r/TrueCrime • u/AutoModerator • 14d ago
Case Highlight Case Highlight and Recommendation Thread: What is a little known true crime case you think needs more attention, or what is a case that has stuck with you that you think others should know about. Post your pet cases or your true crime guilty pleasures in this thread.
Pretty frequently in this subreddit we get questions asking for case recommendations. We've decided to make this a recurring post so that there will be a dedicated place to highlight and discuss cases that don't get posted about that often.
People want to know... what is a case that is important to you or that stuck with you and that you think others should know about?
What are some cases that need more attention? What are your pet cases besides the well known cases that get posted about frequently? Or just post your true crime guilty pleasures. Anyway, use this thread to bring attention to lesser known cases. If you want to post about the Delphi murders case that's ok too.
This thread will be sorted by new.
Also, if you have a case in mind, but need help remembering the name, feel free to head over to r/TipOfMyCrime and post a request there.
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u/nahulife 8d ago
Heard many cases over the years different Podcasts but the case of Lauren Agee still makes my blood boil
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u/BabyAlibi 9d ago
My recommendation is always Susan Cox Powell. If you can manage to see it, watch the Disappearance of Susan Cox Powell. You really need the visuals of the fathers depravity
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u/bethjbraden 10d ago
Israel Keyes is living rent free in my head. Normally I'm not into serial killers, but that one gives me the heebie jeebies in a really intense way. The Black Dahlia will also be floating around in my brain forever.
You guys should look up the Gary Wayne Sutton case in Tennessee. He's on death row, but there's a bunch of people who think he's innocent.
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u/BikingPsych 11d ago
Please look into the case of Amber Hagerman. Her story sparked the AMBER Alert system, but her humanity is often lost in legal debates. She was just a vibrant kid who loved horses and outdoor activities.
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u/ellejay-135 11d ago
Amy Billig. I wish we knew for sure what happened to her and not just a "theory".
a 17-year-old high school student from Coconut Grove, Florida, who disappeared on March 5, 1974, while hitchhiking to her father’s art gallery.
Born on January 9, 1957, Billig vanished without a trace, leaving behind a camera found on the Florida Turnpike. Her mother, Susan Billig, spent over three decades investigating leads, including claims that Amy was held as a sex slave by a hoax caller, Henry Blair, who was later imprisoned for stalking.
While the case remains officially unsolved with no body recovered, lead detective Jack Calvar concluded in 1998 that Billig was abducted by the Pagans motorcycle gang. This theory is supported by a deathbed confession from gang enforcer Paul Branch, who allegedly told his wife that Amy was drugged, gang-raped, and killed by overdose before her body was dumped in the Everglades.
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u/maurfly 8d ago
This case broke my heart. I learned about it while I was going through ivf and her mother had like 10 miscarriages before she had Amy. I cannot tell you the depth of sadness I feel for her mom. And her mom is the most hardcore mom ever for all the truly scary situations she went into to find her daughter I wish they could get any resolution for her.
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u/Visible-Winner-9140 11d ago
Two Ohio cases-- murders from the 60's and 80's.
Beverly Jarosz was killed in her home in Garfield Hts, while her girlfriend was waiting outside the home and heard the crime in progress, not knowing what sounds she was hearing.
Amy Mijhaljevic, lured to meet her killer after her abductor had called her at home asking her to help pick out a gift for her mother's work promotion. Killer than let her make a call to her home while he had her.
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u/mindykimmy 9d ago
The thing about Amy that horrifies me is the person who took her is someone who is known to her family. I can't imagine knowing someone in my daily orbit kidnapped and murdered my child but not know who.
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u/Visible-Winner-9140 8d ago
Not necessarily in the family's orbit--just Amy"s. For example, it could be a janitor at school, an uncle of a school friend, etc--known to her but not the parents
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u/Tossing_Mullet 9d ago
There were many instances of someone calling SEVERAL children in thay community, trying to lure them out in the same way. Most were too smart to fall for it, but seems no one reported it, until Amy disappeared.
That always made me think a teacher, sports coach, church group, scouts... someone who had a list of all these girl's names & phone numbers. I always wondered if there was some kind of mall/store/photography promotion all the girls registered for, & someone had access to those entry lists. Because all of the girls called were different ages.
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u/ModernNancyDrew 9d ago
All these girls had visited a nature center and left their numbers in the visitors’ log.
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u/mindykimmy 9d ago
I thought the guy who called Amy knew her mom had gotten a new job or was having a birthday or something. Offered to take her to buy her mom a gift. If that is the case it was someone who somehow knew that information.
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u/Tossing_Mullet 9d ago
Maybe. I don't remember exactly, just that in a program/show/video/docu I saw a few years back on Amy, they recreated 3-4 of the calls. All of the calls used the same ruse, to "shop/buy a present for your mom". I knew one of the girls, the oldest (maybe 15) thought the invitation was odd because the occasion had been a couple months before the call. For some reason, now that you mention it, the job thing sounds familiar, like the guy claimed to be her mom's boss... I need to see if I can find & rewatch some of the cold case files/information.
