Top10 Truly Terrifying Unsolved Cases of the World

Introduction

The focus of this article is on truly terrifying unsolved cases from around the world. These are incidents that have sent shivers down the spine of people everywhere and remain mysteries to this day…

Please be prepared to be left with an unsettling feeling after reading. Proceed with caution.

This article has been translated using ChatGPT. Please be aware there may be some awkward phrasing.

Top10 Singapore　 The Quadruple Siblings Murder Case

On January 6, 1979, a brutally violent murder occurred in Singapore, a city known for its safety. Four children of a couple living in a public housing estate (HDB), where 90% of the citizens reside, were ruthlessly slain.

38-year-old Tan Kuen Chai and his 30-year-old wife, Lee Mei Ying, lived in the HDB of Geylang Bahru. They ran a school bus service together, and on this day, they left their home at the usual time of 6:35 AM. All four of their children, a 10-year-old eldest son, an 8-year-old second son, a 6-year-old third son, and a 5-year-old eldest daughter, were asleep.

At 7:10 AM, Lee phoned home to wake up the children but no one answered. Worried, she asked a neighbor to check if everything was alright. Despite ringing the bell and knocking on the door, no children appeared. When Lee returned home at 10 AM, she found her four children dead, bathed in blood, overlapping each other in the bathroom. All of them were dressed in T-shirts and trousers, with their heads savagely hacked. The eldest daughter had deep cuts on her face, and the eldest son’s right arm seemed to have been almost chopped off, presumably in self-defense. Autopsies showed that each of the children had been slashed more than 20 times.

The police concluded that it was a premeditated crime by someone who held a grudge against the family, as there were no signs of forced entry, no signs of ransacking, and nothing stolen. Lee had undergone sterilization after the birth of her eldest daughter, and during the Lunar New Year following the incident, they received a card from a sender identified as ‘the murderer’ with the message ‘No more descendants for you. Ha ha ha.’ The police expected to quickly catch the culprit and put a lot of effort into the investigation, but it proved more difficult than anticipated. In the end, they were unable to apprehend the perpetrator.

This case remains an exceptionally brutal unsolved crime, which is all the more shocking as it occurred in Singapore, a place where heinous crimes are rarely committed.

Top9　Japan　　The Setagaya Family Murder

The Setagaya Family Murder refers to the horrific incident that occurred on December 31, 2000, when the four members of the Miyazawa family, including company employee Mikio Miyazawa (44 years old at the time), were found murdered in their home in Setagaya, Tokyo.

The killings were shockingly brutal, and the killer displayed a number of abnormal behaviors, such as staying at the crime scene and eating ice cream after the incident. Many clues, including the murderer’s fingerprints, were left at the scene, but even more than 20 years after the incident, the case remains unsolved.

The incident came to light after 10 AM on the 31st, when relatives living next to the Miyazawa’s house discovered the gruesome scene after finding it suspicious that no one was answering the phone.

According to an investigation by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, Mr. Miyazawa was found at the bottom of the stairs on the first floor, while his wife, Yasuko, and their second-grade elementary school daughter, Niina (8 years old at the time), were found bloody and collapsed on the staircase landing leading to the second floor, with multiple stab wounds on their necks and faces. Rei, a kindergartener (6 years old), was found strangled to death in the children’s room on the mezzanine floor.

Two knives believed to have been used in the stabbings were found in the kitchen, still covered in blood. One of them was bent at the tip, while the other had a broken blade.

The perpetrator’s methods of killing were extremely cruel, stabbing Mr. Miyazawa repeatedly with the blade. His actions after the incident were equally strange. The perpetrator had eaten four cupped ice creams found in the refrigerator, not with a spoon, but biting directly into the cups. It was also discovered that the perpetrator had used Mr. Miyazawa’s computer and had used the toilet.

Work documents of Mr. Miyazawa found on the first floor, and documents of the cram school run by Yasuko were cut up with scissors and thrown into a bathtub filled with water on the mezzanine floor.

It is believed that the cash in the house was stolen, but no troubles that could have led to the murder of the entire family, including the children, have surfaced. Whether the motive was monetary, or if there was a grudge against the family, is unknown. Why the four were targeted remains a mystery.

