Many of the most horrifying acts of
violence are committed by serial killers. Always looking for next victim, these
murderers kill again and again, never fully satisfied by their bloody deeds.
Their twisted motivations—and even more twisted techniques—land the people in
this group among the most frightening criminals in history.
David Berkowitz, active in the 1970s in
New York City and was known by the name Son of Sam. An American serial killer
who murdered six people in New York City in 1976–77, David Berkowitz’s crimes
plunged the city into a panic and unleashed one of the largest manhunts in New
York history. Known as Son of Sam, Berkowitz was arrested on August 10, 1977,
11 days after his last murder, and was sentenced to 365 years in prison.
Kenneth Bianchi, known as the Hillside
Strangler, is a serial killer best known for working with his cousin Angelo
Buono to commit 15 rapes and murders. Serial killer Kenneth Bianchi and his
cousin, Angelo Buono, went on a killing spree between October 1977 and January
1978, raping and murdering 15 victims in Los Angeles. The men posed as
policemen and targeted prostitutes to begin with, moving on to middle-class
women and girls. They usually left the bodies on the hillsides of the Glendale
Highland Park area, earning the moniker "The Hillside
Strangler." Bianchi is currently
serving Life at the Washington State Penitentiary, Walla Walla, WA.
Angelo Buono was a serial killer known
as the “Hillside Strangler,” who was convicted of murdering nine women in the
late 1970s. Born on October 5, 1934, in Rochester, New York, Angelo Buono would
eventually move to Los Angeles, where he would kill nine women between 1977 and
1978, receiving the nickname the “Hillside Strangler.” He was convicted in 1983
along with his cousin Kenneth Bianchi, who plead guilty to five of the
killings. Buono, who received a life sentence, died in prison on September 22,
2002.
Jerome Brudos was a serial murderer and
necrophile who murdered four women in Oregon during the 1960s. He was known as
the "The Lust Killer" and "The Shoe Fetish Slayer."Serial
killer Jerome Brudos was born on January 31, 1939, in Webster, South Dakota.
Troubled from an early age, Brudos abducted and beat a woman at age 17. After
high school, he married and settled in the area of Salem, Oregon. His crimes
escalated and he eventually murdered four women, keeping grisly trophies from
his victims and dressing in their clothing. Brudos, known as the "The Lust
Killer" was apprehended in 1969 and died in prison in 2006.
Andrew
Cunanan was a serial murder who killed fashion designer Gianni Versace, and at
least four other people, before commiting suicide in a Miami houseboat. Andrew
Cunanan was born on August 31, 1969 in San Diego, California. He settled in San
Francisco’s Castro district and socialized with older, wealthy gay men while
indulging heavily in drugs. It's unclear what set him off but he began a
cross-country killing spree of five known murders - the last of which was fashion
designer Gianni Versace.
Jeffrey Dahmer, Murderer
(1960–1994). Notorious sex offender and
serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer killed 17 men between from 1978 to 1991. Jeffrey Dahmer was born in Milwaukee on May
21, 1960. He killed his first murder victim, Steven Hicks, with a blow to the
head in 1978. Dahmer killed 17 men, molesting some of them. Once caught, he was
sentenced to 15 consecutive life terms in 1992. On November 28, 1994, Dahmer
was murdered by fellow prisoner Christopher Scarver.
Alberto
DeSalvo is best known for confessing to be the "Boston Strangler,"
who killed 13 women in Boston in the early 1960s. Born on September 3, 1931, in
Chelsea, Massachusetts, Albert DeSalvo was in and out of trouble with the
police from an early age, but nothing as gruesome as the "Boston
Strangler" case. DeSalvo admitted to murdering 13 women in Boston between
1962 and '64, most of whom were elderly and alone. He was killed in prison in
1973, after being sentenced to life.
Ed Gein was obsessively devoted to his
mother, a religious fanatic. After her death, Gein began robbing graves—keeping
body parts as trophies, practicing necrophilia, and experimenting with human
taxidermy. He then turned to murder, killing at least two women in 1957. Gein
inspired film characters Norman Bates (Psycho), Jame Gumb (The Silence of the
Lambs) and Leatherface (Texas Chainsaw Massacre). Gein was ultimately found guilty of murder by
reason of insanity. He was confined in various criminal psychiatric
institutions, including the Central State Hospital in Wisconsin and the Mendota
Mental Health Institute, where he died of respiratory and heart failure due to
cancer, on July 26, 1984, at age 77.
