I do not know if anyone has ever started a thread about this before, but in watching the Jenny Pratt case I would have to think in a way that she is the most tragic case profiled. What makes it even worse is the attitude of her ex-boyfriend.
But there are others that stick out as well, such as the murders of Jesslyn Rich and Teri Lee Lucas.
What are your thoughts on this?

dpjd ofc

dpjd ofc

Tremendous contribution to the forum as always.

Karl Malden. Poor guy was the butt of many jokes on Match Game because of his big nose.

Bad joke aside, I'd say Jessie Patterson. Being blind, deaf and mute and getting killed by your own brother was a pretty hard knock life.

There are so many that could go in this category, but I would say:

1) The woman who lost her parents to drunk driving fugitive James White.
2) Susan Billig and Rose Hoffman. Despite some justice in the latter case, decades of searching did not even find their children.
3) Luis Diaz/Rolando Cruz. So much time spent in jail for despicable crimes they did not commit. No matter how much monetary compensation they might receive, it will never rectify the time lost.
4) Jessica Keen. She thought she had found a way to safety only to run into a fence post.
5) Ashley Pond and Miranda Gaddis. Ashley was sexually abused by both her biological father (whom she was trying to get to know) and her eventual killer. Miranda also had a past of abuse and died because the killer lured her by pretending Ashley was still alive and needed her help. Too tragic for words.

And many more.

Bill Day and the Stallings.

I don't think there's the "most" tragic figure, but rather a bunch of really tragic ones.

Nancy Marshall, and her family in general, comes to my mind.

There was intense tragedy surrounding Annette Burnside. She was doomed regardless if the divorce had become finalized or not. Countless trips to the police station were no help. The police told her they couldn't do anything until Jim struck. Had she got a restraining order against him, it would have served NO protection. What was she supposed to do? Throw the piece of paper at him?

She sealed her horrible fate the day she married that monster.

resurrection mary, they electrocuted the bastard but her ghosts lives on

There are quite a few that came to mind.

Bill Day- Seemed like a devoted father but his b- of a wife kidnapped his son who later died of cancer

Nayleen Kay Marshall’s Family- First Nayleen is kidnapped (& IMO murdered) then her mother is killed in Mexico

Cindy James- IMO, no one was torturing her. I know everyone has their own opinions on this case but I feel like she was having some mental issues and she eventually had a breakdown. Maybe the separation from her husband really took a toll on her?

Bruno and Bobo- Trusting seals who were murdered. IMO, anyone who tortures animals or kills them deserves the death penalty. Jail is too good for them. I cant even watch this segment.

Rob. I realize that Angela Hammond's disappearance is the real tragedy, but I feel very bad for Rob as well.

Cindy James- IMO, no one was torturing her. I know everyone has their own opinions on this case but I feel like she was having some mental issues and she eventually had a breakdown.

First one I thought of.

Also brought to mind - the Tami Lynn Leppert case in Florida, did similar/same issues contribute to her disappearance?


That guy who while driving home was held up by a robber at knifepoint who wanted his truck.

He got away from him, but when he reached his home he discovered that the robber had killed his mother.

That guy who while driving home was held up by a robber at knifepoint who wanted his truck.

He got away from him, but when he reached his home he discovered that the robber had killed his mother.

PLUS was accused of committing the murder himself.

There are so many to choose from but two standouts for me are Wendy Camp and Megan Curl.

PLUS was accused of committing the murder himself.

Yeah, that also. What was his name? I wanna watch the segment again.

Yeah, that also. What was his name? I wanna watch the segment again.

Charles Holden. His mother's name was Dorothy Donovan.

Ethel Kidd and Nancy Marshall.

For me, the survivor of the Blind River Rest Stop case. The raw pain was visible as he gave his interview and when he said he wished he'd died that night with his wife...definite heart clench.

Also the case of Michael Hughes and his mother. Both of them suffered so horribly at the hands of Franklin Delano Floyd (who is on my "Burn in Hell" list). For years, we thought the case regarding the mother would never be resolved that Floyd acquired her by buying her from a prostitute or someone off-grid or something like that. I was so relieved to find out that she did have a family that loved her and missed her. But somehow that makes it sadder, knowing that her family has to deal with the fact that she suffered so terribly once she was taken from them.

Rob Shafer
Jeremy Rolfs.
Suzanne Marie Sevakig aka Sharon Marshall.
Charles Holden.
Henry Rollins. (Ok, fine, I'm a fan girl, but his plea for justice always tore at me)

The Kansas City firefighters: Robert McKarnin, Michael Oldham, James Kilventon, Luther Gene Hurd, Thomas Fry, and Gerald Halloran

The recording in this episode of them calling the destroyed truck just destroys me.