Top8　　Finland 　　The Lake Bodom Murders

The Lake Bodom Murders are considered the most horrifying unsolved case in Finnish history.

On June 5, 1960, two 15-year-old girls, Maila Irmeli Björklund and Anja Tuulikki Mäki, and two 18-year-old boys, Seppo Antero Boisman and Nils Wilhelm Gustafsson, decided to camp for the night on a small peninsula south of Lake Bodom.

The next morning at 6 AM, a father and son fishing nearby passed by the tent. The father instinctively shielded his son’s eyes from the horrific scene. The collapsed tent was soaked in blood, and several motionless bodies lay piled up unnaturally.

Maila, Anja, and Seppo had died from dozens of stab wounds and blows from a blunt object strong enough to shatter their jawbones. The assault on Maila was particularly violent, with her lower body left exposed. Nils Gustafsson, however, was still breathing amidst the carnage.

Nils, who was rushed to the hospital, had also suffered severe injuries. His jaw was broken, and his cheek was cut so deeply that his teeth were visible through the wound. Additionally, due to the shocking nature of the incident, his memory of the event was almost completely lost.

According to Maila’s diary left in the tent, everyone was awake until 2 AM, and the two boys had been drinking alcohol and were drunk. The murders probably occurred between 4 and 6 AM. The four likely were asleep, and the perpetrator first cut the tent ropes, causing the tent to collapse on the campers. It is believed the assailant then stabbed them through the collapsed tent. Anja and Seppo’s bodies were found inside the tent.

There were several suspects, but no conclusive evidence was found, and the case remains unsolved to this day.

Top7　South Korea　　　The Hwaseong Serial Murders

The Hwaseong Serial Murders shocked not only South Korea but the entire Asian continent due to their unprecedented brutality. The crime spree occurred in the rural areas around Hwaseong County (now Hwaseong City) in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea, from 1986 to 1991. Within a 2-kilometer radius of Taean Village in Hwaseong County, ten women became victims.

Despite the murder of ten women over five years and various witness testimonies and evidence found, no definitive image of the perpetrator emerged. This became the deep mystery surrounding this case.”

The Hwaseong Serial Murders were a significant case that had a large impact on South Korean society and law enforcement. The police received criticism for their handling of the case, and it resulted in changes to how they approached similar cases in the future. The case remained unsolved until 2019, when Lee Chun-jae, a man already serving a life sentence for another crime, confessed to the murders. His confession was widely covered in the news, although he could not be prosecuted due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.

First Victim: The first victim was a 71-year-old woman, believed to have been attacked in the early morning of September 1986, while returning home from her daughter’s house. Her body was found in a field, with her lower half exposed and her legs crossed and tied to her stomach.

Second Victim: Just one month after the first victim, the body of a 25-year-old woman was discovered. She was believed to have been killed on her way home from a matchmaking meeting. Her body was found in a water channel, fully undressed and with several stab wounds. The immediate cause of death was determined to be asphyxiation from strangulation. Hair believed to be the killer’s was found at the scene, four of six strands matching blood type B, which was also identified from the belongings left at the scene.

Third Victim: Despite the identification of the killer’s blood type, a third victim was found. After dining with her husband, a 24-year-old woman disappeared on her way home alone. Four months later, her body was found decomposed near her home. Underwear covered her head and face, and a girdle and a stocking were stuffed in her mouth. It was presumed she was strangled with the stocking wrapped around her neck.

Fourth Victim: The fourth victim was a 23-year-old woman whose body was found decomposed. She had been killed on her way home. She was killed by being stabbed several times in the genital area with her own umbrella. Her hands were tied behind her back with her blouse, and a girdle was placed over her head, while a stocking was wrapped around her neck.

Fifth Victim: The fifth victim was an 18-year-old girl who disappeared after parting with her friends on the way home from school. She was strangled with a scarf and killed, with her death being determined to have occurred the day after she went missing. She was found with her hands bound behind her back and a sock stuffed into her mouth. Her clothing showed signs of having been removed and put back on. B-type blood and bodily fluids believed to be from the killer were found at the autopsy.

Sixth Victim: The sixth victim was a 30-year-old woman who was believed to have been killed while on her way to meet her husband at the entrance of the village. After waiting for her and realizing she wasn’t coming, the husband filed a missing persons report. Her body was found under a pine tree branch, strangled with a bra, her blouse, and her upper body exposed. Footprints believed to be from the killer’s sneakers were discovered at the scene.

