We bring you five unsolved serial killings that will leave you cold.
A police officer visits a memorial for the West Mesa victims.
Unsolved Serial Killings: The Freeway Phantom
Source: Wikipedia
Beginning in the spring of 1971, only a year and a half after the civil rights riots, Washington, D.C.’s Freeway Phantom haunted the metropolitan area for 16 months, brutally killing six girls, ages 10 to 18. Police know that at least three of them suffered rape and all of them were strangled. Their bodies were found along roadways and freeways between D.C. and Maryland.
All victims were black and it has been suggested by victims’ family members that the case would have received more media and police coverage had the victims been white.
At the time, the majority of D.C. was black, while the police force was 60% white. Additionally, police involvement was yanked when the Watergate scandal occurred, leaving the families of these victims to wonder why their children weren’t more important to authorities.
The victims were dumped along D.C. area highways.
Washington, D.C. police thought they had a suspect and served a search warrant on his residence, but no evidence was found. In 2009, Maryland detectives recovered DNA on clothing evidence and sent it in for testing. Results have yet to be finalized or released, and the victims’ families cannot get any answers as all agencies involved decline to comment.
The Freeway Killer left a horrifying note in the pocket of his fifth victim, Brenda Woodward, that read “This is tantamount to my insensititivity [sic] to people especially women. I will admit the others when you catch me if you can!” To this day, those words haunt the metropolitan area.
Honolulu Strangler
Between 1985 and 1986, the Honolulu Strangler, also dubbed The Serial Killer by Hawaiian press, murdered five women in cold blood. The women were raped and strangled to death, all found with their hands bound behind their backs, in various states of undress. The police established a 27-person task force with assistance from the Green River task force and the FBI.
The task force released a profile for the serial killer, describing him as male who resides or works in the areas where the bodies were found, and is an opportunistic killer who looks for vulnerabilities, but doesn’t stalk his victims.
Fifth victim Linda Pesce.
Some witnesses claimed that they saw a Caucasian man driving a white van around the area of the disappearances. Another witness came forward and identified a man she saw with one of the victims before she died, but the witness refused to testify out of fear for her own life.
Eventually, a suspect was arrested and questioned, but the case wasn’t pursued. The suspect left for the mainland and the murders have never been solved.
Unsolved Serial Killings: The Long Island Ripper
Victims of the Long Island Ripper.
One of the worst winters on record would prove to be the beginning of an ongoing search for a serial killer in Gilgo Beach on Long Island, New York. In December of 2010, four bodies were discovered on the beach, once a beautiful site for vacationers and locals alike. Resuming the search in March, police discovered more bodies and continued to do so through 2013.
It is believed that the Long Island Ripper has murdered between 10 and 14 victims, though Long Island police aren’t certain that all of the corpses discovered are related. Of the ten officially attributed to him, six bodies have been identified as missing prostitutes who sold their services via Craigslist. All were wrapped in burlap sacks after being throttled; some were horribly dismembered.
Police investigate the beach where the bodies were discovered.
Based on forensic evidence, police believe some of the victims could have been killed as long as 15 years ago. The police have released a profile of the killer, describing him as most likely in his 30’s or 40’s, married or in a relationship, well educated, technically adroit and charismatic. He is familiar with the South Shore area of Long Island and may have even been a resident at one time. Ears to the ground, folks, we need to get this killer off the streets, because he won’t quit until he’s caught.
Source: Suffolk County Police
February 9th Killer
Source: Criminal Minds
The February 9th Killer is the nickname given to the suspected murderer of Sonia Mejia and her unborn baby, and Damiana Castillo in Salt Lake City in 2006 and 2008, respectively. The murders were committed on the same day, two years apart. Mejia was sexually assaulted and strangled, but her case was never solved. Castillo was also strangled to death, but leads dried up and the investigations went dormant.
However, in 2009, the Utah Crime Lab connected the two murders through DNA evidence. Unfortunately, the man’s DNA doesn’t match any DNA markers already on file with authorities. Police working the investigation released a profile of the suspect, believing him to be Latino, medium built, and at the time of the murders, he was probably a very young adult or even a teenager.
In 2011, the authorities classified the case as cold and the hunt for this psychopath continues.
West Mesa Bone Collector
Victims of the West Mesa Bone Collector.
In 2009, police discovered the skeletal remains of 11 women and one unborn baby in makeshift graves along a trail in Albuquerque, New Mexico, prompting a massive manhunt for the serial killer deemed the West Mesa Bone Collector.
The Bone Killer is believed to have started his series of killings in 2003, targeting women between the ages of 15 and 32. All victims appear to have died between 2003 and 2005, and most were involved in drug use or prostitution.
A unique, acrylic fingernail discovered at one of the burial sites. Police hope it will produce a lead.
Many serial killers will choose victims who are drug users or in the sex trade since it’s unlikely that they will be reported missing, or elicit media attention, and that the nature of their work naturally draws them to isolated areas.
No official suspects have ever been named in the serial killings. There is a $100,000 reward for any information leading to the apprehension of the killer.
