Coraline's oddities.

Just a person obsessed with the unusual and unknown. Specializing in missing persons cases, unsolved mysteries, true crime, and odd events.

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Coraline - Are you familiar with the Richard Cox case? He was a West Point cadet who disappeared without a trace in the early 1950's. Happy new year!

Wow. Tumblr is trash at letting me know I have messages.I haven’t heard of this case but I am interested! Thanks for the message.

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The Disappearance of Emma Fillipoff

Emma Fillipoff is a Canadian woman who has been missing since  November 28, 2012; she was last seen in the vicinity of the Empress Hotel between 7:30 - 8:30 PM. She was 26 years old at the time of her disappearance.

In the fall of 2011, Emma moved from Perth, Ontario to Victoria, BC. She was 25 at the time, and had no job lined up, but had planned on finding work when she got there. In Victoria, Emma had lived with a friend and the friend’s partner, and later moved into a different unit in the same building. In the winter of 2011, Emma found work as a barista at a cafe, but the job did not last long. After a couple of months in Victoria, Emma began living a more transient lifestyle. She began living in Hotel 760, where she also cleaned rooms, as well as living on boats, sleeping in the woods and in trees. From February to November 2012, she was staying at a women’s shelter on a rotating monthly basis. She got a seasonal job at a seafood restaurant where she worked during the busy season until October 31; she was expected to come back to the job in February 2013.

During her time in Victoria, Emma, who did not own a telephone or cell phone, communicated with her family through email - most of them being cryptic and poetic. She would call her family on holidays on a phone at the shelter. Her family wasn’t aware of her staying in a shelter.

Emma would spend her time at the public library, and would associate with homeless people, artists, and street performers. She was described as being free-spirited, creative, adventurous, giving, soft-spoken, private, independent, and trusting. She was known to keep several journals and wrote a blog. She was known to have been in only one relationship during this time, and it ended after a couple months on mutual terms. She enjoyed drinking and socializing, but did not share her thoughts and rarely talked about her family.

In the summer of 2012, Emma stopped drinking, smoking, and cut out sugar and caffeine and drank copious amounts of water in a way to live a more “pure” lifestyle; she also became vegan. A friend said she became “very thin” and was “monk-like” in her social life and eating habits. She appeared to have trouble adapting to the changing seasons, and seemed unsure on what to do with herself. Shortly after her disappearance, she became withdrawn from others, paranoid, and fearful.

In June or July 2012, Emma bought a van with the intention of living in it and traveling along the coast. She had hoped the van would give her independence, but it ended up being a financial burden on her - it broke down three times and had to be towed to a mechanic.

In mid-November, Emma had told some friends that she was looking to leave Victoria to go to Salt Spring Island or Tofino, BC. She had also talked about sailing a boat to Mexico, moving to San Juan with a man she barely knew, moving to California, moving to Costa Rica, traveling to Japan with her father, living off the grid in the woods, visiting an aunt in Lantzville, BC, and moving back with her family in Perth. During this time, she became extremely withdrawn from people; she cancelled a trip to Mexico with a friend last minute and avoided going anywhere that wasn’t the pier or the shelter.

Emma’s journals hinted at her struggle with mental illness since she was 11 years old. She was secretive about it and didn’t divulge her struggle with friends and family. In winter of 2011, a childhood friend and roommate observed Emma obsessively arranging patterns using things like feathers, shells, and rocks. She sometimes asked friends to participate in these rituals.  According to three friends in BC, Emma had began feeling stress from harassment she had received while attending culinary school in 2008 - 2009. She did not provide details to friends or her journal. A roommate recalled her need to not be in social spaces with men having to do with this harassment.

About two weeks before her disappearance, a friend recalled driving by the shelter and finding Emma outside, cold and wet, staring motionlessly at birds. Shelter staff started to recognize Emma’s paranoid and depressive behavior. At this time, Emma began giving away, selling, or throwing away her personal belongings. This behavior let the shelter staff to believe she was suicidal and/or suffering from mental illness. They were unable to contact her parents due to privacy laws, so instead had the police called to do a mental health check on Emma. The staff explained the situation to the police, and instead of doing a check, they told the staff to call back if she exhibited this behavior again; staff did not call back.

On November 20, Emma was seen on surveillance videos at the local YMCA. The video shows her entering and exiting the building four times within a 14 minute period. She seems nervous and is peering into the windows of the building, as if waiting for or hiding from someone. She is seeing holding something in her hand shaped like an iPod or cell phone.

Emma then made a series of tear-filled calls to her mother, Shelly, starting on November 23. Her mother assured her that she would make the necessary arrangements to get Emma back home. Emma called back the next day, saying she would stay in Victoria and try to make things work. She repeatedly changed her mind over the next four days. Emma told a friend that she was “anxious” about her mom coming to Victoria and that she “couldn’t face her”.

Emma’s final call to Shelly took place on November 28, around 4:30AM, the day she was last seen. She told her mom, “Don’t come Mom. Not today.” Shelly noticed a change in the tone of Emma’s voice, which concerned her. Shelly noticed the caller ID from the number Emma was calling from was “Sandy Merriman”. She assumed it was a friend, but looked it up and was shocked to discover that it was a woman’s shelter. Shelly, who was concerned that Emma was suffering from mental illness, took a flight to Victoria that afternoon.

The morning of her disappearance, Emma went to the Chateau Victoria, where she discovers that her van was going to be towed. She begs the staff for another day to move the van, which they allowed. Around 8AM, Emma was spotted on a surveillance camera at a 7-11. She uses a debit card to buy a $200 prepaid credit card. Afterwards, she nervously lingers outside the store and peers into the windows. She runs into a friend at 10AM. The friend said she was standing motionless on a corner. He asks Emma if she needs help, to which she slowly shakes her head no. Some people claim Emma was at the library around noon. After that, she was seen by another friend at a soup kitchen. She says she isn’t feeling well and can’t talk, and pulls away when the friend asked if she wanted a hug. Two people saw Emma walking along Pandora Street; they were so struck by her odd behavior and called the police. The police never followed up. She reportedly wasn’t wearing shoes at this point. Another witness saw Emma walking with an unknown man. No description was given of the man. Around 5:30PM, Emma purchases a prepaid cell phone from the same 7-11 where she bought the prepaid credit card from. The cell phone was never activated. She again is seen being nervous and peering into the store.

