What do JonBenet Ramsey, Tupac, and the Black Dahlia have in common? Their brutal, gruesome murders were never solved.
This list of the most famous unsolved murders includes some of the most high-profile unsolved murder cases in the world. Many are familiar to anyone who reads the news, but others may surprise you. Did you know Lizzie Borden was never convicted of killing her parents? In fact, their murders remain technically a mystery.
These famous unsolved cases are ordered by rank and can be copied or reordered to make your very own list of the most famous unsolved murder cases in history. We may not know who carried out these terrible crimes, but we’ve got enough conspiracy theories to last a lifetime. Perhaps a few American serial killers are involved…
Famous Murders That Remain Unsolved,
Amber Hagerman
Despite the fact that a neighbor witnessed the abduction of nine-year-old Amber Hagerman, the case has never been solved. Amber had been riding her bike up and down her block when someone in a dark pick up truck grabber her. Four days later, her body was found. She had been sexually assaulted.
Amber's death was the impetus for the Amber Alert, which helps the police, the media, and public work together to find missing children.
Barbara Colby
Colby, an actress most famous for her role on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, was murdered in a Venice, CA parking lot after teaching an acting class. She and her friend James Kiernan were talking near their cars when two men approached them and fired a gun. Both Kiernan and Colby were killed, although Kiernan managed to live long enough to give police details about the crime. Despite that, the killers were never found.
Big L
Twenty four-year-old hip hop prodigy Big L was murdered in a drive-by shooting on a Harlem block he famously called, "the Danger Zone." Gerard Woodley, 29, was charged with the murder, but was later released because of insufficient evidence.
Black Dahlia
"The Black Dahlia" is a name given to 22-year-old Elizabeth Short, a Los Angeles women who was gruesomely murdered and dismembered in 1947. Her body was found cut in half, drained of blood, and slashed multiple times.
Newspaper reports soon scandalized the case, claiming that Short was an "adventuress" who wandered the streets of LA in a tight skirt and sheer blouse.
Bob Crane
Famous for his roles on Hogan's Heroes and The Bob Crane Show, Crane was found bludgeoned to death in his Scottsdale apartment while on tour for his play Beginner's Luck in June 1978.
Jill Dando
Jill Dando was a presenter on the BBC show Crimewatch when she was fatally shot outside of her London home in 1999. Barry George was charged with and convicted of her murder, but was later acquitted on appeal.
JonBenét Ramsey
Six-year-old pageant winner JonBenét became the subject of a nationwide media craze when she was found dead in the basement of her Boulder, CO home in 1996. Many suspected her parents, but DNA evidence exonerated the couple and JonBenét's older brother in 2008.
The Notorious B.I.G.
Christopher George Latore Wallace, better known as The Notorious B.I.G. or Biggie Smalls, was killed in a drive by shooting in Los Angeles in 1997.
Tupac Shakur
Perhaps the most famous unsolved murder in recent history, rapper Tupac Shakur's death is still a mystery. The "most influential rapper of all time" was shot and killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1996. He was taken to a local hospital where he died six days later. To this day, some claim that he is still alive and in hiding.
Andrew and Abby Borden
The parents of infamous axe murderer Lizzie Borden were hacked to death in their Massachusetts home in 1927. However, Lizzie was acquitted of both murders, and they remain, technically, unsolved.