Top 10 cases of kidnapping and murder

I still remember the days of my childhood when my parent used to bestow “extra” care whenever I was somewhere outside of home. It’s a matter of fact that during those days their suggestions seem to me paranoiac and squandering. But after going through these cases of kidnapping and murder, I’ve realized that their apprehensions were on-key because this beautiful world is also occupied by some people, corrupt by their soul, sick by their mentality and hellacious by deed.

10. Amber Hagerman (November 25, 1986 – January 15, 1986):

On January 13, 1996, Amber Rene Hagerman and her younger brother Ricky were bicycling near their grandparent’s home in Arlington, Texas. After sometime, little Ricky went back whereas Amber continued cycling and moved few blocks away from her home. According to a bystander, Amber was dragged into a pickup truck by a white man while she was roaming around an abandoned grocery store. After four days of kidnapping, her rotten body was discovered from a drainage ditch, just a few miles from where she had been snatched. Before being murdered, Amber was sexually assaulted for two days. Despite of thousands of leads, her killer is still a subject of mystery.

9. Taylor Behl (October 13, 1987 – September 6, 2005):

Native of Vienna, Virginia, Taylor Marie Behl moved to Richmond in August, 2005, after enrolling in Virginia Commonwealth University. On September 5, 2005, Taylor disappeared from her dormitory room without informing anyone about her whereabouts. On September 17, 2005, her Ford Escort was recovered few miles away from her VCU Campus and finally on October, 7, remaining parts of her body were discovered by local cops in a rural area of Virginia. After investigations, Benjamin Fawley, a 38 year old photographer was arrested in this case for being a suspect of Behl’s kidnapping and murder. Fawley accepted that Taylor died because of rough sex act while physically abusing her in the car. Later, he dumped her body in a shallow grave.

8. Hanns-Martin Schleyer (May 1, 1915 – October 18, 1977):

A prominent German industry representative and an enthusiastic Nazi activist, Schleyer was abducted by the Red Army Faction (RAF) on September 5, 1977. On this day, Schleyer’s Mercedes was attacked by the terror group in which two police officers, driver and one bodyguard were killed whereas he was captured and taken across the border. RAF was demanding to release their captive members but after the refusal of German government, he was eventually murdered in Mulhouse, France. Later, his penetrated corpse was recovered from the trunk of a green Audi 100.

7. Graeme Thorne (1952 – 8 July 1960):

On June 1, 1960, Bazil Thorne (father of Graeme Thorne), a traveling salesman, was announced as the winner of £100,000 by the government of New South Wales  in the Opera House Lottery. Next day, this big thing was published on almost every newspaper of Sydney, mentioning the details of winner. On the morning of July 7, 1960, his eight year old son, Graeme, disappeared while going to his school “The Scots College”, located in Bellevue Hill, Sydney. Just after 70 minutes of this incident, Mrs. Thorne received a call from the kidnapper, demanding £25,000 by 5 pm. Very soon, a massive hunt operation was launched by the cops that Australia had never seen before. Next day, on the outskirts of Sydney, his math book, lunch bag, school cap and raincoat was discovered by the investigation team but there was no clue about his whereabouts. On August 16, Graeme’s stinking body, wrapped in a rug, was discovered in a suburb of northern Sydney. His feet and hands were tightly tied with rope and he was still wearing his school uniform. According to autopsy, he was murdered within 24 hours of kidnapping and the causes of his death were suffocation and head injury.

6. Enrique Camarena (July 26, 1947 – February 9, 1985):

An undercover agent for the United States Drug Enforcement Administration, Camarena came to prominence after bursting notorious drug trafficking rackets. In 1984, on information given by Camarena, 1000-hectare marijuana plantation, valued at $8 billion, was destroyed by Mexican soldiers. Appalled by this lost, Mexican drug lord Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, ordered to kidnap this top cop. On February 7, 1985, Camarena was abducted in the broad daylight by corrupt police officers of his own department. His dead body was recovered on March 5, in a rural area of Mexico. Before death, he was brutally tortured by the kidnappers.

