Serial Killers

Serial killers are the individuals who commit a series of murders, killing three or more people with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant break between them. The murders are usually committed as separate events. Serial killers derive abnormal psychological gratification from torturing and killing people and most serial killings involve sexual contact with the victim. They may exhibit varying degrees of mental illness and/or psychopathy, which may contribute to their homicidal behavior. American criminal H. H. Holmes was one of the first documented serial killers in the modern sense of the term, and was believed to have killed more than 200 victims in the late 19th century. Coming to the 20th century, Ted Bundy is believed to be one of the most evil and enigmatic serial killers ever convicted. Well educated, intelligent, and good looking, he terrorized people for four years over the course of which he killed 35–36 women. Columbian Luis Alfredo Garavito Cubillos and Brazilian Pedro Rodrigues Filho are believed to have claimed over a 100 victims each. While a majority of serial killers are male, history has also seen some vicious female serial killers like Elizabeth Báthory and Aileen Wuornos. This section provides you information about the life and crimes of various notorious serial killers from all over the world.
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 1 
Elizabeth Báthory
(Hungarian Noblewoman and Serial Killer)
Elizabeth Báthory
84
Birthdate: August 7, 1560
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Nyírbátor, Hungary
Died: August 21, 1614
Known as The Blood Countess and Countess Dracula, Elizabeth Báthory was a Hungarian noblewoman who was accused of killing at least 650 young women from 1590 to 1610. She was also accused of cannibalism and bathing in the blood of her victims. She evaded punishment and died in house arrest.
 2 
Jeffrey Dahmer
(American Serial Killer and Sex Offender)
Jeffrey Dahmer
381
Birthdate: May 21, 1960
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States
Died: November 28, 1994

One of the most notorious serial killers ever convicted in America, Jeffrey Dahmer terrorized the Milwaukee region in the 1980s. He targeted young men and boys, who he would lure to his house on some pretext before torturing and killing them. Finally arrested and imprisoned in the early 1990s, he was killed by a fellow inmate in 1994.

 3 
Ted Bundy
(Serial Killer)
Ted Bundy
379
Birthdate: November 24, 1946
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Burlington
Died: January 24, 1989

Ted Bundy was an American serial killer who kidnapped, raped and murdered a number of women and girls during the mid and late 1970s. He ultimately confessed to his crimes and was sentenced to death by electric chair. Later, the life of one of the most notorious criminals of the late 20th century inspired a number of books and movies.

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 4 
Zodiac Killer
(Serial killer)
Zodiac Killer
154
Birthplace: United States

Zodiac Killer was an the unidentified American serial killer who spread terror in the northern California from late 1960s to early 1970s. In his letters to police and press, he claimed to have killed 37 people, out of which five were confirmed. Though he was never caught, his case inspired numerous books, films and television series including Clint Eastwood’s classic Dirty Harry.

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 5 
John Wayne Gacy
(Serial Killer & Sex Offender)
John Wayne Gacy
260
Birthdate: March 17, 1942
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Chicago, Illinois, United States
Died: May 10, 1994

John Wayne Gacy was a sex offender and a serial killer. He assaulted, raped and murdered at least 33 boys and young men in 1960s and 1970s. He tortured and killed all his victims inside his ranch house near Norridge, a village in Norwood Park. He was given death sentence in March 1980 and was executed in May 1994.

 6 
Richard Ramirez
(Serial Killer)
Richard Ramirez
297
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. 

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 7 
Jack the Ripper
(Unidentified Serial Killer Active in the East End of London in 1888)
Jack the Ripper
99
Birthplace: England

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.

 8 
Ed Gein
(Murderer, Suspected Serial Killer & Body Snatcher)
Ed Gein
115
Birthdate: August 27, 1906
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States
Died: July 26, 1984

Popularly known as the Butcher of Plainfield, Ed Gein was a murderer and body snatcher. His spine-chilling life insane acts like exhuming corpses and making keepsakes and trophies from their skin and bones, inspired films like The Silence of the Lambs, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, and Psycho.

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 9 
Edmund Kemper
(Serial Killer)
Edmund Kemper
99
Birthdate: December 18, 1948
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Burbank, California

Edmund Kemper is a serial killer, rapist and a necrophile. He was charged, convicted and sentenced to eight concurrent life sentences in 1973 for murdering ten people, including his paternal grandparents and mother. Most of his victims were female college students and hitchhikers, whom he lured into his vehicle and then killed them. He later decapitated and violated them.

