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10 Cold Cases That Haunted Investigators For Years Before Finally Being Solved
There are plenty of crimes that happen and never get solved. But every now and then, even when it seems impossible to figure out what really happened, the truth finally comes out. And while that doesn’t erase the pain, it can at least bring some long-awaited answers.
On r/CrackedColdCases, people share mysteries that were finally solved, from personal cases to famous ones. We’ve put together a list of some of the most fascinating examples below. Scroll down to read them, but be warned, some may contain disturbing details.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Alissa Turney's Stepfather Charged 19 Years After Arizona Teen Went Mysteriously Missing From School In 2001
Alissa Turney vanished in 2001 after leaving school early with her stepfather, Michael Turney, on the last day of her junior year in Phoenix, Arizona.
Although the case was initially treated as a runaway situation, suspicions grew after Alissa left behind her money, phone, and personal belongings.
Nearly two decades later, Michael was arrested and charged with her m*rder following renewed public attention fueled by Alissa’s sister, Sarah Turney, who used TikTok and podcasts to push the case back into the spotlight. However, the charges were later dismissed due to lack of physical evidence, and Alissa has still never been found.
---
_poptart:
Michael Turney was long believed to have been behind Alissa's disappearance, but he was charged only this week.
anon:
Hey, this is Sarah Turney. I’d like to make it clear that he has not been charged. The Phoenix Police department has submitted for charges with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. They are currently deciding whether or not to press charges. 🤍 Thank you all for caring about the case.
UsualGuava:
This case has really haunted me for a long time. I'm also the same age as Alissa and my own step-father did weird things like stalk me as well. (My mother also died when I was 14, so this case is such an errie parallel to my own teens years).
One day, when I was 15, he told me that he "liked me more than a daughter" and after turning him down, and calling him sick, I dashed to the bus stop to school that morning. I have no doubt in my mind if I had stayed there (I was lucky to have a friend whose mother took me in), that I would have been r*ped and possibly m*rdered like poor Alissa.
I get the vibe that her stepfather might have r*ped her, and then m*urdered her to cover it up. It's really telling that even his own biological daughter believes that he k*lled her.
RELATED:
#2
Texas Yogurt Shop M*rders Is Solved
The 1991 Austin Yogurt Shop M*rders became one of Texas’ most haunting cold cases after four teenage girls were found bound, sh*t, and k**led inside an “I Can’t Believe It’s Yogurt!” shop that had been set on fire in an apparent attempt to destroy evidence.
Over the years, the investigation was plagued by false confessions, overturned convictions, and dead ends, leaving the case unsolved for more than three decades. In 2025, authorities announced that new DNA testing and genetic genealogy linked the m*rders to serial k**ler Robert Eugene Brashers, who died in 1999, finally giving victims’ families long-awaited answers.
Extension_Ad_5622:
According to the press conference this morning- they are learning that Brashers also m*rdered a woman in Kentucky in a 1998 cold case.
We also learned that Brashers set fire to that m*rder scene - which was also a place of business. That investigation is still ongoing.
Also the link to Brashers being in TX during the m*rders was disclosed:
Brashers was stopped in his car by police on December 8th- 2 days after the m*rders- in El Paso- headed to Las Cruces.
“To build their case, Austin police and the Texas Attorney General’s cold case unit traced his travels using police reports from Georgia, beginning in November 1991, westward to Texas, where officers arrested him outside El Paso in a stolen car two days after the yogurt shop m*rders. Brashers had a .380 pistol that was the same make and model used to k*ll one of the teens.”
It is believed Brashers was driving through TX on his way to his father’s house in Arizona. After the police confiscated his .380- Brashers bolted. It is thought he then disposed of other evidence in the yogurt shop m*rders.
The police released the .380 to Brashers father- who then returned it to Brashers.
They were able to confirm a DNA match to Brashers last Wednesday using the last of the testable DNA from Amy’s fingernails.
They were able to link the .380 bullet casing to Brashers .380 in June. This led Austin PD to an unsolved cold case m*rder in Kentucky.
This led to tracing the DNA to the South Carolina Brashers m*rder along with his other crimes in Tennessee and Missouri.
The bullet casing had already been uploaded to a database a few times in the past several years- but by re-uploading it recently they were able to get new hits due to the upgrades in technology.
It is important to note that one of the many reasons that contributed to length of time it took to connect Brashers to any of these crimes was the fault of Memphis PD.