Seventh Victim: The seventh victim was a 19-year-old girl who disappeared on Christmas Eve and was found strangled on January 14. The method of killing was the same as previous victims, linking her to the serial murders.

Eighth Victim: The eighth victim was a 54-year-old housewife who disappeared while returning home after helping out at her son’s restaurant. She was found dead by a water channel with her hands tied behind her with her clothing. Socks and a handkerchief were stuffed into her mouth, and she was strangled with a ribbon. Pieces of peach were found in her genital area. A person believed to be the killer was spotted by a bus driver.

Ninth Victim: The ninth victim was a 14-year-old girl who was killed on her way home from school. Her hands and feet were tied behind her back with stockings in a bow-like position. Pen, fork, and spoon, believed to be the victim’s, were found in her genital area. Her body was discovered in a horrific state, with about 20 shallow wounds on her breasts and a bra stuffed in her mouth. White hair and bodily fluids believed to be from the killer were also found.

Tenth Victim: The tenth and final victim was a 69-year-old woman who was killed while returning home from her eldest daughter’s house. Her upper body was naked, and socks were inserted into her genital area.

There were many similarities between the victims and crime scenes: all victims were females without significant issues or connections to each other. The scenes were in fields, agricultural water channels, or in the mountains, and the crimes occurred on rainy or overcast days. The method of killing was often the same, using victims’ possessions to stab the genital area or to strangle. The victims’ clothes were often neatly folded, and there was a lack of physical evidence left behind.

Despite several suspects, the killer was never caught, and the statute of limitations for all crimes was reached in 2006, leaving the case unresolved.

Top6　　Italy　　The Monster of Florence

refers to a series of murders that took place from September 14, 1974, to September 8, 1985, in and around the city of Florence, Italy. There were at least 14 victims, most of them couples, except for one pair.

This case has been under investigation for over 40 years, and is known as one of the most baffling in the annals of criminology. The Italian government, in response to the case, sought help from detectives, criminologists, psychologists, and sociologists from around the world. However, the real perpetrator was never identified, leaving the case unsolved even after more than four decades.

The first murder traces back to August 21, 1968, where a man and a woman were found shot to death in a car near a cemetery on the outskirts of Florence. A woman’s child was also in the car, but was unharmed because they were sound asleep. The husband, the child’s father, was considered a suspect and sentenced to 13 years in prison in March 1970. Later, however, it turned out to be a miscarriage of justice.

On September 14, 1974, another couple was found shot dead in a car near a vineyard on the outskirts of Florence. Both victims were found naked, and the woman had been stabbed 96 times. Furthermore, a grapevine was inserted into her genitals. At this point, no one had yet linked this incident with the one from 1968.

Then, on June 6, 1981, a third pair of victims emerged. Again, they were shot in a car, the woman being stabbed multiple times and having her genitals mutilated. The similarities with the previous two incidents were obvious, but still, no one considered it a serial murder case at this point. A peeping tom was arrested as a suspect, but the next victims appeared while he was still in custody.

On October 22 of the same year, a man and a woman were found shot to death in a car near Bartolini. It was at this point that the police finally began to consider the possibility of a serial killer. A ballistics examination revealed that all four incidents were carried out with the same .22 caliber Beretta. Even then, the man who had been convicted for the 1968 incident wasn’t released. The police speculated that there might be an accomplice. Another man was arrested under this assumption, but he was soon proven to be innocent as another couple fell victim to the same Beretta on June 19, 1982.

On September 9, 1983, a gay couple was shot and killed. It seems they were mistaken for a male-female couple because one of them had long hair. The police still persisted in their theory of an accomplice’s involvement and arrested several more people. But the killings continued as if mocking their efforts, with another couple falling victim on July 29, 1984.

Finally, on September 8, 1985, the last known crime occurred. The perpetrator sent the female victim’s severed genitals to the prosecutor as a parting gesture, and then vanished.

Despite repeated attempts, the police were unable to capture the true perpetrator. All of their arrests turned out to be mistakes, and the real culprit remained at large. The case remains unsolved, and the truth is still elusive even after more than 40 years.