 10 
Christopher Scarver
(Serial Killer)
Christopher Scarver
143
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.

 11 
Aileen Wuornos
(American Serial Killer)
Aileen Wuornos
192
Birthdate: February 29, 1956
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Rochester, Michigan, United States
Died: October 9, 2002

Sexually and physically assaulted by her own grandfather during her childhood and teenage years, Aileen Wuornos took to prostitution to support herself. From becoming pregnant at age 14 to engaging in sexual activities in exchange for drugs, Aileen's early life played a major role in turning her into a serial killer. Her story eventually became quite famous in popular culture.

 12 
H. H. Holmes
(American Serial Killer and Con Artist)
H. H. Holmes
82
Birthdate: May 16, 1861
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Gilmanton, New Hampshire, United States
Died: May 7, 1896
American serial killer H.H. Holmes was sentenced to death for the murder of his accomplice Benjamin Pitezel but confessed to 27 murders and might have killed almost 200 people. He had set up a hotel, later known as the Murder Castle, specifically for this purpose. He inspired a bestselling book.
 13 
David Berkowitz
(Serial Killer)
David Berkowitz
93
Birthdate: June 1, 1953
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York, U.S.

A convicted serial killer, David Berkowitz is believed to have killed six people and wounded seven others. He eluded the police for several months before being captured. He is currently serving six consecutive life sentences in the maximum-security prison, Shawangunk Correctional Facility. He was popularized by the media under the name “Son of Sam.”

 14 
Billy the Kid
82
Birthdate: November 17, 1859
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Manhattan
Died: July 14, 1881

Billy the Kid was a gunfighter of the American Old West whose notoriety grew when he escaped from jail after killing two sheriff's deputies. He remains one of the most notorious personalities of the American Old West, whose life has been often dramatized in popular culture. His story has inspired over 50 films, including Billy the Kid, and The Outlaw.

 15 
Gary Ridgway
(Serial Killer)
Gary Ridgway
98
Birthdate: February 18, 1949
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Nicknamed “the Green River Killer,” Gary Ridgway is a serial killer convicted of killing 49 women by driving them to remote locations, strangling them, and then disposing of their bodies in the Green River. DNA technology helped the police nab him. He had served in the Vietnam War earlier.
 16 
Joseph James DeAngelo
(Serial Killer)
Joseph James DeAngelo
83
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.

 17 
Peter Sutcliffe
(British Serial Killer)
Peter Sutcliffe
80
Birthdate: June 2, 1946
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Bingley, England
Died: November 13, 2020

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.

 18 
Harold Shipman
(Serial Killer)
Harold Shipman
112
Birthdate: January 14, 1946
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Nottingham
Died: January 13, 2004

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.

 19 
Dennis Rader (BTK Killer)
161
Birthdate: March 9, 1945
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Pittsburg, Kansas, United States
Dennis Rader, better known as BTK, an abbreviated form of “blind, torture, kill,” is an American serial killer. He murdered 10 people and then sent letters to the police and the media, explaining his crimes. Following a 10-year hiatus, he began sending letters again, leading to his arrest and conviction.
 20 
Albert Fish
(Serial Killer)
Albert Fish
69
Birthdate: May 19, 1870
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Washington, D.C., United States
Died: January 16, 1936

Albert Fish was an American cannibal, child rapist, and serial killer. Fish confessed to three murders out of the five murders for which he was suspected. However, he claimed to have victimized about 100 people and boasted of having children in every state. His crimes and the subsequent execution by electric chair were dramatized in the film The Gray Man.

 21 
Karla Homolka
(Canadian Serial Killer)
Karla Homolka
133
Birthdate: May 4, 1970
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Port Credit, Mississauga, Canada

Karla Homolka raped and killed three minors along with her ex-husband Paul Bernardo. After their arrest, Bernardo was sentenced to life imprisonment, while Homolka served 12 years in prison following a plea bargain. Although she had claimed that she was an unwilling accomplice to the killings, a videotape that surfaced after the plea bargain suggested otherwise, resulting in public outrage.

