true crime n creepy shit

true crime dump//creepy cryptids//weird and wild shit//not my content//do not condone!!!

[morbidology]

The skull of a female with a large facial tumor from 1829. During the five years’ growth, the tumor destroyed the right malar bone, the palate, and the maxilla.

[dailyunsolvedmysteries]

Tippoo’s Tiger

‘Tippoo’s Tiger’ was made for Tipu Sultan, ruler of Mysore in South India from 1782 to 1799. The tiger, an almost life-sized wooden semi-automaton, mauls a European soldier lying on his back. Concealed inside the tiger’s body, behind a hinged flap, is an organ which can be operated by turning the handle next to it. This simultaneously makes the man’s arm lift up and down and produces noises intended to imitate his dying moans. 

Tigers and tiger stripes were part of the decoration of Tipu Sultan’s possessions and anything made to proclaim his rule or personal association. Jewelled gold tiger head finials were on his throne, and tiger stripes were stamped onto his coinage, and his swords and guns incorporated tiger heads and stripes in their forms and ornamentation. Small bronze mortars made for his army were in the shape of crouching tigers, and the men who fired lethal iron-cased rockets against the British wore tunics with stripes woven into the fabric.

Tipu Sultan strongly resisted the attacks by British East India Company army on his kingdom. The Company had been established to trade, but by the late 18th century was extending British rule in India. It fought three wars against Mysore before making the final assault on Tipu’s capital, Seringapatam, in 1799.

[morbidology]

On 19 December, 1959, the Walker family were preparing to spend Christmas together. At around 3:30PM, 24-year-old Christine Walker came home to the family farm after running errands. When she entered the home, she was raped and shot dead.

Then at around 4:35PM, her husband, 25-year-old Cliff, arrived home with the couple’s two young children - 3-year-old Jimmie, and 2-year-old Debbie. The killer was still in the house and shot Cliff and Jimmie dead. The gun was then turned on Debbie. She was shot with the last bullet which failed to kill her. The killer then drowned the little girl in the bathtub. The bodies were found the following day by one of Cliff’s friends. The killer left behind a substantial amount of evidence, including a bloody cowboy boot, cellophane from a cigarette packet and also a thumbprint on the bathtub.

Two of the many suspects were Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, the two men who murdered the Clutter family in Kansas. The crime was the subject of In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote. Their bodies were exhumed in 2012 but the DNA did not match. The crime has never been solved.

[morbidology]

On 26 September, 2008, the police of Lusby, Maryland, received multiple phone-calls from worried citizens that reported seeing a young girl running down the street. She was wearing pajamas and appeared to be covered in faeces and blood. The little girl, who was 7-years-old, was taken to a local hospital. An examination revealed that she had been the victim of violent abuse and neglect. She confessed to police that she had jumped from her bedroom window to escape from her mother, who she thought was going to murder her. 

The police made their way to the home of her mother, Renee Bowman, armed with a search warrant. What they discovered inside would haunt them forever - two small frozen bodies, hidden in the basement freezer. Bowman then confessed that the two small bodies belonged to 7-year-old Jasmine and 9-year-old Minnet, her two adoptive daughters. An autopsy revealed that they had both died from asphyxia.

Renee was quickly arrested and her surviving daughter was the lead witness during her trial. She revealed that all three of the girls had been confined to one room where they were forced to use a bucket as a toilet. The girls were frequently beaten and choked. An investigation revealed that Renee had adopted the young girls for financial benefits - these benefits were continued even after she had murdered the two young girls. She was sentenced to life.

[dailyunsolvedmysteries]

Niqui McCown Disappearance

On July 22, 2001, 28-year-old Marilyn Renee Nicole “Niqui” McCown had been running errands the day before her wedding. After picking up some beauty supplies, she had planned to run to the laundromat. On that summer afternoon, McCown was adhering to her regular Sunday routine. According to her sister, Tammie Hughes, she came over every week as she waited for her laundry due to the fact that the laundromat was right down the street. Even though this was a very familiar schedule to McCown and her family, the events on that day raised unusual concern. As stated by Hughes, her sister had mentioned that several men at the laundromat wouldn’t leave her alone. Ultimately, she decided to pick up her clothes and dry them at her mother’s house to avoid further interaction with them. Despite the concrete plan, McCown disappeared after leaving her family’s residence that day.

