Missing White Woman Syndrome
Quite a sad indictment of modern society, or just a reflection on how much people in general love white women? You decide.
This is what a white woman looks like
Missing white woman syndrome (MWWS) is a phrase coined by social scientists and media commentators to describe the "wall-to-wall coverage" given in media reporting, especially television, to missing person cases involving young, white, upper-middle class women or girls. The degree of coverage is usually compared with cases concerning a missing male, or missing females of other ethnicities, socioeconomic classes or perceived physical attractiveness. The actual phrase comes from Sheri Parks, an associate professor at the University of Maryland, who used the term in a 2006 interview with CNN to describe this observed media trend. [...read more]
Isdal Woman
An unsolved Norwegian murder - if only there was a humourless detective in an unpleasant jumper who could help...
Shame, it looks so nice there
The Isdal woman (Norwegian: Isdalskvinnen) is the subject of an unsolved case involving an unidentified woman found dead at Isdalen Valley in Bergen, Norway on 29 November 1970. Considered one of Norway's most profound mysteries, the case has been the subject of intense speculation over the years regarding the identity of the victim, the events leading up to her death and the cause of death. Public interest in the case remains significant.
The woman was found in a part of Isdalen popularly known as "Death Valley", which lies in the direction towards Mount Ulriken. Next to the scene police found a burned-out passport. The autopsy showed that the woman had suffered blunt force trauma to the neck and had taken several sleeping pills before she died. The official police report concluded suicide, but this conclusion is highly controversial.
March 6, 2008 Times Square bombing
An unsolved bombing involving a person on a bicycle and several investigative dead ends.
The aftermath of the carnage
On the morning of March 6, 2008, an unknown individual placed a small bomb in front of a United States armed forces recruiting station in Times Square, located in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. There were no injuries. however, upon the arrest of a suspect police now believe the Starbucks blast to be unrelated.
A letter sent to Congress with the words "we did it" was originally thought to be connected to the bombing, but ended up being completely unrelated to the incident. Investigators have also suspected the bombing may be related to an incident on the Canadian/US border in February 2008. Pictures of Times Square and anarchist-type material were found in a car that was randomly stopped by the police. [...read more]
Glico Morinaga case
This is a great one - a huge unsolved extortion case from Japan, we've covered this from a different angle before in The Monster With 21 Faces
One of the corporate targets
The , also known by its official designation , was a famous extortion case in 1980s Japan, primarily directed at the Japanese industrial confectioneries Ezaki Glico and Morinaga, and currently remains unsolved. The entire case spanned 17 months from the initial kidnapping of the president of Glico to the last known communication from the prime suspect, a person or group known only as the "The Monster with 21 Faces". The case captured the Japanese public's imagination and many commentators refer to this incident as a turning point in Japanese society, in which the image of a crime-free and safe Japan was dispelled. [...read more]
Batman rapist
Thankfully not a criminal who only rapes Bruce Wayne, rather one of the UK's most nefarious sex offenders. He remains at large.
Stay away from here
The Batman rapist is an English serial sex offender who has committed at least 17 attacks on women in the city of Bath, Somerset. He is the subject of Britain's longest–running serial rape investigation, codenamed Operation Eagle, and has eluded capture since 1991. Detective Inspector Paul James of Avon and Somerset Constabulary, leading the operation, said it is "one of the most complicated and protracted investigations" that the force has ever undertaken. He was nicknamed after leaving a baseball cap bearing a logo from the Batman film series at the scene of one attack. Police believe that there are more victims who have never come forward. The independent crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers UK have offered a £10,000 reward for information leading to his capture. [...read more]
Shergar
Now, we all know Shergar was a racehorse that got stolen, but like a lot of these stories the details behind the theft and the subsequent investigation are a lot more interesting than you might expect.
I could have used any horse picture here really couldn't I?
Shergar (b. 1978) was an Irish racehorse, and winner of the 1981 Epsom Derby by a record 10 lengths, the longest winning margin in the race's 226-year history. This victory earned him a spot in The Observer newspaper's 100 Most Memorable Sporting Moments of the Twentieth Century. A bay colt with a distinctive white blaze, Shergar was named European Horse of the Year in 1981 and was retired from racing that September.
Two years later, on 8 February 1983, he was stolen from the Ballymany Stud, near The Curragh in County Kildare, Ireland by masked gunmen with the body never being discovered. The incident has been the inspiration for several books, documentaries, and a film. [...read more]
Stolen and missing moon rocks
For those of you who like a mystery, and confirmation that the human race is a terrible thing - here we have the missing moon rocks.
An actual rock, from the moon!
Of the 270 Apollo 11 Moon Rocks and Apollo 17 Goodwill Moon Rocks that were given to the nations of the world by the Nixon Administration approximately 180 are currently unaccounted for. Many of the Moon rocks that are accounted for have been locked away in storage for decades. The location of the rocks has been tracked by researchers and hobbyists because of their rarity and the difficulty of obtaining more. Moon rocks have been subjects of theft and forgery as well. [...read more]
Antwerp Diamond Heist
I do like a good heist, and they don't get much cheekier than this little number.
Not pictured: Swag
The Antwerp Diamond Heist, dubbed the "heist of the century", was a theft of loose diamonds, gold, and other jewellery valued at more than $100 million. The heist took place during the weekend of February 15–16, 2003, in the Antwerp Diamond Centre, located in the centre of the gem district in Antwerp, Belgium. The Antwerp centre heist was the largest diamond heist in history until surpassed by the Schiphol Airport diamond heist on 25 February 2005 and estimated at €109 million ($118 million). [...read more]
Albert Spaggiari
We all love a good heist story, especially when the money stolen isn't ours. In this case, like many others, the loot was never found.
Spaggiari, with trollface in full effect
Albert Spaggiari (December 14, 1932 – June 8, 1989), nicknamed Bert, was a French criminal chiefly known as the organizer of a break-in into a Société Générale bank in Nice, France in 1976. [...read more]
2003 Ricin Letters
If this domestic terror attack taught us one thing, it's don't upset trucking company owners.
Dear Mr President, here's some icing sugar for you
The 2003 ricin letters refer to two ricin-laden letters found on two separate occasions between October and November 2003. One letter was mailed to the White House and intercepted at a processing facility; another was discovered with no address in South Carolina. A February 2004 ricin incident at the Dirksen Senate Office Building was initially connected to the 2003 letters as well.
The letters were sent by an individual calling him or herself "Fallen Angel". The sender, who claimed to own a trucking company, expressed anger over changes in federal trucking regulations. As of 2008, no connection between the Fallen Angel letters and the Dirksen building incident has been established. A $100,000 reward was offered in 2004 by the federal law enforcement agencies investigating the case, but to date the reward remains unclaimed. [...read more]
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