Belle Gunness is reported to have
murdered more than 40 people between 1884 and 1908 before disappearing without
a trace. Norwegian born Belle Gunness
immigrated to the U.S. in 1881. A series of suspicious fires and deaths (mostly
resulting in insurance awards) followed. Belle also began posting notices in
lovelorn columns to entice wealthy men to her farm, after which they were never
seen again. Authorities eventually found the remains of over 40 victims on her
property, but Belle disappeared without a trace.
H.H. Holmes was the alias of one of
America's first serial killers. During the 1893 Columbian Exposition, he lured
victims into his elaborate "murder castle." Born in 1861 in
Gilmanton, New Hampshire, H.H. Holmes was one of America's first serial
murderers. He took over a Chicago pharmacy and built it into an elaborate maze
of death traps to which he lured numerous victims during the 1893 Columbian
Exposition. He was eventually captured and hanged in 1896. Erik Larson wrote
about Holmes in the book The Devil in the White City, published in 2003.
Genene Jones murdered somewhere between
11 to 46 children while working at a Texas medical center. She was sentenced to
99 years in prison in 1985. Genene Jones
was born in Texas on July 13, 1950. She went into nursing in 1977. While
working at Bexar County Medical Center Hospital, Jones gave deadly injections
to somewhere between 11 to 46 children. The exact number is unknown because
hospital officials destroyed records. She was convicted in 1985 and sentenced
to 99 years in prison. She will be up for parole in 2017.
Edmund Kemper killed six young, college-age
women in the Santa Cruz, California, area and several members of his family.
Born on December 18, 1948, in Burbank, California, Edmund Kemper, at age 15,
killed both his grandparents to "see what it felt like." Upon
release, he drifted, picking up and releasing female hitchhikers. But he soon
stopped letting them go, killing six college-age women in the Santa Cruz,
California, area in the 1970s. In 1973 his killed his mother and her friend and
turned himself in. Charged with eight counts of first-degree murder, Kemper
went on trial for his crimes in October of 1973. He was found guilty of all of
the charges in early November. When asked by the judge what he thought his
punishment should be, Kemper said that he should be tortured to death. He
instead received eight concurrent life sentences. At present, Kemper is serving his time at
California Medical Facility in Vacaville. He was up for parole in 2012, but the
state parole board denied his request. The next time that Kemper will be
eligible for parole is in 2017.
Leonard Lake was a serial killer who
partnered with Charles Ng to rape and kill several people in the 1980s. In the
early 1980s, Leonard Lake and Charles Ng began a campaign of abduction, rape
and murder. Altogether, the bodies of seven men, three women, two baby boys and
45 pounds of bone fragments would be recovered from Lake’s cabin site. The
killings came to an end through chance, and upon being arrested, Lake committed
suicide by swallowing two cyanide pills he had taped to the collar of his
shirt; he died on June 6, 1985.
Leonard Lucas is a serial killer who was
convicted of killing only two people but who confessed to killing hundreds
more. In 1960, Leonard Lucas was sentenced to 20 to 40 years in prison for
murdering his mother but was paroled after serving only 10 years. Released yet
again from jail in 1975, Lucas teamed up with a petty thief named Ottis Toole,
who shared an unhealthy interest in rape and death. Lucas was arrested, known
to have killed two people, but in his jail cell, he began confessing to
hundreds of murders. He was sentenced to death, but the sentence was later
commuted to life imprisonment by Texas governor George Bush, who later became
an American President.
Charles Ng is a Chinese-American mass
murderer who was sentenced to death after torturing and killing up to 25 people
at Leonard Lake’s California ranch. Charles Ng was born December 24, 1960, in
Hong Kong, China. At 18, Ng obtained a student visa to study in the United
States. After joining the Marines he was caught stealing military weapons and
served three years at Leavenworth. Upon his release, Ng moved in with Leonard
Lake and the two began a campaign of abduction, rape and murder. Once caught,
Ng was sent to San Quentin and sentenced to death.
Dennis Rader Known as the "BTK
Killer"—which stands for "bind, torture, and kill"— terrorized
the Witchita, Kansas, area from the 1970s to the '90s. Born in 1945 in
Pittsburg, Kansas, Dennis Rader committed his first murders in 1974, strangling
four members of the Otero family in their home. Later that year he began
seeking fame for his killings, writing letters and reporting his crimes. His
final crime was in 1991, but he resurfaced in 2004 and again sought media
attention. This eventually led to his arrest. He pled guilty and was ordered to
serve 10 life sentences in prison.
Richard Ramirez Dubbed the "Night
Stalker," was an American serial killer who broke into Californian homes,
raping and torturing more than 25 victims, and killing at least 13, over a
two-year rampage. Ramirez famous quote, as he was leaving the court-room after
receiving the death penalty: “No big deal. Death always comes with the
territory. I'll see you in Disneyland.”