In 1997, Brashers broke into a home in Memphis - tied up all 5 people in the home and r*ped a 14 year old girl. A r*pe kit was done but never submitted for testing until 2016- after it was discovered that Memphis had been sitting on over 12,000 untested r*pe kits since the 80’s.
The r*pe kit DNA led to Brashers body being exhumed in 2018 for further DNA testing. This led to the discovery that he had indeed been the r*pist and m*rderer in the 1990 cold case in South Carolina of a 28 year old woman, and the r*pe and m*rder of a 12 year old girl and her mother in Missouri in 1998.
#3
My Sister Michelle Koski's 32 Year Old Cold Case Solved Using Genealogy Records For A DNA Match.
My sisters 32 year old cold case was recently solved. I was about 12 when it happened, which makes me 44 now.
I saw that it was posted here, on YouTube, and elsewhere. Some outlets did not show the face of Robert A Brooks, while others did, and a couple other details that were left out, but were generally available at other news outlets.
Michelle Koski 32 year old cold case solved
Twitter put up a sensitivity warning on my account, so I guess nobody can really see anything there and I gave up.
Some of the news outlets did not show the picture of the k**ler, Robert A. Brooks, who passed away in his late 40s of alcoholism in 2016. The odds of the testing methods used gave a 1.2 quadrillion chance of it not being this person, which was enough to close out the cold case.
Michelle Koski's father, my dad, passed away in 2001 not ever getting the answers he had been searching for. The last thing he ever said was "Bart", nobody really understood what this meant.
Bart, also known as Rick Bart, was the Snohomish County Detective working with my father to try and identify the suspect in 2001. My father Stephen Koski had been very active in trying to solve the case, even going as far as looking at satellite imagery back then, and a website called Dignity Of Victims Everywhere (DOVE).
Brooks wasn't on anyone's radar, his records were sealed due to being a juvenile, which had protected him his entire living life from being identified and caught.
I had hope to say a few words at the conference in Seattle, but it did not work out that way to anyone's fault. Not many knew I would be there, I arrived Thursday morning from Hawaii, ended up sleeping at the airport for a few hours, and then headed out after some travel delays.
Thank you for everyone who showed up, and those who saw and read the story online. It was really very hard for me to believe this day would ever come, and I still have a hard time believing this really happened after 32 years.
kattko80-:
I’m so annoyed that that piece of s**t didn’t live long enough for the justice system to catch up on him. I would have loved to see him stand in front of a jury, thinking he had gotten away with it for decades and finally realizing that he’s busted. Only justice is that he probably had a cr**py life, since he died of alcoholism.
I’m really sorry for your loss and I hope you can get some sort of peace at least knowing who did it, and not have to wonder if it’s someone you’ve met.
#4
Suspected ‘Pillowcase R*pist’ Who Terrorized South Florida Women In Early 1980s Has Been Arrested
Authorities have arrested a man they believe is the notorious “Pillowcase R*pist,” who was blamed for attacking over 40 women in South Florida during the early 1980s.
Law-enforcement sources identified the suspect as 60-year-old Robert Eugene Koehler, a registered s*x offender from Palm Bay. He was arrested on Saturday and is being held at a jail in Brevard County to await transfer to Miami-Dade.
The Pillowcase R*pist terrorized women from South Miami to Deerfield Beach between May 1981 and February 1986. Using a pillowcase, towel or shirt to hide his identity, the r*pist broke into town homes and apartments and attacked at least 44 women.
But for years, detectives could not identify the Pillowcase R*pist, despite a large-scale manhunt. Detectives conducted stakeouts, checked hundreds of leads, passed out fliers and even created a sculpture from one victim who saw his face.
Investigators also explored the possibility that the attacks may have been committed by more than one r*pist. The task force created to find the attacker was ultimately disbanded in 1987.
At the time, police detectives said the r*pist was likely young, athletic and white and with no discernible accent. From lab tests, they concluded his blood type was O, but with a rare subgrouping characteristic found in 1 percent of the population. They also knew he wore a size 10 1/2 shoe.
Among his victims were a schoolteacher, nurse, airline flight attendant, artist, model, health spa instructor, insurance executive, publicist and student. All but one lived in townhouses or apartments. He usually entered their homes through unlocked sliding glass doors and open windows, threatening them with a knife, as**ulting them quickly and sometimes stealing cash.
