367 articles
Murder of Joseph Augustus Zarelli
Unsolved 1957 Philadelphia child homicide; victim long known as the Boy in the Box or America's Unknown Child, identified in December 2022 via genetic genealogy as four-year-old Joseph Augustus Zarelli; case remains open, no charges filed.
Murder of Jun Lin (林俊)
Murder of Jun Lin (林俊), also known as the Lin Jun or Luka Magnotta case: the May 2012 killing and dismemberment of a 33-year-old Concordia University student in Montreal; Magnotta was convicted of first-degree murder in 2014.
Murder of Junko Furuta (古田順子)
Murder of Junko Furuta (古田順子), the 1988-89 concrete-encased high school girl murder case in Tokyo: a 17-year-old abducted, tortured 44 days, killed January 4, 1989; four juveniles received lenient sentences, later reoffending.
Murder of Kelly Anne Bates
Murder of Kelly Anne Bates: English teenager, 17, killed by James Patterson Smith in Gorton, Manchester, after grooming from age 14; 150 injuries, drowning, life sentence in 1997.
Murder of Kim Wall
Murder of Kim Wall: the 2017 killing of Swedish journalist Kim Wall aboard Peter Madsen's submarine UC3 Nautilus in Køge Bay, Denmark; Madsen was convicted of premeditated murder in 2018 and sentenced to life imprisonment, upheld on appeal.
Murder of Kitty Genovese
The 1964 murder of Catherine "Kitty" Genovese in Kew Gardens, Queens, by Winston Moseley, famous for the false New York Times report of 38 unresponsive witnesses that launched bystander effect research and the 911 system.
Murder of Kristin Smart
Murder of Kristin Smart: 1996 disappearance of a 19-year-old Cal Poly freshman after an off-campus party; Paul Flores, last seen with her, convicted of first-degree murder in 2022 and sentenced to 25 years to life; her body remains unfound.
Murder of Kyle Dinkheller
Murder of Kyle Dinkheller: 1998 fatal shooting of a 22-year-old Laurens County, Georgia deputy by Vietnam veteran Andrew Brannan during a 98 mph traffic stop; dashcam video, death sentence, 2015 execution, police-training legacy.
Murder of Laci Peterson
Murder of Laci Peterson: 2002 killing of a pregnant Modesto, California teacher; husband Scott Peterson convicted of first- and second-degree murder in 2004, death sentence reversed in 2020, case now pursued by the Los Angeles Innocence Project.
Murder of Lana Clarkson
Murder of Lana Clarkson: 2003 shooting of actress Lana Clarkson at Phil Spector's Alhambra, California mansion; Spector convicted of second-degree murder in 2009 after a mistrial and retrial, sentenced to 19 years to life.
Murder of Lauren Giddings
Murder of Lauren Giddings: 2011 killing of Mercer University law graduate Lauren Giddings, 27, strangled and dismembered by neighbor Stephen McDaniel in Macon, Georgia; he pleaded guilty in 2014 to life in prison.
Murder of Lesandro Guzman-Feliz
Murder of Lesandro "Junior" Guzman-Feliz, the Justice for Junior case: a 15-year-old Bronx teen was dragged from a bodega and killed by Trinitarios gang members in a mistaken-identity attack on June 20, 2018; 13 defendants were convicted or pleaded guilty, with sentences from 12 years to life without parole.
Murder of Linda Reaves
Murder of Linda Reaves: January 24, 1985 Oklahoma City killing of 35-year-old schoolteacher Linda Reaves by Bigler Stouffer, who also shot Douglas Ivens; Stouffer was executed December 9, 2021.
Murder of Lindsay Buziak
Unsolved 2008 killing of Lindsay Buziak, a 24-year-old Saanich, British Columbia realtor stabbed at 1702 DeSousa Place during a staged showing by an unidentified couple; police call it a targeted, planned murder.
