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10 Unsolved Murder Cases That Have Police Stumped

  • Posted by: Sleuth Syndicate
  • Category: Cold Cases, Missing, Murdered

There are hundreds of unsolved murders in the United States. Here are 10 of those Unsolved Murders that stumped law enforcement.

10. Dorothy Jane Scott

dorothy jane scott murderDorothy was a 32-year-old single mother to a 4-year-old boy named Shawn. Dorothy and Shawn lived with Dorothy’s aunt and she had a job as a back-office secretary for a store her father previously owned. She also handled the back-office secretary work for another business that shared the location.

Shawn was Dorothy’s world and she worked hard to provide for him. Her parents often took care of Shawn while she worked. His father was not in the picture as he had lived elsewhere.

Dorothy was well liked in the community. She enjoyed attending church events and dated occasionally but nothing too serious, as she’d rather focus her attention on Shawn.

Although she was well liked in the community there was one person that seemed to have a deep obsession for Dorothy, so deep that he killed her. I

n the beginning of 1980 Dorothy started to receive disturbing phone calls. A man would call her work and her home, he would profess his love for her at times and threaten to kill her other times.

The mystery man would proudly inform her that he was stalking her by describing details about her day or make comments about her clothes she wore. The most shocking phone call he told her that he would get her alone and dismember her into pieces.

In May 1980 Dorothy signed up for self-defense (karate) classes. She told her parents she was in fear and she recognized the voice but couldn’t place it. She even contemplated getting a gun for safety.

May 28, 1980 Dorothy went to work early for an employee meeting. Her co-worker appeared ill and had a rash on his arm. Dorothy, her sick co-worker, and another co-worker headed to the ER to get the rash looked at.

On their way to the ER Dorothy stopped at her parents, informed them of what she was doing and changed her clothes.  The three arrived at the ER and ended up spending the majority of the day there. It wasn’t until 11:00 PM that her co-worker was released.

While her co-workers walked to the pharmacy Dorothy went to get her car to meet them at the door. The co-workers came out and noticed Dorothy wasn’t at the driveway so they headed to where the car was parked when they arrived.

As they approached the parking area they see Dorothy’s car speed towards them and leave the parking lot.  They weren’t sure what was going on so they decided to wait at the ER for Dorothy to come back. After a couple hours they called her parents and then notified the police.

The next morning about 5:00 am Dorothy’s car was discovered in flames about ten miles from the hospital. Over the next few days search parties came up empty. Then Dorothy’s mother received an ominous call from a man who claimed he had murdered Dorothy.

The police advised the family not to release any details regarding Dorothy to the public. A few weeks went by and the family wanted answers so the contacted the media. Shortly after the editor for the Santa Ana Register received her own phone call from the obsessed mystery man regarding Dorothy’s death. He said, “I killed her. I killed Dorothy Scott. She was my love. I caught her cheating with another man. She denied having someone else. I killed her.”

He gave details of the night she went missing, even talking about her co-worker and his spider bite. He also made a claim that Dorothy called her that night from the hospital. This was considered a lie because Dorothy was with one co-worker the entire time.

The killer continued to taunt Dorothy’s family every Wednesday for 4 years. In August of 1984 a construction working stumbled upon the remains of a dog. When he kept digging he discovered a body that was determined to be Dorothy. The cause of death could not be determined however foul play was presumed.

The case went cold with little or no leads. There was one suspect but there wasn’t any concrete evidence to make an arrest. Mike Butler was the suspect. He was the brother of a co-worker of Dorothy. It was rumored that he had an obsession with Dorothy.

Shawn Scott is still seeking justice for his mother.

9. The Dardeen Family Murders

dardeen family murdersNovember 18, 1987, three members of the Dardeen family were discovered brutally murdered in their home. Keith Dardeen was not among the dead and presumed at the time to possibly be the murderer.

Keith had recently started a new job at Rend Lake Water Conservancy District and when he didn’t show up to work that day they alerted his mother and she alerted the police. Keith’s father took a spare key and met with officers at his son’s home.

The police entered the residence to a horrific scene with the bodies of Elaine (Keith’s wife), his son Peter, and a newborn baby girl. The victims were bound, gaged, and beaten to death. Elaine was pregnant at the time and the newborn girl that was found was delivered prematurely during the brutal attack.

There were visible signs of the killer(s) attempting to clean up. The victims were also placed in a bed, tucked in as if the killer(s) knew them. Nothing was missing and the home was not ransacked.