 22 
David Parker Ray
(Serial Rapist, Serial Killer)
David Parker Ray
68
Birthdate: November 6, 1939
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Belen, New Mexico
Died: May 28, 2002
David Parker Ray was said to have killed 60 women from Arizona and New Mexico. He earned the nickname “Toy-Box Killer” for using a sound-proof truck full of items of sexual torture, which he named his “toy box.” Though convicted of kidnapping and torture, he escaped a murder conviction.
 23 
Dean Corll
(American Serial Killer and Pederast)
Dean Corll
57
Birthdate: December 24, 1939
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States
Died: August 8, 1973
Dean Corll, also known as the “Candy Man” and the “Pied Piper,” was a serial killer who, along with accomplices David Brooks and Elmer Henley, was responsible for the grisly Houston Mass Murders. The group kidnapped, assaulted, and strangulated or shot at least 28 young men and boys. 
 24 
Rodney Alcala
(American Serial Killer and Sex Offender)
Rodney Alcala
63
Birthdate: August 23, 1943
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: San Antonio, Texas, United States
Died: July 24, 2021
Rodney Alcala received a death sentence for five murders in the 1970s, and 25 years for two more murders. Known as “The Dating Game Killer” for his appearance on the show The Dating Game in the middle of the murders, Alcala also collected explicit photos of his victims.
 25 
Delphine LaLaurie
(New Orleans Socialite and Serial Killer Who Tortured and Murdered Slaves in Her Household)
Delphine LaLaurie
50
Birthdate: March 19, 1780
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Died: December 7, 1849
Delphine LaLaurie, also known as Marie Delphine Macarty or Madame Blanque, was a socialite from New Orleans who tortured and killed countless slaves in her Royal Street mansion. Her crimes were discovered after a fire at her mansion. An outraged mob subsequently destroyed the house, while she left New Orleans.
 26 
Richard Kuklinski
(Criminal and Convicted Murderer)
Richard Kuklinski
43
Birthdate: April 11, 1935
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Jersey City, New Jersey, United States
Died: March 5, 2006
Richard Kuklinski, known as The Iceman, was a contract killer who worked for various mafia families. He earned his nickname after he froze the body of a victim. He received a life sentence for killing two gang members and two associates and later received 30 more years for another murder.
 27 
Tsutomu Miyazaki
(Japanese Serial Killer)
Tsutomu Miyazaki
46
Birthdate: August 21, 1962
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Itsukaichi, Tokyo
Died: June 17, 2008
Japanese serial killer, rapist, and cannibal Tsutomu Miyazaki, better known as the Otaku Murderer or the Little Girl Murderer, kidnapped and killed four girls, from ages 4 to 7, and then dismembered the bodies and indulged in necrophilia. He was convicted in 1997 and hanged to death in 2008.
 28 
Mary Ann Cotton
(Serial Killer)
Mary Ann Cotton
54
Birthdate: October 31, 1832
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Low Moorsley, Hetton-le-Hole, County Durham, England
Died: March 24, 1873

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. 

 29 
Lee Boyd Malvo
(American Serial Killer)
Lee Boyd Malvo
35
Birthdate: February 18, 1985
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Kingston, Jamaica

Lee Boyd Malvo was involved in the Beltway sniper attacks of 2002, which killed 10 people and injured three in the Washington Metropolitan Area. He had befriended his accomplice in the act, John Allen Muhammad, as a juvenile. Malvo is currently serving multiple life sentences at a supermax prison.

 30 
Amelia Dyer
(English Serial Killer Who Killed Infants)
Amelia Dyer
34
Birthdate: 1837 AD
Birthplace: Bristol
Died: June 11, 1897

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.

 31 
Gilles de Rais
(15th Century French Serial Killer of Children)
Gilles de Rais
17
Birthdate: 1404 AD
Birthplace: Champtocé-sur-Loire, France
Died: October 26, 1440

Gilles de Rais was a French lord and knight who served as a leader in the French army. Rais' achievements as a military man are often overshadowed by the fact that he was convicted of killing several children. A confessed serial killer, Gilles de Rais was sentenced to death and hanged on 26 October 1440.

 32 
Belle Gunness
(Serial Killer)
Belle Gunness
27
Birthdate: November 11, 1859
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Selbu
Died: April 28, 1908
Also known as the Mistress of Murder Farms, Norwegian-born American immigrant Brynhild Paulsdatter Storset later changed her name to Belle. The brutal murderer is believed to have seduced and then butchered her countless suitors. A headless body found recovered from her burnt house was thought to be hers.
 33 
Alexander Pichushkin
(Serial Killer)
Alexander Pichushkin
16
Birthdate: April 9, 1974
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Mytishchi

Known as the Chessboard Killer, Alexander Pichushkin set out to kill people matching all the 64 squares on his chessboard, and would cross out a square with every kill. Mostly targeting elderly people, he managed to kill about 48 to 60 people and was eventually sentenced to life imprisonment.

 34 
Cary Stayner
(Serial Killer)
Cary Stayner
28
Birthdate: August 13, 1961
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Merced, California

Cary Stayner is a serial killer convicted of the murders of four women in 1999. He had a troubled childhood. His brother Steven was a kidnap victim, and Cary himself was allegedly molested as a young boy. As a young man, he became involved with drugs and entered the world of crime. He is currently on death row.

 35 
Beverley Allitt
(Serial Killer)
Beverley Allitt
36
Birthdate: October 4, 1968
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Grantham, Lincolnshire, England

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.

