While we'd all love to be outside soaking up the summer sun, the sad fact is that most of Montana is usually on fire during the hottest months of the year. So while our brave firefighters and volunteers work tirelessly to save our land, we may as well revisit some of Montana's less than pleasant history. We've put together a shortlist of some of the most famous murders in Montana; each one will send chills down your spine!

Violent crime rates in Montana are quite low, but that doesn't mean we don't have some grizzly murders in our past. These local homicides will never be forgotten.

1. John Bozeman

John Bozeman was a pioneer, best known for establishing the Bozeman Trail through Wyoming Territory into the gold fields of southwestern Montana Territory in the early 1860s. Obviously, the city of Bozeman is named after him. John was murdered in April of 1867 while traveling along the Yellowstone River. His partner, Tom Cover, claimed they had been attacked by a band of Blackfeet Indians. But many people believe Tom killed John himself. John Bozeman was apparently quite the ladies' man, and Tom may have been jealous.

2. Wayne Nance

Wayne Nance, also known as the Missoula Mauler, was a suspected serial killer who most likely murdered Donna Pounds in 1974 and Marci Bachmann, a teenager who had run away from home. Wayne may have murdered several others as well. But in 1986, he entered the home of Doug and Kris Wells, intending to kill them... but Doug shot Wayne in the head in self-defense instead, putting a permanent end to his reign of terror.

3. Miranda Fenner

For the most part, Laurel is a quiet and peaceful place. But in 1998, 18-year-old Miranda Fenner was working at a video rental store when she was brutally murdered. The killer left no evidence behind, and to this day, her death remains a mystery.

4. Frank Little

Frank Little was an American labor leader known for his pro-labor, pro-union, anti-war views. Sadly he was lynched in the early morning hours of August 1, 1917, when 6 masked men broke into his Butte boardinghouse and kidnapped him. While there are a number of suspects, no one was ever prosecuted for his murder.

5. Morris Davis

The Morris Davis homicide case is particularly disturbing. On the night of April 5, 1985, he was delivering a pizza to what turned out to be a vacant house. He was ambushed at the front door and shot 9 times. His delivery wallet was stolen, and no suspects were ever charged.

6. Father John Kerrigan (and Father Reynaldo Rivera)

In 1984, Father John Kerrigan was settling into his new role at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Ronan. On the night of July 20, he left a Polish bakery and disappeared. The next day, bloody clothing was found on Highway 35, and a week later his car was found... the car, along with a shovel in the trunk, were covered in blood. His body was never found. Experts think his murder may be related to the killing of Father Reynaldo Rivera, who was shot to death in Santa Fe in 1982 at a rest stop after a caller had asked him to come deliver last rites. Kerrigan had spent time in New Mexico not far from Rivera, and both men were members of the Order of Franciscans. But neither mystery has ever been solved, and a connection hasn't been proven.

These homicides are definitely creepy, and so are these other unsolved mysteries in Montana..