Richard Ramirez. Born in El Paso,
Texas, on February 28, 1960, Richard Ramirez was an American serial killer who,
over a two-year rampage, raped and tortured more than 25 victims, and murdered
more than a dozen—most of them in their own homes. Ramirez was turned on to
Satanic worship at an early age by his cousin, a solider who had recently
returned from the war in Vietnam. Following a four-year trial, in 1989, Ramirez
was convicted of 13 killings. He received the death penalty and was sent to San
Quentin Prison in California. He died on June 7, 2013, at age 53, of heart
failure.
Joel Rifkin killed 17 women in the 1990s
before the police tried to pull him over for a missing license plate (and
discovered his latest victim). Joel
Rifkin (born January 20, 1959) was obsessed with Hitchcock's Frenzy as a young
adult and began using prostitutes regularly. In June 1993, Rifkin was pulled
over by the police who discovered a corpse in his car. On May 9, 1994, Rifkin
was sentenced to 25 years to life for murder, as well as reckless endangerment
for leading police on a car chase. Rifkin was transferred to Suffolk County
jail shortly after the trial, where Rifkin pleaded guilty to two more counts of
murder. He received two more consecutive terms of 25 years to life in prison.
In January 1996, Rifkin was placed in solitary confinement at the Attica
Correctional Facility for 23 hours a day over the course of four years. He was
convicted of murder the following year and later pleaded guilty to additional
counts of murders. Joel Rifkin is now serving 203 years in the Clinton
Correctional Facility, in New York. He
is eligible for parole in 2197, at the age of 238.
Gary Leon Ridgway, known as the Green
River Killer, murdered as many as 60 women along Route 99 before he was caught
in 2001. Serial killer Gary Leon Ridgway was born on February 18, 1949, in Salt
Lake City, Utah. He held a job painting trucks for 30 years and was married
three times. He began murdering women in 1982 and was caught in 2001 when a DNA
test revealed a match. Ridgway told investigators he killed as many as 60 women
along Route 99 in south King County, Washington. He was convicted and sentenced
to life in prison.
Arthur Shawcross murdered 11 women from
1988 to 1990 in upstate New York, earning the nickname "The Genessee River
Killer." Arthur Shawcross' parents
dispute his claims that he was molested as a child, but it's clear that he was
troubled. In 1972, he confessed to killing two children and went to prison. His
records were sealed so he could settle in a new town without causing a panic.
But from 1988 to 1990, Shawcross killed 11 women in upstate New York. He died
in prison.
Richard Speck, Mass Murderer (1941–1991). In 1966, Richard Speck committed one of the
most horrifying mass murders in American history when he brutalized and killed
eight student nurses living on Chicago's South Side. Richard Speck captured the
nation's attention during the summer of 1966 after murdering eight female
students who lived together on Chicago's South Side. Before then, he had been
responsible for other acts of violence against his family and others but had a
knack for escaping the police. After his killing spree in 1966, a manhunt
ensued and he was captured two days later. He spent the rest of his life in
prison until he died of a heart attack in 1991 at age 49.
Ottis Toole, serial killer and cannibal,
confessed to killing more than a hundred people with his partner Henry Lee Lucas.
Toole murdered John Walsh's son. Serial killer Ottis Toole was born on March 5,
1947, in Jacksonville, Florida and committed his first murder at age 14. Toole
began a sexual relationship and crime partnership with Henry Lee Lucas in the
‘70s. Once arrested, the two confessed to more than a hundred murders,
including the murder of America’s Most Wanted host John Wash’s son. Toole died
in prison in 1996.
Wayne Williams killed twenty-seven black
youths from 1979 - 1981 in Alabama, Georgia.Williams narrowly escaped capture
on May 22, 1981, when police heard someone dumping something in the
Chattahoochee River. Williams was found climbing into a station wagon, was
questioned, and then allowed to go. But when a body turned up later, fibers
found on the victim matched those found in William's car, and he was arrested.
Williams was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. After the trial,
doubts were raised about his guilt, and many consider the case unsolved.
Aileen Wuornos, serial killer, was found
guilty of killing six men and was later executed in a Florida prison. Wuornos
was executed by lethal injection in 2002. Born on February 29, 1956, in
Rochester, Michigan, Aileen Wuornos was sexually abused and thrown out of her
home as a teen. She made a living as a sex worker on Florida's highways, and in
1989, she killed a man who'd picked her up. She went on to kill five other men
and was eventually caught, convicted and placed on death row. Though her sanity
was questioned, she was executed Oct. 9, 2002, by lethal injection.
