1. Rose Burkert and Roger Atkison; Amana Holiday Inn, Williamsburg, Iowa
Their romantic weekend getaway took a horrific turn. In September 1980, the couple checked into the hotel, but the next day there was no response.
Housekeeping grew concerned, and when they entered, they found blood splattered on the walls, carpet and across the headboard.
The word “this” was written on the bathroom mirror with soap.
Over 400 people were interviewed about the murders, and the prime suspect was Burkert’s ex-boyfriend. However, investigators are still perplexed by that mysterious message.
2. Jerry Buckley; Hotel La Salle, Detroit, Michigan
This booming hotel had been the scene of mob crime and activity, including the murder of popular radio show host Jerry Buckley in July 1930.
After finishing a broadcast, where he often would speak against organized crime, Buckley was gunned down in the hotel’s lobby by three men who fired 12 shots at him.
3. Linda Mayfield; StarLite Motel, Council Bluffs, Iowa
The Deluxe Inn now stands where the StarLite Motel used to be, but that doesn’t erase the grizzly murder of Mayfield in 1982. Mayfield, a suspected prostitute, was stabbed several times in the chest, face, stomach, hand and foot. Police believe her perpetrator had hired her for the night.
4. Donald Fraser; Racecourse Hotel and Motor Lodge, Canterbury, New Zealand
Known as one of New Zealand’s most haunted places. Donald Fraser, the owner of the hotel, was found shot to death in his room at the hotel in November 1933. A party had been held at the hotel earlier that day, and guests were questioned in great detail, but police weren’t able to find out who owned the gun that killed him.
5. The Smith Brothers; Severs Hotel; Muskogee, Oklahoma
The double murder of brothers George and David Smith in Room 819 remains unsolved. In April 1930, hotel staff were called into the room by a guest claiming his friends were being robbed. When staff arrived, the brothers were found dead on the floor, while their business partner had his hands and feet bound. Police were skeptical of the robbery report, because it seemed only $10 were taken from the men.
6. Albert Anastasia; Park Sheraton Hotel, New York City
Mob boss Albert Anastasia was getting his haircut in 1957 at the Park Sheraton Hotel (now the Park Central Hotel) when two gunmen wearing masks hit him five times and then shot him. It was speculated that his underboss planned the ambush, but the case was never solved.
7. Four women; Golden Key Motel, Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City might seem like all fun and games, but it sure has a dark side. In 2006, two women stumbled upon the body of Kim Raffo lying facedown in a drainage ditch behind the Golden Key Motel. Investigators rushed to the scene and uncovered three more bodies in the same ditch. Seeing as though all four women were prostitutes in the area, police believe a serial killer had murdered them.
8. Richard Conn; Phillips Motel, Stickney Township, Illinois
While a lavish party was going on in the Melody Lounge on the second floor of the Phillips Motel in 1968, front desk clerk Richard Conn, 19, was shot to death. Police suspected it was an armed robbery gone wrong but no money was missing from the cash register. Fifty years later, police are still perplexed.
9. Jolene Haas; Delroy Motel, Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Twenty-two-year-old prostitute and informant for the Sioux Falls Police Department, Jolene Haas, was found murdered in her room at the Delroy Motel. She had been moved to the motel by police after she was beaten and raped by three men during a drug deal. A month later she was dead. The murder remains unsolved after 40 years.
10. Jon Weaver and Kerson Praponpoj; Saw Mill River Motel, Elmswood, New York
Hotel employee Jon Weaver went to pick up his paycheck in 1995, but as he was leaving, he and Praponoj, the clerk on duty, were shot. The motive appeared to be robbery, but eerily enough, there were no fingerprints found at the scene… Six months later, the same gun was used in two other robberies.
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