True crime anniversaries in November
Every month we’ve got a rundown of some of the most atrocious and significant crimes in recent history. Below are those crimes that took place in November.
7th November: The unsolved murder of Lindsay Jo Rimer (1994)
The murder of Lindsay Rimer remains unsolved, and the police still appear to be no close to finding her killer nearly 30 years on. Lindsay was a 13-year-old who was last seen alive buying cornflakes at her local shop in Hebden Bridge on 7th November 1994. Her body was discovered a mile away in the Rochdale Canal in April 1995. There have been regular appeals for more information, but her murder remains unsolved. As of 2016, the police have confirmed they have isolated the DNA profile of the killer but have yet to make an arrest.
12th November: The disappearance of Renee and Andrew MacRae (1976)
Renee MacRae and her three-year-old son, Andrew, vanished in Scotland on 12th November 1976, under chilling circumstances. Renee had been estranged from her husband, and they were last seen travelling together. Decades later, in 2022, a man named William MacDowell was found guilty of their murders, though their bodies have never been located.
The case was Scotland’s longest-running missing-persons mystery and stood as a haunting example of how disappearances can turn into homicide investigations even decades later.
13th November: The Amityville massacre (1974)
The 1974 Amityville massacre remains one of the most infamous worldwide. On the night of 13th November, Ronald DeFeo Jr. shot his entire family – his father, mother and four siblings while they slept.
He would later claim voices in his head or other influences caused the shocking murders. However, at his 1975 trial, DeFeo was convicted of six counts of second-degree murder and given life sentences.
The house would go on to attract horror lore, haunted fame and multiple movie adaptations.
15th November: The murder of Kate Bushell (1997)
On 15th November 1997, 14-year-old Kate Bushell vanished while walking a neighbour’s dog along Exwick Lane, Exeter. Late that evening, she was found nearby with her throat severed. Bushell lived in a tight community, and no one could immediately explain how she came to be attacked on a familiar route.
Over the years, multiple sightings and leads were pursued – reports of strange cars, a man in a long coat lurking nearby – but no arrests ever stuck. Her murder remains one of the most haunting unsolved cases in England.
16th November: The Night Stalker is finally arrested (2009)
Delroy Grant is a convicted serial rapist, believed to have carried out hundreds of attacks between 1990 and 2009. He was convicted of over 20 different crimes including burglary, rape and sexual assault. He gained the nickname the Night Stalker and preyed mainly on elderly women who lived alone.
On 16th November 2009, Delroy Grant was arrested and charged with 22 individual offences. He was found guilty of all offences in March 2011. He received four concurrent life sentences with a minimum recommendation of 27 years before he would be able to apply for parole. He also received concurrent eight-year sentences for his 18 burglaries and attempted burglaries.
18th November: PC Sharon Beshenivsky killed on duty (2005)
PC Sharon Beshenivsky was a new police constable in the West Yorkshire Police when she was shot on duty. She had only been a serving constable for nine months when a criminal gang killed her during a robbery in Bradford. Six suspects were initially sought for the attack. Three of those involved were convicted of murder, two of manslaughter and the final suspect was extradited to the UK from Pakistan in April 2023 and has been charged with murder.
25th November: 12-year-old murdered in Liverpool city centre (2021)
In a shocking attack that took place on International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, 12-year-old Ava White was stabbed to death in Liverpool city centre. A 14-year-old boy murdered Ava in an argument over a Snapchat video. The boy cannot be named for legal reasons and Ava is believed to be the youngest victim of knife violence in the UK since Damilola Taylor in 2000. The offender was convicted of Ava’s murder in May 2022.
26th November: The Sunderland Strangler murders Thomas Kelly (1993)
Steven Grieveson gained the nickname the Sunderland Strangler when he murdered four teenage boys. The murders took place between 1990 and 1994, but it was the strangling of Thomas Kelly which initially sent him to prison. Grieveson murdered the 18-year-old and set his body on fire, before going on to commit two further similar murders.
27th November: Damilola Taylor stabbed and killed in London (2000)
Damilola Taylor was just 10 years old when he was stabbed to death in November 2000. He and his parents had only moved to the United Kingdom in August 2000 but by November, Damilola had been fatally stabbed. On 27th November, Damilola left Peckham Library to walk home and was stabbed in his leg as he approached the North Peckham Estate. A severed artery led to quick blood loss and within 30 minutes he had collapsed and died.
In 2002, four youths were initially on trial for his murder, but none were convicted. It took several years and several trials to reach justice. In August 2006, Ricky and Danny Preddie were convicted of the manslaughter of Damilola Taylor. Damilola’s father has publicly called for an inquiry into the handling of the case as the Preddie brothers were released by 2011.
28th November: The doorstep murder of Alistair Wilson (2004)
30-year-old banker Alistair Wilson was shot dead on his doorstep in what seemed like a shocking, carefully planned hit on 28th November 2004. Witnesses reported he had answered the door, talked to a visitor who handed him an envelope, then staggered back and collapsed after being shot.
No clear motive ever surfaced. Police conducted one of Scotland’s most extensive murder investigations, but the case remains unresolved. The absence of a motive, the apparent planning, and the lack of solid forensic leads have earned it the title of 'Scotland’s most mysterious modern murder'.
28th November: Rikki Neave murdered by a teenager (1994)
Rikki Neave was a six-year-old boy who was murdered by 13-year-old James Watson in Peterborough. Watson lured Rikki into the woods before strangling him to death. Rikki’s short life had been difficult throughout and initially his abusive mother was tried and acquitted of his murder. It wasn’t until 2022 that James Watson was finally convicted after police found new DNA evidence.
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