Top 10 Unsolved Crimes in Las Vegas History

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Las Vegas used just a small town in the middle of the Nevada desert. Not until 1931, did Las Vegas first start to see a large influx of residents due to state of Nevada legalizing gambling as well as the start of construction for the Hoover Dam. However, the legalization of gambling eventually led to the Chicago mobs taking interest in Las Vegas. In the 1950s, Chicago mobsters started sending out associates to take over Las Vegas casinos ushering in a new era. With the criminal underworld taking hold in the city, crime started to rise as well. Despite the Las Vegas Police Department’s great efforts, there ends up being many unsolved crimes. Check out below for some of the most mysterious facts about these unsolved crimes in Las Vegas.

#10: George Jay Vandermark’s Mysterious Disappearance

George Jay Vandermark was a Slot Machine Supervisor at the Stardust resort and Casino in Las Vegas. In 1976, the Nevada Gaming Control Board raided the casino. In their investigation, they found that Vandermark had been part of a Mafia scheme to skim money from the casino’s slot machines. During his career at the casino, Vandermark had stolen over $7 million. Unfortunately, the NGCB missed Vandermark, as he had managed to escape. In addition to stealing money from the casino, Vandermark had also been steeling money from the mafia. In fact, he had kept around $3 million for himself. Now Vandermark, had two groups chasing him.

Initially, everyone thought Vandermark had successfully gotten away. However, the Nevada Gaming Control Board knew that Vandermark’s life was in danger and tried to reach out to him through his son in order to help him. All Vandermark had to do was provide evidence against the mafia. After some negotiation, Vandermark’s son reported back that his father would help. However, his father never showed up at the agreed time.^[1]Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas His mysterious disappearance remains one of the biggest unsolved crimes in Las Vegas history. While it can never be proven, investigators suspect that the mafia probably finally found George Jay Vandermark and killed him. His body is probably buried in an unmarked grave somewhere in the Nevada desert.

#9: Casino Employee, Bill Brennan, Steals $500,000

In 1992, Bill Brennan committed one of the most famous unsolved crimes in Las Vegas history. On that day, Brennan, an employee of over four years of the Stardust Casino, stole about around $500,000 in both cash and chips from the casino without using a gun or threatening anyone. No one has seen him since.^[2]Las Vegas Sun – Five memorable Las Vegas casino heists One of the most interesting things about this Las Vegas crime was that Brennan showed no signs of doing something like this. To his colleges he appeared to be just a loner.

#8: Tupac Shakur’s Murder

Tupac Shakur is one of the best rappers of all time. Unfortunately, the rap culture and crime are often synonymous. While coming up, Tupac represented the West Coast style of rap. On the other hand, Notorious B.I.G., represented the East Coast style of rap. In addition to different styles of rap, the two also represented different gang affiliations. As such, these two rap rivals were enemies on many levels. During an evening in 1996, Tupac Shakur was driving his car in Las Vegas. At one point, another car pulled up alongside. The driver of that car then shot and killed Tupac on the spot.^[3]CBS News – The death of Tupac Shakur To this day, this killing remains one of the most infamous unsolved crimes in Las Vegas history.

#7: The Grandpa Bandit

The case of the Grandpa Bandit is one of the most famous unsolved crimes in Las Vegas history. In 1991, an elderly gentleman walked into a Las Vegas bank and robbed it. However, it was not his first time at the bank that day. In fact, he had come in just a bit earlier to ask about getting a mortgage! Not 15 minutes after his first trip to the bank, he returned with a gun and strapped some bombs (fake ones) on a few of the bank employees. He told the bank manager to hand him a bunch of money.

Afterwards, he walked out of the bank to never be seen again. The curious part was that he didn’t seem to be in a hurry. In fact, he didn’t even raise his voice to anyone during the robbery. The crime remains one of the most famous unsolved crimes in Las Vegas. Today, police detectives suspect that the Grandpa Bandit may have passed away, due to his old age at the time.