Murder of Lindsay Hawker
Murder of Lindsay Hawker: 22-year-old British teacher Lindsay Ann Hawker, killed by Tatsuya Ichihashi (市橋達也) in Ichikawa, Chiba, Japan, March 2007; body in sand-filled bathtub; fugitive caught 2009; life sentence 2011.
Murder of Lizbeth Medina
Murder of Lizbeth Medina, 16-year-old Edna High School cheerleader found stabbed in her Edna, Texas bathtub on December 5, 2023; Rafael Govea Romero pleaded guilty in 2025 and received two life sentences plus 20 years.
Murder of Marion Parker
The murder of Marion Parker was the December 1927 abduction and killing of a twelve-year-old Los Angeles schoolgirl by William Edward Hickman, a vengeful former employee of her banker father.
Murder of Martha Moxley
Murder of Martha Moxley: unsolved 1975 bludgeoning of a 15-year-old in Greenwich, Connecticut, with a Skakel-family golf club; Michael Skakel convicted in 2002, conviction vacated, charges dropped in 2020.
Murder of Megan Kanka
Murder of Megan Kanka: July 29, 1994 rape-murder of a 7-year-old in Hamilton Township, New Jersey by twice-convicted neighbor Jesse Timmendequas, who lured her to see a puppy; it prompted Megan's Law sex offender notification statutes.
Murder of Meredith Kercher
Murder of Meredith Kercher: killing of a 21-year-old British student in Perugia on 1 November 2007; Rudy Guede convicted, while Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito were convicted, acquitted, reconvicted, and exonerated in 2015.
Murder of Michele Avila
Murder of Michele "Missy" Avila: the 1985 drowning of a 17-year-old Arleta girl in Angeles National Forest by Karen Severson and Laura Doyle, convicted of second-degree murder in 1990; spawned Missy's Law.
Murder of Michele MacNeill
The murder of Michele MacNeill, born Michele Somers, was the 2007 killing of a Pleasant Grove, Utah mother of eight by her husband Martin MacNeill, convicted in 2013.
Murder of Milly Dowler
Murder of Milly Dowler: 2002 abduction and killing of 13-year-old Amanda "Milly" Dowler in Walton-on-Thames by Levi Bellfield, convicted 2011; case also exposed News of the World phone hacking.
Murder of Mollie Tibbetts
Mollie Tibbetts, a 20-year-old University of Iowa student, disappeared while running near Brooklyn, Iowa, in July 2018; Cristhian Bahena Rivera was convicted of her murder.
Murder of Morgan Dana Harrington
Murder of Morgan Dana Harrington: 2009 killing of a 20-year-old Virginia Tech student who vanished outside a Metallica concert in Charlottesville; remains found January 2010; Jesse Leroy Matthew Jr. pleaded guilty in 2016, also murdering Hannah Graham.
Murder of Nancy Pfister
Murder of Nancy Pfister: February 2014 bludgeoning death of a 57-year-old Aspen heiress; William 'Trey' Styler confessed and pleaded guilty to second-degree murder; charges against Nancy Styler and Kathy Carpenter were dropped.
Murder of Nicholas Markowitz
Murder of Nicholas Markowitz: 2000 kidnapping and killing of a 15-year-old West Hills teen over half-brother Ben Markowitz's drug debt to Jesse James Hollywood, who was captured in Brazil and inspired Alpha Dog.
Murder of Odin Lloyd
Murder of Odin Lloyd: June 17, 2013 killing of semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd near Aaron Hernandez's North Attleborough home; Hernandez convicted of first-degree murder in 2015, conviction reinstated 2019.
Murder of Pamela Butler
Pamela Butler, a 47-year-old EPA computer specialist, disappeared from her Washington, D.C. home in February 2009; boyfriend Jose Angel Rodriguez-Cruz pleaded guilty in 2017 to second-degree murder without a body.
Murder of Patrick Dennehy
The murder of Patrick Dennehy, a Baylor basketball player, led to the conviction of his teammate Carlton Dotson and severe NCAA sanctions against the university for cover-ups.