Voices for the Victims
Welcome to your weekly journey into the darkest corners of human nature. Join Harvey Guillén every Monday as he explores crimes that seized the public’s attention, from jaw-dropping heists and devastating cons to serial murders and deadly rivalries. Each episode unfolds a single case, examining not just the events themselves, but what continues to linger beneath the surface.
Killer Stories is a Spotify Podcast. New video episodes on Mondays!
602 most recent episodes
Visit website →A boisterous entertainer and wannabe opera singer disappears from her London home. Before detectives find human remains in the basement, her mild-mannered husband flees across the Atlantic with his lover, in disguise.Sources for this episode include:
In 1980s Los Angeles, a charismatic prep-school hustler builds the Billionaire Boys Club—part investment syndicate, part illusion—until a high-stakes con, a missing mogul, and a pair of brutal murders expose how greed, privilege, and cocaine turned a
A small Connecticut town witnesses its first murder ever. The culprit is an unlikely, quiet teenager who swears he was not in control of his own body. His supporters, however, think they know exactly what drove the young man to kill his victim: a cas
How do you smuggle a convicted killer out of a maximum-security prison? Apparently, you just need a cardboard box, some packing tape, and a dog trainer nobody suspects.
Sources for this episode include:
Living With Conviction by Toby DorrBreakout (
Dave thought he'd met his dream girl in Cari, but after she mysteriously breaks up with him and vanishes, Dave endures years of cruel text messages and emails.
Sources for this episode include:
A Tangled Web: A Cyberstalker, a Deadly Obsession, and
A Chicago respiratory therapist is brutally murdered in her apartment. Did her ghost solve her own case?
Sources for this episode include:Teresita: The Voice from the Grave by John O’Brien and Edward Baumann“A Chicago Murder Solved By a Ghost” (Chic
One FBI agent called it the most bizarre kidnapping case ever investigated by the Bureau: In 1968, an escaped convict and his new girlfriend bury their hostage alive in an underground chamber.
Sources for this episode include:
83 Hours Till Dawn wr
A seemingly heartbroken newlywed becomes the face of a shocking murder-for-hire plot—caught on tape before the crime can even happen. But as the trial unfolds, the real mystery isn’t what she planned, it’s how far reality can bend when everyone knows
Desperate to fit in, a teenage girl targets the most popular student at her school. The way she sees it, they can either be friends – or enemies.
Sources for this episode include:“Death of a Cheerleader” by Randall Sullivan, reprinted in Best of Rol
When a young model vanishes in Italy, the story seems disturbingly familiar—until her sudden reappearance raises more questions than answers. As investigators dig deeper, a case that looked open-and-shut twists into something far stranger.Sources for
Plenty of scam artists have pretended to be psychics. Not many of them secretly employ their daughters to sweep a client off their feet with their own purported psychic gifts. But then again, not every con artist has $15 million at stake.
Sources fo
When a lonely church volunteer in small-town Pennsylvania becomes obsessed with her new pastor, her festering jealousy toward a kindhearted fellow parishioner twists into delusion.
Sources for this episode include:
Love Me or Else: The True Story o
A 76-year-old career criminal leads a crew of pensioner thieves in Britain’s biggest-ever burglary—an “Ocean’s Eleven with bad knees” that nets £14 million in loot.Sources for this episode include:The Last Job: The Bad Grandpas and the Hatton Garden
The world’s most iconic male strip show becomes a battleground of ego, greed, and murder when its visionary founder spirals from fame into paranoia—unleashing a deadly plot that shocks the entertainment industry.
Sources for this episode include:
A
An online love triangle explodes into deception and murder when a middle-aged factory worker poses as a young Marine to seduce a teenage girl.
Sources for this episode include:Talhotblond (2009) Directed by Barbara Schroeder“An IM Infatuation Turned
Today is the last day of Takeover Month, thank you for joining us! We’ll be back in January with brand new episodes and a brand new host.
Investigator Slater (Psychopedia) takes us into the minds of criminals and killers with an incredible attention
It’s Takeover Month! Throughout December we will be highlighting the best of the true crime community, with a new episode every week from creators we love. We’ll be back next month with brand new episodes and a brand new host!
Crimehub is the place
It’s Takeover Month! Throughout December we will be highlighting the best of the true crime community, with a new episode every week from creators we love. We’ll be back next month with brand new episodes and a brand new host!
Sarah Turney (Voices f
It’s Takeover Month! Throughout December we will be highlighting the best of the true crime community, with a new episode every week from creators we love. We’ll be back next month with brand new episodes and a brand new host!
Alan Cross (Uncharted:
It’s Takeover Month! Throughout December we will be highlighting the best of the true crime community, with a new episode every week from creators we love. We’ll be back next month with brand new episodes and a brand new host!
Kaelyn Moore (Heart St
Hi listeners! After this week, we'll be taking a short break for the holiday. We'll be back in December with a special series to close out the year. Until then, here's Ed Gein Pt. 2.
After murdering two women, robbing graves, and decorating his home
We explore the twisted mind of Ed Gein, whose gruesome killings inspired horror movies Pyscho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and The Silence of the Lambs. Gein was known for years as the local handyman in Plainfield, until it was uncovered in 1957 tha
For Halloween this year we are bringing back one of your favorites, an urban legend about a terrifying Texas child-killer… and discussing how real-life cases echo the legend.
Stay up to date with changes coming to the feed on @serialkillerspodcast!
For Halloween this year we are bringing back one of your favorites. In 1996, a new horror movie with an innovative twist would reinvigorate the slasher genre. But behind the fictional Ghostface was an inspiration steeped in reality. A man in a makesh
This episode first aired on November 18, 2024. Across the U.S., college-aged men have been found dead in rivers, lakes, and ponds, and while their deaths have been ruled accidental, a team of retired detectives believes something more nefarious is go
This episode first aired on April 14, 2025. The sordid story of Chad and Lori Daybell hit national news in 2020: missing children, suspicious deaths, and a trail of fringe religious beliefs. We’re diving in with author and former criminal defense att
This episode first aired on August 19, 2024. He’s been called many names: the Boogeyman, the Thrill Vulture, the Moon Maniac, the Werewolf of Wysteria… But in life, he was known as Albert Fish and his gruesome crimes redefined the limits of human dep
This episode first aired on January 15, 2018. On the outside, Jane Toppan seemed like a loving nurse who cared deeply for her patients. But for years, she used her nursing skills to experiment with medicines…and kill the people who trusted her the mo
She dressed like a grandmother, lied about her age, and acted like a guardian angel… while secretly killing the very people she claimed to help. At her Sacramento boarding house, Dorothea Puente took in elderly, sick and disabled tenants. But once th
Richard Biegenwald didn’t have a consistent method or a clear motive. He killed out of impulse—sometimes for attention, sometimes for no reason at all. His crimes were scattered, senseless, and terrifyingly casual. From luring teens to shooting stran
Jeffrey Dahmer seemed quiet, even unassuming. But beneath the surface was a man consumed by violent desire. He didn’t kill out of anger—he killed to satisfy a fantasy. Every detail was deliberate, from the way he lured his victims to the way he posed
This Florida cop dedicated his life to fighting crime. But in his mind, the only way to truly clean up the streets, was to become a killer himself. So Manuel “Manny” Pardo killed nine people. And even in jail, he claimed his family would see him as a
The visionary killer blames their crimes on an external force – an apparition who commands them to kill. In Joseph Kallinger’s case, multiple entities urging him to commit arson… and then, to kill everyone on planet Earth.
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Ted Bundy was calculated, composed, even charming. But behind the polished exterior was a predator obsessed with control. He used manipulation, deceit, and dominance to gain total power over his victims. From his carefully planned attacks to his deta
In 2022, Six weeks after the murders of the Idaho Four, Bryan Kohberger was arrested in Pennsylvania. Fast forward to July of 2025, when just weeks before his trial was set to begin, he pleaded guilty. Later that month, he was sentenced to life in pr
In the early morning hours of November 13, 2022, four students at the University of Idaho were murdered in their off-campus home. The shocking brutality of the murders garnered media attention while police searched for the killer. But for author and
The Hook Man is an urban legend dating back to the 1950s. The terrifying story tells of a killer with a hook for a hand who preys on young couples parked in lovers’ lanes. The legend found new life in the 1997 slasher film, I Know What You Did Last S
After a young boy vanished in 1911, police received mysterious postcards. The horrifying allegations and broad inconsistencies led them to believe the notes were a hoax – until it was too late. With one victim recovered, police faced the question: wh
May, 1985. Two days before her high school graduation, Shari Faye Smith was abducted from her parents’ driveway in broad daylight. Her kidnapper taunted Shari’s family by phone for days, calling in the middle of the night and revealing bone-chilling
Ervil LeBaron, the prophet of a Fundamentalist LDS sect in Mexico, has grasped power after being released from prison for orchestrating his brother’s murder. Now, Ervil has a list of names of those who have turned their back against his leadership. B
In the 1920s, the LeBaron family settles in Mexico to practice their own sect of Mormonism. They establish a settlement, open a church, and work the farms. But after the family patriarch dies, the settlement becomes a bloody battleground for brothers
Happy solstice, listeners! Join our guest host this week, Sapphire Sandalo, for a summertime tale of betrayal, murder, and the bizarre journey of a criminal corpse.
It's 1827, and the Marten family hasn’t seen 25-year-old Maria in five months, ever
In the 1970s, at least seven young women and girls go missing around Santa Rosa, California. Seven are found dead, and one remains unidentified. Several killers, including the Zodiac and Ted Bundy, were known to commit crimes in Northern California.
His modus operandi is shocking: years before he strangled his victims, Henry Louis Wallace befriended them. By and large, they were his coworkers at Bojangles and Taco Bell. But under interrogation, he’d admit an even darker motive.
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A missing woman in Florida leads police to a fugitive who’s been on the run for 17 years. But that’s just the beginning. Franklin Delano Floyd not only becomes a suspect in that case, but he’s then tied to several unsolved murders, disappearances, an
When a boneless torso possibly belonging to a woman named Cora Turner is found in the cellar of a London home, the culprit seems almost obvious. Her husband, Dr. Hawley Harvey Crippen, seems to have disappeared with his mistress. But the true answer
“...catch me if you can!” Police find those words written on a note left in a jacket draped over a murder victim’s body. They believe the message comes from a serial killer targeting young women in the Washington, D.C. area, nicknamed the Freeway Pha
The eighty miles surrounding Dublin, Ireland, hold a chilling mystery. Between 1993 and 1998, at least six women disappeared in the area, and their cases remain unsolved. Police investigations have targeted at least one suspect, but still no one has
After getting away with murder in LA, retirees Helen and Olga scheme to kill again. But when an unlikely party sniffs out their crimes, the friends turn on each other.
Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email
No one batted an eye at the two women who became fast friends at an LA gym in the 1990s – until years later, when it came out that they’d teamed up for a plot to kill men down on their luck.
Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a
In early 2020, the story of Lori Daybell and her new husband, Chad Daybell, hit national news. They’d seemingly fled to Hawaii while two of Lori’s children were missing, leaving a wake of mysterious deaths and attacks behind. The public and authoriti
Struggling with gambling and spiraling into debt, William Palmer turned to murder. This week, we continue analyzing the deaths Palmer was accused of, and how the scheming doctor was finally caught.
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In 1855, Dr. William Palmer became one of the Victorian era’s most famous villains – a man who poisoned his own friends and family. But with limited evidence and only one conviction, was Palmer really a serial killer?
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In Texas, convicted murderer Ed Bell claimed he killed 11 girls between Houston and Galveston back in the 1970s. Reporter Lise Olsen and detective Fred Paige investigated those claims and uncovered eerie ties between Bell and several unresolved murde
Edward Harold Bell was serving a 70-year prison sentence for murdering a man when he sent a letter to Houston reporter Lise Olsen. He told her he’d also killed 11 girls in and around the Interstate-45 corridor between Houston and Galveston back in th
When a series of double-homicides struck Virginia in the late 1980s, authorities immediately suspected a serial killer. But it took 35 years – and random chance – to find the missing link.
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Five missing people in five years. And that’s far from the only fact that aroused suspicion of a serial killer operating along the Idaho-Washington border in the early 1980s. While some victims have been found, the hunt for the killer is still on.
K
In the fall of 1994, a 13-year-old boy found a human skull in his backyard. Detectives later discovered thousands more bones scattered about his family's estate, a property known as Fox Hollow Farm. The remains belonged to the presumed victims of Her
In 1960, Sharon Kinne is a typical housewife raising two children in Kansas City. By 1964, she’s the subject of an investigation into the deaths of three people… and an international fugitive.
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For Valentine’s Day we’re going back into the archives to bring you some of the most infamous couples in true crime history.
All Wanda Barzee wanted in life was for someone to take care of her, and in return she promised complete devotion. So when h
For Valentine’s Day we’re going back into the archives to bring you some of the most infamous couples in true crime history.
Kathryn Kelly was running schemes long before she ever met her notorious husband. She hungered to live a life of luxury and
In 1907, George Soper located the cause of a typhoid outbreak in New York City: a cook named Mary Mallon. Mary didn’t know it, but each and every meal she cooked carried a small chance for her clients to come down with the disease. Finding out the tr
In the late 1800s, Mary Mallon was a cook for wealthy families in New York City. She thought her job was going well; her clients seemed pleased and she had a reputation as an exceptional chef. But then, the family members started getting sick, and Ma
Mary Bateman had been playing people for fools for years. The problem was, too many of her dissatisfied customers stuck around to complain about her trickery. Her solution? Murder.
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Mary Bateman was an accomplished liar from a young age, and when she grew up, she started using that talent as a way of making money. Passing herself off as a witch, she tricked paranoid and gullible customers into handing over their hard-earned mone
As our Best of 2024 selection, we're featuring our three-part series on notorious serial killer Israel Keyes.
Israel Keyes died having only confessed to a handful of murders and crimes. Researchers and investigators are left piecing together evidenc
As our Best of 2024 selection, we're featuring our three-part series on notorious serial killer Israel Keyes.
Over the course of six months in 2012, Israel Keyes sits down with the FBI for a series of interviews. In between toying with investigators
As our Best of 2024 selection, we're featuring our three-part series on notorious serial killer Israel Keyes.
In 2012, Israel Keyes is arrested and charged with kidnapping and killing an 18-year-old barista. Prior to that, he’d had just one blemish
We're continuing our holiday break, but you won't want to miss the episode we're highlighting this week. In this episode, our friends at Murder in America sit down and for an interview with a man who claims to have killed 30 people. This two-part ser
Happy holidays, listeners! We're starting off our winter break by bringing you an episode from our colleagues at Science Vs about how a notorious murder case was solved with help from an unlikely source: a nuclear weapons lab.
