The truth is that not every crime ever gets solved, and the world of true crime is littered with chilling puzzles that have never been cracked. When you blend the passage of time with scant evidence, even the most diligent investigators can be left grasping at shadows. Below, we count down ten infamous historical murders that still refuse to surrender their secrets – a perfect showcase of the phrase “10 historical murder” for anyone who loves a good, unsolved mystery.
10. The Skeleton In The Cellar
The Lost Towns Project, an archaeological effort focused on rediscovering vanished colonial settlements in Maryland, made a startling find in 2003 at a site called Leavy Neck in Anne Arundel County. While sifting through a trash‑filled cellar dating back to the 1600s, researchers uncovered a lone skull. Further excavation revealed a complete skeleton, positioned in a shallow pit with enough force to displace a kneecap and curl the toes under – a clear indication of violent handling.
Realizing they were staring at a possible cold case, the team called in forensic anthropologist Dr. Doug Owsley. He determined the remains belonged to a 16‑year‑old European‑descended male. The bones showed signs of chronic hardship, such as compressed vertebrae from long‑term hard labor, suggesting the boy was an indentured servant. A perimortem fracture on his right wrist hinted he tried to shield himself from a heavy blow, bolstering the theory of murder.
Dating the burial to between 1665 and 1675 – a period when laws began protecting indentured servants – archaeologists suspect his master silenced him, dumping the body in the trash pit to conceal the crime. Both the victim’s and the perpetrator’s identities remain locked away in history.
9. The Wrong Archaeologist
In the spring of 1911, Michigan scholar Herbert Fletcher DeCou joined a U.S. expedition excavating the ancient Greek city of Cyrene in present‑day Libya. On March 11, the camp awoke to gunfire and screams. Expedition director Richard Norton received word that DeCou had been shot dead while en route to the Acropolis dig site. Witnesses described three Arab men hiding behind a wall, waiting for DeCou, who they then shot twice before fleeing on horseback.
Contemporary speculation held that the assailants were not targeting DeCou personally but aimed to eliminate a high‑profile American, mistakenly believing they had hit the director. The incident unfolded just before the Italo‑Turkish War, when anti‑Western sentiment ran high in Libya. Norton’s statements echoed this view, and rumors swirled that the killers acted under Italian influence – a claim the Italians vehemently denied, instead suggesting a Bedouin man had acted out of personal vengeance over a romantic dispute.
The murder never escalated into a full‑blown diplomatic crisis, and no diplomatic dossiers have ever been released. To this day, no one has been formally charged, leaving DeCou’s death shrouded in mystery.
8. The Spinster Murder
The Oscar Slater affair is infamous for its miscarriage of justice, but the murder of 83‑year‑old spinster Marion Gilchrist in Glasgow in 1908 remains unsolved. Slater, a German‑born Jewish immigrant with a criminal record, was convicted for Gilchrist’s killing, sentenced to death, later commuted to life, and served 19 years before release. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle championed Slater’s innocence in a 1912 pamphlet titled “The Case of Oscar Slater.”
Despite the public outcry and subsequent acquittal, Gilchrist’s murder never found a definitive perpetrator. Detective John Thompson Trench, who worked the case, disclosed in 1914 that crucial evidence had been withheld during the trial, likely at the behest of Gilchrist’s influential family. Trench was dismissed, his reputation tarnished, and he died in 1919 without seeing justice served.
Speculation points to a family member—perhaps a nephew—as the most plausible suspect, with the theory that the family covered up the crime to avoid scandal. Yet, no conclusive proof has ever emerged.
7. The Sandyford Mystery
In 1862, the Glasgow household at 17 Sandyford Place was rocked by a gruesome discovery: servant Jessie McPherson was found half‑naked, drenched in her own blood, while her employers were away on holiday. The prime suspect became former servant Jessie McLachlan, who was swiftly charged, tried, and found guilty after a mere 15‑minute deliberation. She was sentenced to death by hanging.
Public outrage prompted a commission to review the evidence. While the commission could not exonerate McLachlan, it commuted her sentence to life imprisonment. After serving 15 years, she was released on a ticket‑of‑leave and emigrated to the United States, where she spent the rest of her life.
McLachlan consistently maintained that James Fleming, the elderly father of McPherson’s employer, was the true murderer. She alleged that Fleming had sexually assaulted McPherson and then killed her to conceal the crime, later accepting a bribe to stay silent. Despite the scandal and continued public sympathy for McLachlan, no one else was ever charged with McPherson’s murder.
6. The Pitchfork Murder
Valentine’s Day 1945 in Quinton, Warwickshire, England, became the stage for a macabre killing. Seventy‑four‑year‑old Charles Walton failed to return home from work, and his niece Edie, along with a neighbor, discovered his brutally bruised body. His ribs were broken, his throat slit with his own slash hook, and a pitchfork driven into his neck, pinning him to the floor.
The investigation, led by Chief Inspector Robert Fabian—later a crime author—zeroed in on Alfred Potter, the farm manager where Walton worked. Potter’s statements were contradictory, and while suspicion lingered, no concrete evidence or clear motive emerged to charge him.
The case gained notoriety not only for its savagery but also for rumors of witchcraft. Word spread that Walton bore a carved cross on his chest, fueling speculation that he was slain as a blood sacrifice by a coven of witches, or that he himself was a witch killed by a cursed individual.
