10 Times People Left Clues About Their Murderers

On February 13, 2017, teenagers Abigail Williams and Liberty German went missing while hiking through Deer Creek Township, Indiana. Their bodies were found the next day, and while details have never been released, the police began a murder investigation. One clue was found on German’s phone. While hiking, German had taken a photo of an unknown man walking towards the girls. Unfortunately, the picture is not clear, but police were quick to suspect this man as the murderer. An audio recording was also found on the phone, with a muffled male voice saying, “Down the hill”. Various persons of interest have been put forth, but the case remains frustratingly unsolved.

When South African teacher Cebisile Happiness Khoza was discovered dead on a remote dirt road in 2015, the numbers 071 were found inscribed in the dirt near her burnt body. Police suspected this to be the beginning of a cell phone number, but Khoza had died before finishing. Khoza’s boyfriend, Siyamamkela Odwa Nompumza, became the leading suspect after his fingerprint was discovered on a petrol bottle found at the crime scene. It’s suspected that Nompumza murdered Khoza after growing jealous of her new boyfriend. However, Nompumza claims that he had nothing to do with Khoza’s murder.

This teenager from Hong Kong was living in New York City when he began writing a blog. The blog was meant to detail his personal struggles of living in a new country. Instead, it led to the apprehension of his murderer. On May 12, 2005, Ng wrote that his sister’s ex-boyfriend Jin Lin had entered his apartment, despite being asked to wait downstairs, supposedly to retrieve some fishing equipment, and that he was acting agitated. Simon and his sister were murdered soon after. Police searched Simon’s computer and found the blog, pointing them towards Jin. He was subsequently arrested and sentenced to life in prison.

In 1996, special education teacher Kathleen Weinstein was murdered by a teenage carjacker. Unknown to the teen, Weinstein was capturing the entire ordeal on a hidden tape recorder that she retrieved from a bag and hid in her coat pocket. Following the discovery of her body, authorities listened to the recording, which contained key details, like the carjacker’s first name and age. The man, 17-year-old Michael LaSane, was later captured driving Weinstein’s car, arrested, and sentenced to life in prison. Following a successful appeal in 2007, LaSane was once again found guilty and re-sentenced to life.

On March 29, 2000, Michigan man David Duyst called 911 and reported that his wife Sandra had taken her own life. The story was widely accepted until Sandra’s autopsy was conducted, which revealed that she’d been shot twice. Sandra’s sister Mary also came forward with an incriminating note. Sandra had told Mary that if anything happened to her, a note hidden in her china cabinet would explain everything. The note stated that David had tried to kill Sandra with an ax hammer back in 1998. Further analysis of David’s shirt revealed microscopic blood splatter, indicating that it was David who had shot Sandra. Forensic professionals did the rest, and David was sentenced to life in prison for Sandra’s murder, and died there in 2018.

British student Matthew Pyke lived with his girlfriend, Joanna Witton, in Suffolk, England. Witton drew the attention of a man named David Heiss on a gaming website, and Heiss grew dangerously infatuated with Witton. Heiss proceeded to stalk both Witton and Pyke, and in September 2008, he broke into Pyke’s apartment and fatally stabbed him in a fit of jealousy. Pyke was able to write the letters DAV in his own blood before dying of his injuries. Witton returned home to find her boyfriend dead, and Heiss was quickly arrested. He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison.

#4: Alexander Litvinenko

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This Russian defector once worked for the Russian Federal Security Service before publicly accusing his superiors of ordering an assassination. He subsequently relocated to London and sought protection. While living in England, Litvinenko wrote two books and dropped numerous bombshells about the Russian government. In November 2006, he was poisoned and murdered by what’s assumed to be members of the Federal Security Service. Litvinenko grew very sick after meeting prior colleagues, but was able to remember a particular pot of tea that only he drank from. The police later found this teapot, which contained high amounts of polonium-210. Unfortunately, the primary suspect in the case - Russian politician Andrey Lugovoy - cannot be extradited from Russia.

On January 17, 2008, a man named Michael King abducted Denise Amber Lee from her own home. King took Lee to his house and assaulted her before taking her to his cousin’s house. Lee managed to grab King’s cell phone and called 911. The call lasted approximately six minutes and saw a panicked Denise providing various pieces of information to the authorities. Unfortunately, they were unable to save Lee, and she was murdered by King shortly after the call. The whole ordeal lasted seven hours, with Lee being kidnapped around 2pm and King being arrested at 9:15 that night. Lee’s 911 call aided in the prosecution, and King was sentenced to death.

The death of 33-year-old mother Nadine Haag in 2009 was made to look like she took her own life. The police bought it, but her family insisted that there had been foul play. Investigating themselves, they found the words “he did it” on a note underneath her supposed note; these same words were later spotted etched into a bathroom tile. The family believes that the “he” in question is Nestore Guizzon, the father of Haag’s young daughter. The family collected enough convincing evidence to overturn the ruling on her death However, Guizzon denied involvement and there’s no direct evidence linking him to what happened to Haag, which means it remains an open case.

In 2003, drug dealer William Horncy kidnapped London businessman Amarjit Chohan, along with his wife, mother-in-law, and two sons. Wanting to use Chohan’s business as a front, Horncy forced Chohan to sign it over, then killed the captives and dumped their bodies in the ocean. However, Chohan’s body later washed up in Bournemouth, as did his wife’s and mother-in-law’s. Inside Chohan’s sock was a note addressed to Horncy’s father, naming his murderer. Horncy and his associates were quickly apprehended, and each received severe prison sentences for their roles in the Chohan family murders.