List of murdered American children

This is a list of murdered American children that details notable murders among thousands of cases of subjects who were or are believed to have been under the age of 18 upon their deaths. Cases listed are stated to be unsolved, solved or pending and, in some cases, where the victims' remains have never been found or identified. This list is inclusive only of subjects who have an existing article on the English-language Wikipedia.

Before 1950

Victim(s)	Date of death	Age	Location	Status	Description
Elsie Paroubek	c. April 8, 1911	4	Chicago, Illinois	Unsolved	Murdered and dumped into a drainage canal.[1]
Little Lord Fauntleroy	1920 or 1921	5–7	Waukesha, Wisconsin	Unsolved, unidentified	Found dead in a quarry.[2]
Babes in the Wood murders (Pine Grove Furnace)	November 24, 1934[failed verification]	8–12	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Solved	Murder–suicide and familicide.[3]
Arthur Schumacher	July 1925	8	Wauwatosa, Wisconsin	Unsolved	Went missing on July 24, 1925. His body was found 3 weeks later.[4]

1950s–1960s

Victim(s)	Date of death	Age	Location	Status	Description
Joseph Augustus Zarelli	February 1957	4	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Unsolved, identified	Previously known as "The Boy in the Box": Unidentified until 2022.[5]
Maria Ridulph	December 3, 1957	7	Sycamore, Illinois	Unsolved	A suspect was convicted in 2012, but was eventually exonerated in 2016.[6][7]
Sharon Lee Gallegos	c. July 17–24, 1960	4	Congress, Arizona	Unsolved, identified	Kidnapping and murder victim, snatched from right in front of her house. Her body was found in the desert 10 days after her abduction. The exact cause of death remains undetermined, but was ruled a homicide.[8]
16th Street Baptist Church bombing	September 15, 1963	11–14	Birmingham, Alabama	Solved	Four girls killed in a bombing by the Ku Klux Klan.[9]
Sylvia Likens	October 26, 1965	16	Indianapolis, Indiana	Solved	Her caretaker Gertrude Baniszewski was sentenced to life imprisonment and released on parole in 1985.[10]
Jane Durrua	November 5, 1968	13	Keansburg, New Jersey	Solved	[11]
Marina Habe	December 30, 1968	17	Los Angeles County, California	Unsolved	Daughter of writer Hans Habe and actress Eloise Hardt. Possible victim of Charles Manson’s followers.[12]
Camellia Jo Hand	April 10, 1969	8	Ocoee, Florida	Solved	Body found mutilated and buried in woods. Victim of Kenneth Ray Wright. [13][14][15]