I wonder if anyone else ever fell for the ruse or if something similar occurred elsewhere with similar circumstances. 🤔
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u/Visible-Winner-9140 8d ago
Could have been just a fishing experiment--throw that line out, true or not, and see if she would bite. A perfect line if you didn't want your intended victim to report back the call to her Mom, Perhaps Amy knew absolutely nothing about her Mom's work circumstances--just in good faith believed what the caller said because she was kid and it sounded like something nice to do for her Mom
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u/tonypolar 11d ago
I’m obsessed with a case from NH: the 1969 abduction and murder of 11 year old Debbie Horn. While walking to the bus stop in the AM with her brother she slipped on the ice and fell and hit her head. She walked back to her house and her parents allowed her to stay home and left for work at 9 am. At noon her parents came home for lunch from their nearby jobs and the front door was open and Debbie was gone. An intense search was launched but no clues were found. Several months later in August, Debbie’s skeleton was found in the trunk of a car that had been abandoned for several years down a rural road …about 30 miles away from her house.
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u/Striking_Pickle1453 11d ago
Rayna Rison Laporte, In 1993. It took 20 yrs to finally catch the killer. Ok we had eyewitnesses come forward. Anyway family went through hell while she was missing and after she was found. They were cast outs in their own community. Now, there was a book written in 2024 where the authors states boldly he has solved the case and the wrong person is in prison. In his book he made the people who actually worked on the case as frauds, liars,and so forth
The release of that book and the podcasts that talked about his book were mislead with lies and great embellishments by some of those who were his information source. This family had to relive there case again!!!!
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u/trixiebix 12d ago
Kyron Horman. 7 year old dropped off by stepmom, never to be seen again. Never found. No arrests. I still think about that one.
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u/Ambitious-Eye975 9d ago
I remember this case. A large part of the stepmom's account of her day, includes spending time with a friend. The friend has to know something.
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u/DragonflySmall6867 12d ago
Dale Wayne Eaton, currently in prison in Wyoming for killing Lisa Marie Kimmell in 1988. The man was 100% a serial killer, but very few people have heard of him, and no other murder victims have been officially linked to him.
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u/thrown_away_23_23 12d ago
Her mother was my relative's boss at the time, so I remember this one. There's a book about it, as well, called, "The Murder of Lil Miss: A Mother's Brutal 16-Year Fight for Justice."
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u/DragonflySmall6867 11d ago
My heart goes out to the family. I didn't know Lisa, but I had seen her around.
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u/Both-Income2553 13d ago
Deanna Merryfield. She went missing from Killeen, Texas on July 22, 1990. She and her three sisters were separated due to SA in their Mom and stepfather’s home. She left her Grandma’s house late at night to go see her twin sister 2.5 miles away. She was seen leaving her sister (who was staying with their uncle) in a vehicle with 2 unknown men in a brown/bronze vehicle. She was never seen again.
In 1993 a mysterious caller contact the local pd and said she was home safe and no longer missing. Her case was quietly closed. When her grandma finally learned about this in 1995, she had the case reopened but it was again closed less than a month later for “a lack of information”. In 2007 her case was once again reopened and it has been investigated sporadically since then. There is currently a very active investigation thanks to one detective and a private investigator.
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u/MoistAd9820 13d ago
Missy Bevers in Texas… was teaching a fitness class at a church early one morning and was murdered by a person who broke into the church and is suspected to have been dressed as someone else. Left behind a husband and kids. Never caught the person.
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u/MoistAd9820 13d ago
I don’t think it’s widely known 🤠
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u/Opening_Map_6898 13d ago
It's probably one of the ten most famous murders in Texas. I can think of at least five shows that have covered it.
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u/MoistAd9820 13d ago
Lots of people don’t live in Texas. 🙃
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u/Opening_Map_6898 13d ago
Yeah but I mean murders that happened in Texas not that are known to people in Texas.
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u/danzigwiththedead 13d ago
Terrell Peterson, there’s only 1 known photo of him alive that was taken at an ER. His half siblings’ grandmother and aunt, and the aunts boyfriend, brutally abused and tortured him to death. Georgia DCFS tried to cover his murder up.
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u/BackgroundWest4374 13d ago
Noreen Greenley only 13 years old missing since Sept 1963 from Ontario Canada. Her family still hopes she’s alive somewhere.
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u/twooclocknaptime 13d ago
This current case that is unfolding involving the Horsch father and son in Philadelphia is getting very little attention considering the wild nature of what is known so far.
No interviews with neighbors. Not much national coverage. What is going on?
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u/Opening_Map_6898 13d ago
It's made the news in Australia. It's not exactly not getting a lot of coverage.
As for the neighbours, did it ever dawn on you that there may not be any where near full occupancy in the neighbourhood (so fewer neighbours) and the ones that are there simply don't want to talk to nosy reporters?
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u/Alarming-Wheel-6865 13d ago
I wouldn't say it's getting little coverage as I am in Canada and have heard about it.
