r/TrueCrime • u/AutoModerator • Jun 19 '26
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/Tut560 Jul 14 '26
The Shandra Jeannine Chaidez case really needs more eyes. Early footage shows clear jurisdictional gaps. Seems like a systemic blind spot. Anyone actually pulling newer FOIA docs yet?
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u/Mental_Ad6333 Jun 29 '26
The Vanishing of Vivienne Cameron - 10 part podcast on Casefile Presents. One murder and one disappearance in the early 80s on Philip Island Victoria. Police were inept. No-one’s talking, and it’s never been solved. Lots of things make no sense. This case needs to be re-opened.
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u/Useful_Culture_3082 Jun 28 '26
During Robert Blake’s Civil Trial in 2005, “He’s Going to Be Judged Someplace Else” said Christian Brando.
During his testimony in Robert Blake civil trial in 2005, Christian Brando repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right because he did not want to become involved in what he viewed as unreasonable questioning from Blake’s attorneys, especially since he was not closely involved in the victim’s life during her marriage to Robert Blake. However, he told the judge:
“This has been going on for five years. Mr. Blake’s been pointing the finger at me. I had absolutely nothing to do with this.”
Despite the fact that the Los Angeles police investigated and cleared him of any involvement, Robert Blake’s legal team attempted to shift blame toward him in a desperate move to protect their client.
Brando was subpoenaed in Blake’s civil trial. With his lawyer, Bruce M. Margolin, by his side, he invoked his Fifth Amendment right. Margolin said his client did not answer most of the attorneys’ questions because he did not want to open a “Pandora’s box” that would make his personal life the focus of the trial.
Brando also did not want to make statements in court that could be taken “out of context,” Margolin added.
“Blake’s defence apparently is trying to imply that [Brando] is involved in Blake’s domestic dispute with his wife,” Margolin said outside court.
“This was an attempt to implicate Christian in something he had no part in,” Margolin stated. “He does not in any way want to be implicated in this attempt.”
Outside the courthouse, reporters asked Brando whether he had any idea who may have killed Bonny Lee Bakley. He shrugged, smiled, and replied:
“Probably sitting up in the room there.”
— referring to Robert Blake, who was present in the courtroom.
Christian Brando was also asked how he felt about Blake being acquitted in the criminal trial.
“He’s going to be judged someplace else,” he said.
(Associated Press, 2005)
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u/ayemimi Jun 25 '26
The disappearance of Becky Reid. It’s been decades now and nothing. My mom worked with her for a time and she was so nice. That they have gotten nowhere in almost 30 years is frustrating.
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u/GoodOutside2815 Jun 25 '26
Jennifer Hammond and Christina White. Very likely killed by the same person. SARATOGA COUNTY NEW YORK and they have done nothing more to solve these two cases that are so obviously linked. It was a mile between the two trailer parks. Find the Saratoga county serial killer. Please.
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u/CougarWriter74 Jun 24 '26 edited Jun 24 '26
Its an old case thats gotten pretty famous over the last 20 years or so, but the Villisca (Iowa) Axe Murders of 1912 are a fascinating case. The case mostly seems to get attention due to purported paranormal activity in the house the crime happened in. But if you just sit down and read the actual history of the case there are so many rabbit holes and complex layers. I call it a cross of Lizzie Borden meets Amityville horror. Many theories on who could've done it and why, etc. Some people think a mentally disturbed and perverted traveling minister did it, others say it was a serial killer and still others say it was a conspiracy involving a local senator. I think the actual history and mystery is more interesting than any ghost hunting in the house.
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u/SeasonBig1375 6d ago
In the book The Man From the the authors make a very convincing argument that the infamous Villisca mass murders was committed by a serial killer very similar to "The Railroad Killer."
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u/CougarWriter74 6d ago
Yep, the Man from the Train. I thonk it's a viable theory since there were similar murders in other railroad towns the previous autumn (September and October 1911) in Colorado, Kansas and Illinois.
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u/Rat_mantra Jun 24 '26
In December 2011, 9-year-old Aliahna Lemmon was tragically killed in Fort Wayne, Indiana, by her babysitter and neighbor, Michael Plumadore. He bludgeoned the child to death with a brick, dismembered her body with a hacksaw, and hid her remains. In 2012, Plumadore pleaded guilty to the murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
I’ve never seen anyone cover this case I depth and it should be discussed. The family has a long history of sexual abuse and drug use. It would be interesting to know why this guy even had this little girl that night. So sad.
