List of unsolved murders and deaths

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This list of famous unsolved murders and deaths is of people who have been murdered or who have died in unresolved circumstances. People are listed alphabetically by surname, (first name if they did not use a surname).

[edit] Murders

Murder of Mary Ann Nichols, London, August 31, 1888; first alleged victim of Jack the Ripper.
Murder of Annie Chapman, London, September 8, 1888; second alleged victim of Jack the Ripper.
Murder of Elizabeth Stride, London, September 30, 1888; third alleged victim of Jack the Ripper.
Murder of Catherine Eddowes, London, September 30, 1888; fourth alleged victim of Jack the Ripper.
Murder of Mary Jane Kelly, London, November 9, 1888; fifth alleged victim of Jack the Ripper.
Murders committed by the Axeman of New Orleans between 1918 and 1919
The Vampire Murder Case, Stockholm, 1932.
Murder of Elizabeth Short (The Black Dahlia), Los Angeles, 1947.
Murder of Folke Bernadotte, Jerusalem, 1948.
Murder of Judith Ann Roberts, Miami, 1954.
Murder of the Grimes sisters, Chicago, 1956 or 1957.
The Boy in the Box, Philadelphia, 1957.
The Jack the Stripper murders, London, 1963-1964.
Murders of Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday, Benicia, December 20, 1968; first and second victims of the Zodiac Killer.
Murders of Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau, Vallejo, July 4-5, 1969; third and fourth victims of the Zodiac Killer.
Murders of Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard, Lake Berryessa, September 27, 1969; fifth and sixth victims of the Zodiac Killer
Murder of Paul Stine, San Francisco, October 11, 1969; seventh victim of the Zodiac Killer
Murder of Bob Crane in 1978
Murder of Óscar Romero, San Salvador, El Salvador, 1980
Murder of Olof Palme, Stockolm, Sweden, 1986
Murder of Julie Ward, Masai Mara, Kenya, 1988
Murder of Jessica Keen, Ohio, 1991
Double murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman on June 12, 1994 at her home in Los Angeles, California. With the acquital of American football player O.J. Simpson, the case remains unsolved.
Murder of Tupac Shakur, Las Vegas, 1996
Murder of JonBenét Ramsey, Boulder, Colorado, 1996
Murder of Notorious B.I.G., Los Angeles, 1997
Murder of Ita Martadinata Haryono, Jakarta, 1998
Murder of Vanessa Sosin, Rockville, Maryland, February 11, 2003
Murder of Dalton Mesarchik, Streator, Illinois, 2003
Murder of Georgina Watmore, Cowra New south wales resident, 1987