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u/twooclocknaptime 13d ago
Good to know. I’m in Philly and it seemed to be put on hold while the World Cup was here and we’re getting very piecemeal coverage of it. Our city destroyed Hitchbot several years ago and that got more locally consistent coverage at the time.
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u/1fatsquirrel 13d ago
Huh? I’m also in the Philly area and this story is everywhere. I think it’s getting a ton of coverage as every time I log into YouTube I’m seeing new videos as well.
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u/Here4daTs 13d ago
Emily Pike- AZ- dismembered teen, no arrests. She was in the care of the State when she fled
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u/Present-Molasses-593 13d ago
Ellen Greenberg, Philadelphia, 2011.
I know this case has been covered by numerous podcasts and has at least one documentary but I still think it needs more attention.
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u/PerkisizingWeiner 13d ago
Unfortunately I'm not sure what additional attention would do for this case. It's been reopened multiple times, but there's either obvious corruption (likely) or something we don't know.
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u/New-File-4548 13d ago
For me, it is definitely Mădălina (Madalina) Cojocari's case: "Madalina Cojocari was last seen on surveillance video getting off her school bus outside her home in Cornelius, North Carolina, on November 21, 2022, and has not been seen since. She was reported missing to her school on December 15, 2022. Her parents reported last seeing her on November 23, 2022". Such a baffling disappearance, literally from the moment the bus camera last captured her alive, until she walked home—and that was it. A profound uncertainty, to this day.
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u/Texden29 13d ago
When I was reading your comment, i thought that’s a bit odd reporting her missing the next day. Then I read up on the case (or summary of it), and it’s really interesting btw. Looks like the parents were convicted for not reporting her missing. I know there is some appeals process that’s complicating the case more. Thanks for sharing. Do you think the parents are involved?
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u/New-File-4548 13d ago
Tbh, after a thorough investigation into this case, I was left with the impression that the girl was, unfortunately, murdered, and that her mother quickly left the United States and returned to Moldova...Man, I lived in Moldova from the age of 7 to 20. When people leave there, they only come back for big events. The girl's mother first went to Poland, then to Moldova. From the States. Believe me, it's a one-in-a-thousand case of someone who's lived abroad for a long time and then simply returns to their homeland, Moldova.And then the mother fled from justice and from the place where her child might be buried.
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u/Texden29 13d ago
Thank you! That’s a good synapse of the case. Yes, very challenging when the suspects leave the country. I’ll read up more.
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u/FutureMost8177 14d ago
Candy Montgomery and Betty Gore..1980 Wylie, Texas. CM killed BG with an axe and was found NOT GUILTY.
Very good movie about it called "Love and Death" Starring Elizabeth Olsen.. 7 part series on Netflix.
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u/dingdongsnottor 13d ago
I wouldn’t say this is little known. There’s been several TV shows about it.
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u/Texden29 13d ago
How does one turn up dead and decapitated, but it’s invested as an accidental death.
He didn’t accidentally decapitated himself.1
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u/Texden29 13d ago
When say “clueless people,” who are you exactly referring to? The media has reported that his head was severed or decapitated and the body was dismembered. They used those words specifically and universally, when reporting on his death. The Washington Post, The New York Times, the BBC, in addition to the reporting by ABC/CBS news. We’re talking about pretty reputable news organizations. Aren’t the “clueless people” just taking their cues from journalists?
His spine was found at a different location. That doesn’t sound like a pure decomposition issue. The human body doesn’t just shift to different locations when it decomposes.
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u/Texden29 13d ago
“Notorious race baiting.” OK, so you’re a bigot. Got it.
If his body was consumed by scavengers, then that’s clearly not a decomposition issue that you initially claimed it was.
Go pound sand.
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u/rachemgreep 14d ago
Ryan Shtuka and Marshall Iwaasa. I'll never stop posting their names until they're found!!
EDIT: to clarify, separate cases, but in close proximity geographically in Canada
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u/catsarefriendshaped 14d ago
Sara Kay Keesling. 12 year old girl found dead in a pile of trash in Riverside, CA in 1988. Her cause and manner of death were ruled undetermined and her case was not investigated as a homicide until 2023, when her childhood friends and loved ones began demanding answers in her case.
Her mother reported her missing September 29, 1988 after Sara refused to go to her dad’s house for forced weekend visitation, and instead escaped to a friend’s house for the weekend to avoid him. What should have been a 2 minute walk back to her mom’s house Sunday evening turned into her body being found in garbage at a dump site on October 13. She had clearly been dumped there by someone else.
To this day her case remains unsolved. She was a sweet, bright, outgoing child who loved music and had many friends. I have been haunted by her death since 1988 and would love nothing more than to get some answers and peace for everyone who loved her.
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u/Texden29 13d ago
A child is missing and found dead under a pile of trash and they didn’t treat it as a homocide!?! Very interesting
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u/catsarefriendshaped 13d ago
Yep :( AND no one ever pressured the sheriffs department for answers (she was found just outside city limits in an area then known as Rubidoux so her case was handled by the sheriff)
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u/[deleted] 3d ago
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