Cold Cases in New York
ColdCaseIndex documents 63 cold cases in New York, spanning 1891–2025. 25 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 New York Cases
George Santos (fraud)
Former congressman George Santos pleaded guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He had fabricated virtually his entire biography and stolen donor funds. He was sentenced to prison.
Gilgo Beach (additional victims)
Rex Heuermann was charged with additional Gilgo Beach murders as DNA evidence continued to mount. The investigation expanded to potentially 10+ victims.
Jeffrey Epstein (documents)
In January 2024, court documents naming over 150 associates of Jeffrey Epstein were unsealed. The documents came from Virginia Giuffre's civil lawsuit against Ghislaine Maxwell.
Gilgo Beach (Rex Heuermann)
Rex Heuermann, an NYC architect, was arrested and charged as the Gilgo Beach serial killer. DNA and phone data linked him to the murders of at least four women whose remains were found on Long Island.
Jordan Neely
Jordan Neely, a homeless man experiencing a mental health crisis on a subway, was placed in a fatal chokehold by Daniel Penny. The case sparked debate about mental health, homelessness, and self-defense.
Rex Heuermann
Architect Rex Heuermann was arrested in July 2023 for the Gilgo Beach serial killings. DNA from pizza crusts and digital evidence linked him to victims dating back to the late 1990s.
Sam Bankman-Fried (FTX)
FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted of defrauding customers of $8 billion. His crypto exchange collapsed in November 2022. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Orsolya Gaal
Orsolya Gaal was stabbed nearly 60 times in her Queens home and her body was placed in a duffel bag. Her former handyman David Bonola pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
R. Kelly (sentencing)
R&B singer R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years for sex trafficking and racketeering. He was later convicted of child pornography charges in Chicago. Victims described decades of abuse.
Anna Delvey (Sorokin)
Anna Sorokin, posing as German heiress 'Anna Delvey,' defrauded New York banks, hotels, and acquaintances of hundreds of thousands of dollars. She was convicted of theft and grand larceny.
Bianca Devins
Seventeen-year-old Bianca Devins was murdered by Brandon Clark, who then posted photos of her body on Instagram. The case highlighted issues of online violence and platform responsibility.
Richard Matt & David Sweat Prison Escape
Convicted murderers Richard Matt and David Sweat escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility using power tools smuggled by a prison employee. Matt was killed and Sweat was recaptured after 23 days.
Eric Garner
Eric Garner died after being placed in a chokehold by NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo during an arrest in Staten Island. His final words 'I can't breathe' became a rallying cry. A Staten Island grand jury declined to indict
Avonte Oquendo
Fourteen-year-old autistic student Avonte Oquendo disappeared from his Queens school in October 2013. His remains were found in the East River in January 2014. His death was ruled accidental drowning. The case sparked le
Gilberto Valle (Cannibal Cop)
NYPD officer Gilberto Valle was convicted of conspiracy to kidnap women he planned to torture, cook, and eat. His conviction was overturned on appeal—the court ruled his plans were fantasy, not intent.
Garrett Phillips
Twelve-year-old Garrett Phillips was found strangled in his apartment in Potsdam, New York. His mother's ex-boyfriend, Oral 'Nick' Hillary, was tried for the murder twice but acquitted both times. The case garnered natio
Leiby Kletzky
Eight-year-old Leiby Kletzky was on his first walk home alone in the Borough Park neighborhood of Brooklyn when he got lost. He asked Levi Aron for directions; Aron abducted and killed him. Aron was convicted and sentenc
Gilgo Beach Victims
The remains of at least 10 people were discovered along a stretch of beach near Gilgo Beach, Long Island. In 2023, Rex Heuermann, a Manhattan architect, was arrested and charged with multiple murders. The investigation c
Shannan Gilbert
Sex worker Shannan Gilbert's disappearance at Oak Beach, Long Island led to the discovery of the Gilgo Beach serial killer's victims. Rex Heuermann was charged in 2023.
Diane Schuler
Diane Schuler drove the wrong way on the Taconic State Parkway while intoxicated, killing herself, her daughter, three nieces, and three men in another vehicle. Her family disputed the toxicology findings.
