20 Most Confusing True Crime Cases

20 Most Confusing True Crime Cases

Welcome to WatchMojoUK, and today, we’re discussing the most baffling crimes from UK history.

40k Portaloo Heist

We can see why someone would like to steal something worth 40k, but when those things are toilets, it gets a lot more confusing. That’s exactly what happened in Pencombe, Herefordshire, in 2023. These portable toilets were stolen overnight from a racetrack, and according to the owner, they cost close to 40k. The culprits allegedly lifted them in a van during the night, coming back multiple times to swipe them all. Police had zero leads and have not found anyone responsible. It makes us wonder how someone manages to launder 40 hot toilets discreetly.

Gareth Williams

During the 2000s, Williams became a Junior Analyst for a British intelligence agency, something like MI6 or SIS. In 2010, he tragically lost his life in a set of extremely unusual and suspicious circumstances. His naked body was found in a sports bag in his bath, padlocked from the outside. It was instantly considered a crime scene, but after an extensive investigation, the police decided it was “probably an accident.” According to the family, authorities severely mishandled evidence, and many conspiracy theorists believed something was being covered up. More than 15 years later, we have just as much of an idea about what happened as we did in 2010, and we’re unlikely to ever learn the truth.

The Great Creme Egg Heist

Our next criminal committed a far less gruesome crime, stealing roughly £300 worth of Creme Eggs in the run-up to Easter, 2026. The 37-year-old woman shoplifted 64 boxes of them from a garden centre in Suffolk, which amounts to roughly 320 eggs. The whole incident was captured on CCTV, but she was only arrested after subsequently stealing some cheese and booze from a co-op. It’s unclear why she’d steal such an excessive quantity of chocolate eggs; maybe it was simply the adrenaline, or maybe she was planning to individually resell them at a higher price, we may never know. At least she didn’t go as far as the Italian thieves who stole 12 tonnes of KitKats a few days earlier.

Airey Neave

During the 70s, the Irish National Liberation Army sought to unify Ireland and frequently used violent tactics to achieve this goal. This led to the assassination of an English MP and soldier, Airey Neave, in 1979. Neave was murdered by a bomb hidden under a car outside Westminster. The Liberation Army claimed responsibility, but the confusion comes from the fact that no one responsible has ever been found. This has led to quite a few conspiracies surrounding the killing, with people like Enoch Powell claiming it was the CIA’s doing, as part of a grand plan to unify Ireland.

River Severn Torso

Way back in 1938, a group of fishers from Gloucestershire discovered a torso in the River Severn. Back in those days, it was virtually impossible to figure out who it was with just a torso. Subsequently, an operation was launched that found more limbs in the river, specifically two handless arms and a footless leg. It was a middle-aged man’s remains, potentially that of a man named Captain William Butt. They later found his bloody overcoat under the floorboards of a dancer’s home. His name was Brian Sullivan, and he’d taken his own life shortly after the Captain vanished. The rest of his corpse was never recovered, and no one has any idea what happened.

Charles Walton

On Valentine's Day 1945, during the closing months of World War 2, the body of Charles Walton was found on a farm in Warwickshire. Walton was 75 years old, had been introverted but friendly and didn’t have any enemies. He’d been killed with his own tools, a pitchfork and a slash hook, alongside this, there was a cross carved into his chest. Walton’s remains were discovered by his niece Edith, and she was abhorred at the cruelty he’d suffered in his final moments. People have since speculated that witchcraft was responsible, but others believe the farm’s manager did the deed. With a lack of evidence, he was never convicted, and officially, the case is still unsolved.

Bella in the Wych Elm

In 1943, a woman's remains were discovered hidden inside a wych elm in Worcestershire. A group of young boys stumbled upon her skull, and then the police were informed and found an entire skeleton. Forensics showed it had been 18 months since she’d died due to suffocation. Both she and her killer are still unidentified, leading to countless conspiracy theories. These usually claim German spies killed her, but we’ll probably never know. It's led to numerous instances of graffiti saying “who put Bella in the wych elm,” alongside numerous claims of witchcraft.

Bill O’ Jacks Murders

In April 1832, the bodies of an 84-year-old and his son were found murdered in their own pub in Saddleworth. Bill and Thomas Bradbury were found by the former’s granddaughter, Amelia, who also discovered signs of an intense struggle. The whole place was covered in blood, and a variety of weapons were located in the area. The pair were horrifically mutilated, but weren’t even dead when they were found, although they didn’t survive long. Bill managed to utter one word before passing, which was either “Pats of “Platt,” the strongest hint for who did it. It wasn’t strong enough for late Georgian detectives, though, and the case has been unsolved for almost 2 centuries now.

William Herbert Wallace

In 1931, Julia Wallace was found killed in her home in Liverpool. Her husband, William, had been out playing chess, then got a phone call telling him to go to a fake address the next day. He ended up searching for the place for ages before giving up, then coming home to his wife’s remains. He eventually became the primary suspect and was convicted, but this was overturned soon afterwards. They never came closer to cracking the case after this, with it still being unsolved. It’s been intensely studied, though, leading to a bunch of books on it alongside fictionalised depictions of the event.

Great Train Robbery

In 1963, over £2.61 million was heisted from a Royal Mail train in Ledburn, Buckinghamshire, which is 64 million in 2024 after inflation. It was orchestrated by Bruce Reynolds and his gang of 15, with further assistance from “The Ulsterman”, who is still unidentified. Most of the culprits were arrested at a hideout nearby, but despite this, most of the money wasn’t recovered, confusing many. It was likely laundered incredibly quickly, plus a few fled abroad and lived lavish lifestyles before it ran out. Others also spent the stolen cash on legal fees after the arrest. So, even though it was one of the grandest train heists in UK history, it didn’t really provide any benefits for the robbers.

