Cases from 2013 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 2013. 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.
4 cases found
Aaron Hernandez, a former New England Patriots tight end, was convicted of first-degree murder in April 2015 for the June 2013 killing of Odin Lloyd and sentenced to life without parole. He was acquitted of a separate 2012 double homicide on April 14, 2017, but was found dead by suicide in his prison cell five days later at age 27. A posthumous examination by Boston University researchers revealed he had Stage 3 chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), the most severe case ever documented in someone his age.
On April 15, 2013, brothers Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev detonated two homemade pressure cooker bombs near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three spectators and injuring more than 260 others. The ensuing manhunt paralyzed metropolitan Boston for days, culminating in Tamerlan's death in a Watertown shootout and Dzhokhar's capture hiding in a dry-docked boat. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was convicted on all 30 federal charges and sentenced to death; the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in March 2022 after a lower court had vacated it.
On February 19, 2013, the body of 21-year-old Canadian tourist Elisa Lam was discovered inside a rooftop water tank at the Cecil Hotel in Los Angeles. Her death was ruled an accidental drowning with bipolar disorder as a contributing factor, but the circumstances — including bizarre elevator surveillance footage — remain deeply mysterious.
South African Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp through a locked bathroom door on Valentine's Day 2013. He claimed he mistook her for an intruder. Convicted of murder in 2015, sentenced to 13 years and 5 months. Released on parole in January 2024.