This is a list of murdered American children that details notable murders among thousands of cases of subjects who were or are believed to have been under the age of 18 upon their deaths. Cases listed are stated to be unsolved, solved or pending and, in some cases, where the victims' remains have never been found or identified. This list is inclusive only of subjects who have an existing article on the English-language wikipedia.

Before 1950

Victim(s) Date of Death Age Location Status Description
Babes in the Wood murders (Pine Grove Furnace) November 24, 1934 8–12 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Solved Murder–suicide and familicide.[1]

1950s

Victim(s) Date of Death Age Location Status Description
Maria Ridulph December 3, 1957 7 Sycamore, Illinois Unsolved A suspect was convicted in 2012, but was eventually exonerated in 2016.[2][3]

1960s

Victim(s) Date of Death Age Location Status Description
Sharon Lee Gallegos c. July 17–24, 1960 5–7 Congress, Arizona Unsolved, identified Kidnapping and murder victim, snatched from right in front of her house. Her body was found in the desert 10 days after her abduction. The exact cause of death remains undetermined, but was ruled a homicide.[4]
16th Street Baptist Church bombing September 15, 1963 11–14 Birmingham, Alabama Solved Four girls killed in a bombing by the Ku Klux Klan.[5]
Jane Durrua November 5, 1968 13 Keansburg, New Jersey Solved [6]
Marina Habe December 30, 1968 17 Los Angeles County, California Unsolved Daughter of writer Hans Habe and actress Eloise Hardt. Possible victim of Charles Manson’s followers.[7]

1970s


Victim(s) Date of Death Age Location Status Description
Dean Corll victims September 25, 1970 August 3, 1973 1317 Houston, Texas Solved, unidentified One victim remains unidentified, Harris County John Doe (1973).[8]
Alphabet murders November 16, 1971 – November 26, 1973 10–11 Rochester, New York Unsolved The victims were Carmen Colón, Michelle Maenza, and Wanda Walkowicz.[9]
Martha Morrison September 1974 17 Portland, Oregon Unsolved Victim remained unidentified until 2015.[10]
Linda Pagano c.1974 17 Akron or Strongsville, Ohio Unsolved, identified A teenager who disappeared from her home in Akron, Ohio, on September 1, 1974, following an argument with her stepfather. Initially, Pagano was thought to have run away. On February 5, 1975, a partial skeleton belonging to a young white female was discovered in a park in nearby Strongsville. The young woman had been killed by a gunshot to the head. However, the case was never connected to Pagano's disappearance. Due to a clerical error, the skeleton was not added to NamUs or other databases until 2016, when the case was rediscovered by an amateur genealogist. In 2018, forensic DNA analysis confirmed the remains as belonging to Pagano. Her stepfather, the only potential suspect, died in 1990.[11]
Gypsy Hill killings January 24 – February 2, 1976 14, 17 San Mateo County, California Unsolved Victims of an unidentified serial killer.[12]
Oakland County Child Murders February 1976 – March 1977 10–12 Oakland County, Michigan Unsolved During a 13-month period, four children (two girls and two boys) were abducted and murdered with their bodies left in various locations in suburban Detroit. Each child was held alive from 4 to 19 days before being killed. The boys were sexually assaulted. Their deaths triggered a murder investigation which at the time was the largest in U.S. history.[13] The murders are still unsolved.
Evelyn Colon c. December 13–19, 1976 15 White Haven, Pennsylvania Pending Unidentified until 2021; alleged killer has been charged.[14]
Oklahoma Girl Scout murders June 12, 1977 8–11 Mayes County, Oklahoma Unsolved Three girls murdered while at a summer camp. The prime suspect has since died and DNA samples from the killer are now insufficient to process.[15]
Bear Brook murders c. November 1978 11 months, 2–4, 7 Allenstown, New Hampshire Unidentified (one child) Four victims total, three were children and one was an adult female.[16] The adult, oldest and youngest victims were identified in June 2019 as Marlyse Honeychurch, Marie Vaughn and Sarah McWaters. Honeychurch was the mother of the two now-identified children, who were half-sisters. The middle child, determined to be the daughter of serial killer Terry Peder Rasmussen, remains unidentified.[17]
Kerry Graham and Francine Trimble December 1978 15, 14 Willits, California Unsolved Victims remained unidentified until 2015.[18][19]
Devonna Nelson c. 1979 14 Missoula, Montana Solved Presumed victim of probable serial killer Wayne Nance. She remained unidentified until 2009.[20]
Atlanta murders of 1979–81 July 21, 1979 – March 12, 1981 9–14 Atlanta, Georgia Solved Victims of a serial killer.[21]
Tammy Vincent September 1979 16 Tiburon, California Unsolved Victim remained unidentified until 2007.[22]
Tammy Alexander November 9, 1979 16 Caledonia, New York Unsolved Teenager shot and left in a cornfield in upstate New York. Alexander was a hitchhiker, having run away from a broken home in Florida, and was never reported missing until years after her death. Known previously as only "Caledonia Jane Doe" or "Cali Doe", Alexander remained unidentified until 2015.[23]