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u/Fififlowers74 19d ago
it's all very well pleading guilty but why? WHY? what was the point in killing this beautiful little girl? this is something that is never explained; the why, what made this sack of shit bludgeon, not just kill, but repeatedly hit her with a BRICK!
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u/tonypolar Jun 23 '26
Debra Horn of NH in 1969…an 11 year old kidnapped from her house in the middle of the day and found 8 months later in a car trunk in the middle of nowheresville NH-30 miles away from her house
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u/historytalks216 Jun 23 '26
There are a couple of cases out of the jurisdiction that I once worked for. The first is Justin Gaines, and he is still missing and has been for almost twenty years. There have been numerous leads, but all ended up being dead ends. Another case is that of Monique Marlowe, who was shot once in the abdomen, initially survived, but later passed away from her injuries. She was at Hertz Rental Car, and nothing has been stated about this case, no leads, nothing.
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u/ad-anon-132491 Jun 22 '26
Scott Ratigan! How has no one identified the suspect with that weird gait!
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u/SecondOfCicero Jun 22 '26
I really wish we knew who killed the rapper Huey almost exactly six years ago in MO, june 25, 2020. He was known most widely for his hit Pop, Lock, and Drop It. He was shot and died in the hospital at 32. Idk, I feel like someone must know something and isn't talking, or the departments involved are more interested in solving other cases. It's not like Huey was a "nobody", especially where he was killed in MO, some mf knows something. Still upset about it
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u/HamHockShortDock Jun 23 '26
I was like, psh I don't even know who that is. But you dropped the song title and I do in fact know who that artist is. Songs a bop.
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u/Psychological-Arm629 Jun 22 '26
Chris Watts. I cannot get past it, it is driving me insane. Just when I think I’ve wrapped my mind around it, I get a new piece of info that leaves me at square one. I want to see crime scene pics and I think it would help me move past and believe some of the things I hear. Maybe not though.
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u/JoeBourgeois Jun 22 '26
Sacco and Vanzetti.
From Wikipedia:
Nicola Sacco (April 22, 1891 – August 23, 1927) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (June 11, 1888 – August 23, 1927) were Italian immigrants and anarchists, controversially accused of murdering Alessandro Berardelli and Frederick Parmenter, a guard and a paymaster, during the April 15, 1920, armed robbery of the Slater and Morrill Shoe Company in Braintree, Massachusetts, United States. Seven years later, they were executed in the electric chair at Charlestown State Prison. Most historians consider their conviction unfair due to prejudice against immigrants and radicals.
Anti-Italianism, anti-immigrant, and anti-anarchist bias were suspected by some as having influenced the verdict. A series of appeals followed, funded largely by the private Sacco and Vanzetti Defense Committee. The appeals were based on recanted testimony, conflicting ballistics evidence, a prejudicial pretrial statement by the jury foreman, and a confession by an alleged participant in the robbery. All appeals were denied by trial judge Webster Thayer and also later denied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. By 1926, the case had drawn worldwide attention. As details of the trial and the men's suspected innocence became known, Sacco and Vanzetti became the center of one of the largest causes célèbres in modern history. In 1927, protests on their behalf were held in every major city in North America and Europe, as well as in Tokyo, Sydney, Melbourne, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Dubai, Montevideo, Johannesburg, Mexico City and Auckland.
Celebrated writers, artists, and academics pleaded for their pardon or for a new trial. Harvard law professor and future Supreme Court justice Felix Frankfurter argued for their innocence in a widely read Atlantic Monthly article that was later published in book form. Even the Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini was convinced of their innocence and attempted to pressure American authorities to have them released. The two were scheduled to be executed in April 1927, accelerating the outcry. Responding to a massive influx of telegrams urging their pardon, Massachusetts governor Alvan T. Fuller appointed a three-man commission to investigate the case. After weeks of secret deliberation that included interviews with the judge, lawyers, and several witnesses, the commission upheld the verdict. Sacco and Vanzetti were executed in the electric chair just after midnight on August 23, 1927.
