Unsolved murders, particularly those involving entire families, evoke a unique sense of terror. This compilation explores some of historyโs most infamous unsolved cases, delving into the grim and shocking. Some cases remain open, while others have been officially closed, leaving a chilling legacy of unresolved mysteries.
Explore the list for a glimpse into the most haunting unsolved family murders.
Lin Family


In 2009, Australian news agent Min Lin, his wife, sister-in-law, and their two sons were brutally bludgeoned to death with an unidentified hammer-like object. Linโs brother-in-law, Robert Xie, was accused of sedating his wife, cutting power to the Lin residence, and carrying out the gruesome murders. Xieโs trial, initially set for September 2013, was postponed until 2014 due to ongoing DNA tests on critical evidence, following a Supreme Court ruling on July 22, 2013.
Donna and Richard Muller


Jesse McBane and Patricia Mann


De Ligonnes Family


Walker Family
Perry Smith and Richard โDickโ Hickock, convicted and hanged for the Clutter murders, were the prime suspects. The case remained unsolved despite inconclusive DNA evidence from the 2013 exhumation of the bodies due to sample degradation.


Ade Family


Robison Family
The Robison family, also known as the Good Hart murders, experienced a tragic mass killing. Richard Robison, his wife Shirley, and their four children, Ritchie, Gary, Randy, and Susan, were the victims. The upper-middle-class family from Lathrup Village, Michigan, had been vacationing at their Lake Michigan cottage near Good Hart.
The gruesome discovery was made when ladies playing bridge nearby noticed a foul smell emanating from the Robisonโs cabin. Upon investigation, they found the entire family dead for over a month, beaten, shot, and amidst overturned furniture and broken glass. Despite having a few prime suspects, the lack of substantial evidence left the murders unresolved.


Sharp Family (Keddie Murders)
The Keddie Murders, an unsolved 1981 quadruple murder in Keddie, California, involved the brutal deaths of Sue Sharp, her son Johnny, his friend Dana, and daughter Tina in cabin 28. Tina was kidnapped and found dead three years later. The crime scene, discovered by Sueโs eldest daughter Sheila, revealed inconsistencies in the stories of the two younger sons and the friend.
Despite suspicions surrounding the Smartt family and a family friend, John โBoโ Boubede, the investigation was poorly handled. Many questions remain unanswered, and no further inquiries were made. Cabin 28 was demolished in 2004, leaving the case unsolved and the town in fear.


Connie Reynosa and Jesse Rodriguez


Edward Wheeler Hall and Eleanor Reinhardt Mills
In 1922, the bodies of Reverend Edward Wheeler Hall and Eleanor Mills were found in a New Brunswick apple orchard. Mills had been repeatedly shot with her throat slashed, while Hall had a gunshot wound to the head. Explicit love letters between them were discovered on top of their bodies, indicating a potential motive related to their affair.
However, the crime scene was mishandled by the police, and no autopsies were conducted. Despite family members being named as suspects and the identification of fingerprints belonging to Hallโs brother-in-law four years later, all suspects were acquitted of any charges. The murders of Hall and Mills remain unsolved.


Mike Riemer and Diana Robertson
The crime resembled an unsolved murder from four months earlier. Authorities suspected Mike due to his abusive history. He was considered a fugitive until 2011 when a skull fragment was found near the murder scene. The question of who committed the crime remains unanswered.


Bernd Goericke and Andrea Scherpf
In 1983, Bernd Goericke and his fiancรฉe Andrea Scherpf were found shot to death on a remote road in British Columbia during their vacation to Canada. The couple, seen hitchhiking with camping gear, had their possessions never recovered, except for a pair of bloody jeans at the crime scene.
Six years later, a tip led to the arrest of Andy Rose, who was convicted in 1991 based on his former girlfriendโs testimony. After an appeal and retrial in 1994, Rose was convicted again but was exonerated and released in 2001 when DNA on the bloody jeans did not match him. To date, nearly 30 years later, the real killer of Bernd Goericke and Andrea Scherpf remains unknown.


Stanley Skridla and Mary Jane Reed
In Oregon, Illinois, on the evening of June 25, 1948, 17-year-old Mary Jane Reed and her date, 28-year-old Stanley Skridla, were last seen driving toward County Farm Road, a local loversโ lane. The next morning, Stanleyโs body was discovered on the roadside, shot multiple times, with his vehicle half a mile away. Mary Janeโs body was found four days later in a ditch, shot once in the head, with no signs of sexual assault.
A possible suspect was a married police officer allegedly having an affair with Mary Jane. Eyewitnesses reported seeing him tailing the couple on the night of the murders, but there was no evidence linking him to the crime. The case remained cold for decades until 2005 when Mary Janeโs body was exhumed. Shockingly, the skull in her casket did not belong to her but to an unidentified Asian man. Mary Janeโs actual skull has never been found, adding a bizarre twist to this unsolved mystery.