Shele Covlin
Shele Danishefsky Covlin, a 47-year-old Wall Street money manager, was found dead in the bathtub of her Upper West Side apartment on New Year's Eve 2009. First ruled an accident, her death was reclassified a strangulatio
Jaliek Rainwalker
Jaliek Rainwalker, a 12-year-old adopted boy, disappeared from Greenwich, New York, in November 2007 after spending the night alone with his adoptive father. Foul play is suspected, his adoptive father was named a person
Long Island Serial Killer Victims
The skeletal remains of 10 people — mostly female sex workers — were found along Ocean Parkway on Long Island, New York. Known as the Gilgo Beach murders, a serial killer dubbed LISK is believed responsible. Rex Heuerman
Peter & Joan Porco
Chris Porco attacked his parents with an axe while they slept in Delmar, New York. His father died; his mother survived but lost an eye. Joan initially identified Chris by nodding, then denied it.
Sarah Fox
Sarah Fox, a 21-year-old drama student at the Juilliard School, disappeared on May 19, 2004, after leaving her Inwood apartment in upper Manhattan to go jogging. Six days later, a volunteer searcher found her body in a s
Jam Master Jay
Jason Mizell, known as Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC, was shot in the head at his recording studio in Queens. After 18 years as a cold case, two men were indicted in 2020 and convicted in 2024.
Henryk Siwiak
Henryk Siwiak, a Polish immigrant, was shot and killed in Brooklyn on the same night as the 9/11 attacks. Because all police resources were diverted to the World Trade Center, the crime scene was not properly processed.
Jill-Lyn Euto
College student Jill-Lyn Euto was found stabbed to death in her Syracuse, New York apartment in May 2001. No arrests were made in the case. Her murder remains open with Syracuse Police.
Michele Harris
Michele Anne Harris, a 35-year-old mother of four from Spencer, New York, vanished in September 2001, leaving behind her abandoned minivan and traces of blood in her home. Her estranged husband Cal Harris was tried four
Sneha Anne Philip
Dr. Sneha Anne Philip, an internist, was last seen shopping at a store near the World Trade Center on September 10, 2001. She was never seen again. Whether she died in the 9/11 attacks or disappeared separately remains u
Sneha Anne Philip (9/11)
Doctor Sneha Anne Philip vanished on September 10, 2001, the day before the 9/11 attacks. It remains unclear whether her disappearance is related to the attacks or a separate incident.
Valerie Mack
Valerie Mack's remains were found in Manorville, Long Island in 2000 and later in Ocean Parkway among other Gilgo Beach victims. She was identified in 2020 via DNA. She may be a victim of the Long Island Serial Killer. H
Suzanne Lyall
Suzanne Lyall, a 19-year-old University at Albany computer science student, disappeared on the evening of March 2, 1998, after leaving her mall job and taking a bus back toward campus. Her ATM card was used the next day,
Tanya Jackson ("Peaches")
The dismembered torso of a young woman, nicknamed 'Peaches' for a distinctive peach tattoo, was found on Long Island in June 1997 and long grouped with the Gilgo Beach investigation. In 2025 she was identified through DN
Heidi Allen
Eighteen-year-old Heidi Allen was abducted from the convenience store where she worked in New Haven, New York. Two brothers were convicted of kidnapping, but their convictions were controversial. Heidi's body was never f
Waneta Hoyt Children
Waneta Hoyt murdered her five children between 1965 and 1971, presenting each death as SIDS. Her case was cited in medical literature supporting SIDS research before the truth emerged.
Sara Anne Wood
Twelve-year-old Sara Anne Wood was abducted while riding her bicycle home from church in Herkimer County, New York, in August 1993. Serial killer Lewis Lent Jr. was convicted of her murder, but he has never revealed wher
Anjelica Castillo ("Baby Hope")
The body of a malnourished young girl was found stuffed in a cooler beside the Henry Hudson Parkway in Manhattan in July 1991, and detectives who nicknamed her "Baby Hope" could not identify her for 22 years. In 2013 she
Lisa Steinberg
Six-year-old Lisa Steinberg was beaten to death by Joel Steinberg, her illegal adoptive father, in their Greenwich Village apartment. Her abuse had been ongoing. Hedda Nussbaum, Steinberg's battered partner who was prese
Diane Elsroth
Diane Elsroth died after taking a cyanide-laced Tylenol capsule in Yonkers, New York—a copycat of the 1982 Chicago Tylenol murders. This second poisoning incident led Johnson & Johnson to permanently switch from capsules
Jennifer Levin
Jennifer Levin was found strangled in Central Park near the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her date, Robert Chambers, was suspected in what the tabloids called the 'Preppy Murder.' Chambers pleaded guilty to manslaughter in
Jacqueline Martarella
Jacqueline "Jackie" Martarella, 19, disappeared on March 26, 1985, while walking from a friend's home in Oceanside, New York, to her job at a Burger King. On April 22, 1985, her body was found in tall grass on a golf cou
Wendy Jerome
Fourteen-year-old Wendy Jerome was raped and murdered on Thanksgiving night, November 22, 1984, after leaving her Rochester, New York home to deliver a birthday card to a friend; her body was found in an alcove at School
Kathleen McCormack Durst
Kathleen McCormack Durst, wife of real estate heir Robert Durst, disappeared from their South Salem home. Robert Durst was investigated but not charged. He later killed a neighbor in Texas and was acquitted of that murde
Tammy Mahoney
Nineteen-year-old Tammy Mahoney disappeared from Oneida, New York on May 8, 1981. She was last seen leaving her boyfriend's home. Despite decades of investigation and FBI involvement, Tammy has never been found and no su
Herman Tarnower
Dr. Herman Tarnower, creator of the Scarsdale Diet, was shot at his Purchase, New York home by his longtime companion Jean Harris. Harris claimed she intended to kill herself but shot him accidentally during a struggle.