Keith was the original suspect until some hunters found his body that was mutilated in a sexual manner and he was shot to death. The case became cold fast with little to no leads.

Tommy Lynn Sells, a serial killer known as the “Coast to Coast” and the “Cross-country killer” had confessed to the murders.  Although he gave details of his confession things didn’t add up and he was never arrested for their murders or believed to be their killer.

To this day this case has not been solved. If you have information about the Dardeen Family Murders please contact the Jefferson County Sheriff’s office at (618) 244-8015

  1. The Springfield Three

the springfield threeJune 7, 1992 Suzanne Streeter, Stacy McCall, and Sherrill Levitt (Suzanne’s mother) vanished, leaving behind all their belongings. There was no sign of a struggle at Levitt’s house. The only two clues or possible clues were a broken porch light and a message left on the answer machine. The message was accidently erased.

A convicted kidnapper named Robert Cox and claimed he knew that the women had been murdered and no one would be able to find their bodies.

The day before their disappearance Stacy and Suzanne had graduated from high school.  The girls were out at various graduation parties that night and into the early hours of the 7th. They originally planned to stay the night at another friends house but changed their minds and went Streeter’s home.

The morning of the 7thJanelle Kirby arrived at Streeter’s house as they were all going to spend the day at a water park. Janelle and her boyfriend noticed the broken glass from the porch light and noticed the door was unlocked. They entered the house but only found Suzanne’s dog.  While they were there the phone rang and Janelle answered it and a male on the other end made sexual innuendos. After she hung up the person called back and did the same.

Later Stacy’s mom had tried to reach her and decided to go over to the house. She noticed all their items and car at the home. She saw the clothes her daughter had worn the night before. She listened to the answer machine and heard the disturbing message that was accidently erased. She called the police.

In December 1992 a man called in a tip to the America’s Most Wanted hotline but the call was disconnected when being transferred to the police department. There was an appeal by law enforcement for this person to contact them but he never did. The case went cold.

Cox was loosely considered a suspect however he had two different alibies and his girlfriend who was one alibi recanted later. Cox claimed he would give the location of their bodies after his mother dies. He was not charged with their murderers.

7. Jennifer Harris

Jennifer Harris murderMay 12, 2002, in Bonham, Texas Jennifer Harris disappeared. Her Jeep was found abandoned and she was found by a fisherman six days later floating in the Red River.

Jennifer had told a friend she was pregnant shortly before she went missing. Law enforcement reached out to her ex-husband, Rob Holman, and her ex-boyfriend, James Hamilton. Both denied seeing her before her disappearance, denied being involved in her murder and have not been charged in connection to her murder.

Jennifer’s case went cold; there were rumors but nothing to substantiate an arrest.  In 2017, a new sheriff made a campaign promise to re-investigate Jennifer’s murder. He was met with defeat when he discovered damaged evidence and possible missing evidence.

There is a former sheriff lieutenant now private investigator that the family hired that has been working on the case. The husband of Jennifer’s sister who is a filmmaker is also working on the case.

Holman her ex-husband had a flimsy alibi. He claimed he was driving around that night. At first he said he saw her Jeep and later admitted to seeing Jennifer.  They had a rocky relationship and even though they were divorced they were still sleeping together according to Holman.

It seems the one and only suspect is Rob Holman.

Holman’s lawyer’s statement to 48 Hours:

Robert Holman has neither been arrested nor charged with any criminal conduct as it relates to this investigation. This notwithstanding, Mr. Holman has, from the inception of the investigation, been treated by law enforcement as a suspect. Mr. Holman has maintained his innocence from the very beginning and his position has not wavered.”

6. Deborah Lee Shelton

deborah shelton 12-year-old Deborah Shelton left her home about 9:30 am January 3, 1969 to go bike riding with a friend. She should have been back home about 11:30 but she never made it.

She was last seen around 11:00 am on a local road. Around two-o’clock that day her mother received a phone call asking for a 500 ransom. Law enforcement believed this call to be a teenage prank.

A few months later Deborah’s decomposed body was found by a boy that was heading out to shoot his air rifle not too far from her home.

A friend of Deborah’s told police that Deborah was going mini bike riding with an older boy she met named Sherman. Looking back the ransom phone call her mother received could very well have been “Sherman”. Sherman has never been identified.

Her case remains a cold case.

