Top 10 Unbelievable Crimes That Stunned the World

The world is a place filled with beauty, love, and peace. But it’s also a place filled with criminals who bring chaos and disorder to our daily lives. It’s often hard to believe that people can do terrible things to others, but history shows that evil repeatedly raises its ugly head.

Join us as we discuss the top 10 unbelievable crimes that have stunned the world.

Top 10 Unbelievable Crimes We Can’t Believe Ever Happened

1. The Zodiac Killer

The late 60s and 70s saw the rise of many killers. But none would come as close to stunning the world as the man identified as the Zodiac Killer.

Although this serial killer claims to have murdered 37 people, authorities have only been able to prove for certain he is responsible for five deaths. There were also two people who fortunately made it out of his attacks alive.

The rest of the cases remain in various states of open or inactive - that said, all are unsolved mysteries.

One of the reasons the Zodiac Killer became well-known was the letters he sent to the press. In them, he claimed responsibility for various murders and sent ciphers that needed to be cracked.

The ciphers were some sort of strange code that contained information regarding the killer’s views on reality and why he kills.

Zodiac demanded that the ciphers be printed on the front page of newspapers. Otherwise, he would commit more murders. The Associated Press took note of this and followed his commands.

Sooner rather than later, every news station was broadcasting about this elusive killer.

In one cipher, Zodiac claimed he found killing people so much fun, more fun than killing wild game.

The press received the final letter from Zodiac in 1974, after which he went quiet. The real killer was never found, although the police had several suspects over the years. For this reason, this story is one of the most notorious mysteries to shock the world.

2. Columbine Massacre

Hope Columbine Memorial Library — *Photo credit:* *Wikimedia*

On 20 April 1999, 12th-grade pupils Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold walked into Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, armed with automatic rifles, shotguns, and explosives.

What was supposed to be another school day for the high school’s students and teachers turned out to be one of the most shocking crimes that left the world at a loss for words.

Eric and Dylan went on a horrific 49-minute rampage that resulted in the death of 15 people - 12 students, one teacher, and the two perpetrators themselves. A further 21 sustained gunfire injuries, with three more injured due to the surrounding chaos.

The two students began their massacre outside the school building, shooting classmates who were enjoying their lunch break. After that, they moved into the building and set off explosives.

Eric and Dyland taunted students hiding under library desks and shot some at point-blank range.

Swat teams and local police stormed the building, freeing the hostages so they could be reunited with their parents.

While the shooting was happening, the pair evaded the authorities. Their heinous rampage was brought to an end when they both committed suicide in the library.

It's a tragic story for the families who suffered at their hands, as the two never answered to justice. They planned the entire attack and even recorded a video half an hour before setting out for the school, apologizing to their friends and families.

3. America’s Unknown Child

In February 1957, a tragic murder story was uncovered in Fox Chase, Philadelphia. The naked body of a boy aged between 3 and 7 years was found in a cardboard box on the side of a road.

His little bruised and scarred body was wrapped in a blanket and placed in the box in the woods. A passing hunter discovered it but didn’t report the body to the police. He was afraid the police would confiscate his muskrat traps.

Two days later, a college student discovered the body and reported it to the police, starting the case of The Boy in the Box.

The cause of the young boy’s death was presumed to be a result of blunt force trauma to the head.

The death and discovery of America’s Unknown Child attracted the media’s attention, and various posters were printed to help find case leads.

One lead of particular interest related to a foster home that had blankets much like the one in which the boy was wrapped. The theory, developed by a medical examiner on the case, suggested the boy belonged to the stepdaughter of the foster home’s owner.

Police interviewed the woman, finding nothing but dead ends. They subsequently closed the case. However, it would be reopened in 2003 when a woman known as M claimed her abusive mother fostered the child.

M claimed that the mother killed the boy in a fit of rage. But the police didn’t buy M’s story, labeling her mentally unstable.

The investigation was closed yet again, and the death of the unidentified boy remains one of the world's mysteries. It’s a cold case known to send shivers down your spine.

4. The Hinterkaifeck Murders

In March of 1922, Hinterkaifeck Farm in Bavaria, Germany, saw the death of six residents who suffered blunt force trauma from a pickaxe.

The murder victims were Andreas and Cazilia Gruber, their widowed daughter Viktoria Gabriel, her two children, and the family maid Maria Baumgartner.

Tragically, the 2-year-old child was murdered in his crib and the maid in her bed. The rest of the family was lured to and killed in the barn, where the perpetrator(s) stacked their dead bodies on top of one another. In a creepy twist, there is evidence the killer (or killers) stayed in the house for three days before the bodies were discovered.

Several theories exist around the murder suspects and motives. We know that the family hired Maria after the previous maid left, claiming the house was haunted as she heard footsteps and voices in the attic.

Other strange happenings occurred that we know of from reports. Andreas noticed an unfamiliar newspaper in the house, couldn’t locate his house keys, and found tools missing from the toolshed.