Top5　Germany 　　The Hinterkaifeck Case

The Hinterkaifeck case is a gruesome crime that took place in 1922, shortly after the end of World War I, at a farm called Hinterkaifeck in southern Bavaria, Germany. A family of five and a maid were brutally murdered by an unidentified assailant.

Even as of September 2020, the truth of the case and the identity of the perpetrator remain unknown. It is called “the most mysterious case in German history” and is counted alongside the Jack the Ripper case as one of the most famous unsolved cases in the world.

The incident occurred in 1922. There was a secluded farm called Hinterkaifeck near the village of Gröbern, 70 km north of Munich.

Living at Hinterkaifeck were the farm owner Andreas Gruber (64), his wife Cäzilia Gruber (72), their widowed daughter Victoria Gabriel (35), Victoria’s daughter Cäzilia (7) and son Josef (2), a family of five. Andreas, the farm owner, was stingy, quirky, and unfriendly, and the family was shunned by the villagers around them.

Victoria’s husband had died in World War I, but she had since been dating her neighbor Lorenz Schlittenbauer, who had recognized Josef as his son and was planning to marry Victoria.

However, Victoria’s father Andreas had forbidden the two from dating, ending their love affair.

One day in March 1922, farm owner Andreas Gruber discovered suspicious footprints in the snow leading to his farm. In addition, unusual events such as a newspaper that they usually did not see being dropped at the farm, the key to the front door disappearing, and footsteps heard in the attic at night continued. However, no one was found inside the building.

Andreas had told his neighbors about this, but for some reason, he did not report it to the police. Also, it is known that on the night of March 30 to 31, the day before the incident, there was a severe argument between Victoria and her father, and she fled into the woods and was brought back.

Two days later, on April 1, 1922, Cäzilia (7 years old) did not appear at school. On April 2, the entire family did not attend the regular Sunday church service. However, smoke was coming out of the chimney of the Hinterkaifeck farm, so it was thought there was no problem. But on April 4, when the Gruber family was still not seen, the neighbors became worried and went to check on Hinterkaifeck. Among them was Victoria’s former lover, Lorenz Schlittenbauer.

What they saw was a sight they would never forget in their lives. In the barn, the bodies of the Gruber couple, Victoria, and Cäzilia, and inside the house, the bodies of young Josef and the maid Maria Baumgartner were discovered. The six victims, the Gruber family and the maid, had been brutally murdered with heavy blows to the head.

What’s particularly puzzling and frightening is that although the crime was committed from the night of March 31 to the early morning of April 1, someone was milking the cows, feeding and watering them, and burning a fire in the fireplace on the morning of April 4.

In addition, all the bread in the house had been eaten, and there were traces of freshly cut meat being eaten. In other words, the perpetrator was living in the building for several days after the crime. Also, the attic had straw spread on the floorboards to muffle footsteps, suggesting that someone had been lurking there before the crime.

Top4　　Portugal　　The Ghost Ship, Mary Celeste

On December 5, 1872, in the North Atlantic between the Azores and Portugal, the Dei Gratia, which was crossing the Atlantic on its way to Gibraltar from the port of New York, spotted a ship behaving oddly. When the Dei Gratia signaled the ship, the Mary Celeste, there was no response. The crew members who boarded the Mary Celeste for rescue found the ship completely deserted.

