Buzz
The term 'murder' carries an innate ability to evoke a spine-chilling reaction. The mere idea that individuals exist who commit such heinous acts for sheer pleasure is enough to instill a deep sense of fear, making one hesitant to venture outdoors. No one wishes to become a target of a psychopath’s twisted desires. Whether it’s being shot, stabbed, strangled, poisoned, or thrown off a bridge, the thought is horrifying. Yet, tragically, such crimes occur daily across the globe. Victims are shot in anger, stabbed due to envy, strangled in a fit of madness, or pushed to their deaths in isolated moments. These gruesome events leave loved ones in despair and detectives tirelessly pursuing justice. While some murder cases are resolved quickly, others take years, and some remain mysteries forever.
10. Arthur “Buddy” Schumacher
Arthur Louis “Buddy” Schumacher, an eight-year-old boy, was full of life and joy. He was a student at Lincoln Elementary School in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, and had a wide circle of friends. On July 24, 1925, Buddy and a group of neighborhood boys hopped onto a freight train, heading to a nearby swimming spot. Tragically, this was the last time anyone saw Buddy alive.
After he didn’t return home that evening, his family reported him missing. Authorities and community members conducted an intensive search for seven weeks. Eventually, Buddy’s body was discovered just a mile from his home, partially concealed under bushes. His clothes were torn, and a handkerchief was found stuffed in his throat. The investigation revealed that he had been sexually assaulted and brutally mutilated.
Police investigations eventually resulted in the apprehension of a drifter in the Wauwatosa area. However, when witnesses withdrew their testimonies, he was set free. No other suspects were ever detained in connection with the gruesome crime. The case remains unresolved, leaving the Schumacher family without answers or closure regarding the tragic loss of their only child.
9. Elaine Nix
In 1999, 18-year-old Elaine Nix was like any other teenager, frequently calling her boyfriend Billy. Living in Georgia while Billy resided in Cleveland, her phone bills soared to $75 in just one month. To curb the expenses, Elaine’s mother restricted long-distance calls, prompting Elaine to find an alternative way to stay in touch with Billy.
Undeterred, Elaine began driving to Zack’s Food Rack to use their payphone, which charged only 35 cents for unlimited calls. The couple established a routine where Elaine would call around 11 PM, and they would talk for about an hour before she drove back home. On September 20, 1999, Elaine and Billy discussed an upcoming camping trip during their hour-long conversation. After hanging up, Billy expected Elaine to return home as usual. Tragically, she never arrived.
Initially, Elaine’s parents weren’t overly worried, as she often stayed with friends or relatives instead of coming home. However, when she didn’t show up for work the next day, they grew alarmed. Driving past Zack’s Food Rack, they spotted her car in the parking lot with the key in the ignition and the driver’s window down. Her purse and a packet of cigarettes were on the passenger seat. Elaine’s mother drove the car home, inadvertently compromising potential evidence.
Following her parents’ report of her disappearance, roadblocks were established, and her family scoured the vicinity around the restaurant. Nine days later, a person mowing the grass behind a park stumbled upon a grim find: Elaine’s naked and severely decomposed body, lying just inside the tree line. She had been murdered and abandoned 17 miles from the payphone she often used.
The advanced state of decomposition made it impossible to determine an official cause of death, though speculation arose that Elaine Nix had been strangled or suffocated. A murder investigation was launched, but the absence of leads and evidence caused the case to go cold within a few years. To this day, no arrests have been made, and Elaine’s killer remains at large.
8. Jenny Low Chang
In 1977, 19-year-old Jenny Low Chang was a dedicated student at San Francisco State University. On September 11, she scheduled a study session in the library basement and headed there at 6 PM.
When her roommate woke up the next morning and noticed Jenny hadn’t returned to their dorm and her bed was untouched, she reported her missing. Just three hours later, a professor at the university found Jenny’s naked body in the fourth-floor reading room. She had suffered a brutal beating to the head, multiple stab wounds, and evidence of sexual assault. Broken furniture in the room indicated a violent struggle, and her clothes and books were neatly placed beside her.
Investigations revealed that someone must have unlocked the reading room door for Jenny, as it would have been secured by 5 PM on a Sunday. Over 200 staff members and 1,200 faculty had access to keys or coded cards that could open that specific door.
