For years, documentaries, films and podcasts about the most famous (and gruesome) crimes have been growing in popularity.
The Netflix series Unsolved Mysteries in particular is a hit among true crime fans, with viewers desperately trying to solve the cases from the comfort of their own homes.
Part 4 premiered on July 31 and is already number one on Netflix’s top ten most popular TV shows in the UK.
The American TV series began in 1987 and has since aired over 600 episodes. Netflix acquired the rights to the series in 2020.
The series has solved dozens of mysteries over the years. In fact, over 250 have been solved.
As viewers continue to flood Netflix producers with potential new details about the cases from part four, MailOnline looks back at all the times the series has helped solve a murder.
The stunning real-life crimes that Netflix’s Unsolved Mysteries defied all odds to solve, as the hit documentary series returns to screens and climbs the charts
Craig Williamson (Season 6, Episode 23)
One of the most famous examples occurred in season six, when the series first aired an episode about a Wisconsin man named Craig Williamson, who disappeared in August 1993 while traveling to Colorado Springs to sell some fish.
When he didn’t return, police launched an investigation, but they were never able to find out what had happened.
His wife, Christine Reinhard, was convinced that he had amnesia and must have gotten lost, since he had a concussion at the time. When the episode about his case aired in 1995, he saw it on television and recognized himself.
He was able to reconnect with his wife, although he could not remember her. He later revealed that he had been mugged during the trip, which aggravated his concussion and left him confused.
When he woke up in the hospital, he couldn’t remember who he was or what his previous life was, so he started over in Key West, Florida.
Another famous case solved by Unsolved Mysteries was that of Jerry Strickland and Melissa “Missy” Munday.
Together, the couple murdered an oil company courier named Elmer DeBoer in 1987 in an attempt to steal $10,000 from him.
After committing the crime, the two fled and moved to Washington, where they believed they had escaped punishment.
But when Unsolved Mysteries highlighted DeBoer’s mysterious death in a 1988 episode and shared photos of the wanted fugitives, more than 15 people living in their town noticed the resemblance and reported them to police.
Charges against Munday were dropped after she agreed to testify against Strickland, who was found guilty of kidnapping, murder and robbery and sentenced to life in prison.
In season six of Unsolved Mysteries, an episode about a man named Craig Williamson (seen), from Wisconsin, who disappeared in 1993 during a trip to Colorado Springs, helped lead to his discovery. It turned out that he suffered from amnesia
Danny and Kathy Freeman (Season 2, Episode 8)
The 1999 murders of Kathy and Danny Freeman and the disappearance of their 16-year-old daughter Ashley and her friend Lauria Bible shocked the rural Oklahoma community.
The Freeman family was struck by an incredible tragedy when their home burned down in a terrible fire.
Kathy, the mother of the family, died in the fire. However, she did not die from burns or smoke inhalation, but from being shot.
Her husband Danny was initially missing after the fire, but when he was found he had also been shot. The couple’s daughter Ashley and her best friend were nowhere to be found.
The case was eventually solved when Ronnie Dean Busick was found responsible. He was arrested and charged with four counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping, and one count of arson.
Investigators are still looking for any tips that could lead to the remains of Ashley and Lauria.
The 1999 murders of Kathy and Danny Freeman and the disappearance of their 16-year-old daughter Ashley and her friend Lauria Bible shocked the rural Oklahoma community
Bonnie Haim (Season 8, Episode 8)
Michael Haim was convicted of second-degree murder in May 2019 and will spend the rest of his life in prison for the gruesome murder of his wife Bonnie Haim.
His son, Aaron Fraser, helped him commit the murder after he moved back home in 2014 and found the remains of his mother’s body with his brother-in-law.
Fraser was 3 years old when his mother disappeared. At the time of the murder, he tried to tell police that his “daddy hurt mommy,” but no one believed him and there was no physical evidence to tie his father to the crime, the Florida Times-Union reported.
Even his mother’s relatives did not believe him.
“A child’s credibility is something you have to put into perspective,” Robert Pasciuto, Bonnie’s father, said in a 2010 episode of the true crime television series Unsolved Mysteries.
“He said a couple things that we know aren’t true. ‘Mom’s car is in the lake.’ We know her car wasn’t there. Nobody asked Aaron why you said mom’s car is at the bottom of the lake,” Pasciuto added.
“Aaron also stated that ‘daddy shot mommy,’ ‘daddy put mommy in time out,’ and ‘my daddy couldn’t wake her up,’” according to a 2015 arrest affidavit.
Michael Haim was convicted of second-degree murder in May 2019 and will spend the rest of his life in prison for the gruesome murder of his wife Bonnie Haim
Jane Doe Case (Season 7, Episode 12)
A Jane Doe case that baffled investigators for 27 years and was featured in Unsolved Mysteries was finally solved in 2017 thanks to advanced fingerprint analysis by the FBI.
Andrea Kuiper of Virginia was struck and killed by two cars in Huntington Beach, California, on April 1, 1990, officials with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department revealed.
Nearly thirty years after their daughter disappeared, Andrea’s family finally has peace in the case.
“We are grateful to know what happened to our daughter after all these years,” Andrea’s father, Richard Kuiper, said in a statement.
‘Andrea was loved and respected. She was beautiful. But she was manic depressive, and because of that we had been through quite an adventure.’
Kayla Unbehaun (part 3, episode 9)
A girl abducted by her mother in a Chicago suburb nearly six years ago was found safe in North Carolina, hundreds of miles away, on May 14, 2023.
Kayla Unbehaun, who was abducted by her non-custodial mother, Heather Unbehaun, was last seen on July 4, 2017.
An anonymous Good Samaritan spotted the teen at a local business after watching her story on the Netflix series Unsolved Mysteries.
Kayla is seen at the end of the episode “Abducted by a Parent” as part of a Missing Children Roll, along with CJ and Billy Vosseler, Luis Alderete-Martinez, Huaiyu and Binyu Chin, Reuben Blackwell Jr., Tammy and Diego Flores, and Christopher and Lisa Zaharias.
On May 14, 2023, officers were alerted and found a woman and a minor child at the Asheville, North Carolina business. They were able to confirm their identities.
They said the woman, Heather Unbehaun, was wanted on an extradition warrant out of Illinois for child abduction. She was arrested and her daughter was returned to her father, who is the rightful guardian.
Kayla Unbehaun, who was abducted by her non-custodial mother, Heather Unbehaun (pictured), was last seen on July 4, 2017
The Anthrax Murderer (Season 12, Episode 13)
In 2001, under mysterious circumstances, a number of postal workers in America became seriously ill. They appeared to have been poisoned with anthrax.
A few days earlier, a man had died in Florida from exactly the same cause. Police suspected that anthrax was being sent to people through the mail.
In 2008, a government scientist named Bruce Ivins was rushed to a Maryland hospital with a massive overdose of prescription drugs.
He died two days later. Shortly thereafter, the FBI announced that Dr. Ivins was the prime suspect in the 2001 anthrax terror attack.
Dr. Ivins helped investigate the attacks that killed five Americans and terrorized the country, but this resulted in him becoming a suspect and according to the FBI, there is no doubt that he was the anthrax killer.
The case is officially closed, but no motive has been established for Dr. Ivins’ alleged crimes.
Unsolved Mysteries Volume 4 is now available on Netflix.