My Top Ten Most Tragic

2 Mary Murders--Two women, same name, killed days apart in the same city

Jeremy Rolfs & Heather Uffleman--Apple Computer Murder/Assault/Robbery

2 Kids on the Railroad Tracks

2 Kids on the Ferry in BC

Alicia Showalter--Killed by a guy stalking women by telling them their cars were on fire

Matt Flores--Killed in a parking lot by someone in a car that seemed to be stalking him

Katherine Korzilius--Little girl killed while getting the mail.

Lynn Amos--Set on fire while she was still alive

Jodie Bordeaux--Pregnant woman shot in her own home

Gary Grant, Jr--Little boy killed probably by a criminal his father arrested

Bonus: Wendy Camp & her sister in law (?), and her child. Killed by people (the disgusting Noe Family) that we knew did it years ago but managed to get away with it for like 15 years.

Oh, where to begin? I certainly can't narrow it down to just one.

There's Pamela Straight, who lost all three of her sons (and her ex-husband) aboard the Liebling...and yet still managed to remain poised and collected during her interview segments.

Jasper Watkins, who is the very personification of elder abuse in America (a problem that is only going to go from bad to worse as our country grays).

Walter Rice, who died alone in South Carolina and wasn't missed until someone broke into his trailer over a year later and found his body.

Jenny Pratt, who to this day is still suffering terribly for the senseless act of violence committed against her.

Kristi Krebs, Patricia Meehan, and Dottie Caylor, who probably didn't last long alone in a world in which they were ill-equipped to fend for themselves.

And I haven't even gotten to the numerous child victims (Rachel Runyan, Laura Burbank, Chaim Weiss, Cynthia Britto, Jeremy Bright, etc.) nor to the many families of missing people, who have been denied even the barest shred of closure.

Don't know if it's the "most" but the case of the guy who I think had lost his wife in childbirth or something and then gave the baby ended up being adopted. He tried to find her and it ended up being that she had died in a tragic accident and had known she was adopted but was told her parents died, so she never knew he was out there. That was pretty tragic.

Dude, how has no one mentioned him?

Jasper Watkins, aka Steamer Trunk John Doe, aka THE WORST PICTURE EVER SHOWN ON UM.

Poor guy. What a crap way to go.

The Swedish hitchhikers come to mind right away. Young Swedish girls formerly in one of the most idyllic countries in Europe with no knowledge of what happens in America...

Rachel runyan. I can't even watch that segment anymore it's so bad.

Rachel runyan. I can't even watch that segment anymore it's so bad.

I often skip over it, too.

Maybe this doesn't top the others on this list but I always thought the life of the Radio Santa was quite sad.
He had been on his own from a young age during the Depression then met this girl who also had no family but they wed and had a baby daughter but his wife died almost immediately after childbirth- yet lived long enough to insist that he have an older woman friend of hers care for the baby if anything happened to her. With only a single magenta snapshot of the baby, he leaves the baby with his late wife's friend and, desperate for work, enlists in WWII only to be seriously wounded. When he cames back Stateside, he calls his late wife's friend's house to reconnect with his daughter- only to be told that he was 'supposed to be dead' before the person answering the phone abruptly hung up. He eventually finds out that the late wife's friend herself had died but has no clue as to what became of his daughter. He goes on to remarry [though have no more children] then becomes a Radio Santa to his city because he wants to cheer up children even if he doesn't know what became of his. He does the Radio Santa for decades [while still trying to find out his daughter's whereabouts] before going on "Unsolved Mysteries" in the hopes that someone might know her so he can tell her he always loved her and NEVER gave her up. Good news is that someone watching "UM" knew the daughter's story. Tragically, the Radio Santa found out that the daughter had DIED in an explosion at age eighteen and had spent her entire life believing both her parents were dead. :crying:

Maybe this doesn't top the others on this list but I always thought the life of the Radio Santa was quite sad.
He had been on his own from a young age during the Depression then met this girl who also had no family but they wed and had a baby daughter but his wife died almost immediately after childbirth- yet lived long enough to insist that he have an older woman friend of hers care for the baby if anything happened to her. With only a single magenta snapshot of the baby, he leaves the baby with his late wife's friend and, desperate for work, enlists in WWII only to be seriously wounded. When he cames back Stateside, he calls his late wife's friend's house to reconnect with his daughter- only to be told that he was 'supposed to be dead' before the person answering the phone abruptly hung up. He eventually finds out that the late wife's friend herself had died but has no clue as to what became of his daughter. He goes on to remarry [though have no more children] then becomes a Radio Santa to his city because he wants to cheer up children even if he doesn't know what became of his. He does the Radio Santa for decades [while still trying to find out his daughter's whereabouts] before going on "Unsolved Mysteries" in the hopes that someone might know her so he can tell her he always loved her and NEVER gave her up. Good news is that someone watching "UM" knew the daughter's story. Tragically, the Radio Santa found out that the daughter had DIED in an explosion at age eighteen and had spent her entire life believing both her parents were dead. :crying:

Dude. I bawled on the couch the first time I ever watched this one. And I hardly EVER cry about ANYTHING.

