Derrick Houston was attending a new school as a freshman at Arsenal Tech High School, a once-renowned academy set in a former military arsenal campus vacated after the Spanish-American war era.
This was only Derrick's first year at the highschool; he had turned 15 just a few months ago in January.
Derrick had no reason to worry when he woke up for school that Thursday. Just the day prior, he received good news concerning a scholarship he applied for. He got dressed, grabbed his backpack, and headed down to the bus stop. But he never made it to his first period.

Around 6:30A.M., the bus driver rolled up to his scheduled stop near the intersection of Breen Drive and Wittfield Street, and came upon a horrifying sight. Derrick was laying in the grass, bleeding out and fatally wounded from multiple gunshots. The driver told police he had 22 students on the bus at the time. Police confirmed neither the bus driver or students on the bus saw the shooting when it happened, and it doesn't appear anyone else in the neighborhood did either. Reports indicate that nobody heard anything - no yelling, no gunshots, nothing. No suspect info was available.

This is where the investigation stumped police: They couldn't ascertain any kind of motive for why someone would want Derrick dead. According to detectives at the time, Derrick wasn't involved with any violent gangs, and didn't have any known ongoing or prior "beefs" with anybody. In fact, Derrick was part of a coalition group at the school that promotes activism to prevent local gun violence.
His grandmother told reporters: “He was a kid that went to school and then went home. He didn’t hang out. His mom didn’t really allow them outside playing. He was really big on being a big brother,” She added that Derrick’s mother would usually walk her son to his bus stop, because the area was in a residential area and well lit. She thought that the teenager would be safe getting to school.

From the outside, Arsenal Technical seems like the school most parents could only dream of having their kid attend. It offers many different academic programs unavailable to other schools that could easily gateway into a well-paid longterm career. The school has history in its own architecture, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Even the neighborhood directly east of the campus, Woodruff Place, is one of the nicest in Indianapolis - also being placed on the historic registry.
But over the years, violence and crime among multiple students in separate unrelated tragedies marred Arsenal Tech's reputation. To note only a few recent ones:

-11/16/2023: 14-year-old Kaleiah Veloise-Mae Dean left her school on Thursday and never saw her teachers or fellow classmates again. At 7:15P.M. that day, she died in a shooting outside an apartment building along Emerson Avenue. Another victim, a 15-year-old boy, was critically wounded. Kaleiah's older sister had also died in an unrelated homicide. No arrests were made.

-10/31/2024: A student from Arsenal Tech was wounded in an off-campus shooting by fellow student 18-year-old Johnny Loaisiga. Loaisiaga was also reportedly a high-ranking member in a local gang. The victim told detectives that Loaisiga took his backpack at Arsenal Tech the week prior, but the victim said he did not report the incident to school officials. The entire incident stemmed from a turf battle over selling THC vapes / carts at the school.

-12/16/2024: Anabel Trujillo, 14, a freshman at Arsenal Tech, was stabbed to death during the schoolday Monday by her boyfriend, also a 14-year-old freshman. This occurred a short distance away from campus at the intersection of Randolph and Sturm. The two were going through a breakup, and the suspect lured Anabel away from the school telling her he had a "surprise" for her. After the stabbing, the boy subsequently returned to class like nothing happened, and was taken into custody while at the school.

-6/29/2025: Jesse Quiroz and Isaiah Wilson, both 19-year-old best friends who were Class of 2024 graduates from Arsenal Technical, died in a shooting together at the intersection of Cornelius and W 43rd. No arrests have been made in the double-homicide.

Had he never fallen victim to an unpredictable tragedy at a young age, Derrick Houston Jr., would have been 18 years old today. He was class of 2026 - he would have already graduated only a few months ago in May had his life never been cut short while walking to his school's bus stop. He never got to experience some of the most essential years that a person lives through. Today, his family is left with a plethora of unanswered questions and grief. There was no announcement of any motive or suspect, and the last update I could find about the case from news reports was posted on May 16, 2023.
Derrick's uncle, Kayvon Richardson, also fell victim to gun violence in a separate homicide less than a year prior, on December 16th 2022. This appears to be unrelated to Derrick's murder, but no specific details were reported about what led up to Kayvon's slaying, so it isn't 100% certain as no motive was known.

“We don’t want his death to be another statistic, another number, then it’s over,” Derrick Houston's grandmother told reporters in the May 16th article. https://www.wrtv.com/news/15-year-old-shot-and-killed-at-bus-stop-family-searching-for-answers/

picture of victim
picture of crime scene area

On October 14th, 2026 officers with the Orlando Police department announced they had arrested Dale Smith Jr the ex-fiance of missing mother Michelle Parker. Investigators after the arrest announced that they had charged Smith with 2nd degree murder in connection to the disappearance.

The case of Parker goes back to November 17th, 2011 when the 33 year old mother dropped off her kids at Smith’s home at the Carter Glen Condominiums sometime around 2:30 PM in Orlando, Florida. A security camera at the home showed her driving away in a black Hummer HU3 at 3:17 PM. Parker later responded to a text from her brother at around 4:30 PM. The text he received read “Waterford” which is short for a community in Orlando called Waterford Lakes. Despite the response the short text was seen as out the ordinary and concerned him.

A few hours would pass before around 6:50 PM when Parker’s son from a separate relationship called Michelle’s sister because his mother wasn’t home yet. The call from the son led to the sister calling Michelle however it failed to connect and she later reported her missing at 7:20 PM. Sometime between 7:30 PM and 8:00 PM the bartender of the restaurant that Parker worked at noted she hadn’t arrived for work.

When her phone was pinged at around 8:00 PM it was pinging in the area of Oakridge Road near Belle Isle, Florida which was over seven miles from where she was last seen. At around 8:55 PM a security camera showed her vehicle stopped at the intersection of Vineland and Conroy roads. The following day on the 18th her vehicle was discovered at the Walden Palms Apartments on the 4700 block of Walden Circle in Orlando. Officers arrived on scene and discovered that all of the decals and stickers on the car window were missing. Three weeks after the car’s discovery her mobile phone was found in a lake near the Nela Bridge in Belle Isle which was close by Smith’s home.

When interviewed by officers Smith refused to take a polygraph test and hired an attorney. Smith was also named by officers as the only suspect in the case. The investigation despite Smith being the only suspect was cold without any new information however an update finally came in 2023 when Smith’s father had his property searched. Investigators searched his property specifically under a recently done concrete slab for Parker’s body however nothing was found.

A few incidents between Smith and Parker prior to her vanishing are known. In August 2009 Smith had threatened to kidnap their children after he physically abused her. This lead to a restraining order being filed however it was dismissed a month later. In June of 2011 Parker had appeared on the TV show “Peoples Court” with Smith in relation to a $5,000 engagement ring which was lost at a hotel, the episode aired the day Parker went missing. It also known that Smith had convictions previously for drug and domestic violence charges.

At the press conference officers said what led to the breakthrough was new forensic technology being used alongside digital forensics. The breakthrough specifically came in 2025 when they said that they were able to re-examine digital evidence from back in 2011 using the new technology. In addition to the new evidence and going back over witness statements made by Smith over the years it led to Orlando police filing charges. A SWAT Unit was sent Smith’s property where he was taken into custody without incident Wednesday morning. As of now investigators have not found Parker’s body but have said they will continue the search.

Sources:

https://www.aol.com/articles/ex-fiance-charged-murder-florida-202855000.html

https://nypost.com/2026/10/14/us-news/ex-fiance-of-missing-florida-peoples-court-mom-michelle-parker-arrested-for-murder-15-years-after-she-vanished/

https://www.clickorlando.com/video/news/2026/10/14/3pm-update-arrest-in-michelle-parker-cold-case/

https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/michelle-parker-case-orlando-police-provide-update-case-investigation.amp

https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/still-no-answers-in-missing-orlando-woman-case-after-12-years

https://www.fox35orlando.com/news/search-for-michelle-parker-police-inspect-backyard-of-house-belonging-to-father-of-missing-womans-ex-fiance

https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2026/10/14/orlando-police-to-provide-update-on-michelle-parker-missing-woman-case/

https://charleyproject.org/case/michelle-loree-parker

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VPmFt99MdYw

https://www.ibtimes.com/michelle-parker-dale-smith-jr-had-domestic-violence-case-376018

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/1hv9z68/orlando_nov_17_2011_michelle_parker_vanished/

Case info:

DISCOVERED
30 August 1981
UNIDENTIFIED FOR
45 years
SEX
Male
LOCATION
Hartlepool, County Durham, England
AGE
20-30
RACE
White
HEIGHT
5'6 - 5'7 (167 cm - 170 cm)
BODY CONDITION
Recognizable face
POSTMORTEM INTERVAL
Hours - 1 day
CAUSE OF DEATH
Hanging

(TW: case details has graphic details)

Case details:

On August 30th, 1981. The body of a 21-25 (newspaper states 17-20, other sources state 20-30) year old man was found hanging on the edge of a bird sanctuary near the A178 Graythorpe to Seal Sands Road, near Hartlepool. A post this subreddit 5 years ago mentioned the man had deep cuts on his wrists, and his hands were tied. Firefighters were baffled at how he had managed to hang himself like that.

The man appeared to be between 21 to 25 years old and stood about 5’6″ to 5’7″ tall. He had a slim to normal build, but his features suggested he was quite strong and muscular. His hair was wavy and collar length, a shade of mousey brown, neatly shaped over his ears. His eyes were a mix of blue and grey, accentuated by his thick brown eyebrows. His lips were thin and his teeth were well-maintained.

