Although it is very common for UM cases to end with a suspect being charged or a fugitive being captured, of course it doesn't always happen that way. There are a number of cases in which a suspect dies before he or she could be caught or charged.

Here are some that come to mind:

Leo Joseph Khoury. Wanted for racketeering and murder, he died in a San Diego hospital in June 1991.

Tracy Wofford Bunn. She was found dead in her car on April 1, 1989; Frederick McKinley was posthumously identified as her killer though DNA.

Dennis Depue. He was wanted for the April 1990 murder of his wife. Following a 1991 broadcast of the segment, and high speed chase, he offed himself.

Curly Diamond. He was named as a suspect in the 1988 arson deaths of five Texas children; he became the victim of an unsolved murder in 1992, when he was killed in New York City subway shooting.

David O'Neil. Wanted for the Setpember 1991 murder of Scott Rossiter, a Canadian police officer. A few months later, his body was found in a shallow grave. He had been shot to death, and his killer was never identified.

I know there are other cases that fit this topic, but the ones I listed are just a few examples.

IIRC, the guy who murdered David Merrifield died before he was even accused of the crime.

Judge John Fairbanks: Was wanted for embezzling millions of dollars and decided to commit suicide, likely because all his stolen money run out.

Joe Owens: Wanted for the murder of his wife and likely committed suicide in the woods. This probably never would have even needed to air on UM except that they missed finding his remains the first time they searched the area.

Gary Krueger: DNA tests proved that he was the likely murderer of Mike Emert, but he had drowned several months beforehand.

Of course, there are a number of UM cases where someone was the prime suspect in the death/disappearance of their spouse, but was never officially charged and wound up dying before the case could be solved. Examples include:

Stephen Marfeo: Suspect in the disappearance of his wife Doreen. Committed suicide years later after murdering his ex-girlfriend and wounding her boyfriend.

Rob Page: Suspect in the disappearance of his wife Pam. Died of cancer a couple years ago.

Jim Harrison: Suspect in the death of his wife Susan. Died of natural causes before he could be charged.

Rob Bonderson: Believed to responsible for the death of his wife Kathy. Committed suicide when the police started investigating him again.

The Crazy Glue Robber. Authorities believed they knew who it was, but the suspect was killed in a motorcycle crash before a case could be brought against him. He was never publicly identified as far as I know.

I don't know if this counts, but the police came to Elaine Antoinette Parent's door and when they wanted to bring her in for questioning about Beverly McGowan's murder, she asked if she could go to her bedroom and change into her regular clothes (it was at night and she was in her pajamas when they arrived at her house). The police heard a loud boom from the vicinity of the bedroom and when they went to see what happened, they discovered that Parent had shot herself through the heart and died instantly.

Case closed.

Wilford Cashman, aka John Burns. He was caught, but died before sentencing of a heart attack.

Tom Dixon comes to mind, even though no one is exactly sure of his whereabouts. I'm inclined to believe he is dead since he hasn't been since 1975.

http://i2.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article1352823.ece/ALTERNATES/s615/Jimmy+Saville

Oh hang on a minute, this vile creep wasn't featured on UM was he?

Tom Dixon comes to mind, even though no one is exactly sure of his whereabouts. I'm inclined to believe he is dead since he hasn't been since 1975.

He could be, but this topic only applies to UM cases in which a suspect or fugitive is confirmed dead.

I can also think of a few examples of people who were personally involved in a still-unsolved case posting on this board to state that a likely suspect in th crime died before they were charged.

I've seen quite a few posts in the Jenny Pratt threads from people who name a specific individual who was believed to be responsible for hitting Jenny with the 2x4, but he apparently committed suicide sometime in the nineties.

Jeremy Bright's family have posted here before and claim that one of the suspects who may have been responsible for his disappearance died of a drug overdose in prison while serving time for another murder.

Jeremy Bright's family have posted here before and claim that one of the suspects who may have been responsible for his disappearance died of a drug overdose in prison while serving time for another murder.

The sad thing is, IIRC the main suspect (the one who pulled the trigger, if you are to believe the rumors of the shooting in the lake) is still alive and well. How the POS has never been brought up on charges is beyond me.

Forgotten the names of the people involved, but didn't someone die in the case involving the judge and his embezzling home help, before it could go to trial?