It’s the 1990s at a me
You may have seen the movie and heard the musical, but do you know the secrets? As we take a break from our regular programming for the holidays, we’re revisiting one of the most influential films of all time. Walk with us as Carter follows the yello
Three decades. Eleven states. Over 600 bodies. Across the United States, college-aged men have ended up dead in rivers, lakes, and ponds. The deaths have been ruled accidental drownings, but a team of retired detectives believes a small, smiley-face
In May 1999, Hong Kong police found the scattered remains of a young mother in a flat in the city’s Kowloon district. The crime scene was like nothing anyone had seen before: unimaginable brutality set against a backdrop of Hello Kitty memorabilia. I
Nancy Santomero and Vicki Durian hitchhiked from Arizona to West Virginia in the summer of 1980. They planned to attend the Rainbow Gathering, an annual event where like-minded, free spirits could peacefully gather and celebrate. Just before they arr
Say Candyman’s name five times in a mirror and you’ll summon his vengeful spirit, then he’ll slaughter you with his hook. That’s how the urban legend goes anyway. It was directly inspired by a short story, a series of Hollywood films, and some suspec
If you’ve babysat, you’ve heard this tale: While her charges sleep, a babysitter receives harassing phone calls telling her to “check the children”. But this urban legend has disturbing real-life parallels, including the case of 14-year-old Karen Sla
In a remote area of York County, Pennsylvania, a two-story clapboard house stands in Rehmeyer’s Hollow, aka “Hex Hollow” – where some say the spirit of Nelson Rehmeyer still resides.
Perhaps that’s because his home was also the site of a real-life t
According to the urban legends, Highway 666 is a paranormal hotspot in the remote American Southwest. The “Devil’s Highway” is cursed by ghostly hitchhikers, UFOs, and the homicidal “demon trucker” who stalks his prey along the highway.
Highway 666 h
In August of 1989, 21-year-old Lyle and 18-year-old Erik Menendez murdered their parents in Beverly Hills after years of abuse. Afterward, they attempted to cover it up, but their stories quickly unravelled.
Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkille
Jose Menendez pursued wealth at the expense of everything else in his life, including his relationship with his family. He abused his wife Kitty, and his sons, Lyle and Erik, until tension in the household finally boiled over in 1989.
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On September 13th, 1978, an episode of The Dating Game aired on network television featuring a man named Rodney Alcala as “Bachelor Number One.” The announcer introduced him as a “successful photographer” – but at the time, Rodney had a secret. He’d
Ted Kaczynski, the man better known to the world as the Unabomber, died in 2023. But his manifesto and the ideas he presented as justifications for his killings have become more mainstream. We sat down with Candice DeLong, one of the FBI agents who h
There was no debate over whether Betty Lou Beets killed two of her husbands. But there was great concern over her motivation. Did she do it out of fear or for money?
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All she really wanted in life was freedom. But Betty Lou Beets wound up trapped in abusive marriage after abusive marriage. It was only a matter of time before she would strike back.
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We’re celebrating 500 episodes over at @serialkillerspodcast - come share your favorite episodes and memories from the show, and enjoy some special behind-the-scenes bonus content!
He’s been called many names: the Boogeyman, the Thrill Vulture, the
After 13 years as a Mafia hit man, he found himself in the crosshairs of the New Jersey Police. There was only one thing left to do: slaughter every last one of his friends before they got the chance to turn on him.
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He killed over a hundred people before the police had even heard his name. So when the Mafia needed a body to drop without getting their hands dirty, there was only one man to call. Richard Kuklinski was quick, vicious, and utterly invisible.
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In August of 2018, Chris and Shanann Watts’ marriage ended in violent tragedy. The trauma left a family broken and a Colorado community reeling, as the public struggled to understand the shocking crime.
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Chris and Shanann Watts seemed to have the picture-perfect life. But in reality, an extramarital affair, financial struggles, and conflicts with extended family were tearing the couple apart, all leading to a shocking, brutal crime that would shock t
In 1978, Ann Wolbert Burgess was a psychiatric nurse, researcher, and professor at Boston College’s Connell School of Nursing. She and her colleague, Lynda Holmstrom, had recently published their findings on the emotional and psychological effects of
Honolulu, on the Hawaiian island of O’ahu, is a quintessential paradise. In 1986, it was also the hunting grounds of a serial killer who was never caught: The Honolulu Strangler. Investigators believe he claimed as many as five victims before seeming
George Joseph Smith, the “London Bluebeard,” was said to have hypnotizing eyes that lured women into marriage – and on to their untimely deaths. But it was his strange method of killing them that would eventually lead to his downfall…after his third
When a Missouri real estate tycoon fell sick in 1909, he promised his family a large inheritance. But one in-law was after far more than a piece of the pie. Dr. Bennett Clark Hyde wanted the whole fortune, even if it meant using his medical knowledge
By 1938, Philadelphia’s Bolber-Petrillo Murder Ring had collected an estimated $100,000 in insurance payouts. But like many criminals on a lucky streak, they got sloppy. As investigators unraveled the threads of the ring’s vast conspiracy, Dr. Morris
In 1930s Philadelphia, self-styled “doctor” Morris Bolber claimed he could fix any ailment – even a broken marriage. His poisonous prescriptions for unhappy housewives killed dozens of men. When the prescriptions didn’t work, Bolber called a pair of
An Italian woman living in Rome during the 17th century sold black-market poison to women who wanted to escape their marriages. She packaged the liquid in glass vials and used labels that claimed it was a healing ointment. It was said to be slow-acti
Serial killer or serial liar? Kelly Cochran is guilty of two homicides, which she blames on a pact she made with her husband, Jason. But Kelly’s history of lies and manipulation may have concealed up to thirty-two murders and at least one case of can
In 1974, 17-year-old Carla Walker was abducted from a car in Fort Worth, Texas. Days later, her body was discovered in a remote culvert a few miles away. 46 years later, an arrest was made. But was she Glen McCurley’s only victim?
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At 11, Mary Bell was on trial for not one, but two murders – during which she was often considered a “bad seed” by those who couldn’t comprehend how such a young girl could commit these acts.
Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a
It’s 2004, and Sheila LaBarre has inherited wealth, a massive farm, and animals she adores. She has everything she ever wanted…almost. What Sheila really wants is to find men who sexually abuse children, and kill them.
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Sheila LaBarre’s childhood dreams weren’t out of the ordinary: get out of her small town, become famous, marry a wealthy man. But after a near-death experience, Sheila’s perspective shifts and she sets her sights on revenge.
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April 25 marks National DNA Day in the US, and if you’ve been following true crime stories for a while you know how important DNA can be for solving even the most complicated of cases. In this episode, we’re exploring the first murder case ever solve
In 1989, Kristen Gilbert started her nursing career at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Northampton, Massachusetts. She impressed medical staff for her quick and skilled reactions to emergencies on her ward and in the ICU. But over the followin
In 1975, two young girls, Kate and Sheila Lyon, disappeared from the Wheaton Plaza Mall in Montgomery County, Maryland. Investigators assumed the worst: that they were abducted by a stranger with sexual motivations. But the case went cold without ans
All Anthony Garcia ever wanted to be was a successful doctor. When anyone got in his way, he attacked – resulting in four violent murders.
Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at serialkillerstories@spo
Israel Keyes died having only confessed to a handful of murders and crimes. Researchers and investigators are left piecing together evidence to solve cold cases.
Special thanks to Josh Hallmark for lending his expertise to today’s episode. Check out
Over the course of six months in 2012, Israel Keyes sits down with the FBI for a series of interviews. In between toying with investigators and bargaining for what he wants, he confesses to a handful of other crimes — while alluding to a whole lot mo
In 2012, Israel Keyes is arrested and charged with kidnapping and killing an 18-year-old barista. Prior to that, he’d had just one blemish on his criminal record: a DUI. He’s since been called “the most terrifying serial killer you’ve probably never
On September 29, 1982, 12-year-old Mary Kellerman took one Extra Strength Tylenol capsule to ease her sore throat and mysteriously died less than four hours later. The same day, three members of the Janus family ingested Tylenol. Brothers Adam and St
In July 2023, Rex Heuermann was arrested and charged with the murders of Megan Waterman, Melissa Barthelemy, and Amber Costello. Additional charges came in January 2024 for the murder of Maureen Brainard-Barnes.
Robert Kolker, author of Lost Girls: A
Olivia Hope and Ben Smart were partying with their friends on New Year’s Eve in the Marlborough Sounds of New Zealand. As the party was dying down they accepted an offer from a stranger to come aboard his yacht. They were never heard from again.
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In October 1983, police found Gertrude McCabe dead inside her San Jose home: Who would murder an 88-year-old woman in such a violent fashion?
Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Email us at serialkillerstories@s
During a 1972 snowstorm, musical prodigy Lee Morgan and his band played a set at Slug’s Saloon in New York City. One minute, he was entertaining the crowd, his trumpet blaring with solo after solo. The next, he was dead.
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Sometimes violence comes from the people you least expect. Annie Elise, host of SERIALously and 10 to Life, joins Vanessa to discuss two shocking murders, overlooked warning signs, and how all of us can prevent future tragedies.
The case of Brenda D
Leading up to the Grammys, we’re covering one of history’s most infamous musicians: Charles Manson. Vanessa explores the music references Manson’s followers left at the crime scenes, how the crimes reverberated through the music business, and why Cha
Leading up to the Grammys, we’re covering one of history’s most infamous musicians: Charles Manson. Vanessa explores how Manson’s failed music career morphed into a murder cult.
Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to shar
50 years ago to this day, Dennis Rader, aka BTK, killed four members of the Otero family. These murders were his first of ten, and he would play cat-and-mouse games with media and law enforcement for the next 30 years before his own ego got him captu
A fire in the beautiful LaLaurie mansion reveals some ugly secrets. In this episode we recount the events of the night in 1834 when Delphine went from being the queen of Creole society to one of its most reviled citizens.
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Her New Orleans mansion is said to be haunted, but the truth behind the legend of Delphine LaLaurie is much scarier than a ghost lurking in the corner. Join Vanessa as she recounts the life and horror of the infamous mistress.
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Happy holidays from all of us at Serial Killers! We will be back with a new episode in January. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy one of our best episodes of the year.
After Robert Garrow committed his first murder, he retreated to Adirondack Park t
Happy holidays from all of us at Serial Killers! We will be back with a new episode in January. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy one of our best episodes of the year.
He grew up without any friends and suffered severe head injuries due to abuse fro
After the fallout at the PNC Bank, Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong and Bill Rothstein scrambled to cover their tracks. But the FBI was already closing in, working to reveal the mastermind behind the entire plan.
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In order to deactivate the bomb, Brian’s co-conspirators set up an elaborate scavenger hunt around Erie, Pennsylvania. But as police started to follow the clues, tragedy struck.
Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast and Tiktok @serialkil
In August 2003, pizza delivery man Brian Wells strapped a collar bomb to his neck and chest and entered a PNC Bank demanding $250,000 in cash. He thought it was the perfect bank robbery, and that the bomb on his chest was fake. He was wrong on both c
After her sentencing, investigators and the American public thought the case of ‘Bloody Babs’ was finally over. But as Barbara revealed new details about her version of events, her guilt was once again put into question.
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The case of Barbara Graham has mystified people for generations. She was convicted for the murder of Mabel Monahan in 1953, but was she actually guilty? Or just in the wrong place at the wrong time?
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Adolfo Constanzo may be known as the leader of The Narco Satanists cult, but equally deserving of the title was his right-hand woman, Sara Aldrete. Following Adolfo’s recruitment, Sara accompanied him everywhere – from ritual magic to murder.
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For Halloween, we’re presenting an urban legend about a terrifying Texas child-killer… and discussing how real-life cases echo the legend.
Keep up with us on Instagram @serialkillerspodcast and Tiktok @serialkillerspodcast! Have a story to share? Ema
In Hayward, California, in 1988, the unthinkable happened – 9-year-old Michaela Garecht was abducted by a stranger, witnessed only by her best friend. Her mother endures decades of stalled-out investigations and false leads, until the abduction is li
The true story behind Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon: Members of Osage Nation are being targeted for their high-priced oil headrights. There’s so many murders that the small local police department can’t investigate thoroughly, so the tribe tu
The true story behind Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon: In the early twentieth century, Oklahoma’s Osage Reservation was rich in oil and spread the wealth across the tribe. But in the 1920s, it became clear that someone was killing members of th
In the early 2000s, a serial killer attacked at least six young women around Jacksonville, Florida. Though we’re still awaiting official justice, authorities have strong suspicion around convicted murderer Paul Durousseau. Today, Vanessa analyzes how
You may have heard of ‘boy moms’, but we promise you’ve never heard of one like Sante Kimes. In the final part of our story you’ll hear about how Kimes’ grifts grew in scale and complexity, and how the only person she trusted to carry out her deadly
What would you steal if you knew you could get away with it? After years of robbery and fraud Sante Kimes moved on to steal something much more sinister than coats and cash: people’s freedom. Specifically, the freedom of service workers and undocumen
Sante Kimes grew up with very little, so after she moved in with millionaire real-estate investor Kenneth Kimes, she took advantage of all that his wealth had to offer. Enough was never enough: and once she got what she wanted, she couldn’t stop.
Lea
Rudy Bladel claimed he murdered his coworkers in an act of revenge — but most of his victims were complete strangers. Vanessa examines his life and crimes to understand Bladel’s twisted logic.
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Harvey Miguel Robinson committed his first murder when he was just 17. As the son of a convicted murderer and violent abuser, did he ever have a chance?
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In 1969, a 23-year-old law student at the University of Michigan was found murdered in a cemetery outside of Ann Arbor. Jane Mixer’s death was considered part of a string of violent killings known as the Michigan murders, thought to be the work of a
Eliot Ness went to the grave in 1957 without ever convicting the Cleveland Torso Murderer. Decades later, his family would reveal a secret suspect hidden within his notes, that was too well-connected to be accused publicly. This episode originally ai
When a torso washed up on the banks of the Cuyahoga River in 1937, the police initially assumed a crime of passion. But when the next torso was found, they knew they had a serial murderer on their hands. Nicknamed the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run, a
In the 1980s, after decades of snowballing violent impulses, Dayton Leroy Rogers began murdering women and leaving their bodies in the Molalla forest in Oregon.
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After a repressive religious upbringing filled with abuse from his fundamentalist father, Dayton Leroy Rogers grew into a rage-filled young man.
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After a 7-month hiatus between 1918 and 1919, the Axeman jumped back into his killing spree. City officials tried to track down the mysterious killer, but their hunt led to nothing but dead ends and wrongful convictions. To this day, the Axeman's tru
While the U.S. was wrapped up in the final days of World War I, New Orleans was facing an enemy right in their own backyard. In the early 20th century, a wave of fear rolled through Crescent City as a mysterious man began axing people in the dead of
By 1985, the Monster of Florence had claimed 16 lives—but authorities were no closer to catching the killer than when they'd started their investigation, and the trail was getting colder every day.
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One of Italy’s most notorious serial killers has never (definitively) been identified. The mysterious Monster of Florence murdered couples in their cars, beginning in 1974. The crimes were so horrific that all of Florence was on edge, and the hunt fo
In the so-called murder capital of the world, Terry Childs grew up in the shadows of infamous serial killers. Until he became one himself.
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Following a string of brutal murders throughout the 1960s, the Zodiac Killer continues to write letters taunting the press and police. This episode originally aired in February 2020.