Emma returned to the shelter at 6PM and was alerted by staff that her mother was on the way. Emma was visibly upset and stormed out of the shelter. She was pursued by another resident, but was unable to catch up with her. It is unclear how the staff knew her mother was on the way, as her mother did not tell the staff.

Around 6:10PM, a taxi cab driver picks up Emma near the shelter. She asks him to take her to the airport, but then quickly changes her mind. Even though she had the prepaid credit card on her, as well as between $2,000 to $3,000 in her bank account, she tells the driver that she cannot afford the fare and has him drop her off where she was picked up. When they arrive, she asks to sit in the cab for a while. She becomes paranoid and restless when she hears his dispatch radio, and asks “Why is there noise coming out of that?” She pays the fare and leaves the cab.

At 6:15, she is seen by a friend named Denis. Emma is standing barefoot on a corner, looking disoriented, paranoid, and unable to cross the street. She doesn’t say much and is looking all around her. She asks Denis to walk with her for a bit, and he becomes worried about her behavior. They enter a restaurant at 7PM and Denis calls the police. He observes the police talking to Emma and leaves.

Police assess Emma for 45 minutes. According to police notes, Emma did not engage with police with dialogue, but instead shook her head or answered with one word answers. She only spoke after 30 minutes, to give her name. She was barefoot and refused to put her shoes back on. By 8PM, police decide that Emma was not a threat to herself or anyone else and let her walk away. This is the last confirmed sighting of Emma.

Shelly arrived around 11PM and was told Emma did not claim her bed that night. Around midnight, Shelly called police and declared her a missing person.

On the 29th, the Chateau Victoria arranges to have Emma’s car towed. Police search it and find almost all of her possessions in it, including her laptop, passport, journals, camera, and library books. On this same day, Shelly was visiting the shelter during each shift and was informed by the staff about Emma’s bizarre behavior leading up to her disappearance. During this time, Emma was reportedly spotted on Douglas Street in Victoria, though this sighting is unconfirmed.

On December 2, a witness reports an odd encounter at the harbor after dark. Emma tells them to remember the name “Emma Fillipoff” and tells them to repeat it three times. This, too, is also unconfirmed.

On December 5th, the prepaid credit card Emma bought was flagged as being used at a gas station on Sooke Road. The man who used it is cleared after being questioned and polygraphed by police. He tells police that he found it on the side of the road by Juan de Fuca Recreation Centre in Colwood. He later calls Shelly three times and tells her due to being drunk, he cannot remember where he found the card. He is certain that he waited a week before using it.

Also on December 5th, Julian Huard, who Emma met in Perth and moved to Victoria in early 2012, becomes a person of interest after Emma’s parents find odd messages he sent to Emma on Facebook, hidden in the “Other” message tab. He also sent Emma a message weeks after she vanished about “building [her] a cabin in the woods”. He was part of the initial search team until he became a person of interest. He was questioned and polygraphed and cleared as a suspect.

In May 2014, an agitated man entered a clothing store in downtown Vancouver, with a crumpled up missing person’s poster of Emma in his hand. He told the employees that Emma was his girlfriend and she just wanted to be left alone. The man was wearing a green shirt, had a noticeable limp, and flame tattoos on his arm. He has yet to be identified and no one has come forward with information about him.

Following Emma’s disappearance, a search team comprised of Emma’s friends, family, and volunteers searched the Victoria area and the communities of Vancouver Island. Eventually the target area widened to include the BC mainland and locations across Canada and the United States. A dive team searched in the Victoria harbor but found nothing. A private investigator worked on the case for a year but couldn’t locate Emma. Despite a $25,000 reward, there have been no confirmed sightings of Emma.

If you have any information on Emma’s whereabouts, please call 911 or contact the Victoria Police Department non-emergency number at 250-995-7654. For tips or sightings of Emma, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or email [email protected]. Also visit the official website http://www.helpfindemmafillipoff.com/ and the official Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/HelpFindEmmaFillipoff/.

Links and references:

http://www.helpfindemmafillipoff.com/

https://www.facebook.com/HelpFindEmmaFillipoff/

http://thegenerationwhypodcast.com/disappearance-of-emma-fillipoff-256-generation-why

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Emma_Fillipoff

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The Tromp family incident

The Tromp family incident was a chain of events that took place starting on August 29, 2016, involving husband and wife Mark and Jacoba Tromp, as well as their adult children Riana, Mitchell, and Ella, in Silvan, Australia. It is considered to be “one of the most bizarre cases” in Australian history, and though all family members were recovered, their actions that led to their disappearance can not be explained by investigators.

Mark and Jacob ran an earth moving business and a berry farm where their children worked seven days a week.

On August 29, 2016, the whole family unexpectedly fled their home, without their cell phones, identification, passports, or money/bank cards. They left in Ella’s vehicle. 19 miles into the trip, it is discovered that, unlike the rest of his family, Mitchell brought his cell phone with him. His parents forced him to throw it out the window, as they believed that it was being used to “track them”.  By the first 24 hours, they reached Bathurst, which is 500 miles from the family farm.

The next day, August 30, Mitchell, becoming concerned with his parent’s “delusional” behavior, left the family around 7AM. They then traveled to the Jenolan Caves. While at the Jenolan Caves, Ella and Riana left their parents as well by stealing a car. Ella and Riana then drove to Goulburn and reported their parents as “missing” there. After that, the two decided to split up. Later that day, Riana was found catatonic in the back of a local man’s truck; she could not remember her own name or where she was from. She was taken to the hospital.

Ella and Mitchell (via train) returned home separately on the night of August 31. The police were already searching the Tromp home by then. Investigators found the home in complete disarray. According to investigators, Mark and Jacoba had gone though years of the farm’s financial records. Piles of papers were found through out the home, and police said “The piles were very ordered and they were clearly looking for something.”

Also on the 31st, Mark and Jacoba drove to Wangaratta and then separated. Jacoba headed north, while Mark remained in Wangaratta. It is believed Mark was involved in a case where a couple was dangerously tailgated by a car of the same make and color of the car Mark was driving. When the couple pulled over, the tailgating car pulled over too. Mark then got out of the car and stared at the couple, and then disappeared into a nearby park. Police searched the park but Mark, or anyone else, was not found. The car Mark was driving was found with the keys still in the ignition.

