Credit: Wikimedia Commons (investigation surveillance still)Editorial useSourceUNSOLVEDListenChicago metropolitan area, Illinois · 1980s
In September 1982, seven people in the Chicago area died after taking Extra-Strength Tylenol capsules that had been laced with potassium cyanide after leaving the factory. The case remains unsolved as of 2026, though it led to nationwide tamper-resistant packaging reforms and federal anti-tampering laws.
Image recordEditorial useSourceSOLVEDListenChicago, Illinois, United States · 2022
Sania Khan, a Pakistani American photographer who had documented her divorce on TikTok, was shot and killed by her estranged husband Raheel Ahmad, identified by police as the gunman, in her Chicago apartment on July 18, 2022; Ahmad then shot himself and died of his injuries.
Credit: Compiled by "a member of the Chicago Press"; published by Theo A. Patterson, Progressive…Public domainSourceSOLVEDListenCarter Harrison III residence, Chicago, Illinois · 1893
On October 28, 1893, newspaper distributor Patrick Eugene Prendergast fatally shot Chicago Mayor Carter Harrison III inside Harrison's residence, driven by a delusion that Harrison had wrongfully denied him a city legal appointment. Prendergast was convicted of first-degree murder and hanged in 1894.
Credit: Harris & Ewing, photographerPublic domainSourceUNSOLVEDListenNear Republic Steel mill, South Chicago · 1937
On May 30, 1937, Chicago police shot and killed ten unarmed striking steelworkers and supporters marching toward the Republic Steel mill during the Little Steel strike; no officers were ever prosecuted.
SOLVEDListenNear 41st Street and Kildare Avenue, Chicago, Illinois · 2014
On October 20, 2014, Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke shot 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times as McDonald walked away from him. A dash-cam video of the shooting was withheld from the public for more than a year before a court ordered its release in November 2015, the same day Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder. In 2018 he was convicted of second-degree murder and aggravated battery.
Image recordPublic domainSourceUNSOLVEDListen2122 North Clark Street, Lincoln Park, Chicago, Illinois · 1929
Seven members and associates of Chicago's North Side Gang were shot dead in a Lincoln Park garage on February 14, 1929, in an attack widely attributed to the rivalry between the North Side Gang and Al Capone's Chicago Outfit; despite multiple investigations, no one was ever charged with the killings.
Image recordEditorial useSourceSOLVEDListenDouglass Park, Chicago, Illinois · 2012
Rekia Boyd, a 22-year-old Black woman, was fatally shot in the head by off-duty Chicago police detective Dante Servin near Douglass Park in 2012. Servin was later charged with involuntary manslaughter but cleared in a 2015 bench trial after the judge ruled the shooting was intentional rather than reckless.
SOLVEDListenLaramie Avenue and Eddy Street, Portage Park, Chicago, Illinois · 2021
On March 31, 2021, 22-year-old Anthony Alvarez was fatally shot in the back by Chicago Police Officer Evan Solano while fleeing on foot during a pursuit that began over a traffic stop. Body camera footage released weeks later showed Alvarez holding a gun as he ran; prosecutors declined to file charges in March 2022.
The files run from 1893 to 2022. The 2010s hold the most, with 4 files. The oldest is Assassination of Carter Harrison III, from 1893.
By type, the largest groups are murder and homicide cases (12), police shooting cases (5) and fraud and extortion cases (2).
4 files of the 17 have coverage attached: 6 videos, podcasts and documentaries from 3 creators. The most covered is Chicago Tylenol poisonings, with 3 items to watch or hear. Bailey Sarian, Kendall Rae and Annie Elise have covered the most of them.
Every file is written from cited sources and pinned where it happened, and every person named carries the legal status the record gives them. If you hold information about an unsolved case, contact the investigating agency named in its file rather than posting it publicly. Families and anyone involved can request a correction from any file.
Mary Kellerman, Adam Janus, Stanley Janus, Theresa Janus, Mary McFarland, Paula Prince, Mary Reiner — Credit: Wikimedia Commons (investigation surveillance still)Editorial useSource
Illustration of Carter Harrison Sr. (5) 3x4 — Credit: Compiled by "a member of the Chicago Press"; published by Theo A. Patterson, Progressive…Public domainSource
Justice For Adam Toledo sign at George Floyd Square in Minneapolis, Minnesota — Credit: Lorie ShaullCC BY-SA 2.0Source
Bobby Franks (photograph, 1916–1924) — Credit: Unknown photographer; via Wikimedia CommonsPublic domainSource
Senate Civil Liberties Hearing. Washington, D.C., July 2. The Senate Civil Liberties Committee played to a full house today as they screened the moves of the Memorial Day Chicago riot at the LCCN2016871947 — Credit: Harris & Ewing, photographerPublic domainSource
Zheng Shaoxiong ('Dennis' Zheng), the victimEditorial useSource
The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre scene, 1929Public domainSource
Rekia Boyd, the victimEditorial useSource
Vivian Gordon Harsh Park, Kenwood — where Hadiya Pendleton was shotCC BY-SA 3.0Source
Julian King, 7, one of the three victims (Amber Alert photo)Editorial useSourceSania Khan, the victimEditorial useSource
Six memorial crosses for the Martinez family outside their Gage Park homeEditorial useSource
Derrion Albert, the 16-year-old victimEditorial useSource
Alice Pitezel (portrait plate, Geyer 1896) — Credit: Frank P. Geyer, The Holmes-Pitezel Case (Philadelphia: Publishers' Union, 1896); scan…Public domainSource
Robert Jerome Piest (1963-1978) as a high school freshman — Credit: Unknown authorPublic domainSource17. By status: 3 unsolved, 2 ongoing and 12 solved. The count covers published files only and changes as new files clear review.
Assassination of Carter Harrison III, from 1893. Open the file
Chicago Tylenol poisonings, with 3 videos, podcasts and documentaries linked from its file. Open the file
Bailey Sarian (2 cases), Kendall Rae (1 case) and Annie Elise (1 case).
It rebuilds hourly from the published files; the newest file change here is dated Jul 18, 2026. A status changes only when the record behind it does.
