True Crime On This Day August 26th

Last Updated on September 27, 2022 by Ben Oakley

August 26th

On August 26th in true crime, cold case child murder, unidentified murder victim, Wild West outlaw, macabre discovery, serial killers.

1978

In New Delhi, India, 14-year-old Sanjay Chopra and his sister 16-year-old Geeta Chopra were kidnapped for ransom by Kuljeet Singh and Jasbir Singh.

When the kidnappers found out that the siblings’ father was an Indian Naval Officer, they killed them in cold blood. Both Kuljeet and Jasbir were caught, convicted, and sentenced to death.

They were executed by hanging on January 31^st 1982.

1979

In Buffalo Cave, Idaho, a family on an excursion uncovered a headless body in a shallow grave. It would take 40 years until late 2019 for the identity of the man they had found.

He was identified as Joseph Henry Loveless, a Wild West outlaw, murderer, and bootlegger, who had killed his wife with an axe. He had last been seen escaping an Idaho jail in 1916.

In a more extraordinary twist, the Clark County Sheriff’s department, where the body was found, stated that the case would remain open as a cold case, because they do not know yet who killed him or why he was killed.

However, they were able to locate the 87-year-old grandson and inform him of what happened to his outlaw grandfather.

1980

In Newhall, California, the decomposing remains of a female in her late teens were discovered in a remote area. She became known as the Newhall Jane Doe or Jane Doe 18.

She had been shot in the back of the head at least two months earlier and was initially suspected to have been a victim of serial killer Doug Clark. As of 2022, her identity remains a mystery.

1981

In Hyde, England, Harold Shipman, AKA; Doctor Death, ended the life of 81-year-old Elizabeth Ashworth. It would be his first of two victims in 1981.

Shipman was convicted of 215 murders but linked with 250. He killed himself in prison before his sentencing could begin.

With 215 convictions of murder to his name, he is the most notorious serial killer by the amount of convicted murders in history.

1982

In Sunset, Utah, three-year-old Rachael Runyan was kidnapped from the playground of Doxey Elementary School and murdered by an unidentified killer.

Her body was found three weeks later in a creek at Mountain Green, Utah. The playground she was abducted from was only a few feet from her family home.

Rachael’s older brothers witnessed a man talking to her before he threw her over his shoulder and carried her away.

Her mother raised the alarm just 20 minutes later. Despite a massive investigation, Rachael’s killer has never been found. It remains one of Utah’s most infamous cold cases.

Her murder led to the Rachael Alert child abduction system which Utah used until 2003 when the national AMBER alert system was implemented.

1983

In Cumberland County, Tennessee, the decomposing remains of a young black male between the ages of 17 to 25-years-old were discovered along Sycamore Lane.

He had been shot dead approximately one week earlier and was found fully clothed, along with a pack of cigarettes in his pocket.

An early investigation claimed they were close to apprehending a suspect but no-one has ever been charged. Despite having personal belongings and a DNA profile, the identity of the victim remains a mystery.

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