On September 1, Jacoba took public transportation to Yaas and tried to book a motel with no money or identification. She appeared “dazed” and was escorted to a hospital where the staff recognized her and called the police. Following this, it was reported that Jacoba and Riana were receiving care in a mental facility. On this day, Mitchell tells investigators that his parents were “paranoid” and “afraid” while he was with them during the trip.

On September 3, five days after leaving, Mark is found in Wangaratta. He is questioned by police and given a mental health assessment, spending a total of five hours at the station. He was later released and escorted out of the station by a family member. Mark flipped off the waiting media outside of the station. Later, Mark would publicly apologize for “the hurt and concern caused by these events.”

Later that day, Mitchell and Ella appear before the media, and thank the police for finding their father. They do not go into specifics about what happened, but state they are still “perplexed” by it. Mark Knight, the investigator assigned to the case, stated that he was confused by what happened himself, as the family had no history of mental illness, drug use, had no outstanding debt, and was not part of a church of cult.

Ella and Riana were charged with theft of an automobile, but the charges were later dismissed under the Mental Health Act.

Many others have wondered what caused the family to leave their home in a frantic state, without their phones, money, or identification; also, what made each family member to individually leave. Some people have suggested that the family was poisoned by an environmental toxin on their farm causing them to have bizarre delusions, but there doesn’t seem to be any substantial evidence of this claim. Another theory is that the mafia was somehow involved and were after the family. The theory claims that the family was going to leave the country but believed they could be tracked through their passports, credit cards, and cell phones.

Another theory is that the family suffered a collective delusion called foile a deux. It is a rare psychological condition that can affect families, couples, and siblings, where in they begin to share delusional and paranoid behavior. It is unclear with which parent the delusion started, but it was clear that they were reinforcing each other’s delusions and paranoia. Media reports later showed that Mark and Jacoba had showed signs of mental stress before the incident, and believed someone was out to rob and kill them.

Despite these theories, there is no real explanation as to why this incident occurred. The family has not come out with a statement about what happened, and they currently live a private life without any further incidents.

References and links:

https://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanbergara/this-is-the-story-behind-the-disappearance-of-the?utm_term=.ui4rrdm9W#.ixjooZzny

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4284496/Tromp-family-normal-bizarre-trip.html

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Disappearance of Jennifer Kesse

Jennifer Kesse is a woman from Orlando, Florida who has been missing since January 24, 2006.

Before her disappearance, Kesse graduated from the University of Central Florida in Orlando in 2003, with a degree in finance. She had bought a condominium and had a job as a finance manager. The weekend before she disappeared, she went on vacation to the Virgin Islands with her boyfriend. After returning from the vacation on the morning of January 23, 2006, she drove from her boyfriend's house to her work in Ocoee, Florida, and returned to her home in Orlando that evening.

Kesse was last seen on January 23, 2006, after leaving her work at 6pm. That night, she made calls to her friends and family; the last call being to her boyfriend at 10pm. It was typical of Jennifer to call or text her boyfriend every morning on her drive to work. On the morning of January 24, no such call or text was sent. Her boyfriend attempted to call her at 8am, but his call went straight to voice mail. He assumed she was busy with work, and tries to call her again at 9am but it goes to voice mail again. When Kesse failed to show up for work, her employer called her parents, who drove from their house to hers. They noticed her car was missing, but nothing in the home was unusual. Evidence inside her home, including a wet towel and clothes laid out, indicate that Jennifer was in her home the morning of the 24th and was getting ready for work. About a mile away from Jennifer’s condo, a surveillance camera at an apartment complex records an unidentified person parking Jennifer’s car and then walking away. The car and tape wouldn’t be discovered until two days later. That evening, the Orlando PD began organizing searches, and her family and friends handed out fliers. Police also begin interrogations at this point.

On Thursday, January 26, after seeing Kesse’s car on the news, a tenant of a nearby apartment complex calls the police to tell them that a car matching the description of Jennifer’s has been parked outside their apartment for two days. Police confirm that it is her car, and it is taken to the crime lab for forensic examination. Police also take the surveillance footage at around noon of the day she went missing and discover the unidentified person parking it, walking away, and never looking back. This would end up being the strongest lead of the case, and confirmed the possibility of foul play. Friends and family of Jennifer did not recognize the person, and the low quality image did not help in identifying them. Also, their face was obscured by a fence in the footage.

Without the signs of forced entry or a struggle, investigators theorized that Kesse left her condo for work on the morning of the 24th, locked the door to her condo, and was abducted sometime between leaving her condo and getting into her car. Since valuables were still left in the car, investigators interpreted that robbery was not a motive in the disappearance.  After investigating her car only two pieces of evidence were found - a latent print and a small DNA fiber. Investigators believe her car was wiped down of prints before dropping it off. The only items known to be missing were her cell phone, iPod, keys, purse, briefcase, and the clothes she was wearing. Investigators could not ping her cellphone, most likely as it was turned off, and her bank card was never used.

Investigators questioned her friends and family first to see if there was anyone with a motive to abduct her. Her ex boyfriend, who wanted to get back with her and was upset with her, was questioned but investigators concluded that he wasn’t involved. Her current boyfriend was also questioned, but his alibi checked out and he was eliminated. During the time of her disappearance, Kesse’s apartment was undergoing an expansion, and Jennifer complained to her family that the workers would catcall and harass her. Investigators tried to interrogate many of them, but it was difficult and led to no new leads. Investigators also went to her work place and collected her computer for evidence. They learned that one of her managers as trying to pursue a relationship with her, but she declined. This man was questioned, but was cleared.

In May 2007, her company offered a $1 million reward with a deadline of July 4th for information on Jennifer’s whereabouts with the condition that she is alive; it was never claimed. A $5,000 reward for information leading to her whereabouts remains active.

Jennifer is still considered missing and endangered by the Orlando Police Department, the FBI, and Interpol. As of June 10, 2010, the FBI has been handling the case. She remains on the FBI’s Most Wanted/Missing list. The last search for her took place in 2014 and investigators continue to get leads.

On May 2, 2008, the Florida House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 502 - “The Jennifer Kesse and Tiffany Sessions Missing Persons Act”, changing how missing persons cases are handled in the state.