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In the summer of 1969, newspapers in San Francisco began receiving coded letters from a man who would come to identify himself as "the Zodiac." The killer confessed to a string of brutal murders and would go on to terrorize the Bay area into the earl
Some hitmen must walk the line between being a family man at home and a killer at work. But Greg Scarpa wasn't your ordinary hitman. He was paid by the FBI as a Criminal Informant and was instrumental in helping them solve crimes. But some think his
Starting in the 1950s, Greg Scarpa killed his way up the ladder to become the Colombo family's main hitman. By the mid-1980s, his children were in on the family secret. And the only thing more surprising than the number of kills he racked up was who
In 1982, while Richard Biegenwald was on a killing spree along the Jersey Shore, he also groomed a young woman he lived with to be his protégé. But when she ultimately wasn't up to the task, it meant Biegenwald's secret was out. And it would lead to
Before he was even five years old, Richard Biegenwald was diagnosed with schizophrenia. After more than a decade in institutions and reform schools, he finally got the freedom he longed for. But once out in the world, he reverted to old habits and de
During his twenties, he spent his free time reading books about how to kill a human being. Naturally, a job as a mafia hitman was perfect for Thomas Pitera. But when he went from a cold, calculated killer to slowly torturing his targets, it became ha
While many know his son, Oscar-nominated actor Woody Harrelson, Charles Harrelson spent most of his adult life on the wrong side of the law. As a contract killer, he successfully killed his first two targets but went to trial for both. Years later, h
After Robert Garrow committed his first murder, he retreated to Adirondack Park to hide in the wilderness. But the peaceful atmosphere of the woods only agitated him more, leading him to go on a gruesome murder spree in the Adirondack Mountains. And
He grew up without any friends and suffered severe head injuries due to abuse from his parents. As Robert Garrow got older, he turned to crimes like larceny and burglary. But eventually, he gave way to darker and more twisted impulses.
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Hitmen need a certain level of detachment to do their job. They typically think of their victims as targets, not people. So when brothers Steve and Robert Homick were hired to kill Gerald and Vera Woodman, their inability to be cool, calm, and collec
There is an old saying that blood is thicker than water. But on Sept. 25, 1985, Gerald and Vera Woodman were gunned down in the parking garage of their condo — victims of a hit put on them by two of their adult sons.
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By the end of 1993, seven decomposed bodies had been pulled from Australia's Belanglo State Forest. The nation was terrified, and the police force was put on notice: There was a serial killer on the loose. This episode became a Parcast Instant Classi
The bodies of two missing backpackers were recovered from Australia’s Belanglo State Forest in 1992. They weren’t the last. This episode became a Parcast Instant Classic when it initially aired in November, 2020.
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Being outside with nature is where he felt most comfortable. That’s why Gary Michael Hilton targeted avid hikers in peaceful, wooded areas. But while he chose his victims carefully, he didn't give the same type of thought to getting away with his cri
Out in nature, alone with only the trees for company, Gary Michael Hilton found a peace that always eluded him in day-to-day life. Numerous run-ins with landlords, spouses, and law enforcement complicated things in the city. And in October of 2007, h
Philadelphia’s first Earth Day celebration made him a minor celebrity. When he met 25-year-old Holly Maddux, he knew he had to be with her. They lived together for a few years before Holly started to see the real Ira Einhorn. Just days after she told
If you were in Philadelphia during the 1960s and interested in the counterculture movement, you probably saw Ira Einhorn storm the stage at the city’s very first Earth Day. While peace and love were the mainstays of his belief system, Ira didn't alwa
By early July 1988, he had already tortured, mutilated, and killed two women. Police were stumped until they sent in one of their own undercover. And while his wife and children slept, 30-year-old Steven Brian Pennell took the bait.
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With fear of confrontation and anxiety about disappointing loved ones, Steven Brian Pennell pent up his rage. He'd often drive along Highway 40 in Delaware to clear his head. After killing his first hitchhiker, he realized there was only one way to s
While she was a pediatric nurse at Bexar County Hospital, Genene Jones' colleagues were alarmed by how many babies were dying during her shift. When evidence was presented to the hospital's medical director, an investigation was launched. But during
She had experienced her share of tragedy, losing her father and a brother to cancer. That's why Genene Jones went into nursing. She wanted to make a difference. And while she was very devoted to her job in the pediatric ICU, it seemed far more babies
His family says that a traumatic brain injury when he was 13 changed Peter Kudzinowski's behavior. But alcohol always made him aggressive. When he was 25 years old, he was found intoxicated on the street in Detroit and put in the drunk tank. He hinte
Imagine knowing who a serial killer is for years but not having enough evidence to prove it. This is what happened to police in Sydney, Australia. During the 1980s, Leonard Warwick was angry when he lost custody of his daughter after his divorce, so
With Mir Aimal Kansi safely back in Pakistan, the FBI had to try to find him and bring him home. After a raid on Kansi's family home yielded nothing, authorities realized they were in over their heads, until a raise in the reward money for Kansi's ca
On the morning of January 25th, 1993, Mir Aimal Kansi carried out an assault on members of the CIA without ever stepping onto the grounds. After killing two and injuring three others, Kansi left the scene and waited to be apprehended at a nearby park
Before he earned his nickname in prison, Manuel Pardo Jr was a corrupt cop in Florida during the 1980s. But when law enforcement didn’t let him get the justice he wanted, he took the law into his own hands.
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Holed up in a cabin in Big Bear, California, Christopher Dorner was trapped. A perimeter of 40 officers with guns drawn was waiting in the snowy forest. Police wanted the standoff to end sooner than later. But the method they would use would be contr
In February 2013, a former police officer fired by the LAPD, had a score to settle. His name was Christopher Dorner and his manifesto included a list of people he wanted to kill, many of them cops. But before authorities could stop him, they needed t
He found a way to fit into his new surroundings everywhere he moved. Terry Rasmussen would change his name, marry someone new, then brutally murder them – only to move somewhere else and do it all over again.
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In 2001 Robert Durst was posing as a woman, hiding from authorities in Galveston, Texas. He befriends a neighbor, Morris Black, who he later kills and dismembers. Though he avoids conviction, over a decade later, he seemingly makes a confession admit
Before he was the subject of HBO’s “The Jinx,” he was the son of a wealthy real estate developer who had everything at his disposal. As he grows up he finds a best friend in Susan Berman and marries his first wife Kathie. Within decades, they’d both
He was bullied at school and abused by his mother. As an adult, he had violent fantasies of raping and strangling women. But Carroll Cole's first murder was actually as a child. And once he did it, he couldn't stop fantasizing about doing it again.
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By the time he aged out of the foster system, Vincent Johnson had already shown signs of being violent. As an adult, he became increasingly unstable while living on the streets of Brooklyn. Then as his rage grew, he targeted women in his neighborhood
No matter where Bill Suff lived, he was seen mainly by neighbors and co-workers as a helpful and happy man. It was a massive shock to them, and especially his wife, when he was indicted on 14 murder counts and one count of attempted murder.
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It was the late 1960s when Bill Suff, the oldest of five children, was forced into a co-parenting role after his dad walked out on the family. His lack of control over the world around him made him angry. And one day, he would let out all that anger
In the weeks after their third murder, Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky disappear into the woods of northern Manitoba, over a thousand miles away from where their killing spree began. The RCMP throws their resources into the investigation, but the bi
In the start of a new special series on Serial Killers, we’re delving into the minds of killers on the run — cracking open some of the largest manhunts ever undertaken. Our first episode takes us into the vast wilderness of Northern Canada, where the
In the 1980s, Richard Angelo was a Long Island native working as a nurse in the ICU. He’d found his passion — emergency medicine — in college. But somewhere along the way, his drive to be a hero took an ugly detour.
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While the Stocking Strangler terrorized a Georgia suburb, another killer stalked military bases in the state. William Henry Hance was an army officer with an eruptive temper who was charged with the murders of three women. Police caught onto his crim
After a confession leads police down the wrong path, they establish the Strangling Task Force and redouble their efforts. 27-year-old Carlton Gary keeps up appearances, until he’s arrested for the last time. For police, it’s an open-and-shut case. Ye
For several terrifying months in the 1970s, elderly women in a Georgia suburb were turning up dead or brutally injured in their homes. The murders set the community on edge as police reckoned with a serial strangler.
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In 1946, the mysterious Phantom Killer who had terrorized the town of Texarkana for months disappeared just as quickly as he'd appeared. With little evidence to go on, the police home in on one suspect. But justice proves harder to come by than they'
In 1946, the city of Texarkana was plagued by a series of attacks and murders on couples parked in their cars. Police, however, failed to act quickly enough, potentially giving the murderer enough time to get away.
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The spree continues into Christmas Day and beyond, during which the teen gang murders their third, fourth, fifth and sixth victims. After a tip, police catch the group wearing victims’ clothing, driving a victim’s stolen car, and in possession of the
In the early hours of Christmas Eve 1992, a senseless murder in Dayton, Ohio, marks the beginning of a rampage. What started as a desire for Christmas cash turns into a three-day killing spree that leaves six people dead. Even more shocking was that
Eddie’s crimes escalated in the ‘90s as he continued to dodge police. By 1996, he had attacked eight people, killing three of them. But unlike the original Zodiac Killer, Eddie didn’t stay anonymous for long.
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Twenty years after the notorious Zodiac Killer terrorized San Francisco, someone else picked up their mantle. Heriberto “Eddie” Seda was a Brooklyn native and one-time street preacher who began targeting victims and taunting police with cryptic lette
Once back in the U.S., Maust serves time for manslaughter before regaining his freedom. He continues befriending teenage boys who fill his need for companionship. But time and again, Maust caves to his violent urges. Despite his guilt, and his sponta
A volatile childhood and stints in a hospital psych ward set the stage for a violent killer who murdered teenage boys in Germany and the U.S. from the 1970s to the early aughts.
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Over the ages, arsenic has had many lives — beauty fad, household product, medical prescription… and weapon of choice wielded by killers everywhere from Alabama to ancient Rome. Brine your turkey, knead your dough, and listen to our Thanksgiving Spec
With his caked-on makeup and pathological lies, Charles “Smitty” Schmid cut a distinctive figure among Tucson’s youth. The 22-year-old wanted to draw misfit teens to himself like moths to a flame, before holding a cultish sway over them. Schmid was a
When The Texas Chain Saw Massacre debuted in 1974, audiences had a visceral experience so frightening, many believed what they witnessed was real. Its main villain, Leatherface, slaughtered innocent youths and wore their skin for pleasure. This depic
Premiering in 1991, The Silence of the Lambs was anything but your typical horror movie. While it made the name Hannibal Lecter famous, at its core, the film was a psychological thriller that tracked the moves of a murderer at large: Buffalo Bill. Bu
In 1996, a new horror movie with an innovative twist would reinvigorate the slasher genre. But behind the fictional Ghostface was an inspiration steeped in reality. A man in a makeshift mask who stalked and tormented teenage girls during a three-day
Andrei’s murders don’t go unnoticed. A pattern emerges: young victims, bodies mutilated, left in isolated patches of wilderness. But even with police on high alert, the serial killer eludes capture until 1990 — when his twelve-year reign of terror fi
In the USSR, an engineer hid a secret he was deeply ashamed of — his inability to have sex with women he dated. His frustration made him withdraw from others, until he developed a proclivity for sexual violence that, at last, could satisfy him.
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In the late 1950s, a Los Angeles native started a crime spree that would stretch into the ‘80s. John Floyd Thomas Jr. spent those decades terrorizing his hometown, targeting women aged 50 and older who lived alone, and occasionally even going to jail
By 2011, the FBI was ready to reexamine the evidence. A theory emerged: What if the Mad Poisoner was actually the Unabomber? Ted Kaczynski had proven he was a revenge-seeking terrorist, and he had connections to Chicago. Perhaps he traded homemade bo
If Roger Arnold wasn’t behind the murders, who was? Police turn their focus to a new suspect: a disgruntled accountant named James Lewis. But the more police dig into Lewis’s life, the more questions they have. The road ahead is paved with extortion,
Forty years ago, cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules led to the deaths of seven people all around the Chicago area. America was gripped by paranoia and fear. Why was this happening? Who would be next? Police grasped for suspects who might be the so-called
In 1972, Schaefer was the newly appointed Deputy Sheriff of Martin County. He used his badge to gain trust and wield authority over teenage girls — particularly hitchhikers, whose sudden disappearances could be explained away. Authorities connected S
Obsessed with moral power and control, Gerard Schaefer was a police officer in Florida who targeted teen hitchhikers in the late 1960s and early ‘70s. Schaefer spent his youth nursing deviant sexual urges, taking solo hunting trips to indulge in self
In April 1892, the man authorities now realized was Frederick Deeming was on trial for the murder of his second wife, Emily Williams. But as his story circulated the globe, media began alleging his supposed crimes resembled those of a notorious Londo
In March 1892, investigators in Australia were looking for an Englishman named Albert Williams who had allegedly killed his wife and buried her in their home. Once he was taken into custody, a reporter back in the UK decided to do some digging, and u
What kind of person confesses to multiple heinous crimes — while innocent? Gerald Stano did just that, until there was nothing left to confess to. But while there was no forensic evidence linking him to the 41 murders he implicated himself in, Stano
After a childhood of being bullied and living with a well below-average IQ, Gerald Stano's need to connect with other people was intense. When police questioned him about the stabbing death of a young woman, he wanted to impress the detective. So he
Although he had developed a sense of discipline in the military, a traumatic brain injury and deep-rooted rage inched Wayne Adam Ford closer to losing control. In 1997, over a decade after he was honorably discharged, he killed his first victim. He w
In 1979, Wayne Adam Ford was looking for a fresh start. He arrived at boot camp for the U.S. Marine Corps leaving a childhood of chaos and negligence behind him. While the Marines did teach Ford how to curb his aggression using self-control, they als
Elizabeth Short’s gruesome murder is the LAPD’s most infamous unsolved case. But there’s one person who thinks he’s cracked it — the alleged killer’s own son. Today, we reopen the case against George Hodel, a certified genius and once-celebrated doct
In 1940s Hollywood, a 22-year-old aspiring actress is found mutilated and drained of blood. Her body is posed, and her mouth has been carved into a permanent smile. The investigation takes police into the hidden sides of the city — illicit romances a
Henry Busch had a love-hate relationship with maternal figures. Perhaps it was because he lacked one growing up. He had already killed a 74-year-old family friend when he saw “Psycho” in 1960. Identifying with the film’s main character, Henry left th
Throughout 1989 and 1990, elderly women in Sydney were being preyed upon. But because investigators were wrongly looking for a young man, John Wayne Glover was free to kill without suspicion. Until one day, a simple mistake led police right to him.
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He started by stealing and shoplifting as a teenager in the UK. When he was 24, John Wayne Glover moved to Australia, where he became a peeping tom and eventually escalated into physically assaulting older women. It was an obvious red flag, and yet n
As an overweight Black kid growing up in a white suburb, Kendall Francois dealt with his fair share of bullying. His parents were hoarders, so he wasn't even allowed to have friends visit. The shame he felt as a child turned to rage as an adult, and
As he got older, Sean Vincent Gillis's impulses got darker. He committed murder, necrophilic rape, and even cannibalism. After eight victims, he finally made a mistake at one of the crime scenes. It was all the police needed to track down the killer.
