Tuesday, November 23, 2021

Five Little-Known Unsolved Murders

I began publishing this blog in 2008. While I've written many stories about high-profile murders, I purposefully seek out cold cases that for some reason never made it onto the big media stage. Here are five little-known cases that I hope will someday be solved. 

DOROTHY "DEE" SCOFIELD.

This stranger abduction took place in my hometown of Ocala, Florida. On a scorching summer day in 1976, 12-year-old Dee vanished in the middle of a busy parking lot. Investigators never developed any solid leads in this real-life mystery. 

DANNY DEWEY.

Danny Dewey was dealt a bad hand in life. His death was even worse.  A perfect victim, 17-year-old Danny's father had deserted his family and his mother had died, leaving the unfortunate teen to travel alone through life, penniless and aimless. In 1979, a serial predator operated in Louisiana, targeting teenage boys, including Danny. After murdering three teens in the same bizarre way, the killer abruptly stopped his sick rampage. He was never identified.

ALEXANDER WINSPEARE.

The victim of this murder-gone-cold was an anonymous old man living out the last days of his lonely life. The 93-year-old World War I veteran was a widower with few friends. Winspeare lived in a small house trailer, never bothering anyone. On one crisp fall morning, someone broke in and killed him. The murderer robbed the place of a few dollars, then fled into the night, never to be found.

LITTLE MISS LAKE PANASOFFKEE.

We don't even know her name. She was strangled and thrown off a bridge. At one time, she seemed to have had a loving family, but her life had gone awry. In her late teens or early twenties, the victim was shown on the show, "Unsolved Mysteries." Like her name, her killer is unknown. 

LINDA RAULERSON.

I've written two stories about the senseless murder of Linda Raulerson because this case should be solvable. Investigators have a video showing her murder and her killer, as well as the car he was driving. The YouTube video has had hundreds of thousands of viewers, yet this loving mother and wife has yet to receive the justice she deserves. Raulerson, a store clerk, was yet another victim of convenience store violence, among the most dangerous jobs in America. Read my follow-up story for more information.