In early 2017, a jewelry store employee in Decherd, Tennessee reported to authorities that in either 2006 or 2007, a woman entered the store, held at the wrists by an African-American man with dreadlocks, wearing high fashion clothing. She was described as being in her twenties, approximately 5’7”, with blonde hair and a tan, which was notable since it was winter in Tennessee. The woman appeared to be there against her will, and the employee and her colleagues believed she was being abused and may possibly be a victim of human trafficking. She never spoke and did not respond when employees talked to her, and did not make eye contact with anyone. An employee asked if she was okay, and she did not respond. The encounter ended when the store worker went to shake the woman’s hand, and she cried out; the employee noticed her hand was bruised and had been broken. The man and woman left in a small, dark colored car that may have been driven by a third person. The store employee was unaware of Jennifer Kesse until she saw a report about her on the news in 2017. After seeing more photos of Jennifer, she said she was “100% certain” that the woman in the store was Jennifer, and reported the event to the tip line. This information was released on Unconcluded, a podcast about the Jennifer Kesse case.

References/sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disappearance_of_Jennifer_Kesse

http://jenniferkesse.com/

http://unconcluded.com/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/07/13/podcast-unconcluded-jennifer-kesse-investigation-abducted/103664002/

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Admitted Buncombe Co. murderer indicted in slaying of teen missing since 2000

A Buncombe County man was indicted for the murder of an Asheville teen over 17 years since the teen disappeared.

On Monday, July 10, Robert Jason Owens was indicted with a first degree murder charge in the death of Zebb Quinn on January 2, 2000. Owens is currently serving a prison sentence for the murders of Cristie and JT Codd and their unborn child.

Zebb Quinn has been considered missing for more than 17 years, after meeting Owens on the night of January 2, 2000; Quinn and Owens were going to look at a car that Quinn was considering buying. They were seen together on surveillance footage at a gas station at 9:15pm. He has not been seen since. Quinn’s mother filed a missing persons report the next day. Two days after his disappearance, a man pretending to be Quinn called Quinn’s workplace to call in sick for Quinn. When the number was called back, it was traced to a Volvo plant where Owens worked. Owens admitted to making the call, but claimed Quinn asked him to do so.

Two weeks after Quinn disappeared, his car was found in the parking lot of a restaurant, near the hospital where his mother worked. A pair of lips were drawn on the back windshield, and a live puppy was in the car. A hotel card key was found as well, but was unable to be traced.

In 2007, there was a break in the case when search warrants were executed on a piece of land where Owen’s lived. He was named a person of interest, but no arrests were made. The case was now being considered a homicide case.

In 2015, the Codd family disappeared. Owens lived near them and was doing work as a handyman for them. Owens was charged in the murder of the family. Warrants showed that he admitted to investigators two days after the disappearance that he killed them. He entered a plea deal for life in prison instead of the death penalty.

In a press conference, Lt. Joseph Silberman with the Asheville Police Department said since 2000, detectives have been following up on new leads and forensic evidence in the case. The police department presented the case of Quinn’s disappearance to a grand jury, which returned the murder indictment. After the indictment, Silberman said detectives are following up on leads to strengthen the case.

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Blair Adams

Blair Adams was a Canadian man who died under mysterious and suspicious circumstances. His case remains unsolved, with no real clues as to why he was killed.

Adams was 31 years old and worked construction in Surrey, British Columbia. He was described by his friends to be a well liked person, as well as a hard worker, and wasn’t into drugs.

Days before his death, he started acting strange, claiming he was being followed by people who were going to kill him. On July 5, 1996, Adams took out all of the money in his savings account, amounting to almost $6,000, as well as thousands of dollars worth of jewelry and gold.

He tried to get leave to Canada through the Canadian/American border, but because he was a young man carrying a large amount of cash, he was profiled as a drug dealer and was refused entry.

The next day, he arrived at his job and quit. Adams then bought a $1,600 round trip ticked to Germany, but went to a friend’s house instead. He claimed that he needed help getting across the border because someone was trying to kill him, but the friend was unable to help. The day after this, he refunded his tickets, rented a car, and was able to cross the border and go into Seattle.

From there, he bought a one way ticket to Washington DC, and went to Knoxville after arriving there. He arrived at a gas station at 5:30 PM and told the employee that his car wouldn’t start. The employee told Adams that he had the wrong key for the car, even though he drove the car to this gas station with the key he had. He hitchhiked to a hotel. At the hotel, he entered and left the lobby five times before getting a room. An employee at the hospital described him as “paranoid…nervous, agitated, expecting someone to come in on him even though there wasn’t anybody there.  …he was waiting for somebody to walk in on him.” After getting a room, he left the hotel without entering the room and was never seen alive again. 7:37 PM was the last known time of him being alive.

His body was found 12 hours later in a parking lot half a mile from the hotel, naked from the waist down. It appeared that his pants had been forcibly removed. The cause of death was found to be a single punch to the stomach that was so powerful, it ruptured his internal organs. Scattered around Blair’s body was $4,000 in American, Canadian, and German currency, as well as a small pack that had $2,000 in gold and jewelry.

Although Blair thought his life was in danger, authorities believed the threat was imaginary and Blair traveled to different places to escape his delusions.

Sources/references:

http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Blair_Adams

http://www.cracked.com/article_24405_the-11-creepiest-unsolved-crimes-no-one-can-explain-part-2.html

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Apparently Thinking Sideways linked my blog post about Karin Waldegrave on their blog (http://thinkingsidewayspodcast.com/karin-catherine-waldegrave/). I was literally just listening to this episode yesterday at the gym. I’m nerding out about it so bad right now. Thinking Sideways is one of my favorite podcasts and one of the reasons why I started this blog. I’m so happy. 🖤

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hello i found your blog through the thinking sideways podcast and its amazing. thank you for putting effort into writing and resarching all these mysteries!

How did you find it through Thinking Sideways? Did they link it or talk about it?

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just found out about your blog. i read it in two days. i am a true crime lover and i have to tell you i enjoyed it a lot! maybe you should look into the jeniffer kesse case. i think there is potential for a good story there! thanks again!

Hi! Thanks for the support! I'm very busy with my job but have been researching this case and will have a post up soon for it.