Julia Webb

In 1998, 52-year-old Julia Webb went to walk her dog as she usually did, but her family became worried after she didn’t return home. Her son went out to investigate and found the dog, which led him to her remains. She’d been fatally struck in the head, but peculiarly, nothing was stolen from her, and there was no sign of why she’d been killed. No one was arrested for the incident until 2004, when a middle-aged man was questioned by police. They didn’t consider him responsible, so he was released shortly after, and the case has been cold since. People have tried to connect it to 3 other similar murders of dog walkers, but nothing is confirmed.

Deborah Linsley

You would think a train with 70 people on it would be a pretty safe place. If anything major happened, you’d also expect people to notice. Sadly for Deborah Linsley, this wasn’t the case when she was attacked on a London train in 1988. Linsley fought back bravely, injuring her assailant, but she wasn’t strong enough to overpower them. She died due to stab wounds, but tragically, no one saw or heard a thing. This was likely due to the train having isolated compartments with no corridor, meaning if she wanted to escape, she’d have to jump out the side. The case has been cold for ages now, but the family and authorities are hoping to find new information someday.

The Brink’s-Mat Robbery

Another one of the UK’s most lucrative robberies was the Brink’s Mat robbery in 1983. About 26 million was stolen, mainly in gold bullion and diamonds, which is worth roughly 290 million in 2025. The gang intended to steal about a million pounds of Spanish currency from Brink’s, but ended up with way more loot. A few of the robbers were caught and convicted, but it’s estimated that most people involved escaped. The majority of the gold was never recovered, and it’s believed to have returned to the regular gold market, implying that much of the 80s gold jewellery could have come from the robbery. Many individuals believed to be involved were shot to death, leading people to claim the money was cursed.

Jill Dando

For years, Dando was a beloved presenter on the BBC, who was so adored she was voted their Personality of the Year in 1997. 2 years later, she was shot to death in Fulham, which led to a historically massive investigation. Barry George was the person they ended up convicting, but after 8 years in prison, he was acquitted. This has made it one of the most significant unsolved cases in UK history. Shortly after the crime, a few calls claimed Serbian groups were responsible as revenge for NATO’s recent bombing of Serbia. Many were considered hoax calls, so this isn’t a credible theory at all, leaving us all completely baffled about who killed Dando and why.

Suzy Lamplugh

Our next victim was an estate agent who went out to meet a client in 1986, then vanished without a trace. In her planner, she was scheduled to meet “Mr Kipper,” and that’s the best clue police could find. They announced John Cannan was likely responsible, a murderer who had been released from prison only 3 days prior. Despite their confidence, there wasn’t enough evidence available to convict him. Canaan claims he knew who did it, but refuses to reveal. His family have even pressured him to open up, but to no avail. Canaan was given a life sentence for a similarly horrific crime, but died in 2024 before telling the truth. People still wonder who did it and if they’ll ever find her body.

Noah Donohoe

In 2020, a teenage boy from Northern Ireland went for a bike ride, but never came home. Six days later, he was found dead from drowning in a storm drain. Before his death, they found CCTV footage of him cycling naked through Belfast. The last sighting was of him walking towards a private stream. Over half a decade later, the investigation is still ongoing. The local police have been massively criticised for their handling of the incident, with them making numerous mistakes, such as improperly checking CCTV videos. No one knows why he did it, but people are still speculating today, and there’s a sad chance it may never be revealed.

Belfast Bank Robbery

In 2004, Northern Bank in Belfast was robbed of over 26 million pounds. Banker’s family members were taken hostage, the money was carried away in a van, and then most of it was never seen again. About 2.3 million was found in a financial adviser’s house, and he was convicted of money laundering. Over 20 years later, the primary culprits are still at large. Northern Bank decided to swap its notes to make the stolen money unable to be spent. Many people claim the IRA were responsible, but this has been denied by both them and Sinn Féin. Others theorise the UK government did it to discredit Sinn Féin, but there’s a low chance we’ll ever find out.

Zigmund Adamski

Originally from Poland, Zigmund Adamski moved to the UK and became a miner in West Yorkshire. In 1980, he went out to the shops as he usually did, but never returned home. Five days later, his remains were discovered 20 miles away from Adamski’s house, sitting on a massive coal pile. It was left in an incredibly bizarre state, wearing a pristine suit with no shirt, alongside having burns that had been treated with an indiscernible medicine. The leading theory is that he was abducted, but it’s unclear by whom. This has led to the pretty ridiculous idea that aliens were responsible, or the KGB, but with the evidence available, it’s likely unsolvable.

Harold Shipman

We know a significant amount about Shipman, also known as “Doctor Death.” He’s one of the most studied serial killers in UK history, but there are still a ton of missing pieces. Shipman was confirmed to have killed 15 elderly patients of his by prescribing them lethal doses. There’s evidence he claimed over 250 lives, a nauseating figure. In the end, he was caught because he forged his last victim’s will, and did an awful job at it. So, he could have done it simply for money. His sloppiness has led to speculation that he wanted to be caught, plus that he was primarily doing it for the rush of having power over someone.

Madeleine McCann

Finally, we have what’s widely considered the most prolific missing-person case in UK history. Madeleine was still a toddler when she went missing from a Portuguese hotel in 2007, while her parents were out having a meal. Local authorities believed she’d died by mistake, and her parents were covering it up. This was never proven, so now authorities are more inclined to believe a third party was responsible for the abduction. People are still looking into finding McCann and whoever took her, with German police believing a man named Christian Brückner did it, but he’s yet to be charged.

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