Famous Serial Killers: The Most Searched Names

The most searched serial killers in the United States, ranked by how often people look them up, not by any judgement about the crimes. Each entry links to a profile with counts, dates, the capture method and sources.

ColdCaseIndex currently lists 71 serial killers in this group, out of 104 profiles. The list is computed from the dataset on every build, so it changes as profiles are added.

Famous Serial Killers: The Most Searched Names
#	Name	Alias	State	Active	Convicted	Confessed	Suspected	Legal status	Fate
1	Jeffrey Dahmer	The Milwaukee Cannibal	Wisconsin, Ohio	1978 to 1991	16	17	17	Convicted	Died in prison
2	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
3	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
4	Aileen Wuornos	Aileen Carol Wuornos	Florida	1989 to 1990	6	7	7	Convicted	Executed
5	Zodiac Killer	Zodiac	California	1968 to 1969	—	—	5 confirmed killed and 2 survivors; 37 claimed in a 1974 letter	Unidentified	At large
6	Rex Heuermann	Rex Andrew Heuermann	New York	1993 to 2010	7	8	8	Convicted	Imprisoned
7	Richard Ramirez	The Night Stalker	California	1984 to 1985	13	—	15 or more (13 convictions plus two San Francisco killings attributed by police)	Convicted	Died in prison
8	Jerry Brudos	Jerome Henry Brudos	Oregon	1968 to 1969	3	4	4	Convicted	Died in prison
9	Rodney Alcala	The Dating Game Killer	California, New York	1971 to 1979	7	2	8 charged (one Wyoming charge was never tried); investigators have linked him to further deaths in California, Washington, New York, New Hampshire and Arizona, with published estimates ranging into the dozens	Convicted	Died in prison
10	Israel Keyes	—	Alaska, Vermont	2001 to 2012	0	8	11 (FBI, 2013)	Died before trial	Suicide
11	Albert Fish	Hamilton Howard Fish	New York	1924 to 1928	1	3	5 to 15 (contemporary police and psychiatric estimates); he claimed about 100, unverified	Convicted	Executed
12	Dennis Rader	BTK	Kansas	1974 to 1991	10	10	10	Convicted	Imprisoned
13	David Berkowitz	Son of Sam	New York	1976 to 1977	6	6	6 killed and 7 wounded in the eight charged shootings; in 2024 the NYPD also attributed an April 1976 Bronx shooting that wounded a woman	Convicted	Imprisoned
14	Gary Ridgway	The Green River Killer	Washington	1982 to 1998	49	71	At least 71 (49 confirmed plus about 22 additional suspected)	Convicted	Imprisoned
15	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
16	Edmund Kemper	The Co-ed Killer	California	1972 to 1973	8	8	10, including his grandparents, killed in 1964 when he was 15	Convicted	Imprisoned
17	Wayne Williams	Wayne Bertram Williams	Georgia	1979 to 1981	2	—	24	Convicted	Imprisoned
18	Richard Cottingham	The Torso Killer	New Jersey, New York	1967 to 1980	9	15	20 attributed by prosecutors (9 convictions plus 11 cleared confessions); Cottingham has claimed 80 to 100	Convicted	Imprisoned
19	Dorothea Puente	Dorothea Montalvo Puente	California	1982 to 1988	3	—	9 (charged); seven bodies recovered from her yard, one from the Sacramento River, one earlier death reclassified	Convicted	Died in prison
20	Charles Cullen	The Angel of Death	New Jersey, Pennsylvania	1988 to 2003	29	29	Up to 40 by Cullen's own estimate	Convicted	Imprisoned