As a kid, Sean Vincent Gillis would visit his grandmother's funeral home and sleep in the empty coffins. He'd sometimes hold the bodies' cold hands or fondle them. The corpses gave him precisely what he was looking for: a female partner who wouldn't
For years, people had been disappearing along the Osage Mission Trail. Between their odd behavior and the horrible stench inside their cabin, the Bender family were obvious suspects. So a town trustee led 75 volunteers onto the property. But things d
In Kansas during the 1800s, people who traveled along the Osage Mission Trail began to disappear. And if people had been paying attention, they may have noticed that those who entered the Bender family cabin never came out.
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In 2005, the disappearance of 22-year-old Tamara Chipman changed everything. Her case brought enough attention to the Highway of Tears that the Canadian government was forced to act. They launched a task force to reexamine cases, hoping to find links
Every once in a while, authorities would catch an extraordinary break: In 1985, a tip led to a man responsible for three murders. Then in 2010, a routine traffic stop led to a man responsible for four murders. Even still, there were so many more wome
Gloria Moody was 27 years old and the mother of two young children when she was found dead in Williams Lake, British Columbia. She is one of the earliest cases of indigenous women who have been found dead or have disappeared along a lonely stretch of
He was a cannibal, a necrophiliac, and even kept his victims' dismembered body parts carefully preserved in his refrigerator. Yet, Jeffrey Dahmer's horrific crimes don't mesh with his timid personality. His pathological fear of being alone meant find
He kidnapped, raped, and murdered more than 30 women. There's a belief that Ted Bundy got away with these crimes because he was a confident and savvy manipulator. But a look back shows that because he was young, educated, and conventionally attractiv
The "Killer Clown" likely contributed to people's fears of makeup-wearing jesters. But the truth is, John Wayne Gacy's personas, "Pogo" or "Patches," didn't harm a soul. It was the successful suburban businessman hiding in plain sight who was preying
It’s been five years since the Serial Killers podcast debuted, and to celebrate the anniversary, we’re reexamining a grisly time in America: the serial killer boom of the 1970s. Edmund Kemper was one of the first serial killers to be profiled by the
Even while on the lam, Gary Ray Bowles continued to kill. The FBI posted flyers in gay communities near Interstate 95. Just as the police closed in, he assumed a new identity and went back into hiding. Detectives had to wait for a mistake.
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At age 13, he had his first violent outburst. It was a sign of things to come for Gary Ray Bowles, who preyed on men he met in gay communities. When police traced his first murder back to him, he went on the run. From town to town along Interstate 95
After four horrific murders, a joint task force was no closer to identifying the Last Call Killer. But improvements in crime technology allowed them to send the killer's fingerprints to law enforcement nationwide. The one murder Richard Rogers got aw
Before he became a cardiac surgical nurse, Richard Rogers killed his grad school roommate and got away with it. Twenty years later, he turned local NYC watering holes into his hunting ground.
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He was the picture of rehabilitation. After serving 13 years in prison, Mark Goudeau re-entered society with a steady construction job, passed every drug test, and checked in with his parole officer. And he used this new reputation to fly under the r
When the relationship with his live-in boyfriend deteriorated, Donald Harvey took it out on the patients at Daniel Drake Memorial Hospital. But he was tired of killing the same old way. So he switched things up, and it ultimately led to his arrest.
After settling into the gay community of Cincinnati, Donald Harvey did his best to live a normal life. He moved in with a boyfriend and held a steady job. But deep down, that urge to control others still pulled at him. And he satisfied that impulse w
He didn’t have control of much growing up in rural Kentucky. His family was poor. His uncle sexually abused him. And his parents were ashamed of his homosexuality. But once Donald Harvey was hired as a hospital orderly, he found he could wield absolu
After years of dead ends and roadblocks, detectives finally tracked down the old man they believed was responsible for kidnapping 10-year-old Grace Budd. His name was Albert Fish, and he would turn out to be one of the most twisted murderers in Ameri
When a family acquaintance offered to take 10-year-old Grace Budd to his niece’s birthday party, the Budd family warily accepted the old man’s invitation. Little did they know it would be the last time they would see their daughter again. This is a c
Fritz Honka was a German serial killer who shared drinks with his victims at his local bar before killing and dismembering them in his Hamburg apartment. He might have gotten away with his crimes if not for a building fire that exposed the bodies in
Los Angeles in the ‘70s was a dangerous place to be. The city was menaced by multiple serial killers, and by 1978, yet another one had emerged on the scene. In Skid Row, nearly a dozen identical murders put the area’s homeless residents on high alert
In March of 1991, after the murder of three sex workers in four months, Dallas investigators only had one lead: Charles Albright. The problem was that they had no proof he had been involved in any of the crimes. Their only hope was finding somebody o
As a child, Charles Albright developed a penchant for eyes while learning taxidermy. But his most dangerous trait was always his charm. Able to talk his way out of trouble, he rarely suffered any consequences for his actions. How far could his talk t
Two families in mid 20th century America became tragic tales of recurring Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Over and over, their babies died without any real explanation. Except there was an explanation. By the time authorities caught on, it was too late
There's a common belief that all mothers are inherently good. But these two women have something to say about that misconception. Amelia Dyer ran a business where the more kids she killed, the more money she made. Mary Ann Cotton found that it was ha
John Christie felt alive and in control after his first murder. It's no surprise that he would want to recreate that feeling. So he did. Over and over and over. And the bodies started to pile up at 10 Rillington Place.
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John Christie wasn’t good at very much. Not relationships. Not even petty crime. But one evening in 1943, he strangled a sex worker to death and hid her body under the floorboards of his flat in Notting Hill, London. He’d found what he was good at, a
Thomas Dillon had a degree, a good job, a house, and a family. But what he wanted more than anything, was to hunt. His prey: people. Dillon would drive through the backcountry of Ohio and fire upon unsuspecting people before driving away.
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He lured young models into his home with promises of fame in true detective magazines. But once they were tied up and photographed, Harvey Glatman would rape them and kill them. Then he would keep the photos of their last moments alive as souvenirs.
Every time Timothy Krajcir felt the urge to kill, he would find a target and then fasten a blue bandana over his face. He committed these crimes over and over and never felt any remorse. Not for his victims. Not for their families. Not even for the m
Believing he had been reformed, the parole board released 31-year-old Timothy Krajcir from prison in 1976 after serving a little over 10 years for attempted murder and rape. He then enrolled in a criminal justice course. Not to start a new career, bu
For over a year, Robin Gecht had been leading his own satanic cult composed of three of his own workers. But as they committed more murders, they got sloppy. When a victim left for dead survived her attack, it opened a window for police.
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Robin Gecht lived his public life like a model citizen. He operated his construction company, played with his kids, and went to church every Sunday. But there was a dark side he kept secret from them. One that involved Satan, torture, and cannibalist
After committing his first three murders, Joseph's struggle with schizophrenia persisted. He couldn't ignore the voices. And by the time he'd done their bidding, 12 people had died, and he’d been given a new nickname: "The .22 Caliber Killer."
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Two years before he embarked on a killing spree in Buffalo and New York City, Joseph G. Christopher’s friends and family noticed a seismic shift in his personality. The 23-year-old was beset by mood swings and paranoia. His hold on reality was unrave
Thanks to an unsuspecting benefactor, Duncan gets a fresh start in North Dakota. But his blog entries begin leaving chilling clues as to what lies ahead. In 2005, his violent impulses lead him to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and his worst crime yet.
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A teenage sex offender carried out horrific crimes against young boys in Washington in the late 1970s before being sent to a treatment program, followed by prison. Fourteen years later, Joseph Edward Duncan III was paroled, free to carry out a murder
In the 1970s, after abusing his children and getting away with it, Joseph Kallinger enlists his son in a mission from God that terrorizes the suburbs of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
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The adopted son of cobblers began having hallucinations as early as 15 years old. They were harmless at first — but tragically, they wouldn’t stay that way.
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After years of charming women into getting engaged to him, Henri Désiré Landru had perfected his system of making his fiances, and all of their wealth, disappear. But when the sisters of two of his victims catch on to his ploy, they threaten the whol
In France, a con man charmed women into getting engaged before robbing them and taking them to his country villa. Where they all mysteriously disappeared.
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Numerous childhood traumas led Tsutomu Miyazaki to create a monstrous character in his head named "Rat Man" that eventually took control of his thoughts and actions. "Rat Man" required human sacrifices and his preference was little girls.
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In 2010 a serial killer terrorized an area of Philadelphia known as the Badlands. Police swabbed hundreds of men for DNA before a CODIS backlog revealed they’d had what they needed all along.
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Mack Ray Edwards was proud of his career as a heavy machine operator. It made him important on construction sites. But the very same machine he used to build a series of freeways in Los Angeles would also be used to hide the bodies of his murder vict
When Veronica Compton met Kenneth Bianchi, she was working on a play about serial killers. She interviewed the “Hillside Strangler” as part of her process. But then he charmed his way from research subject to love interest, and Veronica found herself
Wesley Shermantine and Loren Herzog went from hunting animals to preying on humans. Even as they grew older and settled down, they continued their spree. When they finally faced justice years later, their killer instincts would lead them to turn on o
Wesley Shermantine and Loren Herzog grew up in the California countryside, hunting for deer and elk. In high school, they turned to methamphetamine to recreate the thrill they once got from hunting. But as their drug use intensified, they needed some
At a young age, Mikhail Popkov developed a deeply misogynistic view of the world. As an adult, he used his power as a police officer to act on these feelings, murdering women he deemed to be morally defunct. By the time he was finally caught, he’d cl
Police had taken Roger Kibbe into custody numerous times but never had enough evidence to arrest him. Each time he was let go, he went on to claim more victims. But a discovery by a forensics investigator was exactly what authorities needed to put hi
After killing his first victim, Roger Kibbe decided to keep a low profile. But years later, his urge to kill returned. By mid-July of 1986, he had killed four young women — three of them in the past three months. And he had no intention of quitting.
Roger Kibbe spent most of his adolescence filled with rage. And while he had a long list of arrests by his mid-30s, it was never for violent crimes. Until one day in 1977, he finally snapped.
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In 1946, the mysterious Phantom Killer who had terrorized the town of Texarkana for months disappeared just as quickly as he'd appeared. With little evidence to go on, the police home in on one suspect. But justice proves to be harder to come by than
In 1946, the city of Texarkana was plagued by a series of attacks and murders on couples parked in their cars. Police, however, failed to act quickly enough, potentially giving the murderer enough time to get away.
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As a child in the ‘80s, Matthew Macon was thrust into a world of chaos and turmoil. From a young age, he was in and out of federal institutions, but nothing seemed to curb his darker impulses. Eventually, he gave into them, and his killing spree bega
Viktor Sayenko and Igor Suprunyuk were insecure children, scared of the world around them. As teenagers in the 2000s, they pushed themselves to move past their fears. But in the process, they unlocked something even more terrifying: an uncontrollable
Glennon Engleman had claimed two lives during his insurance fraud schemes and escaped police detection with ease. His love of deceit and murder propelled him forward as he continued to manipulate those around him. But eventually, his inflated ego wou
Glennon Engleman seemed like your average neighborhood dentist, but he was harboring a dark secret. He had a deep desire for money and power, and would do anything to get his way. Even kill.
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He got a taste for killing while he was a soldier. But when the conflict between Iran and neighboring Iraq ended, his desire to kill remained. Only now, the targets were the people who Saeed Hanaei hated the most: sex workers.
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In the early 1900s, a man lured his victims with lonely hearts ads, drained their blood, and stored their bodies in barrels filled with methanol.
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Like many serial killers who get caught, Michael Bruce Ross became more reckless — attacking teenagers and young women in high-traffic areas, and often returning to where he dumped their bodies. He was later deemed to be a sexual sadist, and agreed t
After experiencing severe emotional abuse as a child in the ‘60s, Michael Bruce Ross got a fresh start at Cornell University. But in his senior year, as his relationship with his fiancée began to unravel, he started acting out his perverse childhood
In the early 1980s, Larry Eyler haunted the highways of the Midwest, leaving the gay communities of Indianapolis and Chicago paralyzed with fear. But eventually, the people closest to him brought him down once and for all.
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In the 1970s, Larry Eyler seemed like your regular, easy-going guy. Behind closed doors, he was anything but. He had an insatiable appetite to dominate. When BDSM wouldn’t do it, he hit the Midwest highways, offering desperate hitchhikers a ride and
After serving his first prison sentence, Graham Young entered the world again, ready to start poisoning people once more. And though he largely avoided drawing suspicion — even once his victims started dying — Graham's big mouth and even bigger ego l
Graham Young always had an obsessive personality, but when his father bought him a chemistry kit, it unlocked a terrifying interest in poisons. Before long, the teenager was poisoning mice just to see what happened. Then he set his sights on his best
In 1981, Wayne Williams was a 23-year-old with aspirations of putting together the next Jackson 5. But after he’s found leaving the scene of a crime, he’s charged and convicted for two murders — and implicated in a dozen more. Had police finally foun
In the late 1970s, a killer stalked the streets of Atlanta, Georgia, abducting and murdering young Black kids. The city was paralyzed with fear and theories abounded on the identity and motivation of the killer. But when a suspect was finally apprehe
Todd Kohlhepp’s behavior was growing increasingly erratic. In the real world, he made unsettling comments to his employees and friends. Online, he continued posting a string of disturbing Amazon reviews. And on his private compound, he locked his vic
At 15, Todd Kohlhepp raped his 14-year-old neighbor, and 17 years later, he committed mass murder in broad daylight. Yet somehow, he became a pillar of society, building a successful real estate business from the ground up. He also built a 95-acre co
Benjamin Pedro Gonzales lived in a fantasy world. He’d imagine entire relationships that didn’t exist. And when his so-called “girlfriend” told him to get lost, he went into a murderous rage, leaving a horrific trail of dead bodies in his wake.
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Joe Metheny tended to exaggerate and lie about his own life, but if half the atrocities he confessed to are true, he certainly earned his gruesome moniker.
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When Harvey Carignan’s murder conviction was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court, he no longer faced the death penalty. But he wasted no time returning to his murderous ways. As police start closing in, Harvey goes on the run, starting a horrific ki
After developing a reputation in the armed forces as a hulking, scowling figure with abnormally strong hands, Harvey Carignan was stationed in Anchorage, Alaska, where his first hyper-violent murder in 1948 stunned locals.
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After 14 years behind bars, Arthur Shawcross struggled to settle into civilian life. He moved from town to town, but a change of scenery didn't change the truth: Arthur was still the same killer. In a matter of a single year, Shawcross would earn the
Arthur Shawcross was always a little "off." As a boy, he was unsympathetic and violent, exploding with anger at the slightest provocation. When he was older, fighting in the Vietnam War only intensified his aggressive, unpredictable nature. Arthur re
Derrick's fixation with stalking, raping, and murdering women leads him to the University of Louisiana campus, where he terrorizes students and locals alike. As police work to crack the case, a false assumption leads them down the wrong path.