While McCown’s disappearance was not initially noticed by her family, the passage of time signified something was amiss. When she hadn’t arrived back at her sister’s home by 5:30 that evening, her fiancé, Bobby Webster, tried to call her but was unable to get a response. Later, when she failed to pick up her 9-year-old daughter, her family knew something was wrong.

After making a series of calls, they could still not obtain any answers about McCown’s whereabouts. Then, after locating her purse and I.D. at her apartment, the family decided to alert law enforcement about her disappearance. But, once they arrived, they were told they had to wait 72 hours as McCown was an adult. After failing to show up for work at the local correction facility on Monday morning, officials began looking into what could have happened that summer afternoon.

Once police began looking for leads, they were able to confirm that there were, in fact, two men who had been interacting with McCown that day. However, they could not link anything regarding her disappearance to the interaction. They also could locate surveillance footage of McCown from a convenience store across from the laundromat, which again provided little to no information about her whereabouts.

After hitting various roadblocks, McCown’s family decided to organize additional search parties, including her friends, family, and Webster. Despite Webster’s presence at the search, those in attendance noticed he was behaving strangely, as he was more than willing to take the reins when speaking to the media and was dressed nicely. As the days turned into weeks, Webster’s behavior raised eyebrows, especially after he reportedly tried to return the wedding rings just days after McCown’s disappearance. He also cancelled the wedding hall and searched for information about her unspent tuition money to get a refund. This raised red flags with investigators and prompted them to ask Webster to take a polygraph. After doing so, they confidently stated that it had shown deception.

When confronted with his behavior, Webster stated that he had only tried to get a refund so that he could buy a cell phone and offer a reward for information about her whereabouts. As for obtaining the money from the wedding venue and her tuition, he stated that that is untrue. Without any hard evidence linking Webster to a crime, police decided to pivot their investigation.

Three and a half months later, a suspect still hadn’t been named, but police were able to locate her car. When it was discovered, it was at the apartment complex of her daughter’s father, Steven Johnston. Due to the positioning of the driver’s seat, police believed that she willing drove there herself, presumably to visit someone she knew. Despite the assumption that Johnston could have been involved, he willingly provided his DNA and passed a polygraph.

Now that both Webster and Johnston had been cleared, police began looking at another man who could have been behind McCown’s disappearance. Tommy Swint, McCown’s co-worker at the correctional facility, lived in the same vicinity where her car was ultimately located. This new development registered on the radar of law enforcement for a number of reasons, including the fact that Swint had been exhibiting strange behavior towards McCown in the months leading up to the vanishing. This included sending lingerie to her bridal shower. He also had a violent past with women. As stated by Richmond Police Det. Michelle Miller, there was “something odd” about him. But, without concrete evidence, they couldn’t question him without his consent.

As for where McCown’s investigation stands today, those who knew her are still hoping to find answers about what happened that July afternoon, including her daughter, Payton Lackings. Now that she is of age, she hopes to reignite interest in her mother’s case to gain closure for her and her family.

Police continue to search for information that could potentially link Swint to the case.

[dailyunsolvedmysteries]

Disappearance Of Michele Brown

On March 1, 1992, Michele spent the day celebrating her 25th birthday with friends in Melbourne’s southeast. After a day of festivities, she walked with a friend to a phone booth at a Food Plus store. During the call, she reportedly asked her mother to pick her up from the Frankston railway station within the hour. After hanging up the phone, her friend said goodbye to Michele. Between 7:00 and 7:15 PM, Michele also left. That call was the last time that her family ever spoke to her and it remains unclear if she ever made it to the railway station that day.

Shortly after 8:00 PM that evening, Michele’s mother arrived at the station. However, she could not find her daughter. It was unusual for Michele not to follow through with arrangements, so she decided to drive around and see if she could find her. After an unsuccessful search, she returned home. As days, and then weeks passed, she started developing a heightened sense of concern surrounding her daughter’s whereabouts.

“I never heard from her during the week which was unusual. The second week I started to get a bit worried and thought it didn’t feel right,” she stated. On March 13, Michele’s parents went to the local police station to report her missing.

The next day, March 14, a staff member who worked at Miall’s Gun Shop discovered her body in an old shed at the edge of the premises. The building, which was about 400m away from the station, was surrounded by blackberry bushes. As the investigation continued, law enforcement officials determined that she had been murdered by an unknown person or persons. They also noted that she had been there for quite some time as her body was in a state of severe decomposition.