#6: Lefty Rosenthal Car Bombing

Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal was a famous figure in Las Vegas history. He comes from the era of Mafia controlled Las Vegas. He was an odds maker for the Chicago mafia at the Stardust Casino. However, his numerious confrontations with the Nevada State Gaming Commission, made his mafia bosses very angry.

One evening, he got in his car after dinner. When he started it, the car blew up. He was only injured and went to a local hospital. However, when asked by detectives, he refused to blame anyone for the crime.^[4]Las Vegas Sun – Car bomb blasts Lefty Today, it remains one of Las Vegas’ unsolved crimes. Most likely, Rosenthal had learned his lesson and kept his mouth shut.

#5: The Boxer Sonny Liston’s Mysterious Death

Sonny Liston is greatest heavy weight boxers of all time ranking just behind Muhammad Ali. However, in 1970, while still in his prime, police found him dead in his Las Vegas hotel room.^[5]New York Post – Was legendary boxer Sonny Liston murdered? According to authorities, Liston died due to an accidental drug overdose. However, the truth reason behind this unsolved Las Vegas crime was never figured out. There are many theories including that the mob killed Liston because he refused to throw a boxing match and owed them money.

#4: Christine Casilio’s Death

The death of Christine Casilio remains one of Las Vegas’ biggest unsolved crimes despite more than 30 years having passed. Police found Christine Casilio in her bathtub with her head underwater. However, they also found large amount of blood in the tub indicating that she probably died due to a massive head wound beforehand.^[6]Las Vegas Review Journal – Woman’s death 30 years ago remains a mystery Furthermore, police never classified her death as a crime.

#3: Three women found murdered and buried in the Las Vegas desert

In the 90s, police found 3 dead women buried in the Las Vegas desert. When reporters asked police why the crime was so mysterious, a Las Vegas PD homicide detective said, “Human beings in green garbage bags, thrown on top of each other – it seemed like they were being thrown away like garbage”.^[7]Psychology Today – Triple Murder Mystery With Little Evidence What makes this Las Vegas crime even more mysterious is that when the three females had their fingerprints taken there was no evidence of them every existing. Detectives postulated that the victims were brought illegally into the United States most likely as sex slaves by the Las Vegas mafia.

#2: Murder of Cabbie Marvin Shumate

The murder of taxi driver Marvin Shumate is one of the most famous unsolved crimes in Las Vegas. Marvin Shumate was a regular taxi driver in Las Vegas. However, he had a get rich quick scheme that including kidnapping his son’s friend who happened to be the son of Las Vegas Casino owner Benny Binion.^[8]Las Vegas Now – Ted Binion Kidnapping Plot

However, the plan backfired and police later found Marvin Shumate dead. Shumate did not realize that he was messing with the wrong man. To the public, Benny Binion’s businesses were on the up and up. However, privately he was not the nicest person. In fact, he famously had relationships with the Mafia and a large FBI folder on him as well. In addition, he had killed two men in a reported act of self-defense. While it remains one of the most famous unsolved crimes in Las Vegas, the mysterious death of Marvin Shumate was most likely due to Benny Binion.

#1: The Car Bombing of Bill Coulthard

The car bombing of Bill Coulthard is another one of the most mysterious unsolved crimes in Las Vegas history that again involves Benny Binion. At the time, Benny Binion held a lease on a piece of land where the Horseshoe Casino was located. However, Bill Coulthard was also a partial owner on the land’s lease. At the time in the 1970s, the lease on the land was nearly over. However, while Binion wanted to continue the lease, Coulthard did not leading to a bitter dispute between the two business men. Binion did not want to stop because he had spent his whole life developing the casino.

What resulted was that one day, while Coulthard was getting into his car it blew up.^[9]Las Vegas Sun -New lead reopens car bomb mystery The explosion was so powerful that Coulthard died instantly. The FBI put out a big reward for any information on the bombing. However, they never got any information. To this day, it remains one of Vegas’ biggest unsolved crimes.