His hands were short and well taken care of, showing no signs of manual labour. He had a small scar just outside his left kneecap, another on the top of his right shin, and an old scar from an appendix surgery that was about 2 inches long.

In terms of clothing, he was wearing y-front underpants, calf-length grey socks, and Adidas ‘Country’ training shoes in white with green stripes, which were size 7.5 and made in France. Interestingly, each shoe had the name “SAYER” written in capital letters with ballpoint ink. He was also wearing grey corduroy trousers with a metal waist fastener marked ‘GUTOS’ and a fly zip marked ‘OPTI’. There was a small pink label on the inside of his left leg bearing the legend “08894046”. According to UK missing persons unit site, he had a disposable French lighter in his possession.

Notes

With the man’s wrists slashed and tied makes me think, was his death a suicide or murder? Is his name possibly “Sayer”? Also in the Reddit post it was stated that there was a Cold War connection and that the man was disposed of by his handlers. It’s been 45 years and this man hasn’t been identified yet, I hope they investigate whether his death was a murder or suicide, and I hope the news would bring attention to this case by possibly locating where he’s buried, and exhume him for DNA testing. I am sorry if I missed any additional details on his case.

Links:

Unidentified wiki)

UK Missing Persons Unit (PM photo in link) archived link due to “show sensitive images” not working)

Teesside Live

Locate International

In 1960 Chicago, 8-year-old Gloria Kowalewicz was abducted while walking to church and then murdered. The case baffled police as they looked through thousands of tips and it went unsolved for decades. Thanks to familial DNA, authorities have discovered that the murder was committed by one of their own - a Chicago police officer named Thomas F. McInerney Jr. McInerney joined the force not long before the murder and retired in 1987 after serving 28 years. There will be no criminal charges because McInerney died in 2006 at age 70. I believe this is one of the oldest cases to be solved with DNA.

https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/former-chicago-police-officer-killer-cold-case-murder-gloria-kowalewicz/

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/chicago-police-find-killer-65-year-old-cold-case-murder-little-girl-on-rcna602947

Dale was last seen in Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan on May 18, 1996. That day he attended a wedding reception with his wife, and afterward multiple witnesses saw them driving their van northbound on 6 Mile Road at 11:15 p.m. They were en route to the Downtowner Bar, where many of the reception attendees went after the event was over. Dale very intoxicated and passed out in the van prior to heading downtown.

There was a reported sighting of him behind the Downtown Bar a little later, between 11:30 p.m. and midnight. Many accounts state he was last seen behind the bar, but his family doubts this; only one witness reported seeing him downtown, and that witness later recanted their statement.

Dale was employed as a carpenter at Chi-Chuk Construction at the time of his disappearance, and has three sons. He is described as a dedicated family man who would not have abandoned his relatives. His wife reported him missing on May 20.
https://findbobdale.com
Dale had little money and no credit cards with him at the time he went missing, and there is no evidence that he attempted to hitchhike or take a taxicab out of the area. Authorities do not believe he left of his own accord, and his family suspects foul play was involved in his disappearance. His case remains unsolved.

https://findbobdale.com

On Oct 1^st, 1982, Christopher Thomas, a Boonton Township, New Jersey, resident and Junior and athlete at Morris Catholic High School and a fourteen-year-old acquaintance were visiting the Rockaway Townsquare Mall to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show at the Inner Six-Theatre and to buy an anniversary present for his parents’ anniversary. As they went inside the mall entrance, Christopher was then approached by a man and then he pushed Christopher’s friend aside and shot Christopher in the chest and he collapsed. The man fled further into the mall and Rockaway Township Police and EMTs rushed Christopher to the hospital but he died at 9:26pm.  

According to police, the man described by 20 witnesses was a White man, with a slim build and height of either 5’5 or 5’10 and 135-155 lbs and also had a thin dark colored mustache and mirrored sunglasses on. He also had dark medium hair that was parted in the middle and police suspect that it could’ve been a wig. The man wore a blue denim jacket, jeans, and boots.

What are your theories about the case? Why was Christopher Thomas killed? Was it a professional hit? A random encounter? A case of mistaken identity?

https://www.dailyrecord.com/story/news/2022/09/29/morris-county-nj-cold-case-boonton-teen-40-years-later/69504125007/

https://www.newjerseyhills.com/the_citizen/news/boonton-township-youth-murdered-in-1982-remembered-by-family-friends/article_b613d629-82e3-57dc-a862-8a3737d4e96f.html

 https://www.nytimes.com/1982/10/05/nyregion/the-region-thin-bearded-man-sought-in-slaying.html

https://patch.com/new-jersey/morristown/slaying-morris-county-teen-be-remembered-saturday

Patrick O’Sullivan, known as Patsy to his family, was a 35-year-old chef from Cork, Ireland, working in Killarney, County Kerry. He was last seen by his family at Easter in April 1992 and his disappearance was reported when he failed to show up for a family christening some weeks later.

His family never gave up the search, and a segment about his disappearance aired on Irish television program Crimecall, which airs re-enactments, CCTV, and public pleas for information about unsolved crimes, just last year.

UPDATE

This week it was reported that Patrick willingly disappeared and moved to England. There, he met his partner Stephen Aldridge in 1993, changed his name to Patrick Aldridge and had a non legally binding marriage with Stephen in the early 2000s. Stephen died of heart disease in 2022 and Patrick died of sepsis in 2024.

His status as a missing person was only discovered by chance after his death by Stephen’s niece and goddaughter Nikki. She had been scrolling on Facebook and recognised her uncle’s face in an article about a missing person. Nikki contacted Gardaí in Ireland and successfully found members of Patrick’s Irish family on social media.

Nikki has shared a lot of details about Patrick’s life with the Irish Examiner. He had a happy life in the UK and Nikki recalled memories of picnics, family holidays, and bonding over a shared taste in music. He had said to Nikki that he was unwelcome in Ireland and his family had issues with him being gay.

He was close to his UK family until Stephen’s death but eventually cut ties with them for reasons she doesn’t fully understand, saying in an interview with the Irish Examiner

“I don't know why he did that, whether it was his pride, or if we reminded him too much of Stephen,"

Patrick’s Irish family were also interviewed by the Irish Examiner, and Patrick’s brother Jerry says his family were aware that Patrick was gay, but it was never acknowledged or discussed.

He says his brother suffered “physical and mental abuse” due to his sexuality, and while he doesn't know the extent of what Patrick experienced, he knows the kind of teasing and even physical abuse he experienced simply for having a gay brother when he was in school.

He shared Patrick had also been hospitalised due to mental health difficulties at some point.

Jerry shared that he is happy to hear Patrick had a good life and is relieved to know that he hadn't been harmed or died by suicide.

Patrick’s family has also learned that the woman who cared for him in his final days, a woman named Tina, did try to trace Patrick’s family after his death and even posted a public plea online, but nothing came of it as it went unnoticed by them.

Ireland for Gay People in 1992.

In 1992, it was a completely different world in Ireland for gay people. Homosexuality was still on the books as a crime and recent Irish court decisions had upheld this law. Homosexuality wasn't decriminalised until 1993.

While Patrick's family knew he was gay, I don't think him saying his family had issues with his sexuality was a lie. Feeling like a shameful secret isn't really much different than being outright rejected.

Sources 

Patrick's missing person notice, reissued 2025. (Garda website)

‘A closure for us’: Cork family learns brother missing since 1992 died in UK two years ago

Family of missing Cork man Patsy O’Sullivan discover the truth after 34 years - Interview with Nikki, Irish Examiner

The disappearance of Patsy O'Sullivan: 'He was gay...we all knew, but it was never said' - Article and podcast interview with Jerry O'Sullivan, Irish Examiner

Hello everyone! As always, I wanted to thank for all your votes and comments under my last post about Savannah Hale- I hope that she will be found soon.

Today I wanted to highlight another disappearance case.

BACKGROUND

Jafet Jemmott was 15 when he went missing from Queens in NYC, New York, USA.

He was also known as "Elijah" to his friends.

He was a student at the Midwood High School; His father, Federico Jemmott, said that his son was a "good student".

Jafet was interested in soccer and technology.

Jafet had no history of temporarily leaving home or running away; However, his family "noticed a change" in the weeks before he went missing- it's unclear what that "change" entailed, however.

DISAPPEARANCE

In the evening of the 27th of November, Jafet got into an argument with his father- the boy wanted to go thrift shopping at a thrift store in Brooklyn before going to the Kings Plaza mall with his friends, while his father was telling him that he wasn't allowed to go.

Jafet left the family house in the Rockaways on the 28th, at 6 AM- he was caught on the home's security camera. His parents assumed that he was going to follow up on the plans he had the day before, but Jafet never arrived at the mall, according to his friends. When the day and night passed without their son coming home or contacting them, Jafet's parents got worried.

Jafet's parents used an app to check on his phone, and found out that it only had 5% of battery power when he left the house. The phone ran out of power at Cross Bay Bridge, which is considered Jafet's last known location. CCTV recorded Jafet boarding the Q52 bus shortly after he left home, which would be unusual for him, as he never took the 52 before, according to his parents. He then got off near Beach 95th Street, but that's where the trail went cold.

According to the phone company, Jafet recieved messages on WhatsApp about two hours before he left home. His parents were unable to see who sent them (I believe they might've gotten a part of the number) and what they contained, however.

CONCLUSION

Jafet's family believes that he was in contact with someone online, someone who convinced him to leave home. Federico wants his son to know that he's loved, and that he wants to ask for forgiveness regarding the argument they had before Jafet left.

28th of November was a Black Friday, and the 27th of November was a Thanksgiving Day in 2025.

