#unsolvedcrime

Jessie Earl was a 22-year-old art student studying at Eastbourne College of Art and Design. Described as independent and strong, Jessie enjoyed reading and walking along the coast.

On 15th May 1980, Jessie rang her mother from a payphone on the seafront, she said she would visit on Friday. On Friday, when Jessie did not return home, her mother decided to go to Jessie’s apartment and see why she had changed her plans.

On 18th May, Jessie’s mother arrived at her daughter’s apartment and realised something was wrong- the place looked abandoned yet Jessie’s purse remained on the bed, the diary Jessie wrote in daily gave no indication she had gone anywhere. The police were called but no trace of Jessie or clues as to what happened to her could be found.

In 1989, a skeleton was discovered in undergrowth on Beachy Head, this was identified as Jessie’s body. The body was nude with a bra tied around the wrists, her jewellery was missing. A coroner claimed Jessie had committed suicide despite her parents arguing that she had no reason to and was not unhappy.

In 2000, Jessie’s death was classified as murder, however due to the original investigation being closed as a suicide, evidence had been destroyed including the bra which had been found, this prevented modern forensic techniques being used and was described as a ‘significant mistake.’

Serial killer and sex offender, Peter Tobin, was known to have been in the area of the murder at the time and Jessie had fit his victim profile however due to a lack of evidence from the crime scene no link could be found. Jessie’s murder was also linked to the unsolved murder of Louise Kays, who disappeared from Eastbourne in 1968, Louise also frequented the Beachy Head area. It was also speculated Louise was a victim of Peter Tobin, though no evidence could be found. Louise’s murder is unsolved.

Silver Spring, Maryland:

Keith Warren was 19 years old and wanted to study at college soon. He lived with his mother Mary and his sister Sharri. On 31 July, 1986 he was found hanging from a tree near his home. The police ruled his death as suicide but there were many inconsistencies. The brench was too thin to hang himself on and two slings where used. There were no signs or evidences that Keith had committed suicide. In 1993 an envelope arrived at the mother's home. There were pictures of the crime scene in there. Keith was wearing others clothes and shoes. An autopsy was finally performed and several deadly amounts of chemicals were discovered in his body. In addition the letter stated that a Mark Finley would be killed. Days before Keith's death he and other people were looking for Keith for unknown reasons. A month later Mark Finley was found dead.

Sherri Warren is still fighting for justice.

“It’s my responsibility. I am doing this to validate the last 23 years of my mother’s life and for my brother. He was loved. He wasn’t a case number, double-O whatever. He was a physical person whose life and spirit were cut short, and I want to know why.”- Sherri Warren

Roberta Elam, originally from Minnesota, was studying theology in New York. She was a coordinator for adult religious programs and was said to be outspoken on social justice issues. When Roberta was 26, she decided to join the Sisters of Saint Joseph and moved into the house in West Virginia. She was known as Sister Robin and was a postulant nun.

On 13th June 1997 at around 10.30 am, Sister Robin walked to a peaceful hill 100 yards behind the building to pray. At 2 pm, a caretaker walked past the hill and saw Sister Robin's dead body lying there, the bench she had been sitting on was tipped over and her clothes had been pulled, exposing her body.

Sister Robin had been dragged from the bench to a slope and been raped and strangled to death. Nobody had seen anything significant and no clues were found. Although many locals were interviewed no arrests took place.

Theories ranged from local salvage company workers who Sister Robin had argued with and a mysterious, unkept male who a witness described walking in the area. In the months leading up to the murder, four women had been raped and killed similarly in Pennsylvania less than an hour away leading some to believe it was the work of a serial killer. Those women were all strangled with items of clothing but Sister Robin's killer strangled her with his hands.

Billie-Jo Margaret Jenkins was a 13-year-old British girl. She was brought up in East London however when she was 9-years-old her father was imprisoned her mother was unable to cope with her care and placed her in foster care. Billie-Jo was fostered by Siôn and Lois Jenkins, who coincidentally shared her surname. She moved with her foster family to Hastings, East Sussex.

On 15th February 1997, Billie-Jo's body was found in the back garden of the family home in Hastings. She had been beaten with an 18-inch metal tent peg while painting the patio doors alone. The rest of the family were reportedly not at the property at the time. Billie's foster father, Siôn Jenkins, told police he had found her in a pool of blood after returning from a shopping trip.

Police grew suspicious of Siôn Jenkins and he was named a suspect. Erratic behaviour and 158 microscopic blood spots on his clothing soon led officers to arrest him for Billie-Jo's murder. He was tried and convicted on 2nd July 1998. His sentence was life imprisonment.

An appeal plea for Siôn Jenkins failed in 1998 but in 2004 the Court of Appeal ordered a retrial and released him on bail. At the retrial, forensic scientists stated the blood spray could have been released from Billie-Jo's airway when he moved her body. A jury was unable to reach a majority verdict after 39 hours of deliberation. On 9th February 2006, Siôn Jenkins was declared not guilty and acquitted.

The Zodiac Killer, also known as simply Zodiac, is an unidentified American serial killer known to have killed in Northern California from the 1960s-1970s. The killer’s name originates from a set of taunted letters sent to the San Francisco Bay Area press, the letters also included 4 coded messages only one of which has been solved.

Zodiac murdered 5 known victims, although some estimate it could be many more, he targetted young couples primarily and claimed to have had 37 victims. He shot and stabbed his victims and his motive has never been revealed however he did write the following, in code:

"I like killing people because it is so much fun it is more fun than killing wild game in the forrest because man is the most dangeroue anamal of all to kill something gives me the most thrilling experence it is even better than getting your rocks off with a girl the best part of it is thae when I die I will be reborn in paradice and the I have killed will become my slaves I will not give you my name because you will try to sloi down or atop my collectiog of slaves for my afterlife ebeorietemethhpiti"

the final 18 letters have never been solved. Zodiac claimed that when all 4 of his letters were decoded the police would ‘have’ him. The letters included proof they were from the killer such as swatches of clothing from the victims.