10 Crimes That Will Never Be Solved
#10: D. B. Cooper
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It’s not often somebody holds an entire plane for ransom and gets away with it. But that’s exactly what happened in 1971. A man dressed in a suit and sunglasses, identified only by the name “Dan Cooper” on his ticket, boarded a flight from Portland to Seattle. He calmly told the flight attendants he’d brought a bomb on board and demanded four parachutes and $200,000 cash. Not wanting to risk forty innocent lives, the FBI gave Cooper exactly what he wanted. The plane landed at Seattle-Tacoma airport to collect, then took off again, whereupon Cooper parachuted out of the plane and disappeared forever. In the years since, the FBI has yet to conclusively identify him.
#9: The Tylenol Poisonings
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Seven people mysteriously passed away from cyanide poisoning in Chicago over a matter of days in 1982. Police found that the victims had one thing in common: they’d all recently purchased and taken Tylenol that had been laced with a large amount of the substance. Although the Tylenol bottles were of the same batch, they were bought from different stores. While suspects emerged, there was almost no evidence thanks to a total lack of CCTV, witnesses, and forensics. There was a massive Tylenol recall. The case led to the implementation of tamper-proof medication packaging to stop this from ever happening again. The strange nature of the crime, seemingly designed to cause mass hysteria and nothing else, has left it unsolved for decades.
#8: The Atlas Vampire
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Despite the crime’s sensationalism and violent nature, the culprit behind a gory vampire-like crime in the Atlas area of Stockholm has never been caught. In 1932, a sex worker named Lilly Lindström was found deceased in her own apartment. But she had lost all of her blood. Chillingly, whoever committed the crime seemed to have taken it with them. Investigators also found a ladle with Lindström’s blood. This led the police to believe someone may have consumed it before leaving. It was this aspect of the horrific crime that made the police nickname the culprit “Atlas Vampire”. Although it doesn’t seem they ever struck again, this criminal was never caught.
#7: Jimmy Hoffa’s Final Fate
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After disappearing under very suspicious circumstances in 1975, Jimmy Hoffa’s body has never been found. It’s highly likely that the mafia was involved in his untimely demise. Hoffa was a prominent labor leader and Teamster who was once in the mafia’s pocket. But after he got on their bad side, the organization may have come after him. The person who did the deed may have been Frank Sheeran, one of the mafia’s most famous hitmen. He reportedly confessed to the murder, although this is disputed. Regardless, the lack of forensic evidence and a body have made it impossible to put this crime to rest.
#6: The Mystery Around JonBenét Ramsey
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In 1996, stories spread throughout the United States of a horribly tragic crime. The body of young beauty queen JonBenét Ramsey had been found in the cellar of her own home. Initially reported missing because of a ransom note found in the house, the discovery of her body changed everything. Suspicion immediately fell on her parents and it was theorized that they could’ve faked the ransom note. However, there’s no evidence to implicate them. And while a few other suspects who had disturbing fixations on Ramsey while she was still alive emerged, the crime scene still had almost nothing by way of forensics. This has left the case with no conclusive suspect.
#5: Who Put Bella in the Wych Elm?
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During World War II, a group of young boys made a grisly discovery: there were human remains in a forest in rural England. The police soon found that there was an entire skeleton inside of a tree trunk. Although the woman was never officially identified, ominous graffiti asking, “Who put Bella in the Wych Elm?” began to appear nearby. Theories about the woman, who may or may not be named “Bella” vary significantly. There are people that believe she may have been a German spy and cabaret performer who parachuted into the UK and met a grim end. Others believe the fact she was inside a tree means her demise had something to do with witchcraft. Either way, the question the graffiti asked remains unanswered.
#4: Tupac & Biggie
Within a brief time period in 1996 and 1997, hip hop legends Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls, A.K.A. the Notorious B.I.G., were shot in separate incidents in Vegas and LA respectively. They were both incredibly prominent figures in the famous East Coast - West Coast Hip Hop rivalry at the time. This has led people to blame their shootings on everything from gang violence to corruption in the LAPD. And since Biggie was attacked second, some believe his demise was retaliation for Tupac’s. Suspects did emerge in the cases, from Crips member Orlando Anderson, to record executive Suge Knight. But the FBI has been unable to arrest anybody for either crime.
#3: The Zodiac Killer
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San Francisco’s most infamous criminal took the lives of at least five people. He claimed to have taken 37 in total. Throughout an investigation that took police all over the San Francisco Bay Area, the only major piece of evidence the authorities had was one sketch. The Zodiac perpetrator is so notorious because he taunted the cops with ominous letters and complex ciphers. And when the texts were decoded, officials got deranged messages that didn’t offer much evidence. Whoever the criminal was, he seemed to disappear in the 70s for a mysterious reason. Authorities still don’t know who it was.
#2: The Black Dahlia
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In January 1947, the bisected body of Elizabeth Short, dubbed the “Black Dahlia” in the press soon after, was discovered in Los Angeles. The grisly crime has haunted the city for decades because despite the high-profile nature of the incident nobody was ever charged. The most popular suspect for Short’s demise today is Dr. George Hodel. Not only is he suspected by many, including his living relatives, but he’s also believed to be responsible for more gruesome crimes. The “Black Dahlia” case may have even spawned copycats, like the horrifying “Lipstick murder” of Jeanne French just weeks later. Even if Hodel was responsible, he died in 1999 and could never be brought to justice.
#1: Jack the Ripper
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One of the most notorious and gruesome criminals in history was Jack the Ripper. He haunted the streets of London for months during 1888. Jack The Ripper took the lives of at least five women and may have attacked even more people in horrifying ways. All the victims shared the same adult profession. This may have been why the police at the time didn't do a great job of investigating. Vital pieces of evidence in the case were lost and, since this was the 1800s, forensics science wasn’t ready to help. After the criminal was named “Jack the Ripper”, he later wrote letters to the authorities taunting them for being unable to catch him. He eventually disappeared and left the terrifying case open.