Natasha Leigh

The end of a brand new relationship with a wealthy local man caused a woman to drive her two children into a lake since he didn’t want a “ready made” family. October 25th 1994, a frantic mother reported that her car had been hijacked with her two young sons still strapped into the backseat. Michael Daniel Smith, age 3 years, and Alexander Tyler Smith, age 14 months, had been kidnapped. Susan could only tell the police that when she stopped at a traffic light, an African-American man rushed the car, forcing her out before speeding away. Right away, Susan began making public pleas on TV, desperately calling for the safe return of her children. While she was in front of cameras, a nationwide search was taking place to find either the boys, the man who had taken them or the family car. Teams were sent out to the lakes and ponds as a part of the publicised search efforts. Through basic maths, it was determined that the car would’ve only made it around 30 feet from the shoreline. It would be...

A seven-year-old left her home to collect a butterfly she had found days before, not knowing that day would be the last time she saw her family. Janice Pockett July 26th 1973, would be the last day the Pockett family would see the sweet soul of 7-year-old Janice. They had just gotten home from grocery shopping, and like most siblings, Janice and the younger Mary were bickering over something minor. All of their built-up energy needed to be released, so when Janice asked their mother, Kathryn, if she could take her bike out into the neighbourhood, Kathryn took the opportunity gratefully. Janice left the house after grabbing an envelope, dressed in navy blue shorts with an American flag printed on them, a blue and white striped top, and white socks with blue shoes. She planned on taking her metallic green Murray bike to get a dead butterfly she had hidden under a rock a few days prior. This would be the first and only time she had ever left the house entirely by herself. Half an hour wen...

 A two-day-old baby gets kidnapped. Seventeen years later, she would be reunited with her biological parents after she went to school with her biological younger sister. On April 28th 1997, Celeste Nurse went to the Groot Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, to deliver her and her husband’s first daughter via caesarean section. The surgery was a success; both Celeste and Zephany were healthy afterwards. They would be kept in the hospital for a few days to monitor Celeste’s healing stomach. Two days after the birth, Celeste remembered seeing a woman dressed in maroon pants and an oatmeal top comforting Zephany in her bassinet. Celeste recognised the clothing as a nurse’s uniform and fell back to sleep, thinking that her baby was being cared for by a professional. The next time that Celeste woke, it was to a different nurse questioning her repeatedly. “Where is the baby?”. That was how Celeste learnt that her 2-day-old daughter wasn’t safe in her bassinet. The hospital staff c...

The killer who claimed he killed and tortured 80-plus unnamed hitchhikers while he worked in murder-for-hire schemes. Donald Henry Gaskins was born in Florence County, South Carolina, to mother Eulea Parrott and an unnamed father. It’s said that he was the last in a string of “illegitimate” children, but all of their names have been restricted for privacy. As he grew up, Gaskins was small for his age, and school bullies quickly started to call him “Pee Wee”, a nickname which caught on, but he absolutely hated. To put it into perspective, when Gaskins was finished growing, he was around 5ft 4in and weighed about 130 lbs. His height could come from genetics, or it could be from the fact his mother was awfully neglectful of all the children. It is likely from a mixture of both. The neglect was reported to be so severe that Gaskins didn’t know his government name — Donald — until his first appearance in court at around 13. To add to the neglect, Gaskins was also abused by an unnamed male r...

 The Ogress of Reading was active for over thirty years during the Victorian era killing an estimated 400 children. Amelia Hobley was born at some point in 1836 to a master shoemaker and his wife. She was the youngest of five having three older brothers and an older sister. They were all born in a village called Pyle Marsh to the east of Bristol. She had fallen in love with literature and poetry one of few children at the time to learn how to read and write. It would provide a minimal escape from caring for her mother as she battled with Typhus, a battle she would eventually lose in 1848. Typhus fever is a group of diseases caused by bacteria carried and spread by fleas, lice, and harvest mites and in the 1830s was fairly common in close-knit areas such as London. Not only had Amelia witnessed her mother have violent fits and eventually pass, but she would also watch her older sister Sarah Ann die of unknown reasons in 1841. Sarah was only six years old. In 1845 another of Amelia’s...

A kidnapping planned by a family “friend” for several years, designed to capture one nine-year-old girl. Katherine ‘Katie’ Beers was born in New York on December 30th 1982 to an unnamed father and her mother Marilyn Beers. She lived in Long Island with her mother and older brother John, they were also living with Katie’s godmother Linda Inghilleri and her husband Sal. Marilyn often left her two children in Linda and Sal’s care, described as being neglectful of the children. Katie later said that she was sexually, and physically. emotionally and verbally abused all through her childhood, Sal being the main abuser in her life. With an atmosphere that seemingly welcomed the abuse, a family friend John Esposito was allowed into the children’s lives. He showered them both with gifts and attention, gaining their trust and being allowed to take either child out on trips alone. It’s reported Esposito began sexually abusing John until Esposito thought he was “too old”. In the past, in 1978, Esp...

Cary Stayner claimed he didn’t know why he killed four women, especially after living through his younger brother’s kidnapping and death just a decade before. top row left to right JULIE SUND & CAROLE SUND bottom row left to right JOIE ARMSTRONG & SILVINA PELOSSO Cary Stayner was only eleven when his seven-year-old brother Steven was kidnapped by child molester Kenneth Parnell. The following seven years the family were forced to grieve for the boy’s life without knowing if he was truly gone. Cary said that throughout the time his brother was held captive, he felt neglected by their parents. Cary later claimed that during the time that Steven was kidnapped, he was being molested by his uncle Jesse.  Steven escaped from his hell sadly passing only nine years later. A year after Steven passed, Jesse, the uncle Cary claimed molested him, was murdered. Cary was living with Jesse at that point in time, his life spiralling shortly after the deaths. Cary was reported to have a...

The kidnapping that shows brotherhood comes in many forms, a teenager saving a child after seeing his distress. Steven Stayner was walking home from school on December 4th 1972 when he was stopped by a man claiming to be a church representative seeking donations. When the man asked if Steven’s mom would be willing to give something to the church, Steven agreed that she would. The representative offered to give Steven a ride to his home so they could get the donations that very day. A white Buick driven by a second man pulled up, Steven willingly got inside with the representative. However, the church representative wasn’t legitimate. His name was Ervin Murphy a worker from a Yosemite National Park resort worker who had been manipulated by a co-worker into aiding him in kidnapping a boy. Kenneth Parnell claimed he was an aspiring minister and wanted a young boy to “raise him in a religious-type deal”. Parnell drove Murphy and Steven to a cabin nearby Catheys Valley rather than taking St...

Unsolved serial killers always bring about theories, rumours and the unknown. LISK also brought unnamed victims. Minimal known about the Long Island Serial Killer sometimes referred to as the Gilgo Beach Killer, Craigslist Ripper or Manorville Butcher. It’s believed that they were active for around 20 years between the 1990s to the 2010s. Despite starting in the 90s, LISK was only discovered in 2010 as police were looking for, at the time, missing woman Shannan Gilbert. To start with, we’re going to briefly look at some of the theories around the case before tackling the ten that are officially linked with LISK. There are many more cases that are unofficially linked to LISK. The first theory is that LISK was a regular “John”. A majority of the identified women were known to be sex workers at the time, with some getting offered high pay for a job right before they went missing. If this was the case it’s theorized that LISK only attacked when circumstances were just right; otherwise, the...