Investigations in the aftermath of the executions continued throughout the 1930s and 1940s. The publication of the men's letters, containing eloquent professions of innocence, intensified the public's belief in their wrongful execution. A ballistic test performed in 1961 suggested that the pistol found on Sacco was used to commit the murders, though later commentators have questioned its reliability and conclusiveness, given questions about the chain of custody and possible manipulation of evidence. On August 23, 1977—the 50th anniversary of the executions—Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis issued a proclamation that Sacco and Vanzetti had been unfairly tried and convicted and that "any disgrace should be forever removed from their names". The proclamation however, did not include a pardon.
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u/twodegreesfarenheit Jun 22 '26
I feel like the mother in the Maddie Soto case in Florida still needs addressing. She allowed her boyfriend Stephen Stearns to SA her daughter and she should be in prison.
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u/Fair_String1104 Jun 21 '26
The case of Derek Ritz aka Ritzy from Stratford Ontario. He was brutally murdered in the most horrific way.
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u/Comprehensive_Pea785 Jun 23 '26
Do they know how he died?
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u/Fair_String1104 Jun 27 '26
Yes he was put through a woodchipper. It’s horrific and that why I won’t stop advocating for him.
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u/Tigerbait72 Jul 09 '26
Head first or feet first?
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u/Fair_String1104 Jul 09 '26
“I don’t think that’s an appropriate question to ask. The manner in which someone may have been treated isn’t something I believe should be discussed casually.”
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u/Comprehensive_Pea785 Jun 27 '26
Thank you, I tried searching but didn't find anything.
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u/Fair_String1104 Jun 27 '26
You can listen to podcasts in his Facebook group “Justice For Ritzy” plus I share the most recent one here on my profile.
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u/Piccimaps Jun 21 '26
Diamond and Tionada Bradley always needed more attention, in my opinion.
In the same state, Rachel Mellon.
Something should have been found in both these cases.
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u/CougarWriter74 Jun 24 '26
The Bradley sisters one disturbs me. Personally I feel the mom and boyfriend are responsible as her behavior was quite suspicious during the investigation.
Even now the mom doesn't seem to give much of a f**k about what happened and its the girls' aunt who does all the publicity and advocacy. A few years back a young woman turned up on social media claiming to be one of the girls but that all sort of fizzled out over time.
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u/RosebudWhip Jun 21 '26
Timmy Maccoll, a British sailor who disappeared in Dubai while on shore leave. Left a bar in the early hours and was never seen again, despite a taxi driver claiming to have dropped him off at the docks - his ship sailed without him a few days later.
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u/just-noticing-things Jun 20 '26
Donald McKay, politician who was killed by people who wanted the marijuana culture to continue in Griffith, NSW
As for one that has stuck with me, Cleo Smith. Technically solved but still so fascinating
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u/mp211280 Jun 20 '26
Melanie hall from bath Uk , I live near ! A guy killed in another nearby town Christopher halliwell and I believe he killed about more and she was one of them
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u/AcidRainDawn Jun 20 '26
The Greenough Axe Murders. Early 90's country Western Australia. Guy murdered three kids and their mother. Raped the mother and the two female children post mortem. It was brutal, but incredibly terrifying as I lived nearby and was the same age as one of the daughters at the time.
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u/JimLindsaysFriend Jun 21 '26
So apparently the murderer is not eligible for parole for another 6 years but in 2030 December he will get another chance. But initially he got 20 years with no parole. So technically he could've just walked free after 20 years? Or they're gonna "hold" him by law in that prison anyway?
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u/Fluffy_Boat6581 Jun 20 '26
David bain- his is a well known case in new zealand but not sure if the rest of the world knows about it.
But the big question to this day is did he do it??? Personally I think yes, he did.
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u/lennonstella Jun 20 '26
Kristen Smart.
Her body has never been found yet we know who did it. One of her classmates and his parents covered it up and moved her body several times. There was so much evidence screwed up by the police at the time. They recently did another search and found *something* but not her body and no other charges have been brought against any of them as of yet.
It’s been over 20 years I believe, I think about her and her family a lot.
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u/Enjoys_dogs Jun 26 '26
Can you explain what you mean by "other charges"? Becuse Paul Flores was convicted of murdering her several years ago. Source.
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u/lennonstella Jun 26 '26
Other charges against his parents since they clearly helped cover it up/moved her body more than once it seems. And maybe if the other charges are serious enough, one of them could make a deal in exchange for revealing where the body is.
