True Crime On This Day May 10th

May 10th

On May 10th in true crime, axe murder in Minnesota, cold case double murder, unsolved killing in Pennsylvania, missing persons.

1978

In Gloucestershire, England, Shirley Robinson, a former lodger at 25 Cromwell Street, disappeared. She had been murdered by serial killer Fred West.

Mostly in league with his wife, Rosemary West, they would take the lives of at least 12 young women before being arrested in 1994.

The case became known as ‘The House of Horrors’ in the UK and is one of the country’s most notorious crimes.

1979

In Washington County, Minnesota, 18-year-old Marlys Wohlenhaus died of injuries sustained in a brutal axe attack two days earlier.

She had been found by her mother on the floor of their basement. A $50,000 (USD) reward for information was offered which led to the arrest of a wanted serial killer.

Joseph Donald Ture Jr. was later convicted of her murder. He would kill at least six people by shooting or beating them with an axe. He was sentenced to life in prison in 1981.

1980

In San Antonio, Texas, the bodies of 50-year-old Margaret Conable and her husband, 53-year-old Keith, were discovered in their home by a neighbour.

They had been tied up and beaten to death. A day earlier, the same neighbour had reported hearing gunshots and looked out their window to see the Conable’s vehicle driving off at high speed. They had assumed that the Conable’s were on their way to the hospital.

When the neighbour checked the house on the morning of the 10^th, the door was open and the Conable’s bodies were inside.

Despite numerous leads, the murders have remained unsolved. Their car, a 1973 Mercury Montego, has never been found.

1981

In Adams County, Illinois, 23-year-old Terri Bea Earhart disappeared and was never seen again. Her mother was the last person to have had contact when she received a phone call from a motel room in Champagne, Illinois, saying that she would be home the next day.

While on the phone, Earhart confirmed she had a Mother’s Day present for her mother and a dress for her daughter. She was officially reported missing by her mother in November of 1981.

Despite an ongoing investigation, no trace of Earhart has ever been found. Investigators strongly believe she was murdered but no suspect has been caught.

Links have been made to various unidentified Jane Does over the years, but none have proven to be Earhart.

1982

In Brabant, Belgium, a man approached the driver of an Austin Allegro and forced him out at gunpoint, before stealing the car.

The suspect was alleged to have been one of the members of the Mad Killers of Brabant, known as The Killer. It was only one of two times The Killer was seen without a mask.

The witness claimed he spoke perfect upper-class French and held himself in high esteem. The vehicle was dumped shortly after, in favour of a Volkswagen Santana which was stolen from a car showroom.

The Mad Killers of Brabant were a small group of three men who killed 28 people between 1982 and 1985. They also seriously wounded another 22 and carried out numerous attacks and robberies.

The identity of the three men remains a mystery but they were referred to as The Giant, The Killer, and The Old Man. Despite a large investigation that continues to this day, the case remains unsolved.

1983

In Allentown, Pennsylvania, 23-year-old Nancy Argentino died from injuries received in a room at the George Washington Motor Lodge.

The call was placed to emergency services by her boyfriend, professional wrestler and WWF Hall of Famer, Jimmy ‘Superfly’ Snuka.

An autopsy showed that Argentino had suffered multiple bruises and cuts and had died from being hit in the head with a blunt object or being thrown into a hard object such as a wall.

Although charges were not pressed against Snuka at the time, he was the prime suspect in Argentino’s murder, and the case was left open.

32 years later in September 2015, 71-year-old Snuka was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter, following a review of cold cases in Illinois.

Snuka pleaded not guilty and was found unfit to stand trial the following year due to being diagnosed with dementia. The charges were ultimately dismissed on January 3^rd 2017 and Snuka died two weeks later.

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