When speaking to those within the surrounding areas, officers began to develop a clearer picture of what had taken place thanks to a range of eyewitness statements. A resident who lived near the station reported hearing two separate screams around 9:00 PM on the evening of March 1.

Additionally, a taxi driver stated that they had seen a woman matching Michele’s description near the phone booths at the Frankston railway station between 8:00 and 9:00 PM.

Despite the first-hand accounts, police were unable to name a suspect or provide a concrete timeline of what happened to Michele that night. As a result, the case went cold. After three decades, officials continue to seek answers about what took place during those important hours. Now, a $1 million reward has been offered by Victoria police for information that could lead to the apprehension and conviction of the person or people responsible for the crime. 

Officials are interested in speaking to anyone who saw a woman matching her description at the Frankston railway station between 8:00 and 9:00 PM on Sunday, March 1, 1992. Additionally, they are asking anyone who saw suspicious or unusual activity in that area to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or leave a confidential report on www.crimestoppers.com.au.

[crimesandcuriosities]

"He looked at me and smiled. I thought that was so disrespectful... I was thinking how he mutilated my child, cut my child. You did all this while my child was still alive, so you caused my baby great pain."

The above clip shows a grieving father lunging across a courtroom table to attack his daughter's killer. Serial killer Michael Madison was arrested on 19th July, 2013 and charged for kidnapping and murdering three women between September 2012 and July 2013. He was already a registered sex offender at the time of his arrest.

Six days prior to the arrest, police investigated a garage borrowed by Madison following complaints of a foul odour emitting from the premises. Following a search, the decomposing body of a young woman was found inside the garage. A further search of the area turned up two more deceased young females - one concealed in a back garden and another in the cellar of an empty house. Each of the three bodies were discarded no more than 200 yards apart, and all were wrapped in plastic bags.

The victims were identified as 38 year old Angela Deskins, 28 year old Shetisha Sheeley, and 18 year old Shirellda Helen Terry. Van Terry - Shirellda's father - was delivering his victim impact statement to the court but became infuriated at Madison's nonchalant smirking.

During the altercation, Madison can be glimpsed smiling and then smugly walking away after officers were able to separate them. Michael Madison received the death penalty and currently awaits execution on Ohio's death row.

[morbidology]

In 1968, the town of Gaffney, South Carolina, fell prey to a serial killer who became known as the “Gaffney Strangler”. 

The editor of a local newspaper received a phone call on 8 February, 1968, from a mysterious person claiming they had killed some women and gave directions to where the bodies could be found. 20-year-old Nancy Carol Parris was found raped and strangled. She had been missing since 29 January. 

14-year-old Nancy Christine Rhinehart was found dumped under a bush and had been raped and strangled. The third body was that of 32-year-old Annie Dedmond, who had been murdered in 1967 - her husband had been charged with her murder. He was subsequently released from prison. 

A few days later, the mysterious caller rang back and claimed he was planning on killing more women. The next day, 15-year-old Opal Buckson was grabbed off the streets by the “Gaffney Strangler” and thrown in the boot of his car. Her body was found in a wooded area a few days later. She had been stabbed to death. 

A witness claimed he saw a local man by the name of Lee Roy Martin in the woods where her body was found and his car was parked nearby. He was apprehended and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was stabbed to death by his cell mate on 31 May, 1972.

[crimesandcuriosities]

On 2nd February 1990, Gail Chauviere returned to her home in Brazoria County, Texas, after a day of work and was confused to find an unknown vehicle parked on her driveway. Things then took a sinister turn when Gail walked through the front door and was confronted by an intruder standing beside her 15 year-old daughter, Christie.

However, the intruder was not a stranger. The man standing in Gail's home demanding money was Gary Etheridge, a man she had hired as a maintenance worker just two weeks earlier. Gail worked as a project manager at an apartment complex, and Etheridge was aware that she returned home daily with a bag of cash.

Gail pleaded for Etheridge to take the money and not harm her frightened daughter. Instead, Etheridge grabbed Christie by the hair, threatening to slit her throat if she did not stay quiet. He then proceeded to pull a knife and viciously stab Gail multiple times, before striking her so hard across the head that she passed out.