1980s


Victim(s) Date of death Age Location Status Description
Sherri Jarvis November 1, 1980 14 Huntsville, Texas Unsolved Victim remained unidentified until 2021[24]
Carol Cole December 1980 17 Bellevue, Louisiana Unsolved Victim remained unidentified until 2015.[25]
Frieda Powell c. 1982 15 Ringgold, Texas Solved, body never found Henry Lee Lucas, now deceased, confessed to killing his teenage girlfriend while in Texas. Authorities believe his confession, yet efforts to confirm the remains identified by Lucas to be hers were inconclusive.[26][27]
Shannah Wicklund April 14, 1982 9 Clearview, Washington Solved Murdered along with her mother and a neighbor in a revenge killing.[28]
Dawn Olanick c. Early July 1982 17 Blairstown, New Jersey Solved A teenaged murder victim found at the edge of a cemetery. A couple confessed in 2005 to killing her, but without her identity there was not enough information to put a case together.[29][30] Following Olanick's identification, the couple who confessed in 2005 was charged with her murder.
Ricky Stetson August 22, 1982 11 Portland, Maine Solved The first of three victims of John Joubert and the only victim murdered in Maine.[31]
Alisha Heinrich December 3 or 4, 1982 18 months Moss Point, Mississippi Unsolved A toddler thrown from a bridge into a river. Known only as "Delta Dawn", Heinrich remained unidentified until 2020. Her mother, who disappeared alongside her, remains missing.[32]
Redhead murders c. 1981–1992 9–17 Various Unsolved, unidentified Victims of an unidentified serial killer that were left on the side of highways. Not all presumed victims have been verified to be linked.[33]
Danny Joe Eberle September 18, 1983 13 Bellevue, Nebraska Solved Second victim of John Joubert.[34]
Christoper Walden December 2, 1983 12 Papillion, Nebraska Solved Third and final victim on John Joubert.[35]
Colleen Orsborn March 19, 1984 15 Daytona Beach, Florida Solved Victim remained unidentified until 2011.[36]
Marcella Bachmann c. September – October 1984 16 Missoula, Montana Solved Presumed victim of probable serial killer Wayne Nance. She remained unidentified until 2006.[20]
Shari Smith May 31 / June 1, 1985 17 Lexington County, South Carolina Solved A 17-year-old who was abducted from the driveway of her home. Her killer called her family repeatedly to taunt them; even after the victim's death. Larry Gene Bell was later convicted of her murder and executed.[37]
Debra Helmick June 15, 1985 9 Richland County, South Carolina Solved A girl abducted from her front yard and subsequently murdered by Larry Gene Bell, also responsible for the abduction and murder of Shari Smith. He was later convicted and executed for her murder.[37]
Aroostook County Jane Doe December 7, 1985 Newborn Frenchville, Maine Pending Infant born alive then abandoned who remained unidentified until 2022. Her mother, Lee Ann Daigle, was charged with murder.[38]
Darcie Frackenpohl 1987 17 Sacramento, California Solved Victim remained unidentified for several months.[39]
Deanna Criswell c. November 23, 1987 16 Marana, Arizona Solved Victim remained unidentified until 2015.[40]
April Tinsley April 1–2, 1988 8 Fort Wayne, Indiana Solved Suspect arrested on July 15, 2018.[41]
Aundria Bowman c. March 11, 1989 14 Hamilton, Michigan Pending A teenager listed as a missing person for over thirty years, after her adoptive parents reported her as a runaway. Her remains were located in February 2020 after her adoptive father confessed to her murder. He was previously charged with the 1980 murder of a woman in Virginia.[42]
Sue Ann Huskey c. September 1989 17 Williamson County, Texas Unsolved Victim remained unidentified until January 2020.[43]
Jacob Wetterling c. October 22, 1989 11 St. Joseph, Minnesota Solved Victim remained a missing person for nearly 27 years before the location of his remains was disclosed by Jacob's murderer.[44]