5. Evgeny Miller (September 25, 1867 – May 11, 1939):

Evgeny Miller was a Russian general as well as a top-notch leader of the anti-communist White Army. General Miller strictly retaliated the democratization of the Russian Army and became an eyesore for his own government. Later, he switched his location and moved to France where he continued his anti-communist activities. On September 22, 1937, he was drugged and kidnapped by agents of NKVD, the secret police organization of the Soviet Union. Eventually, he was smuggled back to Moscow where he was murdered after a torturous session of nineteen months.

4. Polly Hannah Klaas (January 3, 1981 – October 1993):

On October 1, 1933, Polly Hannah Klaas was kidnapped on knife point from her home in Petaluma, California. At the time of kidnapping, she was accompanied by her two friends in a slumber party. The kidnapper, Richard Allen Davis, a notorious criminal, tied their hands behind their backs and carried Polly out of her home. This case was hyped by both the police and the mainstream media but their attempts were futile to nail down this case. Ironically, Davis was arrested on November 30, for violation of parole but later he was recognized by his sketches. After four days of his arrest, Polly’s decomposed body was recovered by cops near U.S. Route 101 near Cloverdale city. Shattered by this heart wrenching incident, Marc Klaas, Polly’s father, turned a child advocate and founded the KlassKids Foundation.

3. Marion Parker (October 11, 1915 – December 17, 1927):

Daughter of a notable banker in Los Angeles, Marion Parker was kidnapped in a sophisticated cinematic style. On December 15, 1927, William Edward Hickman, arrived in Marion’s school and informed the registrar that Marion’s father had been injured critically and wished to meet his daughter. He disguised himself as an employee of the bank where Mr. Parker worked and presented himself in such an elegant manner that registrar allowed Marion to go with him. Very soon, the kidnapper communicated Mr. Parker and asked for $1,500, in order to let her daughter go. Without informing the police, Mr. Parker approached the venue and delivered the ransom to a young man. He was also able to see Marion, sitting in the car and wrapped up to her neck. As soon as the ransom was exchanged, kidnapper drove off and pulled Marion on the street, from the moving vehicle. It’s a matter of fact that Marion was dead and her both arms and legs were missing that were later found on December 18, wrapped in a newspaper.

2. Brooke Hart (June 11, 1911 – November 9, 1933):

Counted among one of the most suitable bachelors in the Bay Area, Brooke Hart was the son of Alexander Hart, a notable personality in California and the owner of L. Hart and Son Department Store. On November 9, Hart’s sister received a call which informed her that Brooke Hart had been kidnapped and would be returned after paying the ransom of $40,000. On the night of November 15, 1933, one kidnapper was arrested near a pay phone whereas second one was nabbed in the wee hours of November 16. They admitted in front of the cops that after tying Hart with wire, they tossed him into San Francisco Bay from San Mateo Bridge. After a long search operation, Hart’s crab-eaten body was discovered on November 26, almost a mile south of the bridge.

1. Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr. (June 22, 1930 – March 1, 1932):

Son of an eminent aviator, Charles Jr. (18 months), was kidnapped from his family home in New Jersey, on March 1, 1932, while sleeping in his crib. During the time of abduction, toddler’s father, Charles Lindbergh was in his study room whereas mother, Anne Morrow Lindbergh was taking bath. From the crime spot, a letter with grammatical irregularities was recovered, asking $50,000 in ransom which was later doubled after interference of police. Mr. Lindbergh gathered half amount and delivered it to kidnappers. In return, he was instructed to recover his son from a boat “Nelly” at Martha’s Vineyard. Desperate father approached the venue but there was no boat; he had been fooled. Toddler’s body was discovered on May 12, 1932, by a truck driver who was going in woodlet of trees to relieve himself. Both hands and left leg of the baby boy were missing and his skull was severely fractured.