21	Robert Hansen	Robert Christian Hansen	Alaska	1971 to 1983	4	17	17 to 21	Convicted	Died in prison
22	Bobby Joe Long	Robert Joseph Long	Florida	1984	8	9	10	Convicted	Executed
23	Dean Corll	The Candy Man	Texas	1970 to 1973	0	—	28 attributed by Houston police; 27 bodies recovered in 1973; a 2025 forensic review points to at least 30	Died before trial	Killed
24	Gary Heidnik	Gary Michael Heidnik	Pennsylvania	1986 to 1987	2	—	—	Convicted	Executed
25	Herb Baumeister	Herbert Richard Baumeister	Indiana, Ohio	1980 to 1995	—	—	At least 11 at Fox Hollow Farm (coroner estimates up to 25 or more), plus 9 deaths in Indiana and Ohio from 1980 to 1990 linked by sheriffs in 1998	Died before trial	Suicide
26	Henry Lee Lucas	The Confession Killer	Texas, Michigan, West Virginia	1960 to 1983	11	600	Disputed: a Texas task force once attributed 200 or more killings to him; the Texas Attorney General's 1986 report found most of his confessions false, and DNA later excluded him from at least one murder he was convicted of	Convicted	Died in prison
27	Joel Rifkin	Joel the Ripper	New York	1989 to 1993	9	17	17	Convicted	Imprisoned
28	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
29	Joseph James DeAngelo	The Golden State Killer	California	1975 to 1986	13	13	13 murders; prosecutors also attribute about 50 rapes and more than 120 burglaries	Convicted	Imprisoned
30	Todd Kohlhepp	Todd Christopher Kohlhepp	South Carolina	2003 to 2016	7	7	7; Kohlhepp later claimed additional undisclosed victims, none verified	Convicted	Imprisoned
31	Danny Rolling	The Gainesville Ripper	Florida, Louisiana	1989 to 1990	5	8	8	Convicted	Executed
32	Randy Kraft	The Scorecard Killer	California, Oregon, Michigan	1972 to 1983	16	0	up to 67	Convicted	Imprisoned
33	Shawn Grate	—	Ohio	2006 to 2016	5	5	5	Convicted	Imprisoned
34	Nannie Doss	The Giggling Granny	Alabama, North Carolina, Kansas, Oklahoma	1927 to 1954	1	4	up to 11	Convicted	Died in prison
35	Robert Berdella	The Kansas City Butcher	Missouri	1984 to 1987	6	6	6	Convicted	Died in prison
36	Carl Panzram	Charles Panzram	Kansas, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut	1920 to 1929	1	21	5 corroborated by investigators; Panzram also claimed killings in Portuguese Angola	Convicted	Executed
37	Shelly Knotek	Michelle Knotek	Washington	1991 to 2003	2	—	3 deaths in the household (the third was her husband's conviction)	Convicted	Released
38	Anthony Sowell	The Cleveland Strangler	Ohio	2007 to 2009	11	—	11	Convicted	Died in prison
39	Henry Louis Wallace	The Taco Bell Strangler	North Carolina, South Carolina	1990 to 1994	9	11	11	Convicted	Imprisoned
40	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
41	Albert DeSalvo	The Boston Strangler	Massachusetts	1962 to 1964	—	13	1 to 13	Confessed, never tried	Killed
42	Richard Chase	Richard Trenton Chase	California	1977 to 1978	6	—	6	Convicted	Suicide
43	Keith Hunter Jesperson	The Happy Face Killer	Oregon, Washington, California, Florida, Wyoming, Nebraska	1990 to 1995	5	8	8	Convicted	Imprisoned
44	Derrick Todd Lee	The Baton Rouge Serial Killer	Louisiana	1998 to 2003	2	—	7	Convicted	Died in prison
45	Tommy Lynn Sells	Coast to Coast Killer	Texas	1987 to 1999	2	—	18 to 70	Convicted	Executed
