Detective Writer

Murder Mystery Storytime: Elisabeth Mandala!

Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to tell you all about an unsolved crime in Mexico, the murder of Elisabeth Mandala.

Elisabeth Mandala was born in 1992 and she lived on a ranch in Texas. Her parents were divorced when she was a young girl. Her family was unaware that she had been working at the Moments Cabaret nightclub in Pasadena, Texas as an erotic dancer. She had also allegedly paid money into an online scam that was not specified.

On April 27th, 2010, Mandala had gone down to Mexico from Texas in a car. While she had told a few friends, her mother did not give her permission to go and found messages saying she was in Mexico but would return soon.

On May 1st, 2010, her mother reported her as a missing person after not hearing from her for some time. However, it was also the same day she would be found dead at 6 A.M. inside a pickup truck registered to Texas in a Mexican highway. She was only 18 years old. Two Mexican citizens, 38 year old, Dante Ruiz Siller and 44 year old, Luis Angel Estrella Mondragón were also inside the truck she was in as well. One of the men had a criminal record and both had false IDs. It was unknown why they were even with Mandala or what their relationship to her even was. The media had speculated that she was trying to smuggle the men into the U.S. but it was never proven and her family has continued to deny it.

The pickup truck was discovered after colliding with another truck. The other truck’s driver had no injuries. All three individuals were beaten to death. Houston police refused to investigate the case because she was found dead in Mexico, hence lacking jurisdiction. Mexican police had no leads as to who killed her, the motive, and no further leads. They also reported the crash was not intense enough to cause death. Mandala’s family also refused to pay a private investigator for the case because they had already spent so much money sending Mandala’s body back to the U.S. Her case remains unsolved to this day.

I hope you have enjoyed this storytime as much as I did, DETECTIVES! Please let me know in the comments if you want to have more storytime! Have a great day, night, afternoon, or evening, DETECTIVES! Stay tuned for next week’s post; until then, keep on sleuthing, DETECTIVES!

Murder Mystery Storytime: Dr. Friedrich Ritter & Dore Strauch!

Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to tell you all about an unsolved case surrounding the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, my family’s native country back in the 1930s, the case of Dr. Friedrich Ritter and Dore Strauch!

In 1929, Berlin Dr. Friedrich Ritter and his former patient, Dore Strauch both left their spouses behind to be together in the paradise of the Galapagos Islands. They were considered the modern day of their time, Adam and Eve together because they both shed their clothes, removed their teeth, built a house from scratch, raised chicken and other farm animals, and only allowed themselves to wear boots for protection from the ground.

After some time living on the islands, a German family, The Wittmers, became inspired by the couple’s journey and soon set off for Floreana, an island in the Galapagos Islands as well. However, the neighbors were not so chummy with one another and rarely spoke to one another. Until a baroness named Eloise Wehrborn de Wagner-Bosquet arrived on the island with two male companions, Robert Philippson and Rudolf Lorenz. The relationship between all neighbors didn’t really improve and they didn’t seem much in common except a love for the island and a deep dislike for one another.

Suddenly on March 27th, 1934, Baroness Bosquet and Philippson mysteriously disappeared and were never heard from again. Soon afterward, Lorenz decided to return to Germany but the strangest thing was that his mummified remains along with a Norwegian fisherman he convinced to help him get to San Cristóbal, were both found inside a boat on Marchena Island- they did not get so far away.

In November 1934, Dr. Ritter passed away from food poisoning after eating spoiled chicken and it was believed that he may have been poisoned to death because accounts claimed he looked at Dore with such hatred and wrote a piece of paper before dying to Dore, “I curse you with my dying breath.” Soon after his death, Dore returned to Germany and died there in 1943. There have been several speculations as to what really happened. But what do you think occurred? Let me know your thoughts and opinions.

Murder Mystery Storytime: Bishop Benjamin de Jesus!

Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to tell you all about another unsolved crime in the Philippines, the murder of Flipino priest, Benjamin de Jesus.

Bishop de Jesus was born in the National Capital Region on July 25th, 1940. On December 29th, 1967, he was officially ordained as a priest as a member of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate. On February 4th, 1997, with no known motive nor known assailants, Bishop de Jesus was shot to death six times outside the Jolo Cathedral. Multiple individuals were wounded and one woman who was close by was killed as well. Although police suspected the Muslim group, Abu Sayyaf of being responsible for the murders, the crimes still remain unsolved. Bishop de Jesus was the first Filipino priest to be killed in the entire history of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.

Murder Mystery Storytime: Fernando Solijon!

Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to tell you all about another unsolved crime that has remained a total mystery to the people of the Philippines. In 2013, another radio journalist named Fernando Solijon was mysteriously assassinated and the case has never been solved to this day.