[coralines-oddities]

The Death of Elisa Lam

Elisa Lam was a 21 year old student from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. She was reported missing in the beginning of February 2013. Her dead body was recovered from a water tank on top of the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles, California, on February 19, 2013. Her body was found naked, with her clothes and belongings found floating in the water near her. Maintenance workers at the hotel discovered her body after guests had complained of problems with the water supply. Her autopsy report took four months, and resulted with no evidence of physical trauma; it was ruled her death was accidental. Interest in her case increased prior to the discovery of her body when the Los Angeles Police Department released video of the last time she was seen, on the day of her disappearance, from an elevator security camera. In the video, she is seen exiting and entering an elevator repeatedly, talking and gesturing to the hallway outside the elevator, and hiding in the elevator. The elevator itself doesn’t move and seems to be malfunctioning. The elevator video went viral online, with people claiming it was unsettling.

Interest in her case increased prior to the discovery of her body when the Los Angeles Police Department released video of the last time she was seen, on the day of her disappearance, from an elevator security camera. In the video, she is seen exiting and entering an elevator repeatedly, talking and gesturing to the hallway outside the elevator, and hiding in the elevator. The elevator itself doesn’t move and seems to be malfunctioning. The elevator video went viral online, with people claiming it was unsettling.

Lam had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and depression, and was on four different medications to deal with the conditions. According to her family, whom kept her problems a secret, she had no history of suicidal thoughts or attempts; however, a family member claimed she had gone missing briefly before. Lam blogged about her disorders, and wrote about how in 2010, she had a “relapse” and dropped several classes.

Lam left her home of Burnaby, a suburb in Vancouver, in January 2013 for a trip of Southern California. She traveled alone, by train and intercity bus. She arrived in LA on January 26. Two days later, she checked into the Cecil Hotel. She was assigned a shared room on the fifth floor at first, but was moved to a room by herself after her roommates had complained of “odd behavior” from her.

Lam kept in touch with her parents while on her trip. On January 31, the day she was scheduled to leave the Cecil and go to Santa Cruz, her parents did not hear from her. They called the LAPD and flew to LA. Hotel staff who saw her on that day said she was alone, but said she was “very lively, very friendly”. Police searched the hotel to the extent that they legally could, but couldn’t search every room because there was no probable cause to show a crime had occurred. On February 14, Lam was missing for a week, and the LAPD released the elevator surveillance video.

It went viral and was reposted wildly. On the Chinese video site Youku, it got three million views in its first ten days. Many people found it unsettling to watch. Many people began to theorize about her actions. Some claim she became possessed during her stay, or may have been trying to travel to another dimension. Another suggestion is that she was trying to get the elevator to move to escape someone pursuing her. A body language expert claims she might be under the influence of ecstasy. It was also suggested that she was having a bipolar episode.

During the search for Lam, guests at the hotel began complaining about the low water pressure in their rooms. Some claimed the water was colored and smelled bad. On February 19, an employee went to the roof to check the water tanks and found Lam’s body floating face up in one of them. Police were called, and firefighters drained the tank to remove the body. Many of the Cecil’s short terms guests left, being disgusted that they had drank water contaminated by a decomposing body. The health department required that the entire water system of the Cecil be drained and refilled.

On February 21, the coroner’s office reported that her death was caused by accidental drowning, with her bipolar disorder being a factor. Their full report was released four months later, after being postponed many times. It reported that her body had been found naked in the tank, with the clothes she was wearing in the elevator video near her. Her phone was not found and is presumed to have been stolen. Her body was moderately decomposed. No trauma or sexual assault had occurred. No evidence was found to suggest she had killed herself. No recreational drugs were found in her system.

Investigators could not offer an explanation as to how she got into the tank. Doors and stairs that access the roof are locked; staff are the only ones with the passcodes and keys, and any attempt to force them would trigger an alarm. There are also questions to how she got into the tank by herself. All tanks are almost five feet tall and propped up on concrete blocks. There is no fixed access to them and workers use a ladder to get inside. The lids for the tanks are heavy and would be difficult to put back on from the inside.

A week after her body was found, a couple who had stayed at the hotel filed a lawsuit against the Cecil. They argued that the hotel was in breach of contract with the guests over the contaminated water. In September, Lam’s parents filed a wrongful death suit against the hotel. They claimed the hotel “failed to inspect and seek out hazards in the hotel that presented an unreasonable risk of danger to [Lam] and other guests.” In 2015, the judge dismissed her parents case.

Ryan Murphy, creator and writer of the show American Horror Story, was inspired for the fifth season, titled Hotel, by the case of a woman “who got into an elevator at a downtown hotel and was never seen again.” Though he never said it was specifically Lam, it is believed he was talking about her. In the credits of the Hotel season, there is a credit for Eliza, under “In Memory Of”.

Links and reference:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Elisa_Lam

http://www.vice.com/read/elisa-lam-drowned-in-a-water-tank-two-years-ago-but-the-obsession-with-her-death-lives-on-511

https://medium.com/matter/haunted-947d642a6d59#.zdk59sq5u

[coralines-oddities]

Chicago Tylenol murders

The Chicago Tylenol murders were a series of deaths as a result from poisoning from drug tampering that occurred in Chicago in 1982. The victims were poisoned by arsenic laced Tylenol pills. Seven people died in the original incident, with many more dying in copycat incidents. The incidents led to reform in packaging of over-the-counter drugs and federal anti-tampering laws. No suspect was ever charged or convicted of the incident.

On September 29, 1982, in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, 12 year old Mary Kellerman died after taking an extra strength Tylenol pill. In Arlington Heights, Illinois, Adam Janus died in the hospital the same day. Shortly after, Adam’s brother Stanley and his sister-in-law Theresa, died after taking pills from the same bottle. In the subsequent days, Mary McFarland of Elmherst, Paula Prince of Chicago, and Mary Reiner of Winfield also died in similar incidents. Investigators quickly realized the Tylenol was the link between all the cases, and issued warnings over broadcast and by driving cars with loudspeakers through neighborhoods.

Investigators believed the suspect had acquired bottles of Tylenol throughout the Chicago area over several weeks, added the cyanide to the pills, and placed the pills back on the shelves. In addition to the five bottles that led to the deaths, three more were found.

