Goldyne Pizer would have done anything for Joan Rabel, even murder. Photo by Dan Smedley on Unsplash On Halloween night, 1957, Los Angeles hairstylist Peter Fabiano walked down the stairs of his Valley home to greet a belated trick-or-treater. It was late, around 11 pm, and Peter had already got into bed with his wife, Betty. It was too late for children to be knocking. Nevertheless, the 35-year-old grabbed the bowl of remaining sweet treats and answered the door. A second la

The Hollywood actress’ case is still unsolved seven decades later. Jean Spangler via Wikipedia On the 7th of October 1949, Jean Spangler said goodbye to her daughter, walked out of her apartment door in Park La Brea, and vanished. This would be the last time Christine would ever see her mother alive. What followed was one of the biggest manhunts in Los Angeles history. Jean Elizabeth Spangler was born on 2nd September 1923 in Seattle, Washington, to Florence and Cecil Spangle

What should have been an easy crime to solve is now a cold case. On the 18th of April 2016, while getting ready to teach a fitness class at a local church, Terri “Missy” Bevers was murdered by an unknown assailant. Six years on, her case is still unsolved. Missy Bevers via courtjunkie.com Missy was a 45-year-old mother of three from Red Oak, Texas. She took fitness very seriously and taught her own classes. She was an active member of the community and had no known enemies. J

Dennis DePue evaded police for nearly a year before he was finally stopped, but his actions were forever engrained in the cinematic universe for entertainment. On the 15th of April 1990, Ray and Marie Thornton were driving along quiet Snow Perry Road in Coldwater, Michigan. As they drove, they played a game to pass the time. The game was to make words and phrases out of the number plates that passed them. As a green 1984 Chevrolet truck passed them at high speed, Marie won th

Viking Sally has more history than some empires. The cruise ship was built in 1979 for Rederi AB Slite, a Swedish shipping company. The vessel had ten decks and was designed with all the modern conveniences, including a swimming pool, sauna, nightclub, cinema and numerous restaurants and bars. Over a period of eight years, the vessel saw 855 deaths with its final demise in 1994, when it sank at full capacity. Two of those fatalities were murders, and one was solved in 2020, a

Dorothy Arnold vanished while shopping on Fifth Avenue, triggering a manhunt that continues to this day. Dorothy Arnold via Wikimedia Commons Born in 1885 to a wealthy goods importer, Dorothy was one of Mary and Francis’ four children. The Arnolds were considered high society and socialised with New York royalty, including the Rockefellers. Dorothy was a writer but had found it near impossible to be published in credible magazines. Her family made fun of her failure, and inst

Hazel Drew’s death remains unsolved, unlike her on-screen counterpart. In the summer of 1908, the resort town of Sand Lake in Rensselaer County, New York was busy. The usual population of around 2,000 made way for holidaymakers and the July temperature was climbing. However, the visiting families would soon be joined by reporters and investigators, when the body of a woman turned up in Teal’s Pond. Hazel Drew via Times Union courtesy of Bob Moore, Sand Lake Historian Twenty-y

Known as the ‘holy grail’ of cold cases, our victim finally has a name Facial reconstruction of the Lady of the Dunes via Wikimedia Commons The Lady of the Dunes case has puzzled local law enforcement and web sleuths across the globe for the past four decades. However, in 2015, the case was brought to the forefront of popular culture when author Joe Hill believed he saw the woman on screen. The woman was found beneath long grass by a young girl walking her dog on the 26th of

The disappearance of the young, beautiful American girl created a media sensation across the globe, but the case is still shrouded in mystery. Born on the 21st of October 1986 to Dave and Beth, Natalee spent her teenage years living in Mountain Brook, an affluent community in Birmingham, Alabama. She lived with her brother, mother and her stepfather Jug Twitty, an Alabama businessman. Natalee at high school via Oxygen Natalee was an honours student and was also a member of th

Little is known about the Chameleon, Stephen Morin, who is suspected of killing over 30 people, but hardly anyone has heard his name. Stephen Morin via Wikipedia Stephen Peter Morin was born on the 19th February 1951 in Providence, Rhode Island. He left school early, quickly developing a drug habit and a penchant for getting into trouble with the law. At 15 years old, Morin was arrested in Florida for stealing a car, for which he served a two-year sentence. In 1972, he stole