Details of what led police to Koehler remained unknown Monday. The case was investigated by Miami-Dade police, the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Koehler would have been in his early 20s during the s*x-attack spree. FDLE lists him as a registered s*x offender for a s*xual battery conviction in 1991 in Palm Beach County.
WhoriaEstafan:
You read things like this and you think, 40 women that’s a lot. But when you really think about how many women that is, I try to think of 40 women in my life. 40 women that have struggled with this for years, that never lived in townhouses again, or never liked to be home alone, that listening for noises when they fell asleep for the last 35 years.
It breaks your heart.
I’m glad these old f*ckers are getting caught. No rest. I’m in Ancestry, 23andme and I’m on opt in on GED match. I’m glad they are getting caught because some 5th cousin wanted to know if they were part Cherokee like they thought (not what happened here but you know what I mean).
#5
"The Boy In The Box", Also Known As "America's Unknown Child", Has Finally Been Identified After 65 Years
For more than 65 years, the case of “The Boy In The Box” haunted Philadelphia after the beaten body of a young child was found abandoned inside a cardboard box in 1957.
The boy’s identity remained a mystery for decades despite nationwide publicity and countless investigations.
In 2022, advances in DNA testing and genetic genealogy finally allowed police to identify him as 4-year-old Joseph Augustus Zarelli, giving a name back to a child once known only as “America’s Unknown Child.” The m*rder itself, however, remains unsolved.
Own-Heart-7217:
1963 List of Most Influential Philley families. Morris, Norris, Rush and Chew, Drinker, Dallas, Coxe and Pugh, Wharton, Pepper, Pennypacker, Willing, Shippen and Markoe. I want to add my personal picks Penrose, Rittenhouse, and Wanamaker.
I lived there the first 33 years of my life. In my mind I named him George. George Philadelphia. It is a relief but, the rumor of him being from the area is u**led in the days when our parents had a year to register our births, I'm sure a few parents forgot. We didn't have social security numbers until we got our first jobs. There really was no "tracking". I am glad George will get his real name.
seraliza:
This was one of the cases that made me interested in true crime; wrote a poem about it in h**h school. This poor kiddo has been in my thoughts for 20+ years now. Finally he can rest under his own name.
#6
'It Came As A Total Shock': Remains Found In 1998 Identified As 10-Year-Old Boy, Family Had No Idea He And His Mother Were Dead
In 1998, a lawn-maintenance crew made a disturbing discovery near I-85 in Mebane. Under a billboard on Industrial Drive were the remains of a child.
---
The m*rders of Bobby Whitt and Myoung Hwa Cho, remained unsolved for more than 20 years after their bodies were discovered separately along Interstate 85 in 1998.
Bobby, whose skeletal remains were found under a billboard in North Carolina, became known nationwide as the “Boy Under The Billboard,” while Cho’s body was discovered months earlier in South Carolina.
Investigators finally cracked the case in 2019 using genetic genealogy and DNA databases, identifying the victims and uncovering a horrifying truth: Bobby’s father, John Russell Whitt, had m*rdered both his wife and 10-year-old son before convincing relatives they had moved to South Korea. Whitt later confessed, pleaded guilty to the k**lings in 2020, and was sentenced to decades in prison.
sevenonone:
Normally I'm profane in real life, but pretty tame online... But WHO THE F*CK k*lls their own kid? I've been married 25 years, I never hit my wife, but I kinda get a guy k**ling his wife. I obviously don't condone it. But if he's going to get wrecked in a divorce, or she was cheating, frankly all the same reasons I could understand a wife k**ling her husband. But who the f*ck k**ls their own kid?
I know it happens. John List k**led his whole family, that woman drowned all her kids (Yates?), Susan Smith, I'm sure the list goes on and on and on. I have a severely ADHD child, who has been challenging (when he forgets his medicine or it wears off he gets very combative) and another child who is just difficult. He pushes my buttons in particular, my wife's not as much, partly because she's just willing to let both of them get away with more. I could never dream of hurting them, and if I did, I think a g*n barrel in my mouth would follow shortly.
