5 Unsolved Murders to Give You Chills

 

There is only one thing scarier than murders, and that's murders that remain unsolved. Here are 5 completely chilling tales of unsolved murders. 

5. The Teal Pond Mystery

In 1990, the world of entertainment introduced us to a brand new who-done it TV show, called Twin Peaks. The show returned in 2017, to capture the attention of a whole new generation. What they didn't tell us is that the show was inspired by a real-life murder that has been unsolved to this day. 

The show's creator has said that the show itself is loosely based on a ghost story his grandmother used to tell him, a ghost story known locally as The Teal Pond Mystery. Which centers around the murder of a 20-year-old woman in 1908, named Hazel Drew. The woman's body was found washed ashore. She was found with a corset string tied tightly around her throat, but the cause of death was a blunt force to the back of her skull. 

She was last seen picking raspberries on the side of a local road, and it was unknown as to how she ended up in this state. Hazel had no boyfriend but upon investigation, police discovered that Hazel had been corresponding with several different men. All police had to go on were the initials of these men that Hazel was secretly meeting in the dead of the night. 

There was of course a couple of suspects. There was a farmer by the name of Frank Smith. But, soon after Frank was cleared by an alibi. There was also Hazel's own uncle, William Taylor. He lived very close to the lake that Hazel was found. William actually helped pull Hazel's body out of the water. But, William displayed some very strange behavior during the investigation. Although, he was eventually cleared for lack of evidence connecting him to the case. There was a 'half-wit' who tortured local animals, a professor Hazel had worked for, and a man who possessed hypnotic powers. There were even more suspects, there was a dentist who had once propose to Hazel, a train conductor that she may or may not have been dating, and a local millionaire who ran an illicit club that was said to host orgies and hold women against their will. There were also rumors circulating that Hazel had a romantic involvement with this man. But, even that wasn't enough to keep him in police custody. He was released, and the case remained cold. 

The strangest part about this is even though there were signs of a murder, the police declared it an accident. Stating that a reckless chauffeur may have stuck the girl on the road. They went on to say instead of facing the consequences said driver is likely to have moved the girl's body and dumped it in the pond. The case of Hazel Drew remains unsolved to this day, probably because she did not come from a well-known family and the fact that within that time female victims were given very little sympathy. 

4. Murder in Cabin 28

At some point on the night of April 11th, 1981, a mother, her son, and her son's friend were all bludgeoned to death in a cabin located in California. This happened as other children slept soundly in a room next to them. A fourth victim was taken from the cabin. Her remains were found years later miles from the murder scene. 

The Keddie Cabin Murders has remained unsolved. This leads many people to speculate that the police were in some way involved and are covering up the grisly murder. 

Glenna Sharp had been renting Cabin 28, with her five children since 1980. She was recently separated and moved to Keddie to be closer to her brother. She was in search of a new start, even if that meant she would have to rent a rundown cabin. 

On the night of the murders, Glenna was at home with her two youngest sons and their friend. Her youngest daughter returned home around 10 PM. Her older son (the one murdered) was spending the day in Quincy with his friend. They were last seen on State 70. They returned to cabin 28 at some point that night. It is unknown if walked into something or heard an intruder from the basement bedroom. 

The following morning, Glenna's oldest daughter, who had spent the night at a friend's house, came home and found the bodies on the living room floor. They were left sprawled on the floor, and upon investigation, the three other boys in the house were left unharmed. The three victims had a very brutal and violent death. They had been stabbed, bludgeoned, and strangled. The victims received blows from at least two different hammers and were stabbed repeatedly. Glenna had been bludgeoned with a rifle, and her son's friend had been strangled. Glenna was nude from the waist down and was gagged with a blue bandana and her own underwear which were taped in her mouth. Her hands and feet were also bound with medical tape and wire. Her son was bound by medical tape and an extension cord. His friend was bound by tape. 

The cabin showed no signs of a forced entry, but police were able to recover an unidentified fingerprint on a handrail leading to the back door. The phone was off the hook, the lights were off, and the drapes were pulled tight. Police found a table knife, a butcher knife, and a bloody hammer. The other weapons were never recovered. 

The child that was staying with Glenna's two other boys actually witnessed the murders! He told police that Glenna was in the living room with two men. When her son and friend came home they began arguing with the men, who became violent. That's when the daughter entered, and one of the men took her out of the house, before returning to kill the others. The boy described the men as follows:

One with a mustache and long hair, the other clean-shaven with short hair. 

It wasn't until April of 1984, that a skull was found 29 miles away. It was confirmed to be Glenna's missing daughter. But, so many questions circulate this case. Who were the men? What were they doing there?

3. Margaret Martin

Margaret was 19 years old and had just graduated from Wilkes-Barre Business College. She had honors in school and was currently seeking employment. It was the promise of an interview for a secretary job, that made her make the decision to meet with a strange man on the morning of December 17th, 1938. It is believed that this sandy-haired and slightly overweight man was responsible for her death. 

