Serial Killers

“The Berlin Butcher” Carl Großmann

16 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 emphas...

“The Sweetheart Murderer” Edward Wayne Edwards Pt. 2

12 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 th...

“The Sweetheart Murderer” Edward Wayne Edwards Pt. 1

09 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

“Killing Team” Leonard Lake and Charles Ng Pt. 2

05 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

By the summer of 1984, Leonard Lake finished construction on his fallout shelter. There, Lake and his partner-in-crime, Charles Ng, tortured, raped, a...

“Killing Team” Leonard Lake and Charles Ng Pt. 1

02 Aug 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Fearing a nuclear apocalypse was imminent, survivalists Leonard Lake and Charles Ng dreamed of building a bunker in the middle of nowhere. Only, it wa...

“I-5 Killer” Randy Woodfield Pt. 2

29 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 footbal...

“I-5 Killer” Randy Woodfield Pt. 1

26 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 f...

“The Broomstick Murderer” Kenneth McDuff Pt. 2

22 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 stor...

“The Broomstick Murderer” Kenneth McDuff Pt. 1

19 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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...

“Serial Strangler” Volker Eckert Pt. 2

15 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 compl...

“Serial Strangler” Volker Eckert Pt. 1

12 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 o...

"The Monster of the Andes" Pedro Alonso López

08 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

"The Woodford Slasher" John Joseph Joubert

05 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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....

“The S-Bahn Murderer of Berlin” Paul Ogorzow Pt. 2

01 Jul 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Having graduated from brutal assaults to murders, Paul Ogorzow felt untouchable as he rode the rails, throwing his victims off speeding trains. But ev...

“The S-Bahn Murderer of Berlin” Paul Ogorzow Pt. 1

28 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 litt...

“The Bogey Man” David Elliot Penton

24 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

“Smooth-Talking Killer“ Roy Melanson

21 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 mo...

“The Bike Path Killer” Altemio Sanchez Pt. 2

17 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Avoiding capture as Amherst’s terrifying “Bike Path Rapist” emboldened Sanchez to commit his first murder in 1990. His crimes were escalating —...

“The Bike Path Killer” Altemio Sanchez Pt. 1

14 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 C...

“The Quiet Dell Killer” Harry Powers

10 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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...

“Montana Child Murderer” David Meirhofer

07 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

“The Cross-Country Killer” Tommy Lynn Sells Pt. 2

03 Jun 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

“The Cross-Country Killer” Tommy Lynn Sells Pt. 1

31 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

For over 20 years, Tommy Lynn Sells hitchhiked across the U.S., killing indiscriminately and without mercy. What started as a revenge fantasy involvin...

"Mall Santa" Bruce McArthur Pt. 2

27 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 po...

"Mall Santa" Bruce McArthur Pt. 1

24 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 — fr...

“The Narcosatanist” Adolfo Constanzo Pt. 2

20 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

“The Narcosatanist” Adolfo Constanzo Pt. 1

17 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Schooled in the darkest corners of his family’s Afro-Carribean religion, Adolfo Constanzo decided to make his fortune using magic granted through an...

“The Anatomy Murderers” Burke and Hare Pt. 2

13 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

“The Anatomy Murderers” Burke and Hare Pt. 1

10 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 s...

“The Tweed Creeper” David Russell Williams Pt. 2

06 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Having moved from break-ins to aggressive sexual assault, David Russell Williams carefully planned his first horrific murder in late 2009. It was not ...

“The Tweed Creeper” David Russell Williams Pt. 1

03 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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...

“The Night Stalker” Richard Ramirez Pt. 2

29 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 br...

“The Night Stalker” Richard Ramirez Pt. 1

26 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A troubled relationship with his father, his religion, and the demonic visions he saw during seizures dominated Richard Ramirez’s childhood in the 1...

“South Side Strangler” Timothy Wilson Spencer Pt. 2

22 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Organized and meticulous, Timothy Wilson Spencer evaded suspicion until a detective began connecting the dots between Arlington’s “Masked Rapist”...

“South Side Strangler” Timothy Wilson Spencer Pt. 1

19 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Growing up in Arlington, Virginia in the 1960s, Timothy Wilson Spencer displayed an alarming interest in torturing animals and burglarizing homes. Wit...

“The Vampire in the Window” Florencio Fernández

15 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Born in 1935, Florencio Fernández grew up in a region of Argentina nicknamed the “fortress of folklore.” As a teenager, destitute and alone, he w...

