Looking back at some of Michigan's biggest unsolved cases

Local 4's all day coverage on unsolved cases

DETROIT – Local 4 is dedicating a day to bringing awareness to unsolved cases around Michigan.

Unsolved Michigan Day will bring you stories of unsolved cases, including criminal cases, murders and missing persons. 

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Wednesday on Local 4:

  • See how profiling cold cases that are solved leads to reports of new unsolved cases for detectives.
  • The Oakland County child killer is the center of Season 3 of Shattered. See why detectives feel strongly this case can still be solved.
  • What happened to Andrew, Alexander and Tanner Skelton? Their father is in prison on kidnapping charges but the three boys have not been seen since Thanksgiving 2010.

Phone Bank: The Michigan State Police Missing Persons Unit will be taking tips on unsolved missing persons cases and reports on new cases from 4 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. CALL: (313) 298-WDIV   

Some of these cases have remained unsolved for decades. Here are some of the cases we're highlighting:

Oakland County Child Killer case remains unsolved

Someone killed at least four children in Oakland County, Mich. between 1976 and 1977.

Investigators have been working for decades to determine who the serial killer is and if he is still alive. Those who knew the victims -- their families, friends, classmates, teachers, coaches and neighbors -- have been forever changed by what happened during the 13-month period from February 1976 to March 1977. In that time, the four children were abducted and murdered with their bodies left in various locations within or just outside Oakland County.

Listen to Local 4's new podcast on the case or watch the docuseries here.

Michigan Skelton boys remain missing

The Skelton brothers -- Andrew, 9, Alexander, 7, and Tanner, 5 -- all went missing on Nov. 26, 2010. 

That was Black Friday, the day their father John Skelton was supposed to bring the children back to their mother in Morenci, Mich. That's according to their mother, Tanya Zuvers.

Local 4 investigative reporter Jeremy Allen has spent years on this case. Allen's research and countless interviews with investigators and family members were put together last year in a true crime podcast: Shattered "Black Friday."

You can listen to every episode of the podcast by downloading it from your favorite podcatcher or right here on ClickOnDetroit

Grosse Pointe Farms teen Paige Stalker's murder still unsolved after 4 years

It has been four years since 16-year-old Paige Stalker was killed when a gunman opened fire on a car she was in on the Detroit-Grosse Pointe Park border. 

Read more here.

2014 murder of Detroit woman Christina Samuel remains unsolved

It's been nearly five years since a 22-year-old Detroit woman, Christina Samuel, was shot to death. The case remains unsolved. Read more here.

Missing in Michigan: Paige Renkoski's case still baffles investigators nearly 30 years later

Paige Renkoski

It's one of Michigan's oldest cold cases. She was a young, attractive substitute teacher who disappeared without a trace on May 24, 1990 just after she dropped off her mother at the airport. Her vehicle was found stopped on the westbound shoulder of I-96, about 1/2 mile from the Fowlerville exit.

Read more here.

Monroe County girl Neveah Buchanan's murder unsolved after nearly 10 years

It's been nearly 10 years since Neveah Buchanan was last seen playing outside an apartment complex in Monroe, Mich.

Read more here.

Detroit woman Tamara Greene's murder unsolved after more than 15 years

The murder of an exotic dancer in Detroit back in 2003 remains unsolved.

Family members said Tamara Greene was pulling her car up to a curb at Roselawn Street and West Outer Drive to drop off her boyfriend when an unidentified man in a white Chevrolet Blazer pulled around the corner and began shooting at the car.

Read more here.

More unsolved Michigan cases:

1983 death of 16-year-old Erik Cross remains unsolved

It's a death that shook a small Michigan town to its core. Erik Cross, a 16-year-old boy from Vicksburg, Michigan - a small town in West Michigan - was killed in 1983 after attending a party.

Cross was struck and killed by a car as he was walking home and was left to die in the road.

Read more here.

Sterling Heights woman's murder remains unsolved year later

A Sterling Heights family is searching for answers in the murder of a loved one. 

It was one year ago when 24-year-old Kiah Hopson was found killed in the parking lot of the Parkside East Apartments at Van Dyke Avenue near 19 Mile Road. 

Read more here.

The disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa

1964: Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa is sentenced to eight years in prison for jury tampering. He lost control of the union during his incarceration and disappeared in 1975 as he was trying to regain power.

More than 40 years ago, Jimmy Hoffa disappeared from a Bloomfield Hills restaurant.

Since that day, hundreds of thousands of man hours and millions of dollars have gone into sorting through countless tips while trying to crack the case of Hoffa’s disappearance.

There is no evidence that Hoffa was ever killed.  Officially, this remains a missing person’s case. The investigation remains open, still active. New tips come in every month or two at Detroit’s FBI field office

However, most investigators, writers, and true crime experts speculate that Hoffa was murdered in a mafia hit.

Read more here.

St. Aubin Street Massacre: 1929 Detroit family murders still unsolved

It's one of the most brutal murders in Detroit's history, and after more than 85 years it still remains unsolved.

On the night of July 3, 1929, Benny Evangelist, and his wife and four children were found brutally murdered in their Detroit home, on St. Aubin and Mack.

Read more here.

Family of young man pleading for answers in 2008 Pontiac homicide

The family of a man who was killed more than a decade ago is still searching for answers in the unsolved homicide.  

Roosevelt Delano Davis was fatally shot May 28, 2008, at around 9:24 p.m. in the 1100 block of Featherstone between Bay Street and Lynch Avenue. 

Read more here.


About the Author:

Ken Haddad has proudly been with WDIV/ClickOnDetroit since 2013. He also authors the Morning Report Newsletter and various other newsletters, and helps lead the WDIV Insider team. He's a big sports fan and is constantly sipping Lions Kool-Aid.