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Ever since he was a little boy in the ‘70s, Derrick Todd Lee liked to peep. He would stare through the window of his neighbor's house, watching women undress. But the older he got, the more Derrick realized that peeping wasn't enough for him. He want
Love makes us say and do the strangest things. For Turner, it made him jealous, paranoid, and extremely violent. When another relationship comes to an explosive end, he hits the streets of Los Angeles with a vengeance, ultimately becoming one of the
When Chester D. Turner moved to the City of Angels, it wasn’t by choice. In fact, Turner pretty much had no say in anything during his adolescence. He had a strict upbringing and was often a victim of bullying. That all changed in the late 1980s, whe
In this chilling conclusion to our Working Late series, we're diving into the frightening world of medical professionals who killed again and again. And this wasn't just malpractice — these healers from hell delighted in their power, and got away wit
In our continuing exploration of the most popular jobs for serial killers, we're taking a deep dive into those murderers who spent time in the military. It's a job that literally taught these men to kill, and they wielded that skill with alarming fer
The number of psychopaths who hold positions with "CEO" in the title would alarm you… even if it wouldn't surprise you. Today, we're turning our attention to the business world, where a termination doesn't just mean you're losing your job…
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At the halfway point of this Working Late series, we want to look at the people whose work is often overlooked, but that keeps society running. Laborers possess the skills to repair our homes, build roads, and keep us safe — but these same skills can
You pass them every day in the car, truck drivers hauling things from one end of the country to the other. But do you ever think about how that transient lifestyle makes truckers the perfect serial killers? Well, if you haven't yet, you will now. Wel
This is the first episode in our Working Late series, where we'll be taking deep dives into the most popular jobs among serial killers. We'll look into what makes each of these six professions so perfect for killers, and explore stories of the monste
By the end of summer, 2000, Joshua Wade had murdered at least one woman, and possibly many more. Despite the evidence against him, and tips from people who knew what he did, Josh got away with the crime, leaving him free to kill again.
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In 1993, a 13-year-old boy was sent to live with his father in Alaska, where he grew into one of the state’s deadliest serial killers. He committed his first murder just a year later — a case that ran cold for well over a decade before a series of co
As an adult, Cary Stayner finally turned his darkest fantasies into reality. Using TV crime shows as textbooks, he killed his victims, then laid out a path of false clues to confuse investigators. But when he eventually slips up, it all comes crashin
As a troubled teen in the ‘70s, Cary Stayner experienced violent fantasies and compulsions, as well as the traumatic kidnapping of his brother. He found refuge in Yosemite National Park as an adult, but unfortunately, it didn't halt his spiral into m
Timothy Joseph McGhee joined the Toonerville Rifa Gang as a boy, and quickly rose through the ranks. By the year 2000, he had turned the low-level Los Angeles gang into a very real threat. But McGhee’s violent nature went beyond the role he played in
Carl Großmann’s entire life was marked with an obsession with sexual dominance. As a young man, he violated children and animals as a way to emphasize his own power. But when World War I left Berlin in a state of desperation, Großmann found a new, ho
After spending much of his early life as a devoted career criminal, Ed Edwards emerged from prison willing to turn things around. But after playing the role of devoted husband and father for a few years, his darker impulses emerged, and he started ki
Beginning with a traumatic childhood is a common origin story among serial killers. But not every child with a troubled upbringing sets out to become a lifelong criminal. That's what makes Edward Wayne Edwards so unusual — he wanted to be a crook. An
By the summer of 1984, Leonard Lake finished construction on his fallout shelter. There, Lake and his partner-in-crime, Charles Ng, tortured, raped, and murdered countless female victims. But women weren’t their only targets. Over the course of the n
Fearing a nuclear apocalypse was imminent, survivalists Leonard Lake and Charles Ng dreamed of building a bunker in the middle of nowhere. Only, it wasn’t just meant to withstand the nuclear fallout — they wanted to use it to imprison female sex slav
After he killed his friend Cherie in 1980, Randy Woodfield was a clear suspect in the murder — but he still managed to walk free. The failed football star went on to commit a horrifying string of assaults and murders along the West Coast.
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He was a star football player in the early 1970s. A talented athlete with every chance for boundless success. But he developed a nasty temper, and a ferocious sense of entitlement. Whatever Randy Woodfield wanted, he was going to take. By any means n
After his first three murders, Kenneth McDuff was quickly apprehended and brought to trial. But while it seems like that should be the end of the story, the tale of Kenneth McDuff still had a long way to go…
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Kenneth Allen McDuff led a charmed life. He was an angelic child. At least, that's what his doting mother thought. But in reality, Kenneth concealed a sadistic desire to hurt people, and his first murders left his hometown shaken.
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As a long-haul trucker, Eckert realized his job afforded him the perfect conditions to kill. And claiming victims was the perfect way to finally complete his macabre trophy — a life-sized human doll, complete with a full head of hair.
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From a young age, Volker Eckert displayed a strange fascination with women’s hair. His fetish led him to murder in 1974, when he was just 14 years old. Eckert spent the next decades assaulting women across Western Europe.
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Some serial killers’ reigns of terror are cut mercifully short, due to careless mistakes or careful police work. Pedro Alonso López was not one of those killers. The number of his victims is staggering — but the way his story ends is perhaps the most
John Joseph Joubert was plagued by disturbing daydreams, along with a horrifying urge to hurt little boys, and in the 1980s, he finally acted on both. But when he targeted a teacher's young students, her determination signalled the end of his deadly
Having graduated from brutal assaults to murders, Paul Ogorzow felt untouchable as he rode the rails, throwing his victims off speeding trains. But every train has to stop somewhere, and Paul's was headed for one very specific ending: swift and bruta
Coming of age alongside Adolf Hitler's political rise, Paul Ogorzow took his cue from the Nazi party, and looked at some of his fellow Germans as little more than rodents to be stamped out. He took advantage of World War II to carry out his terrifyin
There are few criminals so reviled as a child killer. David Elliot Penton was one of them. His crimes were so horrendous, he earned the nickname "The Bogey Man."
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A lifelong drifter and con man, Roy Melanson charmed and manipulated his way into his victims’ lives beginning in the 1960s. As his crimes became more gruesome, his vagabond lifestyle made him virtually impossible to track down.
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Avoiding capture as Amherst’s terrifying “Bike Path Rapist” emboldened Sanchez to commit his first murder in 1990. His crimes were escalating — but inexplicably, after nearly two decades of violence, he vanished. Twelve years later, the Bike Path Kil
An elusive rapist stalked areas around Buffalo, New York, for decades beginning in the late 1970s. When he moved to a city once dubbed the “Safest City in America,” he began using his signature weapon to not just subdue… but to kill.
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Harry Powers lived a life shrouded in mystery, so tracing his origins is difficult. But here's what we know: he was a conman without a conscience, and he was a ruthless killer whose victim count might be higher than anyone ever imagined...
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In 1973, 7-year-old Susie Jaeger fell asleep in a tent with her siblings while on a camping trip with family. When her siblings woke up, the tent had been slashed open and Susie was gone. A team of profilers believed David Meirhofer was responsible f
By 1999, Sells had murdered men, women and children in multiple states, and showed no signs of slowing down. He might never have been stopped, had he not attacked a little girl who survived to identify him, and finally put an end to his decades-long
For over 20 years, Tommy Lynn Sells hitchhiked across the U.S., killing indiscriminately and without mercy. What started as a revenge fantasy involving his childhood abuser grew into a deadly impulse that would claim nearly two dozen lives.
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By the beginning of 2011, Bruce McArthur had killed and dismembered two men, hiding their bodies in enormous planters at a client's house. But when police let him slip through their hands, he was free to kill again.
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For most of his life, Bruce McArthur led an unremarkable existence. But in the 1990s, he split from his wife and moved to Toronto's gay village — free to be his true self. Unfortunately, McArthur's true self was violent, bloodthirsty... and murderous
After amassing wealth and influence as a spiritual advisor in the 1980s, Adolfo Constanzo set his sights on the lucrative drug trade in Matamoros. To claim a piece for himself, he needed more power. And for that, he turned to one thing: human sacrifi
Schooled in the darkest corners of his family’s Afro-Carribean religion, Adolfo Constanzo decided to make his fortune using magic granted through animal sacrifices. In Mexico City, he grew his power and esteem — but he wanted something more. He wante
By 1828, Burke and Hare’s scheme of murdering people and selling their bodies was making them rich. But eventually, one curious woman crashed their entire operation.
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When a tenant at their boarding house died in 1827, William Burke and William Hare found a way to make some extra money: selling bodies to a medical school. But to keep it up, they’d need a fresh supply of dead bodies — and those were hard to come by
Having moved from break-ins to aggressive sexual assault, David Russell Williams carefully planned his first horrific murder in late 2009. It was not his last. But the high-ranking military officer could only fly under the radar for so long.
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As an officer in the Canadian Armed Forces, David Russell Williams had a spotless record for decades before beginning a breaking-and-entering spree in 2007. Stealing into women’s houses, he photographed himself wearing their underwear, setting the ba
After his first murder in San Francisco, Richard Ramirez headed back to Los Angeles to begin a killing spree that had the whole city terrified. His brutal attacks came after dark and without warning, earning him the chilling nickname "Night Stalker.”
A troubled relationship with his father, his religion, and the demonic visions he saw during seizures dominated Richard Ramirez’s childhood in the 1960s. When he witnesses a horrific crime at the hands of a sadistic cousin, he comes face to face with
Organized and meticulous, Timothy Wilson Spencer evaded suspicion until a detective began connecting the dots between Arlington’s “Masked Rapist” and Richmond’s “South Side Strangler.” The 1988 case against him helped exonerate a wrongfully convicted
Growing up in Arlington, Virginia in the 1960s, Timothy Wilson Spencer displayed an alarming interest in torturing animals and burglarizing homes. With practiced cruelty and stealth, he eventually became known as “The Masked Rapist” for his attacks o
Born in 1935, Florencio Fernández grew up in a region of Argentina nicknamed the “fortress of folklore.” As a teenager, destitute and alone, he watched a film at a local theater that would change his life — and inspire his crimes. That film’s name? D
Salvator Perrone’s early life in the 1950s is a murky mystery, but by the time he was in his 60s, the failed fashion entrepreneur had a grudge against the world — and he was ready to exact his revenge.
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By the 1980s, Ted Kaczynski had set off several bombs, causing only minor injuries — but for him, it wasn’t enough. What had started as a plot for revenge grew into an unrelenting need to change the world. To do that, he needed to kill. The reign of
Spotting his genius at a young age, Ted Kaczynski’s parents pushed their son to academic excellence — but Ted never found a true home in the hallowed halls of academia. Instead, by 1969, he was a former math professor with a festering hatred for the
By Thanksgiving 1986, Gary Heidnik had captured a woman and locked her in his basement, where he intended on making her carry his children. But Gary wanted an entire “birthing harem.” Over the next four months, he lured five more women to his Philade
Estranged from his family, Gary Heidnik’s behavior grew more and more troubling as he grew older. By 1976, no one was around to notice when he started digging a pit in his basement — one big enough to hold a person...
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When a six-year-old girl was brutally murdered in Chicago in 1945, the public and the press demanded answers. Luckily, police found the killer by chance when they arrested a teenage burglar named William Heirens. Or did they?
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Growing up in a family that didn’t have a lot of money, William Heirens turned to burglary to ease his economic anxiety. It became a compulsion he couldn’t control, and got him into trouble with the law in the early 1940s. Then, one day, it changed h
Herbert Mullin believed he was saving the world. After all, God had told him that murdering people would prevent catastrophic earthquakes. So, with his heaven-sent mission, he set out to kill and kill again.
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Throughout his childhood in the 1950s and ‘60s, Herbert Mullin's life seemed decidedly idyllic. But tragedy struck when he was 18. In the aftermath, Mullin began hearing voices — and they told him to kill.
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Having killed and dismembered his first victim, Robert Bordella was anxious to take another person captive. He kidnapped and tortured multiple men in succession, drugging them with tranquilizers and documenting his actions in a diary — until someone
Inspired by a 1965 horror film called The Collector, Robert Berdella harbored dark fantasies about abuse and control. As a college student, he acted out his sadism on animals, and later, in the early ‘80s, on a teenager named Jerry Howell.
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In November 1997, John Bunting claimed his sixth victim, and successfully passed it off as a suicide. From there, he and his accomplices moved at alarming speed, torturing and killing another six people until police finally caught up.
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Arriving in South Australia in the 1980s, John Bunting surrounded himself with people he could easily manipulate: a small group of men who hated pedophiles and gay men, and were determined to rid their community of both.
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After his first murder, Steven Zelich couldn't bear to let go of his victim, and kept her body close by. But eventually he began to crave the same powerful feeling he'd had the first time, and the hunt for his next target began...
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Once a police officer who loved the authority and respect his position brought him, Steven Zelich's life took a turn in the late ‘90s when the power went to his head. His quest for the thrill of control led him to the world of BDSM… and eventually, m
Once a promising intelligence officer, Ray Fernandez transformed into a career conman, swindling lonely women out of their savings. When he met Martha Beck in 1947, his Lonely Hearts con became a deadly scheme of spiralling jealousies and stolen fort
If love makes you do something evil, does that make you evil, too? In the late 1970s, Gerald Gallego twisted himself around Charlene’s heart and didn’t let go. The couple, later known as “The Sex Slave Killers,” worked in tandem to kidnap and murder
Following a whirlwind romance, Alton Coleman and Debra Brown embarked on a violent rampage that turned the summer of 1984 bloody.
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They say that “love is a many-splendored thing.” But for Ray and Faye Copeland, it was a thing of violence. The couple’s murderous crimes made them two of the oldest people ever sentenced to death in the United States.
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By 1985, the Monster of Florence had claimed 16 lives. Unfortunately, authorities were no closer to catching the killer than when they'd started their investigation, and the trail was getting colder every day...
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One of Italy’s most notorious serial killers has never (definitively) been identified. The mysterious Monster of Florence murdered couples in their cars, beginning in 1974. The crimes were so horrific that all of Florence was on edge, and the hunt fo
By 1984, Nance had revamped his reputation and settled into a comfortable routine in his hometown. But as he grew fixated on his boss, his nice-guy exterior evaporated, revealing a cold and calculating killer.
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As a teenager, Wayne Nance developed an interest in Satanism that may have led to his first murder. He became obsessed with the idea of making a human sacrifice — and in the spring of 1974, he boasted to a friend: “It’s been done.”
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His victims’ deaths were often ruled “unnatural and accidental,” leaving Gilbert Paul Jordan free to perfect his M.O. — forcing Indigenous women in Vancouver to drink themselves to death. Unable to keep him behind bars, police surveilled the barber u
An alcoholic from his teenage years onward, Gilbert Paul Jordan spent his young adulthood in 1950s Vancouver tallying up arrests for theft, assault, and drug possession. Then he discovered a crime he wouldn’t be punished for: plying a victim with alc
By the 1990s, Ángel Maturino Reséndiz was a seasoned murderer using America’s extensive railroad system to strike new victims, then flee. But eventually, authorities caught onto the pattern in his murders. In 1999, their investigation came to a surpr
After years of incarceration, rejection, and failure, Ángel Maturino Reséndiz's most violent impulses began to surface. Between 1986 and 1999, he traveled the U.S. by freight train, murdering “sinners” in a so-called mission from God.