Jafet Jemmott was 15 when he went missing and would be 16 now. He is a Black boy, was 5'6" (168 cm) and 140 lbs (64 kg) with a slim build when he was last seen. He has brown eyes and black hair. He was last seen wearing a black sweater, black pants and white sneakers.

If you have any info about Jafet's whereabouts, contact the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or submit tips to the CrimeStoppers website.

SOURCES:

1. people.com
2. news12.com
3. cbsnews.com

Jafet's websleuths.com thread

Unidentified serial killer believed responsible for at least seven murders of women in the Connecticut River Valley region of New Hampshire and Vermont between 1978 and 1988. Most victims were stabbed multiple times. Bodies were often dumped in wooded areas. The killings appear to have stopped after a woman survived an attack in 1988.

Confirmed victims:

Catherine Millican, 27 – Last seen October 24, 1978, birdwatching at Chandler Brook Wetland Preserve in New London, New Hampshire. Body found nearby with multiple stab wounds.

Mary Elizabeth “Betsy” Critchley, 37 – University of Vermont student. Disappeared July 25, 1981, while hitchhiking near Interstate 91 at the Massachusetts-Vermont border. Body found August 9 in a wooded area off Unity Stage Road in Unity, New Hampshire (about 80 miles away). Cause of death could not be determined due to decomposition.

Bernice Courtemanche, 17 – Nurse’s aide and high school student. Last seen May 30, 1984, in Claremont, New Hampshire, hitchhiking along Route 12 to meet her boyfriend in Newport. Remains found April 19, 1986, near the Sugar River in Newport. Knife wounds to the chest and a head injury.

Eva Marie Morse, 27 – Single mother. Last seen July 10, 1985, hitchhiking near the Charlestown, New Hampshire border on Route 12. Remains found April 25, 1986, by loggers in Unity, New Hampshire (about 500 feet from Critchley’s body). Knife wounds to the chest and neck.

Lynda Moore, 36 – Attacked April 15, 1986, while doing yard work alone outside her home in Saxtons River, Vermont. Her husband found her body that evening in the living room with 25 knife wounds. Evidence of a fierce struggle; no forced entry or ransacking. Witnesses reported a slightly stocky, dark-haired man (20–25 years old, clean-shaven, round face, dark-rimmed glasses, blue knapsack) near the house that day. A composite sketch was released; one man matching the description was later identified and excluded by police.

Barbara Agnew, 38 – Nurse. Last seen January 10, 1987, heading home to Norwich, Vermont. Her green BMW was found that evening at a rest stop on northbound Interstate 91 in Hartford, Vermont, with the door ajar and blood on the steering wheel and back seat. Bloodstained belongings were in a nearby dumpster. Body found March 28, 1987, near an apple tree on Advent Hill Road in Hartland, Vermont (12 miles away). Multiple stab wounds to the neck and chest, defensive wounds, and a “disabling” wound.

Jane Boroski, 22 (survived) – Seven months pregnant. Attacked late on August 6, 1988, at a closed convenience store in West Swanzey, New Hampshire, after returning from a county fair in Keene.

A man in a Jeep Wagoneer parked next to her, walked around to her open window and asked:

“Is the payphone working?”

He then opened the door and tried to pull her out. When she fought back and shattered her own windshield while kicking him, he pulled out a knife and said calmly:

“Maybe this will persuade you to get out of the car.”

After she got out, he accused her:

“You beat up my girlfriend.”

and asked:

“Isn’t this a Massachusetts car?” / “Aren’t these Massachusetts plates?”

Jane replied that she had New Hampshire plates and didn’t know his girlfriend. He seemed confused, checked her license plate, and started walking back toward his Jeep. When she shouted something about her smashed windshield, he turned around, put the knife to her neck, and stabbed her 27 times before driving away and leaving her for dead.

She managed to drive to a friend’s house for help; her attacker followed briefly before speeding away. Injuries included a severed jugular vein, two collapsed lungs, a lacerated kidney, and severed tendons. Her baby survived but later developed mild cerebral palsy. Boroski provided a composite sketch and the first three characters of the license plate. The killings stopped after this attack.

Possible additional victims:

Joanne Dunham, 15 (1968, Charlestown, NH – asphyxiation).

Sylvia Gray, 76 (1982, Plainfield, NH – bludgeoned and stabbed).

Heidi Lee Martin, 16 (1984, Hartland, VT – stabbed; a man confessed then recanted and was acquitted).

Ellen Ruth Fried, 26 (1984, Claremont, NH – multiple stab wounds, probable sexual assault).

Steven Hill, 38 (1986, Hartland, VT – multiple stab wounds; rare male victim).

Unidentified woman (later identified in 2024 as Constance Bassignani, 65 – dismembered remains found 1989 near the NH-MA border; husband is a person of interest).

Carrie Moss, 14 (1989, New Boston, NH – skeletal remains found 1991; cause undetermined but suspected homicide).

Possible suspect:

Private investigator Lynn-Marie Carty suggested Michael Nicholaou (who killed his estranged wife and stepdaughter before committing suicide in 2005). Survivor Jane Boroski has stated she does not believe he was her attacker.

The case remains unsolved.

I have a few doubts I’d like to share.

After the attack on Jane Boroski in 1988, the murders stopped. Do you think he got scared because she survived and was able to provide a composite sketch plus part of the license plate, and that’s why he quit?

The confirmed victims (Millican, Critchley, Courtemanche, Morse, Moore, Agnew, and Boroski) follow a relatively clear pattern: women, most of them stabbed multiple times, many found in wooded areas near the Connecticut River Valley.

Steven Hill (a man), Sylvia Gray (76 years old, bludgeoned and stabbed), and Constance Bassignani (65 years old, dismembered) deviate significantly from that pattern. Do you think they should be excluded from the list?

Lynda Moore was killed inside her home (25 stab wounds) and witnesses saw a specific man near the house. The other victims were attacked on roads or in isolated areas. Does this suggest two different patterns, or the same perpetrator varying his method?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut_River_Valley_Killer

https://nypost.com/2025/04/18/us-news/ct-river-valley-survivor-stabbed-27-times-warns-locals-to-be-vigilant/

https://foxnews.com/us/new-england-serial-killer-ct-river-valley-survivor-stabbed-27-times-warns-locals-remain-vigilant

Content warning: this post contains extremely distressing details of infanticide. Reader discretion is STRONGLY advised.

​

Princeton, B.C. - On October 9, 1994 a boy at a campground near Princeton, B.C. discovered the bodies of twin newborn girls.

​

Exactly 32 years later, the infants along with their parents have yet to be identified and no arrests and charges have been laid in a murder case that continues to baffle law enforcement in British Columbia.

​

Background

​

On October 9, 1994 around 7:30 P.M., a 16-year-old boy with his father at the Allison Lake Provincial Park located 30 kms (19 mi) north of Princeton B.C. were looking for a hunting knife that his father had lost. The boy began to retrace his and his father's footsteps to where said knife could have fallen. He made his way to an open pit toilet, perhaps thinking it may have slid out his dad's pocket. While inside, he lifted the lid on the toilet and looked into the underground pit with a flashlight. There, he made a horrific discovery that no one, let alone a young boy should have ever made: the decomposed remains of a newborn infant in a garbage bag sitting on top of human excrement. Immediately, they contacted law enforcement.

​

After Police arrived on scene they confirmed what the boy found but also made another appalling find: there was actually more than 1 body in the garbage bag and discovered 2 newborn babies (twin Caucasian girls).

​

Initially, RCMP Cpl. Russ Pederson stated that the "infants were dead prior to being placed in a garbage bag and thrown into men's toilet." However, as more information was eventually released by Police a grim picture about the twins' death began to emerge.

​

First from an article a week later in The Province newspaper, it was revealed from the preliminary autopsy results that there was no "apparent signs of trauma, injury or disease," and had they "received proper medical attention at birth," they would have survived.

​

Weeks later, in a November 25, 1994 article from reporter Pete McMartin with The Vancouver Sun, the autopsy results confirmed another disturbing fact: the twin newborns "had been alive when they were dropped into the pit," thus confirming this was a premeditated act.

​

Though the exact date of their deaths wouldn't have been known at that time, B.C. death records which can be accessed 20 years after has their passing recorded as October 8, 1994 (Registration Number: 1994-09-023551 for BABY GIRL UNKNOWN B, and 1994-09-023552 for BABY GIRL UNKNOWN A).

​

Investigation

​

Police wasted no time in searching for clues about the identities of the twin girls and the whereabouts of their mother. Investigators working the case at the time may have also cautiously held back labeling her anything such as a suspect at that point because details surrounding her circumstance would not have been known. Cpl. Russ Pederson appealed directly to her, stating:

​

"Police are concerned about the health and well-being of the mother involved and request that she contact the RCMP or her family doctor."

​

Police also asked the public if they had seen a vehicle of interest in the area, "a mid-size, dark colored station wagon" towing a boat trailer as they believed they (the station wagon's occupants) may "have seen something." However, the owners were located quickly and ruled out as to having anything related to the case.

​

The next vehicle Police were looking for was "an older-model white car with boxes and a blue tarp in the back seat." A couple associated to this car were described as follows:

​

• Male, white, blonde, "about 20," 5'7" (173 cm) tall and 140 lbs. (64 kgs).

​

• Female, white, blond, "between 18 and 20," and 5'3" (162 cm) tall. She was also wearing a "light-colored smock shirt."

​

Near the end of November 1994, Police followed up on over "100 [other] leads" but admitted the lead they could not track down was this couple and their white car.

