Cold Cases in Massachusetts
ColdCaseIndex documents 25 cold cases in Massachusetts, spanning 1892–2023. 14 of these cases remain fully unsolved. Each case page includes documented details, status, and information on how to submit a tip.
By Type
By Status
All Massachusetts Cases
Ana Walshe
Ana Walshe's dismembered remains were found in the trash after she disappeared from her Cohasset, Massachusetts home. Her husband Brian Walshe was arrested and charged with murder. Investigators found her remains in mult
Ana Walshe (Brian Walshe case)
Ana Walshe vanished from her Cohasset, Massachusetts home on New Year's Day. Her husband Brian was caught on camera buying cleaning supplies and was charged with murder.
John O'Keefe (Karen Read)
Boston police officer John O'Keefe was found dead outside a home in Canton, Massachusetts. His girlfriend Karen Read was charged with murder. Her first trial ended in mistrial. Supporters claim she's being framed.
Karen Read Trial
Karen Read was charged with killing her boyfriend John O'Keefe by hitting him with her car in Canton, Massachusetts. Her first trial ended in a mistrial. Defense claims a cover-up.
Amy Lord
Twenty-four-year-old Amy Lord was kidnapped from her South Boston apartment, forced to withdraw money from ATMs, then murdered. Edwin Alemany was convicted and sentenced to life.
Rachel & Lillian Entwistle
Neil Entwistle shot his wife Rachel and infant daughter Lillian before fleeing to England. He was extradited and convicted of double murder.
Molly Bish
Sixteen-year-old Molly Bish disappeared from her lifeguard post at Comins Pond in Warren, Massachusetts. Only her swimsuit, sandals, and a shoe were found. Her skeletal remains were discovered three years later in the wo
Karina Holmer
Karina Holmer was a 20-year-old Swedish au pair whose dismembered body was found in a Boston dumpster in June 1996, roughly a day after she was last seen leaving a nightclub. The grisly killing has never been solved.
Deanna Cremin
Seventeen-year-old Deanna Cremin was found strangled in an alleyway in Somerville, Massachusetts. She had last been seen leaving a birthday party. Despite investigation, her killer was never identified. Her case remains
Holly Piirainen
Ten-year-old Holly Piirainen disappeared while visiting grandparents in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. Her skeleton was found in a wooded area in 1993. A shoe of hers was found near where a man named Robert Sousa lived. Sous
Lisa Ziegert
Teacher's aide Lisa Ziegert was abducted from a Brittany's card shop in Agawam, Massachusetts. DNA genealogy identified her killer as Gary Schara in 2017, 25 years later.
Carol Stuart
Charles Stuart murdered his pregnant wife Carol and blamed a Black carjacker, triggering a racist manhunt in Boston. Stuart jumped to his death when the truth emerged.
New Bedford Highway Killer Victims
Between March 1988 and April 1989, eleven women with ties to New Bedford, Massachusetts, vanished; the bodies of nine were found dumped along Route 140, Interstate 195, and nearby roads, while two women were never found.
Sarah Pryor
Nine-year-old Sarah Pryor vanished during an afternoon walk near her Wayland, Massachusetts home in October 1985. A few of her bones were found miles away in 1998, and although a convicted killer remains the chief suspec
Judy Chartier
Seventeen-year-old Judy Chartier disappeared after leaving a party in Chelmsford, Massachusetts in June 1982. Neither she nor the car she was driving has ever been found. Her case remains an open missing persons investig
Joan Webster
Joan Webster, a 25-year-old Harvard graduate student, vanished from the taxi line at Boston's Logan Airport in November 1981. Her skeletal remains were found in Hamilton, Massachusetts in 1990, and although a convicted k
Margaret Mary Kilcoyne
Dr. Margaret 'Peg' Kilcoyne, a 50-year-old Columbia University hypertension researcher, vanished overnight from her vacation home in the Tom Nevers area of Nantucket, Massachusetts, between January 25 and 26, 1980. Days
Patricia Ann Tucker ("Granby Girl")
On November 15, 1978, the skeletal remains of a woman who had been shot in the temple were found buried under leaves off a logging road in Granby, Massachusetts. Known for nearly 45 years only as "Granby Girl," she was i
Ruth Marie Terry (Lady of the Dunes)
On July 26, 1974, the mutilated body of a woman was found in the Race Point dunes of Cape Cod National Seashore in Provincetown, Massachusetts. Known for decades only as the 'Lady of the Dunes,' she remained the state's
Jane Britton
Harvard graduate student Jane Britton was found bludgeoned to death in her Cambridge apartment. Red ochre was sprinkled on her body. The case went unsolved for 50 years until DNA evidence in 2018 identified biology profe
Mary Jo Kopechne
Mary Jo Kopechne drowned when a car driven by Senator Ted Kennedy went off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island. Kennedy survived and waited nine hours before reporting the accident. He pleaded guilty to leaving the scene.
Boston Strangler Victims
Thirteen women were strangled in the Boston area between 1962 and 1964. Albert DeSalvo confessed to all 13 murders but was never tried for them. DNA evidence collected in 2013 linked DeSalvo to the last victim, Mary Sull
Joan Risch
Joan Risch vanished from her Lincoln, Massachusetts home, leaving behind a trail of blood and signs of a violent struggle. She had recently checked out several library books about disappearances. She has never been found
Mary Agnes Moroney
Mary Agnes Moroney, a Boston nurse, was found strangled in her Beacon Hill apartment. The case became one of Boston's most notorious unsolved murders of the early 20th century.
Andrew & Abby Borden
Andrew Borden and his wife Abby were found hacked to death in their Fall River, Massachusetts home. Their daughter Lizzie was acquitted of the murders. The case became one of the most famous unsolved murders in American