Buzz
Mytour has previously explored numerous unresolved death cases. Regrettably, the world seems more inclined to deliver sorrow than to provide clarity. These 10 stories have sparked endless speculation. Yet, as time passes, the truth becomes more elusive, leaving these enigmatic deaths forever shrouded in mystery.
10. Tom Thomson
Canadian artist Tom Thomson was last seen embarking on a fishing trip in his canoe on July 8, 1917. Eight days later, his body was discovered floating in Canoe Lake, turning his untimely death into one of Canada’s most notorious unsolved mysteries.
Two peculiar details about the body fueled suspicions that his death wasn’t a simple drowning: fishing line was coiled 16 times around Thomson’s left ankle, and a wound was visible on his temple. While some investigators support the accidental drowning theory, questions remain about what triggered the incident. One possibility is that Thomson’s canoe collided with debris from nearby logging activities. Others have even proposed the improbable—yet plausible—idea that a sudden tornado struck him.
Some speculate Thomson suffered a blow to the head, potentially from a paddle. Another theory suggests suicide—that Thomson intentionally drowned himself, using the fishing line to anchor a weight to his ankle.
Murder theories abound, with suspects ranging from American draft dodgers seeking anonymity to poachers desperate to conceal their illegal activities. There’s even speculation that enemy spies or saboteurs hiding in the woods might have targeted Thomson to prevent him from reporting their presence near the train tracks, which were crucial for transporting wartime supplies to Europe.
9. The Missing Body Of Frederick McDonald
On April 15, 1926, former Australian politician Frederick McDonald vanished without a trace. His body was never recovered, but a suicide note was discovered. Despite the lack of formal inquiries or charges, suspicion often falls on one individual—Thomas John Ley.
Ley entered Australia’s federal parliament in 1925, known for his ruthless ambition and questionable character. Shortly after securing his seat, he faced a bribery investigation, accused of offering McDonald £2,000 to withdraw from the upcoming election. Before the hearing, McDonald allegedly took his own life.
Another of Ley’s adversaries, Hyman Goldstein, reportedly “committed suicide” by leaping off a cliff in 1928. Goldstein, also an MP, had been deceived into investing in a fraudulent company orchestrated by Ley. He had formed a committee to investigate Ley, but before the probe could proceed, Goldstein’s body was recovered from the sea by a fishing trawler.
Ley’s capacity for murder was confirmed in 1946 after he relocated to England. Convinced his mistress was involved with a young barman named John Mudie, Ley orchestrated Mudie’s strangulation and disposal in a chalk pit. Ley was convicted and died from a stroke a year later in a facility for the criminally insane, likely taking the truth about McDonald’s fate to his grave.
8. The Blazing Car Murder
In 1930, Alfred Rouse tried to stage his own death by brutally attacking a man with a mallet and incinerating the body in his car. Witnesses saw him fleeing the scene, leading to his eventual conviction and execution. Despite this, the victim’s identity remained a mystery.
For years, it was believed the victim might have been William Thomas Briggs, who vanished while heading to a doctor’s appointment around the time of the murder. Briggs bore a resemblance to Rouse, making him a suitable candidate for the staged death.
In early 2014, Briggs’s family arranged DNA testing to solve the mystery once and for all. However, the results revealed that the DNA did not match, creating two unanswered questions: Who was Rouse’s victim, and what truly happened to Briggs? While the latter may remain unsolved, advancements in DNA technology could one day identify the murdered man.
7. Julia Wallace
The 1931 murder of Julia Wallace in Liverpool has long captivated British crime enthusiasts. Often described as a mystery rivaling the infamy of Jack the Ripper’s crimes, it remains one of the most perplexing cases in history.
On January 20, 1931, a man identifying himself as R.M. Qualtrough phoned Liverpool Central Chess Club, leaving a message for member William Herbert Wallace. The club’s secretary relayed the request for Wallace to visit 25 Menlove Gardens East the next evening. As an insurance agent, Wallace was accustomed to such appointments and thought little of it.
Upon arriving the following evening, Wallace discovered that while North, South, and West Menlove Gardens existed, there was no East Menlove Gardens. Assuming it was a prank, he returned home, only to find his wife brutally slain in their living room.
William Wallace was initially convicted of the murder, but the decision was overturned on appeal. Two other suspects emerged: Richard Parry, a 22-year-old former Prudential Insurance employee fired by Wallace for falsifying records, and Joseph Marsden, who had been receiving payments from Julia Wallace for sexual services. Marsden, about to marry into a wealthy family, had a motive to keep their arrangement hidden.