“Son of Sal” Salvatore Perrone

12 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 again...

“The Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski Pt. 2

08 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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...

“The Unabomber” Ted Kaczynski Pt. 1

05 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 hallo...

“The Madman of Marshall Street” Gary M. Heidnik Pt. 2

01 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 w...

“The Madman of Marshall Street” Gary M. Heidnik Pt. 1

29 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 start...

“The Lipstick Killer” William George Heirens Pt. 2

25 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 chan...

“The Lipstick Killer” William George Heirens Pt. 1

22 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 c...

“Earthquake Killer” Herbert Mullin Pt. 2

18 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Herbert Mullin believed he was saving the world. After all, God had told him that murdering people would prevent catastrophic earthquakes. So, with hi...

“Earthquake Killer” Herbert Mullin Pt. 1

15 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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,...

“The Kansas City Butcher” Robert Berdella Pt. 2

11 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Having killed and dismembered his first victim, Robert Bordella was anxious to take another person captive. He kidnapped and tortured multiple men in ...

“The Kansas City Butcher” Robert Berdella Pt. 1

08 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Inspired by a 1965 horror film called The Collector, Robert Berdella harbored dark fantasies about abuse and control. As a college student, he acted o...

“The Snowtown Murders” Pt. 2

04 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 alar...

“The Snowtown Murders” Pt. 1

01 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Arriving in South Australia in the 1980s, John Bunting surrounded himself with people he could easily manipulate: a small group of men who hated pedop...

“The Suitcase Killer” Steven Zelich Pt. 2

25 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 pow...

“The Suitcase Killer” Steven Zelich Pt. 1

22 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Killer Couples Pt. 4: Ray Fernandez and Martha Beck

18 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Once a promising intelligence officer, Ray Fernandez transformed into a career conman, swindling lonely women out of their savings. When he met Martha...

Killer Couples Pt. 3: Gerald and Charlene Gallego

15 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 did...

Killer Couples Pt. 2: Alton Coleman and Debra Brown

11 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Following a whirlwind romance, Alton Coleman and Debra Brown embarked on a violent rampage that turned the summer of 1984 bloody. Learn more about you...

Killer Couples Pt. 1: Ray and Faye Copeland

08 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 t...

“The Monster of Florence” Pt. 2

04 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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...

“The Monster of Florence” Pt. 1

01 Feb 2021

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 ...

“The Missoula Mauler” Wayne Nance Pt. 2

28 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 ex...

“The Missoula Mauler” Wayne Nance Pt. 1

25 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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...

"The Boozing Barber" Gilbert Paul Jordan Pt. 2

21 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

His victims’ deaths were often ruled “unnatural and accidental,” leaving Gilbert Paul Jordan free to perfect his M.O. — forcing Indigenous wom...

"The Boozing Barber" Gilbert Paul Jordan Pt. 1

18 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

An alcoholic from his teenage years onward, Gilbert Paul Jordan spent his young adulthood in 1950s Vancouver tallying up arrests for theft, assault, a...

"The Railroad Killer" Ángel Maturino Reséndiz Pt. 2

14 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

By the 1990s, Ángel Maturino Reséndiz was a seasoned murderer using America’s extensive railroad system to strike new victims, then flee. But even...

"The Railroad Killer" Ángel Maturino Reséndiz Pt. 1

11 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

After years of incarceration, rejection, and failure, Ángel Maturino Reséndiz's most violent impulses began to surface. Between 1986 and 1999, he tr...

“The Beauty Queen Killer” Christopher Wilder Pt. 2

07 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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 target...

“The Beauty Queen Killer” Christopher Wilder Pt. 1

04 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

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...

“The Butcher Baker” Robert Hansen Pt. 2

17 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

By day, Robert Hansen was a devoted husband, devout Christian, and respected member of the Anchorage community. By night, he abducted young women from...

“The Butcher Baker” Robert Hansen Pt. 1

14 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Bullied from a young age, Robert Hansen’s resentment toward the people in his hometown manifested in different ways — most alarmingly, arson. In 1...

“The Happy Face Killer” Keith Jesperson Pt. 2

10 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 gett...

“The Happy Face Killer” Keith Jesperson Pt. 1

07 Dec 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Always shy and a little curious, Keith Jesperson lived a troubled childhood. Beaten by his father, and always struggling to make friends, Keith grew u...

The Backpacker Murders Pt. 2

03 Dec 2020

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

30 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

The bodies of two missing backpackers were recovered from Australia’s Belanglo State Forest in 1992. They weren’t the last. Learn more about your ...