Although Gail remarkably survived the stab wounds to her neck, face, chest, arms and abdomen, she woke up to every mother's worst nightmare: her daughter had been stabbed to death. Christie had been found in the hallway gagged, bound and naked below the waist, her cheeks stained with tears. Although an autopsy found no traces of semen, Christie's genitals had sustained knife wounds.

Covered in blood, the killer had fled from the house in Gail's car after his own failed to start. He later ended up in a bar, where he told somebody he had committed a murder. Five days later, Etheridge ended up ruining Gail's car, leading him to hitchhike along a Texas highway alone. He was spotted by a police officer and arrested, and when asked if he knew why, Etheridge replied: "Yes, I know I'm under arrest for killing that 15-year-old girl. I'm sorry for what I did, and I was going back to Brazoria County to turn myself in."

Gary Etheridge was sent to Texas' death row in November 1990, where he remained until his execution on 20th August 2002. For his final meal, he requested loaded nachos, fries, one cheeseburger, one fried chicken patty, one cinnamon roll, and sides of cheese, ketchup, and pickles.

As the lethal injection was administered, Etheridge spoke his final words: "To the victim's family -- I'm sorry for what was taken from you. I hope you have peace... I hope there's closure for the victim's family and everybody. That's about it. I can feel it burning. I'm getting really dizzy."

[morbidology]

In 1980, James Carson split up with his wife after she became worried about his bizarre behaviour. James then began a relationship with a woman called Suzan. The two got married and became heavily involved in drugs. 

In March of 1981, the couple attacked their roommate, 22-year-old Keryn Barnes. They beat her with with a frying pan and then stabbed her to death. Following the murder, they arranged a press conference to confess. They also confessed to two other murders: Clark Stephens and Jon Charles Hellyar.

While incarcerated, they claimed to be “pacifists and vegetarian yoga practitioners” and explained they were on a mission to kill people that they believed to be “witches.” Because of this, they earned the moniker the “San Francisco Witch Killers.” They were suspected of nearly a dozen other unsolved murders throughout the U.S. and also Europe. They reportedly had a “hit list” which included Johnny Carson and Ronald Reagan.

They were sentenced to 75 years to life for three murders.

[dailyunsolvedmysteries]

Stockton Arsonist

On August 5, 1989, a family driving near Stockton, California, pulled over after their car overheated. The father, Alphonse Saloua and his son Hector decided to walk to the nearest telephone to get assistance. While walking, Alphonse’s son noticed a camouflage jacket on the side of the road. Inside the jacket, they found a videotape, which they decided to take with them. Once they got home, they decided to view the videotape; they were shocked to discover that the video was of a house on fire. The video contained commentary from an unknown person who made references to Satanism and a mysterious figure he called “Omar.” The Saloua family then turned the tape over to authorities. Authorities believed that the person speaking on the video is the arsonist. Despite searching through various reports of fires in California, authorities were unable to determine where the fire occurred. An investigator went with Joseph’s brother to the site where the videotape was found. In the jacket, they found a wooden pestle, which is sometimes used in Satanic rituals. Nearby, they found a glove that matched the jacket, along with a ceramic skull. These items suggested that Satanism was involved in the arson. A further examination of the videotape showed that firefighters did respond to the fire. Authorities tried to enhance the tape to see if they could get a house number or a fire department insignia. However, the enhancements revealed no further clues. Based on the location of the tape, which was near Route 205, authorities believe that the arsonist could be from anywhere in the United States; they could have been just passing through the area when they deposited the tape. The house appeared to be a one-story ranch house with two chimneys. There was another house nearby, partially hidden by a trailer. The trailer suggests that the house was under construction at the time of the fire. The arsonist claimed that the fire took place in 1988; TV commercials on another part of the tape seem to verify this date. Since firefighters responded to the blaze, it is apparent that someone reported this fire somewhere in the United States.

Shortly after the broadcast, several residents of Redwood City, California, identified a residence near their house as the one on fire in the videotape. Redwood City is eighty miles from Stockton, where the video was discovered. The fire occurred on August 15, 1988; the house in the videotape was under construction at the time and has since been rebuilt. Surprisingly, on the night of the fire, a fire chief also videotaped the fire for training purposes. The two videos were compared and were shown to be identical, and it was confirmed that the house on the arsonist tape was the Redwood City house. Several tips from the broadcast also led to a seventeen-year-old youth from Woodside, California. This individual led authorities to a nineteen-year-old youth from the Redwood City area; the nineteen-year-old identified himself as the one who filmed the fire and the voice on the video. Since both arsonists were juveniles when they set the fire, they were tried as minors. One of the teens served time in juvenile hall and the other was committed to a state mental hospital.