5. The Day Brisbane Lost Its Innocence
The brutal murder of 22‑year‑old Betty Shanks in 1952 shocked Brisbane. Her battered body was discovered in a suburban garden on the morning of September 20, launching Queensland’s biggest criminal investigation. Despite extensive police work, the case remains the oldest unsolved murder in Brisbane’s history.
Police pursued a lone, credible lead: a taxi driver reported seeing a man jump a fence toward the crime scene at 10:30 p.m. and return three hours later. Numerous suspects were interrogated and several false confessions obtained, but none held up under scrutiny.
The case resurfaced in 2014 when two authors published competing theories. Academic Ted Duhs pointed to locksmith Eric Steery, alleging the victim rebuffed his advances, a claim supported by Steery’s daughter Delcia, who said she repeatedly approached police with this information. Former journalist Ken Blanch, who covered the original case, suggested a former army driver who had previously attempted an abduction, urging DNA testing, though the suspect’s whereabouts have been unknown since 2007.
4. The Death Of A War Hero
The 150‑year‑old murder of U.S. Civil War hero George “Colvos” Colvocoresses continues to perplex historians. A Greek‑American captain of the USS Saratoga, he retired in 1867 and was fatally shot on Clinton Street in Bridgeport, Connecticut, five years later while traveling to New York, carrying $8,000 in a leather satchel and a bamboo sword cane.
Colvocoresses suffered a single gunshot wound to his left chest, igniting his shirt with powder fire. Nearby investigators recovered a pistol, powder horn, percussion caps, and bullets; the empty satchel was found the following day a few hundred yards away. The sword cane appeared damaged, suggesting a struggle.
While robbery seemed the obvious motive—given the missing cash—some witnesses noted erratic behavior before his death, leading to theories of a targeted hit. Police mishandling of evidence, whether due to incompetence or intentional cover‑up, hampered the case. Over the years, various confessions emerged, including a Danish soldier’s death‑bed admission of a robbery gone wrong. Another pervasive theory posits that Colvocoresses committed suicide, a narrative championed by insurance companies eager to avoid paying multiple policies totaling nearly $200,000.
3. The Ruislip Murder Mile
On the night of September 14, 1954, 21‑year‑old Jean Mary Townsend left a West End party and was last seen at South Ruislip Station around midnight. Her body was found the next morning, strangled with her own scarf; her shoes and stockings were removed, later recovered alongside her handbag.
Early leads were promising. A US embassy employee reported chasing away a “Peeping Tom” days earlier, while a nearby resident recalled hearing a woman’s scream and, shortly after, an argument between two men—one with an American accent. Investigators speculated an American serviceman stationed at South Ruislip Air Station could be responsible, noting a similar strangulation of prostitute Ellen Carlin in Pimlico earlier that month, initially linked to a US Air Force sergeant but later attributed to serial killer Peter Manuel.
Despite these angles, detectives never identified a viable suspect. Sixteen years later, another woman, Gloria Booth, was murdered in the same manner within the same area, giving rise to the moniker “Ruislip Murder Mile.” Police considered a single perpetrator, but no conclusive evidence surfaced. Gloria’s sister later suggested the Yorkshire Ripper might have been involved.
2. The Shooting At Portencross
On October 13, 1913, Mary Speir Gunn sat before a fire with her sister and husband, Jessie and Alexander McLaren, in their cottage outside Portencross, Scotland. Suddenly, gunfire erupted, and bullets ripped through the window. All three were struck; Alexander and Jessie survived, but Mary was killed instantly by a shot to the heart.
Initial police theory held that Alexander McLaren was the intended victim. The first rounds passed through his chair, missing by inches. McLaren, a recently retired farmer who had just sold his livestock, might have been perceived as keeping a sizable sum at home, prompting a robbery motive. Yet, the shooter never entered the cottage, suggesting perhaps he fled after failing to hit his target.
Later speculation turned to a spurned lover, noting Mary’s reputation as the “Beauty of Beith.” Police inquiries reached as far as Canada, where Mary had previously lived with another sister, but no solid leads emerged. Locals recalled an unknown man asking for directions to Portencross on the day of the shooting. Over a century later, the gunman remains unidentified.
1. The Death Of A Nobleman
For nearly seven centuries, the death of Italian noble Cangrande della Scalla was accepted as accidental. In 2004, a modern autopsy confirmed long‑standing suspicions that he had been poisoned. Cangrande, a member of Verona’s ruling family, fought in the Guelph‑Ghibelline Wars, became sole ruler in 1311, and after multiple campaigns, seized Treviso in 1329. He fell ill shortly after his triumph, took to bed, and died a few days later.
Contemporary accounts blamed a polluted spring for his demise, but modern analysis of his naturally mummified remains uncovered spores of Digitalis purpurea (common foxglove) in colon and fecal samples. Toxicological testing of feces, liver, and hair revealed lethal concentrations of digitoxin and digoxin, confirming deliberate poisoning.
While the exact perpetrator remains unknown, historians suspect his nephew, Mastino II, who succeeded Cangrande. The poisoning’s motive may have been power, but the mystery endures.
These ten baffling cases illustrate how history can conceal its darkest secrets. Whether you’re a seasoned sleuth or a curious reader, the lingering enigmas of these 10 historical murders continue to beckon investigators, writers, and detectives alike.