Serial Killers
Episodes
Charles Manson Pt. 1
22 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Leading up to the Grammys, we’re covering one of history’s most infamous musicians: Charles Manson. Vanessa explores how Manson’s failed music c...
BTK's First Victims: The Otero Family Murders
15 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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-a...
The Killer in the Mansion Pt. 2
08 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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...
The Killer in the Mansion Pt. 1
01 Jan 2024
Contributed by Lukas
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...
BEST OF 2023: "The Buried Bodies Killer" Robert Garrow Pt. 2
25 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 epi...
BEST OF 2023: "The Buried Bodies Killer" Robert Garrow Pt. 1
18 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 epi...
The Pizza Bomber Pt. 3: The Mastermind
11 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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, wo...
The Pizza Bomber Pt. 2: The Murder
04 Dec 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In order to deactivate the bomb, Brian’s co-conspirators set up an elaborate scavenger hunt around Erie, Pennsylvania. But as police started to foll...
The Pizza Bomber Pt. 1: The Robbery
27 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 thou...
Bloody Babs Pt. 2
20 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After her sentencing, investigators and the American public thought the case of ‘Bloody Babs’ was finally over. But as Barbara revealed new detail...
Bloody Babs Pt. 1
13 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 guilt...
Blood Magic Killer
06 Nov 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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. Fo...
The Candy Lady
30 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
The Abduction of Michaela Garecht
23 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In Hayward, California, in 1988, the unthinkable happened – 9-year-old Michaela Garecht was abducted by a stranger, witnessed only by her best frien...
The Osage Murders Pt. 2
16 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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’...
The Osage Murders Pt. 1
09 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 Jacksonville Strangler
02 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the early 2000s, a serial killer attacked at least six young women around Jacksonville, Florida. Though we’re still awaiting official justice, au...
Sante Kimes Pt. 3
25 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Sante Kimes Pt. 2
18 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 sinist...
Sante Kimes Pt. 1
11 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 we...
The Railway Revenge Killer
04 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Harvey Miguel Robinson
28 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 chanc...
Who Killed Jane Mixer?
21 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 consi...
The Cleveland Torso Murders Pt. 2
14 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Eliot Ness went to the grave in 1957 without ever convicting the Cleveland Torso Murderer. Decades later, his family would reveal a secret suspect hid...
The Cleveland Torso Murders Pt. 1
07 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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,...
"The Molalla Forest Murderer" Dayton Leroy Rogers Pt. 2
31 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In the 1980s, after decades of snowballing violent impulses, Dayton Leroy Rogers began murdering women and leaving their bodies in the Molalla forest ...
"The Molalla Forest Murderer" Dayton Leroy Rogers Pt. 1
24 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After a repressive religious upbringing filled with abuse from his fundamentalist father, Dayton Leroy Rogers grew into a rage-filled young man. Lea...
The Axeman of New Orleans Pt. 2
17 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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,...
The Axeman of New Orleans Pt. 1
10 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
The Monster of Florence Pt. 2
03 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 investiga...
The Monster of Florence Pt. 1
26 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
One of Italy’s most notorious serial killers has never (definitively) been identified. The mysterious Monster of Florence murdered couples in their ...
Terry Childs
19 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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. Learn mor...
Cracking the Code: The Zodiac Pt. 2
12 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Following a string of brutal murders throughout the 1960s, the Zodiac Killer continues to write letters taunting the press and police. This episode or...
Cracking the Code: The Zodiac Pt. 1
05 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 ki...
“The Grim Reaper” Gregory Scarpa Pt. 2
01 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 th...
“The Grim Reaper” Gregory Scarpa Pt. 1
29 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 Jersey Shore Thrill Killer” Richard Biegenwald Pt. 2
25 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
“The Jersey Shore Thrill Killer” Richard Biegenwald Pt. 1
22 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Before he was even five years old, Richard Biegenwald was diagnosed with schizophrenia. After more than a decade in institutions and reform schools, h...
Mafia Madman: Thomas Pitera
18 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 P...
Judge Killer: Charles Harrelson
15 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 cont...
"The Buried Bodies Killer" Robert Garrow Pt. 2
11 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After Robert Garrow committed his first murder, he retreated to Adirondack Park to hide in the wilderness. But the peaceful atmosphere of the woods on...
"The Buried Bodies Killer" Robert Garrow Pt. 1
08 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 l...
The Killer Brothers Pt. 2
04 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 Ro...
The Killer Brothers Pt. 1
01 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 thei...
The Backpacker Murders Pt. 2
27 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
The Backpacker Murders Pt. 1
24 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
“The National Forest Serial Killer” Gary Michael Hilton Pt. 2
20 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Being outside with nature is where he felt most comfortable. That’s why Gary Michael Hilton targeted avid hikers in peaceful, wooded areas. But whil...
“The National Forest Serial Killer” Gary Michael Hilton Pt. 1
17 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 wi...
“The Unicorn Killer” Ira Einhorn Pt. 2
13 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 liv...
"The Unicorn Killer" Ira Einhorn Pt. 1
10 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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’...
