British Serial Killers

Jack the Ripper was anl unidentified serial killer who predominantly targeted female prostitutes living and working in the ghetto of the East End of London. Since the murders were never solved, Jack the Ripper became infamous folklore in England. The murders were so cleverly done that the authorities were not even able to ascertain the killer's gender.

English serial killer Peter Sutcliffe was dubbed the Yorkshire Ripper as he was likened to the infamous unidentified serial killer, Jack the Ripper, by the press. Convicted of killing 13 women and injuring nine other, Peter Sutcliffe was sentenced to life imprisonment. In 2000, ITV aired a crime drama miniseries based on Peter Sutcliffe's murders titled This Is Personal.

One of history’s most infamous serial killers, Harold Shipman was a British GP who is believed to have killed over 200 patients before being nabbed by the police. He was ultimately sentenced to life imprisonment for 15 murders but later committed suicide in prison. The case led to grave concerns about powers and the responsibilities of the Britain’s medical community.

Fred West was a serial killer who derived pleasure from acts, such as voyeurism, sexual assaults, murder, and various sexual fetishes that pushed his victims beyond their sexual limits. He committed murders and sexual assaults along with his wife Rose, who worked as a prostitute at their residence. Fred committed suicide at HM Prison Birmingham in 1995.

Mary Ann Cotton was an English serial killer who was convicted for the murder of her stepson. Cotton is believed to have killed 11 of her children and three of her husbands for their insurance policies. Mary Ann Cotton was sentenced to death and was executed by hanging. 

Amelia Dyer was an English serial killer who killed infants over a 30-year period. She exercised the practice of baby farming and murdered children after taking them under her care. Amelia Dyer's killings inspired a murder ballad. Her case also led to stricter laws for child protection and adoption in the UK.

Myra Hindley was an English murderer accused of raping and killing five children aged between 10 and 17 along with her partner, Ian Brady. The killings, which were carried out between July 1963 and October 1965, were dubbed the Moors murders. The killings and its aftermath were dramatized and adapted into an award-winning TV film titled Longford.

Beverley Allitt is an English serial child killer, convicted ,of murdering four children and grievously injuring several others. Previously employed as a State Enrolled Nurse, she attacked 13 children over a 59-day period, out of which four died. She received 13 life sentences for the crimes and is detained at Rampton Secure Hospital in Nottinghamshire.

Known as the Acid Bath Murderer, John George Haigh was Known for shooting or beating his victims to death and then dissolving them in sulphuric acid. To his friends, he seemed to be a wealthy man of culture. Though he initially got away with 5 murders, he was caught after his 6th murder.

Levi Bellfield is an English sex offender, serial killer, rapist, burglar, and kidnapper. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2008 after he was found guilty of the murders of Amélie Delagrange and Marsha McDonnell. Levi Bellfield is currently imprisoned at HM Prison Frankland. The investigation that led to Levi Bellfield's arrest was dramatized in a TV drama titled Manhunt.

Not many suspected physician John Bodkin Adams of being a serial killer till it was revealed that his name had appeared in the wills of at least 132 of his patients who had died, while 163 died in coma. Though never convicted of the killings, he faced punishment for forgery.

John Christie was a British serial killer who was active during the 1940s and early-1950s. He killed at least eight people and was sentenced to death for the murder of his wife Ethel. The killings were dramatized in the 1971 film 10 Rillington Place, in which Christie was played by Richard Attenborough. Christie's murders also inspired other works of art.   

Rosemary West is a British serial killer Who torturing and killing at least nine women between 1973 and 1987. She committed the crimes along with her husband Fred West. She also mudered her eight-year-old stepdaughter in 1971. She was convicted of 10 murders in 1995 and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Rosemary West is currently serving her sentence at HM Prison New Hall.

English spree killer John Martin Scripps, also known as The Garden City Butcher, posed as a tourist and befriended other tourists before killing them and then chopped their bodies into pieces. He was also the first British citizen to be hanged in Singapore since the country’s independence.