Cold Cases in California
ColdCaseIndex documents 88 cases in California, dated 1921 to 2024. 34 are recorded as unsolved. The earliest is Virginia Rappe (1921) and the most recent is Damon Eugene Bluthenthal (2024).
- Unsolved 34 (39%)
- Partly resolved 3 (3%)
- Solved or convicted 44 (50%)
- Closed without conviction 7 (8%)
Homicide clearance in California, 1965 to 2024
A homicide is "cleared" when police make an arrest or close it by exceptional means, so an uncleared case is not always an unsolved one. Source: Murder Accountability Project analysis of FBI Uniform Crime Report data, as published by Project: Cold Case. These are statewide totals and are separate from the ColdCaseIndex entries listed below.
By type
All California cases
Damon Eugene Bluthenthal
Damon Eugene Bluthenthal, a 50-year-old San Pedro man, was reported missing on Christmas Eve 2024 and found dead five days later in a parking lot on South Acacia Avenue in Compton, near the Metro A Line's Artesia station.
Roy Allen Tsatoke
Roy Allen Tsatoke, a 26-year-old Kiowa man, was last seen on September 22, 2024, while house-sitting at a home on Hiller Road in McKinleyville, California.
Jaylen Fleer
San Diego County sheriff's deputy Jaylen Fleer, 27, was arrested in 2020 after Crime Stoppers tips about a man engaging in sex acts with a minor led investigators to him and to four underage victims.
Pop Smoke
Rapper Pop Smoke (Bashar Barakah Jackson), 20, was shot dead during a home-invasion robbery at a rented house in the Hollywood Hills on February 19, 2020.
Nipsey Hussle
Rapper and entrepreneur Nipsey Hussle (Ermias Joseph Asghedom), 33, was shot and killed outside his Marathon Clothing store on West Slauson Avenue in South Los Angeles on March 31, 2019. Eric R. Holder Jr.
Adea Shabani
Acting student Adea Shabani, 25, was last seen leaving her Hollywood apartment on February 23, 2018. Her remains were recovered a month later from a shallow grave in the Spenceville Wildlife Area in Nevada County, California…
Hart Family
Six adopted children aged 12 to 19 died on March 26, 2018, when Jennifer Hart drove the family's SUV off a cliff on Highway 1 near Westport, California, with her wife Sarah also inside.
Karlie Gusé
Sixteen-year-old Karlie Lain Gusé disappeared from her family's home in Chalfant, Mono County, California, early on October 13, 2018, after a night of paranoia that followed smoking marijuana at a party.
Rico Harris
Rico Harris, a 37-year-old former Harlem Globetrotter driving from Los Angeles to Seattle to start a new life, vanished in October 2014.
Bryce Laspisa
Bryce Laspisa, a 19-year-old college student, disappeared on August 30, 2013, near Castaic Lake in Los Angeles County, California, after a series of unusual stops and phone calls while driving toward his parents' home.
Elisa Lam
Canadian tourist Elisa Lam was found dead in a rooftop water tank at the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles. Eerie elevator surveillance footage showed her behaving oddly before her disappearance.
Brittany Killgore
Twenty-two-year-old Marine wife Brittany Killgore disappeared from Fallbrook, California, on April 13, 2012, after being picked up by an acquaintance, Marine Staff Sgt. Louis Ray Perez.
Rebecca Zahau
Rebecca Zahau, 32, was found dead at the Spreckels Mansion in Coronado, California, on July 13, 2011, bound and hanging from a balcony.
Chelsea King
Seventeen-year-old Chelsea King of Poway, California, vanished on February 25, 2010, while running at Rancho Bernardo Community Park near Lake Hodges in San Diego. Her body was found five days later.
Amber Dubois
Fourteen-year-old Amber Dubois disappeared while walking to Escondido High School in February 2009. Registered sex offender John Gardner abducted and killed her; her remains were found in March 2010.
Mitrice Richardson
Mitrice Richardson, a 24-year-old woman, vanished in September 2009 after being released in the middle of the night from a Los Angeles County sheriff's station in Malibu with no phone, money, or transportation.
Oscar Grant
Oscar Grant was shot by BART police officer Johannes Mehserle on the Fruitvale station platform in Oakland on January 1, 2009, and died hours later. Mehserle testified he mistook his gun for his Taser.
Sandra Cantu
Eight-year-old Sandra Cantu disappeared from the Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park in Tracy, California, on March 27, 2009. Her body was found ten days later in a suitcase in an irrigation pond.
Nina Reiser
Nina Reiser, 31, disappeared on September 3, 2006, after dropping her two children at her estranged husband's home in Oakland, California.