At one point, he also saw strange footprints in the snow leading to a broken door lock on the machine room. That night, the family heard footsteps in the attic, although, upon investigation, Andreas couldn’t detect any intruders.

A potential suspect for the crime was the neighbor, Lorenz Schlittenbauer. Rumors circulated that he was the father of the 2-year-old child, Josef. He also acted suspiciously when the bodies were discovered and had access to the house.

The house was demolished a year after the crime, and the murders remain unsolved to this day. These cold cases where there's no prime suspect or DNA evidence make for spine-chilling stories that shock the world

5. The Servant Girl Annihilator

The Servant Girl Annihilator, known as the Midnight Assasin, was one of America’s first documented serial killers. His crimes were directed mainly toward young African American women who worked as domestic servants.

In total, he’s known to have killed eight people while seriously injuring others in the process.

The story starts in Austin, Texas, in December 1984. Mollie Smith was attacked in her sleep and dragged outside her house in the cold. She was discovered behind her employer’s home with a gaping ax wound to the head.

Then in May 1985, Eliza Shelly, a cook for the Johnson family, was attacked in her bedroom in front of her children. Once again, the murderer used an ax. He split open Eliza’s head, leaving her children traumatized, in shock, and unable to identify the perpetrator.

Three weeks passed, and an African American servant, Irene Krauss, was killed and scalped.

September of the same year saw Mary Ramey sexually assaulted and murdered with an iron rod. That same month, a double murder occurred when Gracie Vance and her boyfriend were killed with an ax.

The murders stopped until December 1885, when Susan Hancock and Eula Philips were found dead after being attacked with an ax.

The killing ceased after police numbers were ramped up, rewards for information were offered, and the community created a vigilance committee. The people of Austin, Texas, went on with their daily lives but still felt the need to look over their shoulders.

To this day, the cases remain unsolved and the killer unidentified, although there are some theories on the matter.

One of the more well-known theories was suggested on a PBS TV show named History Detectives. Using modern profiling techniques and historical research, they identified 19-year-old Nathan Elgin, who worked as a cook, as the main suspect.

Sadly, Nathan was shot dead by police during an attempted assault on a woman before the truth could come out. This was just nights after the final murder had happened.

6. Austin Yogurt Shop Killings

Texas can’t seem to get a break from crime.

A policeman was driving by a yogurt shop on the night of December 6, 1991, when he noticed smoke rising from the building. The store was in flames.

Firefighters entered the scene thinking it was an after-hours fire. But, it turned out to be a coverup of the homicide of four teenage girls, at least one of whom was also sexually assaulted.

It is believed the murderers tied up the girls before shooting them in the head. They then stacked the bodies on top of each other in the shop's back room before using an accelerant to set the place alight.

The victims were friends and sisters - Jeniffer and Eliza worked at the store while Sarah and Amy stopped by to wait for the two older girls to finish work.

Naturally, the community was devastated at the news of this horrific crime. Rewards to the sum of $125,000 were offered for credible information that could help the case. Authorities claimed to receive over 5,000 leads with 342 suspects. However, there would be no arrests made for eight years.

In 1999, the case was assigned to new investigators. This team charged four suspects who, at the time, were a group of friends suspected of performing the killings.

Forrest Welborn, one of the suspects, had his charges dropped in 2000 after the jury failed to indict him. Robert Springsteen was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 2001, while Michael Scott and Maurice pierce were given life sentences.

The latter two were released from prison in 2009 after their conviction was overturned.

2022 finds the investigative team marginally closer to finding the answers. Advanced DNA testing technology has been used to analyze DNA found on one of the girl’s bodies. Until such time as answers are found, the anguish over the unsolved crime continues.

7. The Cleveland Torso Murderer

Between 1934 and 38 in Cleveland, Ohio, five women and seven men were murdered by a serial killer. Of the twelve, only three were identified. Almost all were sex workers who were decapitated and dismembered.

The killer dismembered the bodies through the torso, leaving none fully intact. This granted the killer the name The Cleveland Torso Murderer or the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run.

Although dates are not exact, the probable first murder victim was an unidentified man. He was emasculated and decapitated, with his head recovered. The skin on his body was red from a chemical preservative applied to it.

The head of another victim, an unidentified man, was found wrapped in trousers in Kingsbury Run. Possible victim number six, thought to be Rose Wallace, was found decapitated and missing a rib. Authorities examined dental work to identify her, although they eventually failed to make a positive id.

More and more killings and horror stories emerged, with the murderer going so far as to rip out victims' hearts in some cases.

The final two to be discovered were left mutilated outside Public Director of Safety Elliot Ness’s residence.

Ness personally led police departments to perform a raid on the Hobo Jungle, where the victims supposedly hung out. They scoured the shacks for any signs of the killer, burning the shacks as a final solution.

The killings stopped after the raid, but Ness’s reputation was damaged by this action, and authorities decided to close the case.

While there were many suspects, ultimately, no one was held responsible for the homicides. The killer may have lived to see another day and avoid the life sentence he was due to carry out.

