Serial killers are among the most elusive of violent criminals, leaving few patrons and calling cards for authorities to work with. Some killers get their retribution by death, imprisonment on other charges, or perhaps give up their life of crime, leaving a huge void in the justice system and accountability for the record. Here are some high-profile cases that remain a mystery:

The Boston Strangler.

The Boston Strangler crime spree in Massachusetts and Connecticut began on June 14, 1962 and came to an end in January 1964 with the arrest of Albert DeSalvo, the confessed serial killer. However, forensic technology, which was not available in the early 1960s, has conclusively shown through DNA evidence that DeSalva had lied about at least one of the 13 murders of the female victims.

Although DeSalvo was tried, convicted, and claimed to be the Boston Strangler, his testimony and account of the crime scenes were largely inaccurate, save for crime scene information made public in newspapers. Additionally, the body of the final victim, Mary Sullivan, was exhumed and subjected to DNA testing using trace elements of vaginal semen. Bodily fluids did not match DeSalvo and M/O’s circumstances were inconsistent, most notably the use of a strangulation ligature, rather than bare hands.

Following the arrest of Albert DeSalvo, the gruesome murders stopped, however, that does not conclusively mean that DeSalvo was the killer. Perhaps the real Boston Strangler understood that he now had a scapegoat for prosecution and walked away from the murderous rampage of his. It is also possible that he died or was imprisoned on unrelated charges. The truth may never be known about who the real Boston Strangler was, or if he still lives among us, but DeSalvo’s desperate plea for attention has long since lost his veracity that he did in fact commit these crimes.

Smiley face killers.

Since the late 1990s, at least 40 young men, in 11 states, have been murdered and left behind in a pattern of serial killers known as the “Smiley Face” killings. The name was adopted for the sinister, psychotic “smiley face” left near primary or secondary crime scenes, placed in a highly visible location where police could make the connection. The M/O for victims has been a consistent target against college-age males, mostly under 25, Caucasian, observed drunk at a bar and traveling alone. Most of the victim’s remains were dumped into a river or similar body of water, although the cause of death was not drowning.

New York City detectives Kevin Gannon and Anthony Duarte studied the evidence and put together this puzzling case, concluding that the murders may have been committed by more than one person, perhaps a sadistic group of killers in series that roam the Northeast and the Midwest. regions. The FBI, however, disagrees with the detective’s findings and remains open to the possibility that the 40 murders are unrelated. Whether the police or the feds are right, the murders have been linked to the trademark smiley face, and only time will tell who will be caught for these brutal and senseless murders.

The Zodiac Killer.

The Zodiac Killer crime spree claimed 37 lives from June 4, 1966 until it came to an abrupt halt on October 11, 1969. The killings took place from the Bay Area in Northern California to the Central Coast of California. Santa Barbara and an attack on Riverside. County, with no obvious signs of M/O linking victims by gender, race, age, location, or pattern of sexual assault.

After a three-year killing spree, letters purportedly written by the serial killer were sent to various newspapers for publication. The texts resembled a sense of bewildered thought, with repetitive ideas, simplistic verbiage, poor grammar, multiple misspellings, and more than 400 words thrown together without the use of a period. Claiming to be the Zodiac Killer, the author of the messages seemed to relish the infamous publicity and enjoyed the cryptic cat-and-mouse routine with the police.

By 1992, only one suspect had been apprehended following eyewitness testimony that Arthur Leigh Allen was the man who shot an alleged Zodiac victim 23 years earlier, however DNA and fingerprint results could not match. with the 1968 crime scene. Although the Zodiac murders have ceased, there is no statute of limitations on murder, so the investigation will continue until the killer is no longer alive.

The axeman from New Orleans.

From May 1918 to October 1919, New Orleans and surrounding neighborhoods lived in a cloud of terror with 8 grizzly ax murders rampaging through the dead of night. The perpetrator chose his victims randomly, without preference or similarities between them, even going so far as to kill a pregnant woman and a baby he was holding in his arms with a machete. Not all of the victims died, however, the few that survived lived to tell a gruesome tale of savagery not seen since the days of Jack the Ripper.

Although there has been no conclusive evidence of a name attached to the Axeman of New Orleans, it has been theorized that a possible link can be made to Joseph Momfre, a name that matches the New Orleans residence, who was shot and killed during the commission of a crime in Los Angeles in 1920. The gap in that theory remains that there was no record of the homicide of Joseph Momfre in Los Angeles by law enforcement and no record of a coroner’s acceptance of a body with that name. Whether or not Momfre was the Axeman will never be known, and the time lapse would likely see the suspect die of natural causes.

The Phantom Killer of Texarkana.

On February 22, 1946, the Phantom Killer murder spree began on a quiet street known as Lover’s Lane with the murder of 23-year-old Jimmy Hollis, who was parked in a car with his 19-year-old girlfriend, Mary Jeanne Larey. . Hiding in secluded darkness, the victims were held at gunpoint and ordered to get out of the car. Hollis suffered a fatal injury from a blow to the back of the head, while Larey ran down the dark and desolate road. However, the killer caught up with Larey and taunted her by raping her until a passing vehicle lit up the road, allowing Larey to get away from her.

This vicious circle of death would continue until May 4, 1946, claiming 8 victims and 5 deaths in the states of Texas and Arkansas. Although the victims did not share any significant characteristics that linked them, the Phantom Killer’s method of operation would throw up some strange and curious signals as to when it would attack. Many of the crimes were committed under a full moon and became known locally as the “moonlight murders”, causing chilling fear in the region as the lunar cycle was completed. The police have had their theories about who the Phantom Killer might have been, however, no one has been formally charged with the series of midnight murders.