21st Century Murderers

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Rank the Most Wicked 21st Century Murderers
 1 
Richard Ramirez
(Serial Killer)
Richard Ramirez
277
Birthdate: February 29, 1960
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: El Paso, Texas, United States
Died: June 7, 2013

American serial killer, rapist, and burglar, Richard Ramirez terrorised the people of California, primarily Los Angeles, between 1984 and 1985 before being eventually captured by the police. The brutal criminal, also known as Night Stalker, was finally found guilty of 43 charges, including 13 murders and was sentenced to death. While on a death row, he died of cancer. 

 2 
Charles Manson
(Led the Manson Family, a Cult Based in California)
Charles Manson
142
Birthdate: November 12, 1934
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Died: November 19, 2017

Criminal and cult leader Charles Manson was the leader of the notorious Manson Family, a criminal cult that committed a series of murders in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was arrested and imprisoned many times in his life and died in 2017 while serving his life sentence at California State Prison.

 3 
Christopher Scarver
(Serial Killer)
Christopher Scarver
120
Birthdate: July 6, 1969
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Christopher Scarver is a convicted murderer whose physical assault on Jesse Anderson and serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer at the Columbia Correctional Institution resulted in the death of both Anderson and Dahmer. Already sentenced to life for killing a man named Steve Lohman, Christopher Scarver received two more life sentences for killing Anderson and Dahmer.

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 4 
Joseph James DeAngelo
(Serial Killer)
Joseph James DeAngelo
74
Birthdate: November 8, 1945
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Bath, New York, United States

Joseph James DeAngelo is an American serial killer, rapist and burglar who carried out his crimes for many years in 1970s and 1980s and was finally captured by the police in 2018. The former police officer and auto mechanic, who was known by various names like Golden State Killer and Visalia Ransacker, was sentenced to life in prison in 2020.

 5 
Oscar Pistorius
(South African Former Professional Sprinter and Convicted Murderer)
Oscar Pistorius
44
Birthdate: November 22, 1986
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Sandton, South Africa

From being an infant whose both legs were amputated below knee, Oscar Pistorius went on to become a top athlete with wins in Paralympic Games and other sporting events. The South African sprinter also became the first amputee runner to compete at the Olympics Games. However, later, he was convicted for the murder of his girlfriend and is currently imprisoned.

 6 
Whitey Bulger
(Crime Boss)
Whitey Bulger
18
Birthdate: September 3, 1929
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Died: October 30, 2018

Whitey Bulger was an Irish-American FBI informant and organized crime boss. His arrest and subsequent trial exposed FBI handler John Connolly who had helped Bulger in return for the latter's information about the Patriarca crime family. Bulger's life and work inspired the 2015 film Black Mass. Many fictional TV and film characters have also been inspired by Whitey Bulger.

 7 
Vincent Li
(Canadian Computer Software Engineer and Murderer)
Vincent Li
4
Birthdate: April 30, 1968
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
 8 
Robert Pickton
(Serial killer)
Robert Pickton
13
Birthdate: October 24, 1949
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Port Coquitlam
Canadian serial killer Robert Pickton was convicted of murdering six women and later charged with the murders of 20 more women, mostly from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. The latter charges were stayed. He received a life sentence without parole for 25 years. He wrote a controversial autobiography, too.
 9 
Mary Bell
(Murder Convict)
Mary Bell
21
Birthdate: May 26, 1957
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, England
Mary Bell was convicted of strangling 4-year-old Martin Brown and 3-year-old Brian Howe in 1968, when she was just 11. She committed the second crime with a 13-year-old friend named Norma Joyce Bell. After she was released in 1980, after 12 years, she took up various pseudonyms.
 10 
Patricia Krenwinkel
(American Convicted Murderer and Member of the Manson Family)
Patricia Krenwinkel
16
Birthdate: December 3, 1947
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, United States

A former member of the notorious Charles Manson's "Family," Patricia Krenwinkel is a criminal who has participated in multiple murders. She was part of the gang that murdered actress Sharon Tate, who was pregnant at the time of her death. Krenwinkel has been denied parole fourteen times and is currently incarcerated at the California Institution for Women.

 11 
Scott Peterson
(Murderer)
Scott Peterson
32
Birthdate: October 24, 1972
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: San Diego, California

Former salesman, Scott Peterson, is a convicted murderer who is imprisoned in San Quentin State Prison. Peterson was convicted for the murder of his seven months pregnant wife, Lacy, and unborn son, Connor. Though Lacy’s family initially thought him to be innocent, evidence gathered later proved otherwise. The case attracted tremendous media attention and even inspired numerous movies and documentaries.

 12 
Leslie Van Houten
(American Convicted Murderer and Member of the Manson Family)
Leslie Van Houten
20
Birthdate: August 23, 1949
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Altadena, California, United States

Leslie Van Houten is a convicted murderer. A former member of the infamous Manson Family, Houten played a major role in the Tate-LaBianca murders of 1969. Since her highly publicized court trials, Leslie Van Houten has been portrayed in several films; she has been played by actresses like Kristen Hager, Tania Raymonde, Greer Grammer, Hannah Murray, and Victoria Pedretti.