1990s


Victim(s) Date of Death Age Location Status Description
Anjelica Castillo c. July 18, 1991 4 Astoria, New York Solved Victim remained unidentified until 2013.[45]
Mandy Lemaire August 22, 1991 11 Tazlina, Alaska Unsolved Suspect's conviction was overturned in 1999. He died before the completion of the second trial.[46]
Megan Pratt c. September 1991 3 Brooksville, Florida Solved, body never found [47]
Kori Lamaster August 1993 17 California Unsolved Victim remained unidentified until 2013.[48]
Amber Creek February 1997 14 Burlington, Wisconsin Solved[49] Subject remained unidentified until 1998.[50]
Peaches c. June 15, 1997 15–30 Lakeview, New York Unsolved, unidentified Possible victim of an unidentified serial killer.[51]
Christina Marie Williams June 12, 1998 13 Seaside, California Solved[52]
Columbine High School massacre April 20, 1999 14–17 Littleton, Colorado Solved A mass shooting where ten children (including Rachel Scott and Cassie Bernall) were murdered, along with two 18-year-old students and a teacher.[53][54]

2000s

Victim(s) Date of Death Age Location Status Description
Iriana DeJesus July 30, 2000 5 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Unsolved Presumed victim of FBI Top Ten Most Wanted fugitive Alexis Flores.[55]
Brittney and Bobby Fisher April 10, 2001 10, 12 Scottsdale, Arizona Unsolved Children of FBI Top Ten Most Wanted fugitive Robert William Fisher.[56]
Red Lake shootings March 21, 2005 1516 Red Lake, Minnesota Solved Murder–suicide.[57]
West Nickel Mines School shooting October 2, 2006 7–13 Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania Solved Murder–suicide.[58]
Erika Hill February 25, 2007 15 Fitchburg, Wisconsin Solved Victim remained unidentified until 2015.[59]
Daniel Benoit June 22, 2007 7 Fayetteville, Georgia Solved Murdered by his father, WWE star Chris Benoit, who committed suicide 2 days later.[60]
Crandon, Wisconsin shooting October 7, 2007 14–17 Crandon, Wisconsin Solved Murder–suicide.[61]
Caylee Anthony c. June – December 2008 2–3 Orlando, Florida Unsolved Cause of death ruled a homicide by medical examiner.[62]
Brittney Gary c. November 2, 2008 17 Jennings, Louisiana Unsolved Presumed victim of unidentified serial killer.[63]
Baby Boy Horry c. December 3, 2008 Newborn Conway, South Carolina Pending Cause of death ruled as hypothermia, investigated as homicide.[64] The boy's mother was later arrested in March, 2020, in connection with the homicide.[65]
Brittanee Drexel c. Late May 2009 17 Georgetown, South Carolina Pending A teenager who disappeared after leaving her home in Rochester, New York to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina without parental permission in April 2009. Her remains were located in 2022 after a suspect, Raymond Moody, confessed to her murder.[66]

2010s

Victim(s) Date of Death Age Location Status Description
Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting December 14, 2012 6–7 Newtown, Connecticut Solved Murder–suicide.[67]
Bella Bond June 2015 2 Boston, Massachusetts Solved Victim remained unidentified until September 2015.[68][69]
Tylee Ryan c. September 9, 2019 16 Rexburg, Idaho Solved Murdered by their mother, Lori Vallow Daybell.[70]
J. J. Vallow c. September 23, 2019 7
Jacob Hall October 1, 2016 6 Townville, South Carolina Solved Hall was mortally wounded on September 28.[71]

2020s

Victim(s) Date of Death Age Location Status Description
Robb Elementary School shooting May 24, 2022 9–11[72] Uvalde, Texas Solved
Covenant School shooting March 27, 2023 9[73] Nashville, Tennessee Solved
Ahmir Jolliff January 4, 2024 11[74] Perry, Iowa Solved

See also

References

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  2. O'Neill, Ann (April 15, 2016). "Judge Overturns 1957 Cold Case Murder Conviction; Jack McCullough Goes Free". CNN. Retrieved April 15, 2016.
  3. Ward, Clifford (April 22, 2016). "Charges Dismissed Against Jack McCullough in '57 slaying of Sycamore Girl". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
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