Cold Cases by Theme

Themes cut across type, place and decade, and a case can belong to more than one. Each hub lists every case carrying the theme's tags, how many remain unsolved and how they spread across decades.

Genetic Genealogy43
43 cases, 13 unsolved. Cases in which investigators used forensic genetic genealogy: comparing DNA from a crime scene or from…
College Students40
40 cases, 18 unsolved. Homicides and disappearances of college and university students, on campus and off.
Wrongful and Disputed Convictions23
23 cases, 5 unsolved. Cases in which a conviction was overturned or the convicted person was exonerated, and cases in which a…
Civil Rights Era21
21 cases, 4 unsolved. Killings connected to the civil rights movement and to racial terror in the United States, many of them left…
Jane and John Doe Cases21
21 cases, 13 unsolved. People who were known for years only by a placeholder name because their remains could not be identified.
Body Never Found18
18 cases, 3 unsolved. Disappearances and presumed homicides in which no remains have ever been recovered, including several that…