1970s–1980s

Victim(s)	Date of death	Age	Location	Status	Description
Dean Corll victims	September 25, 1970 – August 3, 1973	13–17	Houston, Texas	Solved, unidentified	One victim remains unidentified, Harris County John Doe (1973).[16]
Rhonda Johnson	August 4, 1971	14	Galveston, Texas	Solved	Michael Self convicted in 1975, however murderer Edward Bell later confessed to killing them.[17]
Sharon Shaw		13
Alphabet murders	November 16, 1971 – November 26, 1973	10–11	Rochester, New York	Unsolved	The victims were Carmen Colón, Michelle Maenza, and Wanda Walkowicz.[18]
Timothy McCoy	January 3, 1972	16	Chicago, Illinois	Solved	Victim remained unidentified until 1986; the first known victim of at least 33 of serial killer John Wayne Gacy and the only victim of his to be stabbed.[19]
Martha Morrison	September 1974	17	Portland, Oregon	Solved	Victim remained unidentified until 2015.[20]
Linda Pagano	c. 1974	17	Akron or Strongsville, Ohio	Unsolved, identified	A teenager who disappeared from her home in Akron, Ohio, on September 1, 1974, following an argument with her stepfather. Initially, Pagano was thought to have run away. On February 5, 1975, a partial skeleton belonging to a young white female was discovered in a park in nearby Strongsville. The young woman had been killed by a gunshot to the head. However, the case was never connected to Pagano's disappearance. Due to a clerical error, the skeleton was not added to NamUs or other databases until 2016, when the case was rediscovered by an amateur genealogist. In 2018, forensic DNA analysis confirmed the remains as belonging to Pagano. Her stepfather, the only potential suspect, died in 1990.[21]
Tatiana Blackwell	January 24 – February 2, 1976	14	San Mateo County, California	Unsolved	Victims of an unidentified serial killer.[22]
Paula Baxter		17
Oakland County Child Murders	February 1976 – March 1977	10–12	Oakland County, Michigan	Unsolved	During a 13-month period, four children (two girls and two boys) were abducted and murdered with their bodies left in various locations in suburban Detroit. Each child was held alive from 4 to 19 days before being killed. The boys were sexually assaulted. Their deaths triggered a murder investigation which at the time was the largest in U.S. history.[23] The murders are still unsolved.
Randall Reffett	May 14, 1976	15	Chicago, Illinois	Solved	Victims of serial killer John Wayne Gacy.[24]
Samuel Stapleton		14
William Carroll Jr.	June 13, 1976	16	Chicago, Illinois	Solved	Victim of serial killer John Wayne Gacy.[24]
James Haakenson	August 5, 1976	16	Chicago, Illinois	Solved	Unidentified until 2017; victim of serial killer John Wayne Gacy.[24]
Kenneth Parker	October 24, 1976	16	Chicago, Illinois	Solved	Victims of serial killer John Wayne Gacy.[24]
Michael Marino		14
Evelyn Colon	c. December 13–19, 1976	15	White Haven, Pennsylvania	Pending	Unidentified until 2021; alleged killer has been charged.[25]
Oklahoma Girl Scout murders	June 12, 1977	8–11	Mayes County, Oklahoma	Unsolved	Three girls murdered while at a summer camp. The prime suspect has since died and DNA samples from the killer are now insufficient to process.[26]
Robert Winch	November 10, 1977	16	Chicago, Illinois	Solved	Victim of serial killer John Wayne Gacy.[24]
Brian Glenfeldt	January 8, 1978	17	Hialeah, Florida	Solved	Victims of serial killer John Errol Ferguson.[27][28]
Belinda Worley		17
Bear Brook murders	c. November 1978	11 months, 2–4, 7	Allenstown, New Hampshire	Unidentified (one child)	Four victims total, three were children and one was an adult female.[29] The adult, oldest and youngest victims were identified in June 2019 as Marlyse Honeychurch, Marie Vaughn and Sarah McWaters. Honeychurch was the mother of the two now-identified children, who were half-sisters. The middle child, determined to be the daughter of serial killer Terry Peder Rasmussen, remains unidentified.[30]
Kerry Graham	December 1978	15	Willits, California	Unsolved	Victims remained unidentified until 2015.[31][32]
Francine Trimble		14
Robert Piest	December 11, 1978	15	Chicago, Illinois	Solved	Final victim of serial killer John Wayne Gacy.[24]
Devonna Nelson	c. 1979	14	Missoula, Montana	Solved	Presumed victim of probable serial killer Wayne Nance. She remained unidentified until 2009.[33]
Etan Patz	May 25, 1979	6	New York City, New York	Solved, body never found	Perpetrator sentenced to 25-years-to-life in April 2017.[34]
Atlanta murders of 1979–81	July 21, 1979 – March 12, 1981	9–14	Atlanta, Georgia	Solved	Victims of a serial killer.[35]
