This blog post will delve deep into this chilling case to explore the chilling story behind the 1999 smiley face murders and why no one has ever been held accountable for these gruesome acts.It’s a cold case that’s been unsolved for over two decades and still chills the bones of those who look into it. The story of the so-called Smiley Face Murders began in 1997 when the first victim was found dead in a Minnesota river wearing only his underwear. The police believed his death was an accident, but then more bodies started turning up in other rivers around the country with a strange symbol scrawled nearby: a smiley face. Investigators soon linked these deaths to hundreds of similar cases around the United States and dubbed them the Smiley Face Murders.
The murders
In the early morning hours of January 1st, 2008, the bodies of two young men were found floating in the Mississippi River near Minneapolis, Minnesota. The men had been out celebrating New Year’s Eve together and were last seen alive at a bar in downtown Minneapolis. Investigators determined that the cause of death for both men was drowning, but there were no signs of struggle and their bodies showed no obvious injuries. Based on these facts, police initially ruled the deaths as an accident.
However, further investigation revealed that one of the men had a small puncture wound on his chest which appeared to be from a needle. A toxicology report also showed that both men had high levels of alcohol and drugs in their system at the time of their death. Given the circumstances, police began to suspect that the two men may have been drugged and then intentionally drowned. They soon learned that several other young men in the area had died under similar circumstances over the previous few years.
All of the victims were young men who were out drinking with friends on weekends or holidays. In each case, witnesses reported seeing the victim talking to or leaving with unknown persons just before they disappeared. And in each case, the victim’s body was found floating in a nearby river or lake. Further investigation revealed that many of these cases shared another commonality: a smiley face graffiti symbol was found near where each body was recovered. Based on these facts, police believe.
The victims
It is believed that the Smiley Face Murderers are responsible for the deaths of up to 400 young men in the United States. The victims are usually young, white men who are found dead in bodies of water.
The Smiley Face Murderers have been linked to dozens of deaths across the country, but the vast majority of these cases remain unsolved. In many instances, the only evidence linking the death to the Smiley Face Murderers is a graffiti smiley face found near the body or at the crime scene.
While there is no concrete evidence linking all of these deaths to a single group or individual, the similarities between many of the cases are too coincidental to ignore. The fact that so many of these young men have been found dead in water also points to a possible connection between their deaths.
The suspects
In 1997, the body of 19-year-old University of Minnesota student Timothy Jordan was found in the Mississippi River. He had been out drinking with friends when he vanished, and his death was initially ruled an accidental drowning. But after several more young men were found dead in the river over the next few years, all under similar circumstances, police began to suspect that there was a serial killer targeting young men in the Twin Cities area.
The so-called “Smiley Face Murders” case has never been solved, but investigators believe that the killer (or killers) is responsible for the deaths of at least 40 young men in cities across the Midwest and Northeast United States. The victims are all white males between the ages of 18 and 35, and most of them were college students or recent graduates. They all drowned in bodies of water near where they were last seen alive, and many of them had alcohol in their systems at the time of their death.
There are no definitive suspects in the case, but police have identified a number of possible persons of interest. One is a former security guard who worked at a bar near where several of the victims were last seen alive. Another is a registered sex offender who lived near one of the lakes where a victim’s body was found. But without any concrete evidence linking any particular individual to the crimes, it remains impossible to say for sure who is responsible for these chilling murders.
The investigation
In 1997, the body of 22-year-old college student Patrick McNeill was found in the Hudson River. He had been out drinking with friends when he vanished, and his death was ruled a drowning. But his mother, Penny Beernsten, didn’t believe that her son’s death was an accident. She believed that he had been murdered.
A few years later, another young man, 21-year-old Drew Breisch, was found dead in the Hudson River. His death was also ruled a drowning, but Beernsten again suspected foul play. She believed that both McNeill and Breisch had been killed by the same person or persons.
Beernsten’s suspicions led her to contact detective Kevin Gannon of the NYPD’s Cold Case Squad. Gannon began to investigate the deaths of McNeill and Breisch, and he soon uncovered evidence that they were not accidental drownings. He found that both men had been out drinking with friends before their deaths, and in each case, the last person to see them alive was another young man. In addition, both men’s bodies were found with ligature marks around their necks, indicating that they had been strangled before being dumped in the river.
Gannon’s investigation led him to believe that there was a serial killer targeting young men who were out drinking alone. The killer would approach his victims in bars and offer to buy them a drink. Once they were alone together, he would strangle.
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The conclusion
In the summer of 1997, a young man named Brian Welke disappeared after a night out with friends in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His body was found floating in the Menomonee River a few days later. An autopsy revealed that he had drowned. While his death was initially ruled an accident, police began to suspect foul play when another young man, Anthony Woods, disappeared under similar circumstances a few months later. His body was also found in the Menomonee River. A pattern began to emerge: young men disappearing after a night out, their bodies turning up in rivers weeks or months later. In each case, the victim had been drinking heavily before they vanished.