On that fateful Saturday morning, Margaret was seen getting into either a brown Plymouth or a black sedan. There was no actual description of the man driving the car, and no one took notice of the car's license plate either. However, this would be the last time anyone has seen Margaret alive. 

When Margaret never returned home that night her parents reported her missing. But, the local press was on strike, so the word didn't really get out as it should have. Four days later, two hunters were out in the area, hunting Muskrat. As they crossed the creek, they noticed a burlap sack, that was floating in the water below the bridge. They investigated the sack and discovered the shocking truth it held. The naked and brutalized body of a young woman. 

It was an autopsy that confirmed that the woman in the burlap sack was indeed, Margaret Martin. She had only been missing for 24 hours and showed signs of sexual assault and torture. It is believed that the actual murder took place in a nearby mill. It was also believed that the murderer's initial plan was to burn the body in the mill's firebox but was scared off by the owner. 

No leads, in this case, have ever surfaced, but the locals have their own suspicions. Their speculations include the county mortician, a teacher who taught at the school Margaret attended, a local assistant pastor, and a young teenager who was crushing on the victim. This 80-year-old murder case is still open, but police are skeptical that a killer will ever be caught. 

2. The Villisca Axe Murders

On a summer's morning in 1912, the Moore Family home was very quiet. This was unusual for the house as the family had four children. Neighbor Mary Peckham had a terrible feeling that morning. Every curtain was drawn, all the doors locked, which was strange for the friendly town of Villisca. When many knocks went unanswered, Mary found a family member to help. 

Ross Moore happened to have a spare key, and together they went inside the Moore home. Where they would discover a violent and brutal murder scene. Every member of the family had been bludgeoned with an ax, as well as two friends who had spent the night. 

All of the victims were found in their beds, and only one showed signs of being awake during the attack. Somehow, the murderer had gotten into the house, crept through the hallways, and slaughtered the entire household with blows so powerful that they left marks in the ceilings. 

This violent attacked shocked the community, not only for the brutal attacks themselves - but for a string of strange clues they left behind. A slab of bacon was left in the guest bedroom beside a broken keychain and the ax. A bowl of bloody water behind a plate of uneaten food was found on the kitchen table. The murderer covered the heads of each victim with clothing, covered each mirror in the house, and even exposed windowpane with linen. 

Many theories have circulated about who could have committed this horrible crime. However, there was never enough evidence to convict. Suspects included Frank F. Jones, who may have hired a contract killer to take care of the family. Other's pointed to another man, named Henry Lee Moore(no relation to the victims) who killed his own mother and grandmother with an ax shortly after the murders. There were fingers pointed at Reverend George Kelly, who was a traveling minister. This man actually confessed to the brutal murder in 1917. George Kelly was even in Villisca at the time of the murder and pretended to be an investigator from Scotland Yard just to get a closer look at the murder scene. He went to trial twice for these killings and eventually was cleared of all charges. The house is now a museum and for $500 a night, you can actually rent the house for a sleepover. 

1. Murder of the Walker Family

The date was December 19th, 1959 when the entire Walker family were brutally murdered inside their, Osprey, Florida home. The entire family was shot to death and the mother was raped. There were little clues left at the crime scene, but police found a bloody cowboy boot and a single fingerprint on the bathtub faucet.

 Even though the police had over 500 suspects over the years, the case remained cold. Then in 2010, the county sheriff's department acted on a lead they had gotten on the case. The lead connects the Walker Family Murders to a much more famous murder that happened some time before. The slaying of the Clutter Family, which was the basis for Truman Capote's In Cold Blood Book. 

A month before the brutal murders of the Walker family, the Clutters were murdered in their home, located in Holcomb, Kansas. The two men that committed these murders were Perry Smith and Richard "Dick" Hickock. Many things were the same between the two cases. Both were quadruple murders, both involved parents and two children. 

After killing the Clutters, Smith and Hickock fled to Florida in a stolen car. Where they were seen buying items at a department store not far from the Walker home. This was the very day that the Walker Family was brutally killed. The Walker family was considering buying a car that was the same make and model as the car the killers had stolen. This is considered to possibly be the way that these two men were granted access to the Walker home. 

The two men had confessed to killing the Clutter Family and were hanged in April of 1965. The men were suspected of killing the Walker Family, but the men were cleared by the results of a polygraph test. Apparently, the two men had alibi's and therefore could not be the killers involved in the Walker Family murder.

 In 2012, the Sheriff's Department had ordered that the bodies of Smith and Hickock be exhumed. This happened on December 18th, 2012. The results of this were announced in August of 2013. Which had come back "inconclusive". It is said that because of the passage of time, only partial samples could be taken and that these samples could not be matched to any sample taken from the Walker Home. 

Even though evidence points to Smith and Hickock not being involved, many believe that is hogwash. With the two men dead, it is unlikely we will ever know what happened to the Walker Family.