Cold Cases in Florida
ColdCaseIndex documents 39 cases in Florida, dated 1966 to 2024. 15 are recorded as unsolved. The earliest is Nancy Leichner & Pamela Nater (1966) and the most recent is Madeline Soto (2024).
- Unsolved 15 (38%)
- Partly resolved 2 (5%)
- Solved or convicted 18 (46%)
- Closed without conviction 4 (10%)
Homicide clearance in Florida, 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 Florida cases
Madeline Soto
Thirteen-year-old Madeline Soto of Kissimmee, Florida, disappeared on February 26, 2024, and her body was found in woods in Osceola County on March 1.
Miya Marcano
Nineteen-year-old college student Miya Marcano disappeared on September 24, 2021, from the Arden Villas apartment complex in Orlando, Florida, where she lived and worked.
Cieha Taylor
Cieha Taylor, 28, was last seen about 4 p.m. on February 6, 2020 in Plant City, Florida, after dropping her boyfriend at a home on Cowart Road.
Jorge Torres Jr.
Jorge Torres Jr., 42, died of asphyxiation after being zipped into a suitcase at the Winter Park, Florida, home he shared with his girlfriend Sarah Boone in February 2020. Videos on her phone showed him pleading to be let out.
Parkland Shooting Victims
Nikolas Cruz killed 17 people and wounded 17 others at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. He was sentenced to life without parole.
XXXTentacion
Rapper XXXTentacion (Jahseh Onfroy), 20, was shot and killed during a robbery outside RIVA Motorsports in Deerfield Beach, Florida, on June 18, 2018.
Teresa Sievers
Dr. Teresa Sievers, 46, was beaten to death with hammers in her Bonita Springs, Florida home on June 28, 2015. Her husband, Mark Sievers, was convicted of first-degree murder in December 2019 and sentenced to death.
Jordan Davis
Seventeen-year-old Jordan Davis was shot at a Jacksonville gas station by Michael Dunn following an argument over loud music. Dunn fired into the vehicle claiming self-defense.
Blake and Mary Jo Hadley
Blake Hadley, 54, and Mary Jo Hadley, 47, were beaten to death with a hammer in their Port St. Lucie, Florida, home on July 16, 2011.
Ben McDaniel
Ben McDaniel, 30, of Tennessee was last seen on the evening of August 18, 2010, descending toward the underwater cave at Vortex Spring near Ponce de Leon, Florida. He was not certified for cave diving.
Haleigh Cummings
Five-year-old Haleigh Cummings was last seen on the evening of February 9, 2009, at her father's mobile home in Satsuma, Florida, and was reported missing early the next morning.
Caylee Anthony
Two-year-old Caylee Anthony disappeared in June 2008. Her mother Casey Anthony waited 31 days before reporting her missing. Caylee's skeletal remains were found near the family home in December 2008.
Denise Amber Lee
Twenty-one-year-old Denise Amber Lee was abducted by Michael King from her North Port, Florida home on January 17, 2008, and murdered.
Brandy Hall
Volunteer firefighter Brandy Hall, 32, disappeared after leaving the Malabar fire station in Brevard County, Florida, late on August 17, 2006.
Jennifer Kesse
Twenty-four-year-old Jennifer Kesse disappeared from her Orlando condominium complex. Surveillance footage captured an unidentified person driving her car.
Trenton Duckett
Trenton Duckett, a 2-year-old boy, disappeared from his Leesburg, Florida, bedroom in 2006, with a cut window screen the only sign of an intruder.
Jessica Lunsford
Nine-year-old Jessica Lunsford was abducted from her Homosassa home and murdered by registered sex offender John Couey. Her remains were found in a bag buried near Couey's trailer. She had been buried alive.
Carlie Brucia
Eleven-year-old Carlie Brucia was abducted from a car wash in Sarasota on Super Bowl Sunday while walking home. Surveillance footage of her abduction was broadcast nationally. Joseph P.
Terrance Williams & Felipe Santos
Felipe Santos, 23, and Terrance Williams, 27, vanished three months apart in North Naples, Florida, on October 14, 2003, and January 12, 2004.
