Illinois Serial Killers
ColdCaseIndex documents 6 serial killers whose murders took place in Illinois, with first known killings from 1891 to 1989. 6 of them were caught; 2 linked case files document their victims. The earliest series is H. H. Holmes (Herman Webster Mudgett) (1891) and the most recent is Robert Ben Rhoades (1989). Profiles are added in order of public interest, so this page is not a complete census of the state.
All 6 profiles
H. H. Holmes (Herman Webster Mudgett)
Henry Howard Holmes
Executed in 1896. Herman Webster Mudgett, alias H. H. Holmes, was convicted in Philadelphia of murdering Benjamin Pitezel and is tied to about nine deaths in Chicago, Indianapolis and Toronto.
Belle Gunness
Brynhild Paulsdatter Størseth
Suspected, never charged. Norwegian-born widow whose La Porte, Indiana farm yielded the remains of at least 11 people after an April 1908 fire; the headless body ruled hers in 1908 is disputed and 2008 DNA tests were inconclusive.
John Wayne Gacy
The Killer Clown
Executed in 1994. John Wayne Gacy was convicted by a Cook County jury in 1980 of murdering 33 boys and young men in suburban Chicago between 1972 and 1978; 29 were found at his home. Five victims remain unidentified.
Larry Eyler
The Highway Killer
Died in prison. Larry Eyler was convicted in Illinois in 1986 of murdering Daniel Bridges and sentenced to death, pleaded guilty in Indiana in 1990 to a second murder, and confessed through his attorney to 21 killings of young…
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…
Robert Ben Rhoades
The Truck Stop Killer
Serving life. Long-haul trucker Robert Ben Rhoades pleaded guilty to the 1990 murder of 14-year-old Regina Walters in Illinois and, in 2012, to the Texas capital murders of Patricia Walsh and Douglas Scott Zyskowski.
At a glance
| Name | Alias | State | Active | Convicted | Confessed | Suspected | Legal status | Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H. H. Holmes (Herman Webster Mudgett) | Henry Howard Holmes | Illinois, Pennsylvania, Indiana | 1891 to 1894 | 1 | 27 | About 9 (8 confirmed, 1 probable); claims of 27 to 200 or more are not supported by the record | Convicted | Executed |
| Belle Gunness | Brynhild Paulsdatter Størseth | Indiana, Illinois | 1900 to 1908 | — | — | 14 to more than 40 (remains of at least 11 people dug up on the farm, plus three children and a headless woman in the fire ruins) | Suspected, never charged | Unknown |
| John Wayne Gacy | The Killer Clown | Illinois | 1972 to 1978 | 33 | 30 | 33 confirmed; Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart has said he suspects Gacy also killed while travelling for work, which the trial prosecutor disputes | Convicted | Executed |
| Larry Eyler | The Highway Killer | Illinois, Indiana | 1982 to 1984 | 2 | 21 | 19 to 24 (police estimates, 1983 to 1984) | Convicted | Died in prison |
| Angel Maturino Resendiz | The Railroad Killer | Texas, Florida, Kentucky, Illinois | 1986 to 1999 | 1 | 11 | 15 to 23 | Convicted | Executed |
| Robert Ben Rhoades | The Truck Stop Killer | Texas, Illinois | 1989 to 1990 | 3 | 3 | 4 to 50+ | Convicted | Imprisoned |
Serial murder case files from Illinois
Victim-centred case pages from the cold case index, with their own timelines and sources.