#7
"Lime Lady" Identified After 40yrs. Tamara Lee Tigard
The case is widely known as the “Lime Lady” m*rder. Tamara Lee Tigard, a 21-year-old Army veteran originally from California who had been living in Las Vegas, vanished in March 1980 before her body was discovered near the North Canadian River outside Jones, Oklahoma, on April 18 — her 21st birthday. Investigators determined she had been sh*t multiple times at another location before her body was dumped and covered in quicklime, apparently in an attempt to speed up decomposition and destroy evidence. Ironically, the lime partially preserved her remains instead.
For decades, Tamara remained unidentified and was buried as a Jane Doe while her family died without learning what happened to her. Investigators nicknamed her “Lime Lady” because of the lime found on her body. In 2020, DNA genealogy and Army dental records finally identified her nearly 40 years after the m*rder. Authorities also later discovered that Tamara’s identity had been fraudulently used by a woman in Ohio after her disappearance, though investigators do not officially believe the identity theft was directly tied to the k**ling.
Despite the identification breakthrough, Tamara’s m*rder remains unsolved. Investigators have theorized she may have visited a biker bar near Jones shortly before her death, but no arrests have ever been made.
---
blessed_Momma5:
She was an Army Veteran. In March of 1980, Tamara went for a walk near her Las Vegas home and simply vanished. She was found on April, 18th, 1980. Her 21st birthday.
LE believe she was dead for approximately 10 days. What happened between March and April 18th? Las Vegas to Jones, OK is 1,135 miles.
Update: Tamara married C. Carr (don't want to identify him on here) on 24 February 1979. Clark County, NV.
He does have an extensive criminal record dating back to the 80s. He lives in TN. He's 61yrs old.
You can find her husband's complete information on Find a Grave.
anon:
When you m*rder someone and try to hide their identity, it’s equivalent to m*rdering them twice.
I hope any surviving family members can finally give her the proper burial and for law enforcement to bring justice to her k**ler.
Rest In Peace Tamara.
#8
My Brothers’ 12 Year Old M*rder Case Finally Solved
Just found this sub and thought I would share my story.
My brother, Joseph Douglas, was m*rdered in 2006 and his decaying body was found by a hunter off a county road in a nearby town.
The cause of death was found to be a point blank g*nsh*t wound to the back of the head inflicted by a sh*tg*n.
It’s crazy that I am now the age he was when he died (20). He left behind two young kids, siblings, and parents who all loved him. I honestly think that we never expected justice or closure for this crime.
However, shortly after starting my freshman year of college in late 2017, a breakthrough confession came in and we can now finally put a name and a face to this.
It has definitely been bittersweet, as this person turned out to be his roommate/close friend who even attended his funeral and was around throughout my childhood.
I was able to attend a court hearing and go through my brother’s entire case file, including crime scene photos, which in a weird way gave me more closure about it all.
I’m rambling now, but I guess I just wanted to put this out there to share the story and spread the thought that a case can always be solved, even when all hope seems lost. Article about this.
Old photo of us right after the birth of his son. Me, Joe, and my nephew.
pablonian:
After reading the article you posted and, of course, your story I was wondering if there were any other details regarding the title of the article having “slip of the tongue” in it.
Were they just talking about him bragging? Before I read the article, I assumed they were going to say he accidentally confessed or said something that only the person involved would know. So glad that you and your family were able to get some closure after many years.
sofia1687:
That’s a sweet photo of you guys! I’m relieved that the person took your brother’s life is at least facing the consequences of his actions. I totally agree with you 100%, I don’t think any case is unsolvable. It still sucks though and I wish you and your family the best getting closure and living on with your lives.
#9
Nearly 40 Years Ago, A M*rdered Woman Know As "Orange Socks" In 1979 Was Discovered In Georgetown, TX. She Has Been Identified As 23yr Old Debra Jackson
On Halloween 1979, a woman's m*rdered body was discovered in a concrete culvert in Georgetown, TX. She had been strangled and was completely n*de except for an orange sock on each foot. Williamson County Texas Sheriff announced today that she has been identified as 23YR old Debra Jackson.
K**ler Henry Lee Lucas confessed to her m*rder. He was sentenced to death. He later recanted. His sentence was commuted to Life in prison, primarily because his story couldn't be collaborated. LE stated the DNA of two men had been found under her fingernails.
anon:
Henry Lee Lucas's sentence was commuted because although he did commit other m*rders, this was the only one he was given a death sentence for - and LE determined beyond any and all doubt that he was in Florida on the day Ms. Jackson died.