I can't remember her name but it was the mother who's daughter and the daughters boyfriend were staying at her trailer. The girlfriend catches the guy stealing from her mother, he kills her and stuffs her under the bed. The mother comes home and thinks they've both left...until she starts smelling a bad smell..

Her life completely went downhill after that and you could see how destroyed the poor woman was. I felt so bad for her.

I can't remember her name but it was the mother who's daughter and the daughters boyfriend were staying at her trailer. The girlfriend catches the guy stealing from her mother, he kills her and stuffs her under the bed. The mother comes home and thinks they've both left...until she starts smelling a bad smell..

Her life completely went downhill after that and you could see how destroyed the poor woman was. I felt so bad for her.

I don't remember the mother's first name, but the surname was Pasciack. Her murdered daughter was Paula Pasciak.

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

Don't know if it's the "most" but the case of the guy who I think had lost his wife in childbirth or something and then gave the baby ended up being adopted. He tried to find her and it ended up being that she had died in a tragic accident and had known she was adopted but was told her parents died, so she never knew he was out there. That was pretty tragic.


Maybe this doesn't top the others on this list but I always thought the life of the Radio Santa was quite sad.
He had been on his own from a young age during the Depression then met this girl who also had no family but they wed and had a baby daughter but his wife died almost immediately after childbirth- yet lived long enough to insist that he have an older woman friend of hers care for the baby if anything happened to her. With only a single magenta snapshot of the baby, he leaves the baby with his late wife's friend and, desperate for work, enlists in WWII only to be seriously wounded. When he cames back Stateside, he calls his late wife's friend's house to reconnect with his daughter- only to be told that he was 'supposed to be dead' before the person answering the phone abruptly hung up. He eventually finds out that the late wife's friend herself had died but has no clue as to what became of his daughter. He goes on to remarry [though have no more children] then becomes a Radio Santa to his city because he wants to cheer up children even if he doesn't know what became of his. He does the Radio Santa for decades [while still trying to find out his daughter's whereabouts] before going on "Unsolved Mysteries" in the hopes that someone might know her so he can tell her he always loved her and NEVER gave her up. Good news is that someone watching "UM" knew the daughter's story. Tragically, the Radio Santa found out that the daughter had DIED in an explosion at age eighteen and had spent her entire life believing both her parents were dead. :crying:

This was the case I was talking about. The most tragic IMO.

I don't remember the mother's first name, but the surname was Pasciack. Her murdered daughter was Paula Pasciak.

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


The mother's name was Barbara Pasciak and I don't know if she's still alive but I also felt so sorry for her how she lost her job and became homeless after her daughters murder :(:(

The two saddest people I can think of were Clifford Sherwood's mother Frances and Gordon McAllister, the survivor of the Blind River Rest Stop murders. Both of them were barely able to keep their composure on camera, and I feel terrible for both of them, even though I assume they've both passed on.

For me, it was the man who died alone in a nursing home and Unsolved Mysteries found his brother and niece.

The brother stated he had no idea why he left and didn't want to keep in touch.

I believe it was because he never started a family and felt he never accomplished much, which is why he died alone and never communicated with his family.


I dont remember this case.. Do you recall his name?

My vote goes to Darlie Routier's young sons. What they experienced was horrific. :(

I dont remember this case.. Do you recall his name?

George Marsh.

Gord McAllister. Bless that man's heart. It was tough listening to him recount the events of the night his wife was murdered.

Well if he's innocent, Tim McClure.

The guy goes on UM in an attempt to clear his name or get an alibi, but comes out looking much, much worse in front of a national audience.

Just the Boys on the Tracks episode again...the engineer is definitely a tragic figure there.

Just the Boys on the Tracks episode again...the engineer is definitely a tragic figure there.

Yes. I always felt so badly for him. You could tell he felt so much guilt over something he could've done absolutely nothing about.

su ya kim. left behind 2 sons father who moved back to korea. after business

Just the Boys on the Tracks episode again...the engineer is definitely a tragic figure there.

I definitely agree here. Some time had passed since the actual incident and he still couldn't get the words to come out of his mouth to explain it.

