1980s
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The Natalie Wood Case: A Night on the Splendour and a Ruling That Changed
On Thanksgiving weekend 1981, Natalie Wood went missing from a yacht moored off Catalina Island. The original ruling took days; the questions have lasted decades. Continue reading
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The Samuel Little Case: 93 Confessions, a Drug Warrant and the Women No One Counted
In 2012, a 72-year-old drifter was picked up in Louisville on an old drug warrant. What his DNA and his memory revealed changed how the FBI counts murder. Continue reading
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The Sandra Hemme Case: A Sedated Confession, a Police Suspect and 43 Lost Years
In November 1980, library worker Patricia Jeschke was found dead in her St. Joseph, Missouri, apartment. Within a month, a 20-year-old psychiatric patient had confessed, while evidence pointing to a police officer sat in a file. Continue reading
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The Olof Palme Case: A Prime Minister Shot on a Stockholm Street and 40 Years Without an Answer
Sweden’s prime minister was shot walking home from the movies with his wife in 1986, with no bodyguards in sight. Four decades, one overturned conviction, and one dead suspect later, the country still argues about who pulled the trigger. Continue reading
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The Hwaseong Murders: How DNA Named Lee Chun-jae 33 Years Later, and Freed the Wrong Man
Ten women and girls were murdered in Hwaseong, South Korea, between 1986 and 1991, and the case inspired “Memories of Murder.” In 2019, DNA finally named Lee Chun-jae — too late to charge him, and 20 years too late for… Continue reading
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The Azaria Chamberlain Case: A Dingo, a Grieving Mother, and Australia’s Most Infamous Wrongful Conviction
When nine-week-old Azaria Chamberlain vanished from a tent at Uluru in August 1980, her mother cried that a dingo had taken her. Australia didn’t believe Lindy Chamberlain — and it took 32 years to prove her right. Continue reading
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The Betty Broderick Case: five shots at dawn, a $16,000-a-month divorce, and a death in prison at 78
On November 5, 1989, Betty Broderick used a stolen key to enter her ex-husband’s San Diego home and shot him and his new wife as they slept. Two trials, two parole denials, and a hit TV series later, she died… Continue reading
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The Diane Downs Case: A Mother, a Dark Oregon Road, and the Daughter Who Said “My Mom”
In May 1983, Diane Downs drove her three wounded children to a Springfield, Oregon hospital and blamed a bushy-haired stranger. Her surviving daughter told the truth, the prosecutor adopted the children, and in December 2025 a parole board turned Downs… Continue reading
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The Sherri Rasmussen Case: an LAPD detective, a bite mark in a coroner’s freezer, and 23 years of silence
In 1986 Sherri Rasmussen’s father told LAPD detectives her killer was an ex-girlfriend with a badge, and was told there was nothing there. A swab found in a coroner’s freezer proved him right 23 years later, and the fight over… Continue reading
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The Candy Montgomery Case: 41 Axe Blows, a Church Affair, and the Texas Jury That Set Her Free
On June 13, 1980, Candy Montgomery walked into Betty Gore’s home in Wylie, Texas, to pick up a child’s swimsuit and left her friend dead from 41 axe blows. A jury called it self-defense, and 46 years later people still… Continue reading