Setagaya Family
In 2000, the Miyazawa familyโMikio, Yasuko, and their two childrenโwas discovered brutally murdered in their home, with the son strangled and the others stabbed to death. Intriguingly, the killer remained in the house for up to 11 hours after the crime, using the familyโs computer, eating ice cream, before departing the next morning.
Despite the discovery of clothing, one murder weapon, and some fingerprints, no suspects have been identified. The case involved about 190,000 officers, with 40 still actively working on it. The reward for information leading to the killerโs identification increased to 10 million yen, up from the original 3 million yen in 2000.


Sun Family


Bennett Family
On January 15, 1984, Bruce Bennett tragically lost his life when a killer assaulted and sexually assaulted his 26-year-old wife, Debra, and 7-year-old daughter, Melissa. The attack also left their 3-year-old daughter, Vanessa, with a crushed jaw, causing jagged bones to puncture her windpipe. Vanessa, though severely injured, was the sole survivor. Her grandmother, Constance Bennett, discovered the tragedy when the family failed to show up for work at their furniture store.
Despite an investigation involving over 500 people being questioned, no leads were uncovered to solve the case, leaving it shrouded in mystery.


Andrew and Abby Borden
On August 4, 1892, Andrew and Abby were discovered brutally murdered in their Fall River, Massachusetts home, both brutally attacked with a hatchet. Andrew suffered 11 blows to his face, while Abby received 19 to the back of her head, resulting in their immediate deaths.
Lizzie, Andrewโs daughter and Abbyโs stepdaughter, immediately became the prime suspect due to known animosity between her and her stepmother. During the trial, suspicions intensified when Lizzie burned a dress, claiming it had paint on it, but prosecutors alleged it was bloodstained, suggesting an attempt to cover up the crime. Despite these suspicions, Lizzie was acquitted, and the case remains inconclusive. Lizzie passed away in 1927, and no other suspects were charged.


The Grimes Sisters
Barbara and Patricia Grimes, 13 and 15 years old, respectively, went missing in December 1956 after leaving their Chicago home for the movie theater. Their frozen and naked bodies were discovered on January 10, 1957, on a rural Chicago road. Despite interviewing several suspects at the time, no charges were filed.
In 2010, a retired police officer reignited interest in the case and reopened the investigation. A witness, previously too afraid to come forward, emerged, claiming to have been with the Grimes sisters the night they disappeared. However, no charges have been filed, and the case remains unresolved.


Robert Domingos and Linda Edwards
In 1963, Robert Domingos, an 18-year-old star football player at Lompoc High School, and his 17-year-old fiancรฉe, Linda Edwards, were found murdered on a remote beach in Santa Barbara County. The couple, set to graduate, had gone to sunbathe but never returned home. Their bodies were discovered the next day, with Robert shot 11 times and Linda nine. It was believed that the killer approached them on the beach, forcing Linda to bind Robertโs hands before shooting them as they attempted to flee.
The crime scene shared eerie similarities with the Zodiac Killerโs attack on Bryan Calvin Hartnell and Cecelia Ann Shepard in 1969 at Lake Berryessa. This has led to speculation that Robert and Linda could have been the Zodiac Killerโs first victims.


John Franklin Hood and Sandra Garcia
On the evening of February 21, 1970, Sandra Garcia, 20, and her fiancรฉ, John Franklin Hood, left for East Beach near Santa Barbara with a blanket and food. The couple never returned, and their bodies were discovered the next morning on the beach. John had been stabbed 11 times, and Sandra was brutally mutilated.
The murder weapon, a bone-headed fish knife, was found buried in the sand beneath their bodies. The motive for the crime remained unclear, as nothing was stolen, and Sandra was not sexually assaulted. Speculation has arisen that the murders of John Franklin Hood and Sandra Garcia might be connected to the Zodiac Killer due to the similarities in the modus operandi.


Jason Allen and Lindsay Cutshall
On August 14, 2004, Jason Allen and Lindsay Cutshall were tragically murdered while camping on Fish Head Beach in Jenner, California. The crime, reminiscent of the Zodiac Killerโs brutality, involved the couple being shot in the head with a .45-caliber rifle while they slept. Discovered four days later, there were no signs of struggle, and none of their belongings were taken, ruling out theft or sexual assault.
Despite investigations and suspicions surrounding a drifter named Joseph Henry Burgess, who was killed in a 2009 police shootout, DNA testing did not link him to the crime scene. Numerous theories, including speculation about the Zodiac Killerโs involvement, have been proposed, but the case remains unsolved.


Seymour and Arlene Tankleff


Jay Cook and Tanya Van Cuylenborg


Harry and Megan Tooze
Despite his conviction in 1995, Cheryl believed in his innocence and campaigned for his release. In 1996, the courts overturned the conviction, highlighting the lack of evidence linking Jonathan to the crime. The true killer of Harry and Megan Tooze remains unknown.


Maynard and Helen Fine


Chaunthina Mills and Dwight Ray


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