"The Route 40 Killer" Steven Brian Pennell Pt. 2
06 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
"The Route 40 Killer" Steven Brian Pennell Pt. 1
03 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 Del...
“The PICU Killer” Genene Jones Pt. 2
30 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 e...
“The PICU Killer” Genene Jones Pt. 1
27 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 d...
“The Pennsylvania Passion Slayer" Peter Kudzinowski
23 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Cold Cases: The Family Court Killer (with Vanessa!)
20 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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. Dur...
“CIA Shooter” Mir Aimal Kansi Pt. 2
16 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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, ...
“CIA Shooter” Mir Aimal Kansi Pt. 1
13 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 killi...
“Death Row Romeo” Manuel Pardo
09 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
“Killer Ex-Cop” Christopher Dorner Pt. 2
02 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 fores...
“Killer Ex-Cop” Christopher Dorner Pt. 1
27 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
“The Chameleon Killer” Terry Peder Rasmussen
20 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 th...
Robert Durst Pt. 2: “That’s It, You’re Caught”
09 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Robert Durst Pt. 1: “Bridge, Dig, Boat, Shovel”
06 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Carroll Cole
02 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 murd...
"The Brooklyn Strangler" Vincent Johnson
30 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 w...
"The Lake Elsinore Killer" William Suff Pt. 2
26 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 especi...
"The Lake Elsinore Killer" William Suff Pt. 1
23 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 lac...
The B.C. Spree Killers Pt. 2
19 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
The B.C. Spree Killers Pt. 1
16 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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 man...
“The Angel of Death” Richard Angelo
12 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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. B...
"Chairman of the Forces of Evil" William Henry Hance
09 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
While the Stocking Strangler terrorized a Georgia suburb, another killer stalked military bases in the state. William Henry Hance was an army officer ...
"The Stocking Strangler" Carlton Gary Pt. 2
05 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After a confession leads police down the wrong path, they establish the Strangling Task Force and redouble their efforts. 27-year-old Carlton Gary kee...
"The Stocking Strangler" Carlton Gary Pt. 1
02 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Best of 2022: The Texarkana Moonlight Murders Pt. 2
29 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 e...
Best of 2022: The Texarkana Moonlight Murders Pt. 1
26 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
The Dayton Christmas Killings Pt. 2
21 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The spree continues into Christmas Day and beyond, during which the teen gang murders their third, fourth, fifth and sixth victims. After a tip, polic...
The Dayton Christmas Killings Pt. 1
21 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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...
"The New York Zodiac Killer" Heriberto Seda Pt. 2
08 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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...
"The New York Zodiac Killer" Heriberto Seda Pt. 1
05 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Twenty years after the notorious Zodiac Killer terrorized San Francisco, someone else picked up their mantle. Heriberto “Eddie” Seda was a Brookly...
"Crazy Dave" David Edward Maust Pt. 2
01 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 co...
"Crazy Dave" David Edward Maust Pt. 1
28 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Thanksgiving Special: Just Add Arsenic
22 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Over the ages, arsenic has had many lives — beauty fad, household product, medical prescription… and weapon of choice wielded by killers everywher...
"The Pied Piper of Tucson” Charles Howard Schmid
03 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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...
“Leatherface” from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
31 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When The Texas Chain Saw Massacre debuted in 1974, audiences had a visceral experience so frightening, many believed what they witnessed was real. Its...
“Buffalo Bill” from The Silence of the Lambs
27 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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, t...
“Ghostface” from Scream
24 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In 1996, a new horror movie with an innovative twist would reinvigorate the slasher genre. But behind the fictional Ghostface was an inspiration steep...
30 Year Retrospective: “The Red Ripper” Andrei Chikatilo Pt. 1
20 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Andrei’s murders don’t go unnoticed. A pattern emerges: young victims, bodies mutilated, left in isolated patches of wilderness. But even with pol...
30 Year Retrospective: “The Red Ripper” Andrei Chikatilo Pt. 1
17 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 fr...
"The Southland Strangler" John Floyd Thomas Jr.
13 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 terrorizin...
The Chicago Tylenol Murders Pt. 3
10 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
The Chicago Tylenol Murders Pt. 2
06 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 mo...
The Chicago Tylenol Murders Pt. 1
03 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 fea...
“The Killer Cop” Gerard John Schaefer Pt. 2
29 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 — ...
"The Killer Cop" Gerard John Schaefer Pt. 1
26 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Obsessed with moral power and control, Gerard Schaefer was a police officer in Florida who targeted teen hitchhikers in the late 1960s and early ‘70...
“Australia’s Jack the Ripper” Frederick Bailey Deeming Pt. 2
22 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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...
“Australia’s Jack the Ripper” Frederick Bailey Deeming Pt. 1
19 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In March 1892, investigators in Australia were looking for an Englishman named Albert Williams who had allegedly killed his wife and buried her in the...
“Serial Confessor” Gerald Stano Pt. 2
15 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What kind of person confesses to multiple heinous crimes — while innocent? Gerald Stano did just that, until there was nothing left to confess to. B...
“Serial Confessor” Gerald Stano Pt. 1
12 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
“The Long-Haul Killer” Wayne Adam Ford Pt. 2
01 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
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...