Seem to remember reading about the judge having a colourful career at the bench also - not that it's hugely relevant, but it did reduce my sympathy for him just a tad.

Forgotten the names of the people involved, but didn't someone die in the case involving the judge and his embezzling home help, before it could go to trial?

Seem to remember reading about the judge having a colourful career at the bench also - not that it's hugely relevant, but it did reduce my sympathy for him just a tad.

Sounds to me like the case of Andolina Gonzalez. But that case doesn't count, since the suspect was found alive. Andolina was arrested in 2000, but was release a short time later, following the death of her accuser, Judge Leland Geiler.

http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Andolina_Gonzalez

Sounds to me like the case of Andolina Gonzalez. But that case doesn't count, since the suspect was found alive. Andolina was arrested in 2000, but was release a short time later, following the death of her accuser, Judge Leland Geiler.

http://unsolvedmysteries.wikia.com/wiki/Andolina_Gonzalez

Yeah, that's the one. If we're talking only about the suspect dying then of course it does not count.

Thanks for clearing it up though...

I don't know if Andrew Cunanan was featured on UM but he killed himself after murdering 5 people including Gianni Versace. He was on AMW though

I don't know if Andrew Cunanan was featured on UM but he killed himself after murdering 5 people including Gianni Versace. He was on AMW though

He was never featured on UM.

He was never featured on UM.

Cunanan's spree was from late April-July. Not enough time/right season to have ended up on Unsolved Mysteries. Wow. That was 16 years ago. Where's my cane?

Didnt a suspect in the Sherry Everly case kill himself a few hours after talking to the psychic? If I remember correctly, the psychic was sure that he was the killer?

Didnt a suspect in the Sherry Everly case kill himself a few hours after talking to the psychic? If I remember correctly, the psychic was sure that he was the killer?

Darrel Wilson. But then in 2007, a man named William Scott Smith confessed to the murder, dumping Sherry in the same lake that he dumped the bodies of two other girls he killed in years prior. But Sherry's remains STILL have not been found.

Wow! I didn’t know this, thanks for the update! Too bad there are no remains. I’m sure the family already came to terms with her death long before this but I’m sure they still want the remains so they can lay her to rest.

Tommy Swint in the Nicqui McCown case committed suicide (because police were going to charge him in another murder) before he could be questioned about her disappearance. There's no doubt in my mind that he killed Nicqui.

Ida Pruitt. Chad Noe's grandmother. Since those two and Chad's mother killed Wendy Camp, Cynthia Britto and Lisa Kreiger. Also, maybe Chad Noe himself as there are unconfirmed reports that he disappeared almost ten years ago and hasnt been seen since.

Wow! I didn’t know this, thanks for the update! Too bad there are no remains. I’m sure the family already came to terms with her death long before this but I’m sure they still want the remains so they can lay her to rest.

Here's a link to an article about the update. As it turns out, Smith was hoping to abduct the other girl who worked at that Domino's Pizza but Sherry happened to be the delivery girl that night instead and he decided to kill her anyway.

I often wonder what must be going through that other girl's head even after 30 years, to know that someone else was killed when YOU were the actual target. :eek:

http://www.salem-news.com/articles/december182007/eyerly_arrest_121807.php

Ida Pruitt. Chad Noe's grandmother. Since those two and Chad's mother killed Wendy Camp, Cynthia Britto and Lisa Kreiger. Also, maybe Chad Noe himself as there are unconfirmed reports that he disappeared almost ten years ago and hasnt been seen since.

We don't know that they killed the three ladies, though, so I wouldn't phrase it that way.
Chad Noe apparently did not disappear, but he's been laying low. His mother is now in her mid-60s and very much alive as well.

Mike Emert's killer died before they had a DNA match. http://www.komonews.com/news/local/122201254.html

It truly is the end of an era.http://gawab.anvtech.com/6.jpg
http://gawab.anvtech.com/7.jpg
http://gawab.anvtech.com/8.jpg
http://gawab.anvtech.com/9.jpg

what are you posting? i keep seeing it at the end of every thread,but the pics are all red X's.thx.

Let's hope the Noes that are still alive never end up on this list. I'd really like to see them get what they deserve, now that this case has FINALLY gotten the big break that it needed, but I'm sure that as of now, Beverly and Chad know that it's probably just a small matter of time before their years of living freely come to an end, so it would not be greatly surprising to hear of them committing suicide before they can go to trial.