[dailyunsolvedmysteries]

The Bizarre Case of Pauline Picard

In April 1922, two-year-old Pauline Picard disappeared whilst playing on her family’s farm in the village of Goas al Ludu, in the region of Brittany, in north-west France.

That day, more than 150 people combed the Picard family farm and surrounding woods and countryside for signs of the missing toddler. But nothing was found. Pauline’s family assumed she’d wandered off from the farm and succumbed to the cold or been attacked and eaten by a wild boar. Yet it was strange that her body had not been recovered. There was talk of a chimney sweep that came into the village and enticed Pauline with candy. A neighbor said she saw two strangers who hung around the farm during the time the disappearance took place. Yet more stories said Pauline had been stolen by gypsies, although none had been observed in the neighborhood at the time of her disappearance.

The gendarmes and police inspectors in the area spent the next month searching the countryside but found no trace of Pauline. She had vanished completely.

What followed, was a bizarre case of mistaken identity and then a horrific discovery of not just one but two sets of partial remains in a field that had been thoroughly searched. The village of Goas al Ludu has only one dwelling and it is located near the town of Saint-Rivoal in the department of Finistère, in the Brittany region, in France. Located in the canton of Pleyben and the district of Châteaulin , it is part of the Monts d'Arrée Commune.

In May, the police arrived at the farm with a photograph of a little girl who’d been found wandering alone in the city of Cherbourg, about 217 miles (350 km) away on foot. She was found abandoned in the hallway of a local home on Rue Coypel and was brought to a hospice. The little girl was seen a few days earlier in town with a poorly clothed woman who tried to abandon her in a store but was chased down and given the child back. Her relieved parents agreed that, yes, the picture was of Pauline. Her mother burst into tears saying “that’s my daughter”. But how on earth had she gotten so far from her home. Had she been snatched?  They immediately took a train to Cherbourg to bring their missing daughter home.

When the Picards first saw the girl at the hospice in Cherbourg they weren’t convinced it was Pauline. The girl has no reaction to seeing the parents and she remains mute. The parents tried to speak to her in the local language, Breton, and she appeared to understand nothing. The Picards stay with her, talking, caressing her and she remained indifferent towards them. She looked like an underfed version of their daughter and she didn’t seem to recognize family members. Medically she had no issues. The clothing she was found in was not recognizable by her parents.

But, the parents were convinced the girl was Pauline after spending a few days with her. When asked if they are sure, the father replied that of course, she has the same hair, the same blue eyes.

The hospice sent her home with the parents in hopes that her surroundings would spark her memory and get her talking. The hope was that this girl was just traumatized and malnourished and that she’d quickly recover.

On the way home the girl is said to speak three words in Breton on the train. Then upon returning to the farm in Goas al Ludu the little girl’s siblings immediately recognize her as Pauline and the family as a whole seem to have doubts as to the girl’s identity. The girl was said to be asking for bread and calling the family cat in the local language.

Then at the end of May 1922, a farmer crossing a field about a mile from Goas al Ludu discovered the horribly mutilated and decomposing body of a small girl, naked and the head cut off. Close by, carefully folded, lay the clothes which Pauline had been wearing on the day she went missing.  The clothes were not scattered around, indicating someone had placed them there. The farmer rushed to the village and returned with the gendarmes (local police), followed by the inhabitants, among them the Picards, who recognized the clothes as those worn by Pauline the day she disappeared. The body could not be identified, the face having been partly devoured by foxes.

The body was in an area that searchers had covered many times before in the initial search operation. The head, hands, and feet were missing and a severed head was found nearby.

An examination of the remains was done and the severed head was found to be an abnormal size for a child. Later it was found to be that of an adult male, which had been partly eaten by foxes. Strangely, her torso and stomach were intact, that being a body part often eaten first by scavengers.

The medical examiners were unable to state a cause of death. Marks on some of the bones could have been cuts or bite marks from scavengers. Her stomach could be empty because she starved outside or because her captors didn’t feed her.

The final report stated that Pauline probably froze to death after becoming lost. But, could someone have abducted Pauline, lost her, and planted a dead body that resembled her?