46	Robert Ben Rhoades	The Truck Stop Killer	Texas, Illinois	1989 to 1990	3	3	4 to 50+	Convicted	Imprisoned
47	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
48	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
49	Robert Lee Yates Jr.	The Spokane Serial Killer	Washington	1975 to 1998	15	15	16; at his arrest the Spokane County sheriff cited 12 to 18 possible victims	Convicted	Imprisoned
50	William Bonin	The Freeway Killer	California	1979 to 1980	14	21	22 to 36; police initially linked him to about 40 killings	Convicted	Executed
51	Donald Henry Gaskins	Pee Wee Gaskins	South Carolina	1970 to 1982	10	13	14 to 15	Convicted	Executed
52	Charles Ng	Charles Chitat Ng	California	1984 to 1985	11	—	11 to 25	Convicted	Imprisoned
53	Jane Toppan	Jolly Jane	Massachusetts	1895 to 1901	—	31	31 to 100	Not guilty by reason of insanity	Died (other)
54	Herbert Mullin	Herbert William Mullin	California	1972 to 1973	11	13	13	Convicted	Died in prison
55	Gary Michael Hilton	The National Forest Serial Killer	North Carolina, Florida, Georgia	2007 to 2008	4	4	4	Convicted	Imprisoned
56	Kenneth Bianchi	The Hillside Strangler	California, Washington	1977 to 1979	7	7	12 (10 in Los Angeles with Buono, 2 in Bellingham)	Convicted	Imprisoned
57	Kristen Gilbert	Kristen Heather Strickland	Massachusetts	1995 to 1996	4	—	4 murders and 3 attempted murders charged; prosecutors noted she was on duty for about half of roughly 350 deaths on her ward between 1989 and 1996, but no further murders were attributed to her	Convicted	Imprisoned
58	Kenneth McDuff	The Broomstick Murderer	Texas	1966 to 1992	5	—	9 to 14 or more	Convicted	Executed
59	Scott Lee Kimball	Scott Kimball	Colorado, Utah	2003 to 2004	4	4	4	Convicted	Imprisoned
60	Paul John Knowles	The Casanova Killer	Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Nevada, Texas, Connecticut, Virginia	1974	—	—	18 to 35	Died before trial	Killed
61	Velma Barfield	Margie Velma Barfield	North Carolina	1974 to 1978	1	4	5 to 7	Convicted	Executed
62	Arthur Shawcross	The Genesee River Killer	New York	1972 to 1989	11	11	11 murders plus 2 child deaths resolved by a 1972 manslaughter plea; police initially reviewed up to 17 deaths or disappearances	Convicted	Died in prison
63	Edward Wayne Edwards	Ed Edwards	Ohio, Wisconsin	1977 to 1996	5	5	5	Convicted	Died in prison
64	Lawrence Bittaker	The Tool Box Killers	California	1979	5	—	5	Convicted	Died in prison
65	Lonnie Franklin Jr.	The Grim Sleeper	California	1985 to 2007	10	—	14 to 25	Convicted	Died in prison
66	Khalil Wheeler-Weaver	—	New Jersey	2016	3	—	4	Convicted	Imprisoned
67	Axeman of New Orleans	The Axeman	Louisiana	1918 to 1919	—	—	At least 6 killed and 6 injured in the attacks attributed to the series in 1918 and 1919; historians dispute which attacks belong to it, and totals of up to 17 killed have been cited	Unidentified	Unknown
68	Genene Jones	Genene Ann Jones	Texas	1981 to 1982	2	—	more than a dozen to as many as 60	Convicted	Imprisoned
69	Juan Corona	Juan Vallejo Corona	California	1971	25	—	25	Convicted	Died in prison
70	Westley Allan Dodd	The Vancouver Child Killer	Washington	1989	3	3	3	Convicted	Executed
71	Judy Buenoano	Judias Buenoano	Florida	1971 to 1983	2	—	3	Convicted	Executed

