Serial Killers Timeline, by Decade

Every profile in the dataset placed by the year of the first known murder. Decades with more profiles reflect both the history of serial murder in the United States, which peaked in the 1970s and 1980s, and which profiles have been written so far.

Profiles by decade of first known murder
Select a column to jump to that decade.
0102030401890s: 2 profiles1890s1900s: 1 profile1910s: 2 profiles1910s1920s: 3 profiles1930s: 1 profile1930s1940s: 1 profile1950s1960s: 7 profiles1970s: 40 profiles401970s1980s: 29 profiles1990s: 9 profiles1990s2000s: 8 profiles2010s: 1 profile2010s

1890s: 2 profiles

  1. 1891H. H. Holmes (Herman Webster Mudgett) (Henry Howard Holmes), Illinois, Pennsylvania, Indiana, active 1891 to 1894, 1 convicted, executed.
  2. 1895Jane Toppan (Jolly Jane), Massachusetts, active 1895 to 1901, 31 confessed, died (other).

1900s: 1 profile

  1. 1900Belle Gunness (Brynhild Paulsdatter Størseth), Indiana, Illinois, active 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, unknown.

1910s: 2 profiles

  1. 1914Amy Archer-Gilligan (Amy E. Archer Gilligan), Connecticut, active 1914, 1 convicted, died (other).
  2. 1918Axeman of New Orleans (The Axeman), Louisiana, active 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 suspected, unknown.

1920s: 3 profiles

  1. 1920Carl Panzram (Charles Panzram), Kansas, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, active 1920 to 1929, 1 convicted, executed.
  2. 1924Albert Fish (Hamilton Howard Fish), New York, active 1924 to 1928, 1 convicted, executed.
  3. 1927Nannie Doss (The Giggling Granny), Alabama, North Carolina, Kansas, Oklahoma, active 1927 to 1954, 1 convicted, died in prison.

1930s: 1 profile

  1. 1935Cleveland Torso Murderer (The Mad Butcher of Kingsbury Run), Ohio, active 1935 to 1938, 12 officially counted (7 men, 5 women); some researchers suggest 20 or more suspected, unknown.

1940s: 1 profile

  1. 1946Phantom Killer of Texarkana (The Phantom Killer), Texas, Arkansas, active 1946, 5 killed and 3 wounded in 4 attacks suspected, unknown.

1960s: 7 profiles

  1. 1960Henry Lee Lucas (The Confession Killer), Texas, Michigan, West Virginia, active 1960 to 1983, 11 convicted, died in prison.
  2. 1962Albert DeSalvo (The Boston Strangler), Massachusetts, active 1962 to 1964, 13 confessed, killed.
  3. 1965Waneta Hoyt (Waneta Ethel Nixon Hoyt), New York, active 1965 to 1971, 5 convicted, died in prison.
  4. 1966Kenneth McDuff (The Broomstick Murderer), Texas, active 1966 to 1992, 5 convicted, executed.
  5. 1967Richard Cottingham (The Torso Killer), New Jersey, New York, active 1967 to 1980, 9 convicted, imprisoned.
  6. 1968Jerry Brudos (Jerome Henry Brudos), Oregon, active 1968 to 1969, 3 convicted, died in prison.
  7. 1968Zodiac Killer (Zodiac), California, active 1968 to 1969, 5 confirmed killed and 2 survivors; 37 claimed in a 1974 letter suspected, at large.

