Ray and Faye Copeland appeared to be a simple, elderly farming couple in rural Missouri, known for their hard work and unassuming nature. However, beneath this façade, they orchestrated a series of chilling crimes. The Copelands hired transient workers to help on their farm, but instead of providing employment, they used these workers in their fraudulent schemes, ultimately leading to their murders. The isolated location of their farm allowed their activities to go undetected for years. Despite initial disbelief from the community, mounting evidence eventually led to their arrest and conviction, making Ray and Faye the oldest couple ever sentenced to death.

Sources:

https://www.thoughtco.com/serial-killers-couple-ray-faye-copeland-9727

https://allthatsinteresting.com/serial-killer-couples/2

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/case-vanishing-vagrants-article-1.220343

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_and_Faye_Copeland

https://criminalminds.fandom.com/wiki/Ray_and_Faye_Copeland

https://medium.com/@delanirbartlette/senior-citizen-serial-killers-ray-faye-copeland-83a83b0feac0

Senior Citizen Serial Killers: Ray and Faye Copeland by DeLani R. Barlette

http://dksale.net/2016/08/29/ray-and-faye-copeland-were-framed-for-murder/

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/how-an-amateur-sleuth-and-rock-musician-became-a-player/article_2712c540-5fcb-58bd-a51c-8e339c7af006.html

http://maamodt.asp.radford.edu/Psyc%20405/serial%20killers/Copeland,%20Ray%20_spring,%202006_.pdf

At 14, Natasha Ryan was reported as missing, twice. The first time, she was found within the same month. After the second disappearance, a prison inmate reported that his cellmate, a serial rapist and murderer, had confessed to killing her. But a shocking discovery in the middle of this confessed killer’s trial turns this case on its head.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Fraser

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natasha_Ryan

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/jun/03/queensland-woman-natasha-ryan-remembered-as-more-than-just-the-girl-in-the-cupboard

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/the-girl-who-returned-from-death/ND6RPBBD2A4ST57HTGAOKJYW4Q/

https://www.murderpedia.org/male.F/f/fraser-leonard.htm

https://www.crimelibrary.org/serial_killers/predators/leonard_fraser/1_index.html

By all accounts, Hiroshi Maeue's childhood was normal. His parents both worked respectable, blue-collar jobs and aside from being a fan of a peculiar choice of entertainment, there was nothing notable about Maeue’s adolescence that would indicate that he would go on to have a compulsion for harming others.

Sources:

https://wickedwe.com/hiroshi-maeue/

https://murderpedia.org/male.M/m/maeue-hiroshi.htm

https://web.archive.org/web/20071226194658/http://gonta13.at.infoseek.co.jp/newpage495.htm (from wikipedia reference, in japanese, english Google translation)

http://www.executedtoday.com/2010/07/28/2009-hiroshi-maeue-suicide-website-murderer/ ( not much from here)

https://medium.com/true-crime-addiction/the-suicide-serial-killer-of-japan-true-crime-494ed2be8514

https://vimeo.com/260643824 (lots of info here)

https://www.theregister.com/2007/03/28/suicide_pact_murderer/

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2007/05/let-s-die-together/305776/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2015/10/16/disabled-japanese-pro-wrestlers-fighting-for-equality-inside-the-ring-and-out/

Late one evening in September 1971, Robert Rowlands was sitting at his home in London, listening to the radio. While trying to dial into a station, he heard something that caught his attention. He believed that he was listening to criminals committing a crime in real time…and he was right. And evidence later came out that this crime may have been one ordered by the royal family.

Sources used:

Wikipedia contributors. "Baker Street robbery." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 14 Apr. 2024. Web. 17 Jul. 2024.

"The Bank Job." Empire Cinemas. Retrieved 23 September 2020.

Hunter, Brad. Toronto Sun. (2022, September 10). Torontosun. https://torontosun.com/news/world/crime-hunter-royal-robbery-was-1971-heist-connected-to-crown

As a 24-year-old doctoral student at Yale, Annie Le was already making promising changes to the treatment of diabetes and cancer. In addition to her remarkable academic career, she was only five days out from her wedding to Columbia graduate student Jonathan Widawsky. When she missed their phone date on the evening of September 8, 2009, Jonathan wasn’t immediately alarmed, but when she didn’t come home that evening, her roommate grew concerned and called the police. Footage showed her entering her research building on Yale’s campus, but there was no indication that she ever left the building.

Sources:

Forensic Files II (2023). The Green Pen. [Television series episode]. HLN.

The New York Times (2009, September 14). Body of Missing Yale Student Is Found Hidden in Wall. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/14/nyregion/14yale.html

The New Haven Register (2011, March 17). Raymond Clark III pleads guilty in murder and attempted sexual assault of Yale grad student Annie Le, will serve 44 years (video, documents). https://www.nhregister.com/news/article/Raymond-Clark-III-pleads-guilty-in-murder-and-11559151.php

The New York Times (2011, June 4). Lab Technician Sentenced in Yale Student's Murder.

Oxygen (2019). A Wedding and a Murder. [Television series episode]. Oxygen. https://www.oxygen.com/a-wedding-and-a-murder

Wikipedia (2023). Murder of Annie Le. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Annie_Le

Yale Alumni Magazine (2009). The death of Annie Le. https://yalealumnimagazine.org/articles/2632-the-death-of-annie-le

Yale Daily News (2011, April 22). Yale responds to Le, Krauthamer murders.

CBS News (2009, September 17). Police Arrest Lab Worker In Yale Murder.

Sherri Rasmussen was holding an esteemed nursing position at the hospital she worked at, had purchased a split-level condominium, and was newly wed. But after calling out sick for the day in late February 1986, no one can get in touch with Sherri. Later that day, her husband, John Ruetten, calls emergency services after arriving home to tell them that he believes his wife is dead when he finds her body on the floor of the living room in her condo that they shared.

Sources:

McGough, Matthew. The Lazarus Files: A Cold Case Investigation. Henry Hold and Co, 2019.

Wikipedia contributors. "Murder of Sherri Rasmussen." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 23 Jun. 2024. Web. 17 Jul. 2024.

Jalali, Jillian (host). The Murder of Sherri Rae Rasmussen - Part 1. Court Junkie Podcast. Apple Podcasts. 28 October 2016.

Jalali, Jillian (host). The Murder of Sherri Rae Rasmussen - Part 2. Court Junkie Podcast. Apple Podcasts. 30 October 2016.

“One of Their Own.” 48 Hours, season 23, episode 32, CBS, 22 May 2010.

“The Smoking Gun.” Dateline season 19, episode 30, NBC, 30 October 2018.