Tammy Vincent	September 1979	16	Tiburon, California	Unsolved	Victim remained unidentified until 2007.[36]
Tammy Alexander	November 9, 1979	16	Caledonia, New York	Unsolved, identified	Teenager shot and left in a cornfield in upstate New York. Alexander was a hitchhiker, having run away from a broken home in Florida, and was never reported missing until years after her death. Known previously as only "Caledonia Jane Doe" or "Cali Doe", Alexander remained unidentified until 2015.[37]
Sherri Jarvis	November 1, 1980	14	Huntsville, Texas	Unsolved, identified	Victim remained unidentified until 2021.[38]
Carol Cole	December 1980	17	Bellevue, Louisiana	Unsolved, identified	Victim remained unidentified until 2015.[39]
Adam Walsh	c. July 27, 1981	6	Indian River County, Florida	Solved	Victim of serial killer Ottis Toole.[40]
Frieda Powell	c. 1982	15	Ringgold, Texas	Solved, body never found	Henry Lee Lucas, now deceased, confessed to killing his teenage girlfriend while in Texas. Authorities believe his confession, yet efforts to confirm the remains identified by Lucas to be hers were inconclusive.[41][42]
Shannah Wicklund	April 14, 1982	9	Clearview, Washington	Solved	Murdered along with her mother and a neighbor in a revenge killing.[43]
Dawn Olanick	c. Early July 1982	17	Blairstown, New Jersey	Solved	A teenaged murder victim found at the edge of a cemetery. A couple confessed in 2005 to killing her, but without her identity there was not enough information to put a case together.[44][45] Following Olanick's identification, the couple who confessed in 2005 was charged with her murder.
Ricky Stetson	August 22, 1982	11	Portland, Maine	Solved	The first of three victims of John Joubert and the only victim murdered in Maine.[46]
Alisha Heinrich	December 3 or 4, 1982	18 months	Moss Point, Mississippi	Unsolved	A toddler thrown from a bridge into a river. Known only as "Delta Dawn", Heinrich remained unidentified until 2020. Her mother, who disappeared alongside her, remains missing.[47]
Redhead murders	c. 1981–1992	9–17	Various	Unsolved, unidentified	Victims of an unidentified serial killer that were left on the side of highways. Not all presumed victims have been verified to be linked.[48]
St. Louis Jane Doe	February 1983	10	St. Louis, Missouri	Unsolved, unidentified	Found decapitated and naked from the waist down in the basement of an abandoned building.[49][50]
Danny Joe Eberle	September 18, 1983	13	Bellevue, Nebraska	Solved	Second victim of John Joubert.[51]
Christoper Walden	December 2, 1983	12	Papillion, Nebraska	Solved	Third and final victim on John Joubert.[52]
Colleen Orsborn	March 19, 1984	15	Daytona Beach, Florida	Solved	Victim remained unidentified until 2011.[53]
Marcella Bachmann	c. September – October 1984	16	Missoula, Montana	Solved	Presumed victim of probable serial killer Wayne Nance. She remained unidentified until 2006.[33]
Shari Smith	May 31 / June 1, 1985	17	Lexington County, South Carolina	Solved	A 17-year-old who was abducted from the driveway of her home. Her killer called her family repeatedly to taunt them; even after the victim's death. Larry Gene Bell was later convicted of her murder and executed.[54]
Debra Helmick	June 15, 1985	9	Richland County, South Carolina	Solved	A girl abducted from her front yard and subsequently murdered by Larry Gene Bell, also responsible for the abduction and murder of Shari Smith. He was later convicted and executed for her murder.[54]
Michele Avila	October 1, 1985	17	Angeles National Forest, California	Solved
Darcie Frackenpohl	1987	17	Sacramento, California	Solved	Victim remained unidentified for several months.[55]
Deanna Criswell	c. November 23, 1987	16	Marana, Arizona	Solved, identified	Victim remained unidentified until 2015.[56]
April Tinsley	April 1–2, 1988	8	Fort Wayne, Indiana	Solved	Suspect arrested on July 15, 2018.[57]
Aundria Bowman	c. March 11, 1989	14	Hamilton, Michigan	Pending	A teenager listed as a missing person for over thirty years, after her adoptive parents reported her as a runaway. Her remains were located in February 2020 after her adoptive father confessed to her murder. He was previously charged with the 1980 murder of a woman in Virginia.[58]
Sue Ann Huskey	c. September 1989	17	Williamson County, Texas	Unsolved, identified	Victim remained unidentified until January 2020.[59]
Jacob Wetterling	c. October 22, 1989	11	St. Joseph, Minnesota	Solved	Victim remained a missing person for nearly 27 years before the location of his remains was disclosed by Jacob's murderer.[60]