Profiles

Convicted 1978 to 1991

Jeffrey Dahmer

The Milwaukee Cannibal

Died in prison. Jeffrey Dahmer murdered 17 men and boys in Ohio and Wisconsin between 1978 and 1991. A jury found him sane on 15 counts in 1992; he received 16 life terms and was killed by a fellow inmate in 1994.

Wisconsin 16 convicted Died in prison

Convicted 1974 to 1978

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.

Florida 3 convicted Executed

Convicted 1972 to 1978

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.

Illinois 33 convicted Executed

Convicted 1989 to 1990

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…

Florida 6 convicted Executed

Unidentified 1968 to 1969

Zodiac Killer

Zodiac

Unidentified. The Zodiac Killer attacked seven people in Northern California between December 1968 and October 1969, killing five, and taunted police and newspapers with letters and ciphers.

California 5 confirmed killed and 2 survivors; 37 claimed in a 1974 letter suspected At large

Convicted 1993 to 2010

Rex Heuermann

Rex Andrew Heuermann

Serving life. Massapequa Park architect Rex Heuermann pleaded guilty in April 2026 to seven of the Gilgo Beach / Long Island serial killings and admitted an eighth. He was sentenced in June 2026 to life without parole.

New York 7 convicted Imprisoned

Convicted 1984 to 1985

Richard Ramirez

The Night Stalker

Died on death row in 2013. Richard Ramirez, the Night Stalker, was convicted by a Los Angeles jury in 1989 of 13 murders, 5 attempted murders, 11 sexual assaults and 14 burglaries committed in 1984 and 1985, and sentenced to…

California 13 convicted Died in prison

Convicted 1968 to 1969

Jerry Brudos

Jerome Henry Brudos

Convicted on guilty pleas to three first-degree murders in Oregon in 1969 and sentenced to three consecutive life terms. Jerry Brudos confessed to four killings of young women in 1968 and 1969 and died in the Oregon State…

Oregon 3 convicted Died in prison

Convicted 1971 to 1979

Rodney Alcala

The Dating Game Killer

Convicted; died on California's death row in 2021. Rodney Alcala, the Dating Game Killer, was convicted in 2010 of five murders in Southern California (1977-1979) after two overturned Samsoe convictions, and pleaded guilty in…

California 7 convicted Died in prison

Died before trial 2001 to 2012

Israel Keyes

Died before trial. Israel Keyes was indicted for the 2012 kidnapping and killing of Samantha Koenig in Anchorage, confessed to murdering Bill and Lorraine Currier in Vermont and five others, and died by suicide in custody in…

Alaska 0 convicted Suicide

Convicted 1924 to 1928

Albert Fish

Hamilton Howard Fish

Executed at Sing Sing in 1936. Albert Fish was convicted in 1935 of the 1928 murder of 10-year-old Grace Budd in New York after a letter he sent her family was traced to him; he also confessed to two earlier child killings.

New York 1 convicted Executed

Convicted 1974 to 1991

Dennis Rader

BTK

Serving life. Dennis Rader, the BTK killer, pleaded guilty in 2005 to ten murders in Wichita and Park City, Kansas, from 1974 to 1991 and received ten consecutive life terms.

Kansas 10 convicted Imprisoned

Convicted 1976 to 1977

David Berkowitz

Son of Sam

Imprisoned. David Berkowitz, the 'Son of Sam', pleaded guilty in 1978 to six murders in New York City's 1976-77 .44-caliber shootings, which killed six and wounded seven.

New York 6 convicted Imprisoned

Convicted 1982 to 1998

Gary Ridgway

The Green River Killer

Imprisoned. Gary Ridgway, the Green River Killer, pleaded guilty in 2003 to 48 murders of women and girls in King County, Washington, between 1982 and 1998, and to a 49th in 2011.

Washington 49 convicted Imprisoned

Convicted 1970 to 2005

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.

California 8 convicted Died in prison

Convicted 1972 to 1973

Edmund Kemper

The Co-ed Killer

Imprisoned. Edmund Kemper was convicted by a Santa Cruz County jury in 1973 of eight counts of first-degree murder for killing six young women, his mother and her friend in 1972 and 1973.

