Buzz
Even after a serial killer is apprehended and brought to justice, doubts often linger about whether all their crimes have been uncovered. These individuals, often manipulative and devoid of empathy, sometimes toy with investigators, either denying involvement in unsolved cases or falsely claiming responsibility for crimes they didn’t commit. Below are 10 unresolved cases of missing or murdered individuals where evidence suggests a notorious killer may have been involved.
10. Michaela Garecht
On November 19, 1988, nine-year-old Michaela Garecht and a friend rode their scooters to a market in Hayward, California. After leaving the store, Michaela noticed her scooter lying on the ground near a parked car. As she approached to pick it up, a man with long, unkempt blonde hair emerged from the vehicle, grabbed her, and sped away. Her abduction sparked one of the most exhaustive investigations for a missing child, with law enforcement pursuing thousands of leads and scrutinizing numerous suspects over the decades.
In 2012, authorities received a letter from Wesley Shermantine, a death row inmate and one half of the notorious “Speed Freak Killers.” While Shermantine and his accomplice, Loren Herzog, were convicted of only four murders, they are suspected of killing dozens of people across California over 15 years. After Herzog’s suicide, Shermantine claimed his partner was responsible for Michaela’s abduction. Given Herzog’s resemblance to the suspect, this seemed like a credible lead. Shermantine directed investigators to a well on a deserted farm, where they found remains of multiple victims. A bone fragment initially thought to belong to Michaela was later excluded through DNA testing. As of now, Michaela Garecht remains missing.
9. Evelyn Hartley
On the night of October 15, 1953, 15-year-old Evelyn Hartley was babysitting an infant in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Her father repeatedly tried calling her but received no response. Concerned, he went to check on her and found the house locked. Upon entering, he discovered signs of a violent struggle. The infant was unharmed in the crib, but Evelyn’s broken glasses and one shoe were on the floor. Her other shoe was found near a broken basement window, where a stepladder was placed. Bloodstains were found in the basement and the yard, indicating a possible abduction.
Days later, blood-stained undergarments were discovered miles away. Later, men’s clothing and bloodied tennis shoes were also found. One suspect was Ed Gein, a serial killer infamous for exhuming corpses and using body parts to decorate his home. On the night of Evelyn’s disappearance, Gein was visiting an aunt who lived two blocks away. Human remains of young girls were found on Gein’s property, though none matched the graves he had robbed. Gein denied involvement in Evelyn’s case, but he remains a suspect, and Evelyn Hartley has never been located.
8. Ronald Hughes
In 1970, 35-year-old lawyer Ronald Hughes faced a daunting first case: defending Leslie Van Houten, a member of the infamous “Manson Family.” Van Houten, along with five others, had brutally murdered Rosemary and Leno LaBianca under Charles Manson’s orders on August 9, 1969. Hughes’s defense centered on the argument that Van Houten was brainwashed by Manson and acted under his control, a strategy that reportedly infuriated Manson.
On November 27, Hughes embarked on a camping trip to Sespe Hot Springs with two teenagers. After heavy rains stranded their vehicle in mud, the teens hitchhiked home, leaving Hughes behind. He failed to appear in court three days later and was declared missing. On March 29, 1971, Hughes’s decomposed body was discovered trapped between boulders in a gorge—coincidentally, the same day the Manson family was convicted. While some attribute his death to a flash flood, others suspect Manson’s followers were involved. Manson had allegedly threatened Hughes before his disappearance, and one follower later claimed the family killed him. However, due to the body’s advanced decomposition, the cause of death remains undetermined.
7. Zachary Ramsay
On February 6, 1996, 10-year-old Zachary Ramsay left his house in Great Falls, Montana, to walk to school but never arrived. A witness reported seeing Zachary crying while being trailed by an unknown man. Investigators focused on Nathaniel Bar-Jonah, a local resident with a criminal past. Originally named David P. Brown, he had been convicted of kidnapping and attempting to murder two boys in Massachusetts in 1977. After his release and name change, Bar-Jonah relocated to Great Falls.
In 1999, Bar-Jonah received a 130-year prison sentence for kidnapping and sexually assaulting three boys in Great Falls. During the investigation, authorities uncovered chilling evidence suggesting Bar-Jonah engaged in cannibalism. They theorized he might have cooked and consumed Zachary’s remains or served them to others. A human bone found in his garage was tested, but DNA analysis excluded Zachary as the source. The bone’s origin remains a mystery. Prosecutors attempted to charge Bar-Jonah with Zachary’s murder, but the case collapsed when Zachary’s mother pursued leads indicating her son might still be alive. Bar-Jonah died in 2008, and in 2011, Zachary was declared legally dead. If the cannibalism theory holds true, recovering his remains may be impossible.
6. Kimberly King
At 11:00 PM on September 16, 1979, Kimberly King, a 12-year-old from Warren, Michigan, called her sister while sneaking out from a friend’s house. She mentioned using a phone booth, but after hanging up, she vanished without a trace. Investigators couldn’t pinpoint the exact phone booth, though a witness reported seeing her on a phone several miles away.
Some believe Kimberly may have fallen victim to an unidentified serial killer dubbed “The Babysitter.” Between 1976 and 1977, this killer abducted four young children from Oakland County, Michigan, holding them captive for days. He would bathe and feed them before killing them and leaving their bodies by roadsides. One suspect, David Norberg, died in an accident in 1981. While DNA from a hair found on one victim didn’t match Norberg, circumstantial evidence still ties him to the crimes. Norberg lived just two streets from Kimberly when she disappeared, and even if he wasn’t The Babysitter, authorities haven’t ruled out his involvement in her case.
