List of unsolved deaths

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).

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.
• Murder of William Desmond Taylor, Hollywood, 1922.
• The Vampire Murder Case, Stockholm, Sweden, 1932.
• Murder of Elizabeth Short (The Black Dahlia), Los Angeles, 1947.
• Murder of Folke Bernadotte, Jerusalem, 1948.
• Murder of Judith Ann Roberts, Miami, 1954.
• Gertrude Hullett - an inquest in 1956 decided she had committed suicide but her doctor John Bodkin Adams, the suspected serial killer, was indicted for her murder the following year. The charge was then dropped by the prosecution via a nolle prosequi, an action described by the judge as an 'abuse of process'.
• Murder of the Grimes sisters, Chicago, 1956 or 1957.
• The Boy in the Box, Philadelphia, 1957.
• Lake Bodom murders, Lake Bodom, Finland, 1960.
• The Jack the Stripper murders, London, 1963-64
• Murder of Mary Meyer, Washington, D.C., 1964.
• Murder of Brenda White, Oklahoma, 1967
• Murder of Unknown White Female, Age 19-26, 1969, California
• Murders of Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday, Benicia, December 20, 1968; first and second victims of the Zodiac Killer.
• Murder of Darlene Ferrin , Vallejo, July 4-5 1969; victim of the Zodiac Killer.
• Murder of Cecelia Shepard, Lake Berryessa, September 27 1969; victim of the Zodiac Killer
• Murder of Paul Stine, San Francisco, October 11 1969; seventh victim of the Zodiac Killer
• Murder of Michael Burgeman in 1982, Elk Grove Village-Morton Grove-Chicago, Illinois
• Murder of Bob Crane in 1978
• Murder of Óscar Romero, San Salvador, El Salvador, 1980
• Murder of Unknown Black Female Child, Age 8-11, Missouri, 1983
• Murder of Olof Palme, Stockolm, Sweden, 1986
• Murder of Julie Ward, Masai Mara, Kenya, 1988
• Murders of Charles and Jennifer Chia, Nevada, 1989
• Murder of Jessica Keen, Ohio, 1991
• Murder of Ron Goldman, California, 1994
• Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson, California, 1994
• 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 Shannon Paulk, Pratteville, Alabama, 2001
• Murder of Heaven Lashae Ross, Alabama, 2003
• 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
• Murder of Raven Jefferies, Detriot, Michagin 2006
• Murder of Robert Amato, Las Vegas, Nevada 2006

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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Alicia Holland, 2006, Canada cosmetologist.

Date of death disputed

• Death of Raoul Wallenberg is dated by Soviet authorities as July 16, 1947, but this is disputed; remains an unsolved case.

Cause of death disputed

• George Reeves, 1959; his death was officially ruled suicide, but others believe he was murdered. Los Angeles
• Yasser Arafat, 2004; conspiracy theorists believe that he was poisoned, Paris, France.