- Lee Shelton's murder of Billy Lyons in St. Louis, which inspired the popular song "Stagger Lee"
- The vigilante killing of the "town bully" of Skidmore, Ken McElroy
- The kidnapping of millionaire Robert Greenlease's son in Kansas City
- The Kirkwood City Council massacre
- Serial killings of 13 young women in Kansas City by Lorenzo J. Gilyard