Fernando Solijon was born in 1966, his exact birth date is currently unknown but prior to his death, Solijon was a radio commentator of DXLS love radio for the Love Radio Network in Iligan City, Philippines for the past seven years.

On August 29th, 2013 around 10:30 P.M., Solijon was shot and killed by two assailants riding a motorcycle after he had been drinking with some friends. He was immediately rushed to the hospital but was pronounced dead there from gunshot wounds to the forehead. Prior to his murder, his wife Melly Solijon said that her husband had received dozens of death threats, some of which were extremely brutal. A few threats advised Solijon to take caution while going outside and he prayed to God in thanks for allowing him to turn 47 years old. Melly even got a few phone calls asking if her husband was dead just hours before his murder. He was survived by his daughter, Jed, and wife, Melly and despite their best efforts, the police do not have any strong leads to solve the crime. Solijon was the 159th journalist to be assassinated in the Philippines.

Murder Mystery Storytime: Christopher Guarin!

Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to tell you all about an unsolved crime that has remained a total mystery to the people of the Philippines. The assassination of the editor-in-chief for a local newspaper, Tatak Bigtime News, and Radyo Mo Nationwide radio show host, Christopher Guarin in 2012.

Guarin was a well-regarded and veteran radio journalist in the General Santos media market. In 2011, he was cleared of any wrongdoing in a police investigation of an unmentioned incident from the rival newspaper’s manager. On January 5th, 2012 around 10:30 P.M. Guarin was attacked and murdered by a group of two individuals who were riding on a single Honda XRM motorcycle while driving with his wife, Lyn Guarin, and daughter home. His wife told police that he was able to drive a while longer in Lagos even after the first few shots; however, as he tried to direct the shots away from his family in the car, he begged for his life but was unfortunately shot another five to six times with a bullet to the head. The two hit men imposed a minor injury to Guarin’s wife while their daughter was left unharmed but extremely traumatized. His wife, Lyn Guarin gave police the identification of one alleged shooter, which lead them to file murder charges on a suspect named, Marvin Palabrica on February 1st, 2012. It was also reported that just hours before his murder, he had received and read out loud during his radio show a death threat stating, “Do not leave the station, I will kill you.” However, he had received several death threats previously. Although, to this day, the case remains unsolved. With the murder, Guarin became the 150th journalist to be assassinated.

Murder Mystery Storytime: The Dupont de Ligonnès Murders and Disappearance!

Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to tell you all about an unsolved crime that has haunted France for many years: the Dupont de Ligonnès family. TRIGGER WARNING: I will be discussing the murders of children and two beloved family dogs, so please feel free to skip this post if you are not comfortable.

The Dupont de Ligonnès family was known in Europe to be well off and aristocratic. Xavier Pierre Marie Dupont de Ligonnès, a supposed salesman, who was born on January 9th, 1961, was married to Agnès Hodanger, who was born on November 9th, 1962, a religious Catholic school assistant. The couple had 4 children together: Arthur who was 20 years old at the time of his death, Thomas, 18, Anne, 16, and finally their youngest, Benoît, who was only 13. Allegedly, Agnès said her husband told her that if there was a group death in their family would not be such a bad thing.

On Tuesday, April 28th, 2011, the bodies of Agnès and each of her children including the two Labrador family dogs were found buried in the garden by a walker. Xavier had disappeared around the same time and to this day has never been found. It has been speculated that perhaps Xavier had played a role in the death of his family, especially in March 2011, Xavier bought rifle bullets, and in April 2011, Xavier also purchased 10 kg of quicklime, a chemical compound from different stores and had even bought a shovel, a hoe, and cement. On Monday, April 11th, 2011, Xavier checked into a hotel with his credit card in Southern France, the next day, he checked into another one under a fake name and once again by credit card. On Thursday, April 14th, 2011, Xavier was spotted for the last time by a security camera at the Hotel Formule 1, where he spent the night, and the next day, he checked out but left his car behind. On May 10th, 2011, an official arrest warrant was issued for Xavier but his whereabouts to this day have never been found nor revealed if possible, despite reported sightings. Do you have any ideas on where Xavier could be or what happened to him? Do you believe he could have been the one who killed his family? What are your thoughts, DETECTIVES?

The Dupont de Ligonnès family

Please let me know in the comments if you want to have more storytime, DETECTIVES. If you were able to read up to this point, thank you, and know that all victims deserve love, respect, and justice. Have a great day, night, afternoon, or evening, DETECTIVES! Stay tuned for next week’s post; until then, keep on sleuthing, DETECTIVES!

Murder Mystery Storytime: The Setagaya Family Murders!

Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to tell you all about an absolutely horrifying and unsolved murder that has rattled Japan for many years. TRIGGER WARNING: I will be discussing the murder of children so please feel free to skip this post if you would rather not hear of it. It is the case of the Setagaya family, a family of four who was all brutally ended by an unknown killer who invaded their home and actually stayed for several hours after the murders.