 13 
Darlie Routier
(Murderer)
Darlie Routier
25
Birthdate: January 4, 1970
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Altoona, Pennsylvania, United States
Darlie Routier was convicted of stabbing her 5-year-old son Damon to death in 1996 and sentenced to death by lethal injection. She was also charged with killing her other son, 6-year-old Devon, but not tried for it. Following multiple appeals by her, fresh DNA tests were ordered and are pending.
 14 
Diane Downs
(American Criminal Who Murdererd Her Daughter and Attempted to Murder Her Other Two Children)
Diane Downs
15
Birthdate: August 7, 1955
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Diane Downs killed her own daughter in 1983. She also tried killing her other children and then made up a story about how a man had tried carjacking her and had shot her children. She was sentenced to life plus 50 years but is eligible for parole at age 65. 
 15 
Susan Atkins
(American Murderer and Member of Charles Manson's Crime Family)
Susan Atkins
40
Birthdate: May 7, 1948
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: San Gabriel, California, United States
Died: September 24, 2009

Susan Atkins was an American murderer who was convicted for participating in eight killings, including the infamous Tate murders, carried out by members of the Manson Family. Sentenced to life imprisonment, Atkins was the longest-serving female inmate in California history at the time of her death. 

 16 
Susan Smith
(Murderer)
Susan Smith
35
Birthdate: September 26, 1971
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Union, South Carolina

Susan Smith is an American murderer who was convicted for murdering her children, Michael and Alexander, who were three-year-old and 14-month-old respectively. She falsely claimed that her kids were kidnapped by a black man before being adjudged guilty of the crime. Sentenced to life in prison, Smith is currently incarcerated at the Leath Correctional Institution in South Carolina.

 17 
Jean Harris
(Author)
Jean Harris
1
Birthdate: April 27, 1923
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: December 23, 2012
 18 
Issei Sagawa
(Japanese Murderer, Cannibal and Necrophile)
Issei Sagawa
19
Birthdate: April 26, 1949
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Kobe, Hyogo, Japan

Issei Sagawa is a Japanese murderer, necrophile, and cannibal. He garnered international attention when he murdered, mutilated, cannibalized, and raped Renée Hartevelt's corpse for several days in Paris in 1981. Although he was arrested, Sagawa was released two years later after being found legally insane. Issei Sagawa has been the subject of many documentary films.

 19 
Robert Maudsley
(Serial Killer)
Robert Maudsley
18
Birthdate: June 26, 1953
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Toxteth, Liverpool

Robert Maudsley is an English serial killer currently serving life imprisonment at Wakefield Prison, England. He committed three of his four murders in prison, forcing the authorities to keep him in solitary confinement. Maudsley's case was sensationalized as it was claimed that he had eaten part of the brain of one of his victims, although the PCC refuted such claims.

 20 
John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan
(English Peer Accused of Murdering the Nanny of His Children)
John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan
7
Birthdate: December 18, 1934
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Marylebone, London, England
Died: November 8, 1974

John Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan was an English peer who disappeared on 8 November 1974 after being suspected of murder. Lucan's personal problems, gambling losses, and mounting legal expenses had a dramatic effect on his life. In 1974, the nanny of Lucan's children, Sandra Rivett, was bludgeoned to death and Lucan went missing, never to be seen again.

 21 
Tommy Lynn Sells
(Serial Killer)
Tommy Lynn Sells
13
Birthdate: June 28, 1964
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Oakland, California, United States
Died: April 3, 2014
 22 
Katherine Knight
(Australian Murderer)
Katherine Knight
4
Birthdate: October 24, 1955
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Tenterfield, Australia
 23 
Armin Meiwes
(German Convicted Murderer)
Armin Meiwes
15
Birthdate: December 1, 1961
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Essen, Germany
Armin Meiwes, also known as "The Master Butcher," was a computer repair man who killed and ate engineer Jürgen Armando Brandes, who had voluntarily offered himself to be eaten, in response to an advertisement on an online cannibalism-oriented forum. Armin is now serving a life sentence for murder.
 24 
Leonard Peltier
(Activist)
Leonard Peltier
6
Birthdate: September 12, 1944
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Anishinabe (Chippewa) Turtle Mountain Reservation, North Dakota, USA
 25 
William Heirens
(Serial Killer)
William Heirens
9
Birthdate: November 15, 1928
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Evanston, Illinois
Died: March 5, 2012
 26 
Erik Galen Menéndez
(American brothers who were convicted in 1996 for the murders of their parents)
Erik Galen Menéndez
5
Birthdate: November 27, 1970
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Blackwood, New Jersey, United States
 27 
Sally McNeil
(American Former Professional Bodybuilder Who Was Convicted for the Murder of Her Husband Ray McNeil)
Sally McNeil
1
Birthdate: September 30, 1960
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States
 28 
Caril Ann Fugate
10
Birthdate: July 30, 1943
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Lincoln, Nebraska, United States
 29 
Leslie Grantham
(Best Known for His Role of 'Dirty Den Watts' from the BBC Soap Opera 'EastEnders')
Leslie Grantham
5
Birthdate: April 30, 1947
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Camberwell, London, England
Died: June 15, 2018

Best known as the villain Dirty Den from the BBC soap EastEnders, Leslie Grantham initially worked as a soldier with the Royal Fusiliers of the British Army. Convicted of the murder of a cab driver in Germany, he spent a decade in prison. He later attempted suicide as aftermath of a sex scandal.

