These unsolved crimes have puzzled the Bluegrass State for generations—read on to consider some of Kentucky’s most mysterious crimes for yourself.
Whether you’re a true-crime junkie or just a curious Kentuckian, you may have heard that some of the state’s most mysterious cases have never been solved. Sometimes that’s due to circumstances, such as a lack of evidence. Other cases struggled to find resolution due to the time they were committed; forensic technology has advanced by leaps and bounds since the early days of the Derby State in the 18th and 19th centuries, and many historical unsolved cases may have been solvable if they were committed today.
But what exactly happened in these cases? And even if they remain unsolved, are there any likely theories as to what happened? Well, that’s a good question. While there are no official or definitive answers as to “whodunit,” here’s a look at a few of Kentucky’s strangest and most mysterious unsolved crimes.
1. The 18th-century vanishing of James Harrod
Have you ever visited the city of Harrodsburg? While you may know it as the seat of Mercer County, odds are you weren’t aware that it was named for the man at the center of one of Kentucky’s first-ever mysterious unsolved disappearances. Harrod founded the first permanent European settlement in Kentucky in 1774 and was a contemporary of frontier legends like Daniel Boone. That would have earned him a vital place in state history on its own, but his legend continues with his mysterious 1792 disappearance.
Harrod, a wealthy farmer with large land holdings, went into the wilderness on a hunting trip in February of 1792, along with two companions. He never returned. Theories abounded about what happened to Harrod: that he had left his wife to return to a secret family in Pennsylvania, that he had been kidnapped by Native Americans and taken to Michigan, or that he had gone to live with his sister.
But Harrod’s family held that one of his hunting companions, with whom he’d had previous arguments, murdered him. The man in question fled Kentucky, casting further suspicion, but the real answer as to what happened to James Harrod remains a mystery.
2. The mysterious murder of Marshal Duke
In the 19th century, few lawmen were feared or respected as much as the U.S. Marshals. But what happens when a marshal is murdered? In 1899, Marshal C. R. Duke of Stamping Ground, Kentucky, was shot and killed in the middle of the street, and the murderer was never found. Reports state that he had gotten into an argument with “a drunk man” outside his home, who was shouting his name. Marshal Duke went out to investigate, and the argument escalated to the point where the drunk man pulled a gun and shot the marshal.
No one ever brought the man who shot Marshal Duke to justice. But the strangest part is that the shooting occurred in public, with multiple shots fired. Not only that, but there were enough witnesses around to identify the murderer’s drunken shouting. But who was he? What did he have against Marshal Duke? And though there are some claims that the man sustained a fatal wound during the altercations, why has he never been identified? The Bluegrass State may never know.
3. The historic assassination of William Goebel
William Goebel’s murder in 1900 would have gone down in infamy even if it had been definitively solved, because Goebel is the only United States governor to die by assassination. And even then, it was only just, as he was sworn in after he’d been shot, and the wound would prove fatal just days later.
Goebel, the son of German immigrants, had served as a Kentucky state senator prior to his gubernatorial run. His election was marred by controversy: his opponent initially led the tally, but Goebel alleged irregularities and ordered a recount, which he narrowly won. The recount caused hostilities to rise across the state, and Goebel was warned of an assassination plot against him, which he dismissed.
Unfortunately, that decision proved fatal when Goebel, despite the presence of bodyguards, was shot at the Old State Capitol, just a day before being sworn in. Rumors abound that Goebel was assassinated by his political opponents, but despite multiple arrests and indictments, to this day, historians agree that it’s not clear who pulled the trigger—or who ordered the shot.
4. The potentially interstellar case of the 1955 Kelly-Hopkinsville Encounter
This case isn’t an unsolved murder or even a burglary; it’s a case of trespassing that resulted in a shootout. Or is it? And the Kelly-Hopkinsville Encounter is no ordinary crime; it’s one of Kentucky’s most infamous cases of potential UFO sightings. One evening in 1955, two families arrived at the Hopkinsville police station to report an attack on a farmhouse by a spaceship full of aliens, and claimed that they had been holding off the extraterrestrials with shotguns.
When the authorities arrived at the rural home, no spaceship or aliens were discovered, and the families, who may have been involved with a traveling carnival, had left, warning the neighbors that the aliens had returned again.
So, who exactly was involved in the shootout? There’s a strong possibility, based on descriptions of the “aliens” that the humans in the Encounter were simply misidentifying local great horned owls or eagle owls. But UFO spotters and lovers of the mysterious still wonder—did rural Kentucky once find itself at the center of an interstellar battle?
5. The shooting of the “Sheik of Boynton”
You’d think that a notorious bank robber’s arrest would be the end of a true crime story, wouldn’t it? Well, in most cases yes, but for the so-called Sheik of Boynton, that was only the beginning. The Sheik, whose real name was Ben Golden McCollum, was a notorious outlaw who was mostly active in Oklahoma, where he was arrested in 1929. His stint in prison was eventful, and included a brief escape in the 1950s that saw him added to the FBI’s most wanted list. But in 1961, he made parole, and relocated to none other than Marcum, Kentucky.
It was there that the Sheik was killed. One evening in August 1963, McCollum’s home was invaded by a pair of burglars, who fatally shot him. The burglars were never caught, and their identities were never discovered. To this day, we don’t know if they were even aware that they had killed one of the country’s most wanted criminals.
Bonus: The weird weather of the “Kentucky Meat Shower”
While not a crime per se, it is one of the weirdest Kentucky mysteries on the books and has stumped scientists for over a century. One evening in 1876, chunks of red meat rained down on a small area in Bath County, with no obvious source. Scientists were puzzled, although some Kentuckians theorized that the meat was dropped by vultures. Others speculated it wasn’t truly meat at all, but a type of semi-gelatinous cyanobacteria. Today, a sample of the “meat shower” meat is stored at Transylvania University, but because of its age, experimenting with it has proven tricky, and the mystery remains.