Following the discovery of Pauline’s body, the big question was - who was the girl from Cherbourg that they have been caring for?

At the end of May 1922, the lady who had been seen trying to abandon a girl in Cherbourg was apparently found. However, it was later discovered she had her daughter with her. It was speculated that the girl’s parents had emigrated to America.  In mid-June, the Picard’s send the girl back for adoption in Cherbourg.

The field where Pauline was discovered, was carefully searched when she went missing, so the police focused on the theory she had been placed there some days later.  The neatly folded clothes made it seem more likely foul play was involved. Who was the second victim, the skull found near Pauline’s body?

Early in the investigation, suspicion fell on a man called Keramon, an umbrella salesman. He worked as a farmhand for the Picard’s and had been invited to breakfast the day of Pauline’s disappearance. He was said to cuddle her a lot and had been heard telling Pauline (twice) that he’d find her a good home near another town. Around 1 pm on the day of the disappearance, he was left alone with Pauline and was overheard telling her that she’s going with him. Police followed the path he would have taken to leave town and decided he couldn’t have committed the crime based on the timing. He was jailed and released on May 10 for fraud, but this was not related to the disappearance.

Then a middle-aged farmer, Yves Martin, visited the Picards and said he understood their daughter had been found. When told that she had, he asked, “Are you sure it’s Pauline?” Then he added, “God forgive me. I am guilty.” Then in wild laughter, he rushed from the farm and the following day was taken to a lunatic asylum raving mad. It is thought possible that he killed Pauline.

[dailyunsolvedmysteries]

Thailand mass shooting: Ex-police officer kills 23 children asleep in nursery

On 6th October 2022, at least 23 children are among dozens of people murdered at a children’s nursery in Thailand after an ex-police officer went on a rampage before killing himself and his family.

The attacker is said to have stormed the nursery with a gun and a knife before carrying out his attack while the children at the pre-school were sleeping. At least 35 people are believed to have been killed in total, including a pregnant teacher.

Footage shows the horrific aftermath of the carnage, with bodies found at several buildings and in the street around the pre-school in Nong Bua Lamphu province in the far north of the country. The victims included three children as young as 2 years old, according to local police. The suspect is reported to be police lieutenant Panya Khamrab, 34, who was recently suspended from the force for drugs offences and had been in court earlier on Thursday for a hearing.

A manhunt was launched but the assailant fled home and killed himself, his wife and his child, according to the Central Investigation Bureau.

His white Vigo pickup truck was found abandoned at a nearby house having been torched. At the Child Care Center in Uthai Sawan Subdistrict Administrative Organization, dozens of bodies covered in blood were scattered across the floor. 

About 30 children were at the centre when the gunman arrived, fewer than usual, as heavy rain had kept many people away, district official Jidapa Boonsom, who was working in a nearby office at the time, told Reuters.

“The shooter came in around lunch time and shot four or five officials at the childcare centre first,” said Jidapa, adding that among them was a teacher who was eight months pregnant. At first people thought it was fireworks,“ she said.

The gunman then forced his way into a locked room where children were sleeping, Jidapa said, to kill children there with a knife.

Police said 19 boys, three girls and two adults were found day inside the childcare centre. One boy and an adult were found dead at a nearby government office.

When the shooter returned home, he killed one boy and four adults and another adult in a nearby building. A further three people - all adults - were later pronounced dead at hospital. At least 12 other people were injured in the rampage and are being treated.

The suspect had been involved in an ongoing court case for allegedly selling drugs, according to Maj. Gen. Jirapob Puridet of the CIB.  He had appeared in court in Nong Bua Lamphu hours before traveling to the nursery and “opening fire while the kids were sleeping,” Mr Puridet said.

[dailyunsolvedmysteries]

James “Buffalo Jim” Barrier

Born on March 22, 1953, in Cleveland, Ohio, James “Buffalo Jim” Barrier fell in love with Las Vegas at a young age. According to Las Vegas Weekly, he first visited the city when he was nine years old and was so enchanted that he decided that he’d one day return. Barrier made his way back to Vegas in 1971, and he soon built a reputation for himself.

Starting in 1977, Barrier put his knowledge about automobile repair to use. He began fixing cars from his van, then he signed a 30-year lease at a shop on Industrial Road that he called Allstate Auto and Marine Electric. Along the way, the gregarious, well-built mechanic earned his nickname — Buffalo — after a drunk tourist from Texas quipped that he’d once had sex with a buffalo, and Barrier could very well be their love child.