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In 1984, Wilder went on a weeks-long killing spree across the U.S., abducting, raping and murdering as many young women as he could find. As he targeted malls across the country, the FBI launched a manhunt for the Australian fugitive.
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Posing as a modeling agent in the 1980s, Wilder lured young girls and women to secluded places where he would photograph them in explicit poses before sexually assaulting them.
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By day, Robert Hansen was a devoted husband, devout Christian, and respected member of the Anchorage community. By night, he abducted young women from clubs and drove them deep into the Alaskan wilderness, where he hunted them like prey.
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Bullied from a young age, Robert Hansen’s resentment toward the people in his hometown manifested in different ways — most alarmingly, arson. In 1967, the troubled baker and avid hunter moved to Alaska, and developed a deadly pastime: abducting and a
After his first murder, Keith Jesperson felt unstoppable, and went on something of a killing spree. But eventually, he got annoyed that he wasn't getting credit for his hard work, and started sending authorities chilling notes signed with a happy fac
Always shy and a little curious, Keith Jesperson lived a troubled childhood. Beaten by his father, and always struggling to make friends, Keith grew up vowing he'd never hurt children. But he made no such promise when it came to women.
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By the end of 1993, seven decomposed bodies had been pulled from Australia's Belanglo State Forest. The nation was terrified, and the police force was put on notice: There was a serial killer on the loose.
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The bodies of two missing backpackers were recovered from Australia’s Belanglo State Forest in 1992. They weren’t the last.
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After killing dozens of people and getting away with it, Alexander Pichushkin got bored with his routine. So, he mixed things up — in brutal fashion. His unchecked maneuvers amounted to at least 48 murders in Moscow.
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One of Russia’s most prolific serial killers was an avid chess player. First introduced to the pastime by his grandfather, the young Alexander Pichushkin finally found something he could excel at. But in 1992, his competitive urges were drawn to a di
In the final few months of 2006, Ipswich was shaken by the strangling deaths of several sex workers. It didn't take long for Steve Wright to relax into his new role as cold-blooded killer. But the bolder — and more bizarre — he became, the closer he
He was an unassuming man whose Jekyll and Hyde personality obscured increasingly violent tendencies. And in 2006, in the small English town of Ipswich, Steve Wright began targeting sex workers — abducting, strangling, and dumping the bodies of five w
It was called the crime of the century: In 1966, Richard Speck drifted into Chicago, and unleashed a whirlwind of violence and rage onto a group of student nurses.
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In the early 1980s, emergency services in St. Paul, Minnesota began receiving odd calls from a distraught-sounding man. At first reporting brutal attacks on women, he quickly began taking credit for the murders, and begged police to stop him.
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Throughout his shocking rampage that left dozens of people injured or dead, the newly dubbed “Vampire of Düsseldorf” Peter Kürten grew more and more confident — even writing into a local paper with the location of a victim’s body. But his confidence
Unfulfilled by bestiality, a young Peter Kürten turned to murder — and discovered his body’s reaction to the sight of blood. As his dark desires festered, he embraced sadism in all its forms. And in 1929, a gruesome killing spree earned him a chillin
When British heiresses Dora and Claire Williamson reached out to Linda Hazzard, she might have thought draining their bank accounts would be easy enough. But she didn't count on the sisters’ resilience, or the might of one formidable governess...
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In the early 1900s, Linda Hazzard marketed herself as a doctor, and claimed that she could cure any ailment with her special starvation regimens. Except, instead of curing her patients, she was killing them.
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After spending years in and out of prison, Charles “The Serpent” Sobhraj was determined to make something of himself. To do that, he needed money — only now, he knew better than to leave behind any witnesses.
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Growing up in Vietnam, India and France in the 1940s and ‘50s, Charles Sobhraj never truly fit in anywhere — not even with his family. When they turned their backs on him for good, he became a con man smuggling cars, escaping debts, stealing from tou
In the years since the Satanic Panic, it's become obvious that the crimes people were accused of never really happened. But while none of the nightmarish stories of ritual abuse in Satan’s name were true, it doesn’t mean there weren’t real victims…
Emboldened by power- and money-hungry conmen, Evangelical doomsdayers set the stage for an epic showdown of biblical proportions. The fight for the souls of every last American was beginning, they claimed, and Satan was coming to drag us all to hell.
From Adolfo Costanzo and the Narcosatanists to the gruesome Chicago Rippers, these horrific groups showed that fears of murderous devil-worshipping cults weren't entirely unfounded.
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In the 1980s, “Satanic Panic” was a mass hysteria that consumed communities and ruined lives—all over things that never even happened. In this new five-part series, we’re examining the origins of the panic, tracing back through the decades to see how
In the 1980s, “Satanic Panic” was a mass hysteria that consumed communities and ruined lives—all over things that never even happened. In this new five-part series, we’re examining the origins of the panic, tracing back through the decades to see how
In the fall of 1977, Los Angeles was on high alert, so 43-year-old Angelo Buono Jr. and 26-year-old Kenny Bianchi knew they had to play it safe. But as their death toll grew even higher, their relationship began to crumble.
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These killer cousins terrorized Los Angeles in the late ‘70s. Despite very different upbringings, Angelo Buono Jr. and Kenny Bianchi both formed sadistic attitudes toward women that led to them cruising the streets of Hollywood, posing as undercover
After their first brutal murder, Suzan and Michael Carson fled San Francisco, intent on continuing their quest to rid the world of witches.
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They set out to murder witches in the early 1980s, moving up and down the coast of the Pacific Northwest. Suzan Carson believed she was destined to rid the world of evil… All she needed was a willing follower to wield the knife.
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On the outside, Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo appeared to be a perfect couple—but they held a dark secret: Paul’s sadistic aggressions were seemingly unstoppable, spurred on by Karla’s compliance. The secrets—and the bodies—piled up.
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When Paul Bernardo met his bride-to-be Karla Homolka in October 1987, he had already raped his first victim. But Paul's sadistic sexual appetite only seemed to deepen Karla's desire for him. And when his sick interest turned toward her 15-year-old si
By torturing and killing his fellow inmate, Robert Maudsley won his escape from Broadmoor Mental Hospital. But when confronted with more pedophiles at Wakefield Prison, he knew he couldn't stay there. Unfortunately, no one was listening to him. And t
Abused by his parents from a young age, Robert Maudsley spent his childhood bouncing around orphanages and foster homes before running away in 1969. He spent years living on the streets of London, where he met a man with a dark secret… and decided th
In 1959, Eric Cooke committed his first murder in the sleepy city of Perth, Australia. And, having gotten away with the crime, it seemed nothing would slow down his bloody rampage.
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Born in 1931 to a caring mother and alcoholic father, Eric Edgar Cooke had a turbulent home life. His string of break-ins and petty thefts were met with sympathetic authorities who gave Cooke second and third chances… But their leniency was cast asid
While Joseph Swango’s patients died at alarming rates, few people seemed capable of connecting the mysterious deaths with the doctor-in-training. The alarm bells only rang once he began poisoning his colleagues…
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As a teenager in the ‘70s, Joseph Swango had an intense fascination with the macabre, even keeping a scrapbook full of newspaper clippings about murder and car crashes. As he got older, he realized that one career in particular would give him daily c
In the late ‘80s, Aileen trolled the highways outside of Daytona, Florida looking for johns. But these days, she was interested in more than sex work. Her johns had always treated her as disposable. Now, armed with a .22 caliber handgun, she was read
More abused than loved, Aileen Wuornos suffered through her childhood in 1960s Michigan. She became a sex worker and petty thief, eventually hitchhiking to Florida—where the work that made her an outcast led to the murder that made her infamous.
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For decades, it seemed like Charlie Brandt's first murder was a shocking, unexplainable anomoly—something he would never repeat. But in 2004, another violent crime would make headlines, and unearth secrets no one ever saw coming.
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In January 1971, 13-year-old Charlie Brandt retrieved his father's gun and committed a shocking murder, saying it was like he “was sort of programmed to do it.” After 17 months in a mental health facility, he was free, and everything returned to norm
By the early 1980s, Watts had stabbed three women to death. As police closed in on him, setting up tails and even bringing him in for questioning—but unable to detain him—he fled to Texas, where he disappeared into the city then known as “The Murder
Unable to contain his dark fantasies and suppressed rage, Coral Eugene Watts targeted women in Michigan and Texas starting in 1974, and continuing for nearly a decade. His crime sprees were a reign of terror that for him, brought a perverse kind of r
Still desperate to ignite a race war in the United States, Joseph Paul Franklin sought more prominent targets, hoping to draw attention to his cause. But he also found satisfaction in impulsive, isolated murders. When it seemed no one would ever catc
He studied Mein Kampf. Changed his name. And joined white supremacist groups across the country. Fueled by hateful rhetoric and armed with guerilla warfare tactics, Joseph Paul Franklin set out to ignite a nationwide race war—right in the midst of th
In 1977, Cottingham was married with three kids, two secret girlfriends, and an itch for abusing sex workers. As the years wore on, he developed increasingly bizarre torture rituals, and his crimes escalated in both body count and brutality.
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He had an idyllic childhood in the 1940s and ‘50s, but as Richard Francis Cottingham grew, he began having dark, dehumanizing sexual fantasies about women. When he started working in New York City, he took those violent, twisted dreams and made them
In 1979, Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris sexually assaulted and murdered five teenage girls. For months, authorities were at a loss to explain the disappearances of their victims, but eventually, Norris and Bittaker got reckless, and the crimes of t
They each lived lonely lives, bouncing from jail to jail until a chance meeting in California brought them together in 1978. Bittaker and Norris began a sadistic friendship which evolved into a twisted partnership—one that would eventually claim the
At a young age, Moses Sithole was abandoned by his mother, forcing him to go in and out of a traumatic foster care system. As an adult in the ‘90s, he began enacting his revenge on women in a rampage that had South Africa terrified.
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In the early ‘70s, a teenaged Dugan had an encounter with one of the most notorious serial killers in the U.S.—a killer whose infamy Dugan would soon match, with a murder spree throughout Chicago’s rural suburbs.
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In his youth, Walter Ellis was prone to fits of physical violence. But as he grew older, he took on the role of a gentle and unsuspecting neighbor. Over the course of 20 years, it was this persona that allowed the man known as the Milwaukee North Sid
Growing up in the California town of Solvang, Thor Nis Christiansen was the quiet son of Danish immigrants. As he grew older, Thor began harboring dark, disturbing fantasies about women. Before his 20th birthday, he would strike for the first time—an
He endured extreme childhood abuse, served in the Marines, and was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia. Between 1986 and 1996, Andrew Urdiales turned his anger into murder, taking the lives of eight women.
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He spent his life trying to escape jails, mental hospitals, and his urge to kill. From 1961 to 1982, Charles Ray Hatcher murdered at least four people, but he claims to have killed as many as 16 in Missouri, California, and Illinois.
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Sent to a reform school for the remainder of his childhood, Jesse Pomeroy, and his distraught mother, had one shared goal in mind: early release. After only 17 months away, they'd got their wish. And by 1874, Jesse was free to continue his attacks—an
Born in 1859 with a cleft palate, Jesse Pomeroy's father looked upon his son as weak, and brutally abused him throughout his childhood. Tormented at home and at school, Jesse began to entertain violent fantasies about torturing prisoners. By the time
He claimed to be Sweden's first serial killer. Throughout the 1990s, Sture Bergwall made shocking confessions to dozens of brutal murders across Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland. But his final confession was the most surprising of them all.
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Growing up as one of the few black kids in Warwick, Rhode Island was not easy. By the time Craig Price transitioned from child to teen, the years of racism and bullying had already made a huge impact on his developing psyche. By the time he was 13-ye
In 1942, Marcel Petiot's fake escape network, Fly-Tox, was operating at full steam. He took his victim's payment, and instead of helping them start new lives in South America, he murdered them and stored the bodies in his basement. But his scheme cou
Since childhood, Marcel Petiot flaunted a disregard for the rules. As a doctor, he used his charm and influence to enrich his family and get away with his first murder. But when WWII reached Paris, a deadly new scheme began to brew...
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His first murder in 1944 had gone exactly as planned: the body had dissolved in acid, and he was sure no one would ever find out what he had done. So, with that in mind, John George Haigh set about repeating the process again, and again—always chasin
Born in the United Kingdom at the beginning of the 20th century, John George Haigh rebelled against his hyper-religious upbringing and opted for a life of crime. He didn't see the point in earning an honest living when he could con others out of thei
As his living conditions deteriorated in the late 2000's, so did Anthony Sowell’s state of mind. Investigators were horrified when they finally searched his Cleveland home and found the corpses of his victims decaying in nearly every room.
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Plagued by addiction, Anthony Sowell killed 11 women between May 2007 and September of 2009. As his abuse became worse, so did his living conditions. Eventually Sowell was almost a total recluse, kept company only by the rotting bodies he kept in his
By 1984, after a lifetime spent breaking the law and facing few consequences, John Edward Robinson had finally crossed the line into cold-blooded murder. Having gotten away with it before, he decided that nothing was stopping him from doing it again,
As a child growing up in Illinois in the 1940s and ‘50s, John Edward Robinson was obsessed with figures from the criminal underworld. When he was grown and married, he began conning his way into jobs he wasn't qualified for. It wasn't long before his
In the late 1960s, Donald Henry Gaskins found himself consumed by a ravenous rage. He began stalking the highways of South Carolina, searching for victims. Eventually, he became so violent that even a maximum security prison couldn't stop him from ki
Between 1953 and 1982, Donald Henry “Pee Wee” Gaskins murdered at least 14 people, and claimed to have killed over 100. Gaskins began his crime spree early, and went from a young burglar and car thief in South Carolina to one of the most brutal seria
In 1989, Danny Rolling had already gotten away with a shocking triple murder. As he tried to stay ahead of the Shreveport cops, he made his way to Gainesville, where he set about terrorizing the University of Florida Campus as the “Gainesville Ripper
It's likely that an abusive, loveless upbringing in the 1960s and ‘70s shaped Danny Rolling’s troubling violent sexual fantasies. After a young life of petty crime in Louisiana and Georgia, one incident set Danny off.
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We are thrilled to bring you a brand new episode of Serial Killers today and for the foreseeable future. We thank you for your patience during this unprecedented time.
For more than a decade, Randy Steven Kraft preyed upon vulnerable young Californi
We are thrilled to bring you a brand new episode of Serial Killers today and for the foreseeable future. We thank you for your patience during this unprecedented time.
From 1972 to 1983, the gay community of Southern California was plagued by a vici
By the 1990s, he had spent twenty years murdering dozens of women across the United States. Decades after his crimes, Samuel Little was finally brought to justice—and soon revealed to have one of the highest victim counts of all time.
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In 2018, he was serving a life sentence for the murders of three women in California—when he confessed to another. Then, another and another. Soon, Samuel Little had confessed to 93 murders across the U.S. over a period of 30 years.
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After a 7-month hiatus between 1918 and 1919, the Axeman jumped back into his killing spree. City officials tried to track down the mysterious killer, but their hunt led to nothing but dead ends and wrongful convictions. To this day, the Axeman's tru
While the U.S. was wrapped up in the final days of World War I, New Orleans was facing an enemy right in their own backyard. In the early 20th century, a wave of fear rolled through Crescent City as a mysterious man began axing people in the dead of
As Joseph James DeAngelo's crimes escalated from robbery to murder during the 1980s, he terrified the state of California. Despite the best efforts of authorities, he eluded capture for decades. But he couldn't run forever.
