Original Case Files

Explore original Bloody Likely case files built from cited sources, timelines, public records, archival reporting, and documented facts.

Original Bloody Likely Research & Synthesis

Image for Crazy Eddie
Original Bloody Likely Case File

Crazy Eddie

A consumer-electronics chain founded in Brooklyn became the center of a large accounting and securities fraud scheme involving skimming cash, underreporting income, overstating inventory and inflating profits to the public markets. The company went public in 1984 and by the mid-1980s regulators and investors began uncovering material misstatements; federal investigators opened probes in 1987 and the company entered bankruptcy and liquidation in 1989. Founder Eddie Antar fled to Israel in 1990, was returned to the U.S. in 1993, ultimately pleaded guilty in 1996 and was sentenced in 1997; civil recovery efforts extended into the 2010s.

New York City

5 sources cited
Updated June 27, 2026
New York City, NY
0 victims · Solved
Image for Balloonfest '86
Original Bloody Likely Narrative Synthesis

Balloonfest '86

On September 27, 1986, United Way of Cleveland coordinated Balloonfest '86, releasing nearly 1.5 million helium balloons from Public Square in downtown Cleveland. The balloons were carried into a cool front and descended while still inflated, disrupting traffic, closing a runway at Burke Lakefront Airport, contaminating waterways and shorelines, and interfering with a Coast Guard search for two missing fishermen whose bodies later washed ashore. Organizers faced multiple lawsuits and the fundraiser suffered a net financial loss; settlements were reached in at least two suits and Guinness recognized the release as a world record in its 1988 edition.

Cleveland

4 sources cited
Updated June 27, 2026
Cleveland, Ohio
2 victims · closed
Image for Killing of JonBenét Ramsey
Original Bloody Likely Case File

Killing of JonBenét Ramsey

On the night of December 25, 1996, six-year-old JonBenét Patricia Ramsey was reported missing from her family home in Boulder and her body was found in the home's basement on December 26, 1996; the death was ruled a homicide by asphyxia by strangulation associated with craniocerebral trauma. The initial investigation focused on the Ramsey family after a lengthy handwritten ransom note was found and numerous procedural errors and scene contamination occurred in the early hours. Subsequent forensic testing (2003) identified trace male DNA on JonBenét's clothing that excluded the Ramseys, and later district attorneys reached differing public conclusions about the family's status, while Boulder Police continue to treat the case as an open homicide. Key physical evidence includes the ransom note, the nylon-cord-and-paintbrush garrote, skull fracture/craniocerebral trauma, and unidentified male DNA recovered from JonBenét's clothing.

Boulder, Colorado

6 sources cited
Updated June 27, 2026
Boulder, Colorado, US
1 victims · unsolved
Image for Gypsy-Rose Blanchard
Original Bloody Likely Case File

Gypsy-Rose Blanchard

In June 2015, Clauddine "Dee Dee" Blanchard was found stabbed to death in her Springfield, Missouri home. Her daughter, Gypsy-Rose Blanchard, and Gypsy's online boyfriend, Nicholas Godejohn, fled Missouri and were arrested days later after social-media activity and neighbor tips led investigators to them. Gypsy-Rose pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and received a ten-year sentence; Godejohn was convicted of first-degree murder and given life without parole. The case drew national attention after revelations that Dee Dee had falsified and inflicted illnesses on Gypsy-Rose, a pattern described as Munchausen by proxy, and key evidence included online communications, surveillance footage, and the traced IP address from Facebook posts.

Springfield, Missouri

6 sources cited
Updated June 27, 2026
Springfield, Missouri
1 victims · Solved
Image for Watts Family Murders
Original Bloody Likely Narrative Synthesis

Watts Family Murders

On August 13, 2018, in Frederick, Colorado, Christopher Lee Watts murdered his pregnant wife Shanann by strangulation and their two daughters, Bella and Celeste, by suffocation. He concealed Shanann in a shallow grave near an Anadarko Petroleum oil site and placed the girls' bodies inside separate crude-oil storage tanks. Watts initially denied involvement but confessed on August 15 and led investigators to the bodies; forensic and surveillance evidence contradicted his early statements. He pleaded guilty on November 6, 2018, and is serving multiple life sentences without parole.

Frederick, Colorado

5 sources cited
Updated June 27, 2026
Frederick, Colorado, U.S.
4 victims · Solved
Image for 2017 Eaton Township Weis Markets Shooting
Original Bloody Likely Narrative Synthesis

2017 Eaton Township Weis Markets Shooting

On June 8, 2017, at the Weis Markets in Eaton Township, Pennsylvania, 24-year-old employee Randy Robert Stair fatally shot three coworkers before killing himself. Stair arrived for his late-night shift the evening of June 7, blocked emergency exits, retrieved two pistol-grip Mossberg 12-gauge shotguns from his car, re-entered the store and executed the attack, firing 59 rounds. Investigators recovered extensive online postings, videos and files documenting his planning and motive, and seized physical evidence from his residence. The perpetrator is deceased and therefore the case remains unsolved in the criminal-justice sense (no perpetrator conviction).