Johnson & Johnson, the makers of Tylenol, issued warnings and halted production and advertising of Tylenol. The company advertised in national media for people to not consume any of their products.

During the investigation, a man named James William Lewis sent a letter to Johnson & Johnson, demanding $1 million to stop the murders. He was living in New York City at the time of the incident, and police were unable to link him to the murders. He was convicted of extortion and served 13 years in prison. Court documents were released in 2009, showing that “investigators concluded [Lewis] was responsible for the poisonings, despite the fact that they did not have enough evidence to charge him.” Lewis has denied responsibility for the incident. Roger Arnold was also investigated and cleared. He had a nervous breakdown down to the media attention, and ended up shooting and killing a man in 1983. He was convicted of the murder in 1984 and served 15 years in prison. He died in 2008.

Several copycat incidents involving Tylenol and other brands occurred after. In 1986, Excedrin capsules in Washington were tampered with, which led to the deaths of Susan Snow and Brice Nickell. Nickell’s wife Stella was arrested and convicted. The same year, Encaprin was recalled after a poisoning hoax, which led to a sales drop and the product being discontinued.

In the aftermath of the incident, Johnson & Johnson was praised for its handling of the crisis. Their market share collapsed from 35% to 8%, but it rebounded in less than a year; a move credited to the company’s reaction to the incident. In November of that year, it reintroduced pills to the market, but with a new, triple sealed packaging. The incident also inspired the drug, food, and consumer goods industries to develop tamper-resistant packaging. Product tampering also became a federal crime. The incident also led to the drug industry moving away from capsules, to the solid “caplet”, with the addition to tamper-evident safety seals on bottles.

In January 2009, investigators renewed the case, and searched the home of James Lewis in Massachusetts, and seized many items. A FBI spokesman declined to comment, but said “we’ll have something to release later possibly”. In 2010, Lewis and his wife submitted DNA samples and fingerprints to authorities. In May 2011, the FBI requested DNA samples from Ted Kaczynski, the “Unabomber”. Kaczynski denied ever having cyanide. The first four Unabomber crimes happened in Chicago from 1978 to 1980, and his parents had a home in a Chicago suburb in 1982, where he occasionally stayed. In 2011, a former Johnson & Johnson employee and whistleblower claimed the laced pills had actually been tampered with along the packaging and distribution lines, instead of retail locations. The person/s responsible still remain at large. No one has ever been charged, and no motive was ever established.

Links and reference:

http://io9.gizmodo.com/the-horrifying-true-story-of-the-1982-chicago-tylenol-m-1675923381

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/tylenol-murders-1982/

http://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1878063,00.html

[coralines-oddities]

Disappearance of Sabrina Aisenberg

On the morning of November 24, 1997, in Valrico, Florida, Marlene Aisenberg discovered that her five month old daughter Sabrina was missing from her crib. Marlene told police that she checked on her daugher around midnight and she was asleep in the crib. Marlene returned to Sabrina’s room around 6:42 AM, and Sabrina had disappeared. Marlene’s husband, Steve, called the police. Sabrina has not been seen since.

On the night of Sabrina’s disappearance, the garage door to the Aisenberg’s home had been left unlocked. Investigators found an unidentified blonde hair, a shoe print, and several unidentified fingerprints inside the house. Neighbors reported that there had been previous incidents of break ins of homes with small children. One of their neighbors reported that his dog had barked around 1 AM, and after letting his dog outside, he believed he heard a baby crying somewhere in the distance. However, it is not known if the cries he heard were those from Sabrina.

Scott Middleton, another neighbor of the Aisenberg’s, was a retired police officer, was invited to look at the crime scene and give advice on the case. Middleton reported that the Aisenberg’s were emotionless about losing their daughter, “like nothing had happened”.

Investigators suspected Marlene and Steve in Sabrina’s disappearance. Marlene’s story about what woke her up that night when she decided to check in on Sabrina faltered - she first told investigators that a noisy fish tank filter woke her up, then changed her story to say that a television woke her up. Investigators urged the couple to go on live television and record a message to Sabrina’s kidnapper/s to plead for her return. During the live recording, the two seemed emotionless again during their plea. At the end, the Aisenberg’s are seen to have been smiling at each other, or laughing at a joke, leading the public opinion on the two to change. After this, investigators asked to put a tap on their phone, in case a ransom call was made to their house. Investigators were also allowed to place listening devices throughout the home. According to transcripts of the Aisenberg’s conversations, Marlene and Steve both said that Sabrina was dead. The couple also took lie detector tests that came back inconclusive. After getting a lawyer, the Aisenberg’s decided to not cooperate with the investigation. The Aisenberg’s claimed that the police did not consider that Sabrina was kidnapped, and was only concerned about finding a body.

Two years after Sabrina’s disappearance, the Aisenberg’s were indicted on conspiracy and other charges, in September 1999. In 2001, a judge found that the investigators had lied when asking for permission to place the wiretaps in the Aisenberg’s home. Steve and Marlene were cleared of all charges against them. The judge also said that there was nothing on the tapes that contained any of the evidence mentioned in the transcripts of the Aisenberg’s conversations. The lead prosecutor of the case was demoted that same year. The Aisenberg’s lawyers filed a motion for repayment of their legal fees in 2001, and they received almost $3 million in damages, which was later dropped to $1.5 million.

In July 2008, Dennis Byron, a prison informant, claimed that his cellmate, Scott Overbeck, had confessed to him that he had he was involved in Sabrina’s disappearance. Overbeck claimed that he was called to the Aisenberg’s place on the night of Sabrina’s disappearance by an unnamed person to retrieve a small boat from their house that had a dead child inside of it. Overbeck claimed to have cut up the child’s body and used the remains as bait for crabs. The Aisenberg’s, however, said that they had never owned a boat. As far as I can research, nothing has came from this claim about Overbeck being involved.

The Aisenberg’s moved to Maryland after Sabrina’s disappearance. They continue to maintain their innocence and they believe Sabrina is still alive. Her case remains unsolved.

