Wednesday, October 7, 2020

List Series: Unsolved Home Invasion Mysteries Vol. II

Home is usually the place where a person feels the safest. This is why home-invasions are perhaps one of the most frightening crimes that can occur to a person or family--particularly because it's rather unexpected and victims likely do not see it coming. While home invasions are mostly personal/committed by people close to the victim(s), many of these crimes remain unsolved. Below is a list of 7 more unsolved home invasion mysteries.

[see the original Unsolved Home Invasion Mysteries list]

The Murder of Kayla Freeland

Kayla Freeland was only 20 years-old when she was shot to death inside her Jacksonville, Florida home on February 6th, 2016. She was murdered sometime that morning, while her infant son was inside the home. According to Kayla's boyfriend, he left the home that morning to go to a local convenience store. When he returned around 10am, he found Kayla dead. If the boyfriend's story is factual, that means somebody must have entered the home and shot Kayla during the short period of time that the boyfriend was at the store. Kayla's son, who was just a day away from celebrating his birthday, was fortunately not harmed.

At this time, no suspects or persons of interest have been publicly named. Kayla's murder remains unsolved. [read more]


The Murder of Randisha Love

Randisha Love was murdered inside her family's Fulton County, Georgia home on January 12th, 2016. The 17 year-old girl was the only member of her family who was inside the residence that afternoon. Randisha called her mother around 4:15pm, after she returned home from school. She asked her mother to bring some dinner home. Nothing seemed unusual about the phone call. Unfortunately, at some point between the time the call ended and 9 o'clock that evening, Randisha was shot several times. She was found by her mother and brother after they returned home shortly after 9pm. 

Both investigators and Randisha's family are unsure of a motive for her murder. Nothing was missing from their home, so a robbery was quickly ruled out. It appears that Randisha was targeted--but investigators still do not know who targeted her or why. Randisha did not have any known enemies, nor did she have a history of getting into trouble. She made good grades in school and had many aspirations for her future. Detective Stewart Webb of the Fulton Police told reporters, "We’re still trying to figure out why this girl would have been targeted. There’s no obvious reason this should have happened to her." 

Randisha's murder remains unsolved today. [read more]


The Murder of Angelina Sicola

Angelina Sicola was found murdered in her Colorado Springs, Colorado apartment on May 2nd, 2013. The 20 year-old woman was a student at University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, and she also worked as a martial arts instructor. On the morning of May 2nd, Angelina planned to meet her father at the doctor's office for a scheduled appointment, but she never showed up. Her worried father went to her apartment, where he stumbled upon a horrifying scene: Angelina was dead. She had been strangled.

There have been very few details released about the investigation into Angelina's murder. However, it was noted that Angelina was close to receiving her second-degree black belt and knew how to defend herself. Due to this, investigators believe it is possible that Angelina left bruises and/or other defensive wounds on her attacker. Though years have passed since her murder, investigators are hoping that someone will recall seeing a person with unusual bruisings or markings on their body around the time of Angelina’s death.

Angelina's case remains unsolved. [read more]


The Murder of Jade Winston

Jade Winston was only 18 years-old when she was found murdered inside her Carrier Mills, Illinois residence on August 17th, 2007. A neighbor called Saline County police shortly before 11pm that evening to report hearing a gunshot coming from Jade's apartment. Officers were sent to the home, where they found Jade in a pool of blood with a single gunshot wound to the head. A 9mm semi-automatic pistol was found under her left leg. The clip from the gun was found in her left hand. Jade's death was subsequently labeled as a homicide--though it appeared that the scene might have been staged to make it look like a suicide. 

Early reports about Jade's murder investigation stated that detectives received help from several agencies and had looked into numerous potential persons of interest, but unfortunately they were unable to officially label anyone as a suspect. Investigators reportedly looked into hearsay evidence about an acquaintance of Jade's making threatening phone calls to her just two weeks before her death. The threatening calls were allegedly centered around jealousy involving a boyfriend. However, the acquaintance has never been publicly identified and investigators were unable to materialize any evidence from the alleged phone calls.