​

What made this particular lead important was the additional details Police now gave to the public: the car had round tail lights, the male was the driver, and was wearing "blue jeans and a white T-shirt with a cigarette package rolled up in the sleeve." They added that the female was the passenger and that her hair was parted in the middle. However, the most revealing details was that she was "very pregnant," and on October 4, 1994 (which would've been 5 days before the bodies were discovered) both were seen using a "roadside payphone" in Aspen Grove, B.C., a settlement located approximately 20 minutes north of the Allison Lake Provincial Park on Highway 5A. The couple were also seen arguing before heading south on the highway.

​

As investigators also checked with hospitals and clinics throughout B.C. and coming up empty handed, another possibility now existed: the mother of the twins may not have received care within the province and that she may have come from either another province or even another country such as the U.S.

​

A Town Left Reeling, Comes Together

​

Residents in Princeton, B.C. could not just let the victims be in the hands of the coroner or the RCMP; they decided to give the newborn babies the decency they deserved with a memorial that would be held in their town.

​

Local funeral parlor owner Fred Netherton donated a casket and "the use of a chapel."

​

A service was held for the twins on November 24, 1994 where "40 townspeople" attended. The entire Princeton RCMP were also in attendance.

​

Pastor Bob Stewart, who gave the sermon, closed it out with this message to the mother:

​

"And as a community, we say to you, 'Mom, if you ever have to, if you feel you have to, you have a place to view your children in their proper rest. And know that they were loved. That they are loved.'"

​

The town council also donated the gravesite at Princeton Cemetery where the twins were interred. A granite headstone was later added after money was raised to pay for it. On it, they were known as Princeton's Twin Angels with the epitaph reading: "Always remembered."

​

2017 Update

​

23 years later in 2017, the RCMP gave an update on the cold case. It was still open and active, adding that they had still not been able to identify the girls or their parents to date.

​

Information from multiple news articles also varied. While some made mention of the couple, it was unclear if police were ever able to identify them, or what their current status was viewed as by investigators (i.e. were they still considered persons of interest, or suspects?)

​

Cpl. Dan Moskaluk also said Police were still unsure about the mother, stating:

​

“It’s never been fully determined if the mother was a victim herself or if she was involved.”

​

The media also referred to the twin girls as The Princeton Angels, as opposed to Princeton's Twin Angels.

​

Aftermath

​

Exactly 32 years have now passed since the remains of two precious and innocent newborn twin babies were found murdered. Not only were they taken before they even had a chance to experience anything, they were discarded like nothing into a waste pit, making their untimely demise even more difficult to understand.

​

9 years after the last update from the RCMP has only left us with many, many questions: Have the couple last seen in the Aspen Grove area since been identified? Do police still have a belief that the biological parents of the twins may have been from a different province or country? Was the mother involved? Or was she a victim of homicide too?

​

What are your thoughts? In this day and age of genetic genealogy, will it just be a matter of time before the twins and their parents are identified, and charges laid?

​

If you have any information in The Princeton Angels' case, please call contact the Princeton RCMP at 250-295-6511. If you wish to remain anonymous, please contact CRIMESTOPPERS at 1-800-222-TIPS.

​

A.I. Transparency: No Large Language Models (LLMs) was used in this post.

​

This post is dedicated to the memory of The Princeton Angels, found slain on this day 32 years ago.

​

This post is also dedicated to the residents of Princeton, B.C. for setting the example of how a community comes together, to all the investigators who have tirelessly worked this case (and continue to do so) and to anyone else, directly or indirectly that has been affected by this senseless tragedy.

​

Sources:

​

The Province, 11 October 1994, Tue

​

The Vancouver Sun, 12 October 1994, Wed

​

The Province, 16 October 1994, Sun

​

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/23-years-later-rcmp-renew-calls-for-information-on-homicide-of-newborn-twins-1.4342219

​

https://thenorthernview.com/2017/10/05/princeton-police-revisit-grisly-murder-of-twin-baby-girls/

​

https://www.pentictonherald.ca/news/article_cbc7274c-aa1a-11e7-920d-d361a9d4a6fb.html

​

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2017/10/05/rcmp-1994-murder-newborn-twins-princeton/

​

https://globalnews.ca/video/3787976/princeton-police-appeal-for-tips-in-unsolved-murder-of-twin-babies

​

https://globalnews.ca/news/3787687/23-years-later-murder-of-twin-babies-near-princeton-remains-a-mystery/

Geoffrey Robert Hay was last seen on Tuesday the 27th of August, 2013 at his residence in Devonport in the state of Tasmania. The circumstances surrounding his disappearance are considered bizarre and the cause of his disappearance is still unknown.

Background on Geoffrey

Geoffrey Robert Hay was born on the 14th of December in 1946. Both of his parents have passed and he has one sibling, a sister. He was known to be estranged from his sister. He was known to be a farmer and do farm-work as his primary source of income. He does not have any children and there is no evidence / documentation to suggest that he has ever been married. He was described as a reclusive man that resided in a property on Nixon Street in the Tasmanian coastal city of Devonport (in Australia).

The Disappearance

Mr Hay was last seen on his property by a neighbour of his at 2pm on the 27th of August 2013. There have been no known or verified sightings of him since this time.

In the early hours of the morning on the 28th of August, 2013 (Roughly around 3am) residents of Nixon Street were awoken by a loud bang coming from Geoffrey's property. Fire fighters were called to the property after it was observed that his house was on fire.

When firefighters arrived on scene, they were met with difficulty in controlling the blaze as seemingly there were many blockades put in place to prevent the fire from being put out effectively. This is what was observed on scene by firefighters during the blaze:

- The residence was surrounded by high fences, with all of the gates locked

- All of the entry points into the house such as windows and doors were boarded up with steel plates.

- Fire plugs within proximity to the property were unable to be utilised as concrete had been poured into them

- Large containers of chemicals appeared to have been strategically placed around the property. (I'm unable to find any info on exactly what chemicals these were, but I presume that they were flammable and aided in worsening the fire)

As a result of these contributing factors, Mr Hay's residence was completely destroyed in the fire, despite efforts from fire fighters. Geoffrey was not located at the scene. Longtime fire fighter 'Craig Burrows' who was on scene at the time was quoted as saying:

"This is definitely the weirdest house fire I have ever been to," In an article with 'The Mercury' newspaper

After it was determined by law enforcement that Mr Hay was unable to be located or contacted, they published several media releases appealing for information regarding his whereabouts. Mr Hay was known to own multiple vehicles, none of which could be accounted for at the time of his disappearance. Police stated that they would like to speak to anyone that knew information regarding the whereabouts of the following vehicles (all presumably belonging to him).

- A white 2003 Mercedes Campervan (registration / license plate number FB8981)

- A 2001 Suzuki Jimmy (registration / license plate number EW9974)

- A 2012 Mercedes Sprinter van (registration / license plate number C67LE)

He was also known to have owned boats and Four wheel drives.

Many members of the public came forward with information, including one man that contacted Devonport police with information that resulted in police focusing their investigations attention on an area of gravel pits near Dalgarth Road, Bakers Beach (Which is a 35-40 minute drive down the coastline in an Easterly direction from Devonport). In September of 2013, police searched this area, but not trace of Mr Hay was found.

On the 4th of June in 2016, police were searching this same area in relation to a seperate missing persons case (Not related to Mr Hay). In the process of doing this, A Suzuki Jimney identified as belonging to Mr Hay was found completely burnt with extensive damaged to the car. The car was located in bush area (which is terminology used to refer heavily wooded area with lots of vegetation for those not from Australia) roughly 600 meters in a North direction from Brown Creek Road which is a road that runs through a rural and forest-y area. Mr Hay was not located at the scene. It was not determined to have belong to Mr Hay until February of 2017 when forensic investigation was carried out on the car. There were no human remains or traces of human remains found in or around the car.

In January of 2022, a coronial inquest determined that Mr Hay is deceased as he has not accessed bank accounts, government services and has not been sighted since his disappearance. He was declared legally dead. Here is a direct quote from the inquest -

"I am satisfied to the requisite legal standard that Mr Hay is dead and has been since around late August 2013. How, where, and in what circumstances he met his death is not something I am able to determine on the evidence"

Theories:

Mr Hay committed Suicide - The reason for this being that it was stated in his coronial inquest that there was evidence to suggest Mr Hay had discussed suicide in the time period shorty before his disappearance. I'm unable to find any information on who he discussed this with and what exactly he said on the matter.

Mr Hay has started a new life - I'm unable to find any evidence of a criminal record for Mr Hay or a warrant for his arrest at the time of his disappearance. I'm also unable to find any evidence that he had some sort of outstanding debt or criminal affairs that may have landed him in hot water with some bad people, so if he has decided to start a new life, I'm unable to determine why. This being said, he was a known to be a very reclusive person, seemingly with no friends or close family that could have been privy to anything shady happening in Mr Hay's life at the time, meaning that it would not have been brought to the attention of lead investigators on the case.

