OpenTube

The Oakland County Child Killer: America’s Most Disturbing Unsolved Child Murders

RedHanded

26,084 views

In the late 1970s, suburban Michigan looked like the safest place in America. Quiet streets. New housing developments. Children riding bikes until dusk.

Then four children vanished.

Between 1976 and 1977, Oakland County was gripped by terror as young victims were abducted and later found murdered under deeply disturbing circumstances. The crimes shocked the community and exposed serious failures in the investigation that followed.

Despite thousands of leads, multiple suspects, and intense police scrutiny, the case of the Oakland County Child Killer remains unsolved. No arrests. No convictions. Just unanswered questions in one of America’s most disturbing true crime mysteries.

Was this the work of a single predator hiding in plain sight? Or something far darker: an organised child abuse ring with protection, power, and reach far beyond what police were willing or able to confront?

In this episode, we explore:The victims and the timelinesThe chilling evidence left behindThe suspects, theories, and alleged cover-upsWhy this unsolved mystery may never be closed.

This is Michigan’s coldest case and one of the most disturbing unsolved child murder investigations in American history.Listener discretion advised.

🔔 Subscribe for more RedHanded content
👍 Like this video to help others discover these important cases
💬 Comment below with your thoughts

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell...

🎧 Listen to more episodes here: https://open.spotify.com/show/0emVYc0...

🔗 LINKTREE: https://redhanded.komi.io/

For more exclusive content:
Patreon: Patreon: redhanded

And don't forget to follow us on social media:
Instagram: Instagram: redhandedthepod
TikTok: TikTok: redhandedthepod

20 Comments

@rosedines1104 8 months ago

I was a kid in that area at the time. Years later some friends and I were talking. One friend knew some police. Supposedly, they said that the guy was found and "taken care of".

@TheSqually84 8 months ago

That mugshot is WILD!😮

@lauramaura3052 8 months ago

This story is so sad and has so many rabbit holes to fall into (ie: possible connections between other pedos in the country at the time). Thanks for covering it. I recently learned of the Stevie Allman case in another Oakland and I'd love to hear/see your take on that one too someday.

@lynetteseidel6483 13 days ago

I'm so happy you have video now!

@Apartmentcats14 8 months ago

I love the video format! Thank you for doing these!

@sabrinahasan4849 5 months ago

After living in NYC for a little over a decade, it honestly could absolutely be a mannequin. To be fair, that's because it's... well, NYC. But I think it's more that most people's brains can't really process that they're seeing a dead human being in horrific fashion and the mind just goes to an explanation to protect itself.

@suzimonkey345 6 months ago

Thank you!

@6kat103 8 months ago

There was an X files villain/serial killer who would wash his victims thoroughly and do their nails etc.

@Nat_Fishman 8 months ago

This is my neighborhood. Intense.

@blueberryscone3798 4 months ago

I grew up in Oakland county. Currently live JUST outside of it. I learned about this as a fucking adult.

@gordon8753 7 months ago

I was their age and lived around 10 miles away from the area. Scared shitless to go anywhere and instead of walking home from school my mother was picking us kids up. I remember seeing bumper stickers that said, parents do you know where your children are!

@SharonMitchell-b1o 4 months ago

I was a kid in Detroit at the time, which is in Wayne County next door. I remember the red Helping Hands decals in homeowners windows, which was meant to signify a safe house for kids to run to if they needed help. Those stickers felt kinda scary though because if you were searching for one then you must be running from a creeper.

@buggabugga1637 7 months ago

Love these videos. Such a sad case😞

Unrelated.. but did anyone else snicker at “Robert Robertson”? I laughed because it’s the main characters name on a game called Dispatcher and the other characters were nonstop giving him crap about it🤣

@YZedMB 7 months ago (edited)

I once found a mannequin. My first thought was that it was a dead body, so I'm not sure why people immediately assume "mannequin'". Maybe they need to listen to more true crime podcasts and develop a more cynical view of the world. In their (or my?) defense, this was a VERY realistic "adult companion doll" in long grass and I initially only saw the feet. The predominant "voices" in my head as I forced myself to investigate further were multiple podcasters saying "it's never a mannequin". I guess I was one of the lucky ones

I reported it to police because it was on the side of the highway, and i felt it had the potential to cause an accident(and there was no way I was touching it). They recounted a case that had happened fairly recently where a full crime scene with detectives and forensics was set up for what turned out to be another "doll" wrapped in something with just it's feet sticking out. Without a doubt, if this one had been displayed like that, I would have called 000.

TLDR sometimes, if you're lucky, it is just a mannequin.

@alxbskn93 7 months ago

Watching this in post epstein america is wild

@bitterolive7800 8 months ago

I wonder if there’s any links to the Franklin cover.

@mrjones2721 3 months ago (edited)

I remember the days when you didn’t have a choice of what to watch. You’d think it was a simpler time, but what I remember is grinding boredom and a lot of shows that survived only because they were marginally better than nothing. Remember, Three’s Company was on forever.

If you haven’t heard of Three’s Company, well… A man wants to move in with two female roommates, but the landlord refuses to allow it until he hits on the idea of convincing the landlord he’s gay. Every single episode after that has the exact same plot: The landlord almost discovers that the male tenant is straight, coverup hijinks ensue.

Whatever you’re imagining, it was worse.

It ran for eight. Years.

@ritadpt 2 months ago

"fun" fact I once came across a discarded mannequin and immediately panicked because of true crime

@AntonieZS 8 months ago

I saw one with lots of manequins, it looked like one. To the photographer who found it. It was. Very creepy and weird case.

@whosjohnny1 7 months ago (edited)

it wasnt done by some network. after all these years, there would have been a leak. these kids were not done by some pedophile. it was done by a local serial killer. the two girls were not molested. this was done by a person that lived within the proximity of the abduction sites. John Hastings lived 3 miles from the Hunter Maple. He moved to Atlanta. How nice