Top 5 Most Chilling Well-Known Cold Cases
Top 5 Most Well-Known Cold Cases
Top 5 Most Well-Known Cold Cases
Cold Cases refers to murders or major felony crimes that remain unsolved for an extended period. Such cases are typically highlighted on shows like Cold Case Files, 48 Hours Mystery and Murder Book.
Unknown to most, until 2019, DNA testing and genetic genealogy enabled authorities to link Terry Rasmussen as the perpetrator in this crime.
1. Wendy Jo Halison
Wendy Jo Halison was driving her Ford Thunderbird down Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles towards Thrifty store on Wilshire Boulevard when it went silent en route. That was the last time her family saw her alive as Halison was found strangled, evidential of having been known and attacked by someone known. Police investigated but the case eventually went cold.
In 1998, when DNA analysis was still new technology, LAPD forensic specialists conducted tests on semen found on the victim's clothing but unfortunately there wasn't enough of a sample to compare against state and national databases - leaving detectives without leads for investigation.
Fast forward to 2016, when detectives reopened the investigation. Testing DNA on Halison's clothes against a database of familial samples yielded a hit; however, since Richardson was serving a prison sentence at the time of Halison's murder they were unable to speak to him directly and verify their match.
Investigators scoured Richardson's background and found other alarming details. For instance, he had been charged with fraud for cashing alimony checks for Joan Bonner who had left him. Detectives knew that linking Richardson with Halison's death could be seen as evidence that he also killed another woman; indeed, they have reason to suspect Richardson of killing Susan Galvin and Janet Kaye Hires during this period. These killings mark the first in a series of cold cases solved through using modern genealogical databases to examine old DNA samples. While detectives say this approach could work on other cases, Halison's family cannot use this solution now because their daughter is no longer with them.
2. Susan Galvin
After 20-year old Susan Galvin failed to appear for her graveyard shift as a records clerk at the Seattle Police Department on July 10, 1967, authorities launched an investigation. On the following day, an attendant at Seattle Center parking garage located her body where it had been strangled and smothered - this tragedy hit close to home as Galvin had been one of their own.
Over time, Galvin's case languished until DNA analysis became an increasingly reliable crime fighting method. DNA from Galvin's clothes were sent to Parabon NanoLabs where it was compared with GEDmatch, an open genealogy database used to help detectives search for potential relatives; in fact, this approach also helped law enforcement identify Golden State Killer suspect Joseph DeAngelo.
Investigators were able to use information gleaned from a genealogical database to build a family tree of potential suspects for Galvin's murder and eventually identified Frank Wypych - a married ex-soldier who died due to complications caused by diabetes - as her murderer.
After comparing DNA extracted from Wypych's clothing with that found on Galvin, investigators discovered a match. Through interviews with his family members, it became evident that Wypych had been stationed at various military bases - New York, Alaska and Germany during his service - leading them to further evidence such as 16% Native American heritage and Polish surname patterns that led them to finally arrest Galvin's killer and make history using this application of DNA technology. It would become one of the first cases solved using such groundbreaking technology!
3. Jay Cook and Tanya Van Cuylenborg
Jay Cook and Tanya Van Cuylenborg of Victoria, British Columbia were young and in love when they decided to go on a road trip together from Victoria to Seattle in 1987. Jay prepared their van, while Tanya packed her camera - only not returning the following day as was promised to their families.
Tanya's body was discovered shot to death in a ditch. Her torso was covered with cloth, and sexual assault had taken place against her. On Thanksgiving Day Jay was found under a blue blanket covered with rocks; his hands had been tied together using zip ties; tissues and cigarettes had been placed in his mouth as evidence of crime.
Investigators combed through DNA evidence and technology in their hunt for Tanya's killer, but found no leads. After finding semen on Tanya's pants, however, forensic scientist Lisa Collins uploaded its profile to CODIS -- the FBI's national database of offenders -- as well as Snapshot Phenotyping from Parabon Nanolabs that predicted what individuals with certain genetic traits might look like.