Eaton Township, PA

5 sources cited
Updated June 27, 2026
Eaton Township, Pennsylvania, U.S.
3 victims · unsolved
Image for James Holmes (Mass Murderer)
Original Bloody Likely Narrative Synthesis

James Holmes (Mass Murderer)

On July 20, 2012, James Eagan Holmes entered the Century 16 movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, and set off gas canisters before opening fire, killing 12 people and wounding 70 others. Holmes was arrested nearby moments after the attack; police later found explosives booby-trapped in his apartment. He was charged with multiple counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder and explosives possession, entered a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity, was tried in 2015, found guilty, and sentenced to 12 consecutive life terms plus additional years. Key physical evidence included the weapons recovered at the scene and in his car, a notebook mailed to his psychiatrist detailing plans, and videos/audio from the theater and 9-1-1 calls.

Aurora, Colorado

3 sources cited
Updated June 27, 2026
Aurora, Colorado
82 victims · Solved
Image for Balloon Boy Hoax
Original Bloody Likely Narrative Synthesis

Balloon Boy Hoax

On October 15, 2009 a homemade helium-filled balloon launched from Fort Collins, Colorado and drifted for about 90 minutes while national guard and local air units tracked it. The Heene parents reported their six-year-old son Falcon was inside; when the balloon landed Falcon was not inside and was later found hiding in the attic of the family home. Larimer County investigators concluded the incident was staged as a publicity stunt, the parents pleaded guilty to hoax-related charges and received jail sentences and restitution; the convictions were later pardoned by the Colorado governor in 2020.

Colorado

4 sources cited
Updated June 27, 2026
Fort Collins, Colorado, U.S.
1 victims · Solved
Image for Jared Fogle
Original Bloody Likely Case File

Jared Fogle

Jared S. Fogle, a former national Subway spokesman, was investigated for years after allegations of sexual interest in minors surfaced in 2007 and again when evidence was uncovered during an unrelated probing of his associate in 2015. FBI agents executed a search of his Zionsville, Indiana home and arrested him on July 7, 2015 for distribution/receipt of child pornography and traveling to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor. Fogle pleaded guilty in November 2015 and was sentenced to 15 years and eight months in federal prison, ordered to pay restitution and fines, and mandated to register as a sex offender for life. He remains incarcerated at FCI Englewood following appeals that upheld his sentence.

Zionsville, Indiana

2 sources cited
Updated June 27, 2026
Zionsville, Indiana
14 victims · Solved
Image for Columbine High School Massacre
Original Bloody Likely Case File

Columbine High School Massacre

On April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, seniors Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold carried out a planned bombing and shooting attack that killed 13 students and one teacher and wounded dozens before the perpetrators died by suicide. The attack involved firearms, improvised explosive devices (including propane- and pipe-bombs) and extensive pre-attack planning documented in journals and video "basement tapes." Two coworker/suppliers were later prosecuted and convicted for providing weapons to the minors, but the primary perpetrators are deceased and therefore not criminally convicted. Key evidence includes the perpetrators' journals and tapes, surveillance footage, recovered firearms and multiple unexploded bombs.

Colorado

2 sources cited
Updated June 27, 2026
Columbine, Colorado, United States
16 victims · unsolved
Image for Max Headroom Signal Hijacking
Original Bloody Likely Case File

Max Headroom Signal Hijacking

On November 22, 1987, two Chicago television stations (WGN-TV and WTTW) were briefly hijacked by unidentified perpetrators who overrode the stations' analog signals to air a person wearing a Max Headroom mask. The first intrusion interrupted WGN's 9:00 p.m. news for roughly 15–30 seconds and was cut off when engineers changed link frequencies; the second interrupted WTTW's Doctor Who broadcast for about 90 seconds and included audible commentary and visual profanity. The Federal Communications Commission and other authorities investigated immediately, but the perpetrators were never identified; the statute of limitations expired in 1992. Technical analysis indicates the hijackers used a powerful microwave uplink from a line-of-sight location to the downtown broadcast towers as their method of intrusion.

