10 Disturbing 1990s Crimes That Remain Unsolved

10 Disturbing ‘90s Crimes That STILL Haven’t Been Solved

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re breaking down cold cases from 1990 to 1999 that will get under your skin. Out of respect for those involved, the entries to follow are unranked, and presented in chronological order.

Las Cruces Bowling Alley Massacre (1990)

Early on February 10, 1990, this New Mexico establishment should’ve been gearing up for the weekend… but instead, it became a stage for an unspeakably horrible scene. Two robbers burst in through an unlocked door at dawn, armed with a .22-caliber pistol. Seven people — ranging from the alley’s cook to its manager — were ordered into an office then shot point-blank. After emptying the safe and setting the office on fire, the gunmen vanished. Decades later, investigators have yet to come up with suspects. The motive beyond robbery, identity of the killers, and why the fire was started remain desperate questions in a case that shook the community’s sense of safety.

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Heist (1990)

In the dead of night on March 18, two men dressed as police officers waltzed into Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. They bound and blinded the guards, then rampaged through halls for nearly an hour and a half, stealing 13 priceless works of art. Among the haul: Vermeer’s “The Concert,” Rembrandt’s lone seascape, paintings and sketches by Degas and Manet, and other masterpieces. They moved with confidence through dim halls, leaving empty frames hanging as ghostly placeholders. Over decades, hundreds of leads have drifted in and died—some suggesting Mafia involvement, others implicating local criminals. The artwork’s value is estimated at hundreds of millions. Still: no arrests, no pieces recovered. The crime remains the art world’s coldest unsolved case.

Bowraville Murders (1990-91)

On the rural edge of Bowraville, a small Aboriginal community was shattered by the disappearance and deaths of three children: teenagers Colleen Walker-Craig and Clinton Speedy-Duroux, and toddler Evelyn Greenup. Between September 1990 and February 1991, each vanished after parties along the same street. Two of the children’s bodies were later found in bushland, while Colleen’s remains have never been recovered. Despite suspicions centering on a single man, trials collapsed amid lost evidence, botched police work, and systemic racism. Families have fought for years to see justice, leading to reforms in Australia’s double jeopardy laws. Yet, more than 30 years on, the murders remain unresolved — a haunting emblem of injustice for Indigenous Australians.

Jackie McAllister & Brian Major (1991)

Late night, June 28, 1991: Gordon “Gord” McAllister, 62, and his wife Jackie, 59, pulled into a rest stop in Blind River, Ontario, planning nothing more than to get some rest inside their RV. Just before 1am, a supposed police officer pounded on their window, insisting they move. When Jackie opened the door, the ordeal began: robbery demands, threats, and gunfire. She and a bystander, Brian Major, were killed. Gord was left alive but gravely wounded. The assailant had used both a .22-caliber rifle and a shotgun. The killer has never been identified, and no one has ever been charged. The case remains one of the most haunting double homicides in Canadian history — especially given its open-ended nature.

The I-70 Killer (1992)

In the spring of 1992, a faceless predator haunted the quiet strip malls of America’s heartland. The so-called “I-70 Killer” left a trail of bodies in Indiana, Missouri, and Kansas, striking small specialty shops during slow afternoon hours. His victims were almost always petite young women working alone, executed with a single shot to the head from a .22-caliber pistol. Investigators believe he may have killed at least six people, possibly more. Witnesses described a wiry Caucasian man with reddish hair and cold eyes who slipped back onto the interstate after each killing, vanishing into terrifying anonymity. Despite composite sketches, countless tips, and decades of police work, this bloodthirsty highway phantom has never been caught.

Stephen Lawrence (1993)

On an ordinary April night in 1993, Stephen Lawrence, a Black teenager, stood at a bus stop with a friend in the district of Eltham. A gang of white assailants approached, hurling racial abuse before surrounding him. Stephen was stabbed in a brutal, unprovoked attack, and he ran, bleeding, before collapsing and dying soon after. For decades, justice was elusive amid bungled police work, systemic bias, and legal loopholes. In 2012, two of the attackers were finally convicted, but the majority involved in the assault remain unaccountable. The scars of the case stretch far beyond southeast London: the law changed, the police were reformed, but the full truth has never been revealed.

Lindsay Rimer (1994)

On a November evening in 1994, 13-year-old Lindsay Jo Rimer left home to buy cornflakes. She was last seen on CCTV at about 10:22 p.m. leaving a supermarket in Crown Street, Hebden Bridge. Her body was discovered months later in the Rochdale Canal, weighted down by a concrete boulder. Cause of death: strangulation. Investigators believe the killer was someone local, likely known to Lindsay. Despite over 5,000 interviews, hundreds of witness statements, and a DNA profile obtained in 2016, no suspect has been charged. Relevant parties have repeatedly appealed for more information over the years with little success.

Amber Hagerman (1996)

9-year-old Hagerman was riding her bike near her grandparents’ home in Arlington, Texas, on January 13, 1996, when she was abducted. Witnesses saw a man in a black pickup grab her. Her body was found four days later in a creek, a few miles away. Despite thousands of tips, no suspect has ever been identified. Her case inspired the creation of the eponymous Amber Alert system, now widely used across the U.S. and in other countries around the world. The police continue to treat it as an open case, releasing new information as it trickles in… but with no breakthrough yet.

JonBenét Ramsey (1996)

The Colorado 6-year-old was found dead in the basement of her family’s home on December 26, 1996, about seven hours after being reported missing. The cause of death was “asphyxia by strangulation associated with craniocerebral trauma.” A bizarre, handwritten ransom note demanding $118,000 was found, matching John Ramsey’s bonus, but investigators found no forced entry. Over the years, DNA from an unknown male was discovered on her clothing; in 2008, the Ramseys were officially cleared of suspicion by a new district attorney after testing. Multiple theories persist: family involvement vs. intruder. No charges have been filed. It remains one of America’s most famous unsolved murders.

Jill Dando (1999)

Jill Wendy Dando was a popular BBC television presenter and host of “Crimewatch.” On the morning of 26 April 1999, she was shot once in the head on her doorstep in Fulham, London. The bullet was fired at point-blank range, apparently with a converted blank-firing 9mm pistol pressed close to her head. After a massive investigation, Barry George was convicted in 2001 but acquitted in 2008 when key forensic evidence was declared inadmissible. There is no consensus on motive: possibilities include an obsessive stalker, professional hit, or foreign political retaliation. To this day, no one has been convicted again and the case remains unsolved, though periodically reopened for review.

Which cold case on our list freaked you out the most? Be sure to let us know in the comments below.