Case Files
Every case carries its status. Filter by where the investigation stands today.
Tamám Shud: How DNA Finally Named the Somerton Man
A dead man on an Australian beach, a torn scrap of Persian poetry hidden in his pocket, and a code no one has broken. It took 74 years and a strand of hair to give him back his name.
Flight 305: The Man Who Jumped Into the Night
A polite man in a dark suit hijacked a passenger jet, collected $200,000 and jumped into a storm. He was never seen again.
The Woman in Isdal Valley: Many Aliases, No Name
She checked into hotels across Europe under false names, then died on a Norwegian hillside. Half a century later, no one knows who she was.
Hinterkaifeck: Six Dead on a Bavarian Farm
Footprints in the snow led to the farm but not away. Days later, the whole household was dead.
A Body in Leimert Park: The Murder of Elizabeth Short
Before newspapers called her "the Black Dahlia", she was a 22-year-old from Massachusetts who wanted a life in California.
51 Years to Crack: The Zodiac’s 340 Cipher
Three amateur codebreakers solved it in 2020. The killer's name was not in it.
Eight Dead in Villisca: The 1912 Axe Murders
Two adults and six children were killed in one night in a small Iowa town.
A Family Tree Caught Him: The Golden State Killer
How a public DNA database ended a 40-year manhunt in April 2018.
Documentaries
Every film comes with a written case file, so you can read it or watch it. All films →
Crime News
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10-Minute Reads
One case, start to finish, in one sitting
Case of the Week
Follow a case step by step on its timeline.
Flight 305: The Man Who Jumped Into the Night
Flight 305 leaves Portland. A man in a dark suit hands a flight attendant a note: he has a bomb.
At Seattle-Tacoma he swaps the passengers for $200,000 and four parachutes.
Somewhere over southwest Washington, he jumps from the rear stairs into the rain.
An 8-year-old finds $5,800 of the ransom buried at Tena Bar on the Columbia River.
The FBI ends its active investigation. The case is still officially open.
History's Strangest Crimes
Old cases, odd details, and the myths that grew around them. More →
Hinterkaifeck: Six Dead on a Bavarian Farm
Footprints in the snow led to the farm but not away. Days later, the whole household was dead.
Eight Dead in Villisca: The 1912 Axe Murders
Two adults and six children were killed in one night in a small Iowa town.
Lizzie Borden: Acquitted, but Never Free
Her father and stepmother were killed in their home in 1892. A jury cleared her in about an hour and a half.
Missing & Unidentified
Help Solve a Case
Thousands of people are still missing or unnamed. Every month we feature open cases and point readers to the official databases where tips matter.
- NamUs, the US national missing and unidentified persons system
- The Doe Network, volunteer case listings worldwide
The Sunday Case File
One full case in your inbox each week, plus the news you missed and our newest documentary.