10 Most Infamous Cold Cases of this Century (So Far)

10 Most Infamous Cold Cases of the Century (So Far)

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re taking a look at the most notorious unsolved crimes from the year 2000 onward. Out of respect for those involved, this video is unranked — please note that all entries to follow are listed in chronological order. Due to the sensitive nature of the events depicted, viewer discretion is strongly advised.

Zebb Quinn (2000)

When a cold case reaches a legal conclusion, it isn’t necessarily a relief to those affected by it. 18-year-old Asheville, North Carolina native Quinn went missing just after the first New Year’s Day of the millennium. Quinn, a Walmart employee, had coordinated with Robert Owens, a friend and coworker, to buy a new car in neighboring Leicester. However, they never made it as planned — Owens claimed that Quinn began acting erratically and left, never to be seen again. Owens was indicted for Quinn’s murder in 2017, but has since asserted that his late uncle had been paid off to kill Quinn. The party who supposedly hired Owens’ uncle has yet to be brought up on charges.

Anthrax Attacks (2001)

The tragic events of the 9/11 attacks on New York City ushered in an entirely new American age, rife with widespread paranoia, escalating tension, and a heightened focus on improving security measures in anticipation of possible future attacks. No one could have predicted, however, just how soon those attacks would come. On September 18, 2001, the first of several waves of envelopes containing deadly anthrax spores arrived at the offices of two U.S. senators, as well as news media headquarters, leading to five deaths. The perpetrators have never been identified: in 2008, the FBI and DOJ concluded that Bruce Ivins, a U.S. Army biodefense researcher, was responsible — a controversial conclusion that is widely disputed to this day.

Chandra Levy (2001)

Levy’s case is intricate and multifaceted, filled with numerous complexities. An intern at the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Washington, D.C., Levy vanished on May 1, 2001. Her family later disclosed to authorities her affair with Democratic congressman Gary Condit, who represented their electoral district. An FBI informant alleged that Ingmar Guandique, an undocumented immigrant from El Salvador, was hired by Condit to silence Levy. Guandique was convicted in 2010 and deported in 2017. However, it should be noted that, in 2016, the charges against Guandique were dropped due to insufficient evidence. The FBI largely dismissed the Condit angle, citing Guandique’s prior confessions to other assaults — the representative was never officially a suspect.

Elliott Smith (2003)

The widely beloved indie folk singer-songwriter was known for incorporating dark themes into his work. Smith had long struggled with substance use and his often fragile mental health. His October 21, 2003 death, the result of a knife wound to the chest, has been classified as a suicide. Some may find this conclusion understandable given the consistently raw, vulnerable tone of his music. However, record producer and Smith archivist Larry Crane, along with Jennifer Chiba — Smith’s then-girlfriend who discovered him dying — have expressed doubts. They point to Smith's improved mental state and excitement about working on new music at the time as factors that don’t align with suicide. The Los Angeles Police Department has never formally closed Smith’s case.

The Jamison Family (2009)

How does a family of three people simply vanish off of the face of the Earth, with no trace of what happened to them? That’s what officials involved in the Jamison family disappearance wondered in October 2009 after the Eufala, Oklahoma natives’ pickup truck turned up abandoned save for the family dog — and crucially, IDs, phones, and over $30,000 in cash. Four years later, in November 2013, the Oklahoma medical examiner’s office confirmed that the family’s remains had been located, but was unable to determine a specific cause of death. Speculation persists as to the why of it all, with theories including a family feud, a drug deal gone wrong, or a fear of evil spirits.

Kyron Horman (2010)

7-year-old Portland, Oregon native Horman was last seen attending an early-morning science fair, chaperoned by his stepmother Terri. After being informed by the school that he had been marked absent for the day after failing to appear in his first class, he was reported missing. The ten-day search for him was the largest ever of its kind in the history of the state. In a shocking development, investigators considered the possibility that Terri had conspired with a close friend of hers to orchestrate Kyron’s kidnapping. A lawsuit filed by Desiree Young, Kyron’s biological mother, against Terri was dropped in 2013 to avoid conflict with the ongoing investigation. No new developments in the case have emerged since 2018.

Waltham Triple Murder (2011)

The circumstances surrounding this particularly gruesome case in the Greater Boston area tend to raise more questions than answers. On September 12, 2011, the nearly-decapitated bodies of Brendan Mess, Erik Weissman, and Raphael Teken were found at Mess’ apartment, covered in $5000 in cash, as well as several thousand dollars’ worth of cannabis. Even more disturbing is the alleged involvement of brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the terrorists responsible for the April 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. The former was described as having an extremely close, though fraught, friendship with the deceased Brendan Mess. Ibragim Todashev, an associate of Tamerlan's, was fatally shot by the FBI in Orlando in May 2013 during questioning about the Waltham case and Boston bombing.

Keith Ratliff (2013)

An employee of the now-defunct YouTube channel FPSRussia, Ratliff was discovered at his Carnesville, Georgia home on January 3, 2013, dead from a gunshot to the head. 32-year-old Ratliff co-owned FPS Industries, described by the Anderson Independent-Mail as being “concerned with the development and production of firearms and related items.” The deceased was in charge of securing the weapons that appeared in FPSRussia YouTube videos. Mike Ayers, Georgia Bureau of Investigations Agent in Charge, stated in March 2013 that “[i]t is the policy of the GBI that homicide investigations remain open and active until they are solved.” Despite this, no potential assailants have been identified in the years since Ratliff’s death.

Seth Rich (2016)

The events surrounding 27-year-old Rich’s 2016 murder have been widely scrutinized, analyzed, and pored over. Omaha, Nebraska native Rich lived and worked in Washington, D.C. at the time of his death: he was employed as the voter expansion data director of the Democratic National Convention. On July 10, Rich’s life was ended by two gunshots to the back, in D.C’s Columbia Heights neighborhood where he lived. Rich’s killers haven’t been brought to justice, and according to local police, they may have been attempting to rob him. Debunked social media posts and baseless conspiracy theories speculated that Rich’s death was actually a political assassination, retaliation for supposedly leaking classified documents.

Barry & Honey Sherman (2017)

The founder and CEO of Canadian pharmaceutical giant Apotex, Toronto philanthropist Barry Sherman, and Honey, his wife of 46 years, were found dead next to their pool by cleaning staff on December 15, 2017. A reportedly unscrupulous businessman who had been routinely accused of unethical practices, even Sherman himself had publicly mused that his own murder wouldn’t come as a surprise. Apotex had a reputation for its litigiousness, not only toward government regulators, but also its own competitors. Barry was also embroiled in a legal battle with his cousins, the Winters, over unpaid royalties — he was reportedly also $1 billion in debt at the time of his death. The Toronto Police Service has confirmed that the investigation remains active.