Top 10 Crime Stories of 2005

The top crime stories of 2005 included the solving of some decades-old cases, manhunts that unfolded on our television screens, children killed by known pedophiles, and the heartbreak of a mother whose daughter disappeared on a senior trip to a Caribbean island.

In terms of Crime and Punishment reader interest and national media coverage, these were the top crime headlines from the 692 stories we covered in 2005:

BTK Serial Killer Captured, Sentenced to 175 Years
A three-decades-old murder mystery was solved with the capture in Wichita, Kansas of Dennis Rader, the BTK Serial Killer who terrorized the community for 30 years while hiding in plain sight.

The Disappearance of Natalee Holloway
As 2005 came to a close, seven months after her disappearance in Aruba, no trace of Natalee Holloway has been found and no one has been charged with any crime in the case.

The Abduction of Jessica Lunsford
The kidnapping of nine-year-old Jessica from her bedroom at her grandmother's home brought the nation's attention to the need to better track registered sex offenders in our own neighborhoods.

The Trial of Michael Jackson
The news coverage of the King of Pop's child molestation trial was extensive, but the public's interest in the proceedings was luke warm, until the jury returned a verdict that surprised most observers.

The Atlanta Courthouse Shootings
Viewers were glued to their televisions as the most extensive manhunt in Georgia history unfolded live on the cable news networks and an Unlikely Angel became a city's hero.

Klansman Found Guilty in 'Mississippi Burning' Murders
Edgar Ray Killen, a reputed member of the Ku Klux Klan, was charged with three counts of murder in the shooting deaths of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner -- civil rights workers during the "Freedom Summer" of 1964 -- featured in the movie "Mississippi Burning".

The Kidnapping of Shasta and Dylan Groene
Joseph Edward Duncan III was out on a $15,000 bond in Minnesota for molesting a 7-year-old boy, when three people were killed in an Idaho home and their two children kidnapped. Six weeks later, Duncan was arrested after he was spotted in a restaurant with eight-year-old Shasta Groene.

Crips Gang Founder Tookie Williams Executed
A massive campaign to seek clemency for convicted killer Stanley "Tookie" Williams, including efforts by several celebrities, failed to stay the execution of the founder of the infamous Crips street gang.

Court Tosses Andrea Yates' Conviction
The woman who drowned her five children will get a new trial and possibly a plea deal that will send her to a mental institution rather than prison for the rest of her life.

Robert Blake Found Not Guilty
Actor Robert Blake, at age 70, faced charges of murdering his wife Bonny Lee Bakley and soliciting two other men to kill her, but the prosecution could not put the gun in his hand.

Here are other top crime stories from the year 2005:

• Supreme Court Strikes Down Juvenile Death Penalty
  
• Eric Rudolph Pleads Guilty to Bombings
  
• Mark Hacking Pleads Guilty to Wife's Murder
  
• Wife of Attorney Daniel Horowitz Found Dead
  
• O.J. Simpson Lawyer Johnnie Cochran Dead at Age 67
  
• Runaway Bride Jennifer Wilbanks Charged With Felony
  
• Serial Killer Michael Ross Executed in New England
  
• Parole Denied for 'Fatal Vision's' Jeffrey MacDonald
  
• Jury Recommends Death for Samantha Runnion's Killer
  
• Mary Kay Letourneau Weds Former Student
  
• Serial Killer Karla Homolka Released from Prison
  
• Joseph Smith Guilty of Carlie Brucia's Murder

As this list was being compiled, someone asked why the story about the female teacher having sex with her student was not included. The answer was, "Which one?"