But though Barrier made friends with almost everyone he met — Las Vegas Weekly reports that his funeral was attended by a full cast of Las Vegas characters — he also made a significant enemy in the 1980s.

Rick Rizzolo was the owner of Crazy Horse Too, a gentlemen’s club next to Barrier’s auto shop. Though Las Vegas Weekly claims that Barrier tried to befriend Rizzolo, a deep animosity soon bloomed between the two men. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Rizzolo wanted Barrier to leave so he could expand his club. Barrier wouldn’t budge.

Over the next two decades, Barrier and Rizzolo clashed. Barrier claimed in a 2002 lawsuit, as reported by Las Vegas Weekly, that he found used needles and condoms on his property, had his shop broken into, and sometimes came into work to find his customers’ cars vandalized or towed away.

“I was afraid to leave anything at my lot because of vandalism or them towing cars away,” Barrier said during a hearing, as reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “It was like being under siege.”

So, Buffalo Jim Barrier fought back. With the help of his friend, City Councilman Steve Miller, he launched a campaign of his own against Rizzolo, alleging that he’d witnessed drug use and beatings at Rizzolo’s club.

With Barrier’s help, the FBI and the IRS eventually found that Rizzolo hadn’t been paying his taxes. He was found guilty of tax evasion and sent to prison for a year in 2007. But though his main nemesis was behind bars, Barrier started to receive a number of threatening letters and phone calls.

He shared details about the threats with a number of Las Vegas journalists, including Las Vegas Weekly‘s Joshua Longobardy. On Friday, April 4, 2008, Barrier called Longobardy to discuss the situation.

“They’re gonna try to do it through a woman,” Barrier told Longobardy, when the journalist told him to be careful. “Or they’re gonna try to drug me.”

Two days later, Buffalo Jim Barrier was found dead at a Motel 6. Rick Rizzolo had been released from prison the day before. So what exactly happened to Barrier?

Las Vegas Weekly reports that Barrier left home around 7:15 p.m. on Saturday, April 5, and promised his daughter, Jerica, that he’d return soon. Surveillance footage at a nearby Motel 6 captured him checking in an hour later and conversing with the clerk, seemingly in good spirits.

On Sunday, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Jerica and her sister Elise were told that their father had died. The Las Vegas Sun reports that Barrier had been found face up in bed, with his pants around his ankles. The coroner later ascribed his death to cardiomyopathy — inflammation of the heart muscle — which had perhaps been brought on by cocaine use.

But not everyone bought that Buffalo Jim Barrier had died of natural causes.

“I believe it was a homicide,” his daughter Jennifer told the Las Vegas Review-Journal a few days after Barrier’s death. “It was a murder… from everything I’ve gathered, it looks to be a homicide.”

Many of Barrier’s friends agreed.

“Nothing is adding up here,” his lawyer and friend, Robert Lueck, told the Las Vegas Sun. “It makes no sense.”

And Barrier’s confidant Miller, with whom he battled Rizzolo, darkly referenced the death threats that Barrier had recently received.

“He was my closest friend,” Miller told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “He predicted his own death on the phone Saturday.”

To Buffalo Jim Barrier’s four daughters, there are a number of strange things about his death. Las Vegas Weekly reports that Jerica and Elise rushed to the motel after hearing that their father had died and found an unsettling scene.

There were two glasses of water on the counter — but their father exclusively drank bottled water. The room was clean — but Barrier was notoriously messy. The police had found his garage door opener — but Barrier always kept it in the car. And Barrier’s wallet was missing most of its cash and his ID.

Then, there was the matter of a woman named “Lisa.” The police found that Barrier had spent his last hours with Lisa, who claimed that she had left the room after Barrier had a seizure. But Barrier’s daughter, Jennifer, doesn’t buy it. She told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that Lisa had changed her story multiple times.

“She lied,” Jennifer said. “I asked why [the police] won’t make her take a lie detector test, and they said she would have to agree to it. The way this has been handled is really not fair.”

Who would have killed Barrier? To his family and friends, the obvious answer is Rizzolo, who had suspected mob ties. Barrier even joked about it, quipping that his greatest professional accomplishment was: “Being able to stay in business while being attacked by the mafia for 25 years.”

