Unforgotten Casebook — One case. Every angle. One place.

Unforgotten Casebook

Unforgotten Casebook

One case. Every angle. One place.

Explore books, movies, podcasts, news coverage, and court records—organized by true crime case and real-life story, together in one place.

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THE CASE LIBRARY

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464 cases in the collection

52 of 464 cases

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U.S. cases, plus the Bernardo–Homolka case in Canada.

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Showing 1–24 of 52
CASE 237Manhattan, New York

2013–2019

Anna Sorokin · “Anna Delvey”

Using the name Anna Delvey, Anna Sorokin presented herself as a wealthy heiress while pursuing a private arts club in New York. A Manhattan jury convicted her in 2019 of eight offenses, including grand larceny and theft of services, and acquitted her on two counts. Reporting, a former friend’s memoir, and the scripted series Inventing Anna offer different perspectives on the case.

CASE 241New York, New York

2008–2009

Bernie Madoff

Bernie Madoff
Bernie MadoffU.S. Department of Justice photograph, 2009
Photo creditU.S. Department of Justice / Wikimedia Commons · Public domain — U.S. federal government. Cropped/resized.

Bernard Madoff’s investment operation concealed a Ponzi scheme that collapsed in 2008, causing devastating losses to investors and charities. The Wizard of Lies follows the fraud and its consequences; its HBO adaptation and a Netflix documentary series offer different screen treatments.

CASE 130New York

2005–2007

Stacey Castor

Stacey Castor poisoned her husband David with antifreeze and later tried to kill her daughter Ashley while framing her for the death. Ashley survived. Investigators challenged the supposed suicide accounts, and Castor’s prosecution became the subject of a Lifetime dramatization and crime reporting.

CASE 024New York, New York

1998

Irene Silverman & the Kimes case

Wealthy New York homeowner Irene Silverman disappeared in 1998. Sante Kimes and her son Kenneth had targeted her property through an elaborate fraud scheme. They were convicted of her murder and related crimes even though her body had not been recovered. The investigation revealed plans to take control of her home using forged documents.

CASE 464Long Island, New York, USA

1993–2026

The Gilgo Beach Murders

The discovery of victims near Gilgo Beach exposed killings across Long Island and years of unanswered questions. Rex Heuermann pleaded guilty in April 2026 to seven murders and also admitted killing Karen Vergata. In June, he received life imprisonment without parole plus additional terms. The prosecution does not resolve every death associated with the wider investigation.

CASE 014Long Island, New York

1992

Amy Fisher & Mary Jo Buttafuoco

Amy Fisher
Amy FisherPortrait, 2010
Photo creditAmy Fisher Entertainment, LLC; portrait crop by Sangdeboeuf / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0. Cropped/resized. Adaptations use the same license.

Seventeen-year-old Amy Fisher went to Mary Jo Buttafuoco’s Long Island home in 1992 and shot her in the head. Fisher had been involved with Mary Jo’s husband, Joey. Mary Jo survived, and the assault became an intensely covered tabloid story. Fisher pleaded guilty to attempted murder; the publicity often overshadowed the victim’s recovery.

CASE 051Long Island, New York

1992–1993

Katie Beers

Nine-year-old Katie Beers was abducted by family acquaintance John Esposito on Long Island in 1992. He imprisoned her in an underground space beneath his property while a search was underway. She was rescued after seventeen days. Her survival exposed the hidden confinement and the abuse and neglect she had already endured.

CASE 455Stony Brook, New York; Cambridge, Massachusetts

1990–2000

Brooke & Jean Ellison

Brooke Ellison was paralyzed after being struck by a car in 1990 at age eleven. With her mother Jean’s support, she continued her education and graduated from Harvard in 2000. Their jointly written memoir describes daily life, family care and access to education; Christopher Reeve later directed its television adaptation.

CASE 454Bronx and Manhattan, New York; Cambridge, Massachusetts

1990s–2009

Liz Murray

Liz Murray experienced homelessness as a teenager in New York, returned to school and completed high school in two years. A scholarship helped her attend Harvard, where she graduated in 2009. Her memoir Breaking Night and the earlier television film recount her childhood, family relationships and pursuit of education.

CASE 123New York

1989

The Central Park Five

Yusef Salaam
Yusef Salaam
Photo creditMetropolitan Transportation Authority · CC BY 4.0. Cropped/resized. Adaptations use the same license.

Five teenagers were wrongly convicted after the 1989 assault of jogger Trisha Meili in Central Park. Their convictions were vacated in 2002 after another man confessed and DNA supported his account. Documentary and dramatic treatments examine the interrogations, racialized coverage, and consequences for the five.

CASE 211New York City, New York, and Washington, D.C.

1987–1996

ACT UP & the AIDS treatment activists

People confronting AIDS organized protests, studied medical research and challenged government agencies over access to treatment. ACT UP and the Treatment Action Group helped reshape relationships between patients, researchers and regulators. How to Survive a Plague follows activists through illness, disagreement, loss and scientific progress.

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