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Unsolved January 22, 1957 Homicide

Barbara & Patricia Grimes

Status Unsolved
Type Homicide
Date January 22, 1957
Location Chicago, Illinois
Victim Age Unknown
Gender Female

Sisters Barbara (15) and Patricia (13) Grimes disappeared after seeing an Elvis Presley movie in Chicago. Their nude bodies were found in a ditch outside the city weeks later. Despite extensive investigation and multiple suspects, including a confession later recanted, no one was ever convicted of their murders.

Barbara & Patricia Grimes is documented in the ColdCaseIndex database as a homicide case in Chicago, Illinois. The events are dated to January 22, 1957. The victim is recorded as female. The last known information on record places the case at December 28, 1956, Brighton Theater, Chicago, IL.

Within the ColdCaseIndex taxonomy, Barbara & Patricia Grimes is filed under Homicide with a status of Unsolved. A homicide entry documents a killing in which the perpetrator has not been identified, has not been convicted, or where the case is otherwise historically notable. The record is cross-referenced under the themes child, homicide, Chicago, historical, unsolved, which connect it to related cases across the database.

As of the most recent information compiled here, no arrest has been publicly recorded in the Barbara & Patricia Grimes case, and it remains open and unsolved. Cases like this can be reactivated at any time — advances in DNA analysis, forensic genetic genealogy, and renewed public attention have resolved cases that lay dormant for decades.

Primary jurisdiction for the Barbara & Patricia Grimes case rests with local law enforcement in Chicago, supported by Illinois state investigative authorities. The case sits within a wider national picture: the U.S. homicide clearance rate has fallen from roughly 90% in the 1960s to about 54% today, and more than 346,000 homicides recorded since 1965 remain unsolved. ColdCaseIndex documents individual cases like this one to keep them publicly visible and searchable.

child homicide Chicago historical unsolved
Last Known Information
December 28, 1956, Brighton Theater, Chicago, IL
Date of Incident
January 22, 1957
Current Status
Unsolved — the case remains open

Curated starting points for verifying and researching this case. Direct references are checked; search links are provided as further-reading aids. ColdCaseIndex is an index of public information — see a case correction? Email info@coldcaseindex.com.

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  • FBI Tip Line: 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324)
  • The local police department or sheriff's office in Illinois, or the state bureau of investigation

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