• What happened to the unmanned sailing ship? Despite being unmanned, there were half-eaten meals and remnants of smoked tobacco on the ship, and the crew’s clothes and personal belongings were left untouched, giving the impression that people had just been there. Checking the ship’s log, they found no entries after November 25, revealing that the Mary Celeste had been adrift for about nine days. Despite the ship’s hull being undamaged and there being plenty of food and water, it was deserted. Regardless, the Dei Gratia towed the Mary Celeste to the port of Gibraltar, where this mysterious event was taken to the Admiralty Court for a thorough investigation.
• The captain, his wife and daughter, and seven crew members are missing The Mary Celeste was originally a ship built in 1860 named the Amazon. However, due to repeated accidents and stranding, it underwent significant repairs and was newly renamed the Mary Celeste before setting sail from New York to Italy. The cargo was only raw alcohol, and in addition to Captain Briggs and seven crew members, the captain’s wife and three-year-old daughter were also on board. Less than a month later, it had become a ghost ship. Upon investigation, it was discovered that lifeboats, navigation instruments, and measuring tools that should have been in the captain’s cabin were missing. There was a fresh scratch on the side of the ship, and two hatches of the cargo had been torn off. One of the barrels of raw alcohol was broken, and its contents had leaked. However, the whereabouts of the crew and the reason why the ship was deserted remained a mystery.
• Various speculations about why the crew disappeared There were various theories about the cause. They panicked in a sea tornado, or they became delirious due to food poisoning and decided to evacuate. The crew started a rebellion, and a massacre occurred on board, leaving no survivors. The captain of the Dei Gratia killed everyone for the sake of salvage money. The two captains conspired to stage a play for salvage money. They encountered a ship loaded with gold bullion, and everyone transferred to it, concealing their presence. There was even an unusual theory that a giant squid sucked everyone out through the ship’s portholes. However, none of them were conclusive, and in 1873 the Admiralty Court acknowledged that the reason why the Mary Celeste was abandoned at sea was unknown, and no crew members, including the captain, were ever found.
• Where did the lifeboat disappear? Currently, the main theory about the mystery of the Mary Celeste focuses on the broken barrel of raw alcohol. At the time, some suggested that the crew had opened the alcohol and got drunk, causing the incident. However, any sailor, no matter how much they like to drink, knows that even a sip of raw alcohol would cause severe stomach pain and even blindness, so they wouldn’t touch it. Looking at the ship’s log, it was noted that there was a severe squall on the night of the 24th, but by morning the wind had completely stopped. The temperature difference between New York and the middle of the Atlantic, combined with the severe shaking from the squall, could have caused gas to be generated in large quantities in the barrel, causing an explosion and blowing off the hatch. Although this itself isn’t particularly dangerous, those who didn’t know this might have panicked and transferred to the lifeboat. Furthermore, because they didn’t tie the cable, the Mary Celeste was blown away by the rising strong wind, leaving the lifeboat behind. The fate of those who ended up adrift in the middle of the Atlantic can only be guessed at. Afterwards, the Mary Celeste was referred to as the “cursed ship”, and passed from owner to owner. However, it was said that those involved did not profit but committed suicide, had accidents, or went mad. Eventually, it was stranded again in the West Indies, left alone and decayed.

Top3 　England　　　Jack the Ripper

Jack the Ripper refers to a nickname given to an unidentified perpetrator of a series of heinous murders that occurred in London in 1888. Even today, the identity of the murderer remains unknown, making it one of the most famous unsolved cases in world history.

The crimes, primarily targeting prostitutes, were marked by the killer’s brutal and grotesque manner of dismembering the victims’ bodies and removing their organs. The killer also sent confessional letters to the newspapers, creating a pattern of extraordinary and theatrical criminal behavior. It is rumored that these crimes were the original “theatrical crimes”.

The Jack the Ripper case began on August 31, 1888, with the murder of a 42-year-old woman named Mary Ann Nichols. She was found with her throat and abdomen slit, with the wound to her throat so severe it appeared to have been cut twice, deeply, from both sides.

The next crime took place on September 8. A 47-year-old woman, Annie Chapman, was killed and her body left with her uterus and bladder removed. During the same period, a series of murders known as the “Whitechapel Murders” were occurring in London, and the city suddenly found itself in the grip of a serial killer’s terror.

On September 30, the bodies of Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes were discovered. It was revealed that Elizabeth had been killed only a few minutes before she was found, and a man suspected to be the killer had been seen nearby.

The last crime attributed with certainty to Jack the Ripper occurred on November 9. The victim, Mary Jane Kelly, was found in a horrific state, with her entire body, including her internal organs, brutally mutilated.

After that, no crimes definitively attributed to Jack the Ripper occurred, and the Whitechapel Murders, thought to be committed by the same individual, also ceased after February 1891.

Thus, the crimes of Jack the Ripper, with their unknown motives and even the gender of the perpetrator remaining a mystery, became an unresolved case.

Top2　The United States of America (USA)　　The Zodiac Murders

The Zodiac killings are a series of unsolved serial murders that occurred in California, USA, from the late 1960s to the early 1970s.