1970s: 40 profiles

  1. 1970Dean Corll (The Candy Man), Texas, active 1970 to 1973, 0 convicted, killed.
  2. 1970Donald Harvey (Angel of Death), Ohio, Kentucky, active 1970 to 1987, 37 convicted, died in prison.
  3. 1970Donald Henry Gaskins (Pee Wee Gaskins), South Carolina, active 1970 to 1982, 10 convicted, executed.
  4. 1970Samuel Little (Samuel McDowell), California, Florida, Ohio, Texas, active 1970 to 2005, 8 convicted, died in prison.
  5. 1971Freeway Phantom (The Freeway Phantom), District of Columbia, Maryland, active 1971 to 1972, 6 suspected, at large.
  6. 1971Juan Corona (Juan Vallejo Corona), California, active 1971, 25 convicted, died in prison.
  7. 1971Judy Buenoano (Judias Buenoano), Florida, active 1971 to 1983, 2 convicted, executed.
  8. 1971Robert Hansen (Robert Christian Hansen), Alaska, active 1971 to 1983, 4 convicted, died in prison.
  9. 1971Rodney Alcala (The Dating Game Killer), California, New York, active 1971 to 1979, 7 convicted, died in prison.
  10. 1972Arthur Shawcross (The Genesee River Killer), New York, active 1972 to 1989, 11 convicted, died in prison.
  11. 1972Edmund Kemper (The Co-ed Killer), California, active 1972 to 1973, 8 convicted, imprisoned.
  12. 1972Herbert Mullin (Herbert William Mullin), California, active 1972 to 1973, 11 convicted, died in prison.
  13. 1972John Wayne Gacy (The Killer Clown), Illinois, active 1972 to 1978, 33 convicted, executed.
  14. 1972Marybeth Tinning (Marybeth Roe Tinning), New York, active 1972 to 1985, 1 convicted, released.
  15. 1972Randy Kraft (The Scorecard Killer), California, Oregon, Michigan, active 1972 to 1983, 16 convicted, imprisoned.
  16. 1973Gerald Stano (Gerald Eugene Stano), Florida, active 1973 to 1980, 9 convicted, executed.
  17. 1974Coral Eugene Watts (The Sunday Morning Slasher), Texas, Michigan, active 1974 to 1982, 2 convicted, died in prison.
  18. 1974Dennis Rader (BTK), Kansas, active 1974 to 1991, 10 convicted, imprisoned.
  19. 1974Paul John Knowles (The Casanova Killer), Florida, Georgia, Ohio, Nevada, Texas, Connecticut, Virginia, active 1974, 18 to 35 suspected, killed.
  20. 1974Ted Bundy (Theodore Robert Bundy), Washington, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Florida, active 1974 to 1978, 3 convicted, executed.
  21. 1974Velma Barfield (Margie Velma Barfield), North Carolina, active 1974 to 1978, 1 convicted, executed.
  22. 1974Wayne Nance (The Missoula Mauler), Montana, active 1974 to 1986, 6 suspected, killed.
  23. 1975Joseph James DeAngelo (The Golden State Killer), California, active 1975 to 1986, 13 convicted, imprisoned.
  24. 1975Robert Lee Yates Jr. (The Spokane Serial Killer), Washington, active 1975 to 1998, 15 convicted, imprisoned.
  25. 1976David Berkowitz (Son of Sam), New York, active 1976 to 1977, 6 convicted, imprisoned.
  26. 1976Oakland County Child Killer (The Babysitter Killer), Michigan, active 1976 to 1977, 4 suspected, at large.
  27. 1977Carlton Gary (The Stocking Strangler), Georgia, New York, active 1977 to 1978, 3 convicted, executed.
  28. 1977Edward Wayne Edwards (Ed Edwards), Ohio, Wisconsin, active 1977 to 1996, 5 convicted, died in prison.
  29. 1977Joseph Paul Franklin (James Clayton Vaughn Jr. (birth name)), Utah, Missouri, Wisconsin, Ohio, Tennessee, active 1977 to 1980, 8 convicted, executed.
  30. 1977Kenneth Bianchi (The Hillside Strangler), California, Washington, active 1977 to 1979, 7 convicted, imprisoned.
  31. 1977Lorenzo Gilyard (The Kansas City Strangler), Missouri, active 1977 to 1993, 6 convicted, imprisoned.
  32. 1977Richard Chase (Richard Trenton Chase), California, active 1977 to 1978, 6 convicted, suicide.
  33. 1977Roger Kibbe (I-5 Strangler), California, active 1977 to 1987, 7 convicted, killed.
  34. 1978Connecticut River Valley Killer (The Valley Killer), New Hampshire, Vermont, active 1978 to 1988, At least 7 women killed; 1 woman attacked and survived suspected, at large.
  35. 1978Jeffrey Dahmer (The Milwaukee Cannibal), Wisconsin, Ohio, active 1978 to 1991, 16 convicted, died in prison.
  36. 1979Arthur Gary Bishop (Roger Downs), Utah, active 1979 to 1983, 5 convicted, executed.
  37. 1979Gary Schaefer (Gary Lee Schaefer), Vermont, active 1979 to 1983, 1 convicted, died in prison.
  38. 1979Lawrence Bittaker (The Tool Box Killers), California, active 1979, 5 convicted, died in prison.
  39. 1979Wayne Williams (Wayne Bertram Williams), Georgia, active 1979 to 1981, 2 convicted, imprisoned.
  40. 1979William Bonin (The Freeway Killer), California, active 1979 to 1980, 14 convicted, executed.