Tragedy struck the Shelton family 32 years later when Deborah’s sister went missing under suspicious circumstances. She had recently ended a relationship but appeared to be on good terms. She had agreed to dog sit for her ex-boyfriend but was never heard from again. He claimed she went to San Francisco however her purse and money were found in her home. Her case is a cold case as well.

5. Lindsey Leigh Maccabee and Danielle Greene

lindsey danielle Lindsey’s body was found on October 6, 2016 20 feet off Lake Road in Pleasantville. November 5, 2016 a farmer near Allen Road in Violet Township found Danielle Greene’s body.

There is little to no information on these two girls. The cases are being investigated as separate cases however the two knew each other. There is also a suspect that both girls knew but there is no evidence leading to him or any other suspect.

 

 

 

 

4. Bryon Barker

byron barker murderMay of 2005 Byron Barker vanished. The owners of a Super 8 motel in Williamsburg had called for a tow truck for an abandoned vehicle in their parking lot.  On May 19 the tow-truck company discovered blood in the vehicle.  They informed law enforcement and law enforcement matched the car to Byron who was in the system as a missing person.

A suspect emerged in the case, Brett Allen Baker. Brett worked for Byron at one time and he was found in possession of items that belonged to Byron. He spent nine months in jail for the theft charges.

Byron’s body was found on a farm in Tennessee. Investigators are being tight lipped about any evidence they currently have in this case.

 

 

 

3. Rose Busch

rose busch murderRose Busch was a wealthy socialite that was murdered in her Sequoya Hills home on November 19, 1968. Her husband, Harry was a wealthy businessman and jeweler. Her husband was at a car repair shop and she was home baking. Her maid left the home and her gardener was working outside and left around 5:15.

Shortly after her gardener left she was brutally murdered. One theory is it was a hired hit. Over time files on her case have been destroyed or gone missing. Many of the people have since passed away and others have faded memories.

The day of the murder Harry called Rose around 5:25 to see if she needed him to stop and pick anything up on his way home. Before he left an employee had noticed Harry had a flat tire and went in the store to tell him. Harry called home to let Rose know he would be late but he got a busy signal. He tried a few minutes later and the phone just rang. He assumed she gave their gardener a ride to the bus stop.

At 5:52 Harry left his store and headed to get his tire fixed. He left his car and his employee gave him a ride home. Harry discovered his wife’s lifeless body beaten and stabbed to death.  Rose’s purse that had several hundred dollars and jewelry was missing.

It was known that in 1965 Harry was spending time with a woman named Hazel Davidson.  Hazel was well known for her relationships with several men. She was also involved in prostitution as a madam. Could Hazel be involved?

The day after the murder bloody white gloves were found as well as a blue police coat, a yellow police raincoat, a police cap, and some fake police ID’s. They also found a gun with a silencer what was damaged. The items seemed to have been thrown from a car.

Harry Busch went on to marry and move. Hazel was questioned and considered a strong suspect but never charged.

 

 

2. Rena Rincones

rena rincones murderJune 21, 1994 Rena Rincones left her parents home in Falfurrias, Texas heading home to her husband John Longoria and their one-year-old daughter in Premont, Texas. She was not reported missing until nine months later by her father Jose Rincones.

Her body has never been found.  Sadly there is little information on this case. There are reports that her husband and child are also missing.  I cannot find any information that confirms or denies that her husband and child were missing as well. There are lots of questions with this case. Why did it take nine months to report her missing? Where are her husband and child? What kind of relationship did she have with her parents? If you have any information on this case please leave it in the comments.

 

 

 

 

1. Diane Fox

diane fox murderDiane Fox was reported missing by her fiancé on the afternoon of August 5, 1984.  Timothy, her fiancé said he had last seen her around 2:00 am when she borrowed a car to run to 7-11.

She never arrived home. Timothy claimed he had found the car parked a few blocks away from their house with the grocery bags from 7-11 inside. The employees of 7-11 confirmed Diane had been there around 2:00 in the morning.

Two days later Diane’s body was found dumped after being murdered at a different location. She appeared to have put up a struggle and suffered stab wounds as well as blunt force trauma.

There is little information regarding Diane’s murder. It does appear that law enforcement suspects Timothy but lack the proper evidence to prove it.

If you like reading about true crime cases join our Sleuth Syndicate group on Facebook. It is our main group where we post all cases. We also have several individual case groups such as the Delphi Murders, Darlie Routier, Christian Andreacchio, and so many more. You can find the links to all our groups in our main group.

Author: Sleuth Syndicate