Serial Killers

“Damsel of Death” Aileen Wuornos Pt. 2

20 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 wor...

“Damsel of Death” Aileen Wuornos Pt. 1

17 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

More abused than loved, Aileen Wuornos suffered through her childhood in 1960s Michigan. She became a sex worker and petty thief, eventually hitchhiki...

“Programmed to Kill” Charlie Brandt Pt. 2

13 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

For decades, it seemed like Charlie Brandt's first murder was a shocking, unexplainable anomoly—something he would never repeat. But in 2004, anothe...

“Programmed to Kill” Charlie Brandt Pt. 1

10 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 programme...

“The Sunday Morning Slasher” Coral Eugene Watts Pt. 2

06 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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—bu...

“The Sunday Morning Slasher” Coral Eugene Watts Pt. 1

03 Aug 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Unable to contain his dark fantasies and suppressed rage, Coral Eugene Watts targeted women in Michigan and Texas starting in 1974, and continuing for...

“The Racist Killer” Joseph Paul Franklin Pt. 2

30 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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. ...

“The Racist Killer” Joseph Paul Franklin Pt. 1

27 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

He studied Mein Kampf. Changed his name. And joined white supremacist groups across the country. Fueled by hateful rhetoric and armed with guerilla wa...

“The Torso Killer” Richard Francis Cottingham Pt. 2

23 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 incre...

“The Torso Killer” Richard Francis Cottingham Pt. 1

20 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

He had an idyllic childhood in the 1940s and ‘50s, but as Richard Francis Cottingham grew, he began having dark, dehumanizing sexual fantasies about...

“The Toolbox Killers” Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris Pt. 2

16 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In 1979, Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris sexually assaulted and murdered five teenage girls. For months, authorities were at a loss to explain the di...

“The Toolbox Killers” Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris Pt. 1

13 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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...

“The ABC Killer” Moses Sithole

09 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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, ...

“The Chicago Abductor” Brian Dugan

06 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 s...

“Milwaukee North Side Strangler” Walter E. Ellis

02 Jul 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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. Ov...

“The Hitchhiker Killer” Thor Nis Christiansen

29 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 dar...

“A Chaotic Life” Andrew Urdiales

25 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

He endured extreme childhood abuse, served in the Marines, and was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia. Between 1986 and 1996, Andrew Urdiales tur...

“Crazy Charlie” Charles Ray Hatcher

22 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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...

“The Boy Torturer of Boston” Pt. 2: Jesse Pomeroy

18 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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. Afte...

“The Boy Torturer of Boston” Pt. 1: Jesse Pomeroy

15 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 h...

“Hannibal Lecter of Sweden” Sture Bergwall

11 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

He claimed to be Sweden's first serial killer. Throughout the 1990s, Sture Bergwall made shocking confessions to dozens of brutal murders across Swede...

“Warwick Slasher” Craig Price

08 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 r...

“Doctor Satan” Pt. 2: Marcel Petiot

04 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 ne...

“Doctor Satan” Pt. 1: Marcel Petiot

01 Jun 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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...

“The Acid Bath Murderer” Pt. 2: John George Haigh

28 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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,...

“The Acid Bath Murderer” Pt. 1: John George Haigh

25 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 lif...

“The Cleveland Strangler” Pt. 2: Anthony Sowell

21 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

As his living conditions deteriorated in the late 2000's, so did Anthony Sowell’s state of mind. Investigators were horrified when they finally sear...

“The Cleveland Strangler” Pt. 1: Anthony Sowell

18 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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. ...

“The Slave Master” Pt. 2: John Edward Robinson

14 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

By 1984, after a lifetime spent breaking the law and facing few consequences, John Edward Robinson had finally crossed the line into cold-blooded murd...

“The Slave Master” Pt. 1: John Edward Robinson

11 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 gr...

“The Meanest Man in America” Pt. 2: Donald Henry Gaskins

07 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the late 1960s, Donald Henry Gaskins found himself consumed by a ravenous rage. He began stalking the highways of South Carolina, searching for vic...

“The Meanest Man in America” Pt. 1: Donald Henry Gaskins

04 May 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 sp...

“The Gainesville Ripper” Pt. 2: Danny Rolling

30 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 Gai...

“The Gainesville Ripper” Pt. 1: Danny Rolling

27 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

It's likely that an abusive, loveless upbringing in the 1960s and ‘70s shaped Danny Rolling’s troubling violent sexual fantasies. After a young li...

“The Scorecard Killer” Pt. 2: Randy Steven Kraft

23 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 un...

“The Scorecard Killer” Pt. 1: Randy Steven Kraft

20 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 un...

“The Most Prolific” Pt. 2: Samuel Little

09 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

By the 1990s, he had spent twenty years murdering dozens of women across the United States. Decades after his crimes, Samuel Little was finally brough...

“The Most Prolific” Pt. 1: Samuel Little

06 Apr 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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, ...

The Axeman of New Orleans Pt. 2

02 Apr 2020

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

30 Mar 2020

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 Golden State Killer” Pt. 2: Joseph DeAngelo

19 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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...

“The Golden State Killer” Pt. 1: Joseph DeAngelo

16 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

His crimes earned him the moniker of the “Visalia Ransacker” and the “East Area Rapist.” But Joseph James DeAngelo would become most notorious...

“The Boxcar Killer” Robert Joseph Silvera Jr.

12 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

False Confessions: Henry Lee Lucas

09 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In the mid-1980s, serial killer Henry Lee Lucas confessed to nearly 600 murders. While most of those confessions were subsequently disproven, his case...

“The Lust Killer” Pt. 2: Jerry Brudos

05 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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, lik...

