Ben Oakley - Cold Case Files 78 to 81: murders, missing persons, unidentified bodies, solved and unsolved cold cases from 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981 (Giant True Crime Books)

Cold Case Files '78 to '81

murders, missing persons, unidentified bodies, solved and unsolved cold cases from 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981

Ben Oakley

Twelvetrees Camden

Copyright 2021 Ben Oakley

All rights reserved
Published by Twelvetrees Camden
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
Due to the nature of true crime and cold cases, the information given within is liable to change. The author and publisher cannot be held responsible for changes to cases which occur after the publication date. Updates will be made in future editions.
Researched, written, and edited by Ben Oakley
Cover design by Ben Oakley with additional designs by Max Kleinen & Hans Eiskonen
Discover more:
www.benoakley.co.uk

Contents

Also by Ben Oakley

Fiction

Harrison Lake Mysteries

Beyond the Blood Streams

Perfect Twelve

Monster of the Algarve

Honeysuckle Goodwillies

Mystery of Grimlow Forest

Subnet Series

Unknown Origin

Alien Network

Final Contact

Non-fiction

True Crime

The Monstrous Book of Serial Killers

Year of the Serial Killer Omnibus Edition

True Crime On This Day Series

The True Crime 365 series

Year of the Serial Killer Series

Mental Health

Suicide Prevention Handbook (with Supreme Mental Health)

Mental Health for the Covid-19 Generation

Bingeing true crime is not that much different from people watching a 24-hour news cycle covering a killing spree, invasion, or terrorist attack.

Jooyoung Lee, professor of sociology.

INTRODUCTION

Bitesize true crime for the bitesize generation!

What is bitesize true crime?

Easy to read and digestible information on true crime cases that are small but compact enough to be consumed at any time of the day or night. It is a new series of books that focus on one particular element of true crime, such as the cold case files you have in your hand or on your screen.

And this is only cold cases from a four-year period of 1978 to 1981. Imagine having the complete collection a few years from now? Youll be the one everyone turns to for their true crime knowledge and cold case investigatory skills.

Who is it for?

Do you ever find yourself laying in your bed at night, doom scrolling on Twitter, consuming tweet-size bites of information? Do you prefer snapshots of information, rather than 200-page diatribes on the ins and outs of a court case, and the colour of a witnesss bowtie?

Perhaps you enjoy quick and compact facts as a basis to do your own research? Maybe you prefer watching true crime TV shows to reading books due to the easily digestible information handed to you? Do you want to read or own true crime books but are looking for something snappy and easy to read?

Did you answer yes to any of the above suggestible line of questioning? Then bitesize true crime is right up your dark and shadowy alley!

Why bitesize works?

It uses the concept of chunking! And yes, that is a real process! Chunking is a concept that originates from the field of cognitive psychology. It means to break down large pieces of knowledge and information into smaller chunks to help the reader understand and remember it better.

If you want to know the complete ins and outs of all the minute details relating to a particular case, then quite simply put, this book will not give you that. If it did, then those 500+ cases laid out before you would bring the total page count to somewhere near 25,000 pages. Firstly, that then becomes 500 books, which defeats the object of chunking. Secondly trees! Or if youre reading the eBook memory space!

How many cases are in this book?

There are over 500 cold cases listed from a four-year-period between 1978 and 1981. The cases are broken down into cold case murders, missing persons, identified and unsolved, unidentified bodies, other cold cases, and solved cases. Unsolved assassinations, kidnappings, rapes, arson, and hijackings fall under the other cold cases category.

Why a four-year period?

Because this isnt the only book in the bitesize true crime series. Over the following year, a whole raft of new books and material will be released, dedicated to a set number of years, so you will find it easier to find the information you need.

This gives you, adored reader and legitimate true crime junkie , a snapshot of a specific period of time. You can see for yourself, the connections, the dates, the crimes, the possible links between them. This book you have in your hands or on your screen is dedicated to the years 1978, 1979, 1980, and 1981.

Does this book include every cold case from 1978-1981?

Due to the high number of cold cases from all over the world, especially from this era, this book does not have the space to print every single one. Even if we reduced each cold case to a single line of text, there still would not be enough space in a 400 page book to print them all. You would only be scrolling down a list and it would be less than bitesize, it would be quantum-size true crime.

See the paragraph you just read, and probably skipped over a little bit of, thats the average size of the text of each case. Some come in at over a page where there is more information to disseminate, while others are the aforementioned paragraph. There is enough information provided for you to decide whether you wish to know about each case. Even if youre here for the macabre stories, its as good a book on cold cases as youll ever get.

Would you like to know more?

Its not a question suggesting you might want to improve on your knowledge, rather that you might wish to find out more regarding a particular case. Do explore, do your own research, expand your true crime horizons, and compile research into your own case files.

You never know, you might notice something within these pages that jumps out to you. Maybe it is something other researchers or true crime junkies have missed. Imagine being able to proudly proclaim that you brought justice to a 40-year-old case or identified a mystery body.

There is nothing more important in the world than sharing knowledge and sharing it wide and far. Whether this book is your first foray into true crime and cold cases, or whether you are a seasoned armchair sleuth, it begs to be in your collection. As more bitesize true crime books are released, youll find yourself with a veritable library before you know it.

Is true crime bad for you?

Only if you are the perpetrator of crime itself! Bingeing true crime is not that much different from people watching a 24-hour news cycle covering a killing spree, invasion, or terrorist attack. Jooyoung Lee, professor of sociology at the University of Toronto.

Human beings, in general, are drawn to extreme cases of violence or darkness. Its not to say that someone might read something and then emulate a violent act. It means we have a fascination with the dark side of the human soul, something we rarely come in contact with but actively seek to learn more about.

The detective in you!

We are curious creatures, especially when it comes to out-of-the-ordinary events. If you were to witness a car crash, then a curiosity arises within you to find out what happened. Even though you know in all likelihood it could be a really tragic story, where real people have been hurt, or worse.

Consuming real life horror often makes people feel like theyre part of the story. You could be looking for clues in a true crime show, consuming information in books like this one, or delving into cold case forums. It might make someone feel more comfortable with their own environment, in that they learn what to look out for.