#10
40yr Old Cold Case Solved. The M*rder Of 18yr Old Michelle Martinko, Cedar Rapids, Ia
The m*rder of 18-year-old Michelle Martinko haunted Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for nearly 40 years after the h**h school senior was found brutally st*bbed to death inside her family’s Buick in the parking lot of Westdale Mall in December 1979. Michelle had stopped at the newly opened mall after choir practice to shop for a winter coat before she was attacked in her car. The case went cold for decades despite hundreds of interviews and thousands of tips, becoming one of Iowa’s most infamous unsolved m*rders.
In 2018, investigators finally cracked the case using forensic genealogy and DNA collected from a blood-stained dress left in Michelle’s car. The evidence led police to Jerry Lynn Burns, who had lived in Cedar Rapids at the time of the m*rder. Authorities secretly obtained his DNA from a discarded straw during surveillance, which matched DNA recovered from the crime scene. Burns was arrested in 2018, convicted of first-degree m*rder in 2020, and sentenced to life in prison without parole. Prosecutors argued Burns attempted to s*xually as**ult Michelle before st*bbing her to death multiple times inside the vehicle.
---
blessed_Momma5:
Jerry Burns, 64yrs, arrested on Wednesday, 19 December 2019. He is accused of st*bbing. Michelle Martinko, 18yrs, a Kennedy H**h School Senior.
Martinko, after choir practice, headed to the Westdale Mall on the southwest side of Cedar Rapids, which had opened less than two weeks prior. She had $180 on her, and was shopping for a new winter coat. She asked her close friend and fellow twirler Jane Hansen if she’d like to join, but Hansen declined; she had some homework to catch up on.
"Michelle had been wearing a rabbit fur coat,” Sue said, “and there was bloody rabbit hair all over the car. They found Michelle lying on her back, slumped over the passenger seat of the Buick, and leaning against the car door.”
anon:
She has such a pure, beautiful look to her. My heart breaks for her loss even though she died well before I was born. What a lovely photo
pigtailone:
I would like to know what Jerry was doing there that night. It's sad he got to go on with his life, (albeit as a non criminal person as far as we know) while she never got to live what was looking like a very promising life.
Gingersnap In Iowa 9 hours ago
I live 3 miles from where this happened. Westdale mall has been torn down and only the JCPENNEY store is still there but other businesses are built around there.
Explore more of these tags
What do you think ?
Gingersnap In Iowa 9 hours ago
My cousin Camille Njus disappeared on August 4, 1978. She was working in Des Moines, Iowa during the summer break from college. Her body was found on October 17, 1978. She was m******d and no one has ever been charged in her d***h. Camille always had time for me and answered endless questions and taught me a lot of things.
Alex Martin 2 hours ago
About 61% - 65% of homicides are solved/cleared each year in the US. That means that the detectives have closed the case because they have identified a suspect and effected an arrest or are unable to make an arrest because the suspect is unavailable (d**d, non-extradition country, cannot be located, etc.). Only about 30 - 35% of homicides result in a conviction. Cases where there is a known relationship between the killer and victim are far more likely to be solved. A family friend disappeared 25 years ago. Her ex-boyfriend was suspected in the case but there wasn't enough evidence. The police kept after the boyfriend and he finally broke down and confessed ten years later and led police to the construction site where he had buried her remains. He plead guilty and is serving 15 to life. Denied parole in 2023, next hearing in 2028.
Gingersnap In Iowa 9 hours ago
My cousin Camille Njus disappeared on August 4, 1978. She was working in Des Moines, Iowa during the summer break from college. Her body was found on October 17, 1978. She was m******d and no one has ever been charged in her d***h. Camille always had time for me and answered endless questions and taught me a lot of things.
Alex Martin 2 hours ago
About 61% - 65% of homicides are solved/cleared each year in the US. That means that the detectives have closed the case because they have identified a suspect and effected an arrest or are unable to make an arrest because the suspect is unavailable (d**d, non-extradition country, cannot be located, etc.). Only about 30 - 35% of homicides result in a conviction. Cases where there is a known relationship between the killer and victim are far more likely to be solved. A family friend disappeared 25 years ago. Her ex-boyfriend was suspected in the case but there wasn't enough evidence. The police kept after the boyfriend and he finally broke down and confessed ten years later and led police to the construction site where he had buried her remains. He plead guilty and is serving 15 to life. Denied parole in 2023, next hearing in 2028.
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