Chicago

6 sources cited
Updated June 27, 2026
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
0 victims · unsolved
Image for Joseph James DeAngelo
Original Bloody Likely Case File

Joseph James DeAngelo

Between 1974 and 1986, an assailant who came to be known as the Golden State Killer (also EAR/ONS/Visalia Ransacker) carried out hundreds of burglaries and rapes and murdered 13 people across multiple California counties. After decades of investigation and the 2001 DNA linkage of the East Area Rapist and Original Night Stalker crimes, investigators used forensic genetic genealogy and obtained surreptitious DNA samples in late 2017/early 2018 to identify Joseph James DeAngelo as the suspect. DeAngelo was arrested on April 24, 2018, later pleaded guilty to multiple counts of murder and kidnapping on June 29, 2020, and was sentenced on August 21, 2020, to consecutive life terms without parole. Key evidence included crime-scene DNA, STR matches to samples from multiple murders, and genealogical tree-building that led to DeAngelo.

California

2 sources cited
Updated June 27, 2026
California, United States
13 victims · Solved
Image for Assassination Of Charlie Kirk
Original Bloody Likely Narrative Synthesis

Assassination Of Charlie Kirk

On 2025-09-10 Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative activist, was fatally shot while speaking at an outdoor Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Surveillance and witness accounts indicate a single sniper shot from the roof of the Losee Center struck Kirk in the neck; he was transported to Timpanogos Regional Hospital and pronounced dead. Investigators recovered a Mauser-type bolt-action rifle and took palm/footprint and DNA samples; a suspect, 22-year-old Tyler James Robinson, surrendered the next day and has been charged with aggravated murder and related counts. The case remains pending prosecution and has not resulted in a conviction to date; prosecutors announced they will seek the death penalty and investigators cite DNA and forensic links to the recovered rifle and scene.

Orem, Utah

4 sources cited
Updated June 27, 2026
Orem, Utah
1 victims · unsolved
Image for D. B. Cooper
Original Bloody Likely Case File

D. B. Cooper

On November 24, 1971, an unidentified man using the name Dan Cooper hijacked Northwest Orient Flight 305 between Portland and Seattle, demanded $200,000 and four parachutes, released the passengers in Seattle, and then parachuted from the aft airstair into southwest Washington. The suspect was never positively identified or captured; physical evidence recovered from the aircraft included a clip-on tie, tie clip, cigarette butts and parachute material, and a portion of the ransom ($5,800) was found on the Columbia River in 1980. The FBI investigated actively for 45 years, compiled a large file, developed composite sketches and suspects, and officially suspended active investigation in 2016 while preserving the evidence. Key forensic leads include particles on the tie and partial DNA profiles, but no forensic match has produced a conviction or identification of the hijacker.

Seattle WA

6 sources cited
Updated June 27, 2026
Seattle, Washington
36 victims · unsolved
Image for Mothman
Original Bloody Likely Case File

Mothman

On November 15, 1966, in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, two young couples, Roger and Linda Scarberry, along with Steve and Mary Mallette, reported encountering a large, humanoid creature with glowing red eyes near a former munitions plant known as the TNT area. The creature, described as seven feet tall with white wings, allegedly pursued their vehicle, prompting them to alert local authorities. Following this initial sighting, numerous reports emerged from residents, leading to widespread media coverage and speculation regarding the creature's identity, with some attributing it to a large heron or sandhill crane. The phenomenon gained further traction through the writings of Gray Barker and John Keel, culminating in the 1975 book "The Mothman Prophecies," which linked the sightings to paranormal events and the later collapse of the Silver Bridge. As of now, the Mothman remains a subject of local folklore, with an annual festival celebrating the legend, although no definitive evidence has been found to confirm the creature's existence.

West Virginia

6 sources cited
Updated June 27, 2026
Point Pleasant, West Virginia
46 victims · unsolved
Image for Bill Cosby
Original Bloody Likely Narrative Synthesis

Bill Cosby

Beginning in the mid-1960s and spanning decades, dozens of women came forward alleging that entertainer Bill Cosby drugged and sexually assaulted them, often citing incidents in Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and other locations. The most prominent criminal prosecution arose from Andrea Constand's accusations, which led to a 2018 guilty verdict for aggravated indecent assault, a subsequent prison sentence, and confinement at SCI Phoenix. In June 2021 the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the conviction on due-process grounds related to a 2005 prosecution decision, resulting in Cosby's release; several civil juries later found him liable in separate historic assault claims. Key evidence in the matters included Cosby's deposition admissions about supplying sedatives (Quaaludes) to women and numerous witness allegations describing similar patterns of drugging and assault.

Philadelphia

5 sources cited
Updated June 27, 2026
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
60 victims · unsolved
Image for Edward Mordake
Original Bloody Likely Case File

Edward Mordake

A widely circulated 19th-century legend describes Edward Mordake as an English heir born with a second, whispering face on the back of his head who allegedly begged doctors to remove it and died by suicide at age 23. The story first appeared in popular press and was later reprinted in a medical curiosities encyclopedia, but no contemporary medical records or verifiable primary sources have been found. Modern researchers and fact-checkers regard the account as apocryphal and likely a literary fabrication, with possible retrospective medical explanations (parasitic twin, diprosopus) suggested. The case remains a cultural curiosity rather than an evidentiary forensic matter, with the key 'evidence' limited to newspaper articles and secondary retellings.