Tragedy struck Jade's family once again, just days after her murder. This time, Jade's 22 year-old brother Jerome was the victim of a car crash that took his life. Jade's family members believe there is a possibility their deaths are related. More specifically, they believe it is possible that Jerome was run off the road while going to confront a person he thought to be responsible for Jade's death. Investigators have not confirmed this theory, and both deaths remain unsolved. [read more]


The Murder of Elisa Johnson

Elisa Johnson was only 26 years-old when she was found murdered inside her apartment on July 6th, 2013. The young woman lived with her 3 year-old in Grand Prairie, Texas prior to her untimely death. On the day afternoon Elisa was found, police were called to the apartment complex after it was reported that a young toddler was wandering around the parking lot alone. That young child ended up being Elisa's daughter. The little girl was able to lead police officers to her mother's apartment. Once police entered the home, they found Elisa's body.

Investigators are unsure what, exactly, Elisa's young daughter witnessed--or how long Elisa had been deceased when she was finally discovered. Investigators were able to determine that Elisa's last known contact with anyone other than her daughter was between 10 and 11pm on July 3rd, 2013. Elisa's exact cause of death has not been revealed and investigators have not revealed any additional details about the case. Elisa's murder remains unsolved today. [read more]


The Murder of Stacy Dillon

Stacy Dillon was only 22 years-old when he was found murdered inside his mother's Cleveland, Tennessee home on March 17th, 1991. Stacy's mother Judy Dillon had gotten knee surgery in the weeks before Stacy's death, and she was bedridden as a result. Stacy had been taking care of his mother during her recovery, but just days before Stacy was murdered, Judy decided to stay with a friend for the weekend in order to give her son a break from being her caretaker. On the evening of March 17th, 1991, Judy's friend drove her back home. When they arrived, Judy's friend knocked on the door to see if Stacy could help bring Judy back into the house. His knocks went unanswered, so he decided to use the spare key to get inside. Upon opening the door, he discovered something horrific: Stacy was dead on the hallway floor. He had suffered a single bullet wound to the cheek. The family's landline phone was found just inches away from Stacy's body.

Unfortunately, Stacy's case went cold quickly. Over the years, many theories have emerged--including a theory that Stacy was killed by somebody he knew. In fact, it was rumored that Stacy was in a relationship with a man but felt pressured to keep that a secret in the conservative town that he lived in. It's been theorized that this has played a role in his death, but his mother denies the rumors. 

The case was reignited in 2011, when a new cold case team took over the investigation. The case is still open but remains unsolved today. [read more]


The Murders of Nehemiah 'Neo' Kauffman & Sydney Land

20 year-old Nehemiah “Neo” Kauffman (pictured left) and 21 year-old Sydney Land (pictured right) were just beginning a new chapter in their lives together when they were tragically murdered in late October 2016. Prior to this, the two were in a happy relationship and had just moved into an apartment together in Las Vegas, Nevada. On October 27th, 2016, a friend of the couple grew worried after not hearing from Neo and Sydney for a few days. That friend went over to their apartment and made a grim discovery: Neo was dead on their living room floor, and Sydney was dead in their bedroom. Both had been shot to death. It was estimated that they had been dead for at least 24 hours at the time they were found.

Officers who first responded to the scene found no signs of forced entry into the apartment. A murder-suicide was also ruled out. It has been theorized that Neo may have been targeted due to his “associations” with drug dealers. One of said associations is a man named Shane Valentine, who had threatened the couple in the past. In fact, roughly 20 days before the murders, on October 8th, 2016, Valentine was accused of opening fire at Neo’s family home. Fortunately, nobody was injured during that incident. After the murders, Valentine was arrested on unrelated charges, but inevitably questioned about the case. Though many believe Valentine is responsible for Neo and Sydney’s murders, authorities announced about a year after their deaths that they currently do not believe Valentine is their prime suspect. However, he has not been completely ruled out. 

Neo and Sydney's murders remain unsolved today.

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