1990s–2000s

Victim(s)	Date of death	Age	Location	Status	Description
Anjelica Castillo	c. July 18, 1991	4	Astoria, New York	Solved	Victim remained unidentified until 2013.[61]
Mandy Lemaire	August 22, 1991	11	Tazlina, Alaska	Unsolved	Suspect's conviction was overturned in 1999. He died before the completion of the second trial.[62]
1991 Austin yogurt shop killings	December 6, 1991	13–17	Austin, Texas	Unsolved	Four girls raped, shot, and burnt in an I Can't Believe It's Yogurt shop in Austin, Texas.[63]
Shanda Sharer	January 11, 1992	12	Madison, IN	Solved
Holly Piirainen	August 5, 1993	10	Sturbridge, Massachusetts	Unsolved	[64]
Kori Lamaster	August 1993	17	California	Unsolved	Victim remained unidentified until 2013.[65]
JonBenét Ramsey	December 26, 1996	6	Boulder, Colorado	Unsolved	[66]
Amber Creek	February 1997	14	Burlington, Wisconsin	Solved[67]	Subject remained unidentified until 1998.[68]
Peaches	c. June 15, 1997	15–30	Lakeview, New York	Unsolved, unidentified	Possible victim of an unidentified serial killer.[69]
Maryann Measles	October 19, 1997	13	New Milford, CT	Solved
Christina Marie Williams	June 12, 1998	13	Seaside, California	Solved[70]
Columbine High School massacre	April 20, 1999	14–17	Littleton, Colorado	Solved	A mass shooting where ten children (including Rachel Scott and Cassie Bernall) were murdered, along with two 18-year-old students and a teacher.[71][72]
Molly Bish	c. June 27, 2000	16	Warren, Massachusetts	Unsolved	[73]
Iriana DeJesus	July 30, 2000	5	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Unsolved	Presumed victim of FBI Top Ten Most Wanted fugitive Alexis Flores.[74]
Brittney Fisher	April 10, 2001	12	Scottsdale, Arizona	Unsolved	Children of FBI Top Ten Most Wanted fugitive Robert William Fisher.[75]
Bobby Fisher		10
Red Lake shootings	March 21, 2005	15–16	Red Lake, Minnesota	Solved	Murder–suicide.[76]
West Nickel Mines School shooting	October 2, 2006	7–13	Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania	Solved	Murder–suicide.[77]
Erika Hill	February 25, 2007	15	Fitchburg, Wisconsin	Solved	Victim remained unidentified until 2015.[78]
Daniel Benoit	June 22, 2007	7	Fayetteville, Georgia	Solved	Murdered by his father, WWE star Chris Benoit, who committed suicide 2 days later.[79]
Crandon, Wisconsin shooting	October 7, 2007	14–17	Crandon, Wisconsin	Solved	Murder–suicide.[80]
Matthew Caffey	March 1, 2008	13	Alba, Texas	Solved	Orchestrated by their older sister, 16-year-old Erin Harvey. Currently serving a life sentence with possibility of parole.[81]
Tyler Caffey		8
Caylee Anthony	c. June – December 2008	2–3	Orlando, Florida	Unsolved	Cause of death ruled a homicide by medical examiner.[82]
Brittney Gary	c. November 2, 2008	17	Jennings, Louisiana	Unsolved	Presumed victim of unidentified serial killer.[83]
Baby Boy Horry	c. December 3, 2008	Newborn	Conway, South Carolina	Pending	Cause of death ruled as hypothermia, investigated as homicide.[84] The boy's mother was later arrested in March, 2020, in connection with the homicide.[85]
Brittanee Drexel	c. Late May 2009	17	Georgetown, South Carolina	Pending	A teenager who disappeared after leaving her home in Rochester, New York to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina without parental permission in April 2009. Her remains were located in 2022 after a suspect, Raymond Moody, confessed to her murder.[86]