5. Colleen Orsborn
On March 19, 1984, 15-year-old Colleen Orsborn left her Daytona Beach home for school but skipped to enjoy the beach during spring break. She never returned and was reported missing. Three weeks later, a Jane Doe’s decomposed body was found in a shallow grave in Orange County. Colleen’s family suspected it was her, but the medical examiner initially disagreed. Skeptical, the family pushed for DNA testing, which, after 26 years, confirmed the remains were Colleen’s.
Colleen Orsborn is suspected to have been a victim of Christopher Wilder, known as the “Beauty Queen Killer.” Wilder targeted models and attractive young women, often posing as a photographer to lure them. In early 1984, he embarked on a cross-country killing spree, abducting and assaulting at least 12 women, eight of whom he murdered. Starting in Florida, Wilder traveled through multiple states before being fatally shot by police in New Hampshire on April 13. Notably, Wilder was staying at a Daytona Beach motel the day Colleen disappeared, making him the primary suspect in her case. However, his death left many questions unanswered.
4. Darron Glass
In 1980, 10-year-old Darron Glass lived with his foster mother in Atlanta. On September 14, he briefly came home after a baseball game before leaving again. Shortly after, his foster mother received a call from an operator about an emergency call from Darron, but the line disconnected before they could speak. Darron never returned home and was reported missing. This incident was part of a larger tragedy in Atlanta during that period.
Between 1979 and 1981, Atlanta was gripped by fear as nearly 30 African-American children were murdered. The killer was later identified as Wayne Williams, a young photographer, who was convicted and sentenced to two life terms. However, Williams has always denied involvement, and the case remains controversial. Many experts believe Williams was responsible for some but not all of the murders, suggesting multiple perpetrators. Darron Glass, fitting the victim profile, is officially listed as one of Williams’s victims, though his body has never been found.
3. Ann Marie Burr
On August 31, 1961, the mother of eight-year-old Ann Marie Burr woke up to find her daughter missing from their Tacoma, Washington home. Ann Marie shared a room with her three-year-old sister, but there was no trace of her or any signs of a struggle. The front door, locked the previous night, was found unlocked in the morning. A living room window was wide open, with red thread caught on it. Outside, a garden bench had been moved beneath the window, and a small footprint was visible on the ground.
Ann Marie was never found, but years later, it was revealed that the Burr family lived just blocks away from Ted Bundy, who would later become a notorious serial killer. Bundy was only 14 at the time of Ann Marie’s disappearance but reportedly knew her. While Bundy claimed he didn’t start killing until the 1970s, some believe Ann Marie may have been his first victim, especially given the small footprint found outside her home. Bundy never admitted involvement in her case, often deflecting questions about it. In 2011, authorities attempted to use DNA evidence to link Bundy to the abduction, but insufficient DNA was available to build a complete profile. Over 50 years later, Ann Marie Burr’s disappearance remains a mystery.
2. Cheri Jo Bates
On the morning of Halloween in 1966, the body of 18-year-old Cheri Jo Bates, a Riverside Community College freshman, was discovered by a groundskeeper on a gravel path near the campus library. She had been brutally stabbed multiple times. Her Volkswagen Beetle was found parked 90 meters away, with evidence that the killer had sabotaged the engine to prevent it from starting. The absence of robbery or sexual assault suggested no clear motive. A month later, an anonymous typewritten letter confessing to the murder was sent to both the Riverside police and a local newspaper.
On May 1, 1967, the police, the newspaper, and Cheri Jo’s father each received a letter stating: “BATES HAD TO DIE. THERE WILL BE MORE.” It was signed with what resembled a “Z.” In the following years, San Francisco was terrorized by the Zodiac Killer, who murdered five people, injured two others, and claimed responsibility for additional crimes. The Zodiac gained infamy by sending taunting letters to the press. In 1970, San Francisco Chronicle reporter Paul Avery received an anonymous letter highlighting similarities between the Zodiac’s crimes and Cheri Jo’s murder. While some experts doubt the Zodiac’s involvement in Bates’ case, both the Zodiac killings and her murder remain unsolved.
1. The Dubs Family
In the summer of 1984, Harvey Dubs, a San Francisco resident, advertised video equipment for sale in a newspaper. Two men responded to the ad. On July 25, Harvey’s wife, Deborah, was speaking to a friend on the phone when the doorbell rang. Deborah mentioned that the men interested in the equipment had arrived and ended the call. After that, Harvey, Deborah, and their 16-month-old son, Sean, vanished without a trace. Later, a man identifying himself as “Jim Bright” contacted Harvey’s employer, claiming the family had relocated to Washington State.
On the day the Dubs family disappeared, a neighbor observed an Asian man leaving their apartment carrying a box. The following day, the same neighbor saw an unknown vehicle driving away from the residence. It is believed that the Asian man was Charles Ng, who, along with his accomplice Leonard Lake, responded to Harvey’s ad and orchestrated the family’s disappearance. The pair is suspected of kidnapping, torturing, and murdering 11 to 25 victims at their ranch. After Lake’s arrest, he committed suicide using a cyanide pill, while Ng remains on death row at San Quentin. Evidence linking the Dubs family to the killers included a receipt bearing Harvey’s name and their video equipment found in Lake’s cabin, though their bodies were never recovered.