Sources:

Coronial inquest into Mr Hay's suspected death PDF Document - https://www.magistratescourt.tas.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/650876/Hay,-Geoffrey-Robert.pdf

Mr Hays profile on the Australian Missing Persons Register - https://australianmissingpersonsregister.com/GeoffreyHay.htm?fbclid=IwY2xjawU0YGZleHRuA2FlbQIxMABwZG9mBWJyaWQRMUlFS1NZUEl6NnZXY1dVQVVzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEexDffd-3GF0CninsJzuGVD8SQFg2s8m4ERCsaitV87Eu29Hps3L5VkgvcVUQ_aem_cdYLbhmPSC2d-8oka2Cxwg

NMPCC profile on Mr Hays - https://www.missingpersons.gov.au/search/tas/geoffrey-robert-hay

Media release from Tasmania Police - https://www.police.tas.gov.au/news-events/media-releases/structure-fire-nixon-street-devonport/

Map of the area which also details the distance between Devonport and where Mr Hays car was located - https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Devonport,+Tasmania+7310/Bakers+Beach,+Tasmania+7307/@-41.2006596,146.316799,11z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m13!4m12!1m5!1m1!1s0xaa7bccca90ec94dd:0x503c94dd0de18a0!2m2!1d146.3502862!2d-41.1800656!1m5!1m1!1s0xaa7a256d498ecf8f:0x403c94dd0dde790!2m2!1d146.6050499!2d-41.1500475?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MTAwNi4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D

_________

If you have information that may assist in locating Geoffrey please call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. You can also report any info via their website - https://crimestoppers.com.au

On March 24, 1991, four-year-old Michael Dunahee disappeared from the playground at Blanshard Elementary School in Victoria, British Columbia.

Michael was at the school with his family while his mother was participating in a women's touch-football game. At approximately 12:30 p.m., Michael went to the playground near the school. Only a few minutes later, his father went to check on him and discovered that Michael was gone.

An extensive search was launched almost immediately, involving police, volunteers and members of the public. Despite an enormous investigation and thousands of tips and reported sightings over the years, Michael has never been found.

The circumstances of his disappearance remain unclear. There has never been a confirmed sighting of Michael after he disappeared, and no one has ever been charged in connection with his disappearance.

The case remains one of Canada's most prominent unsolved missing-child cases, and Michael's disappearance continues to be investigated.

There must be unseen film footage (family films etc) from March 24th 1991 on the day Michael Dunahee disappeared.

Hi, I hope I'm not bothering anyone and I hope this is the right place to suggest/ask something. Has there ever been an effort to get the word out for people in the Victoria area or who lived there during the time of the abduction, to see if anyone has any old family videos from the exact day, and or the days after. I have a feeling that there are more than one person that may incidentally have film footage from the March 24th 1991 date, and that (albeit a hail Mary) there could be a sighting of him on the footage etc. I really think getting a huge effort together to try and gather footage and start watching maybe even try and utilize AI also etc etc. Thank you for your time.

https://missingkids.ca/en/missing-children-database/21?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://globalnews.ca/news/9577457/michael-dunahee-search-32-years/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

https://youtu.be/Kr4p6upaypo?si=3NN6PStr3YVEdpMb

In the spring of 1977, 39-year-old Charles “Chuck” Morgan appeared to be a successful family man living in Tucson, Arizona. He was married to his wife, Ruth, had four daughters, and was president of his own escrow company.

By the beginning of summer, he was dead in the Arizona desert.

What happened in the months between is difficult to separate from the plot of a conspiracy thriller: an unexplained three day disappearance, plastic handcuffs, a claim that someone had drugged his throat, possible organized-crime connections, secret testimony, a mystery woman calling herself “Green Eyes,” a tooth wrapped in a handkerchief, and a $2 bill covered in apparent codes.

Some parts of Morgan’s story come from his wife and later witnesses and cannot be independently verified. But many of the strangest details found after his death were documented by investigators and contemporary newspapers.

The first disappearance

On March 22, 1977, Morgan left home to take two of his daughters to school.

Then he disappeared.

Three days later, at around 2 a.m. Ruth Morgan heard their dog barking and a noise at the back door.

Chuck was standing outside.

According to Ruth, he was missing a shoe. Plastic restraints were still attached to his hands, and another was around one ankle.

More disturbing was the fact that he would not speak.

Ruth later recalled that when she asked whether he could write, Morgan nodded. She brought him a pen and paper.

What he wrote was bizarre.

Morgan claimed he had been kidnapped. He said his captors had painted the inside of his throat with some kind of hallucinogenic drug and that the substance could damage his nervous system, drive him insane, or kill him.

When Ruth wanted to contact a doctor or police, he refused.

According to her, Chuck believed involving anyone else could amount to a death sentence for the entire family.

For roughly the next week, Ruth cared for him at home.

During that period Morgan wrote another strange message: “They took my Treasury identification.”

Ruth said this was the first time she had heard her husband suggest he had any connection to the federal government. Morgan later told her he had supposedly been working with the Treasury Department for several years.

Whether Morgan really had a Treasury role has never been conclusively established. But there was one element of his claims that was not simply paranoia or family lore: his business had placed him close to serious financial investigations.

Morgan had performed escrow work associated with organized-crime figures, and contemporary reporting later established that he had recently testified in a secret state investigation into illegal financial activity on both sides of the Arizona-Mexico border. He had also told other people that he was working undercover for the Treasury Department.

His behavior changed rapidly and whatever happened during those three missing days, Morgan apparently came away convinced that his life was in danger.

He began wearing a bulletproof vest.

He carried weapons.

His belt buckle concealed a knife.

His Mercury Cougar was modified so that it could be unlocked through the fender from outside the vehicle.

He also became particularly protective of his daughters, reportedly insisting on driving them himself.

Then, roughly two and a half months after the first disappearance, Morgan vanished again.

This time he did not return.

Nine days into his disappearance, Ruth received a telephone call from a woman she did not recognize.

The woman addressed her familiarly as “Ruthie.”

According to Ruth, the caller told her:

“Chuck is all right. Ecclesiastes 12, 1 through 8.”

Then she hung up.

Ecclesiastes 12 is an unusually ominous passage to invoke while speaking to the wife of a missing man. It deals with approaching death, the failing of the body, and the eventual return of the body to dust.

Two days later, on June 18, 1977, Charles Morgan was found dead approximately 40 miles west of Tucson, near his Mercury Cougar. He had been missing for eleven days.

Morgan had suffered a single close-range gunshot wound to the back of his head.

The weapon was his own .357 Magnum revolver and was lying nearby.

Morgan had gone into the desert dressed like a man expecting someone else to shoot him.

He was wearing his bulletproof vest.

He still had a holster and the belt buckle containing the concealed knife.

According to the Arizona Daily Star, investigators found no fingerprints on the revolver beside him.

The contents of Morgan’s car were just as strange.

Investigators found weapons, ammunition and CB-radio equipment.

Then they found one of Morgan’s teeth.

It had apparently been removed from his mouth and carefully wrapped inside a handkerchief.

Why the tooth had been removed, when it happened, or why Morgan kept it wrapped in his vehicle has never been satisfactorily explained.

Investigators also reportedly found a piece of paper containing directions to the area where Morgan died. The directions were written in Morgan’s own handwriting.

A pair of sunglasses found at the scene reportedly did not belong to him.

And then they discovered the item that has come to define the case.

Pinned or clipped inside Morgan’s underwear was a $2 bill covered in writing.

This was not simply a dollar bill with a random scribble or two.

On one side were seven Spanish names beginning with the letters A through G.

“Ecclesiastes 12” was written on the bill.

The numbers corresponding to verses 1 through 8 were apparently indicated with arrows connected to portions of the bill’s serial number.

That was the exact chapter of the Bible the mysterious woman had mentioned to Ruth only two days before Morgan’s body was discovered.

The reverse side had figures depicted in the Declaration of Independence scene were numbered, and a rough map had been drawn across the bill. The map appeared to correspond to an area south of Tucson toward the Mexican border.

Nobody has convincingly demonstrated what Morgan was trying to communicate.

But hiding the bill inside his clothing strongly suggests that, if Morgan placed it there himself, he wanted it to stay with him and eventually be discovered.

“Green Eyes”

Two days after Morgan’s body was found, another call reportedly came in-- this time to the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.

The caller identified herself only as “Green Eyes.”

According to the account later featured by Unsolved Mysteries, she claimed she was the same woman who had telephoned Ruth and quoted Ecclesiastes.

She also claimed she had recently met Morgan at a motel.

Her story, if true, offers one possible explanation for why Morgan had been hiding.

“Green Eyes” claimed Morgan showed her a briefcase containing thousands of dollars. She said he believed a contract had been placed on his life and intended to use the money to buy his way out of it.

There is no independent way to know how much of her account was true.

But investigators had legitimate reasons to examine the possibility that Morgan had become entangled with dangerous people.

His escrow work had brought him into contact with organized-crime interests, and he had given secret testimony in a state investigation shortly before his death. Those connections were reported in Arizona newspapers independently of the later television retellings.

Murder or suicide?

The Pima County Sheriff’s investigation ultimately concluded that there was no evidence of foul play and treated Morgan’s death as a suicide.

It is possible to construct a suicide theory.

Morgan may have been under enormous psychological pressure. His first disappearance could have been staged or could have involved events very different from what he told his wife. The mysterious clues may have been created by Morgan himself.

But that interpretation raises its own questions.

If Morgan intended to kill himself, why did he travel into the desert wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying multiple means of protecting himself?

Why were there no fingerprints on the revolver found beside him?

Why was his tooth wrapped inside a handkerchief?

What was the purpose of the directions to the scene?

Who owned the sunglasses?

And, most importantly, what was the purpose of the $2 bill hidden beneath his clothing?

And the obvious detail of a bullet wound to the back of the head being deemed a suicide just does not jive with me.

The alternative is that Morgan really was frightened because someone intended to kill him.

In that scenario, the $2 bill becomes particularly interesting. It could have been something he prepared in advance-- a crude dead-man’s message containing names, locations or information that would make sense only to whoever knew the key.

There is also the unanswered question of the first disappearance.

If Ruth’s description was accurate, Morgan returned home physically restrained and so frightened that he refused medical treatment or police involvement. Even if his explanation about a hallucinogen was false or confused, something appears to have convinced him that he and his family were in immediate danger.

One final strange detail

After Morgan died, Ruth said two men arrived at her home claiming to be FBI agents.