 30 
Joseph Massino
(Criminal)
Joseph Massino
4
Birthdate: January 10, 1943
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: New York City, USA
 31 
Assata Shakur
(American Political Activist and Member of the Black Liberation Army Who Was Convicted in the First-Degree Murder)
Assata Shakur
32
Birthdate: July 14, 1947
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: New York, New York, United States

Assata Shakur is a former member of the revolutionary organization 'Black Liberation Army'. Sentenced to life for murder, Shakur escaped from the 'Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women' and was eventually granted political asylum in Cuba. She is the first woman to be added to FBI's Most Wanted Terrorists list. Her life inspired the documentary film Eyes of the Rainbow.

 32 
Joey Merlino
(Crime boss)
Joey Merlino
2
Birthdate: March 16, 1962
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
 33 
Arun Gawli
(Politician)
Arun Gawli
7
Birthdate: July 17, 1955
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Kopargaon, India
 34 
Richard Cottingham
(Serial killer)
Richard Cottingham
12
Birthdate: November 25, 1946
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: The Bronx, USA
 35 
Bobby Beausoleil
7
Birthdate: November 6, 1947
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Santa Barbara, California, United States
 36 
Javaris Crittenton
(Basketball player)
Javaris Crittenton
1
Birthdate: December 31, 1987
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Atlanta, Georgia, United States
 37 
Randall Woodfield
(Serial killer)
Randall Woodfield
13
Birthdate: December 26, 1950
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Salem, Oregon, United States

Randall Woodfield is a serial killer and rapist linked to a total of 18 murders and is suspected of having killed up to 44 victims. He was dubbed the I-5 Killer or the I-5 Bandit by the media. He began committing sexual assaults and robberies in 1975 and started murdering people in 1980. He was finally arrested in March 1981.  

 38 
Sara Jane Moore
(Woman Who Attempted to Assassinate US President Gerald Ford)
Sara Jane Moore
12
Birthdate: February 15, 1930
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Charleston, West Virginia, United States
 39 
Phillip Adams
(American football player)
Phillip Adams
3
Birthdate: July 20, 1988
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Rock Hill, South Carolina, United States
Died: April 8, 2021
 40 
Rod Ferrell
(Murderer)
Rod Ferrell
4
Birthdate: March 28, 1980
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Murray, Kentucky, United States

Rod Ferrell is an American cult leader and murderer. A member of the Vampire Clan, Ferrell claimed to be a vampire. It was later ascertained that he had become obsessed with a game called Vampire: The Masquerade. In 1998, Rod Ferrell became the youngest American on Death Row after pleading guilty to the double murder of a couple from Florida.

 41 
Robert John Bardo
(Murderer of actress and model Rebecca Schaeffer)
Robert John Bardo
8
Birthdate: January 2, 1970
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Edwards Air Force Base, California, United States
 42 
David Gilbert
(Writer, Activist)
David Gilbert
2
Birthdate: October 6, 1944
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Brookline, Massachusetts, United States
 43 
Yaser Abdel Said
(Killing of two daughters as The Price of Honor)
Yaser Abdel Said
3
Birthdate: January 27, 1957
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Sinai, Egypt
 44 
Yukio Yamaji
(Serial killer)
Yukio Yamaji
9
Birthdate: August 21, 1983
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Japan
Died: July 28, 2009
 45 
Eric Naposki
(American football player)
Eric Naposki
1
Birthdate: December 20, 1966
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: New York, New York, United States
 46 
Nikolai Dzhumagaliev
(Serial killer)
Nikolai Dzhumagaliev
4
Birthdate: November 15, 1952
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic
 47 
Harry Aleman
(Mobster)
Harry Aleman
1
Birthdate: January 19, 1939
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: May 15, 2010
 48 
Evangelos Goussis
(Australian Former Kickboxer and Convicted of Murdering Two Victims)
Evangelos Goussis
1
Birthdate: September 14, 1967
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Tashkent, Uzbekistan

Evangelos Goussis is an Australian retired kickboxer and boxer. Although he had a successful boxing career, Goussis' personal life and his role in the infamous Melbourne gangland killings have overshadowed his professional achievements. Evangelos Goussis was found guilty of murdering two people of the 36 underworld figures who died in the killings.

 49 
Alyssa Bustamante
22
Birthdate: January 28, 1994
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: California
 50 
Jodi Arias
(American Convicted Murderer of Her Ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander)
Jodi Arias
13
Birthdate: July 9, 1980
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Salinas, California, United States