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His crimes earned him the moniker of the “Visalia Ransacker” and the “East Area Rapist.” But Joseph James DeAngelo would become most notorious for his final nickname, the “Golden State Killer.” Between 1974 and 1986, DeAngelo committed untold atrocit
He was a freight hopper who rode the rails of the western United States for over a decade. Robert Joseph Silvera Jr. was responsible for more than 30 slayings in that time, most of his victims being fellow transients—earning him the nickname, “The Bo
In the mid-1980s, serial killer Henry Lee Lucas confessed to nearly 600 murders. While most of those confessions were subsequently disproven, his case led to larger questions about United States interrogation methods.
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In many ways, Jerry Brudos wasn't in it for the kill—he was in it for the body. Between 1968 and 1969, he dressed his victims up and posed them, like living dolls. After killing them, he continued to defile and manipulate the bodies, keeping trophies
He developed an obsession with women's clothing from a young age—a fetish which would eventually turn violent. As a teenager, Jerry Brudos started attacking young women… just to steal their shoes. But when footwear wasn't enough to satiate his desire
Following the string of brutal murders throughout the 1960s, the masked man known as the Zodiac Killer continued to write letters to the press and police, taunting them for their inability to catch him. Fifty years later, there is still no confirmed
In the summer of 1969, newspapers in San Francisco began receiving coded letters from a man who would come to identify himself as "the Zodiac." The killer confessed to a string of brutal murders and would go on to terrorize the Bay area into the earl
Between 1891 and 1895, H.H. Holmes embarked on a vicious killing spree across the United States, terrorizing an entire nation in the process. No one knows exactly how many murders he committed. He confessed to twenty-seven, but only nine were confirm
He was the master of the infamous “Murder Mansion,” and often cited as America’s first serial killer. H.H. Holmes began his career as a con artist in Chicago, taking advantage of anyone he could between 1886 and 1894—all the while hiding his darkest
In 1974, Ted Bundy embarked on a murderous roadtrip across America committing dozens of murders from Colorado to as far as Florida. But after two prison escapes, and multiple trials, Bundy was far from finished. In 1979, he captivated the entire coun
He’s one of the most notorious serial killers of the 20th century, murdering dozens of young women on a bloody rampage across America that spanned four years. But Ted Bundy’s metamorphosis as a killer began during childhood—long before his first murd
In the late 1800s, Dr. Thomas Neill Cream was the go-to doctor for Chicago's Red Light District. The women, who grew to trust, admire, and even fall in love with Dr. Cream, would soon become victims of his quiet-but-deadly poisonings.
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In 1984, Bobby Joe Long terrorized Tampa—sexually assaulting and murdering women with alarming frequency. But one 17-year-old girl escaped his clutches, living to see him brought to justice.
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Bobby Joe Long was responsible for the murder of at least 9 Tampa women. Born in 1953, his early life was milestoned by several serious head injuries including a motorcycle accident which would leave him forever changed.
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From 1926-1928, Earle Nelson would roam across North America strangling unsuspecting land ladies. By the end of his rampage, he will kill at least 22 people, a record that would not be broken for another 50 years.
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Reputed to have abnormally long arms and unusually large hands, Earle Leonard Nelson roamed the United States and Canada, strangling unsuspecting landladies in their own homes during the 1920s.
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While on probation after an early release from prison in March of 1990, Jeffrey Dahmer continued his wave of sadistic violence. A chance event would finally lead to his arrest, and a media spectacle would bring Dahmer to the masses.
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It was a murderous rampage that could have possibly been prevented. Although Jeffrey Dahmer failed numerous times to turn his life around, his multi-year killing spree also went ignored by his family, neighbors, sentencing judges, and court-appointed
He was one of the most infamous serial killers of the 20th century, murdering 17 young men between 1978 and 1991 through a variety of cruel and unusual methods. But how did Jeffrey Dahmer, one of the era's most monstrous killers, get his start?
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At least 10 people lost their lives at the hands of David Joseph Carpenter between 1979 and 1981. His infamous attacks at popular hiking spots in the San Francisco area and earned him the nickname, "The Trailside Killer."
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Archibald Hall carried out his murderous rampage across the U.K. in 1977 and 1978, killing five people in search of notoriety and wealth. As his clients would soon find out, their affable butler was not all he seemed.
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Obsessed with breaking into the upper crust of society, Archibald Hall would go to any lengths to do so. Between 1977 and 1978, Hall killed five people across the United Kingdom. Each victim was killed a different way, but he knew all of them persona
On Christmas Eve 1885, Austin, Texas was again the site of multiple, grisly slayings. Only this time, the victims were not African-American women. They were prominent white women. Did the Annihilator Killer change his M.O. or were there now two seria
In 1884, Austin, Texas was shaken to its core when one of America's first serial killers committed a series of gruesome murders in its streets. The killer targeted African American women who worked as servants in the city's wealthier areas.
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Between 2007 and 2016, Elizabeth Wettlaufer killed elderly residents of the long-term care home where she worked as a night nurse. By the time of her capture, she was one of the most prolific killers in Canadian history.
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Born in Canada in 1967, Elizabeth Wettlaufer struggled to accept her sexuality due to her deeply religious and conservative parents. As the years went on, the frustration and guilt of hiding her identity began to build, until eventually, she snapped.
In early 1994, Dana Sue Gray went on a month-long rampage that claimed the lives of several elderly ladies of Canyon Lake, California. Mixing murder with greed, she would go on extravagant shopping sprees using the credit cards of her victims.
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Growing up in Southern California in the 50s and 60s, Dana Sue Gray developed a troubling childhood petulance, which would ultimately evolve into a homicidal greed. Explore the circumstances leading up to her first murder, and the terror she inflicte
1977 proved to be a turning point for 27-year-old Richard Chase. Killing dogs and rabbits for their blood just wasn’t enough anymore. Only people would suffice, and a half-dozen of his neighbors would soon fall prey to his vampiric appetite.
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He was a strange child—messy, disorganized and prone to random outbursts. As Richard Chase neared his 20s, things got worse… much worse. He convinced himself he needed to drink blood to stay alive.
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In 1946, British ex-pilot Neville Heath had lost everything. His wife left him and he had been dismissed from the airforce. He reacted to his string of failures by spiraling downward. He began suffering from blackouts, and started to become violent.
Born on June 6th, 1917, Neville Heath would grow up to be one of the most devious killers England had ever known. He developed a talent for deception early on, and used his looks and charm to fraudulently climb the social ladder. But eventually his l
In the early 1970s, Jack Unterweger was sentenced to an Austrian prison for life after he murdered a young woman. While in prison, he transformed himself into a well-respected author. With Austria’s elite convinced that he was rehabilitated, he was r
In the early 1970s, Jack Unterweger was sentenced to an Austrian prison for life after he murdered a young woman. While in prison, he transformed himself into a well-respected author. With Austria’s elite convinced that he was rehabilitated, he was r
With the start of the 1980s, British serial killer Dennis Nilsen was just hitting his stride. His twisted desire for companionship had spiraled out of control, launching him on a prolific killing spree that ended in the murder of a dozen young men an
A hot meal, a stiff drink, or simple companionship. These are the tools Dennis Nilsen would use to lure victims back to his apartment in the late 70s and early 80s. Driven by loneliness, he keep the corpses of his victims, and even sit them down acro
Five years into her killing spree, a team of financial detectives started to catch wind of Anna Marie Hahn’s dealings. With at least five confirmed victims by 1937, she showed no signs of stopping. Upon her arrest, police would discover a large cache
In 1932, at the age of 26, Anna Marie Hahn came up with a morbid get rich quick scheme...murder. The German native would offer her services as a live-in caretaker for elderly men in Cincinnati, and used her expertise in poisons to get rid of her clie
By 1986, David Parker Ray was 46 years old, and had been abducting, raping, torturing, and killing women throughout the American Southwest for over 30 years. He would continue his reign of terror well into 1999, when one of his final victims would de
Born on November 1st, 1939, David Parker Ray would grow up to be one of the most sadistic serial killers the world has ever seen. He started abducting, sexually assaulting, and killing women when he was only 15 years old, and he continued his crimes
Following the string of brutal murders throughout the 1960s, the masked man known as the Zodiac Killer continued to write letters to the press and police, while capturing the imaginations of terrified onlookers across the country. Fifty years later,
In the summer of 1969, newspapers in Northern California began receiving coded letters from a person who would come to identify themselves as "The Zodiac." The author of the letters taunted the police by giving clues related to a series of unsolved m
At first, many gay men in 1970s San Francisco were dazzled by a handsome young artist who drew their caricatures on cocktail napkins. But as time went on, and the bodies started piling up, word spread. Avoid the Doodler at all costs.
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Ronald Dominique didn't feel any remorse as he dumped his twenty-third victim in the Louisiana swamp in 2006. Instead, he only felt sorry for himself. He made the long drive back to his mobile home and did the only thing that made him feel better. He
He never caught a break growing up. He was mercilessly bullied, and no romantic prospects ever gave him a chance. In 1997, Ronald Dominique decided to take matters into his own hands. He would take what he wanted, no matter who got in his way.
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Just before he strangled a victim, Joel Rifkin could hear laughter ringing in his ears. The sounds of his high school bullies had never really left him and that residual shame stuck with Joel as he cruised Manhattan for over two years, murdering at l
When relentless high school bullies started dunking Joel’s head in urine-filled toilets, and throwing eggs at him after class, he needed a way to regain control. And unfortunately for 17 women around the Long Island area in 1989, he found a drastic o
In the early 90s, vulnerable women around Vancouver were disappearing at an alarming rate, but the authorities had yet to recognize the crisis, or even admit that there was a likely killer on the loose. Meanwhile, “Willie” Pickton’s nefarious reputat
This Canadian grew up on a pig farm in the 1970s, so slaughtering livestock became second nature. His pig meat was the most sought-after in the county... until the meat started arriving dark, blackened and stringy.
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After his candy store closed in 1968, Dean Corll needed a new way to bring in young victims from the greater Houston area. So, he recruited two teenage boys to lure their friends to his apartment, where he would drug and kill them.
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In 1962 he took over the family candy shop outside of Houston and was only too happy to give away treats to the children who would come 'round after school. Of course, nobody suspected that the local Candyman, Dean Arnold Corll, was also abducting sa
After successfully murdering four women in Eastern Michigan without a whiff of suspicion in 1969, John Norman Collins began to believe he would never be caught. He grew increasingly brash, returning to crime scenes and toying with police.
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By 1967, he seemed to be a well-adjusted college student in Ann Arbor, Michigan. But the real reason for John Norman Collins' confidence lay far from the local college campus. Rather, in an abandoned farmhouse deep in the woods, where he could visit
By 1996, he settled down in a small village in Ukraine with his girlfriend, and was a loving father-in-law to her children. But the voices in Anatoly Onoprienko’s head would not let him rest. His ruthless, random violence launched the largest manhunt
He wanted to be remembered. He had spent a life cast aside and forgotten by his parents, siblings and peers. He hated the world that seemed so eager to forget him. So in 1989 Anatoly Onoprienko began killing whole families at random, seeking notoriet
Eliot Ness went to the grave in 1957 without ever convicting the Cleveland Torso Murderer. Decades later, his family would reveal a secret suspect hidden within his notes, that was too well-connected to be accused publicly.
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When a torso washed up on the banks of the Cuyahoga River in 1937, the police initially assumed a crime of passion. But when the next torso was found, they knew they had a serial murderer on their hands. Nicknamed the Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run, a
In early 2009, when Christine Ross set out on her morning walk in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the last thing she expected was to stumble across human remains. But within a matter of hours, the abandoned work site near her house had been turned into one
In this special crossover episode with Sami from Female Criminals, we find out that Amelia Dyer’s desire to murder babies was about more than the money. In the mid-1880s, Dyer was enjoying it so much, she left her home, her family, and even faked her
Cunning, smart, ruthless, Amelia Dyer began a baby-farming business in 19th century England. Poverty-stricken mothers placed their children in her care trusting that she would find them loving homes. Instead, she pocketed the money, starved and stran
It seemed as though no one would be able to save Sanford from his uncle. Sanford had lived with him in Wineville, California from 1928-1929, only to now have to stay quiet about his uncle holding two young boys captive in his chicken coop. When Sanfo
This Serial Killers and Hostage crossover covers Gordon Stewart Northcott, who held his nephew captive and forced him to participate in the murder of at least three boys. Northcott would restrain his victims in a chicken coop before eventually murder
In 1996, he was honorably discharged from active duty in the U.S. Army. Yates would resume serving his country by enlisting in the National Guard two years later. Few people in the Spokane, Washington metropolitan area would suspect this decorated ve
He lived a seemingly normal life. A father of five children and army veteran, Robert Lee Yates, was well regarded in the Spokane, Washington community. All of that changed when he went on a murder spree, killing 17 women between 1975 and 1998 in the
Sent to his first mental institution at the age of 17, Fritz Haarmann had a troubled childhood full of trauma. He went on to murder close to 30 people between 1918 and 1924. His massive killing spree left a lasting legacy on both his hometown and the
He didn't just love to kill his victims; Fritz Haarmann liked to bite into their Adam's apples and tear out their throats. His "love bites" earned him the nickname The Werewolf of Hanover, Germany. From 1918-1924, Fritz murdered as many as 50 childre
After suffering multiple miscarriages, she begins to see her children less as a blessing and more of a burden. Mary Ann Cotton’s severe struggles with PTSD and postpartum depression caused her to disconnect from her own thoughts and commit unthinkabl
She was determined to pull herself out of poverty, but the path towards financial freedom meant murdering her three husbands, 13 children, and family friends, who dared to stand in her way. This 19th century killer became known as Britain's Black Wid
In the summer of 2005, innocent people were being gunned down in the streets of Phoenix, Arizona with no suspects, no witnesses, and no plausible motives. Dale Hausner and Sam Dieteman were ruthless murderers killing anyone they saw fit. The pair liv
In an instant, Dale Hauser's family was gone. He was left broken, isolated, and enraged. In 2005, his anger would boil over. He would begin stalking the streets of Phoenix, looking to create random chaos, and steal the lives of others as quickly as h
Working as a photographer, he obsessively documented his crimes. Naso’s journals included more than 250 detailed descriptions of assaults, accompanied by thousands of photographs of his victim. He strangled at least six women to death between 1977 an
A routine home inspection in 2010 uncovers heinous crimes committed by Joseph Naso. Dating back to the late 1970s, Naso was responsible for deaths in California, Nevada and possibly one of the most famous unsolved murder sprees in New York State hist
Many of the details surrounding the murder of 16 women in Long Island remain a mystery, the only connection is that the women all used Craigslist. Investigations have yielded no concrete suspects. Only 35 miles from Manhattan, a serial killer remains
Ten bodies were found on Ocean Parkway near Gilgo Beach in Long Island in 2010 all linked to one person. The killer primarily targeted sex workers who charged about $200 an hour via Craigslist. The Long Island Serial Killer’s murders go as far back a
Edmund Kemper despised his mother so much, he tried to destroy everything she had ever loved. As Edmund began to express his hatred, the trail of bodies he left in his wake between 1964 and 1973 would earn him the name of the Co-Ed Killer.