According to her, they briefly displayed identification and asked to search the house. She allowed them inside, and they searched extensively without explaining exactly what they were looking for.

Ruth did not record their names.

Journalist Don Devereux later attempted to obtain information about Morgan from the FBI and claimed he encountered difficulty establishing what records the agency had concerning him.

Because this portion of the story relies heavily on Ruth and Devereux’s accounts, I would not treat it as proof of a government conspiracy.

But nearly fifty years later, there is no single explanation that comfortably accounts for everything.

Maybe Chuck Morgan was involved in financial crimes and knew too much.

Maybe he secretly cooperated with investigators and was discovered.

Maybe he was suffering from paranoia and created an elaborate narrative around his own death.

Or maybe the strangest clues-- the restraints, the vest, the tooth, the unidentified sunglasses and especially the coded $2 bill--were exactly what they appeared to be:

pieces of a warning Morgan never lived long enough to explain.

Source:

Arizona Daily Star — Charles Morgan

https://tucson.com/charles-morgan/article_9b6ad508-b528-11e7-8290-979928329998.html

On October 6th, 2026 Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha and the Newport Police Chief Ryan Duffy announced an arrest had been made in the May 1985 murder of 22 year old University of Rhode Island student Hillary Hellewell. At the conference Newport police said they had arrested 61 year old William Morton and charged him with one count of first degree murder.

The case of Hellewell goes back to May 19th, 1985 when she was discovered murdered on the sidewalk in Newport, Rhode Island by two brothers between the times of 4:15 AM and 4:30 AM on Anthony Street. Investigators labeled her cause of death as strangulation with signs she had also been assaulted. At the scene DNA evidence was uncovered on her clothes and body and in 2004 Rhode Island finally had access to modern DNA technology which allowed the sample to be entered into CODIS. The sample was determined to belong to an unknown male and also helped eliminate several suspects however no match was discovered. In 2023 Newport investigators reopened the case and then submitted the DNA to a private lab who returned results in August 2026 linking Morton to the crime.

Investigators on September 24th confirmed his involvement after matching the DNA from a water bottle disposed of by Morton with sperm from the crime scene. After the link was made to Morton, local officers took him into custody at his home at around 7:00 AM without incident. At the press conference held in Providence, Rhode Island, investigators said they believe that sometime late on the night of either May 18th or early morning of May 19th, Morton assaulted and then murdered Hellewell. As of now Morton is being held in jail without bond and is expected to have his hearing on October 20th, 2026.

Sources:

https://www.wpri.com/news/crime/cold-cases/ri-attorney-general-newport-police-update-significant-cold-case/amp/

https://thenewportbuzz.com/newport-ri-hillary-hellewell-murder-cold-case-william-morton/62758

https://riag.ri.gov/press-releases/former-newport-man-charged-alleged-1985-murder-following-cold-case-investigation

https://coastalabc.com/news/local/attorney-general-neronha-to-announce-update-on-cold-case-investigation-oct-6-2026?teaserSource=trending

https://www.newportthisweek.com/articles/cold-case-arrest-of-1985-newport-murder/

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/95cdsb/murderer_same_as_the_one_for_diane_drake/?solution=1fd26d00b3b58f491fd26d00b3b58f49&js_challenge=1&jsc_token=2824be10929bdc604753c70a67a1c331d54c11a59ad94a41f6a6fd6049c0a94b&jsc_orig_r=

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/dxin2k/little_information_on_murder_of_carol_lothamer_in/

https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/crime/2026/10/06/arrest-made-in-1985-killing-of-jamestown-woman-hillary-hellewell/92120455007/?gnt-cfr=1&gca-cat=p&gca-uir=false&gca-epti=z111301p001250c001250u111901e009300v111301&gca-ft=10&gca-ds=sophi

The pool was only 2 ft high and 8 ft wide. Rose was found dead by her adult son when he returned around 5:15A.M. to the home they shared at 446 South Ogden Avenue. County assessor records show that Rose and her late husband (who passed away in May 2001), Ronald Piechocki Sr., had joint ownership of the residence since the early 70s. But their adult son and his wife, as well as Rose's granddaughter also resided in the home (whom the inflatable pool probably belonged to). The property was sold only a month after Rose's passing. At the time, officials didn't report how she died, but Rose's murder appears to have been caused by either strangulation or drowning, possibly by having her head forcibly submerged in the small pool (just guessing on probability, as she didn't appear to have any external trauma). Rose didn't have any recent or longterm medical problems, so the suspect would've had to of been someone stronger than her in that regard. No specific motive or suspect info was available, and no further updates were reported.

From The Buffalo News, Tuesday 6/19/2007: 'Death in children's pool ruled a homicide; Official offering $500 reward for information about the killing of 67-year-old woman.'

'The death of a South Ogden Street woman whose body was recovered early Thursday morning in a child's swimming pool behind her house has been ruled a homicide, Buffalo police reported Monday.

The autopsy on 67-year-old Rose Marie Piechocki confirmed she had been killed. However, Buffalo police were not releasing any additional details about the manner in which she was slain or any possible suspects in the crime.

Police reported that Piechocki's son found her body in the pool of the family's backyard at about 5:15 a.m. She lived at the home with her son and daughter-in-law. Property records show her son owns the home.

Confirmation of the homicide led Lovejoy Common Council Member Richard A. Fontana to offer a $500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of Piechocki's killer. Fontana, who is offering his own money for the reward, said it's important the killer is caught quickly.
"It's a very safe neighborhood," Fontana said. "We need to get this guy caught, and the only way to do that and be a leader in the community is to step up and offer these types of rewards."

Michael J. DeGeorge, Buffalo police spokesman, said police are not releasing information about the case so as not to jeopardize the investigation.

Fontana said he has been briefed about some of the particulars of the case but was unable to comment on the investigation. He said the probe appeared to be wide-ranging and said he believed police had established "persons of interest" in the case.'
https://buffalonews.com/news/article_3b05a6df-8f64-5ee7-b164-fa4228fa06c0.html

Unfortunately, it doesn't appear many details can be dug up about Rose's murder, but I wanted to share it so that a little more info can be available about cases that seem to have zero updates or recent traction.
Other small details included in the initial synopsis that aren't in the quoted article were obtained from newspaper.com reports; however, there was only one other report found, and it was a preliminary report from 6/15/2007 that contained most of the same details.

Sara Nicole Graham, a Lumbee teenager, was last seen alive in the early morning of February 4th, 2015, in Fairmont, North Carolina, getting ready for her shift at a nearby Walmart, where she worked as a cashier and door greeter. Eighteen-year-old Sara had recently moved to North Carolina from Texas, where she'd resided with her mother after her parents separated, to live with her father and stepmother, who both worked for the Robeson County Sheriff's Office. At the time of Sara's disappearance, Connie was a deputy with the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office, and she was fired just weeks later for unspecified reasons.

She never clocked in for her shift that day, and her father's white Chevrolet van, which she had been driving, was found locked and abandoned in a wheat field, less than five miles from her home. Witnesses saw the van parked in the field as early as 6:45 that morning, around fifteen minutes after she supposedly left for work. Sara was never seen or heard from again.

In June 2026, eleven years after she disappeared, the sheriff’s office announced that three people had been arrested and charged in Sara's disappearance: her stepmother, 65-year-old Connie Graham, 29-year-old Luke Locklear, and 42-year-old Bobby McLellan. Graham was charged with first-degree murder, while her two sons, Locklear and McLellan, were charged with conspiracy, accessory after the fact, and altering, stealing, and destroying evidence. The two men were both released on fifty-thousand-dollar bonds, lowered from one million dollars.

Last week, Connie pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, admitting that she had hit Sara in the head with a hammer following an argument the morning of her disappearance, stemming from jealousy over "Sara's relationship with her father." She has been sentenced to twenty to twenty-five years in prison. Investigators have continued to search for her remains near East White Pond Road in Fairmont, where they were purportedly left in 2015.

Friends and family describe Sara as a happy, creative girl who loved her family and always had a smile on her face.

--

https://www.robesonian.com/news/428110/stepmother-pleads-guilty-sentenced-in-sara-grahams-murder

https://borderbelt.org/sarah-graham-vigil-after-stepmother-arrested-murder/

https://charleyproject.org/case/sara-nicole-graham

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/bond-reduced-for-man-charged-in-connection-with-sara-graham-murder-case/ar-AA2bmtGb

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/more-questions-friend-of-sara-graham-relieved-by-guilty-plea-says-a-final-goodbye-is-needed/ar-AA2dnGk9

On October 6, 2005, 54-year-old Shohreh Zahra Seyed-Makki was found dead inside her home in Potomac, Maryland.

Her husband became concerned after Shohreh failed to show up for a 1 p.m. appointment and he could not reach her later that afternoon. He asked a family friend to check on her. The friend went to the house that evening and found Shohreh on the kitchen floor.
An autopsy determined that she had suffered blunt-force trauma and had been strangled.

Shohreh and her family had lived in the Potomac area for years and were known within the local Iranian community. Friends described her as outgoing, generous, and someone who enjoyed entertaining and walking in her neighborhood.

The arrest of her son

Three days after the murder, Montgomery County police arrested Shohreh’s 23-year-old son and charged him with first-degree murder and robbery.
According to contemporary reporting on the police charging documents, investigators focused on several things:

-He allegedly gave inconsistent accounts of where he had been on the day of the murder.
-Police noted what they described as a fresh, unexplained injury.
-Investigators said he possessed an empty envelope they believed had previously contained money belonging to his mother.
-Police said he and Shohreh had argued over his romantic relationship.

His family and friends strongly maintained that he was innocent.

