True Crime Cases from 2005
Cases from 2005 include criminal investigations, trials, and notable events that occurred during the year. Whether they involved new charges, breakthroughs in cold cases, high-profile trials, or tragic incidents that captured national attention, the cases documented here reflect the state of the criminal justice system in 2005. CaseSleuth provides detailed, chronological coverage of each case with timelines, evidence breakdowns, profiles of key people involved, and links to primary sources and media coverage.
5 cases found
Steven Avery / Teresa Halbach
Appeals OngoingManitowoc, WI · 2005
Steven Allan Avery is an American from Manitowoc County, Wisconsin who was convicted of murder in 2007. He had previously been wrongfully convicted in 1985 of sexual assault and attempted murder. After serving 18 years of a 32-year sentence, Avery was exonerated by DNA testing and released in 2003, only to be charged with murder in a different case two years later.
Joran van der Sloot — Holloway & Flores Murders
ConvictedOranjestad, Aruba · 2005
Joran van der Sloot was the prime suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway in Aruba. In 2012, he was convicted of murdering Stephany Flores in Peru. In 2024, he pleaded guilty to extorting the Holloway family.
Natalee Holloway
Cold CaseOranjestad · 2005
Natalee Holloway, an 18-year-old Alabama high school graduate, disappeared on May 30, 2005, while on a senior class trip to Aruba. Despite years of investigation and the 2023 confession of primary suspect Joran van der Sloot, her remains have never been found and no one has been convicted of her murder in Aruba.
Jeffrey Epstein Sex Trafficking Case
UnsolvedNew York, NY · 2005
Financier Jeffrey Epstein operated a sex trafficking ring abusing dozens of underage girls. He died in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.
Harvey Weinstein Sexual Assault Cases
ConvictedNew York, NY · 2005
Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was accused of sexual assault by over 80 women, sparking the #MeToo movement. He was convicted of rape in New York in 2020 and again in Los Angeles in 2022, though the New York conviction was overturned on appeal in 2024.