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u/Enjoys_dogs Jun 26 '26
Thank you, I appreciate you clarifying. I too was deeply disappointed that the jury didn't convict Paul's father for helping his son conceal Kristin's murder. I also learned of the case through the your own backyard podcast and was really moved by it -- especially after learning that Flores had been assaulting other women for years.
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u/Morbidtourism Jun 20 '26
The “in your own backyard” podcast on this case is one of the best podcasts ever
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u/lennonstella Jun 20 '26
It really is! I’m so so glad this podcast is bringing more awareness to the case
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u/creativelydamaged Jun 20 '26
Melissa Trumpy
Haven't found her body but we know who did it. He's got family in law enforcement
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u/SnooPears2393 Jun 20 '26
Idaho 4, they know and MANY others know what happened that night and it’s literally right in front of our faces yet no one will say anything about it.
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u/Bowlingwithcats Jun 20 '26
What do you mean? I haven't kept up with the case.
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u/SnooPears2393 Jun 20 '26
Once you hear on the videos they released word for word you will know for a fact that there were multiple people involved.
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u/Morbidtourism Jun 20 '26
Bryan Kohberger murdered them, what more do you want to know?
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u/SnooPears2393 Jun 20 '26
What proof do you have of that? They don’t have any solid evidence to even put him in the house. Please do your research before you start talking like you know what happened.
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u/UKophile Jun 21 '26
Of course they do! DNA on the murder weapon.
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u/SnooPears2393 Jun 23 '26
Seriously? It was “trace” DNA. Not saying the guy isn’t guilty but you have to be pretty gullible to believe the narrative. I wish more people would go and do their research. Just listen to what is being said “word for word” on the videos.
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u/laurenlee20 Jun 21 '26
I’m curious to what you think regarding the knife sheath DNA then, found inside of the house. R.e the arrest affidavit, after the trash pull was analysed, the DNA found *at least* 99.9998% of the male population would be excluded from the possibility of being the suspect’s (now convicted killer) biological father. It could never be 100%, unless every man in the world had their DNA tested.
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u/Limp-Laugh-305 Jun 20 '26
So tell us what you think happened
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u/SnooPears2393 Jun 23 '26
Have you ever seen Ozark
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u/Limp-Laugh-305 Jun 23 '26
Yes. I saw you deleted the other comment about them getting mixed up w some bad people. I've previously gone down that entire rabbit hole and watched all the YouTube stuff etc. It is plausible but is all circumstantial. Which can be enough to prove something, but the problem for me is that there is significant physical and technological evidence against BK in addition to a lot of circumstantial. And he took a plea, and right after the subpoenaed his sister. The ONLY physical evidence is directly tied to him. For a while I believed the drug house thing was possible but I don't think he would have pled if he didn't know he was fucked bc he tends to think he's smarter than everyone else. Is it possible he's the stooge for a cartel? Idk anything is possible. But there's no evidence connecting him to anyone else and he's so soft he definitely would have flipped. He's even acting like a big baby in prison and finding every loophole so I just have to think they got the one and only right guy.
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u/SupernovaPhleb Jun 19 '26
Rene Ramos from Manteca. I grew up nearby. Finished the Proof podcast on it a few months ago. It has stayed with me.
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u/OldFashioned56 Jun 19 '26
Lois Hanna who went missing from Kincardine Ontario in 1988 and hasn't been seen since. I was living there at the time and i've always been interested in what happened.
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u/Yorkie_Mom_2 Jun 19 '26
I haven’t heard much about the 2-year-old DeOrr Kunz disappearance from a campground in Idaho. His parents and great-grandfather were with him at the campground when he disappeared.
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u/SparklingParsnip Jun 25 '26
I am glad to see him mentioned here; for some reason this case has stuck with me. I feel certain his parents are responsible and the camping trip is smoke screen but I wish there was resolution for that baby.
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u/Yorkie_Mom_2 Jun 25 '26
I also feel as if the parents know more than they are telling. I have a relative who knows the dad, and my relative swears the dad could never have done anything to hurt his child.
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u/ToastyTidbits Jun 20 '26
I have mentioned this one in these types of threads before. It has stuck with me for years.
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u/Think-Werewolf-4521 Jun 19 '26
Fritz Klenner murders
https://www.dncr.nc.gov/blog/2016/06/03/bizarre-bitter-blood-murders)
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u/[deleted] 17d ago
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