Links and reference:

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/a/aisenberg_sabrina.html

What happened to Sabrina Aisenberg? : UnresolvedMysteries - Reddit

http://www.tampabay.com/news/informant-aisenberg-baby-was-dumped-in-bay/741610

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/daily/sept99/kidnap11.htm

[coralines-oddities]

‘My God, that’s Kimberly!’: Scientist solves perplexing mystery of identity thief Lori Ruff

The Seattle Times in 2013 published a real-life mystery story about Lori Ruff, who died in 2010, leaving a husband and child in Texas. Years earlier, she had stolen another person’s identity. Who was she really? Finally, we have an answer.

Hey all. In my hiatus from this blog, there’s been a huge update to the Lori Ruff case, which is one of my favorite unsolved mysteries. 

For those who aren’t familiar, Lori Ruff killed herself, and the it was discovered after that she had stolen a two year old girl’s identity, who had died in a fire decades before. Since there was identity theft involved, Social Security investigator Joe Velling became interested in the case.

A woman named Colleen Fitzpatrick, who is a genealogist, was also interested in the case ]. The Ruff family had DNA samples taken from Lori’s daughter. Fitzpatick found a person who showed up as Lori’s first cousin, a man named Michael Cassidy, but with no other details. 

The trail went cold for years, but then a name of a third cousin came up, which provided clues of Lori’s family tree. Through making Lori’s family tree, Fitzpatrick came across Michael Cassidy’s name again. Through the family tree, Facebook, public records, and obituaries, Fitzpatrick put together most of the Cassidy family. By her accounts, Lori’s mom was one of Michael’s aunts. Fitzpatrick then got in contact with Velling, who believed she was onto something.

Velling went to Philadelphia in March 2016 to approach the Cassidy family. A nonspecified family member was talked to, and when shown Lori Ruff’s drivers license photo, the family member said “My God, that’s Kimberly!” The next day, Velling spoke to most of the Cassidy family and put the pieces together - it was definitely Kimberly. Her mother was Michael’s aunt, Deanne. Her father was James McLean. Through DNA testing on Deanne, Lori Ruff was confirmed to be Kimberly McLean.

Deanne refused to speak to reporters, but fielded all answers through her brother. Kimberly grew up in Philadelphia, in a secure, loving family. When Kimberly was a teenager, her parents divorced and her mother remarried. Trouble started during this time; Kimberly didn’t adjust to the divorce and the changes became overwhelming. In 1986, when Kimberly was 18, she told her mother she was leaving for good and for her not to follow her. She was never heard of from her family again. Nothing crazy or mysterious; just a normal runaway. Kimberly didn’t assume a new identity until 1988, but from the investigation, it’s been proven that she spent time in Idaho, California, and Las Vegas before moving to Texas. 

In September, Lori Ruff’s name was removed from the national database of missing and unidentified people.

[coralines-oddities]

Thanks!!!

Hi!

I just found your blog and want to thank you for all your great posts! I´m new to Tumbler but I love true crime, specially missing person cases. You´re doing a great job here, so thanks!!!

Best wishes,

Laila

Norway

------- Thanks! I haven't had any new posts in a while because of life and work but I'm working on a couple right now. I appreciate your kind words! 😌

[coralines-oddities]

Disappearance of Nicholas Barclay/Frederic Bourdin

Nicholas Barclay is a missing child from San Antonio, Texas. His case became of note when serial imposter and confidence trickster Frederic Bourdin assumed Barclay’s identity for five months.

Barclay was last seen on June 13, 1994. He was playing a game of basketball with friends and called home for a ride. His mother worked nights at the time, so his brother did not want to wake her and Nicholas walked home. He did not make it home and was never seen again. He was 13 years old at the time of his disappearance.

Authorities did not take the case seriously at first, as Barclay had been a problem child. He was diagnosed with ADHD, and had ran away many times before going missing. He had a very tumultuous relationship with his mother. He also had several small tattoos done by friends at their homes. By the age of 13, he had already been in trouble with authorities for breaking into a store, stealing a pair of shoes, and threatening a teacher. His sentencing hearing was the day after he went missing, and it was a possibility that he was going to be put into a group home, which Barclay had been upset about. In September, his brother called the police, claiming that he had saw Nicholas break into the garage at home. Nicholas had not been found, and police and Nicholas’s family did not take this claim seriously.

Frederic Bourdin was born in Nanterre, Hauts-de-Seine, on June 13, 1974. His birth was a result of a one night stand between his teenage mother and a married Algerian immigrant; Bourdin never knew his father. Because of his mixed race and illegitimacy, he had a strained relationship with his grandfather. Bourdin has said that, because of this, he felt like he “didn’t have a real childhood”.

In October 1997, Bourdin was picked up by authorities in Linares, Spain for not having identification on him. After going back to the station and gaining the trust of the officers, he was left overnight in the station, alone, with access to a missing persons database. After going through the database, he decided to assume the identity of Barclay. However, this wouldn’t be easy, as Barclay would have only been 16 years old and Bourdin was 23 years old; Barclay was blonde with blue eyes and fair skin, where Bourdin had all dark features; and Bourdin spoke with a thick French accent. Bourdin went forward with claiming to be Barclay, and told the authorities that he was kidnapped and put into sex slavery, and was shipped to Spain by his captors. He claimed to be abused by American, Mexican, and European military members. Bourdin told authorities that his captors changed his eye color with chemicals, and he picked up the accent from being around French men. Later, he would bleach his hair with peroxide and had tattoos done to match Barclay’s. His impersonation fooled officials in both Spain and the US and he was granted Barclay’s identity, including his passport, social security number, and birth certificate.

Nicholas’s sister flew to Spain to pick up Bourdin. She first expressed doubt as to it really being him, but chalked the oddities of it to puberty and the years of abuse he experienced. Bourdin deliberately covered himself up as much as possible with multiple layers of clothing, hats, and sunglasses, as to cover up his image; he also did not talk much to Barclay’s family and did not make physical contact. Nicholas’s mother believed that Bourdin was her son, but others, including Nicholas’s uncle, were suspicious. Bourdin assumed Barclay’s identity completely, including going to high school.

In late 1997, a private investigator grew suspicious of Bourdin after seeing him on a news report about Barclay being found. He noticed differences between the two’s appearances; he compared photos of both of their ears and concluded that Bourdin was not Barclay. In February 1998, the FBI asked Bourdin and Barclay’s mother for blood samples to confirm his identity. Barclay’s mother refused for both, since technically Barclay was underage and needed parental consent. The FBI then obtained a court order for blood samples, which proved that Bourdin was an imposter.