Despite the large pool of potential suspects, only two individuals were ever interrogated: a campus security guard and a faculty member. Some speculated that the “Zodiac Killer” might have been responsible. However, the police investigation yielded no breakthroughs, and over four decades later, Jenny’s murder remains unsolved.
7. Don Henry and Kevin Ives
On August 23, 1987, a freight train passing through Alexander, Arkansas, spotted an obstruction on the tracks. As the train approached, the conductor realized it was a body—and then noticed there were two bodies lying across the rails. Despite frantic efforts to stop the train and continuous horn blasts, the momentum carried it over the bodies.
The investigation identified the victims as 16-year-old Don Henry and 17-year-old Kevin Ives. Initially, it was believed the boys had fallen asleep on the tracks after heavy marijuana use. However, their parents demanded a second autopsy, which revealed that the marks on Don Henry’s shirt matched a stabbing wound, and Kevin Ives’ skull had been crushed, possibly by the rifle he used for hunting.
Several witnesses reported seeing a man in military clothing both a week before and on the day of the train incident. One theory suggested that the boys might have accidentally witnessed a drug deal and were killed to silence them.
Authorities pursued every possible lead, but none yielded any conclusive results. To this day, the identity of the boys’ killer remains a mystery.
6. Zigmund Adamski
In June 1980, 56-year-old Zigmund Adamski left his home in Tingley, near Wakefield, England, to walk to a nearby store for groceries. He never came back.
After a search, Zigmund’s body was discovered five days later on a coal pile in Todmorden. He was dressed in a suit but lacked a shirt, and his wallet and watch were missing. The coroner noted several burns on the back of his head, neck, and shoulders but couldn’t determine their origin. Additionally, the coroner found it strange that Zigmund had almost no facial hair growth despite being missing for five days. Forensic experts also identified an unknown ointment applied to the burns but couldn’t pinpoint its exact composition.
In an unusual twist, a prominent UFOlogist in the region suggested that Zigmund had been taken by extraterrestrials. This theory gained traction when Alan Godfrey, the officer who discovered Zigmund’s body, claimed to have personally witnessed a UFO. Shortly after this revelation, Godfrey resigned from the police force and transitioned into a career as a motivational speaker.
Godfrey also asserted that Zigmund died of a heart attack, but this failed to explain how he ended up on a coal pile or why he was lying face down, a position suggesting he had been placed there from above. Despite an extensive police investigation, Zigmund’s killer was never identified, and the circumstances of his death remain unresolved.
See Also: Top 10 Creative Ways Someone Has Committed Murder
5. Frauke Liebs
In June 2006, the city of Paderborn, Germany, buzzed with excitement as the FIFA World Cup was underway. Frauke Liebs, 21, joined a friend at a local pub to watch the England vs. Sweden match. During the evening, she borrowed a friend’s cellphone battery as hers was nearly drained. Before leaving at 11 PM, she reinserted her own battery and began the 1.5-kilometer walk home.
Shortly before 1 AM, Liebs had still not reached home. Her roommate received a text message from her, stating she would return later that morning. However, Liebs never came back and also failed to show up at work. Her mother reported her missing that same day.
Over the next few days, Liebs called her roommate five times from various locations in Paderborn. She avoided answering any of her roommate’s questions, only repeating that she would be home soon. During the final call, Frauke’s sister spoke to her and later informed the police that Liebs had responded ‘yes’ when asked if she was being held against her will. After this, the calls suddenly ceased.
Nearly four months later, Liebs’s remains were discovered near Lichtenau. Her bag and personal belongings were missing, and her body was in an advanced state of decomposition, making it impossible to determine the cause of death. Investigators concluded that Liebs had likely been held captive in Nieheim before being murdered and her body discarded. Although five suspects were initially identified, all were released due to insufficient evidence.
The murder of Frauke Liebs remains unresolved.
4. Diao Aiqing
On January 19, 1996, a street cleaner in Nanjing initially thought she had stumbled upon a late Christmas gift when she found a bag of meat lying in the snow by the roadside. However, her excitement turned to horror as she cleaned the meat and discovered three human fingers inside the bag.