Daniel Pearl
Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was kidnapped in Karachi, Pakistan, on January 23, 2002, and murdered. Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh was convicted and sentenced to death in Pakistan in 2002, but the Sindh High Court…
Danielle van Dam
Seven-year-old Danielle van Dam was abducted from her Sabre Springs home on the night of February 1-2, 2002, and murdered by neighbor David Westerfield.
Jahi Marques Turner
Two-year-old Jahi Turner was reported missing from a San Diego park by his stepfather in April 2002 and was never found. The stepfather was charged with murder in 2016, but his 2018 trial ended in a mistrial and the charge was…
Laci Peterson
Laci Peterson was eight months pregnant when she disappeared on Christmas Eve 2002. Her husband Scott Peterson reported her missing and became the prime suspect.
Samantha Runnion
Five-year-old Samantha Runnion was abducted from outside her Orange County apartment complex and murdered. Her mother Erin Runnion became a prominent child safety advocate, founding the Joyful Child Foundation.
Ashley Ellerin
Michael Gargiulo was convicted in August 2019 of murdering Ashley Ellerin, a 22-year-old fashion design student who was stabbed 47 times in her Hollywood home on February 21, 2001.
Bonny Lee Bakley
Bonny Lee Bakley, 44, was shot on May 4, 2001, while sitting in a parked car near Vitello's restaurant in Studio City, Los Angeles.
Susan Berman, Kathleen Durst & Morris Black
Writer Susan Berman, 55, was found shot in her Los Angeles home on December 24, 2000. A jury convicted real estate heir Robert Durst of her murder in 2021, but the conviction was vacated after he died in January 2022 with an…
Yosemite Sightseer Murders
Carole Sund, 42, her daughter Juli, 15, and family friend Silvina Pelosso, 16, were killed in February 1999 while staying at Cedar Lodge outside Yosemite National Park.
Anthony Martinez
Ten-year-old Anthony Martinez was abducted while playing outside his Beaumont, California, home in 1997 and found murdered in the desert about two weeks later.
Ennis Cosby
Ennis Cosby, 27, the son of entertainer Bill Cosby, was shot dead on January 16, 1997, while changing a flat tire beside Interstate 405 in Los Angeles.
Karen Mitchell
Sixteen-year-old Karen Mitchell vanished on November 25, 1997 after leaving the Bayshore Mall in Eureka, California on foot. Authorities believe she was abducted; she has never been found and no one has been charged.
Kristen Modafferi
Kristen Modafferi, an 18-year-old North Carolina State University student spending the summer in the Bay Area, vanished on June 23, 1997, after finishing her shift at a coffee shop in San Francisco's Crocker Galleria.
The Notorious B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace)
Rapper Christopher Wallace, known as The Notorious B.I.G., was killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles shortly after leaving a Vibe magazine after-party at the Petersen Automotive Museum, held the night after the Soul Train…
Kristin Smart
Cal Poly freshman Kristin Smart disappeared after a party near campus. Fellow student Paul Flores was the last person seen with her.
Crystal Ann Tymich
Six-year-old Crystal Ann Tymich disappeared on June 30, 1994, while playing outside near her home on Brynhurst Avenue in South Los Angeles.
Jenny Lin
Fourteen-year-old Jenny Lin was stabbed to death in her family's home in Castro Valley, California, on May 27, 1994; her father found her in a bathroom when he returned from work.
Nicole Brown Simpson & Ron Goldman
Nicole Brown Simpson, 35, and Ron Goldman, 25, were stabbed to death outside her condominium on South Bundy Drive in Brentwood, Los Angeles, on June 12, 1994. Her former husband O.J.
Polly Klaas
Twelve-year-old Polly Klaas was kidnapped at knifepoint from a slumber party at her Petaluma home and murdered. Richard Allen Davis was convicted and sentenced to death.
Denise Huber
Denise Huber, 23, disappeared from a Southern California freeway in June 1991 after her car got a flat tire. Her frozen body was found in 1994 in a truck at John Famalaro's Arizona home; he was convicted of murder in 1997 and…
Jaycee Dugard
Jaycee Dugard, 11, was abducted on June 10, 1991, while walking to a school bus stop near South Lake Tahoe, California. She was held for 18 years at the Antioch home of Phillip and Nancy Garrido and was found alive in August 2009.
Latasha Harlins
Latasha Harlins, 15, was shot in the back of the head by store owner Soon Ja Du at Empire Liquor Market in South Los Angeles on March 16, 1991, after a dispute over a bottle of orange juice.
Dan & Linda Broderick
Attorney Daniel T. Broderick III, 44, and his wife Linda Kolkena Broderick, 28, were shot in their bed at their San Diego home on November 5, 1989, by his former wife, Betty Broderick.