William Earl Talbott II was arrested in 2018 and found guilty in 2019 for the rape and murder of Canadian couple Jay and Tanya; now serving a life sentence, their families never gave up hope that someone would finally face charges; thanks to advances in technology and investigative techniques the case was finally closed in 2019.
4. Dennis Rader
Dennis Rader, commonly known by his initials BTK, murdered 10 individuals from 1974 to 1991 in Kansas. He stalked and taunted his victims before finally being caught by police in 2005 and serving life sentences for each crime he had committed; additionally, there are suspicions against him in more unsolved cases as well.
Rader stood out as an unconventional serial killer. Rather than living an isolated life like many serial killers do, Rader led an apparently normal existence: working various jobs while also being an active Boy Scout leader and member of his church; serving in the U.S. Air Force; keeping his murderous past hidden for decades before engaging in more murders only after BTK made headlines with the disappearance of Cynthia Kinney from Pawhuska laundromat in 1976 and his subsequent subsequent reappearance years later in 1990s with apparent disappearance of Cynthia Kinney from Pawhuska laundromat caused another major media outlet to cover his murderous past; only then began doing additional killings, as BTK gained attention again due to alleged 1976 disappearance of Cynthia Kinney from Pawhuska laundromat where BTK first made headlines with apparent disappearance of Cynthia Kinney from Pawhuska laundromat theft case that year and gained renewed media attention through Cynthia Kinney incident after BTK caused her apparent 1976 disappearance from Pawhuska laundromat (laundromat) disappearance (Pawhuska laundromat) was discovered that year (PKT), after BTK made headlines again when BTK made headlines again for apparent missing Cynthia Kinney from Pawhuska laundromat (PKTK); only then began killings after BTK's apparent 1976 disappearance and reappeach (PKT), drawing renewed media attention (PKT's apparent 1976 absence (PKT's apparent 1976 disapparium), and the incident caused media scrutiny in Pawhuska laundrammentation was known).
BTK was captured with the aid of a floppy disk which contained metadata linking him to Christ Lutheran Church in Wichita and permitting DNA from his daughter without her knowledge being utilized without incurring her consent; this marked the first instance when familial DNA had ever been utilized against an offender without their knowledge and ultimately led to Rader's arrest.
Rader had two children: Brian, his eldest, and Kerri, his only daughter. Brian mostly remained out of the spotlight; Kerri wrote the 2019 book A Serial Killer's Daughter: My Story of Hope and Overcoming about her relationship with her father and coming to terms with his crimes. Rader is serving life imprisonment for each murder he committed, yet continues to make headlines due to recent investigations into Kinney's disappearance as well as new investigations that opened following his arrest.
5. Etan Patz
Etan Patz disappeared during his two-block walk to his bus stop for the first time in 1979, sending shockwaves through New York and sparking an unprecedented search and missing child movement. But no trace was ever found and in 2001 his parents, Stan and Julie Patz, declared him dead. Their determination led them to join both movements simultaneously: victims rights' advocacy for missing children as well as victim advocacy movements for missing adults.
Even after decades of investigation, no clear suspect was ever identified in Etan's disappearance. Jose Ramos became notorious as a possible culprit when arrested on similar child molestation charges in the 80s; during his court proceedings for those charges, he claimed he abducted an individual matching Etan's description; but police were not convinced of this claim and believed his statements.
In 2010, renewed media attention brought new tips to the investigation, prompting police to excavate a workshop floor in the apartment building where Etan's parents lived. While the excavation proved inconclusive, it did lead to Pedro Hernandez who worked at a bodega nearby Etan's bus stop; later it would emerge that Hernandez made remarks in open church confessionals that indicated he may have killed a young boy somewhere in New York.
After an extended and costly trial, Hernandez was found guilty of kidnapping and murdering Etan in 2017. That conviction has since been reversed on appeal and will undergo a new retrial this year.