California 8 convicted Imprisoned

Convicted 1979 to 1981

Wayne Williams

Wayne Bertram Williams

Serving life. Wayne Williams was convicted in 1982 of murdering two adult men in Atlanta. Police then closed 22 other Atlanta child murders cases as attributed to him without trial; he maintains his innocence, and the city…

Georgia 2 convicted Imprisoned

Convicted 1967 to 1980

Richard Cottingham

The Torso Killer

Imprisoned since 1980. Richard Cottingham, the "Torso Killer", was convicted at trials in New Jersey and New York (1981, 1982, 1984) of five murders, later pleaded guilty to four more, and has confessed to 11 others closed…

New Jersey 9 convicted Imprisoned

Convicted 1982 to 1988

Dorothea Puente

Dorothea Montalvo Puente

Died in prison 2011. Sacramento boarding-house operator charged with nine murders after seven bodies were dug from her yard in 1988; a Monterey County jury convicted her of three in 1993 and deadlocked on six.

California 3 convicted Died in prison

Convicted 1988 to 2003

Charles Cullen

The Angel of Death

Imprisoned. Former nurse who pleaded guilty to murdering 29 patients with drug overdoses at New Jersey and Pennsylvania hospitals from 1988 to 2003; sentenced in 2006 to 18 life terms. He has estimated his own toll at up to 40.

New Jersey 29 convicted Imprisoned

Convicted 1971 to 1983

Robert Hansen

Robert Christian Hansen

Died in prison. Anchorage baker Robert Hansen pleaded guilty in 1984 to murdering four women in Alaska, confessed to killing 17, and was sentenced to 461 years. He died in custody in Anchorage in August 2014, aged 75.

Alaska 4 convicted Died in prison

Convicted 1984

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.

Florida 8 convicted Executed

Died before trial 1970 to 1973

Dean Corll

The Candy Man

Killed by his accomplice in 1973 and never charged. Dean Corll, Houston's 'Candy Man', is linked by police to 28 murders of boys and young men from 1970 to 1973; accomplices Elmer Wayne Henley and David Brooks were convicted.

Texas 0 convicted Killed

Convicted 1986 to 1987

Gary Heidnik

Gary Michael Heidnik

Executed in 1999. Gary Heidnik held six women captive in his Philadelphia basement from November 1986 to March 1987; two died. A jury convicted him of two first-degree murders in 1988.

Pennsylvania 2 convicted Executed

Died before trial 1980 to 1995

Herb Baumeister

Herbert Richard Baumeister

Died by suicide before charges. Indianapolis thrift-store owner whose Westfield estate, Fox Hollow Farm, yielded the remains of at least 11 men in 1996; sheriffs later linked him to nine more deaths along I-70.

Indiana At least 11 at Fox Hollow Farm (coroner estimates up to 25 or more), plus 9 deaths in Indiana and Ohio from 1980 to 1990 linked by sheriffs in 1998 suspected Suicide

Convicted 1960 to 1983

Henry Lee Lucas

The Confession Killer

Died in prison in 2001. Texas drifter convicted of 11 murders who confessed to about 600 killings in 1983 to 1985 and then recanted; a 1986 Texas Attorney General report found most confessions false, and his death sentence was…

Texas 11 convicted Died in prison

Convicted 1989 to 1993

Joel Rifkin

Joel the Ripper

Imprisoned. Joel Rifkin, a Long Island landscaper, confessed to killing 17 women in New York between 1989 and 1993 and was convicted of nine murders after a 1993 traffic stop revealed a body in his truck.

New York 9 convicted Imprisoned

Convicted 1891 to 1894

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.

Illinois 1 convicted Executed

Convicted 1975 to 1986

Joseph James DeAngelo

The Golden State Killer

Imprisoned for life. Joseph DeAngelo, the Golden State Killer, pleaded guilty in 2020 to 13 California murders committed from 1975 to 1986 and admitted dozens of rapes; he was identified in 2018 through forensic genetic genealogy.