“The Chessboard Killer” Alexander Pichushkin Pt. 2

19 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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...

“The Chessboard Killer” Alexander Pichushkin Pt. 1

16 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

One of Russia’s most prolific serial killers was an avid chess player. First introduced to the pastime by his grandfather, the young Alexander Pichu...

“The Suffolk Strangler” Steve Wright Pt. 2

12 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 int...

“The Suffolk Strangler” Steve Wright Pt. 1

09 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

He was an unassuming man whose Jekyll and Hyde personality obscured increasingly violent tendencies. And in 2006, in the small English town of Ipswich...

“The Nurse Killer” Richard Benjamin Speck

05 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 st...

“The Weepy-Voice Killer” Paul Michael Stephani

02 Nov 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the early 1980s, emergency services in St. Paul, Minnesota began receiving odd calls from a distraught-sounding man. At first reporting brutal atta...

“The Vampire of Düsseldorf” Peter Kürten Pt. 2

29 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Throughout his shocking rampage that left dozens of people injured or dead, the newly dubbed “Vampire of Düsseldorf” Peter Kürten grew more and ...

“The Vampire of Düsseldorf” Peter Kürten Pt. 1

26 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

“The Starvation Doctor” Linda Hazzard Pt. 2

22 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

When British heiresses Dora and Claire Williamson reached out to Linda Hazzard, she might have thought draining their bank accounts would be easy enou...

“The Starvation Doctor” Linda Hazzard Pt. 1

19 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the early 1900s, Linda Hazzard marketed herself as a doctor, and claimed that she could cure any ailment with her special starvation regimens. Exce...

“The Hippie Trail Killer” Charles Sobhraj Pt. 2

15 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

“The Hippie Trail Killer” Charles Sobhraj Pt. 1

12 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 t...

Satanic Panic Pt. 5

11 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 nightmar...

Satanic Panic Pt. 4

10 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Emboldened by power- and money-hungry conmen, Evangelical doomsdayers set the stage for an epic showdown of biblical proportions. The fight for the so...

Satanic Panic Pt. 3

09 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

From Adolfo Costanzo and the Narcosatanists to the gruesome Chicago Rippers, these horrific groups showed that fears of murderous devil-worshipping cu...

Satanic Panic Pt. 2

08 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the 1980s, “Satanic Panic” was a mass hysteria that consumed communities and ruined lives—all over things that never even happened. In this n...

Satanic Panic Pt. 1

05 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the 1980s, “Satanic Panic” was a mass hysteria that consumed communities and ruined lives—all over things that never even happened. In this n...

“The Hillside Stranglers” Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono Jr. Pt. 2

01 Oct 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 a...

“The Hillside Stranglers” Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono Jr. Pt. 1

28 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

These killer cousins terrorized Los Angeles in the late ‘70s. Despite very different upbringings, Angelo Buono Jr. and Kenny Bianchi both formed sad...

“The San Francisco Witch Killers” Michael and Suzan Carson Pt. 2

24 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

After their first brutal murder, Suzan and Michael Carson fled San Francisco, intent on continuing their quest to rid the world of witches.  Learn ...

“The San Francisco Witch Killers” Michael and Suzan Carson Pt. 1

21 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 ri...

“The Ken and Barbie Killers” Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka Pt. 2

17 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 seem...

“The Ken and Barbie Killers” Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka Pt. 1

14 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

“Hannibal the Cannibal” Robert John Maudsley Pt. 2

10 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

By torturing and killing his fellow inmate, Robert Maudsley won his escape from Broadmoor Mental Hospital. But when confronted with more pedophiles at...

“Hannibal the Cannibal” Robert John Maudsley Pt. 1

07 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Abused by his parents from a young age, Robert Maudsley spent his childhood bouncing around orphanages and foster homes before running away in 1969. H...

“Night Caller” Eric Edgar Cooke Pt. 2

03 Sep 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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...

“Night Caller” Eric Edgar Cooke Pt. 1

31 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 wi...

“Double-O Swango” Joseph Swango Pt. 2

27 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

While Joseph Swango’s patients died at alarming rates, few people seemed capable of connecting the mysterious deaths with the doctor-in-training. Th...

“Double-O Swango” Joseph Swango Pt. 1

24 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As a teenager in the ‘70s, Joseph Swango had an intense fascination with the macabre, even keeping a scrapbook full of newspaper clippings about mur...