2010s–2020s

Victim(s)	Date of death	Age	Location	Status	Description
Gianni McStay	February 4, 2010	4	Fallbrook, California	Solved	Perpetrator found guilty in 2019 and received a death sentence in 2020.[87]
Joseph McStay		3
Lydia Schatz	February 6, 2010	7	Paradise, California	Solved	Perpetrators, Schatz's adoptive parents, found guilty in 2011.[88]
Mackenzie Cowell	February 9, 2010	17	Wenatchee, Washington	Solved	Perpetrator accepted plea deal in 2012, though has since recanted.[89][90]
Lorenzo González Cacho	March 9, 2010	8	Dorado, Puerto Rico	Unsolved	Case became notorious for gossip show SuperXclusivo's coverage along with other factors interrupting the investigation. [91]
Zahra Baker	September 24, 2010	10	Hickory, North Carolina	Solved	Perpetrator found guilty of second-degree murder in 2011. [92]
Phylicia Barnes	December 2010	16	Baltimore, Maryland	Unsolved
Christina-Taylor Green	January 8, 2011	9[93]	Tucson, Arizona	Solved	Perpetrator sentenced November 8, 2012.[94]
Calyx Schenecker	January 27, 2011	16	Tampa, Florida	Solved	Perpetrator found guilty of first-degree murder in 2014.[95]
Beau Schenecker		13
Nubia Barahona	February 11, 2011	10	near West Palm Beach, Florida	Pending	Case remains to go on trial due to several postponements.[96]
Hana Grace-Rose Williams	May 12, 2011	13	Sedro-Woolley, Washington	Solved	Perpetrators charged in 2013, one convicted of manslaughter and the other convicted of "homicide by abuse."[97]
Leiby Kletzky	July 11, 2011	8	Brooklyn, New York City, New York	Solved	Perpetrator charged with second-degree murder and second-degree kidnapping after a plea deal in 2012.[98]
Ame Lynn Deal	July 12, 2011	10	Phoenix, Arizona	Solved	Four perpetrators were charged with several counts of child abuse, and two of the perpetrators were charged with first degree murder.[99]
Scott Dieter	August 7, 2011	11[100]	Copley Township, Ohio	Solved	Perpetrator killed onsite by police.[101]
Amelia Shambaugh		16[100]
Autumn Johnson		16[100]
Erica Parsons	December 17, 2011	13	Salisbury, North Carolina	Solved	Perpetrators charged in 2019.[102][103]
Charles Powell	February 12, 2012	7	South Hill, Washington	Solved	Murder-suicide[104]
Braden Powell		5
Skylar Neese	July 6, 2012	16	Wayne Township, Pennsylvania	Solved	Two perpetrators convicted in 2014. Neese was from West Virginia, and West Virginia signed into law Skylar's Law in response to the case. Skylar's Law modified Amber Alerts in West Virginia to issue an Amber Alert in cases where a child is missing but not suspected to be kidnapped.[105]
Veronica Moser-Sullivan	July 20, 2012	6	Aurora, Colorado	Solved
Jessica Ridgeway	October 5, 2012	10	Westminster, Colorado	Solved[106]
Haile Kifer	November 22, 2012	18	Little Falls, Minnesota	Solved	Perpetrator hid in basement lying in wait for suspected burglars, the victims Kifer and Brady. After neutralizing the two teens, the perpetrator proceeded to taunt and kill them. Perpetrator was charged with premeditated first-degree murder in 2013.[107]
Nicholas Brady		17
Lucia Krim	October 25, 2012	6	Manhattan, New York City, New York	Solved	Perpetrator, the children's caregiver, convicted in 2018. Governor Cuomo signed into law Lulu & Leo's Law in response to the case. The law makes it a crime to knowingly misrepresent the qualifications of someone applying to be a caregiver.[108]
Leo Krim		2
Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting	December 14, 2012	6–7	Newtown, Connecticut	Solved	Murder–suicide.[109]
Garnett Spears	January 23, 2014	5	Valhalla, New York	Solved	Perpetrator charged with first-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in 2015.[110]
Bella Bond	June 2015	2	Boston, Massachusetts	Solved	Victim remained unidentified until September 2015.[111][112]
