True Crime: Untold Cases

The Colonial Parkway Murders (Virginia, 1986-1989)

A series of unsolved double homicides along Virginia's scenic Colonial Parkway left 8 people dead. The victims were all young couples, killed in different ways, with their cars staged to look like lovers' lane scenes. The killer appeared to have knowledge of police procedures, leading to speculation about law enforcement involvement.

The Benders (Kansas, 1871-1873)

The Bender family operated a small inn and general store in Labette County, Kansas, where they murdered at least 11 travelers before disappearing. The family - consisting of John Sr., Ma Bender, John Jr., and Kate - would invite weary travelers to dinner, seat them in a place of honor with their backs to a canvas curtain, then kill them with a hammer from behind. They would then rob the victims and bury their bodies in their apple orchard. The murders were discovered when prominent doctor William York disappeared while searching for other missing persons in the area. When investigators finally searched the Bender property, they found a house of horrors with bloodstained cellar and multiple bodies in the orchard, but the family had already fled. Despite one of the largest manhunts of the era, none of the Benders were ever definitively found, though various theories emerged about their fate.

The Severed Feet Mystery (Pacific Northwest, 2007-present)

Since 2007, over 21 disembodied human feet in running shoes have washed up on the coastlines of British Columbia and Washington state. While some have been identified through DNA, the pattern of discoveries - always in athletic shoes, always feet - remains unexplained. The case has baffled oceanographers, forensic scientists, and law enforcement across two countries.

The Yuba County Five (California, 1978)

Five young men with intellectual disabilities vanish after a basketball game. Their car is found months later on a snowy mountain road, and four of their bodies are discovered scattered across the wilderness - one in a trailer stocked with food, having survived for weeks before succumbing to starvation. The fifth man was never found. The case raises disturbing questions about why they drove up a dangerous mountain road and abandoned their car when it was in perfect working condition.

The Annecy Lake Shootings (France, 2012)

A British family and a French cyclist are mysteriously gunned down near Lake Annecy in the French Alps. The only survivor is a 4-year-old girl who hid under her mother's skirt for 8 hours. Investigation revealed the father had a secret past, encrypted files, and mysterious bank accounts across multiple countries. Despite international investigation, the case remains unsolved.

The Long Island Barrel Mystery (New York, 1902)

A young boy discovers a barrel containing a man's dismembered body. Police trace it to an Italian immigrant community where no one will talk. Then more barrels appear across the city, each containing victims killed the same way. The case revealed a hidden criminal society that predated the American Mafia.

The Servant Girl Annihilator (Texas, 1884-1885)

Years before Jack the Ripper, Austin was terrorized by a killer who murdered eight servants, mostly young Black women, using an axe and wooden stakes. Despite attacking victims in their homes and leaving survivors, the killer was never identified.

The Isdal Woman (Norway, 1970)

A woman's charred body is found in Norway's "Death Valley." Her fingerprints had been sanded off, labels cut from her clothes, and multiple fake identities were traced to her. Hotel staff reported she spoke multiple languages and changed rooms frequently, leading to speculation she was a Cold War spy.

The Disappearance of Frederick Valentich (Australia, 1978)

A young pilot vanishes during a routine flight over Bass Strait after radioing about a strange aircraft hovering above him. His final transmission included metallic scraping sounds, and neither his body nor plane wreckage were ever found. The case remains one of aviation's most perplexing mysteries.

The Circleville Letter Writer (Ohio, 1976-1994)

For nearly two decades, someone terrorized a small Ohio town with thousands of threatening letters revealing intimate secrets. When one resident was killed investigating the letters, his death was ruled accidental - but many believed it was murder. Though someone was eventually arrested, the letters continued from prison, suggesting they caught the wrong person.