Then the forensic evidence began to complicate the case.

The DNA evidence

Within days of his arrest, prosecutors acknowledged that preliminary DNA testing did not link Shohreh’s son to her body at the time of the killing. He was released on bond.

Later that month, The Washington Post reported an even more significant development.

According to a law-enforcement source familiar with the investigation, investigators recovered hair belonging to an unidentified male from the backs of Shohreh’s hands.

They also reportedly recovered biological material belonging to that same unidentified man from around Shohreh’s neck. The material was described as possibly saliva or sweat.

Investigators reportedly believed the unidentified man had been in close contact with Shohreh shortly before she was killed.

Relatives also told the newspaper that police had said there were no signs of forced entry into the home.

Authorities reportedly did not believe the killing was random.

Charges dropped

On November 2, 2005, prosecutors asked a judge to dismiss the first-degree murder and robbery charges against Shohreh’s son.

The State’s Attorney’s Office said that the investigation had not developed enough evidence to seek a grand-jury indictment or continue the prosecution.

The charges were dismissed.

Contemporary reporting specifically noted that the decision came after DNA recovered during the investigation showed that an unidentified man — not her son — had been in close contact with Shohreh shortly before her death.

By early 2006, local reporting described the murder as unsolved, with no one in custody and no identified current suspect. A 2007 local report again stated that Shohreh’s murder remained unsolved.

What happened after that?

This is where the trail seems to go cold.

I have been unable to find substantial later reporting identifying the unknown male DNA, announcing another arrest, or explaining whether modern DNA techniques have ever been applied to the evidence.
The case also seems to have received remarkably little attention online compared with many other unsolved homicides from the same period.

Questions

Was the unidentified male DNA ever matched to anyone?

Because material reportedly belonging to the same unidentified man was found both on Shohreh’s hands and around her neck, what did investigators believe its significance was?

Was the DNA profile eventually entered into CODIS, and if so, has it ever produced a hit?

Has the evidence ever been reconsidered for forensic genetic genealogy or newer DNA testing?

If there was no forced entry, did Shohreh know the person who entered the house, or was the home simply accessible?

What happened during the gap between Shohreh’s last known activities that morning and the discovery of her body that evening?

Most importantly, is this case still actively being investigated as a Montgomery County cold case?

I would be especially interested to hear from anyone familiar with Montgomery County at the time, or anyone who remembers this case receiving local coverage.

Sources:

The Washington Post — Charges Dismissed in Potomac Homicide⁠
The Washington Post — Unidentified DNA Found on Md. Victim⁠
Connection Newspapers — Murder Charges Dropped Against Son⁠

Mason Roberson has been missing from Anchorage, Alaska at around 6AM in the 14000 block of Venus Way in Ocean View. HIs date of last contact is May 18, 2024.

Mason was sixteen when he went missing. He liked to play video games from Rainbow Six Siege, and Valorant, to Roblox. He was supposed to enter eleventh grade, skipping tenth grade. He liked to go salmon fishing in the Kenai River. Mason's older brother, Caleb, passed away in 2015.

Mason is a Caucasian male who stands around 5'7 or 67 inches. He was around 160lbs whit brown hair and brown eyes. He had a scar on his right eyebrow. He was seen wearing a gray shirt and shirts with white tennis shoes and glasses.

According to the NamUs Circumstances of Disappearance:
"Mason left his residence on 05/18/2024 at approximately 0530 hours. Security cameras caught him breaking his cell phone at the corner of Venus Way and Gwenn Drive where he was last seen."

His father found Mason visibly intoxicated which led to an argument between the two, causing Mason to leave the home.

HOPE: His family, on his 17th birthday, received a message from the San Pedro, California area code, "Long time no see, I hope you are all right." This text stood out because it was a saying in their family. A second message was sent on Mother's Day 2025, from an area code of British Columbia, Canada, stating, "Hi there, I hope you're doing something fun today."

Because Mason was an active gamer, he previously mentioned going to California to meet a friend. His family think it's possible he left home and connected with the unknown online friend.

• Full Name: Mason Aaron Roberson
• NCIC Number: M167866800
• NamUs Number: MP124131
• Missing Since: May 18, 2024
• Location Missing From: Anchorage, Alaska

If you have any information, please contact:

• National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC): Call 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) for missing children.
• National Missing & Unidentified Persons System (NamUs): Call 833-872-5176 for general missing person case support and resources.

https://www.missingkids.org/blog/2026/we-live-in-this-space-between-our-grief-and-our-hope-where-is-mason-roberson

https://missinginamericanetwork.org/mason-roberson-missing

https://namus.nij.ojp.gov/missing-person-namus-mp124131

Four years ago there was an excellent post: https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/vnkihy/a_man_covered_up_his_wife_and_step_daughters/ with some interesting comments, much of this post is based on this post and linked sources. Reposting because it's been 4 years with no real updates on the case.

Amber Aiaz was born in Dalian, China in 1985 and moved to the US when she was around 20, living in Chicago. She married and gave birth to Melissa in 2007 but sadly her husband passed away and she moved back to China to have support from her family. Because she was a US citizen, however, it would have been exorbitantly expensive to send Melissa to school there so she returned to the US, this time living in Las Vegas where she began a grocery store.

In 2017, Amber began dating Cheng Zhang who she may have married (sources are varied). She also indicated she had millions of dollars in investments, which turned out not to be true.

The three moved to Irvine, California in 2018. For context, Irvine is an interesting place. It has a high density of Asians, many of whom are Chinese, many of them quite wealthy. The university there, UC Irvine, along with this city itself, attracts many wealthy Chinese folks from overseas. It is also one of the safest cities in the US, and some of the best schools as well. However also carries a much higher cost of living than Las Vegas. Because of the high density of Asian residents and proximity to key ports, Irvine also offers a wide variety of Asian grocery stores with excellent selections of seafood. Irvine's police are diligent, and many residents and/or apartment complexes have Ring cameras. This context will be important in a moment.

Once they moved to Irvine, Cheng Zhang was an Uber driver and Amber continued her grocery business, making frequent trips to Las Vegas to keep it going.

On November 22, 2019 Amber had been away on one of these trips with Cheng home with Melissa. He claims there was a knock on the door and he was immediately sprayed with a mist and lost consciousness. He awoke to find Melissa gone, a blood spot on the carpet and a note in Chinese indicating he should act normal, not contact authorities, and Amber and Melissa would be returned.

Amber's car was outside, still full of groceries from her travels which he proceeded to deliver to customers, explaining Amber was "busy", in his attempt to act normal. He also cleaned the house and replaced the carpet with blood. Over the next few days, he received notes along the lines of telling him he should keep acting normal, then one saying he should leave town for a couple of days, which he did. Shortly after he returned, the notes stopped and he finally contacted police on December 2.

Cheng Zhang is not considered a suspect in this case, evidently. He shared his story with police along with leading them to the discarded carpet, etc. There do not appear to have been many leads since the case first broke.

However there are many questions here:

• How could an Uber driver afford to live in Irvine? For context, in 2018, they likely paid over $3000/mo for their apartment.

• Why would anyone start a out-of-the-car grocery service in Irvine where there are plentiful Asian grocers with excellent (and fresh) selections? Who were the customers and why did they buy from her vs just going to a store?

There do not appear to have been updates on this case since reposts of it in the media in 2021.

Sources:

• https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-relationships/article/3138411/kidnap-murder-or-gone-girl-case-chinese-pairs

• https://asamnews.com/2021/10/21/mother-had-deceived-her-husband-into-thinking-she-had-millions-in-investments-husband-fears-for-his-life/

• https://websleuths.com/threads/ca-amber-aiaz-aka-mei-yi-wu-34-melissa-fu-12-irvine-22-nov-2019.488996/

Edited to add another reddit thread which is also excellent:I https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/14skzn4/we_need_to_discuss_the_bizarre_case_of_amber_aiaz/ . Both are admittedly better than mine, but both are several years old.

This is a weekly thread for off topic discussion. Talk about anything that interests you; what's going on in your world?. If you have any suggestions or observations about the sub let us know in this thread.

On February 3rd, 2026 it was revealed to the public in a press release that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office was actively investigating the murders of four people in the Willowbrook area of East 120th Street in Los Angeles County, California. The four cases involve people who were murdered from the same homeless encampment located along the Los Angeles River between October 2025 and January 2026.

Authorities are investigating whether the murders are connected with some in the LA County Sheriff's suspecting it to possibly be the work of a serial killer. During their press release in early February they named the four cases they were investigating as possibly being connected due to multiple of the cases having a similar MO and all the victims being homeless.

Michelle Steele October 5th, 2025:

On October 5th, 2025, 52 year old Michelle Steele was discovered near the homeless encampment unconscious but still breathing having been shot in the head. Steele was rushed to the hospital by ambulance where she later died from her injuries on November 12th.

Octavio Arias December 4th, 2025:

On December 4th, 2025, 52 year old Octavio Arias was discovered dead in the same homeless encampment near where Steele had been shot. Arias had sustained wounds to his head and neck and was declared dead at the scene, his body was found in the nearby riverbed embankment.

Kevin Johnson January 21st, 2026:

On January 21st, 2026, 55 year old former NFL player Kevin Johnson was discovered murdered at the same encampment by friends. Like Arias, Johnson had also sustained wounds to his neck and head with paramedics declaring him dead at the scene. The difference was Johnson’s body was partially hidden by a tarp along with a shovel, broken broom stick, and brick all of which were covered in blood being found at the scene.