Numerous books have been published about the murder, with each author claiming that they’ve finally cracked the case—yet their conclusions rarely align.
6. Laetitia Toureaux
On a May evening in 1937, Laetitia Nourrissat Toureaux entered a first-class metro carriage at Porte de Charenton station in Paris. At 6:27 PM, she was alone. Just a minute later, as the train arrived at the next station, three passengers entered from opposite ends of the carriage. Toureaux remained the sole occupant, but she was now slumped forward, a dagger embedded in her neck.
The intrigue surrounding Toureaux’s death stems not only from the seemingly impossible nature of the crime but also from her unconventional life. By day, the Italian widow worked in a glue factory. By night, she immersed herself in shady nightclubs and served as a surveillance and courier expert for a private detective agency. This role eventually led her to become a paid informant for the Paris police, a position that undoubtedly earned her enemies.
Toureaux is also rumored to have been romantically involved with Gabriel Jeantet, a well-known right-wing journalist. Jeantet was deeply involved in arms smuggling for the Comite secret d’action revolutionnaire, the most influential underground group in Paris at the time. Known as the Cagoule—meaning “hooded” due to their use of hoods to conceal their identities—they were a feared terrorist organization.
The group was bankrolled by Paris’s social and financial elite, orchestrating a campaign of terror to dismantle trade unions and leftist organizations. Their crimes included seven confirmed murders, two bombings, and the creation of a private militia. They even amassed weapons and constructed a secret underground prison.
In 1937, two members of the Cagoule were interrogated. They alleged that Toureaux’s murder was carried out by their top assassin, Jean Filliol. However, one of the men later retracted his statement, and the other had been coerced through physical abuse, casting doubt on the reliability of their claims.
The outbreak of World War II halted the investigation, and by the 1940s, Filliol had escaped to Spain. Other theories suggest Toureaux was killed because she possessed sensitive information about a plot involving Mussolini, as the dagger-in-the-neck method was a signature of Italian assassins. By the time authorities could resume the investigation, too many obstacles had arisen, leaving Toureaux’s murder unsolved to this day.
5. Harry Oakes
On the morning of July 8, 1943, the wealthiest man in the Bahamas was discovered dead. He had been struck in the head with a spiked weapon, soaked in gasoline, and covered with feathers from a pillow. The killer attempted to set the body ablaze, but the fire failed to ignite.
Harry Oakes amassed his fortune in Canadian gold mines before relocating to Nassau, Bahamas, to avoid heavy taxation. The islands were then governed by the Duke of Windsor, the former King of England, who was a close friend of Oakes. Instead of letting local authorities handle the case, the duke summoned two detectives from Miami, whom he trusted personally.
Soon after, Oakes’s son-in-law, Alfred de Marigny, was arrested and accused of the crime. Oakes had always disapproved of de Marigny, who stood to inherit a significant portion of the estate. This gave de Marigny both motive and opportunity, especially when his fingerprint was allegedly found at the scene. However, the defense proved that the fingerprint had been planted by the duke’s detectives to expedite the case, leading to de Marigny’s acquittal.
Another prime suspect was Oakes’s business partner, Harold Christie, who had spent the night at the house. Christie insisted he was asleep and heard nothing during the time of the murder. He had a financial motive, as he owed Oakes a substantial debt. De Marigny later wrote, “I am convinced that Harold Christie should have been tried and executed for Sir Harry Oakes’s murder.”
Witnesses later reported seeing Christie outside the house around the time the killer likely expected the body to be engulfed in flames, despite his claims of never leaving. Christie was never thoroughly investigated or brought to trial. Some have pointed fingers at the Mafia, who allegedly aimed to establish a gambling operation in the Bahamas, possibly with the Duke of Windsor’s involvement, but faced resistance from Oakes.
4. The Atlas Vampire
In 1930s Stockholm, Lilly Lindestrom, a 32-year-old divorcee, lived in a modest apartment and worked as a prostitute. On May 1, 1932, she was discussing May Day festivities with her friend Minnie Jansson, a 35-year-old neighbor who shared the same profession. Lilly was known as the “call girl” because she was the only resident in the building with a telephone.
Lilly received a call from a potential client requesting to visit, which she agreed to. Minnie left her to it, only briefly seeing Lilly alive later that day when she asked to borrow condoms. Hours later, when Minnie knocked on Lilly’s door, there was no response. Minnie assumed Lilly had gone to the celebrations with the man.
