Cold Cases in Missouri
ColdCaseIndex documents 16 cold cases in Missouri, spanning 1950–2015. 13 of these cases remain fully unsolved. Each case page includes documented details, status, and information on how to submit a tip.
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By Status
All Missouri Cases
DeVaughn Kinlow
Nineteen-year-old DeVaughn Kinlow was found murdered in Ferguson, Missouri, in the same city that had been the center of protests following Michael Brown's shooting. The case received limited media coverage. Despite inve
Michael Brown
Eighteen-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. A grand jury declined to indict Wilson. The DOJ found no evidence of an intentional shooting but documented systemic racism in
Nikki Leas
Twenty-four-year-old Nikki Leas was found murdered in Springfield, Missouri in July 2013. Despite investigation, the case went cold. It remains in Greene County cold case files.
Charles Williams
Forty-four-year-old Charles Williams was found murdered in Columbia, Missouri in May 2011. Despite investigation, the case went cold. It remains in Boone County cold case files.
Lisa Irwin
Ten-month-old Lisa Irwin disappeared from her crib in Kansas City, Missouri. Her parents reported her missing in the early morning hours. The case drew national attention, but despite extensive investigation and suspicio
Shawn Hornbeck
Eleven-year-old Shawn Hornbeck was abducted while riding his bike in Richwoods, Missouri. He was held captive for four and a half years by Michael Devlin in a nearby town. Police found him while searching for another mis
Kent Heitholt
Columbia Tribune sports editor Kent Heitholt was beaten and strangled in the Tribune parking lot. Two men were convicted — Ryan Ferguson and Charles Erickson — but Ferguson's conviction was vacated in 2013 after key witn
Sara Jo Cotton
Seventeen-year-old Sara Jo Cotton was found murdered in Joplin, Missouri in May 2000. Despite investigation by Joplin Police, the case went cold. It remains in Jasper County cold case files.
James Riddle
James Riddle was found murdered in Kansas City, Missouri in August 1994. Despite investigation by Kansas City Police, the case went cold. It remains in the KCPD cold case unit files.
Lamar Johnson (Exoneration)
Marcus Boyd was murdered in St. Louis in 1994. Lamar Johnson was wrongfully convicted and spent 28 years in prison before being exonerated in 2023 after the St. Louis Circuit Attorney's office found evidence of a corrupt
Springfield Three
Sherrill Levitt, her daughter Suzanne Streeter, and Suzanne's friend Stacy McCall all vanished from the Levitt home overnight. Their cars were still in the driveway, their purses inside. The porch light's glass globe was
Gary Holt
Twenty-nine-year-old Gary Holt was murdered in St. Louis, Missouri in September 1988. Despite investigation, the case went cold. It remains in St. Louis Metropolitan Police cold case files.
St. Louis Jane Doe (1977)
An unidentified woman's remains were found in St. Louis, Missouri in August 1977. Despite forensic examination and DNA testing, she has never been identified. Her case remains in NamUs.
John Kinne
John Kinne was found shot in his Kansas City home. His wife Sharon was charged and tried three times, resulting in hung juries. She later murdered a woman in Mexico and fled. The case against her for John's murder was ne
Bobby Greenlease
Six-year-old Bobby Greenlease was kidnapped from his school and killed by Carl Austin Hall and Bonnie Brown Heady in Kansas City. A ransom of $600,000 was paid — the largest at that time. Hall and Heady were arrested, tr
Janet Christman
Thirteen-year-old Janet Christman was babysitting when she was raped and strangled in Columbia, Missouri. Her body was found by the parents when they returned home. Despite the fact that a partial fingerprint was recover