England

9 sources cited
Updated June 27, 2026
England, United Kingdom
0 victims · unsolved
Image for Luigi Mangione
Original Bloody Likely Case File

Luigi Mangione

On December 4, 2024, Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot and killed outside the New York Hilton Midtown in Manhattan. Luigi Nicholas Mangione was arrested after a five-day nationwide manhunt in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and charged in both New York state and federal court with murder, weapons offenses, and stalking; prosecutors at one point sought the death penalty. Key evidence reported by police includes shell casings at the scene matching a gun recovered in Mangione's backpack, a handwritten 262-word document about the U.S. healthcare system found on him, and surveillance footage; pretrial rulings have since limited some evidence and dismissed certain terror-related and death-eligible charges. Mangione has pleaded not guilty and remains incarcerated awaiting trial(s).

New York City

5 sources cited
Updated June 20, 2026
New York City, New York
1 victims · unsolved
Image for Murder Of Reagan Simmons-Hancock
Original Bloody Likely Case File

Murder Of Reagan Simmons-Hancock

On October 9, 2020, 36-week pregnant Reagan Simmons-Hancock was bludgeoned and repeatedly stabbed in her New Boston, Texas home; her attacker then performed a crude C-section and removed the unborn child. The perpetrator, Taylor Rene Parker, had been falsely claiming a pregnancy for months and fled to Oklahoma with the infant, who was later pronounced dead. Parker was arrested in Oklahoma, extradited to Texas, indicted on capital murder and kidnapping charges, found guilty in October 2022, and sentenced to death in November 2022. Key evidence included DNA identifying the baby as Simmons-Hancock's, hospital findings that Parker had a prior hysterectomy and was not postpartum, and extensive forensic and medical examiner testimony documenting the injuries and manner of death.

New Boston TX

6 sources cited
Updated June 16, 2026
New Boston, Texas
2 victims · Solved

Source-Backed Summaries

Image for Thor Nis Christiansen
Source-Backed Case Summary

Thor Nis Christiansen

Between late 1976 and spring 1979, Thor Christiansen picked up female hitchhikers in southern California, shot them with a .22 caliber pistol and sexually assaulted their bodies post-mortem; four women were killed and one survived an April 18, 1979 attack. He was linked to three Isla Vista murders (the so-called "look-alike" killings) and the Los Angeles area murder of Laura Benjamin. Christiansen was arrested in July 1979 after a surviving victim identified him at a Hollywood bar, later convicted in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara courts, and sentenced to lengthy prison terms. He died in Folsom State Prison on 1981-03-30 after being stabbed in the exercise yard; his killer was never identified.

Isla Vista

3 sources cited
Updated June 27, 2026
Isla Vista, California
4 victims · Solved
Image for Sinking Of The Titanic
Source-Backed Case Summary

Sinking Of The Titanic

The RMS Titanic struck an iceberg on 1912-04-14 while four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York and sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in the early hours of 1912-04-15. Over 2,200 people were aboard; approximately 1,491 died and 710 survived after nearby RMS Carpathia rescued survivors. Key issues documented in inquiries included ignored ice warnings, excessive speed in ice, inadequate lifeboat capacity and poorly executed evacuation procedures. Physical evidence from the wreck and subsequent surveys confirmed six narrow hull openings and the ship’s break-up during final moments.

1912

2 sources cited
Updated June 27, 2026
North Atlantic Ocean
1491 victims · closed
Image for Elliot Rodger
Source-Backed Case Summary

Elliot Rodger

On May 23, 2014 in Isla Vista, California, Elliot Rodger stabbed three people in his apartment and then carried out a shooting and vehicle-ramming rampage that killed six UCSB students and injured fourteen others before fatally shooting himself. Rodger prepared a 137-page manifesto and uploaded videos announcing his intent to "punish" women and sexually active men; police later recovered multiple handguns, over 500 rounds of ammunition, and knives in his vehicle and apartment. The attacker was identified (and died by suicide at the scene), no criminal trial occurred, and investigators cited online radicalization, misogynistic motive, and missed warning signs as central to the case. Key evidence includes Rodger's manifesto, recorded videos, his firearm and ammunition cache, and forensic examination of the stab and gunshot victims and his crashed BMW.

Isla Vista

3 sources cited
Updated June 27, 2026
Isla Vista, California, U.S.
6 victims · unsolved