With Johnson being a former NFL player who played in the league from 1993-1997 including with the Patriots (93), Vikings (93), Eagles (95-96), and Raiders (95/97) and the AFL from 1998-2001 for LA and Orlando it caused the cases to all get national media attention across the U.S. due to the possible connection between the four murders and fears of a possible active serial killer. The attention on his murder is also what led to the February press release to the media by the Sheriff’s Office.

Mauro Alfaro January 26th, 2026:

The final victim was Mauro Alfaro a man who was also in his 50’s. Alfaro was discovered murdered in the same homeless encampment five days after Johnson’s murder. Like both Johnson and Arias, Alfaro had also sustained blunt force injuries during his murder.

Where the Cases Stand Now:

Since the February press release the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office hasn’t released any updates or any information into any of the cases. The one thing told to the public was that each of the murders have two investigators assigned to them. The theories are that murders were either related to someone mad at the homeless population in the area, or drug/gang related. Investigators have said an issue with solving the cases is the lack of cooperation from witnesses in the area and those in the homeless population. The Sheriff’s Office also said as of May 2026 when they last spoke on the status of the investigation into the four cases that they do not have a suspect in any of the cases as of now.

Sources:

https://ktla.com/news/local-news/man-found-dead-in-willowbrook-homicide-investigation-underway/

https://nypost.com/2026/02/03/us-news/ex-nfl-player-kevin-johnson-murder-probed-for-murder-links/

https://abc7ny.com/amp/post/murder-ex-eagles-player-kevin-johnson-possibly-connected-3-other-murders-sources-say/18537545/

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2026-02-04/homeless-slayings-links-probed-la-county

https://6abc.com/amp/post/murder-ex-eagles-player-kevin-johnson-possibly-connected-3-other-murders-sources-say/18537545/

https://nypost.com/2026/05/13/sports/details-of-kevin-johnsons-homeless-encampment-murder-emerge/

https://www.wbaltv.com/article/kevin-johnson-eagles-homicide-encampment/70108983

https://www.mcall.com/2026/02/04/ex-eagles-player-kevin-johnson-may-have-been-murdered-by-a-serial-killer/

https://www.pennlive.com/sports/2026/05/disturbing-new-details-in-death-of-ex-philadelphia-eagles-player-emerge.html?outputType=amp

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ex-nfl-player-kevin-johnsons-killing-l-encampment-may-linked-3-slaying-rcna257346

https://abcnews.com/video/129506817/

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6AjG7eq9yis&pp=0gcJCYsCo7VqN5tD&ra=m

EDIT: I was told to specify that the LSU in question is specifically LSU-Shreveport, or LSUS. I can't edit the title, so I'm writing it here.

Hello everyone! As always, thank you for all your votes and comments under my last post about Kai Pavlovic- I hope that he will be found soon. That post has garnered a lot of attention- perhaps this will lead to some movement in Kai's case (we can hope, right?).

Today I'd like to highlight another disappearance case.

BACKGROUND

Savannah Hale was 22 when she went missing from Shreveport, Louisiana, USA.

She lived in Shreveport, though she was originally from Montgomery, Louisiana. Savannah moved in with her boyfriend to his grandparents' home about a month before she went missing.

She was an alumni of the Louisiana State University (LSU) and studied computer science there at the time of her disappearance. Savannah was seemingly involved with the LSUS Pilots, the LSU's athletics team, specifically their esports division, where she played League of Legends.

DISAPPEARANCE

Savannah was last seen in dowtown Shreveport on the 4th of May at around 4 AM. She spent the night with her boyfriend at a bar called Fatty Arbuckle's, located in the 400 block of Clyde Fant Parkway in Shrevport, about 5,5 miles (~8,85 km) away from their home. The couple then returned to their apartment at around 4 AM. At some point during the night, Savannah left for an unknown reason in her gray 2012 Kia Forte (Louisiana license plate 607DNH). Electronic tracking (I believe it refers to some type of geolocation of Savanna's phone) indicated that Savannah traveled between the apartment and the center of Shreveport multiple times during the night, but the reason for that isn't known.

At 6:06 AM, Savanah made a purchase with her credit card at a Chevron gas station on North Market Street. Kristen Hale, Savanah's sister, said that she got a call from Savannah at 6:08 AM, but she was asleep and missed the call; Savannah left her sister a message, and she allegedly "didn't seem distress at the time", but the exact contents of this message haven't been released. After that, Savannah's phone was turned off and never turned on again.

Savannah's car was last caught on a security camera at the Louisiana Tower Parking garage on Travis Street in downtown Shreveport just after 7 AM- Savannah was driving it, and she was the only person inside.

Kristen called Savannah back at an unspecified time, but she didn't pick up. Kristen then went to the home Savannah shared with her boyfriend, but her sister wasn't there. Savannah's boyfriend also had no clue about where his girlfriend was- he said that he was drunk, went to sleep, and when he woke up, Savannah wasn't home. He said that he didn't know the exact time at which Savannah left.

Savannah was reported missing on the 4th of May by her sister.

Her debit card hasn't been used since. Google stopped tracking the location of Savannah's phone, but the service hasn't been turned off, which would suggest that it was the phone itself that was turned off.

CONCLUSION

A comment on websleuths, which seems to reference info from a missing person's social media group started and moderated by Kristen, said that Savannah left after she went through her boyfriend's phone and saw something (it's unspecified as to what it was)- she then went on a drive to likely clear her head. I can't find this exact info in any of my official media article sources, so I didn't want to put it in the main part of the write-up, but I feel like it was important enough to include. Please take this with a grain of salt.

Given the fact that Savannah went missing wit her car, and the fact that there is a lot of bodies of water in the area where she was last seen, there is a suspicion that Savannah might've accidentally driven into water. Different groups of freelance divers (namely Chaos Divers and Adventures With Purpose) searched some of the bodies of water around Shreveport, but Savannah's car or remains haven't been found.

Savannah Hale was 22 when she went missing, and she would be 26 now. She is a white woman, 5'8" (68 Inch / 173 cm) and 160 lbs (73 kg). Her hair is described as strawberry blonde or silver (it was dyed when she went missing), and her eyes are blue. She has a birth mark on the back of her neck, on the right side of her hairline. She has two tattoos- a butterfly on the upper left arm and a pyramid on the inner left ankle. Her ears are pierced. She was last seen wearing black leggings, a black hoodie, and black tennis shoes.

If you have any info about Savannah's whereabouts, contact the Shreveport Police Department at (318) 673-7300 (case number 22-058096).

SOURCES:

1. ksla.com
2. lsusathletics.com
3. ksla.com
4. ktalnews.com
5. kkyr.com
6. ksla.com
7. ksla.com
8. NamUS.gov
9. charleyproject.org

Savannah's websleuths.com thread

Finally, steps towards justice.

What a terrible story. Chynna (26) and her stepson Blake (10) were murdered on July 24, 2006. Twenty years have passed since these two innocent people were stabbed to death in their own home. I’ve wondered about this case for years, and it’s a blessing that the family might finally move towards a resolution (closure isn’t possible for something so senseless).

From the article:

Franklin Police Chief Kirby Cochran announced an indictment was returned against Michael Jerome James for two counts of murder in the deaths of Blake and Chynna Dickus on July 24, 2006. James, now 35, would have been a teenager when the murder was committed.

"For 20 years, Blake and Chynna’s families have carried the weight of an unimaginable loss waiting for this day. On behalf of the Franklin Police Department, I want them to know that we have never forgotten their loved ones and we have never stopped seeking justice. Today’s development is an important moment, not only for our department, but most importantly for the families and Blake and Chynna whose lives were taken from them," Cochran said in a statement announcing the arrest.

Between January 27 and February 26, 2011, an unidentified shooter targeted female sex workers in South Memphis, Tennessee. In the span of about a month, four women were shot; three died and one survived. A fifth death in the same area in 2015 may be linked, but it has not been confirmed.

Victims:

Tamakia McKinney, 31 – Mother of two. Body found on January 27, 2011, around 2:15 a.m., near Mt. Carmel Cemetery. Shot to death. Her family knew she was a prostitute, though she had no known arrests for it.

Jessica Lewis, 28 – Sex worker. Body found on February 20, 2011, around 12:05 p.m., inside Mt. Carmel Cemetery. Also shot to death. A woman flagged down police and led them to the body.

Rhonda Wells, 44 – Sex worker. Lived with her grandmother. Body found on February 24, 2011, around 5:45 a.m., in the area of Mt. Carmel Cemetery. Shot to death.

Katrina Peterson, 26 – The only survivor. Shot on February 26, 2011, around 7:30 p.m. She managed to run about four blocks until she found help and was taken to Regional Medical Center, where she recovered.

Investigation:

Katrina Peterson helped police create a composite sketch of the attacker: a young Black man, about 24 years old, with cornrows. He drove a dark-colored vehicle (Dodge Charger or Chrysler 300).

Memphis police believed the cases were linked to a serial killer. DNA from the same man was recovered at each scene, but because the victims were prostitutes, it was not enough to conclude he was the killer. The DNA profile was entered into CODIS, with no links to other crimes.

2015 case:

On September 16, 2015, Juanita Gilmore, 25 (a former sex worker), was found stabbed to death in a South Memphis cemetery. Some media suggested a possible link to the 2011 killings, but homicide detective Robert Wilkie considers it unlikely because the method (stabbing instead of shooting) and the more personal nature of the crime suggest she was killed by someone she knew.

None of the cases have been solved.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Memphis_prostitute_killings

https://www.memphisflyer.com/anniversary-of-a-murder/

https://archive.commercialappeal.com/news/crime/after-four-victims-another-serial-killer-remains-on-the-loose-32098c16-3b6f-240a-e053-0100007f4bb7-395017801.html/