Original Case Files Page 5

London, UK

12 victims · unsolved

Faryion Wardrip

Faryion Edward Wardrip is an American serial killer and rapist who committed a series of murders between late 1984 and mid-1986, targeting five young women in Wichita Falls and Fort Worth, Texas. He was apprehended on May 9, 1986, and subsequently convicted of multiple counts of capital murder, currently residing on death row. The case is considered solved, with Wardrip's crimes leading to significant law enforcement collaboration across multiple jurisdictions.

Texas

4 sources cited

Wichita Falls, Texas

5 victims · Solved

Emanuel Lovell Webb

Emanuel Lovell Webb, known as The East End Killer, is an American serial killer who raped and murdered four women in Bridgeport, Connecticut, between 1990 and 1993, before committing an additional murder in Vidalia, Georgia, in 1994. He was apprehended in November 2005 after DNA evidence linked him to the Bridgeport murders, leading to his extradition and subsequent conviction in 2008, for which he received a 60-year prison sentence. The case is considered solved, with Webb currently incarcerated at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution.

Connecticut

4 sources cited

Bridgeport, Connecticut

5 victims · Solved

Edward Surratt

Edward Arthur Surratt, an American murderer and rapist, was convicted of one murder and multiple rapes in 1978, with crimes occurring in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and South Carolina between 1977 and 1978. Despite serving 29 years in prison and confessing to six additional murders in 2007 and six more in 2021, he has not been charged for these confessions, and the case remains officially unsolved. Surratt is currently imprisoned in Florida, where he is serving multiple life sentences.

Pennsylvania

Aliquippa, Pennsylvania

18 victims · Solved

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

Source-Backed Case Summary

England, United Kingdom

0 victims · unsolved

Edward Delon Warren

Edward Delon Warren, an American serial killer, was convicted for the double murder of a couple in Brookings, Oregon, in 1979, and initially sentenced to death, which was later commuted to two life terms. He was apprehended on October 4, 1979, and served his sentences until his death in 2003. In 2004, he was linked to the unsolved 1976 murder of Rosa Cinnamon in Portland, marking it as the oldest cold case solved in Oregon's history.

Oregon

Brookings, Oregon

3 victims · Solved

Woody Allen

A child alleged that filmmaker Woody Allen inappropriately touched her while visiting Mia Farrow's Bridgewater, Connecticut home in August 1992. The allegation led Allen to file custody proceedings and prompted multiple investigations, including a six-month Yale-New Haven review and a state child welfare inquiry. A judge in the custody case described Allen's conduct with the child as "grossly inappropriate" but not sexual and the state prosecutor declined to file criminal charges despite stating there was "probable cause." The child-welfare agency later closed the case as unfounded; Allen has denied the allegation and was never charged.

Bridgewater CT

6 sources cited

Source-Backed Case Summary

Bridgewater, Connecticut

1 victims · unsolved

Dorothy Williams (Serial Killer)

Dorothy Williams, an American serial killer, committed a series of murders targeting elderly individuals during robberies in Illinois between 1987 and 1990, resulting in the deaths of three victims. She was apprehended on September 6, 1989, and initially sentenced to death, but her sentence was commuted to life imprisonment without parole in 2003. Williams died in custody on December 19, 2020, marking the case as resolved with her passing.

Illinois

Illinois, United States

3 victims · Solved

Disappearance Of Susan Powell

On December 6, 2009, Susan Marie Powell, a 28-year-old woman from West Valley City, Utah, was reported missing under suspicious circumstances. Her husband, Joshua Powell, became a person of interest shortly after her disappearance but was never formally charged. In February 2012, following a custody battle that resulted in the couple's two young sons being awarded to Susan's parents, Joshua killed himself and the children, further complicating the investigation. The West Valley City police closed their active investigation in May 2013, concluding that Joshua likely murdered Susan with the assistance of his deceased brother, Michael Powell, who was also believed to have helped conceal her body. Efforts to have Susan legally declared dead have been ongoing since the investigation's closure.

Utah

West Valley City, Utah

3 victims · Open Case

Disappearance Of Brian Shaffer

Brian Randall Shaffer, a 27-year-old medical student at Ohio State University, disappeared on April 1, 2006, after being last seen outside a bar in Columbus, Ohio. Earlier that evening, he had been celebrating with friends for spring break but became separated from them. Security footage captured him conversing with two women just before 2 a.m., after which he vanished without a trace, despite there being no publicly accessible exits from the bar. The case remains open and has garnered significant media attention, with various theories regarding his disappearance, including potential foul play and speculation about him living under a new identity. Investigators have pursued leads, including examining the involvement of a friend who was with him that night, but no conclusive evidence has emerged to resolve the case.

Ohio

Columbus, Ohio

1 victims · unsolved

Derrick Todd Lee

Derrick Todd Lee, known as the Baton Rouge Serial Killer, committed the murders of at least seven women between 1998 and 2003 in the Baton Rouge and Lafayette areas of Louisiana. Lee was apprehended on May 27, 2003, after DNA evidence linked him to the crimes, despite initial misidentification of the suspect's race leading to a prolonged investigation. He was convicted in separate trials for the murders of Geralyn DeSoto and Charlotte Murray Pace, receiving a death sentence for the latter. Lee died on January 21, 2016, from heart disease while awaiting execution at Louisiana State Penitentiary. Investigative findings revealed common methods among the murders, including the removal of victims' cell phones and a lack of forced entry, while also uncovering that another serial killer, Sean Vincent Gillis, was active in the same region during Lee's crime spree.

Louisiana

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

7 victims · Solved

Derrick Sean O'Brien

The rape and murder of Jennifer Lee Ertman, 14, and Elizabeth Christine Peña, 16, occurred on June 24, 1993, in Oak Forest, Houston, Texas. After attending a friend's pool party, the girls took a shortcut home along the railroad tracks, where they were abducted by a group of six males, including Peter Cantu and José Medellín. The perpetrators subjected the victims to brutal sexual assault and ultimately murdered them, leading to a high-profile investigation and trial. All six suspects were convicted of capital murder and related charges, with Cantu, Medellín, and Derrick O'Brien receiving death sentences, while others received varying sentences, including life imprisonment. The case prompted significant legal changes in Texas regarding victim's families' rights during executions and garnered international attention due to the U.S. rejection of intervention by the International Court of Justice.

Texas

1 sources cited