[edit] Deaths

King William II of England, (1100), killed by an arrow while hunting
King Jean I of France, (1316)
Agnès Sorel, (1450), mistress of King Charles VII of France,While the cause of death was originally thought to be dysentery, scientists have now concluded that Agnès died from being poisoned by mercury. The culprit remains unknown
Regiomontanus (aka Johannes Müller), (1476), German mathematician and astronomer died in Rome in mysteriously: some say of plague, others by (more likely) assassination.
Moctezuma II, (1520), Aztec emperor. According to Spanish accounts he was killed by his own people, according to Aztec accounts he was murdered by the Spanish
King Charles XII of Sweden, (1718), killed in action possibly by Swedes.
Napoléon Bonaparte, (1821), French general and emperor, died in exile on the island of Saint Helena, many theories have been made regarding his death. One theory is a poisoning, another assassination by knife, and another of death by colon cancer.
Alexander I of Russia (1777-1825), the Russian emperor. The circumstances of his death were for a long time a matter of dispute and rumours. It had been suggested that at the end of his life, haunted by the guilt for the unwilling participation in the assassination of his father, Paul I, he sought to leave the throne quietly. In 1825, while on a trip to the South of Russia, the tsar suddenly died in the city of Taganrog. Numerous rumours ensued that the tsar did not actually die, but in fact disappeared under an assumed identity. Many suspected later that a mysterious Siberian hermit, Feodor Kuzmich who appeared in Siberia in 1836 and died in a village near Tomsk in 1864 was in fact the Alexander I.
Emperor Kōmei of Japan, (1840), Emperor of Japan. He died of smallpox at the age of 35. There is a theory that he was actually poisoned by the anti-Bakufu clique.
Émile Zola, (1902), French author, died in Paris in, 1902 of carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a stopped chimney. His enemies were blamed, but nothing was proved.
Death of Rudolf Diesel, (1913), the place is unknown and many theories are given about Diesel's death. He disappeared in the English Channel and was found dead in the Schelde river in Rupelmonde, Belgium.
S. L. MacGregor-Mathers, (1918), well-known magician and occultist, died of an unknown cause; it is known that he had many enemies. The manner of death is unknown; his death certificate lists no cause of death. Violet Firth (Dion Fortune) claimed his death was the result of the Spanish influenza of 1918. As few facts are known about Mather's private life, verification of such claims are very difficult.
B. H. DeLay, (1923), Aviator Actor who died while performing on 4th of July in Venice Beach (Los Angeles) California area, plane sabotage of wings caused killing him instantly on crash impact (more unsolved mystery detail in B. H. DeLay's main article)
Ottavio Bottecchia, (1927), Italian Cyclist, was found by the side of a road, covered with bruises and with a serious skull fracture. His bicycle was undamaged, propped against a nearby tree. He was brought to a hospital but died soon afterwards. An official inquiry concluded accidental death but many suspected that he had run afoul of the powerful and growing fascist movement in Italy at the time
Death of Ivar Kreuger, (1932), in a Paris hotel room. Probably a suicide.
Ghazi of Iraq, (1939), King of Iraq, He died in a mysterious accident involving a sports car he was driving. Some believe he was killed on the orders of Nuri as-Said.
King Ananda Mahidol of Thailand, (1946). Died of gunshot wounds; suicide, accident or assassination
Jan Masaryk, (1948), son of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk; Czech diplomat, politician and Foreign Minister of Czechoslovakia, was found dead in the courtyard of the Foreign Ministry below his bathroom window. The initial investigation concluded that he committed suicide by jumping out of the window, although many are convinced that he was pushed.
The Taman Shud Case, (1948), Adelaide, Australia, a man was found dead on the beach. His dental records did not match any known person. He carried no identification. The labels on his business suit and clothing were all missing. In one trouser pocket there was a piece of paper with the words 'Taman Shud' on it. This is a phrase on the last page of collection of poems called the The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam and it means 'the end.'
Joseph Stalin, (1953), Soviet leader, Stalin collapsed in his room, having probably suffered a stroke that paralyzed the right side of his body. Although his guards thought it odd that he did not rise at his usual time the next day they were under orders not to disturb him and he was not discovered until that evening.
Barthélemy Boganda, (1959), Prime Minister of the Central African Republic, in a plane crash.
Death of Dag Hammarskjöld, (1961), in Ndola, Northern Rhodesia, aeroplane crash.
Death of George Washington Vanderbilt III, (1961), in San Francisco, California.
Edward Mutesa, (1969), died, possibly from alcohol poisoning, in his London flat.
Aman Mikael Andom, (1974), Ethiopian military figure, sources say that he committed suicide, while others say that he was killed by political rivals among the coup leadership, possibly including Mengistu Haile Mariam.
Edmundo Bosio, (1975), dismissed Vice President of Equatorial Guinea
Haile Selassie (1975), Emperor of Ethiopia until his deposition in 1974. His death was officially said to be from natural causes, but a persistent allegation is that he was smothered with a pillow.
Pope John Paul I, (1978), has been contended by author David Yallop to have been assassinated
Omar Torrijos, (1981), brigadier general and president of Panama, died in a plane crash
Roberto Calvi, (1982), CEO of Banco Ambrosiano, found hanged under Blackfriars Bridge in London
Eduardo Frei Montalva, (1982), president of Chile from 1964 to 1970, As of 2005, his death is being investigated because of allegations that he was poisoned. [2]
Samora Machel, (1986), President of Mozambique, killed in air crash on the border of South Africa, hillside in the Lebombo Mountains. He was leading anti-Apartheid spokesman.
Uwe Barschel, (1987), minister-president of Schleswig-Holstein
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, (1988), military ruler of Pakistan, died in a plane crash in 1988.
Joseph Rendjambe, (1990), leader of the Gabonese Progress Party. Found dead of poisoning in a hotel owned by President Omar Bongo
Pablo Escobar, (1993), head of the Medellín Cartel, war against Escobar ended in 1993, as he tried to elude the Search Bloc one more time. Using radio triangulation technology provided as part of the U.S. efforts, a Colombian electronic surveillance team found him hiding in a middle-class barrio in Medellín. A shootout between Escobar and the Search Bloc personnel ensued. Some believe U.S. special ops snipers may have taken part in the final shootout with Escobar. Accordingly, how Escobar was killed during the confrontation has been debated, but it is known that he was cornered on the rooftops of Medellín and suffered gunshots to the leg, back, and the fatal one behind his ear.
Zviad Gamsakhurdia, (1993), former president of Georgia - In 1993, died in circumstances that were (and still are) very unclear. It is known that he died in the village of Khibula in the Samegrelo region of western Georgia.
Kurt Cobain, (1994), lead singer and guitarist for the band Nirvana; apparent suicide (self-inflicted gunshot wound) in his home in Seattle, but various theories conclude he was a victim of murder, possibly arranged by his estranged wife Courtney Love.
Juvénal Habyarimana, (1994), President of Rwanda killed in mysterious plane crash in Kigali airport. The resulting political instability led to the genocide in Rwanda and the outbreak of full-scale war in Burundi.
Cyprien Ntaryamira, (1994), President of Burundi, killed in mysterious plane crash in Kigali airport. The resulting political instability led to the genocide in Rwanda and the outbreak of full-scale war in Burundi.
Jack Nance, (1996), Cult actor, died of mysterious circumstances in his South Pasadena home.
Giorgi Sanaia, (2001), Georgian journalist known for opposition to government, shot in apartment in Tbilisi.
Paul Wellstone, (2002), liberal Democratic Party United States Senator from Minnesota, killed in mysterious plane crash during his reelection campaign in Eveleth, Minnesota.
Maj. Gen. Abed Hamed Mowhoush, (2003), Iraqi general, died in American custody 200 miles (321 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad, ending a 16 day detention that included intense beatings and creative interrogation tactics.
Yasser Arafat, (2004) conspiracy theorists believe that he was poisoned, Paris, France.
George Bacchus, (2004); accused a Guyanese government minister of links to death squads.
Enrique Salinas, (2004), brother of former Mexican president Carlos Salinas. Found with a plastic bag over his head in a parked car. The vehicle was abandoned in the upmarket municipality of Huixquilucan, Estado de México outskirts of Mexico City
Nicola Calipari, (2005), Italian intelligence agent (circumstances of the death are well-established; the motives are unclear), Calipari was killed while escorting a recently released Italian hostage, journalist Giuliana Sgrena, to Baghdad International Airport.
John Garang, (2005), Sudanese politician and former rebel leader (suspicious helicopter crash), Southern Sudan. One theory was poor visibility. Second one was arranged by Sudanese Government.
Ehtiram Jalilov, (2005), Azerbaijani politician.