True Crime On This Day August 3rd

Last Updated on February 17, 2023 by Ben Oakley

August 3rd

On August 3rd in true crime, unidentified victim, mysterious body, murder in Utah, military coup, macabre discovery, and cold cases.

1978

In Salt Lake, Utah, two days following the suicide of her husband, Rebecca David took her seven children to the 11^th floor of the International Dune Hotel and threw them off the balcony.

Eyewitnesses claimed that the older children willingly jumped but the smaller children were thrown to their deaths against their will, before Rebecca also jumped to her death.

Amazingly, 15-year-old Rachel David survived the fall but sustained severe injuries that confined her to a wheelchair.

Rebecca’s husband, Immanuel David, was a self-confessed prophet of God and had previously claimed he was Jesus or the Holy Ghost.

It was suspected that Rebecca could not live without him and chose to kill their entire family to be with him.

1979

In Equatorial Guinea, a coup took place when Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo overthrew his uncle, President Francisco Macías Nguema.

The fighting continued until August 18^th when Macías Nguema was caught fleeing to Cameroon. He was sentenced to death by his own nephew for the crime of genocide against the Bubi people.

Macías Nguema was executed by firing squad. Despite claims of cannibalism, Mbasogo has remained the President of Equatorial Guinea ever since.

1980

In Snohomish County, Washington, the skeletal remains of an unidentified white adult male were found in a shallow grave by a landowner.

The man was excavating the land when he dug up the bones. The victim had been murdered by an unknown assailant and buried at least three months beforehand, although the body may have been in the ground for longer.

Over 40 years later, the identity of the victim remains a mystery and the case has never been solved.

1981

In Denver, Colorado, police officers went to the Brooks Towers Apartments to check on 40-year-old businessman James G. Curtis, who had not shown up for work.

They found Curtis’ dead body inside, naked, and face-down with his ankles tied together. He had been killed by being repeatedly hit with a blunt object to the head.

The residence has been robbed and his stolen car was later found abandoned just a few blocks away. The case remained unsolved until 2018 when 56-year-old convict Peter Frank Hernandez was charged with the first-degree murder of Curtis.

Investigators had spoken to Hernandez in 2004 while he was in prison serving a sentence for another crime.

He refused to be interviewed, evoking his right to remain silent. Investigators claim that Hernandez and an unknown accomplice were responsible for the robbery and murder.

1982

In Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the body of an unidentified teenage female was found on the side of Interstate 95. She had last been seen hitchhiking along the highway less than an hour beforehand.

She had died from injuries resulting from being hit by a tractor-trailer truck. It has long remained unclear whether she was hit on purpose or by accident, but no truck driver ever came forward and investigators suspected foul play.

They believed she was running away to Texas and may have gone by the name Donna. Despite an investigation into her death, along with having a recognisable face, her identity remains a mystery.

1983

In Miami, Florida, the decomposing remains of an unidentified white male from the ages of 20 to 40-years-old were discovered in the Everglades National Park.

He had been dead for at least three days and was found wearing all of his clothes, along with two gold teeth. Despite an autopsy, the cause of death was a mystery and he has never been identified.

1990

In Darlington, England, 44-year-old Ann Heron was sunbathing in her garden when an unidentified killer cut her throat and left her to die.

She was found in a pool of blood by her husband later that day. Despite various witnesses and suspects over the years, her killer has never been caught.