Buzz
In 1971, an enigmatic figure dubbed “D.B. Cooper” carried out one of history's most infamous crimes by hijacking a commercial airplane, securing a $200,000 ransom, and vanishing after parachuting from the aircraft. For more than four decades, this case has captivated the world as one of the greatest unsolved mysteries, not only because Cooper was never apprehended, but also because his true identity remains a complete enigma.
Certain mysteries grip the public's imagination precisely because they revolve around individuals who managed to conceal their identities entirely. The following cases center on uncovering the true identities of people who took extraordinary measures to remain anonymous.
10. Benjaman Kyle
On August 31, 2004, a man was discovered naked between two dumpsters behind a Burger King in Richmond Hill, Georgia. He appeared to be in his fifties and had three distinct indentations on his head, suggesting he had been hit with a blunt object. With no identification and no recollection of his name or origins, doctors diagnosed him with retrograde amnesia and concluded that his memory was unlikely to return.
Found behind a Burger King, the man was given the nickname “B.K.” and later adopted the name “Benjaman Kyle.” He believes the uniquely spelled “Benjaman” might be his actual first name. Benjaman has fleeting memories of his past, which could offer hints about his true identity. He recalls living in Indianapolis and spending time in Colorado. He is also certain his birthday is August 29, 1948, and possesses extensive knowledge of the restaurant industry. Despite extensive efforts, including DNA analysis, fingerprint comparisons, and media campaigns, Benjaman Kyle’s true identity remains a mystery nearly a decade later.
9. Bella in the Wych Elm
On April 18, 1943, four boys from Stourbridge, England, were poaching in Hagley Woods when they stumbled upon a large witch-hazel tree. One of the boys climbed the tree and found a human skull inside the hollow trunk. Police later uncovered an entire skeleton hidden in the tree, along with a shoe, a gold wedding ring, and pieces of clothing. A severed hand was buried nearby. A piece of taffeta in the skull’s mouth suggested the victim died from suffocation. Forensic analysis revealed the victim was a woman who had been dead for at least 18 months. Interestingly, a local resident had reported hearing a woman’s scream in Hagley Woods approximately 18 months earlier.
The woman’s identity remained a mystery, but her story gained notoriety months later when cryptic graffiti began appearing on walls, often asking: “Who put Bella in the Wych elm?”. These messages, seemingly written by the same anonymous individual, hinted at insider knowledge of the case. The last such message appeared in 1999, spray-painted on the 200-year-old Wychbury Obelisk. Theories suggest the unidentified woman may have been a victim of black magic or a spy leaking information about local munitions factories to the Luftwaffe. Even after 70 years, the questions of who “Bella” was and how she ended up in the Wych elm remain unanswered.
8. Perseus
Throughout the Cold War, the U.S. and the Soviet Union engaged in extensive espionage, but one of the most significant spies was never identified. During World War II, the U.S. launched the Manhattan Project, which developed the first atomic bombs. While spies like Klaus Fuchs, David Greenglass, and Theodore Hall were uncovered, a 1991 revelation by Russian intelligence colonel Vladimir Chikov introduced a new mystery. He claimed the Soviets received critical information from an unidentified spy codenamed “Perseus.”
Chikov alleged that Perseus was a top scientist at the White Sands Missile Range and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. He reportedly joined the Manhattan Project over a year before other known spies, providing the Soviets with a significant advantage in their nuclear program. In 1999, MIT physicist Philip Morrison, a Manhattan Project veteran, was accused of being Perseus, but he provided substantial evidence proving his innocence. Some believe Perseus may not have existed, but if he did, he remains one of history’s most elusive spies.
7. John Doe No. 24
On October 11, 1945, police discovered an unidentified African-American teenager wandering the streets of Jacksonville, Illinois. The young man, who was both mute and deaf, could not communicate his identity. He was brought before a judge and sent to the Lincoln State School and Colony. As the 24th unidentified individual in the state’s mental health system, he was labeled “John Doe No. 24.” State institutions at the time were infamous for their harsh and inhumane conditions, and John endured years of mistreatment.
Adding to his struggles, he eventually lost his sight. Despite his difficult life, John Doe No. 24 maintained a cheerful demeanor and a sense of humor. After spending over 30 years in the mental health system, he was moved to a nursing home in Peoria. He occasionally wrote the name “Lewis,” offering a potential clue to his identity, but his true name was never uncovered. He was believed to be 64 when he passed away from a stroke on November 28, 1993. Moved by his story, musician Mary Chapin Carpenter bought a headstone for his unmarked grave and honored him in a song titled “John Doe No. 24.”
6. The Rodney Alcala Photos
Infamous serial killer Rodney Alcala is currently on death row at San Quentin State Prison. He earned the nickname “Dating Game Killer” after appearing as a contestant on The Dating Game while actively committing murders. Although he won the show, his potential date wisely declined to go out with him. Alcala was convicted of seven murders, but authorities suspect there are more victims. The mystery deepened in 1979 when investigators discovered a storage locker he rented in Seattle, containing crime trophies and over 1,000 unsettling photographs.
The photos depict numerous unidentified young women and teenage boys, many of whom are nude or in explicit poses. Alcala posed as a professional fashion photographer to lure victims into his home for photoshoots. Authorities fear some individuals in the photos may be undiscovered victims. While most images are too explicit to publish, 120 were released in 2010 to seek public assistance. So far, over 20 women have been identified, and some believe they recognize missing loved ones in the photos. While none have been confirmed as victims, they may yet be linked to the Dating Game Killer’s crimes.