Bourdin was charged with passport fraud and perjury in 1998 and he pleaded guilty. Bourdin admitted to finding information on Barclay on the database and assuming his identity. Bourdin made many claims about Barclay and his family during the trial - including having evidence that Barclay was dead, that Barclay’s family were involved in his disappearance, that he met Barclay in Spain and he was still alive, and later denied ever meeting Barclay or knowing anything about him. He was sentenced to six years; the judge gave him three times the standard sentence due to the harm he caused Nicholas’s family.

After Bourdin had been found to be an imposter, police began investigating Barclay’s family in regard to his disappearance. Barclay’s mother was a heroin addict at the time of his disappearance, but went to rehab after he disappeared. She was given two polygraph tests about his disappearance and failed one of them. Barclay’s brother had been considered a person of interest in the case, but he died from a cocaine overdose in 1998; the case grew cold after.

Barclay has never been seen and his case still remains unsolved. His case is still being considered a missing persons case, but foul play is suspected. If you have any information regarding Barclay, please contact the San Antonio police department.

Bourdin was released in 2003 and he returned to France. He again assumed the identity of a missing 14 year old named Leo Bailey. DNA proved he was not Bailey. In 2004, he was again in Spain, and assumed the identity of a child named Ruben Sanchez Espinoza, who became orphaned in the Madrid terrorist bombings. He was soon found to be an imposter and sent back to France. In 2005, he assumed the identity of Francisco Hernandez-Fernandez, a 15 year old orphan from Spain. As Francisco, he attended college; a professor outed him as an imposter after seeing a news report on Bourdin’s impersonations. In September 2005, he was sentenced to four months in prison for stealing Leo Bailey’s identity.

In August 2007, he married a French woman named Isabelle; they have four children and live in Le Mans, France. The Daily Mirror claimed that Bourdin said he would not impersonate anyone again. However, David Grann from the New Yorker, who has written about the case before, claimed that when asked if having children made Bourdin a new man, said “No. This [an imposter] is who I am.”

Barclay’s case was fictionalized in the 2010 French film the Chameleon. The film is based on the authorized biography of Bourdin of the same name. The Imposter, a documentary about Barclay’s case, was released in 2012; this documentary is available to watch on Netflix.

Links and reference:

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/b/barclay_nicholas.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric_Bourdin

The documentary about the case, the Imposter, on Youtube:

[coralines-oddities]

Karin Catherine Waldegrave

Karin Catherine Waldegrave was a person of note for posting hundreds of cryptic posts and comments on her personal Facebook page. Karin was born in London and studied at the University of Toronto, where she received a PhD. She then settled in Toronto. She was known for being smart and well versed, with high profile connections in the academic world. She is also known for speaking several languages.

In 2011, she began to post long, rambling posts in her Facebook, and would comment on her own posts, up to 700 times within a 12 hour period; her comments would almost all be posted within a single minute. Her posts mention conspiracies of the FBI and CIA mind controlling her. She claimed to be privy to the illegal doings of the “Elite”, as well as knowing of several criminal networks. Karin’s profile had a few personal photos, but all photos appeared to be water damaged.

Readers speculated that she was schizophrenic, or was a spy posting espionage communications. It was also speculated that she may have had a mental breakdown under the pressure of academia, or that her account was in control by several people.

As of 2016, there are no known whereabouts of Karin and her Facebook profile has been deleted. People have said she was diagnosed as schizophrenic and was in an institution, though there is no proof of that. A fan page exists that attempts to keep track of her.

Links and reference:

http://listverse.com/2016/03/02/10-strange-attempts-to-start-internet-mysteries/

https://m.facebook.com/karincatherinwaldegravefirstfanpage/

http://uproxx.com/webculture/who-is-karin-catherine-waldegrave/

http://www.oddityworld.net/2014/12/what-happened-to-karin-catherine.html?m=0

https://m.reddit.com/r/UnexplainedPhotos/comments/34v5r3/the_strange_case_of_karin_catherine_waldegrave_in/

[coralines-oddities]

Michael Negrete

Michael Negrete is a missing teenager from Los Angeles, California. He has been missing since December 10, 1999. He has not been seen since and there have been no traces of his body or remains.

Negrete was a freshman at UCLA at the time of his disappearance and was living on the sixth floor of the Dykstra doom. The morning of his disappearance, Negrete was playing video games on his computer until 4AM. It is believed that he left his room sometime between 4AM and 9AM. All of his personal belongings were left behind, including his shoes and wallet.

Search dogs traced Negrete's scent to Sunset Boulevard and Bellagio Street in LA, which is five miles away from Negrete's dorm. No other evidence was found at the scene. Negrete did not have a car on campus and left his shoes in his room when he disappeared. The possibility that he walked the five miles barefoot was raised, but his mother contested that he hated being barefoot and would have put on shoes if he was going to walk a distance. The possibility of Negrete being picked up or forced into someone's car has been brought up.

It was later reported that an unidentified white male had entered the Dykstra dorm around 4:30AM the morning Negrete disappeared. He was described as being in his mid 30s, heavyset, 5'8", and wearing a grey jacket. He has never been identified and has never come forward. Police want to speak to this man, but he is not considered a suspect in Negrete's disappearance.

His parents said they could not find any evidence of secrets in his life that would lead to him disappearing on his own accord. There has been no activity on Negrete’s bank account or credit cards, and his wallet, cards, and cash were left in his dorm room when he disappeared. At the time of his disappearance, he was a good student and was attending UCLA on a music scholarship.

Authorities have suspected foul play, and they have been investigating his case as a homicide.

Consensus around campus at the time of his disappearance was that it might have had to do with someone he met online, possibly the unidentified man that was in the doom. Negrete’s brother Steve wrote a blog post in 2013 where he speculated that his brother’s disappearance may have been drug related, though the post is now deleted. Steve confirmed through Michael’s friends that Michael was into ecstasy and raving, and believes he may have been high on the night he disappeared and may have met foul play because of it. There is no evidence to prove this, however.

Links and reference:

https://www.reddit.com/r/UnresolvedMysteries/comments/2cnjzg/michael_negrete_disappeared_from_ucla_dorm_1999/

http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/n/negrete_michael.html