Ilene Beth Misheloff
Thirteen-year-old Ilene Misheloff vanished on January 30, 1989, while walking home from Wells Middle School in Dublin, California. She was last seen at about 3 p.m.
José & Kitty Menéndez
José and Kitty Menéndez were shot dead in their Beverly Hills home on August 20, 1989, by their sons Lyle and Erik, who were convicted of first-degree murder in 1996 and sentenced to life without parole.
Amber Swartz
Seven-year-old Amber Swartz-Garcia vanished on June 3, 1988, while jumping rope in the front yard of her home in Pinole, California.
Mickey & Trudy Thompson
Racing legend Mickey Thompson and his wife Trudy were ambushed and shot in their driveway by two hooded gunmen. Former business partner Michael Goodwin was convicted in 2007 after 19 years.
Cara Knott
Cara Knott, a 20-year-old San Diego State University student, was strangled and thrown into a ravine in December 1986 after being pulled over on an isolated Interstate 15 offramp.
Sherri Rasmussen
Sherri Rasmussen, a 29-year-old nursing director at Glendale Adventist Medical Center, was beaten and shot in her Van Nuys condominium on February 24, 1986. The case was treated as a burglary and went cold.
Grim Sleeper Victims
Lonnie Franklin Jr., known as the Grim Sleeper, was convicted of killing 10 women in Los Angeles between 1985 and 2007. He appeared to stop killing for years (hence 'Grim Sleeper') and was identified through familial DNA from…
Laura Bradbury
Three-year-old Laura Bradbury of Huntington Beach vanished from her family's campsite at Indian Cove Campground in Joshua Tree National Monument on October 18, 1984.
Night Stalker Victims
Richard Ramirez, the Night Stalker, terrorized Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area in 1984-1985 with a series of home-invasion murders, rapes, and burglaries.
Kellie Poppleton
Kellie Jean Poppleton, a 14-year-old Fremont student, was found dead beside Kilkare Road in Sunol, California on December 2, 1983. She had been beaten and strangled.
Dorothea Puente Victims
Dorothea Puente was a Sacramento boardinghouse operator who poisoned elderly tenants and continued cashing their Social Security checks. Seven bodies were found buried in her yard in 1988.
Keddie Cabin Murders
Glenna "Sue" Sharp, her son John, and his friend Dana Wingate were bound, stabbed, and bludgeoned in Cabin 28 at the Keddie Resort on the night of April 11-12, 1981.
Mary Day
Mary Louise Day, 13, vanished from her family's home in Seaside, California, in the summer of 1981 and was not reported missing for more than a decade. Police opened a suspected homicide inquiry in 2002.
Natalie Wood
Actress Natalie Wood drowned off Santa Catalina Island, California, in 1981; the case was reopened decades later and her cause of death amended to include undetermined factors, but it remains unresolved.
Dorothy Jane Scott
Dorothy Jane Scott, 32, vanished from the parking lot of UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange County, California, on the night of May 28, 1980, after months of anonymous calls from a man who alternately professed love and…
Jeannie Mills Family
Peoples Temple defectors Jeannie Mills, 40, and Al Mills, 51, were shot dead with their daughter Daphene, 15, at their Berkeley home on February 26, 1980. The couple had co-founded the Concerned Relatives group.
Suzanne Bombardier
Suzanne Bombardier, 14, was abducted in June 1980 while babysitting at her sister's home in Antioch, California; a fisherman found her body in the San Joaquin River days later. She had been raped and stabbed.
Robin Samsoe
Twelve-year-old Robin Samsoe disappeared on June 20, 1979, while riding a bicycle to ballet class in Huntington Beach, California; her remains were found 12 days later in the San Gabriel Mountains.
Rep. Leo Ryan & Jonestown Victims
U.S. Congressman Leo Ryan was shot dead at the Port Kaituma airstrip in Guyana on November 18, 1978, along with four others, while investigating Jim Jones's Peoples Temple.
Yuba County Five
Five men from the Yuba City area vanished after attending a college basketball game in Chico, California, on February 24, 1978. Their car was found days later on a remote road in Plumas National Forest.
Hillside Strangler Victims
Cousins Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi posed as police officers, kidnapped, raped, and murdered 10 women in Los Angeles. Their victims were found on hillsides, giving rise to the 'Hillside Strangler' name.
Roger Kibbe Victims
Roger Reece Kibbe, called the I-5 Strangler, was convicted of murdering seven women and girls in Northern California between 1977 and 1987.
The Gypsy Hill Killings
Five young women and girls were murdered in San Mateo County, California, during early 1976 in a series of brutal crimes that terrorized the Bay Area.