For now, the case into Buffalo Jim Barrier’s death seems to be closed. But Netflix’s Unsolved Mysteries is set to take a second look at Barrier’s story, more than a decade after Las Vegas’ “Most Colorful Character” was found dead. The renewed attention is likely welcomed by his daughters, who still wonder what happened to their father.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Jennifer Barrier told Las Vegas Weekly in 2008. “I can’t live without knowing what happened to my dad.”

[dailyunsolvedmysteries]

Christopher Chase

In April 1991, Christopher Chase was found dead in his home. The medical examiner concluded that the 35 year old died of heart failure. Christopher was healthy, had no heart defects and did not smoke or use alcohol. According to his friends Christopher was convinced he was cursed by a witch after turning down advances from a woman he met in San Francisco. Before his death he claimed that the woman was attacking him at night in his home. When he didn’t respond to any calls the police did a welfare check and he was found in his bathtub surrounded by salt, candles and multiple crucifixes. The apartment had talismans and crucifixes all over the walls. Oddly Christopher was found kneeling in his tub as if he was reciting a prayer. Although the official cause of death was natural causes, Christopher as well as many others believe he was cursed and eventually died at the hands of a witch.

[dailyunsolvedmysteries]

Mitrice Richardson

Mitrice Richardson, who was found dead in a ravine in the Santa Monica Mountains, in an area well-known for clandestine marijuana-growers, after going missing a year earlier upon being released from a Malibu police station. Mitrice likely died of exposure, perhaps after falling in the mountains. But why she was there, and her mental state when she went missing in the first place is far more suspicious.

In September 2009, Mitrice – a college-educated, working woman – took a drive along the Pacific Coast Highway from Long Beach, North to Malibu. A scenic, gorgeous drive, it was a perfectly normal road to drive along for people just wishing to take in the beautiful Oceanside scenery. Upon her arrival in Malibu, Mitrice decided to stop at an upscale, famous restaurant named Geoffrey’s. Then, things got strange.

In the parking lot outside of the restaurant, Mitrice exited her car and waited for the valet, but by the time he was ready to park her car, he found her seated in his vehicle, which was nearby with the door open. The valet asked Mitrice what she was doing in his car. “It’s subliminal,” she said and muttered about avenging the death of Michael Jackson. Her behavior only escalated in weirdness. She asked the valet if “Vanessa” was at the restaurant, and to keep an eye out for a girl with tattooed arms. The valet knew no such woman.

Once inside, Mitrice sat down alone and ordered an expensive drink and a Kobe steak. Soon, however, Mitrice seated herself at a table with a large party she did not know and tried to join the conversation, speaking unintelligibly about astrological signs. Mitrice went back and forth between her table and the strangers’ table, speaking nonsense for quite some time. After her newfound “friends” finished dinner and left, Mitrice tried to walk out without paying.

The manager caught her and asked if she planned on paying, to which she replied that she was “busted” and giggled. Mitrice’s bizarre behavior continued, telling the manager that she was from Mars and would pay for her bill in sexual favors. Eventually, the manager called the police stating that “We have a guest here who is refusing to pay her bill, she sounds really crazy…. She may be on drugs or something.”

Mitrice was eventually taken to jail after Police arrived and found empty booze bottles and marijuana in her car. She was booked, at which point police spoke to her grandmother, with whom she was close. Despite her grandmother’s protests to keep her overnight, Mitrice was released from the Malibu substation, several miles from her car. Mitrice was sighted walking alongside the road, and then again later, several miles away, by a resident who said a black woman matching Mitrice’s description was peering through windows in his backyard.

The next time anyone saw Mitrice was when her body was recovered nearly a year later. Whether she was met with foul play, and what caused her erratic behavior, remains incredibly mysterious.

[dailyunsolvedmysteries]

Thomas Busby Chair

Popularly known as Busby’s stoop chair, this wooden furniture is cursed by the spirit of Thomas Busby who was known to ruthlessly murder people. Before getting hanged for his crimes, he requested to have a meal in his favorite local pub. Upon finishing his meal, he stood and said: “May sudden death come to anyone who dares sit on my chair” and ever since then, 63 people who dared to sit on the chair, met untimely and terrifying deaths. Later, the owner of the pub donated the chair to the Thirsk Museum, UK and it is still there, hung 1.5 meters off of the ground to prevent any further deaths.