On December 31st, 2000 at approximately 10:40 A.M. Japan Standard Time, in a small ward in Setagaya in Tokyo, Japan, Haruko, the mother of 41-year-old wife and mom, Yasuko Miyazawa found the bodies of the family. Yasuko, 44-year-old Mikio Miyazawa, and 8-year-old Niina had each been stabbed to death whereas 6-year-old Rei had been strangled by the killer’s bare hands. The Toyko Metropolitan Police Department had determined that the family had been killed on December 30th, 2000 at around 11:30 P.M. (JST). The intruder had unplugged the phone lines. Rei had been asleep in his bed but he had been murdered first through strangulation and when his father, Mikio, hearing the screams rushed upstairs to his son. After briefly fighting and injuring the intruder, Mikio unfortunately was then stabbed in the head with a sashimi knife. The intruder then stabbed Yasuko and Niina to death as well with both the sashimi and household knife as well. The intruder had entered the house through an open window from the second-floor bathroom, he or she then climbed up a tree and removed a window screen. This force of entry led police to believe that the intruder was about 15-35 years old at the time of the murders. Police determined the killer had spent over 2 to 10 hours inside the house after the murders using a first aid kit, taking a nap on the second-floor living room sofa, consuming ice cream, melon, barley tea, and even using the restroom but did not flush his number 2. DNA analysis indicated that perhaps the murderer was not Japanese nor living in Japan since his or her blood revealed he or she may be of mixed race with a European mother and an East Asian father. While the killer had left a few items at the scene including his bodily fluids, a sweater, shoes, etc- to this day, no one knows just who this individual was, what was the motive behind the killings, and even what happened after leaving the residence. Please feel free to let me know your thoughts.

Murder Mystery Storytime: Fausto Valdiviezo!

Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to tell you all about an unsolved murder that took place in my family’s country, Ecuador. It was the puzzling assassination of a journalist, Fausto Valdiviezo. Valdiviezo was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador on August 21st, 1959. Valdiviezo had been a journalist for several years and had previously worked in various television shows such as Ecuavisa, TC Television, and RTS. Unfortunately, his career would soon come to an untimely end when on April 11th, 2013, Valdiviezo, a native-born Ecuadorian was shot and killed by an unknown individual while he was driving. He was only 53 years old. Before his murder, he had allegedly left a message to his lawyer, identifying his potential rival if he was ever to be ended. The enemy in the message was not revealed. To this day, the killer has never been announced nor found and anyone who may have witnessed the crime at that moment has never come forward.

Fausto Valdiviezo

Murder Mystery Storytime: Unsolved 40 Homicides in New York!

Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER to share with you that the New York Police Department seeks your help if possible to aid them in solving over 40+ unsolved and mysterious murders. Each and every one of these homicides took place in different locations in New York, in distinct years, and a total mix between men and women of unrelated cultures and backgrounds.

If you would like to read about each and every one of the victims, please check the link provided. Perhaps your eyes, ears, and the rest of your senses can help bring forth justice for at least someone here. I hope you can help out any way you can, DETECTIVES!

Murder Mystery Storytime: Bodies Found in Suitcase Filmed On TikTok!

Hey there, DETECTIVES! DETECTIVE WRITER here to tell you all about two dismembered bodies found inside a suitcase that was actually recorded on camera in the 21st century! Yes, you heard it right, on July 19th, 2020, a group of friends in King County, Alki Beach who initially found the suitcase were recording videos at the beach.

Upon making the gruesome discovery, the teens posted the video on TikTok a day after finding the suitcase, a popular social media and video app with over 23.4 million views. In the video, a young woman is holding the suitcase open with a stick which presents a garbage bag inside. However, it was Seattle Police who opened the bag and discovered the bodies. Soon after, the victims were identified as Jessica Lewis, 35, and her boyfriend Austin “Cash” Wenner, 27. According to the King County Medical Office, the victims were presumed to have been shot to death on June 10th, 2020. The victims were also a couple for over eight years and had a family of their own. Seattle Police Det. Mark Jamieson created a GoFundMe page dedicated to finding the murderer(s).

According to the Seattle Times, a few weeks later in July 2020, a 62-year-old man named Michael Lee Dudley was charged with two counts of second-degree murder and held on a $5 million bail. Dudley was reportedly the couple’s landlord and while an exact motive was not revealed, it was believed Dudley murdered the couple over unpaid rent and for potentially bringing the criminal activity into the residence. When police questioned Dudley, he denied any involvement in the murders but he had no absolute explanation for the bullets or the bullet holes found on the victim’s bodies. He was due to be arraigned on September 8th, 2020. Just goes to show the power that is social media, huh, DETECTIVES?!

Please feel free to skip the images below as it is a bit graphic, DETECTIVES.

The victims were found inside the suitcase.