Between 1968 and 1970, five people were officially murdered, and two survived their attacks, but the Zodiac himself claimed 37 victims. He announced murders ahead of time and detailed past killings through letters and cipher texts sent to newspapers. Some of these letters remain undeciphered to this day.

In the winter of 1968, in Benicia, California, as night fell, lovers were spending their time leisurely in a car at the “Lovers’ Lane,” a safe haven for lovers late at night. But their tranquility was shattered in an instant. A shadow blocking the overhead light appeared, and the sound of knocking on the car window echoed.

That night, David Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen had their lives brutally taken by an unknown, violent entity — who would later name himself the “Zodiac.”

In 1969, at Lake Berryessa, a love nest by the lake, lovers Brian Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard were struck by a fatal blow. Suddenly, a deadly weapon was thrust at them. Hartnell was stabbed multiple times in the chest, and Shepard was attacked 18 times. Somehow both managed to remain conscious, but the horrifying figure of the attacker imprinted a deep fear in their hearts. The attacker was clad in black, wearing a mask covering up to his head. The design on the mask was the Zodiac sign, a symbol in astrology, which became his signature.

This notorious man called himself the “Zodiac,” and sent a series of letters to newspapers boasting about his crimes. His letters described the crime scenes in astonishing detail, and some of them were accompanied by ciphers that have yet to be decoded. His letters were all written in the same handwriting and boasted of his crimes in a consistent tone. As for the reasons behind his crimes, he spoke in words that revealed a twisted belief: his victims would serve him in the afterlife.

As he declared that he would continue to increase the number of his victims, the police and the public were unable to escape this terror. His identity remains unknown, and the terrifying shadow of this serial killer left deep traces in the hearts of lovers, people walking at night, and people all over the world.

The existence and crimes of this man calling himself the Zodiac are still talked about among people. His ciphers remain undeciphered, and his true identity remains shrouded in mystery. His existence has left a legacy of fear and puzzling questions in the world.

To this day, the quiet landscapes of California where his crimes occurred still bear traces of that time. Once tranquil places have become reminders of past terror, and the land itself, a witness to those events, continues to speak of the terror of the Zodiac to people.

The Zodiac case, which shocked the state of California, USA, is one of the most shocking and terrifying incidents in criminal history, past and present. The existence of the perpetrator and his messages through letters have left deep questions and fears in people’s minds. His identity, motives, and the ciphers he left behind remain unsolved, continuing to linger in people’s memories as one of the world’s most famous unsolved cases.

Top1　the Soviet Union (now Russia)The Dyatlov PasIncident

The Dyatlov Pass incident, an unresolved mystery that took place in 1959 in the Ural Mountains of the Soviet Union (now Russia), claimed the lives of 9 ski hikers. This event is generally known as the Dyatlov Group.

The journey that began in January of 1959 was organized by ten young individuals from the Ural Federal University. The objective was an adventurous ski hike across the northern part of the Ural Mountains. Igor Dyatlov was the group leader, and it’s in his name that the group is recognized, due to his unfortunate demise during this tragic event.

For the initial several days, the group progressed smoothly in their journey. However, on February 1st, they lost their route due to harsh weather and set up their tent on Dyatlov Pass. What occurred that night is still unclear, but by the following morning, they had all tragically lost their lives.

On February 26th, a search party discovered their tent. The tent had been slashed open from the inside, with all their equipment and clothing left intact. This indicated that in the face of something terrifying, they seemed to have fled without taking any essentials with them.

Even more frightening, their bodies were found scattered over a large area, some with bizarre internal injuries, but with little external harm. Additionally, there was evidence that some of the bodies had been exposed to radiation.

These strange and frightening facts have spawned various conjectures and theories for decades, as no rational explanation yet exists to explain these facts. Ghosts, aliens, secret military experiments, or even unknown natural phenomena have all been proposed.

However, no satisfactory answer has been found to date. Therefore, the Dyatlov Pass incident is still considered one of the most enigmatic unresolved cases.

In conclusion

Unsolved mysteries not only stimulate our interest and curiosity but also awaken the human instinct to seek the truth. The enigmas of these events await the emergence of new theories and speculations that may eventually lead to their resolution. The unresolved aspects serve as a challenge for us and a reason to continue the pursuit of truth. Unsolved mysteries will remain etched in the collective memory of humanity as part of history, carried forward to future generations of seekers.