“The Lust Killer” Pt 1: Jerry Brudos

02 Mar 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 a...

The Zodiac Killer Pt. 2

27 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 pol...

The Zodiac Killer Pt. 1

24 Feb 2020

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...

“H.H. Holmes” Pt. 2: Herman Webster Mudgett

20 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 k...

“H.H. Holmes” Pt. 1: Herman Webster Mudgett

17 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 arti...

“The Campus Killer” Pt. 2: Ted Bundy

13 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 pris...

“The Campus Killer” Pt. 1: Ted Bundy

10 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 f...

“The Lambeth Poisoner” Thomas Neill Cream

03 Feb 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 i...

“The Classified Ad Rapist” Pt. 2: Bobby Joe Long

27 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

In 1984, Bobby Joe Long terrorized Tampa—sexually assaulting and murdering women with alarming frequency. But one 17-year-old girl escaped his clutc...

“The Classified Ad Rapist” Pt. 1: Bobby Joe Long

20 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

“The Gorilla Man” Pt. 2: Earle Leonard Nelson

13 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

“The Gorilla Man” Pt. 1: Earle Leonard Nelson

06 Jan 2020

Contributed by Lukas

Reputed to have abnormally long arms and unusually large hands, Earle Leonard Nelson roamed the United States and Canada, strangling unsuspecting land...

Jeffrey Dahmer Special Pt. 3

23 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 f...

Jeffrey Dahmer Special Pt. 2

23 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

It was a murderous rampage that could have possibly been prevented. Although Jeffrey Dahmer failed numerous times to turn his life around, his multi-y...

Jeffrey Dahmer Special Pt. 1

23 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 unusua...

David Joseph Carpenter

16 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Archibald Thomson Hall Pt. 2

09 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 clien...

Archibald Thomson Hall Pt. 1

02 Dec 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 peopl...

The Servant Girl Annihilator Pt. 2

25 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

On Christmas Eve 1885, Austin, Texas was again the site of multiple, grisly slayings. Only this time, the victims were not African-American women. The...

The Servant Girl Annihilator Pt. 1

18 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 ki...

Elizabeth Wettlaufer Pt. 2

11 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

Elizabeth Wettlaufer Pt. 1

04 Nov 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Born in Canada in 1967, Elizabeth Wettlaufer struggled to accept her sexuality due to her deeply religious and conservative parents. As the years went...

Dana Sue Gray Pt. 2

28 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 w...

Dana Sue Gray Pt. 1

21 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Growing up in Southern California in the 50s and 60s, Dana Sue Gray developed a troubling childhood petulance, which would ultimately evolve into a ho...

“The Vampire of Sacramento” Pt. 2: Richard Trenton Chase

14 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 wo...

“The Vampire of Sacramento” Pt. 1: Richard Trenton Chase

07 Oct 2019

Contributed by Lukas

He was a strange child—messy, disorganized and prone to random outbursts. As Richard Chase neared his 20s, things got worse… much worse. He convin...

“The Lady Killer” Pt. 2 - Neville Heath

30 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 o...

“The Lady Killer” - Neville Heath

23 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

“The Vienna Strangler” Pt. 2 - Jack Unterweger

16 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 hims...

“The Vienna Strangler” - Jack Unterweger

09 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 hims...

“The Kindly Killer” Pt. 2 - Dennis Nilsen

02 Sep 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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...

“The Kindly Killer” - Dennis Nilsen

26 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

“Arsenic Anna” Pt. 2 - Anna Marie Hahn

19 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

“Arsenic Anna” - Anna Marie Hahn

12 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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-...

“The Toy-Box Killer” Pt. 2 - David Parker Ray

05 Aug 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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...

“The Toy-Box Killer” - David Parker Ray

29 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Unexplained Mysteries: The Zodiac Killer Pt. 2 (with Greg and Vanessa!)

23 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 pol...

Unexplained Mysteries: The Zodiac Killer Pt. 1 (with Greg and Vanessa!)

22 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In the summer of 1969, newspapers in Northern California began receiving coded letters from a person who would come to identify themselves as "The Zod...

“The Doodler” - San Francisco’s Unknown Serial Slayer

15 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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...

“The Bayou Serial Killer” Pt. 2 - Ronald Joseph Dominique

08 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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....

“The Bayou Serial Killer” - Ronald Joseph Dominique

01 Jul 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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...

“Joel the Ripper” Pt. 2 - Joel Rifkin

24 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 hi...

“Joel the Ripper” - Joel Rifkin

17 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 re...

“The Pig Farmer” Pt. 2 - Robert "Willie" Pickton

10 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

In the early 90s, vulnerable women around Vancouver were disappearing at an alarming rate, but the authorities had yet to recognize the crisis, or eve...

“The Pig Farmer” - Robert "Willie" Pickton

03 Jun 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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...

“Candy Man” Pt. 2 - Dean Arnold Corll

27 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 teenag...

“Candy Man” - Dean Arnold Corll

20 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 s...

“The Ypsilanti Ripper” Pt. 2 - John Norman Collins

13 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

After successfully murdering four women in Eastern Michigan without a whiff of suspicion in 1969, John Norman Collins began to believe he would never ...

“The Ypsilanti Ripper” - John Norman Collins

06 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

“Terminator” Pt. 2 - Anatoly Onoprienko

29 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

“Terminator” - Anatoly Onoprienko

22 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 t...

“Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run” Pt. 2 - The Cleveland Torso Murders

15 Apr 2019

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...

“Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run” - The Cleveland Torso Murders

08 Apr 2019

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 Bone Collector” - The West Mesa Murders

01 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 rem...

"Ogress of Reading" Pt. 2 - Amelia Dyer

25 Mar 2019

Contributed by Lukas

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 mo...