Daniel Bever	July 22, 2015	12	Broken Arrow, Oklahoma	Solved	Perpetrators arrested after survivor, Crystal Bever, identified her two brothers, Robert Bever and Michael Bever, as the assailants.[113]
Christopher Bever		10
Victoria Bever		5
Victoria Martens	August 23, 2016	10	Albuquerque, New Mexico	Solved	Three perpetrators, including Martens mother and her mother's boyfriend, were arrested at the scene. DNA evidence indicates a fourth unknown perpetrator. [114]
Jacob Hall	October 1, 2016	6	Townville, South Carolina	Solved	Hall was mortally wounded on September 28.[115]
Abigail Williams	February 13, 2017	13	Deer Creek Township, Indiana	Solved	Perpetrator convicted on all counts, sentenced to 130 years in prison.[116]
Liberty German		14
Kiaya Campbell	June 8, 2017	10	Thornton, Colorado	Solved	Perpetrator sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 40 years.[117]
Bella Watts	August 13, 2018	4	Frederick, Colorado	Solved	The girls' father Christopher Watts admitted to the murder and was sentenced to five life sentences without the possibility of parole.[118]
Celeste Watts		3
Bianca Devins	July 14, 2019	17	Utica, New York	Solved	Perpetrator was sentenced to life imprisonment.[119]
Tylee Ryan	c. September 9, 2019	16	Rexburg, Idaho	Solved	Murdered by their mother, Lori Vallow Daybell[120] and her then-lover and now husband Chad Daybell.[121]
J. J. Vallow	c. September 23, 2019	7
Tristyn Bailey	May 9, 2021	13	St. Johns County, Florida	Solved	Perpetrator was sentenced to life imprisonment.[122]
Oxford High School shooting	November 30, 2021	14–17[123]	Oxford Township, Michigan	Solved	Perpetrator was sentenced to life imprisonment.[124]
Robb Elementary School shooting	May 24, 2022	9–11[125]	Uvalde, Texas	Solved
Killing of the Haight family	January 4, 2023	4–17[126]	Enoch, Utah	Solved	Michael Haight murdered his wife, mother-in-law, and five children, and then killed himself.[126]
Covenant School shooting	March 27, 2023	9[127]	Nashville, Tennessee	Solved
2023 Henryetta killings	May 3, 2023	13–17[128]	near Henryetta, Oklahoma	Solved	Perpetrator murdered his wife Holly Guess, his wife's children Tiffany Guess, Michael Mayo, and Rylee Allen, and two friends of Tiffany, Ivy Webster and Brittany Brewer.[128]
James Cho	May 6, 2023	3	Allen, Texas	Solved	Perpetrator fatally shot by police officer.[129]
Daniela Mendoza		11
Sofia Mendoza		8
Jailyn Candelario	June 2023	1	Cleveland, Ohio	Solved	Kristel Candelario abandoned her infant Jailyn Candelario at home while vacationing in Puerto Rico. Kristel received a sentence of life in prison on March 18, 2024.[130]
Preston Lord	October 28, 2023	16[131]	Queen Creek, Arizona	Pending	Suspects arrested in March 2024[132]
Jonathan Lewis Jr.	November 7, 2023	17[133]	Las Vegas, Nevada	Solved
Ahmir Jolliff	January 4, 2024	11[134]	Perry, Iowa	Solved
Audrii Cunningham	February 15, 2024	11	Livingston, Texas	Pending	Murdered by neighbor during trip to school bus stop. Suspect arrested on February 16, 2024, and indicted on two counts of capital murder in April 2024.[135]
Sakurako Oda	March 10, 2024	17	Manoa, Hawaii	Solved	Murdered by their father, Paris Oda, alongside their mother. Paris Oda then killed himself.[136]
Orion Oda		12
Nana Oda		10
Jocelyn Nungaray	June 16, 2024	12[137]	Houston, Texas	Pending	Suspects arrested in June 2024.[137]
Mason Schermerhorn	September 4, 2024	14[138]	near Winder, Georgia	Pending
Christian Angulo
Rubi Vergara	December 16, 2024	14[139]	Madison, Wisconsin	Solved	Perpetrator died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Josselin Corea Escalante	January 22, 2025	16[140]	Antioch, Tennessee	Solved	Perpetrator died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

See also

• List of unidentified decedents in the United States
• Parents of Murdered Children Memorial