California 13 convicted Imprisoned

Convicted 2003 to 2016

Todd Kohlhepp

Todd Christopher Kohlhepp

Imprisoned for life. Todd Kohlhepp, a South Carolina real estate agent, pleaded guilty in May 2017 to seven murders: the 2003 Superbike Motorsports shootings in Chesnee and three people killed on his Woodruff property in 2015…

South Carolina 7 convicted Imprisoned

Convicted 1989 to 1990

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…

Florida 5 convicted Executed

Convicted 1972 to 1983

Randy Kraft

The Scorecard Killer

On death row in California since 1989. Randy Kraft was convicted by an Orange County jury of murdering 16 young men between 1972 and 1983; a coded list found at his 1983 arrest is believed to reference up to 67 victims in…

California 16 convicted Imprisoned

Convicted 2006 to 2016

Shawn Grate

On Ohio's death row. Shawn Grate was convicted of killing five women in Ashland, Richland and Marion counties between 2006 and 2016; a captive's 911 call from his Ashland house led to his arrest in September 2016.

Ohio 5 convicted Imprisoned

Convicted 1927 to 1954

Nannie Doss

The Giggling Granny

Died in prison. Nannie Doss pleaded guilty in 1955 to poisoning her fifth husband, Samuel Doss, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, confessed to killing four husbands, and is linked to as many as 11 family deaths from 1927 to 1954.

Oklahoma 1 convicted Died in prison

Convicted 1984 to 1987

Robert Berdella

The Kansas City Butcher

Died in prison. Robert Berdella pleaded guilty in 1988 to murdering six young men held captive at his Kansas City, Missouri home between 1984 and 1987.

Missouri 6 convicted Died in prison

Convicted 1920 to 1929

Carl Panzram

Charles Panzram

Executed 1930. Carl Panzram, a career burglar, confessed in 1928 to 21 murders in several states and abroad; he was convicted of only one, the 1929 killing of a Leavenworth prison foreman, and was hanged in Kansas.

Kansas 1 convicted Executed

Convicted 1991 to 2003

Shelly Knotek

Michelle Knotek

Released in 2022 after serving about 19 years. Pleaded guilty (Alford pleas) in 2004 to second-degree murder of Kathy Loreno and first-degree manslaughter of Ron Woodworth, boarders who died in her Pacific County, Washington…

Washington 2 convicted Released

Convicted 2007 to 2009

Anthony Sowell

The Cleveland Strangler

Convicted by a Cuyahoga County jury in 2011 of 11 aggravated murders after the remains of 11 women were found at his Cleveland home in October 2009; sentenced to death, affirmed on appeal, died in state custody in February 2021.

Ohio 11 convicted Died in prison

Convicted 1990 to 1994

Henry Louis Wallace

The Taco Bell Strangler

On death row. Henry Louis Wallace was convicted in 1997 of murdering nine young women in Charlotte, North Carolina, between 1992 and 1994 and received nine death sentences.

North Carolina 9 convicted Imprisoned

Convicted 1980 to 1983

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.

Florida 6 convicted Died in prison

Confessed, never tried 1962 to 1964

Albert DeSalvo

The Boston Strangler

Killed. Albert DeSalvo confessed to the 13 Boston Strangler murders of 1962 to 1964 but was never tried for them. Serving life for unrelated assaults and robberies, he was stabbed to death at Walpole prison in 1973.

Massachusetts 13 confessed Killed

Convicted 1977 to 1978

Richard Chase

Richard Trenton Chase

Suicide. Richard Chase was convicted in May 1979 of six counts of first-degree murder for killings in Sacramento, California, in December 1977 and January 1978.

California 6 convicted Suicide

Convicted 1990 to 1995

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.

