For most people, Halloween is a beloved autumn holiday that involves dressing up and getting candy — or even relaxing to some spooky movies. For others, it’s an opportune time to commit heinous crimes such as murder or kidnapping. The following list of notorious crimes all took place on Halloween — and some of them remain unsolved to this day. Have you heard of some of these notorious Halloween murders and disappearances?
The murder of Martha Moxley
On the night before Halloween, 1975, 15-year-old Martha Moxley went out with some of her neighborhood friends for a night of “mischief.” This was the last time she was seen alive by her loved ones. Her bludgeoned and stabbed body was found the following morning in her family’s backyard. One of her neighborhood acquaintances was ultimately convicted of killing her, but his conviction has been a point of controversy in her murder. Some people believe more than one person was involved, while others believe the right man was convicted all along.
The weird unsolved double murders of Ronald Sisman and Elizabeth Platzman
The bodies of Ronald Sisman and Elizabeth Platzman were discovered in Sisman’s Manhattan apartment on Halloween night, 1981. Ronald, an esteemed photographer, was brutally beaten before he was shot to death. His college-student girlfriend, Elizabeth Platzman, died in the same manner. An investigation of the crime scene revealed that the apartment had been completely turned upside down by the unknown perpetrator(s), but nothing was stolen except for a handgun belonging to Ronald Sisman. That handgun was likely the one used to murder him and Platzman. This horrific Halloween murder remains unsolved, but there has been at least one suspect, as well as a variety of presumed motives. One of the most far-out theories in this unsolved case is that a Satanic group had something to do with it. It’s more likely that either Sisman or Platzman were involved with shady people, and whomever killed them ransacked their apartment because they were looking for something specific.
The disappearance of Pamela Sue Hobley and Patricia Spencer
On October 31, 1969, two teenage classmates vanished from Oscoda, Michigan. Sixteen-year-old Patricia Spencer, and 15-year-old Pamela Hobley weren’t considered friends, so it’s not known — even all these decades later — why they skipped school together on Halloween 1969, but they did, and they both vanished without a trace. From what could be gathered, the teenagers were hitchhiking, and more than one area local claimed to had given them a ride around the area where they were last seen. Investigators believe “two or more” people kidnapped and murdered Patricia and Pamela, but no evidence has led to any conclusion in this case.
The kidnapping and murder of Lisa French
Nine-year-old Lisa French was last seen alive by her loved ones when she went trick-or-treating on Halloween night, 1973. When the child didn’t return home that night, an immediate search was triggered — which spanned at least four days. Eventually, the murdered body of the nine-year-old girl was found — and it didn’t take long before a man was arrested for kidnapping, sexually assaulting and murdering her. A neighborhood acquaintance of the child admitted to luring her into his house while she was trick-or-treating on Halloween night, where the crimes were committed.
Chelsea Hoffman is a true crime writer with over a decade of professional writing experience. She is best known for her coverage of missing people including the tragic disappearance of Madeleine McCann as well as the heartbreaking cases of Dylan Redwine, Heather Elvis and many others.