The woman alerted the police, who subsequently uncovered more human remains in two additional locations. The body parts, totaling over 2,000 pieces, included a boiled head and limbs. Investigators eventually identified the remains as belonging to 19-year-old university student Diao Aiqing. Diao had vanished on January 10, 1996, following a dispute with fellow students over the use of electrical appliances. She was never seen alive again.
Authorities initiated a comprehensive investigation, but Diao’s killer has never been identified, and the motive behind her brutal murder remains a mystery.
3. Tristan Brübach
Tristan Brübach was the only child of his parents, residing in Frankfurt, Austria. He attended Walter Kolk Primary School until the 5th grade before transferring to a school in Sindlingen. Tragically, Tristan’s mother, who struggled with drug addiction, took her own life when he was just 10 years old.
Tristan’s grandmother moved in to assist his father in caring for him. Bored with her company, Tristan began spending time outdoors, often wandering the neighborhood until late at night. When indoors, he played video games and cared for his pet rabbit. Over time, Tristan began rebelling to fit in with older peers. He started smoking to appear “cool,” but this did not stop other children from bullying him.
On March 26, 1998, Tristan refused to go to school, claiming his back hurt and asking to visit a doctor instead. His father dismissed the excuse and insisted he attend school. Tristan eventually arrived at school at 9 AM after meeting a friend nearby. Later, he convinced his teacher to let him leave early for a doctor’s appointment. He was last seen alive at a park near the Frankfurt-Höchst railway station.
On their way home from school, some classmates discovered Tristan’s lifeless body. They rushed back to inform the teachers, and police arrived shortly after 5 PM. Tristan’s body was found in a pedestrian tunnel. He had been brutally beaten, strangled, and had a deep cut on his neck. Further examination revealed that his testicles had been removed, and flesh had been cut from his thighs and buttocks. The murder weapon was found nearby.
Three teenagers claimed to have witnessed the murder from a distance and provided a description of the killer. Despite a large-scale fingerprint operation, the identification of several suspects, and a monetary reward for information, the case remains unsolved.
2. Ida Lowry
On April 23, 1960, Edwin Smith was exhausted and relieved to be heading home just after midnight. As he drove between Clybourn and St. Paul avenues in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he thought he heard screams. He stopped his car and listened carefully, confirming that cries for help were coming from an alley. Rushing to the scene, he was shocked to find an elderly woman, later identified as 76-year-old Ida Lowry, lying bloodied and bruised in the alley. When he attempted to help her up, she screamed in pain, prompting him to leave and call the police instead. Sadly, Ida died an hour after being taken to the hospital.
Before passing away, Ida managed to tell officers that a large white man who ‘worked at the bridge’ had attacked her, hitting her with a heavy object and then raping her. After the assault, he left her in the alley to die.
Investigations into Ida’s life revealed she was an eccentric loner who enjoyed rummaging through garbage cans. She had two sisters, neither of whom had seen her recently. Police intensified their search, identifying six suspects within days, but none were charged. A 24-year-old man falsely confessed to the crime, and many others were questioned over the following weeks. Despite these efforts, Ida Lowry’s murderer remains unidentified.
1. Terry Sutter
On September 1, 1973, Terry Sutter was excited to spend time with friends at the movies and the local bowling alley. However, he first had to complete his chores, including mowing a lawn. After finishing, he waited unsuccessfully for his mother to pick him up and eventually walked home. That evening, he joined his friends in Frankfort, Michigan, with strict instructions from his parents to be at his grandmother’s house by 11 PM. The next day, Terry’s grandmother informed his parents that the 15-year-old had never arrived and she hadn’t heard from him.
Terry’s parents promptly reported his disappearance to the police, but officers dismissed their concerns, suggesting he might be skipping school. However, they soon realized their mistake. That afternoon, a tourist discovered Terry’s body on a beach in Michigan. It was clear he had been held down in the sand until he suffocated, with sand filling his lungs and eyes. He also bore multiple bruises on his head and neck.
The teenager’s parents were heartbroken and asked for limited media attention regarding the murder. They buried Terry in the Lake Township cemetery, but their ordeal didn’t end there. For unknown reasons, Terry’s grave was repeatedly vandalized—flowerpots shattered and plants uprooted. The situation became so severe that his parents eventually relocated his remains to an unmarked grave.
To this day, it remains a mystery who killed Terry Sutter and whether the same person was responsible for desecrating his grave.