California 5 convicted Imprisoned

Convicted 1998 to 2003

Derrick Todd Lee

The Baton Rouge Serial Killer

Died in prison. Derrick Todd Lee was convicted of murdering two women in south Louisiana in 2002 and sentenced to death; DNA linked him to five more killings between 1998 and 2003.

Louisiana 2 convicted Died in prison

Convicted 1987 to 1999

Tommy Lynn Sells

Coast to Coast Killer

Executed. Drifter Tommy Lynn Sells was sentenced to death for the 1999 murder of 13-year-old Kaylene Harris near Del Rio, Texas, and pleaded guilty to a second child killing in San Antonio.

Texas 2 convicted Executed

Convicted 1989 to 1990

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.

Texas 3 convicted Imprisoned

Suspected, never charged 1900 to 1908

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.

Indiana 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 Unknown

Died before trial 1984

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…

Florida 0 convicted Killed

Convicted 1975 to 1998

Robert Lee Yates Jr.

The Spokane Serial Killer

Imprisoned for life. Former Army helicopter pilot who pleaded guilty in Spokane County in 2000 to 13 murders (1975 to 1998) and was convicted by a Pierce County jury in 2002 of two more; his death sentence became life without…

Washington 15 convicted Imprisoned

Convicted 1979 to 1980

William Bonin

The Freeway Killer

Executed in 1996. William Bonin, the Freeway Killer, was convicted by juries in Los Angeles and Orange counties of murdering 14 boys and young men along Southern California freeways in 1979 and 1980; he confessed to 21.

California 14 convicted Executed

Convicted 1970 to 1982

Donald Henry Gaskins

Pee Wee Gaskins

Executed. Donald "Pee Wee" Gaskins was serving life sentences for nine South Carolina murders from 1970 to 1975 when he killed death-row inmate Rudolph Tyner with a bomb in 1982. Sentenced to death, he was electrocuted in 1991.

South Carolina 10 convicted Executed

Convicted 1984 to 1985

Charles Ng

Charles Chitat Ng

Under sentence of death. Charles Ng was convicted in 1999 of 11 murders committed with Leonard Lake in 1984 and 1985, centred on a rural property in Wilseyville, California.

California 11 convicted Imprisoned

Not guilty by reason of insanity 1895 to 1901

Jane Toppan

Jolly Jane

Died (other). Massachusetts nurse Jane Toppan confessed in 1902 to poisoning 31 people from 1895 to 1901. A Barnstable jury found her not guilty by reason of insanity, and she died in 1938 at the Taunton state hospital, where…

Massachusetts 31 confessed Died (other)

Convicted 1972 to 1973

Herbert Mullin

Herbert William Mullin

Died in prison. Herbert Mullin admitted killing 13 people in Santa Cruz County and Los Gatos, California, in 1972 and 1973. Convicted of 11 murders in two counties, he was repeatedly denied parole and died at a Stockton prison…

California 11 convicted Died in prison

Convicted 2007 to 2008

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.

North Carolina 4 convicted Imprisoned

Convicted 1977 to 1979

Kenneth Bianchi

The Hillside Strangler

Imprisoned for life. Kenneth Bianchi, one of the two Hillside Stranglers, pleaded guilty in 1979 to five Los Angeles murders and two Bellingham, Washington murders; his cousin Angelo Buono was convicted of nine killings in 1983.

California 7 convicted Imprisoned

Convicted 1995 to 1996

Kristen Gilbert

Kristen Heather Strickland

Imprisoned for life. Former VA nurse convicted by a federal jury in March 2001 of murdering four patients and trying to kill two others with epinephrine injections at the Northampton, Massachusetts, VA Medical Center in 1995 and…

Massachusetts 4 convicted Imprisoned

Convicted 1966 to 1992

Kenneth McDuff

The Broomstick Murderer

Executed 1998. Texas killer sentenced to death for three 1966 murders, released on parole in 1989 after his sentence was commuted, and convicted of two 1991 to 1992 murders; his case drove Texas parole reform.

