The Most Infamous Crime Committed in Every State

Robert Leroy Anderson was convicted and sentenced to death for the kidnapping and killing Larisa Dumansky of Sioux Falls in 1994 and Piper Streyle of rural Canistota in 1996. A third victim, Amy Anderson, fled before she was murdered. Authorities believe Anderson had committed even more crimes as a serial killer. He killed himself on death row in 2003 before he could be executed.

Civil Rights icon Martin Luther King, Jr. was in Memphis in support of striking sanitation workers. At the speech on April 3, he seemed to hint at the probability of not living a long life, saying, “I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land.” The next day King was assassinated by James Earl Ray as he stood on his balcony at the Lorraine Hotel. The act set off race riots across the country, but was a pivotal moment in advancing the cause of equal rights.

When Enron went belly-up in 2001, fingers began to be pointed at CEO Kenneth Lay. It was later learned Lay’s sell-off of $300 million in stocks and other sketchy deals over a decade drove the company into what was then the country’s largest bankruptcy. The crash caused millions of dollars of losses for investors. The savings of former employees were also wiped out. Indicted on 11 counts of securities fraud, wire fraud, and making false and misleading statements, Lay died before sentencing.

Elizabeth Smart was 14 years old and getting ready to graduate from middle school when Brian David Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Barzee, kidnapped her and held her hostage for nearly a year. After she was found, Smart detailed horror stories of rape and being forced to drink alcohol and watch pornography. Mitchell was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. Barzee was released from prison in 2018 with the stipulation that she register as a sex offender. Smart has since become a vocal advocate for child abuse victims through her Elizabeth Smart Foundation.

As a mother and daughter walked in the woods in 1935, they came upon a skull. Further examination revealed the bodies of a woman and two young boys, probably her sons. Forensic science was still in its infancy so all investigators could decipher was that all three had been shot in the head. The crimes remain unsolved to this day.