British Murderers

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.

Ronald Kray was a British criminal involved in organized crime in the East End of London in the 1950s and 1960s. Along with his twin brother, Reggie, he ran a gang that was notorious for committing murders, armed robberies, and arson among other criminal activities. The brothers were arrested in 1968 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Derek Bentley was 19 when he was hanged for murdering a policeman during a burglary attempt. An illiterate, he had the mental age of 11 and also suffered from epilepsy. The controversial case led to a 45-long battle for a posthumous pardon, which was granted, and then a reversal of the murder charge.

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.

Ruth Ellis began her career as a nightclub hostess as a teen and was also a nude model for a while. She later also worked as an escort. She became the last woman in the UK tot be hanged after she shot and killed her lover, race-car driver and affluent socialite David Blakely.

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.

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.

John Billington was an Englishman best remembered for his voyage to the New World on the famous Mayflower. He was one of the co-creators and signers of the Mayflower Compact. John Billington murdered another white settler named John Newcomen. He was tried by a jury in September 1630 and executed at the age of 40.

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.

British drug dealer Dale Cregan had started dealing in cannabis soon after high school. He was later convicted of killing 2 female police officers, the first case in the UK in which 2 female cops were killed on duty. He was also known as One Eye because of his missing left eye.

Alfred Rouse was a British murderer who killed an unknown hitchhiker after rendering him unconscious inside his car and setting the car on fire in an attempt to fake his own death. The crime was dubbed the Blazing Car Murder and the identity of the victim remains unknown. Rouse was convicted and executed for the murder of an unknown man!

John Felton was a British soldier who served as a lieutenant in the British Army. He is best remembered for assassinating George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham on 23 August 1628. Buckingham was unpopular due to his incompetence and corruption and his murder was rejoiced in England. In 1844, the murder was fictionalized in Alexandre Dumas' novel, The Three Musketeers.

Jihadi John was a Kuwaiti-born British militant who is believed to have been the person seen in several ISIL videos that showcased the beheadings of numerous hostages in 2014 and 2015. In November 2015, officials from the US reported that John was hit by a drone strike and his death was confirmed in 2016 by the extremist group ISIL.

Better known as the A6 Murderer, James Hanratty was one of the last people to be executed before capital punishment was abolished. He was convicted of murdering scientist Michael Gregsten and raping and shooting Gregsten’s mistress, Valerie Storie. The controversial case led to a motion to prove his innocence.

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.

Buck Ruxton was an Indian-born British physician and murderer best remembered for killing his common-law wife Isabella Ruxton and their housemaid Mary Jane Rogerson. These killings came to be known as the Jigsaw Murders as the bodies of his victims were severed into many pieces. The case is remembered for the forensic techniques employed to distinguish and identify the victims.

Reginald Kray was an English gangster who was one of the leading perpetrators of organized crime in the East End of London along with his twin brother Ronald Kray. Along with their gang, which came to be known as The Firm, the identical twin brothers were involved in armed robbery, murder, arson, and protection rackets from the late-1950s to 1967.

Known for the Ossett murder case, Michael Taylor initially came across as a gentleman and worked as a butcher. He went through an exorcism since he felt an evil spirit within him. He later murdered his wife, tearing her face with his bare hands, and then killed their pet poodle.

The last person to be executed in Guernsey, John Tapner was convicted of the murder of Elizabeth Saujon, who was knocked unconscious and left to die in a burning house. He was executed in front of a 200-stong audience who had bought tickets to watch him die.

Charles Peace was an English murderer and burglar who achieved notoriety in the 1870s. He is perhaps best remembered for killing a man named Dyson after obsessing over Dyson's wife. After evading arrest for several years, Charles Peace was caught in 1878 and executed the following year. His story has inspired numerous filmmakers and authors.