Texas 5 convicted Executed

Convicted 2003 to 2004

Scott Lee Kimball

Scott Kimball

Serving 70 years. Scott Lee Kimball, a con man released in 2002 to work as a paid FBI informant, pleaded guilty in Boulder County, Colorado, in October 2009 to killing four people, including his uncle, in Colorado and Utah in…

Colorado 4 convicted Imprisoned

Died before trial 1974

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.

Georgia 18 to 35 suspected Killed

Convicted 1974 to 1978

Velma Barfield

Margie Velma Barfield

Executed. Velma Barfield was convicted in 1978 of poisoning her boyfriend Stuart Taylor with arsenic in Robeson County, North Carolina, and admitted poisoning three others, including her mother.

North Carolina 1 convicted Executed

Convicted 1972 to 1989

Arthur Shawcross

The Genesee River Killer

Convicted by a Monroe County jury in December 1990 of 10 murders of Rochester-area women and sentenced to 250 years to life; pleaded guilty to an 11th in Wayne County.

New York 11 convicted Died in prison

Convicted 1977 to 1996

Edward Wayne Edwards

Ed Edwards

Died in prison. Edward Wayne Edwards pleaded guilty in 2010 and 2011 to five murders in Ohio and Wisconsin committed between 1977 and 1996.

Ohio 5 convicted Died in prison

Convicted 1979

Lawrence Bittaker

The Tool Box Killers

Died on death row in 2019. Lawrence Bittaker and accomplice Roy Norris, the 'Tool Box Killers', kidnapped and murdered five teenage girls in Los Angeles County in 1979.

California 5 convicted Died in prison

Convicted 1985 to 2007

Lonnie Franklin Jr.

The Grim Sleeper

Died on death row in 2020. Lonnie Franklin Jr., the Grim Sleeper, was convicted by a Los Angeles jury in 2016 of 10 murders and one attempted murder in South Los Angeles between 1985 and 2007, and was caught in 2010 through…

California 10 convicted Died in prison

Convicted 2016

Khalil Wheeler-Weaver

Serving 160 years. Khalil Wheeler-Weaver of Orange, New Jersey, was convicted in December 2019 of murdering three women he met through online apps in 2016 and attempting to kill a fourth.

New Jersey 3 convicted Imprisoned

Unidentified 1918 to 1919

Axeman of New Orleans

The Axeman

Unidentified. An unknown attacker killed at least six people and injured six more in night-time axe attacks on homes in New Orleans and Gretna, Louisiana, between May 1918 and October 1919, most of them Italian-American grocers.

Louisiana At least 6 killed and 6 injured in the attacks attributed to the series in 1918 and 1919; historians dispute which attacks belong to it, and totals of up to 17 killed have been cited suspected Unknown

Convicted 1981 to 1982

Genene Jones

Genene Ann Jones

Imprisoned. Texas pediatric nurse convicted by a jury in 1984 of murdering 15-month-old Chelsea McClellan and injuring another child; pleaded guilty in 2020 to the 1981 murder of 11-month-old Joshua Sawyer.

Texas 2 convicted Imprisoned

Convicted 1971

Juan Corona

Juan Vallejo Corona

Died in prison. Labor contractor Juan Corona was convicted of murdering 25 farmworkers buried in orchards near Yuba City, California, in 1971.

California 25 convicted Died in prison

Convicted 1989

Westley Allan Dodd

The Vancouver Child Killer

Executed. Westley Allan Dodd pleaded guilty to murdering three boys in the Vancouver, Washington area in 1989. A jury sentenced him to death in 1990; he waived his appeals and was hanged at Walla Walla on January 5, 1993.

Washington 3 convicted Executed

Convicted 1971 to 1983

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.

Florida 2 convicted Executed

Other lists

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