Tremendous contribution to the forum as always.

LMAO!!


I would also say that Chaim Weiss is another tragic figure. Seemingly killed for no reason at all and his killer still roams freely.

su ya kim. left behind 2 sons father who moved back to korea. after business

+1

That Polish woman who was disowned by her family as a small child after her mother died and was forced to work on a farm to feed and cloth herself. Years later as a teen, she basically lived in the woods for solace after work, then during WWII an American plane crash landed and she hid the Americans in that underground tunnel she had found in the woods. For two weeks for provided as much food/medical supplies she could. Then her stepmother got suspicious and turned her in to the SS. She wouldn't give them anything and she spent a few years in the concentration camp before it was liberated. The experiments performed on her left her sterile and now she had come to regard the American soldiers as her "boys" and she unsuccessfully was looking for them on UM. Now that is both tragic and amazing. I cant remember her name but she was an amazing woman

Dustin Johnson: Loses his mother at age 5 when she is murdered by her own brother, Dennis Keith Smith. Dustin is then raised by his grandparents, who promptly allow his mother's killer to come live with them after he is paroled! And of course, he winds up killing again.

Randy Jones: Turns in the phony faith healer, Gary Magno, after he performs fraudulent treatments on Randy's sick mother. As a reward, Randy is ostracized by his entire family, who still believe Magno is genuine, even after Randy's "cured" mother dies.

That Polish woman who was disowned by her family as a small child after her mother died and was forced to work on a farm to feed and cloth herself. Years later as a teen, she basically lived in the woods for solace after work, then during WWII an American plane crash landed and she hid the Americans in that underground tunnel she had found in the woods. For two weeks for provided as much food/medical supplies she could. Then her stepmother got suspicious and turned her in to the SS. She wouldn't give them anything and she spent a few years in the concentration camp before it was liberated. The experiments performed on her left her sterile and now she had come to regard the American soldiers as her "boys" and she unsuccessfully was looking for them on UM. Now that is both tragic and amazing. I cant remember her name but she was an amazing woman

Helen Elas Conka

Hard to believe that no information on them ever came to light, given the enormous success rate UM had with LL cases. It makes me think that none of the crew made it home from Czechoslovakia. :(

I saw this segment a few days ago..

The man who went to the Filipino dr and his "psychic" surgery. He mentioned that after the dr was caught & he proved to his mother that it was a scam, she disowned him for "depriving" ppl of his services. She went to the dr and had a lot of rumors and died shortly there after.

I just rewatched the Jenny Pratt segment recently and I have to say when Jennifer starts talking it tugs at your heart strings and also makes you want to find Curtis Croft and hit him in the head with a board

Charles Holden

I would add Michael self to this list. It seems like a bad cop violently corerced his confession and he should have been exonerated before he died in jail. I was not aware that Harold Ed bell confessed to these murders.

Dustin Johnson: Loses his mother at age 5 when she is murdered by her own brother, Dennis Keith Smith. Dustin is then raised by his grandparents, who promptly allow his mother's killer to come live with them after he is paroled! And of course, he winds up killing again.

I will never be able to wrap my head around that. Poor Dustin. I wonder how he's doing today.

Poor Farmer Rogers whose wife and daughters were murdered by Oba Chandler when all they did was take a harmless innocent vacation. Only worse case (but not unsolved) was that doctor in Connecticut as he was also attacked and his wife and daughters were killed in the house.

"He stabbed me!" The screams from the social worker being car jacked always chills me.

Larry Dickens case always enrages me as well.

Two young ladies come to mind: Kathy Hobbs and Tracy Kirkpatrick. They had premonitions that they weren't going to live long lives, and sure enough, both were murdered. Only the murder of Kathy Hobbs has been solved, Tracy's killer is still out there.

"He stabbed me!" The screams from the social worker being car jacked always chills me.

Gretchen Burford. Criminal defense attorney.

She is a good choice, for sure. Murdered by someone who she would have bent over backwards to help.

Bill Day, searching for years for his son unlawfully kidnapped by his ex-wife, only to find her and learn in a 'oh, by the way' manner that he had died from leukemia.

I think that perhaps the most tragic figure ever mentioned on UM was the unnamed coworker on the Mary Morris Segment. The poor guy had his reputation tarnished even though he was not named apparently everyone in the local area was aware of him and he undoubtedly suffered at the hands of exaggerated incidents and false allegations. Poor Guy. I hope he was able to rebuild his life and I pray that he is doing well these days. I wonder what thoughts he has had on the case.....

Philip Frasor

Young, bright and had his entire life ahead of him. He most likely would have been a physician and helped others. Hell, he died trying to help someone else.