Myrna Opsahl
Myrna Opsahl, 42, was fatally shot on April 21, 1975, while depositing church collection money during a Symbionese Liberation Army robbery of the Crocker National Bank in Carmichael, California.
Arlis Perry
Arlis Perry, 19, was found murdered inside Stanford Memorial Church on October 13, 1974. In 2018 the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office said DNA from her clothing matched Stephen Blake Crawford, the former campus security guard…
Golden State Killer Victims
The Golden State Killer committed at least 13 murders, 50 rapes, and 100 burglaries across California. Joseph James DeAngelo, a former police officer, was identified in 2018 through genealogy DNA testing and pleaded guilty in…
Patty Hearst Kidnapping
Newspaper heiress Patty Hearst, 19, was abducted from her Berkeley apartment by the Symbionese Liberation Army on February 4, 1974.
The Doodler
An unidentified serial killer nicknamed 'The Doodler' stabbed to death at least five, and possibly many more, gay men in San Francisco between January 1974 and September 1975.
Terri Lynn Hollis
Eleven-year-old Terri Lynn Hollis disappeared while riding her bicycle in Torrance, California on Thanksgiving Day 1972 and was found dead the next day in Ventura County. She had been sexually assaulted and strangled.
The Santa Rosa Hitchhiker Murders
At least seven young women and girls who hitchhiked in and around Santa Rosa were found nude and dumped in rural areas of Sonoma County between 1972 and 1973.
Christine Marie Eastin
Christine Marie Eastin, 19, vanished in Hayward, California, on the night of January 18, 1971, after driving her former boyfriend's blue 1969 Ford Maverick to a self-service car wash on Mission Boulevard.
Bryan Hartnell & Cecelia Shepard
College students Cecelia Shepard, 22, and Bryan Hartnell, 20, were tied up and stabbed by a hooded man on the shore of Lake Berryessa in Napa County, California, on September 27, 1969.
Charles Manson Victims
Charles Manson directed his followers to commit a series of brutal murders in Los Angeles on August 9-10, 1969, killing seven people including actress Sharon Tate.
Paul Stine
Cab driver and graduate student Paul Lee Stine, 29, was shot in the head by a passenger at Washington and Cherry streets in San Francisco's Presidio Heights on October 11, 1969.
Reet Jurvetson
Reet Jurvetson, a 19-year-old from Montreal, was found stabbed to death off Mulholland Drive in Los Angeles in November 1969 and remained unidentified as 'Jane Doe 59' for 46 years.
David Faraday & Betty Lou Jensen
David Faraday, 17, and Betty Lou Jensen, 16, were shot with a .22-caliber pistol at a turnout on Lake Herman Road, just outside Benicia, California, late on December 20, 1968.
Robert F. Kennedy Assassination
Senator Robert F. Kennedy, 42, was shot in the kitchen pantry of the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles shortly after midnight on June 5, 1968, after winning the California Democratic primary; he died on June 6.
Zodiac Killer Victims
At least five confirmed victims were killed by an unidentified serial killer in Northern California between 1968 and 1969. The killer taunted police and newspapers with cryptic letters and ciphers signed with a crosshair symbol.
Cheri Jo Bates
Cheri Jo Bates, 18, a Riverside City College freshman, was stabbed to death near the campus library on the night of October 30, 1966; her body was found the next morning.
George Reeves
George Reeves, the actor who played Superman on television, died of a gunshot wound to the head at his Benedict Canyon home in Los Angeles on June 16, 1959, at age 45.
Elizabeth Short (The Black Dahlia)
The mutilated body of 22-year-old Elizabeth Short was found in a vacant lot in Los Angeles. Her body had been severed at the waist, drained of blood, and posed.
Amelia Earhart
Pioneer aviator Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan vanished over the Pacific Ocean during her attempt to circumnavigate the globe. She was declared legally dead in 1939.
Thelma Todd
Film actress Thelma Todd, 29, was found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in her car inside a Pacific Palisades garage on December 16, 1935.
Paul Bern
MGM producer Paul Bern, 42, was found dead of a gunshot wound at his Beverly Hills home on September 5, 1932, two months after marrying actress Jean Harlow. A note was found and a coroner's jury ruled the death a suicide.
William Desmond Taylor
Film director William Desmond Taylor, 49, was shot in the back at his bungalow in the Alvarado Court Apartments in Los Angeles on the evening of February 1, 1922; his body was found the next morning.
Virginia Rappe
Actress Virginia Rappe died in San Francisco on September 9, 1921, of peritonitis from a ruptured bladder, four days after falling ill at a Labor Day party in Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle's suite at the St. Francis Hotel.