John Favara
John Favara, a neighbor of mob boss John Gotti, disappeared in 1980 months after he accidentally struck and killed Gotti's young son with his car, and is widely presumed to have been murdered.
Etan Patz
Six-year-old Etan Patz was one of the first missing children to appear on a milk carton when he disappeared walking to school in SoHo. The case transformed child safety in America. Pedro Hernandez confessed to the murder
Bonnie Garland
Twenty-one-year-old Yale student Bonnie Garland was killed with a hammer by her Yale student boyfriend Richard Herrin while she slept at her parents' Scarsdale home. Herrin claimed he was in a dissociative state. He was
Son of Sam Victims
David Berkowitz, known as 'Son of Sam,' murdered six people and wounded seven others in New York City over 13 months. He terrorized the city with taunting letters to police and media. He was caught in August 1977 after a
Cornelia Crilley
Flight attendant Cornelia Crilley was found strangled in her Manhattan apartment. The case went cold for nearly 40 years until DNA matched serial killer Rodney Alcala, the 'Dating Game Killer,' who pleaded guilty in 2012
The Alphabet Murders (Double Initial Murders)
Three young girls whose first and last names shared the same initial were separately abducted, sexually assaulted, and strangled near Rochester, New York, between 1971 and 1973. The pattern earned the case the names 'Alp
Alice Crimmins
The two young children of Alice Crimmins, Eddie Jr. (5) and Missy (4), were found dead in Queens, New York. Alice Crimmins was convicted of manslaughter in 1968 in a sensational trial that was heavily influenced by her s
Dorothy Kilgallen
Journalist Dorothy Kilgallen, who was investigating the JFK assassination, was found dead in her New York townhouse. Her death was ruled an overdose but many believe she was murdered.
Kitty Genovese
Kitty Genovese was stabbed to death outside her apartment in Kew Gardens, Queens. The case became famous for the 'bystander effect' theory after news reports claimed 38 neighbors heard or witnessed the attack without cal
Steven Damman
Two-year-old Steven Damman was taken from his stroller outside a Long Island bakery on Halloween 1955. His mother had left him briefly with his baby sister. Despite FBI involvement and national attention, Steven was neve
Frank Olson
CIA scientist Frank Olson died after falling from a New York hotel window. It was ruled a suicide but his family believed he was killed because he wanted to leave the agency's secret mind control program MKUltra. His bod
Starr Faithfull
Starr Faithfull was found drowned on a Long Beach, New York beach. Her diary revealed an ongoing relationship with politician Andrew James Peters who allegedly abused her. The death was undetermined — possibly homicide,
Judge Joseph Force Crater
New York Supreme Court Justice Joseph Force Crater disappeared in New York City after dining with friends. He hailed a cab and was never seen again. Despite massive investigation, no trace of him was ever found. He was d
Dorothy Arnold
Dorothy Harriet Camille Arnold, a young New York socialite, disappeared while walking in Manhattan in 1910, in one of the era's most famous unexplained vanishings.
Hazel Drew
Hazel Drew, a 20-year-old domestic servant from Troy, New York, was found dead in Teal's Pond near Sand Lake in July 1908 with her skull crushed by a blunt weapon. Her murder generated national headlines but was never so
Stanford White
Prominent architect Stanford White was shot in front of hundreds of witnesses at Madison Square Garden's rooftop restaurant by millionaire Harry K. Thaw, who was enraged over White's past relationship with his wife Evely
Carrie Brown
Carrie Brown, a prostitute known as 'Old Shakespeare,' was found murdered and mutilated in her New York City hotel room. She was initially suspected as a Jack the Ripper copycat victim but the timing didn't align. Ameer