It wasn’t until three days later that the police were finally called. When they broke down the door, Lilly was found facedown on her bed, completely naked, with a condom still in her anus. She’d been killed by three blows to the head from a blunt object. Her clothes were neatly folded nearby.
Yet there was an even more disturbing and sinister aspect to this murder. In the room was a bloodstained gravy ladle. Further inspection revealed that the blood had been drained from Lilly’s body, and the killer had used the ladle to drink it. Despite the authorities’ best efforts, the story leaked, and the local press nicknamed the unknown killer the Atlas Vampire, due to the area of the city in which Lilly lived.
Eighty of Lilly’s customers were investigated, but no suspects were revealed. Minnie hadn’t recognized the voice on the phone from what she’d heard, but she commented that the man had seemed sober and polite. There didn’t seem to be any fingerprints on any of the suspicious items at the scene. One theory was that the killer was a police officer who had bludgeoned Lilly with his truncheon and knew how to cover his tracks. Either way, Lilly’s final customer was never found.
3. Charles Bravo
The demise of Charles Bravo remains a case that contemporary investigators believe they have unraveled, each presenting a unique narrative. Bravo, a lawyer, succumbed to antimony poisoning in 1876. His agonizing death unfolded over several days, yet Bravo stayed composed and refused to disclose who might have laced his bedside water glass with poison. Many contemporaries interpreted his indifference as evidence of suicide, though it is now understood that his demeanor could have been a direct effect of the poisoning.
Four primary suspects emerged. Florence, Bravo's wife of four months, had grown to despise her husband's aggressive sexual overtures. Dr. James Gully, Florence's ex-lover, was another suspect, notably favored by Agatha Christie. Additionally, the maid, Mrs. Cox, who had learned of her impending dismissal, might have harbored resentment towards Bravo. Lastly, a theory suggests Bravo himself could have been the perpetrator, accidentally poisoning himself in an attempt to murder his wife.
Alternatively, the incident might not have been a homicide but an unfortunate mishap. Antimony, like other heavy metals, was commonly used in the 19th century to treat various ailments. The tragedy, which devastated the lives of those involved—Gully's career was ruined, and Florence died from alcoholism within 18 months—might have simply been a failed attempt at a home cure.
2. YOGTZE
In the early hours of 1984, Gunther Stoll was discovered gravely injured inside his car, which was found in a ditch alongside the autobahn. Having spent the previous evening drinking, the incident initially appeared to be a straightforward traffic accident. Tragically, Stoll passed away en route to the hospital, leaving no explanation for the crash. Upon further investigation, authorities determined that Stoll had been struck by another vehicle before being returned to his car.
Adding to the mystery was a note found near Stoll, bearing the cryptic word “YOGTZE.” This term does not correspond to any known language, leading to speculation that it might be an acronym or an encrypted message. Despite numerous attempts, no one has successfully deciphered its meaning. The day before his death, Stoll had excitedly told his wife, “Now I get it!” before jotting down the note and leaving the house.
Even after two decades, both Stoll’s death and the enigmatic note remain unresolved. Some theories suggest “YOGTZE” could be a miswritten version of YO6TZE, a Romanian radio call sign, or a reference to TZE, a yogurt flavoring agent (given Stoll’s profession as a food technician). However, none of these explanations shed light on how Stoll ended up seemingly murdered in his car, leaving the case shrouded in mystery.
1. Mary Money
On the night of September 24, 1905, the severely disfigured body of a young woman was discovered in the Merstham railway tunnel in southeast England. Initially, authorities suspected suicide, but further investigation revealed a scarf forcibly lodged in the victim’s throat. The body was still warm, indicating it had been placed there recently—likely within 30 minutes—before a railway worker found it.
After the victim’s description was made public, her brother Robert identified her as Mary Money. Police began reconstructing her final movements. She had informed a friend around 7:00 PM that she was going for a walk and would return shortly. Her body was discovered at approximately 10:55 PM.
Two individuals reported seeing Mary at the local train station that evening, while others recalled observing a young woman in a first-class compartment accompanied by a man. The train in question would have traveled through the Merstham tunnel around 10:19 PM. One witness stated that the man exited the train alone. Could he have been a lover who pushed Mary from the moving train? Despite investigating every man in Mary’s life, all had credible alibis.
Subsequent events cast doubt on the honesty of Mary’s brother, Robert. In 1912, he was found dead after killing two women and three children before taking his own life. The women were sisters, and Robert had secretly married both without their knowledge. Given his proven capacity for deception and violence, it is plausible that Robert played a role in his sister’s murder.