5. The Persian Princess
During a murder investigation, Pakistani authorities interrogated a man named Ali Akbar, who had produced a video offering a mummy for sale at 600 million rupees ($11 million). On October 19, 2000, the mummy was found in a gilded wooden coffin at the residence of tribal leader Wali Mohammed Reeki. Reeki claimed the mummy was given to him by an Iranian who discovered it after an earthquake in Quetta. A week later, a press conference declared the mummy to be a Persian princess dating back to around 600 B.C.
However, doubts quickly arose when American archaeologist Oscar White Muscarella revealed he had been sent photos of the mummy by a Pakistani dealer trying to sell it. A fragment of the coffin was carbon-dated and found to be only 250 years old.
Further investigation revealed the so-called “Persian princess” was actually a woman in her twenties who died in 1996. She had likely been murdered by a blunt force injury to the neck, and her body was preserved with powder after her organs were removed. The entire scheme was exposed as a fraud, and the woman was given a proper burial in 2008, but her true identity remains unknown.
4. The Batman Rapist
Britain’s longest-running rape investigation, code-named “Operation Eagle,” has spanned 22 years. Authorities have been pursuing an unidentified sexual predator responsible for at least 17 attacks, nearly all occurring in Bath. The first attack took place on May 21, 1991, when a 36-year-old woman was assaulted in her car. The attacker’s method involves forcing victims at knifepoint to drive to isolated areas, where he rapes them. In 1999, after a failed attack, he left behind a hat with the Batman logo, earning him the nickname “Batman Rapist.”
One of the rapist’s most peculiar traits is his apparent obsession with tights. He often forces victims to remove their underwear, put tights back on, and then tears through them to assault them. In one instance, when a victim wasn’t wearing tights, he made her wear a pair he had brought. In 2000, he tried to abduct a woman with her seven-year-old daughter in the car, but they escaped. During the mid-1990s, long gaps between attacks led authorities to believe there may be victims who never reported their assaults. A significant reward is offered for his capture, but his identity remains a mystery.
3. Suzanne Davis/Sharon Marshall/Tonya Dawn Tadlock
In April 1990, Tonya Dawn Tadlock died in a suspicious hit-and-run accident in Oklahoma. Her husband, Clarence Hughes, was the prime suspect, but both were living under false identities. Hughes was actually Franklin Delano Floyd, a former felon. The young woman’s true identity remained unknown. Floyd claimed he took her in as a child in the early 1970s after her family abandoned her, though authorities suspect she was abducted. Before marrying her in 1989, Floyd raised her as his daughter, subjecting her to abuse. Over the years, they lived under various aliases, including “Suzanne Davis” and “Sharon Marshall.”
On March 21, 1988, she welcomed a son named Michael into the world. Following her passing, Floyd was taken into custody, and Michael was sent to foster care. Subsequent blood tests confirmed that Floyd was not Michael's biological father. After his release from prison in 1994, Floyd kidnapped Michael from his Oklahoma school. Two months later, when Floyd was apprehended, Michael had vanished without a trace, with suspicions pointing to Floyd having killed him. Floyd was found guilty of kidnapping Michael and another unrelated homicide, and he is now on death row in Florida. To this day, he remains silent about Michael's fate, the identity of Michael's real father, or the true background of the enigmatic girl he raised as his own.
2. Roland Doe/Robbie Mannheim
In 1973, William Peter Blatty’s acclaimed novel, The Exorcist, was turned into one of the most iconic films ever made. The movie depicted the harrowing tale of a young girl overtaken by a demonic force, and surprisingly, it was based on a true story. In 1949, a 13-year-old boy from Cottage City, Maryland, was allegedly possessed by a demon and underwent an exorcism. His identity has been kept confidential, and he is only known as “Roland Doe” or “Robbie Mannheim.” After his aunt, who was a spiritualist, passed away, Roland became fixated on using a Ouija board to communicate with her. Shortly after, the family’s home was besieged by eerie sounds and inexplicable supernatural occurrences.
Concerned that Roland might be under demonic influence, the family’s Lutheran minister enlisted the help of two Catholic priests—Father Raymond J. Bishop and Father William J. Bowdern—to conduct an exorcism at Georgetown University Hospital. The ritual was carried out 30 times over several weeks. During the process, Roland displayed aggressive tendencies and allegedly spoke in Latin with a sinister voice, while words such as “evil” and “hell” inexplicably appeared on his skin. Once the exorcism concluded, the family reported no further disturbances, and Roland went on to lead an ordinary life. There has been ongoing speculation about whether Roland was genuinely possessed or if the events were exaggerated, with some suggesting he may have been dealing with psychological issues. Since his true identity remains shrouded in mystery, the complete truth may never come to light.
1. Joseph Newton Chandler III
On July 30, 2002, Joseph Newton Chandler III, a reclusive elderly man from Eastlake, Ohio, ended his life with a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. An autopsy revealed he was suffering from colon cancer, which likely influenced his decision to commit suicide. When probate courts began handling his estate, they contacted his surviving family members. To their astonishment, they learned that the real Joseph Newton Chandler III had died in a car accident in Texas in 1945 at just nine years old!
It was revealed that the deceased man had been living under Chandler’s identity for years. In 1978, he had obtained a copy of Chandler’s birth certificate and used it to secure a Social Security card. Numerous theories emerged about his true identity. Some crime enthusiasts speculated that “Chandler” could have been the Zodiac Killer, as he closely resembled the suspect’s composite sketch. They also pointed out that “Joseph Chandler” was the name of an investigator linked to one of Jack the Ripper’s victims. Additionally, the man bore a strong likeness to Stephen Craig Campbell, a fugitive wanted for attempted murder since 1982 who was never apprehended. Despite these theories, no concrete evidence has surfaced to confirm his true identity, leaving the mystery of the man who assumed Joseph Newton Chandler III’s name unresolved.
