Florida Serial Killers
ColdCaseIndex documents 13 serial killers whose murders took place in Florida, with first known killings from 1970 to 2007. 13 of them were caught; 6 linked case files document their victims. The earliest series is Samuel Little (1970) and the most recent is Gary Michael Hilton (2007). Profiles are added in order of public interest, so this page is not a complete census of the state.
All 13 profiles
Samuel Little
Samuel McDowell
Died in prison. Samuel Little was convicted of eight murders in California, Texas and Ohio. He confessed to 93 killings from 1970 to 2005, and authorities said nearly 60 were confirmed. He died in December 2020, aged 80.
Judy Buenoano
Judias Buenoano
Executed. Judy Buenoano was convicted of poisoning her husband James Goodyear with arsenic in Orlando in 1971 and of murdering her son Michael, who drowned in 1980. She was electrocuted at Florida State Prison in March 1998.
Gerald Stano
Gerald Eugene Stano
Executed. Gerald Stano was convicted of nine murders of young women in Florida between 1973 and 1980 and confessed to about 41 in three states, though police doubted several confessions.
Paul John Knowles
The Casanova Killer
Killed. Paul John Knowles, the Casanova Killer, was linked to at least 18 killings across several states in 1974 after escaping a Jacksonville jail.
Ted Bundy
Theodore Robert Bundy
Executed in Florida in 1989. Ted Bundy was convicted of three murders in Florida and confessed to 30 killings of young women across Washington, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, Idaho and Florida between 1974 and 1978.
Ottis Toole
Ottis Elwood Toole
Died in prison 1996. Jacksonville drifter convicted of six Florida murders (1980-1983); two death sentences reduced to life. Confessed with Henry Lee Lucas to many more, then recanted.
Bobby Joe Long
Robert Joseph Long
Executed in 2019. Bobby Joe Long pleaded guilty to eight 1984 murders of women in the Tampa Bay area and was sentenced to death for one; a survivor's account of her abduction led police to him.
Christopher Wilder
The Beauty Queen Killer
Died before trial. Christopher Wilder, an Australian-born Florida businessman, is linked by the FBI to at least eight murders and eleven or more abductions across the United States between February 26 and April 13, 1984, when he…
Angel Maturino Resendiz
The Railroad Killer
Executed in Texas in 2006. Angel Maturino Resendiz, the Railroad Killer, was convicted of the 1998 murder of Dr. Claudia Benton near Houston, admitted 11 killings along rail lines in Texas, Florida, Kentucky and Illinois, and…
Aileen Wuornos
Aileen Carol Wuornos
Executed by Florida in 2002. Aileen Wuornos shot seven men along Florida highways in 1989 and 1990; a jury convicted her of the Richard Mallory murder and she pleaded guilty or no contest to five more, receiving six death…
Danny Rolling
The Gainesville Ripper
Executed in Florida in 2006. Danny Rolling pleaded guilty in 1994 to murdering five college students in Gainesville in August 1990 and, days before his execution, confessed in writing to the 1989 killing of three members of the…
Keith Hunter Jesperson
The Happy Face Killer
Serving life. Long-haul trucker Keith Hunter Jesperson, the Happy Face Killer, is held at the Oregon State Penitentiary for murders of women committed between 1990 and 1995; eight killings in six states are considered confirmed.
Gary Michael Hilton
The National Forest Serial Killer
Imprisoned. Gary Michael Hilton was convicted of killing four people on forest land in 2007 and 2008: Meredith Emerson in Georgia, Cheryl Dunlap in Florida and John and Irene Bryant in North Carolina.
At a glance
| Name | Alias | State | Active | Convicted | Confessed | Suspected | Legal status | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samuel Little | Samuel McDowell | California, Florida, Ohio, Texas | 1970 to 2005 | 8 | 93 | about 60 confirmed by the FBI, of 93 confessed | Convicted | Died in prison |
| Judy Buenoano | Judias Buenoano | Florida | 1971 to 1983 | 2 | — | 3 | Convicted | Executed |
| Gerald Stano | Gerald Eugene Stano | Florida | 1973 to 1980 | 9 | 41 | 9 to 41 | Convicted | Executed |
| Paul John Knowles | The Casanova Killer | Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Nevada, Texas, Connecticut, Virginia | 1974 | — | — | 18 to 35 | Died before trial | Killed |
| Ted Bundy | Theodore Robert Bundy | Washington, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Florida | 1974 to 1978 | 3 | 30 | 20 attributed by police before his confessions; the FBI put the total at more than 30, and some estimates run to 36 or more | Convicted | Executed |
| Ottis Toole | Ottis Elwood Toole | Florida | 1980 to 1983 | 6 | — | 1 further (Adam Walsh, attributed by Hollywood, Florida police in 2008; never charged) | Convicted | Died in prison |
| Bobby Joe Long | Robert Joseph Long | Florida | 1984 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Convicted | Executed |
| Christopher Wilder | The Beauty Queen Killer | Florida, Texas, Kansas, Utah, California, New York | 1984 | 0 | — | At least 8 killed; 11 or more abducted | Died before trial | Killed |
| Angel Maturino Resendiz | The Railroad Killer | Texas, Florida, Kentucky, Illinois | 1986 to 1999 | 1 | 11 | 15 to 23 | Convicted | Executed |
| Aileen Wuornos | Aileen Carol Wuornos | Florida | 1989 to 1990 | 6 | 7 | 7 | Convicted | Executed |
| Danny Rolling | The Gainesville Ripper | Florida, Louisiana | 1989 to 1990 | 5 | 8 | 8 | Convicted | Executed |
| Keith Hunter Jesperson | The Happy Face Killer | Oregon, Washington, California, Florida, Wyoming, Nebraska | 1990 to 1995 | 5 | 8 | 8 | Convicted | Imprisoned |
| Gary Michael Hilton | The National Forest Serial Killer | North Carolina, Florida, Georgia | 2007 to 2008 | 4 | 4 | 4 | Convicted | Imprisoned |
Serial murder case files from Florida
Victim-centred case pages from the cold case index, with their own timelines and sources.
Gainesville Ripper Victims
Danny Rolling murdered five college students over four days in Gainesville, Florida, in August 1990; four attended the University of Florida and one attended Santa Fe Community College.
Aileen Wuornos Victims
Aileen Wuornos killed seven men along Florida highways, claiming self-defense. She was convicted of six murders and executed in 2002.
Christopher Wilder Victims
Investigators attribute the abduction of at least twelve young women and girls, eight of whom died, to Christopher Wilder during a cross-country series of crimes between February 26 and April 13, 1984.
Ted Bundy Victims
Ted Bundy confessed to 30 homicides across seven states, though the actual number is believed higher. He was executed in Florida in 1989.
Nancy Leichner & Pamela Nater
Nancy Leichner, 21, and Pamela Nater, 20, vanished on October 2, 1966, during a skin-diving club picnic at Alexander Springs in Florida's Ocala National Forest, leaving their belongings on a picnic table.