Some crimes are so heartbreaking or shocking that they change laws, change society, or even

earn the label, Crime of the Century.

But the stories that made headlines in decades past aren't necessarily remembered today.

I'm Amber Hunt, a journalist, an author, and in each episode of this show,

I'll examine a case that's maybe lesser known today, but was huge when it happened.

This is Crimes of the Centuries.

Thank you. This is Crimes of the Centuries. John Rutton pulled into the garage of his condo in Van Nuys, California, around 6 p.m. on Monday, February 24th, 1986, and immediately knew something was wrong.

The garage door was standing open. He and his wife Sherry always closed it. And her silver

BMW, the two-door they had bought for her in lieu of an engagement ring less than a year earlier,

was gone.

Scenarios began running through John's mind.

Sherry had stayed home sick that day.

Maybe she had changed her mind?

She'd been sort of borderline about it, saying her back was sore and she was a bit run down.

But she was also scheduled to give a motivational training session at work, so maybe she

had rallied and gone in after all? She'd still been in bed when he left at 7.20 a.m. He had tried

calling her throughout the day, but there was never an answer, which would support the she went to work

after all theory, but the odd thing was the couple's answering machine had never

picked up, so he hadn't been able to leave a message. They always turned it on when they left

the condo empty. John climbed out of his car into the garage. Broken glass littered the pavement. After

he entered the condo through the back door, the door he and

Sherry always used, not the front door they only used for guests, he spotted a bloody

...