Reed Slatkin engineered one of the greatest Ponzi schemes in history, in the name of Scientology and to line his own pocket. Photo by Mackenzie Marco on Unsplash Investment guru and former minister of the Church of Scientology, Reed Slatkin, used his connections to swindle 800 clients out of nearly $600 million, and he started with those closest to him; his church group. Born in Detroit in 1949, Slatkin lost his father at a young age. His uncle took over guardianship and soon

Alcatraz Island via Wikipedia Located in the San Francisco Bay, Alcatraz Island was initially explored by Juan Manuel de Ayala in 1775, a Spaniard, who named the island Isla de los Alcatraces, meaning ‘island of the pelicans’. In the 1850s, the U.S army built a fortress to protect the San Franciscans from war, but it was never used and instead became a military prison. Finally, in 1909, the fortress was pulled down, and the new jail was built was by prisoners from the militar

In an era when doors were left unlocked, and communities were deemed safe places, Richard Chase was the most terrifying of prospects. Born on the 23rd of May 1950 in Sacramento, California, Richard Chase had an abusive childhood. His parents were disciplinarians, and Chase’s father often beat him and his younger sister. By ten years old, Chase was showing signs of the Macdonald triad; arson, cruelty to animals and bed-wetting, which is known to lead to violence in adulthood.

Many infamous criminals have spent time in the red brick building. Broadmoor Hospital via The Sun Broadmoor Hospital is the oldest high-security facility in the UK. Originally named the Broadmoor Criminal Lunatic Asylum, it was built for men and women in 1863. However, contrary to popular belief, the facility isn’t a prison, and the daily operations are very different. Instead, sessions are based around therapy rather than the usual prison practises, such as job roles. This i

Neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch severely maimed and killed the majority of his patients. Christopher Duntsch in theatre via dmagazine.com As the number of operations grew, people began to notice that Christopher Duntsch’s surgeries — even the straightforward ones — weren’t going as planned. Quadriplegia, significant blood loss, and in some cases, death didn’t stop the surgeon from entering the theatre, and it took years for someone to finally make a stand. Christopher Duntsc

The Flying Squad took on some of the worst criminals in British history, but their most notable conquest was an infamous diamond heist. In October 1919, Detective Chief Inspector Frederick Wensley called 12 detectives to his office in Scotland Yard, the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police in London. He told them that their task was to combat violent criminals currently occupying the London boroughs through surveillance and capture. They would be known as the Flying Squad.

In 1973, The Exorcist opened in cinemas. The highest-grossing film of its time, the horror movie was believed to be cursed and had problems from the beginning, including a serial killer on their payroll. The Exorcist Premiere at Leicester Square, London via StartsWednesday The set built to film the house scenes burned down when a bird flew into a fuse box, causing production issues and setting filming back significantly. Vasiliki Maliaros, who starred as Father Karra’s mother

For four months, he shackled, tortured and raped six women in the basement of his Philadelphia home. To outsiders, Gary Heidnik was the founder of the United Church of the Ministers of God and a cunning investor, but to the women in the hole under his house, he was a murderer and a cannibal. The house via allthatsinteresting.com Heidnik was born on the 22nd November 1943 and was raised in Eastlake outside of Cleveland, Ohio. His parents divorced when he was still a baby, and

Robert Hansen hunted his victims and crossed them off on a map. When the police walked into Cindy Paulson’s motel room at Big Timber, she was shaking and hysterical, trying to remove the handcuffs digging into her wrists. She’d survived an attack by a man who had paid her for sex and instead abducted her, tied her up in his home, and would have eventually killed her if she hadn’t escaped. Cindy’s quick thinking and luck helped her get away from her captor, but there were many

Would you protect the people sent to harm you? Most have heard of Stockholm Syndrome. It’s a phrase bandied around and has even been used as song titles, but what is it, and where did it begin? Snipers and police via Nobis Hotel On the 23rd of August 1973, Jan-Erik Olsson fired a submachine gun at the ceiling of Sveriges Kreditbanken and announced, “The party has just begun!” A bank employee triggered a silent alarm, and a policeman responded, but Jan shot him in the hand, a