with the Court of Criminal Appeal putting considerable weight on what it regarded as discrepancies in the dental experts' testimony.

In 2000, Carroll was tried for perjury and found guilty on the grounds that he lied when he said he did not kill Deidre but he was acquitted again and the case went all the way to the High Court, which dismissed the Crown's appeal, meaning he could never be tried again.

In 2003 after public petitions, the United Kingdom passed a bill that modified the rule of double jeopardy so the Crown had a right to appeal acquittals after new and compelling evidence came to light.

Yet in Australia, after two juries found Raymond John Carroll guilty of the murder of Deidre Kennedy, her killer walks free.

https://www.qt.com.au/news/murder-that-stole-ipswichs-innocence-innocence/1819762/

 

[tambo]

My cousin, Billy Baumgartner, 17, was murdered in 1979 in San Mateo, Ca. at the end of his work shift with 2 other male employees, at a Payless Drug Store. The gunman took drugs, money and fled. Gov. Schwarzenegger reopened the case a few years ago. It is the only triple unsolved murder in Ca.

My cousin, Billy Baumgartner, 17, was murdered in 1979 in San Mateo, Ca. at the end of his work shift with 2 other male employees, at a Payless Drug Store. The gunman took drugs, money and fled. Gov. Schwarzenegger reopened the case a few years ago. It is the only triple unsolved murder in Ca.

I worked there for a few years and had quit about 6 months before it happened. I knew the main suspect when i was there. I think he probably did it but im not convinced he acted alone. There is a podcast about the case. Have you listened to it. It haunts me to this day because i cant count the number of nights that i was in that office where it happened. Im really sorry for your loss

 

[sonz82]

The 5 unsolved murders in the town I live in. 3 were friends all murdered in a caravan one night in 1981, another from 1988 - a suspected paedophile was murdered in his home and the most recent , John Reynolds - murdered in 1993. This one could easily be solved, I'm shocked it hasn't been! All 3 can be read about here
Police committed to seeking justice in Northamptonshire’s unsolved murders

 

[jaejae]

I can't find a thread for Shirley Collins, I've just read up on it elsewhere, never heard of her case before.

Here is a recent report about the very cold case mentioned above:

Students turn back time in murder hunt - MPNEWS

Bit of a gruesome school subject.

Here is another report about the case:

Brutal murder at Mt Martha never solved - MPNEWS

One more report:

Brutal murder at Mt Martha never solved

 

[jaejae]

Here is a list of infamous Unsolved Murders including the Black Dahlia and JonBenet Ramsey case:

21 Unsolved Mysteries That Keep People Up At Night