8. The Assassination of John F Kennedy

JFK assassination — *Photo credit:* *Wikimedia*

President John F Kennedy took a trip to Texas in the Spring of 1963, campaigning for re-election. He had won the 1960 election by a margin and needed to gain footing in the southern states to win the upcoming 1964 election.

On the day of the assassination, President Kennedy insisted on driving in an open car with no guards. He was attending a rally and wanted to be in the public eye and interact with the crowd.

Three shots were fired in Dealey Plaza as the car turned from Houston Street into Elm Street.

The first shot grazed the President’s neck, while the second was fired directly at the president’s vehicle. The third shot was the fatal one that hit him directly in the back of his head.

Witnesses reported that gunshots came from a window on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository building.

Authorities described Lee Harvey Oswald as the man responsible for the shooting. He made a run from the crime scene to retreat to his family’s home.

A few blocks away, a police officer saw the man fitting the description of Oswald and approached him. However, this resulted in the officer's death as Oswald pulled a gun on him.

Oswald was arrested shortly afterward and, in a twist of fate, received a taste of his own medicine two days later. He, too, was assassinated by a nightclub owner named Jack Ruby. Ruby claimed to kill Oswald to spare Mrs. Kennedy “the discomfiture of coming back to trial.”

The assassination of a United States President sent shockwaves around the world and left a lasting impression. Where were you when you heard about Kennedy’s assassination?

9. Attacks of 9/11

WTC Ground Zero — *Ground Zero - Photo credit:* *Wikimedia*

The September 11th suicide attacks were coordinated by the Islamic terrorist group known as Al Qaeda.

The initial incident involved two planes crashing into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. The crashes resulted in the fatalities of 2,753 flight passengers, crew, and people in the buildings.

Next to be struck was the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia. One hundred eighty-three souls lost their lives in the crash as a portion of the U.S. Headquarters of Defence was demolished.

The fourth and final plane crashed into the ground at Stonycreek Township in Pennsylvania as the flight passengers attempted to subdue the hijackers. Fatalities here amounted to 40. In all crashes, there were no survivors from the flights.

In addition to the fatalities from the air and on the ground, approximately 25,000 people were injured that day.

Osama Bin Laden never officially admitted responsibility for the attacks. However, evidence points to him being the orchestrator of the chaos, and he eventually recanted his initial statements denying any involvement.

The effects of these attacks were lasting. Besides the devastating loss of lives and long-term health consequences, there was extensive property damage in the billions. Stock markets closed, and a global economic recession ensued.

Many countries reviewed their anti-terrorism legislation and stepped-up law enforcement and intelligence reporting to prevent anything like this from happening again.

In short, these attacks changed the course of history and how the world deals with terrorist threats. The devastating image of planes flying into the buildings has been etched in the minds of so many.

10. The Murder of Sharon Tate

Last on our list of the top 10 unbelievable true crimes is the murder of Sharon Tate. Sharon Tate was an aspiring actress during the 60s who lived with her movie director husband, Roman Polanski.

Tragically, Sharon didn't get the chance to live out her promising career. On August 9, 1969, she was brutally murdered at just 26 years of age. Even more devastating was the fact she was heavily pregnant and soon due to give birth to a son.

A rental house in Los Angeles was the scene of the gruesome murders carried out by Charles Manson and his followers. On the day of the crime, Manson instructed four gang members to enter the house and kill the occupants as ‘gruesomely as possible.’

Sharon wasn’t home alone on this day. On the night of August 8, 1969, Wojciech Frykowski, Jay Sebring, Abigail Folger, and Steven Parent were visiting at the residence.

Upon entry to the yard, the cult came across and murdered 18-year-old Steven Parent, who had been about to leave the premises. After immobilizing Parent, the group moved to the house where they found the other victims. Reports show they tied them up in the living room.

During the ordeal, the crazed attackers stepped on Sebring’s face and thrust a knife into his body until he stopped breathing.

Both Frykowski and Folger managed to break free and make a run for it at some point. However, their escape attempts failed as the cult chased them down and fatally attacked them, leaving multiple stab wounds.

Pregnant Sharon pleaded for her life so that she could give birth to her unborn baby. The cult members were unmoved by her pleas and fatally stabbed her to death. They also took her blood and wrote the word ‘pig’ on the front door.

What’s even more tragic about these senseless murders was that Manson didn’t have an agenda against these five people. Manson’s reason for the attack was the home’s previous owner, Terry Melcher, a producer, denied him a recording deal.

Although the crime stunned the world, there is a certain respite knowing the perpetrators were caught and sentenced to life in prison.

Conclusion

Every crime on this list is shocking. In some cases, the circumstances are even more tragic as there wasn’t enough evidence to track down the criminals and bring them to justice. In others, we can thank the police forces and meticulous detective work for putting away the bad guys.

Perhaps it’s best to keep in mind that where there’s dark, we can also find the light. If it’s time to find something positive in your day, we recommend looking at these cute animals or amazing dog breeds on Phreeque.com.