Cold Cases in Virginia
ColdCaseIndex documents 20 cold cases in Virginia, spanning 1912–2016. 6 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 Virginia Cases
Keeshae Jacobs
Keeshae Jacobs, 21, vanished after being dropped off at a Church Hill home in Richmond in September 2016. In 2024 police confirmed she was dead, and a jailed murderer admitted disposing of her body, though no one has bee
Katelin Akens
Nineteen-year-old Katelin Akens vanished from Waynesboro, Virginia. Her remains were found in 2020 on a property belonging to a registered sex offender.
Hannah Graham
University of Virginia student Hannah Graham vanished after a night out in Charlottesville. Jesse Matthew was identified through surveillance footage and DNA; he was convicted of her murder and the linked murder of Morga
Alexis Murphy
Seventeen-year-old Alexis Murphy disappeared after stopping at a gas station in Nelson County, Virginia. Randy Taylor, a convicted sex offender who worked at the gas station, was convicted of her abduction and murder des
Brittany Mae Smith
Twelve-year-old Brittany Mae Smith was murdered by Jeffrey Easley, who was having a relationship with her mother. Her mother was also convicted of second-degree murder for failing to protect her.
Samantha Ann Clarke
Samantha Ann Clarke, 19, vanished shortly after midnight on September 13, 2010, after leaving her home in Orange, Virginia, telling her younger brother she would be back in the morning. She was never seen again, and in 2
Yeardley Love
University of Virginia lacrosse player Yeardley Love was beaten to death in her Charlottesville apartment by her ex-boyfriend and fellow lacrosse player George Huguely V. Huguely was convicted of second-degree murder in
Morgan Harrington
Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington disappeared after a Metallica concert at the University of Virginia. Her remains were found three months later. DNA linked her case to the abduction of Hannah Graham; Jesse Matthew
Robert Hanssen (spy)
FBI agent Robert Hanssen was arrested for spying for Russia for 22 years. He is considered the most damaging spy in FBI history, compromising dozens of agents. He died in prison in 2023.
Amy Lynn Bradley
Amy Lynn Bradley, a 23-year-old from Virginia, disappeared from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship in the Caribbean in 1998, with later reported sightings but no confirmed trace.
Michelle Moore-Bosko
Eighteen-year-old Michelle Moore-Bosko was raped and murdered in her Norfolk apartment. Four Navy sailors — the 'Norfolk Four' — were coerced into false confessions and convicted. Another man, Danial Williams, eventually
Julianne Williams & Lollie Winans
Julianne Williams and Laura 'Lollie' Winans were found murdered at their backcountry campsite in Shenandoah National Park in 1996. Darrell Rice was indicted in 2002, but the charges were dropped in 2004 after DNA evidenc
Lisk Sisters
Sisters Kati (15) and Kristin (12) Lisk were abducted from their Spotsylvania, Virginia home. Their bodies were found in a river. Richard Evonitz, linked through DNA, died by suicide during arrest.
Sofia Silva & Kati Lisk Sisters
Sixteen-year-old Sofia Silva was abducted from her front yard. Five months later, sisters Kati (15) and Kristin Lisk (12) vanished from their home. All three were found murdered. Richard Marc Evonitz became the prime sus
Jason Callahan ("Grateful Doe")
A young man killed in a 1995 car crash near Emporia, Virginia, went unidentified for two decades and became known as "Grateful Doe" for the Grateful Dead concert tickets found with him. In December 2015 DNA confirmed he
Aldrich Ames (spy)
CIA officer Aldrich Ames spied for the Soviet Union for nine years, compromising more than 100 intelligence operations. At least 10 agents he betrayed were executed. He is serving life in prison.
Melissa Brannen
Five-year-old Melissa Brannen vanished from a community Christmas party at her Lorton, Virginia apartment complex in December 1989. Handyman Caleb Hughes was convicted of abducting her, but her body has never been found.
Colonial Parkway Murders
Three couples and one woman were murdered along the Colonial Parkway in Virginia between 1986 and 1989. Despite being investigated by the FBI and state police, no one was ever charged. The killer or killers have never be
Donna Hall & Michael Margaret
Donna Hall, 18, and Michael Margaret, 21, a young couple from Henrico County's West End, left for a camping trip on August 17, 1984, and were found stabbed to death four days later in a wooded area off Castile Road near
Virginia Christian Case
Seventeen-year-old Virginia Christian became the first woman executed in Virginia's electric chair for the murder of her employer. The case raised questions about juvenile justice and racial disparities. She was executed