Rilya Wilson
Rilya Wilson, a 4-year-old Miami foster child, disappeared while in the care of Geralyn Graham but was not reported missing by Florida's child-welfare system for roughly 15 months.
Diane Augat
Diane Augat, 40, walked away from a home in Pasco County, Florida, on April 10, 1998 and has not been found. Days later the severed tip of one of her fingers was discovered beside U.S.
Maddie Clifton
Eight-year-old Maddie Clifton disappeared in Jacksonville, Florida, on November 3, 1998. A week later her body was found hidden in the waterbed frame of her 14-year-old neighbor, Joshua Phillips, by his mother.
Don Lewis
Millionaire exotic animal owner Don Lewis vanished in Tampa, Florida on August 18, 1997 and was declared legally dead in 2002. The Netflix series 'Tiger King' revived interest in the case and aired accusations against his wife…
Gianni Versace
Fashion designer Gianni Versace was shot on the steps of his Miami Beach mansion by spree killer Andrew Cunanan. Cunanan had already killed four others across the country before targeting Versace.
Sabrina Aisenberg
Five-month-old Sabrina Aisenberg vanished from her crib in Valrico, Florida, on November 24, 1997. Her parents were later indicted on charges that were dismissed, and the infant has never been found.
Dr. John Bayard Britton
Dr. John Britton, 69, and his volunteer escort James Barrett, 74, were shot dead outside the Ladies Center clinic in Pensacola, Florida, on July 29, 1994; Barrett's wife June was wounded.
Deborah Poe
Deborah Deann Poe, 26, vanished in the early hours of February 4, 1990, while working alone on the night shift at a Circle K store at Hall Road and Aloma Avenue in east Orange County, near Orlando, Florida.
Gainesville Ripper Victims
Danny Rolling murdered five college students over four days in Gainesville, Florida, in August 1990; four attended the University of Florida and one attended Santa Fe Community College.
Aileen Wuornos Victims
Aileen Wuornos killed seven men along Florida highways, claiming self-defense. She was convicted of six murders and executed in 2002.
Tiffany Sessions
Tiffany Sessions, a 20-year-old University of Florida student, disappeared on February 9, 1989, after leaving for an afternoon walk near her Gainesville apartment.
Julie Doe (Pamela Leigh Walton)
On September 25, 1988, the remains of an unidentified woman were found in the Green Swamp off County Road 474 near Clermont, Florida.
Christopher Wilder Victims
Investigators attribute the abduction of at least twelve young women and girls, eight of whom died, to Christopher Wilder during a cross-country series of crimes between February 26 and April 13, 1984.
Tammy Lynn Leppert
Tammy Lynn Leppert, an 18-year-old model and aspiring actress, vanished in Cocoa Beach, Florida, in 1983 after reportedly becoming fearful and agitated, and has never been found.
Adam Walsh
Six-year-old Adam Walsh was abducted from a Sears store in Hollywood, Florida, on July 27, 1981. His severed head was found two weeks later.
FSU Chi Omega Murders
Margaret Bowman, 21, and Lisa Levy, 20, were killed and two sorority sisters badly injured when Ted Bundy attacked the Chi Omega house at Florida State University early on January 15, 1978.
Kimberly Leach
Twelve-year-old Kimberly Leach was abducted from Lake City Junior High School in Florida on February 9, 1978. Her remains were found in April 1978 in a shed near Suwannee River State Park.
Ted Bundy Victims
Ted Bundy confessed to 30 homicides across seven states, though the actual number is believed higher. He was executed in Florida in 1989.
Little Miss Lake Panasoffkee (Maureen "Cookie" Rowan)
On February 19, 1971, hitchhikers found the body of a young woman beneath the Interstate 75 bridge over Lake Panasoffkee in Sumter County, Florida; she had been strangled with a man's belt.
Nancy Leichner & Pamela Nater
Nancy Leichner, 21, and Pamela Nater, 20, vanished on October 2, 1966, during a skin-diving club picnic at Alexander Springs in Florida's Ocala National Forest, leaving their belongings on a picnic table.