The Weird Story Of The Unsolved 3X Murders

On June 11, 1930, Joseph Mozynski and Catherine May were sitting together in a parked car in Whitestone, Queens, New York. As reported by an article on Angelfire, May said a man approached the vehicle, shot Mozynski dead, and handed her a note, with instructions to not read the note until the following day. The man then walked May to a bus stop and left her there unharmed.

As reported by Wattpad, May did not immediately report the murder. Instead, she waited until authorities contacted her about the coat she left inside Mozynski's car. When confronted, May gave police the note she received from the shooter. The note simply said, "Joseph Mozynski, 3X, 3-X-097."

When questioned by police, May told a number of conflicting stories about the incident, including the involvement of an "Italian gangster" named Albert Lombardo. When questioned more in depth about Lombardo and his part in the murder, May confessed the story was fabricated. Although her accounts of the shooting were questionable, May was not considered a suspect.

Within days of discovering Mozynski's body, authorities received a clue in the form of a letter sent to a local newspaper. The sender of the letter, who identified themselves as Mozynski's killer, said the victim was a "rascal" and a "dirty little rat." They also warned "fourteen more of Mozynski's friends will join him."

Angelfire's article noted authorities did not have any solid leads in the case until another man was killed under similar circumstances.

On June 16, 1930, Nick Sowley and Elizabeth Ring were sitting in a parked car near Creedmore, Queens, New York. As reported by Wattpad, Ring said a man approached the car and asked Sowley for his driver's license. He then said, "You're the guy we want all right. You're going to get what Joe got."

After shooting Sowley dead, the killer escorted Ring to a bus stop, gave her a handwritten note, and vanished without further incident. The following day, a local newspaper received another letter from someone who identified themselves as the shooter. The note said, "thirteen more men and one woman will go."

Five days after Nick Sowley's murder, Joseph Mozynski's brother received a letter, in which the writer threatened to kill him if he did not return "those papers." Wattpad reports authorities received a letter shortly thereafter, stating the "mission has ended" and there was "no further cause of worry."

According to the letter, the killer was an agent in an organization called the "Red Diamond of Russia." He claimed Joseph Mozynski and Nick Sowley were former agents in the same organization. However, they reportedly "turned against" the Red Diamond of Russia and stole a number of important documents when they left. As the documents were reportedly returned, the killer said, "3X is no more."

Although the murders abruptly stopped, the threatening letters continued for several years and the murders were never solved.

Threatening letters, which were signed by 3X, were sent to various people in the years after the murders stopped. However, authorities were unable to determine whether they were sent by the original killer. As reported on Angelfire, Queens Borough President George Harvey received a series of threatening phone calls from someone claiming to be 3X. However, the threatening calls stopped after one week and Harvey was never harmed.

In 1930, a fingerprint expert named Aaron Blattman, who worked for the courts, was arrested for making harassing phone calls to the police department. During the calls, Blattman promised to reveal the identity of the 3X killer if the police offered him a cash reward. However, he never provided any useful information, and he was eventually ruled out as a suspect.

Six years later, another man was arrested after he confessed to killing Sowley and Mozynski. However, he did not fit the description May and Ring provided to police. Angelfire wrote he was later determined to be mentally ill.

Although authorities have never identified the killer, they believe he may have been an escapee from the Creedmore asylum, which was close to the scene of Sowley's murder. Authorities have never verified the existence of the Red Diamond of Russia organization.