 36 
Leonarda Cianciulli
(Italian Serial Killer)
Leonarda Cianciulli
23
Birthdate: April 18, 1894
Sun Sign: Aries
Birthplace: Montella, Italy
Died: October 15, 1970

Leonarda Cianciulli was an Italian serial killer who murdered three women and turned their bodies into soaps and tea cakes. She is also known as the "Soap-Maker of Correggio." Between 1939 and 1940, she killed three of her neighbors--all of them middle-aged women--as part of human sacrifices. She was eventually found guilty of her crimes and sentenced to prison.  

 37 
Dennis Nilsen
(Scottish Serial Killer and Necrophile)
Dennis Nilsen
74
Birthdate: November 23, 1945
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Birthplace: Fraserburgh, Scotland
Died: May 12, 2018

Dennis Nilsen was a Scottish necrophile and serial killer who killed at least 12 boys and young men between 1978 and 1983. Also known as the Muswell Hill Murderer, Nilsen committed these crimes in London, England, where he would lure his victims into his house before strangulating them to death. He was convicted in 1983 of six counts of murder.

 38 
Nannie Doss
(Serial Killer)
Nannie Doss
25
Birthdate: November 4, 1905
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Blue Mountain, Anniston, Alabama
Died: June 2, 1965
 39 
Cleveland Torso Murderer
(Serial Killer)
Cleveland Torso Murderer
9
Birthplace: United States
 40 
Tommy Lynn Sells
(Serial Killer)
Tommy Lynn Sells
14
Birthdate: June 28, 1964
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Oakland, California, United States
Died: April 3, 2014
 41 
Genene Jones
(Nurse Who Killed Several Infants)
Genene Jones
30
Birthdate: July 13, 1950
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Texas
 42 
Wayne Williams
(Serial Killer)
Wayne Williams
33
Birthdate: May 27, 1958
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Wayne Williams is an American serial killer currently serving life imprisonment for the murders of two men in Atlanta, Georgia. Although he is convicted of only two murders, Wayne Williams is suspected to have committed at least 23 of the 30 murders that took place in Atlanta between 1979 and 1981. His chilling story has inspired TV series and films.

 43 
Kristen Gilbert
(American Serial Killer and Former Nurse)
Kristen Gilbert
12
Birthdate: November 13, 1967
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Fall River, Massachusetts, United States

Kristen Gilbert is an American serial killer who worked as a nurse. She was convicted of two attempted murders and four murders of patients admitted to the Northampton Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Massachusetts. Nicknamed The Angel of Death, Kristen Gilbert was found guilty of inducing cardiac arrest in patients at the hospital.

 44 
Axeman of New Orleans
(Serial Killer)
Axeman of New Orleans
5
Birthplace: United States
 45 
Marc Dutroux
(Criminal, Electrician, Serial killer)
Marc Dutroux
14
Birthdate: November 6, 1956
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Ixelles / Elsene
In 2004, the notorious Belgian serial killer Marc Dutroux was convicted on charges of murder, kidnapping and rape and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Earlier, his case aroused widespread public outrage at the inefficiency and corruption of the Belgium’s law enforcement agency and led to the White March which was one of the largest demonstrations in Europe since WWII. 
 46 
The Long Island Serial Killer
(Serial killer)
The Long Island Serial Killer
18
Birthplace: United States
 47 
Marcel Petiot
(French Medical Doctor and Serial Killer Who Was Convicted of Multiple Murders)
Marcel Petiot
13
Birthdate: January 17, 1897
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Auxerre, France
Died: May 25, 1946

While he was diagnosed with mental illness as a child, French physician Marcel Petiot or Doctor Satan, allegedly killed almost 60 people later. He targeted Jews fleeing Nazi-occupied France, injected them with poison, stole their belongings, and hid their bodies in his basement. He was guillotined for his crimes.

 48 
Fred West
(Serial Killer)
Fred West
75
Birthdate: September 29, 1941
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Much Marcle, United Kingdom
Died: January 1, 1995

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.

 49 
Moses Sithole
(South African Serial Killer and Rapist)
Moses Sithole
14
Birthdate: November 17, 1964
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Vosloorus, South Africa

Moses Sithole is a South African rapist and serial killer who killed at least 38 people between 1994 and 1995. Nicknamed the ABC Killer, as he started murdering women in Atteridgeville before continuing his killing spree in Boksburg and then in Cleveland, Sithole was imprisoned in 1997 and is currently incarcerated in Bloemfontein at the Mangaung Correctional Centre.

 50 
William Heirens
(Serial Killer)
William Heirens
10
Birthdate: November 15, 1928
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Evanston, Illinois
Died: March 5, 2012