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Verbally abused and psychologically tortured by his mother, young Edmund Kemper's mind turned towards vicious daydreams and perverted nightmares. Before he even reached adulthood in California, Kemper showed the world how truly violent he could be. T
Can detective Stuart Clifton find enough evidence to lock up the serial killer known as the, “Angel of Death” away for life? Or will Beverley Allitt’s mental illness affect the verdict in the UK?
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A sweet and loving pediatric nurse was secretly torturing and murdering children at a England hospital in in the early 1990s. We’ll explore Beverley Allitt’s turbulent childhood, mental illness and what caused her turn into such a violent monster.
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A man hungry for murder, and other things… The Cannibal Kid invites you to his famous BBQ, but this isn’t your standard Fourth of July celebration. Scheduled around the satanic calendar, human flesh will be on the menu.
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He was either one of the most prolific killers of all time, or a compliant interviewee taken advantage of by the police to clear their cold case files. Which story will you believe?
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A chance meeting with child killer Gary Marcoux inspired Olson Jr. to commit his own string of murders. What measures would law enforcement have to take to identify and locate the victims of his crimes?
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After his release from prison, Olson Jr. would go on a vicious killing spree and ultimately be convicted of eleven murders. Why would somebody who didn’t have a violent past suddenly turn into a monster?
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What if you picked out a book at the library and found a taunting note to police from a serial killer? As the BTK Killer, he loved when the media gave him attention. But his need for attention would also be his downfall and eventually lead to his cap
By all accounts, he was a loving family man, Scoutmaster, and church leader. None of his family members or colleagues ever suspected that he was also a sadistic killer. His M.O. was simple. He would bind, torture, and kill his victims. And that’s how
Fred and Rose each came from abusive homes and each showed signs of being abusive as they became adults. But together, they would start a new life and collectively be responsible for nine murders over a span of decades.
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Fred and Rose each came from abusive homes and each showed signs of being abusive as they became adults. But together, they would start a new life and collectively be responsible for nine murders over a span of decades.
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From the years 1969 to 1981, a serial killer known as the Yorkshire Ripper freely roamed the streets of Yorkshire, England. Police were so determined to find him, they interviewed over 250,000 people. Sutcliffe had been brought in for questioning on
Serial killer Peter Sutcliffe claimed he was directed by voices of God to kill innocent women. Naturally, he pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the charges that he slaughtered over a dozen women. Was his psychosis real or did he develop a de
Dorothea Puente ran a boarding house in Sacramento, California. She had perfected a technique of taking in tenants who were on government assistance, murdering them, and then fraudulently cash the checks. All the while, neighbors had no idea that dea
This is a crossover special with the hosts of Serial Killers and Female Criminals.
Dorothea Puente didn’t set out to become Sacramento, California’s most notorious female serial killer. But she did have a criminal streak that grew more sinister, culm
From summer of 1976 through summer of 1977, David Berkowitz went on a year long killing spree that terrorized the New York City boroughs of Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. Young women with dark hair were being targeted and anybody near them was in h
Plagued by the voices of monsters and demons since adolescence, serial killer David Berkowitz set over a thousand small fires throughout his youth and early adulthood. But his later involvement in devil worship and the occult, paired with his deep ha
Like many serial killers, Maury Travis became over-confident. In the summer of 2002, after reading a story in the newspaper about one of his victims, he mailed a letter to the local newspaper offering them information on the location of another. He w
There was no evidence in Maury Travis’ childhood of arson or animal abuse, often seen as early warning signs for serial killers. And he didn’t appear to have been a victim of abuse from either of his parents. So what made this seemingly normal kid tu
Amy Archer-Gilligan owned and operated a home for elderly residents in Windsor, Connecticut, but fell deeply into debt. Over time, she developed a deadly business model - stealing money from residents, then poisoning them - ultimately killing more th
Amy Archer-Gilligan opened a nursing home in Connecticut in 1907. By portraying herself as a kind and religious woman, she was able to recruit new residents. She was beloved in her neighborhood which is exactly why nobody suspected that she was a col
In the summer of 1980, Carol Bundy helped Douglas Clark sexually assault a young girl and murder over a half-dozen women. Her extreme desire to please Clark evolved into a murderous partnership, and finally a killer in her own right.
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After years of abuse as a child at the hands of her parents, Carol Bundy suffered through the same fate as an adult at the hands of various boyfriends. When she met Douglas Clark, she thought things would be different. But he had dark sexual fantasie
Luis Alfredo Garavito raped, tortured, and killed well over 100 children. Find out how he lured away his victims and avoided detection from authorities before eventually being apprehended and tried.
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Luis Garavito was born in Colombia in 1957 to an abusive, alcoholic father and a time of civil unrest. At the age of sixteen, Garavito was kicked out of the house. This sparked a transient lifestyle and murder spree during which Garavito raped, tortu
Henry Lee Lucas served only 10 years for killing his abusive mother. After being released early due to overcrowding, he longed for a sense of family and befriended fellow murderer Ottis Toole. Lucas moved in with Toole and his family. Once together,t
Henry Lee Lucas, is one of history’s greatest liars. After his arrest in the 1980s, Lucas claimed to have murdered over 3,000 people across the U.S. His numerous confessions lead to his moniker, the “Confession Killer.” So what led Lucas to confess t
Carl Panzram didn't start out a murderer. He started with smaller crimes like robbery and arson and quickly worked his way up to more violent crimes. But most kids with his background grow up to not be serial killers. What happened to Carl Panzram th
Even as a child, Carl Panzram often found himself in trouble. He spent his teenage years either homeless, on the run, or imprisoned. From robbing former president Taft to setting churches and jails on fire, Panzram was always on the hunt for trouble.
After his girlfriend Maria was murdered by gang members, Pedro Rodrigues Filho made it his mission to avenge her death, and kill as many criminals as possible. In popular culture, this kind of vigilantism is celebrated, in real life it leaves a bruta
After being admitted to Bridgewater State Hospital, Albert DeSalvo began confiding in other patients, bragging about his crimes and admitting he was the Boston Strangler. But was that a lie for attention? Or was DeSalvo truly the killer behind the cr
There’s a special sense of security within our own homes. But from 1962 to 1964, Albert DeSalvo took advantage of this trust. He swayed women into letting him through the front door, only to leave them as victims of “The Boston Strangler.”
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After luring in victims using a false sense of security, Patrick Wayne Kearney earned his title as “The Trash Bag Killer” by murdering a confirmed 21 young men and leaving their remains in trash bags along Southern California freeways during the 1970
Patrick Wayne Kearney was born in Los Angeles, California in 1939. As a child, he was tormented relentlessly by schoolmates, and found happiness in slaughtering animals. We examine how he transitioned from a bullied child to a violent killer who left
Many people innocently dream of having super powers. But Ahmad Suradji’s dreams led him to become a murderous “Sorcerer from Hell” who killed 42 women in his quest to become invincible. We explore Suradji’s path to killing, including a disturbing dre
In 1986, Ahmad Suradji had dreamed of becoming a mystic healer in his community. But this dream also led him to believe he could become invincible… by murdering young women and slurping their saliva. We dive deep into the life of Ahmad Suradji, and e
During his 25-year medical career, Harold Shipman rose to be a respectable family doctor who treated his patients with outstanding care. But behind closed doors, he operated as Dr. Death, and injected his victims with deadly doses of diamorphine. We
What happens when a doctor, someone we should trust, becomes a killer? Harold Shipman, later known as Dr. Death, terrorized Britain for 25 years, killing over 200 of his patients. We look into Shipman’s life to learn how someone who went through year
Elizabeth Bathory was a cruel, widowed noblewoman who earned the title “The Blood Countess” from the rumors she bathed in the blood of her victims. We continue to dive deep into her torture and murder of young servants, as well as investigate the man
In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, young peasant girls who went to the Castle Cachtice were being led to death at the hands of the Blood Countess. Although much of her life is shrouded in mystery, it’s no secret that Elizabeth Bathory was a s
After murdering two women, robbing graves, and decorating his home with human body parts, Ed Gein found himself arrested and in the media’s spotlight. We look into his trial, institutionalization, and the public’s fascination with him… a fascination
We explore the twisted mind of Ed Gein, whose gruesome killings inspired horror movies Pyscho, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and The Silence of the Lambs. Gein was known for years as the local handyman in Plainfield, until it was uncovered in 1957 tha
After a childhood filled with abuse, poverty, and shame, Jane Toppan (born Honora Kelley), left her foster home and pursued nursing. To many, she seemed like a loving nurse who cared deeply for her patients. But for years, she used her nursing skills
We continue to look into the conflicted identity of John Wayne Gacy, who terrorized Chicago in the 1970s. Known as the “Killer Clown,” Gacy tortured and then murdered at least 33 teenage boys. But for many years, he appeared to be an outstanding memb
John Wayne Gacy, or the “Killer Clown,” was named the worst serial killer in the United States after he murdered 33 teenage boys in the 1970s. Gacy lived a contradicting life as a celebrated community member, who then used his reputation to pursue se
Ian Brady & Myra Hindley shared a deep, dark passion for murder that led to the death of multiple children in England from 1963 to 1965. Their horrific actions made them two of the most infamous serial killers in modern history. In part two of the Mo
When Myra Hindley, an ambitious, yet violent, young woman met Ian Brady, an unemotional man with a twisted mind, their deepening love became a source of tragedy. From 1963 to 1965, the duo acted on their dark desires by murdering children in England.
After William Bonin took the life of his first victim, his killings only escalated in frequency and violence. In part 2, Greg and Vanessa dive into Bonin’s need for validation, and how the loneliness resulting from his traumatic childhood likely led
William Bonin drove California’s freeways, picking up hitchhiking men and boys and driving them to their deaths. As a child, he was abused by almost everyone he met--family, classmates and authority figures - leading to complete desensitization. Greg
Andrei Chikatilo killed with increasing frequency over twelve years. Greg and Vanessa explain how the Soviet system of criminal profiling allowed a monster like Chikatilo to evade the police, even as his killing became more frequent, and more gruesom
One of the most prolific serial killers ever to live, Andrei Chikatilo murdered 53 people between 1978 and 1990. Greg and Vanessa examine how Chikatilo was molded by the horrors of World War II in Ukraine and then the Soviet Union. Driven by his impo
He was never caught. So why did Jack the Ripper stop killing? In the finale, Greg, Vanessa, Carter, and Wenndy follow the years-long search for Jack the Ripper, ranging from bloodhound trials to DNA testing. Then our hosts discuss Jack’s last victims
One of the first serial killers to write letters to the authorities, Jack the Ripper’s mail was memorable, to say the least. Our resident Ripperologists examine Jack’s odd correspondence and determine which letters were fakes and which were truly pen
He's the world's most famous killer. But how could a series of crimes committed in a few weeks in 1888 still be so famous nearly 130 years after the fact? In the first episode of this special series, Unsolved Murders Hosts Carter and Wenndy join Seri
In the case of the Lethal Lovers, Gwen Graham was charged with five murders, and Cathy Wood charged as her accomplice. But was that truly their relationship, or was Cathy blackmailing Gwen to use her as a scapegoat? Greg and Vanessa piece through the
After meeting at Alpine Manor in Michigan, nurses’ aides Gwen Graham and Cathy Wood began a romantic relationship that eventually earned them the nickname “The Lethal Lovers.” Motivated by dark erotophonophilia, Graham and Wood’s dangerous “pranks” s
Bible John left gruesomely specific crime scenes. This week, Greg and Vanessa scrutinize this killer’s disturbing methods for any semblance of meaning. Were the kills sadistic, predatory, or spurred by rage at encountering an “unclean” menstruating w
Glasgow’s Barrowland Ballroom was meant to be a place for people to dance and enjoy themselves. Instead, Bible John, one of Scotland’s most infamous serial killers, used the dance hall as a hunting ground. Vanessa and Greg investigate the motives of
Charles Cullen was one of the deadliest serial killers in American history. As a nurse, he went from hospital to hospital, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. Greg and Vanessa investigate how the New Jersey hospitals that employed the killer nurse
Nurses are trained to save lives. But this nurse killed. Charles Cullen overdosed his elderly patients on digoxin and insulin, passing off over 40 deaths as natural before authorities finally got involved. Greg and Vanessa examine how Cullen’s depres
A fire rages at black widow Belle Gunness's murder farm, where her many victims lie buried below her hog pen. After deputies find a headless woman's body in the ashes, authorities believe that Belle was murdered by her jealous farmhand. But Greg and
Norwegian immigrant Belle Gunness was one of America's deadliest black widows. Suitors answering her personal ads seeking romance found themselves at the wrong end of Belle's meat cleaver. Join Greg and Vanessa as they investigate the motives behind
What makes someone evil? And how evil is Gary Ridgway, serial killer and necrophiliac? Greg and Vanessa discuss Ridgway’s sex addiction, how he lured his victims, and the great lengths he went to in order to evade the police for nearly twenty years.
Struggling with a low IQ, Gary Ridgway always wanted to be the best at just one thing. That one thing turned out to be serial murder. The most prolific American serial killer, Ridgway claims to have killed almost eighty women. Greg and Vanessa discus
Behind the cheerful demeanor of a sweet southern grandma, lurked a vicious killer. Nannie Doss poisoned her husbands, killed her children, and even went after her own mother. This week, Greg explores Nannie’s use of the lonely hearts columns to find
“The Giggling Granny”, Nannie Doss’ home cooked meals were served with a side of poison. Was she suffering from Munchausen-by-Proxy, or did she just feel trapped by mid-20th century society? Greg and Vanessa examine how a troubled childhood, brain da
Lonnie Franklin Jr. offered rides to Los Angeles women, only to kill them, photograph them, and leave their bodies to be found like trash on the street. “The Grim Sleeper” had a deep-seated need to degrade women, ending at least ten lives before new
He targeted and killed multiple women in the 1980’s; then mysteriously disappeared. Fourteen years later, he started killing again. Why would he stop? And why, after so long, would he come back? Greg and Vanessa examine what made “The Grim Sleeper” d
A lust killer who dreamed to be known as an outlaw, Paul John Knowles sought infamy. He was so desperate to be remembered; he recorded his own confession to multiple murders while still a free man, and shared the tapes with his lawyer. Knowles killed
He had no pattern. No victim type. No consistent MO. And he killed across the country. Nicknamed the “Casanova Killer” for his good looks, Paul John Knowles confounded the police. Greg and Vanessa dig into Knowles troubled childhood and disrespect fo
“The Boogey Man”, AKA Albert Fish, attacked over 100 children, many of them unidentified. A traumatic childhood created a twisted old man, tormented by religious delusions and sick sexual fantasies. Greg and Vanessa explore the kidnapping and murder
Albert Fish preyed on young children in the early 1900s, molesting, murdering, and even cannibalizing them. He wasn’t caught until the 1930s, when three of his most horrifying crimes came to light. This week, Greg and Vanessa discuss Fish’s tumultuou