1980s: 29 profiles

  1. 1980Herb Baumeister (Herbert Richard Baumeister), Indiana, Ohio, active 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 suspected, suicide.
  2. 1980Ottis Toole (Ottis Elwood Toole), Florida, active 1980 to 1983, 6 convicted, died in prison.
  3. 1980Robert Charles Browne (Robert Browne), Colorado, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, active 1980 to 1991, 2 convicted, imprisoned.
  4. 1981Genene Jones (Genene Ann Jones), Texas, active 1981 to 1982, 2 convicted, imprisoned.
  5. 1982Dorothea Puente (Dorothea Montalvo Puente), California, active 1982 to 1988, 3 convicted, died in prison.
  6. 1982Gary Ridgway (The Green River Killer), Washington, active 1982 to 1998, 49 convicted, imprisoned.
  7. 1982Larry Eyler (The Highway Killer), Illinois, Indiana, active 1982 to 1984, 2 convicted, died in prison.
  8. 1984Bobby Joe Long (Robert Joseph Long), Florida, active 1984, 8 convicted, executed.
  9. 1984Charles Ng (Charles Chitat Ng), California, active 1984 to 1985, 11 convicted, imprisoned.
  10. 1984Christopher Wilder (The Beauty Queen Killer), Florida, Texas, Kansas, Utah, California, New York, active 1984, 0 convicted, killed.
  11. 1984Richard Ramirez (The Night Stalker), California, active 1984 to 1985, 13 convicted, died in prison.
  12. 1984Robert Berdella (The Kansas City Butcher), Missouri, active 1984 to 1987, 6 convicted, died in prison.
  13. 1985Honolulu Strangler (The Honolulu Rapist), Hawaii, active 1985 to 1986, 5 (attributed by the Honolulu Police Department task force) suspected, at large.
  14. 1985Lonnie Franklin Jr. (The Grim Sleeper), California, active 1985 to 2007, 10 convicted, died in prison.
  15. 1986Alan Wade Wilmer Sr. (Colonial Parkway Killer), Virginia, active 1986 to 1989, 7 suspected, died (other).
  16. 1986Angel Maturino Resendiz (The Railroad Killer), Texas, Florida, Kentucky, Illinois, active 1986 to 1999, 1 convicted, executed.
  17. 1986Gary Heidnik (Gary Michael Heidnik), Pennsylvania, active 1986 to 1987, 2 convicted, executed.
  18. 1986Walter Ellis (The Milwaukee North Side Strangler), Wisconsin, active 1986 to 2007, 7 convicted, died in prison.
  19. 1987Timothy Wilson Spencer (The Southside Strangler), Virginia, active 1987, 4 convicted, executed.
  20. 1987Tommy Lynn Sells (Coast to Coast Killer), Texas, active 1987 to 1999, 2 convicted, executed.
  21. 1988Alfredo Prieto (Alfredo Rolando Prieto), Virginia, California, active 1988 to 1990, 3 convicted, executed.
  22. 1988Charles Cullen (The Angel of Death), New Jersey, Pennsylvania, active 1988 to 2003, 29 convicted, imprisoned.
  23. 1988New Bedford Highway Killer (New Bedford Highway Killings), Massachusetts, active 1988, 9 to 11 suspected, at large.
  24. 1989Aileen Wuornos (Aileen Carol Wuornos), Florida, active 1989 to 1990, 6 convicted, executed.
  25. 1989Danny Rolling (The Gainesville Ripper), Florida, Louisiana, active 1989 to 1990, 5 convicted, executed.
  26. 1989Joel Rifkin (Joel the Ripper), New York, active 1989 to 1993, 9 convicted, imprisoned.
  27. 1989Robert Ben Rhoades (The Truck Stop Killer), Texas, Illinois, active 1989 to 1990, 3 convicted, imprisoned.
  28. 1989Robert Foley (Robert Carl Foley), Kentucky, active 1989 to 1991, 6 convicted, imprisoned.
  29. 1989Westley Allan Dodd (The Vancouver Child Killer), Washington, active 1989, 3 convicted, executed.

1990s: 9 profiles

  1. 1990Henry Louis Wallace (The Taco Bell Strangler), North Carolina, South Carolina, active 1990 to 1994, 9 convicted, imprisoned.
  2. 1990Keith Hunter Jesperson (The Happy Face Killer), Oregon, Washington, California, Florida, Wyoming, Nebraska, active 1990 to 1995, 5 convicted, imprisoned.
  3. 1991Shelly Knotek (Michelle Knotek), Washington, active 1991 to 2003, 2 convicted, released.
  4. 1992I-70 Killer (I-70 Serial Killer), Indiana, Missouri, Kansas, Texas, active 1992, 6 killed in 1992; 2 more killed and 1 wounded in Texas in 1993 to 1994 are a disputed possible link suspected, at large.
  5. 1993Rex Heuermann (Rex Andrew Heuermann), New York, active 1993 to 2010, 7 convicted, imprisoned.
  6. 1994Joshua Wade (Joshua Alan Wade), Alaska, active 1994 to 2007, 1 convicted, died in prison.
  7. 1995Kristen Gilbert (Kristen Heather Strickland), Massachusetts, active 1995 to 1996, 4 convicted, imprisoned.
  8. 1997Paul Dennis Reid (The Fast Food Killer), Tennessee, active 1997, 7 convicted, died in prison.
  9. 1998Derrick Todd Lee (The Baton Rouge Serial Killer), Louisiana, active 1998 to 2003, 2 convicted, died in prison.

2000s: 8 profiles

  1. 2001Israel Keyes, Alaska, Vermont, active 2001 to 2012, 0 convicted, suicide.
  2. 2003Scott Lee Kimball (Scott Kimball), Colorado, Utah, active 2003 to 2004, 4 convicted, imprisoned.
  3. 2003Todd Kohlhepp (Todd Christopher Kohlhepp), South Carolina, active 2003 to 2016, 7 convicted, imprisoned.
  4. 2003West Mesa Bone Collector (West Mesa murders), New Mexico, active 2003 to 2005, 11 women and an unborn child recovered; police say up to 8 more missing women may be linked suspected, at large.
  5. 2006Eastbound Strangler (Atlantic City Serial Killer), New Jersey, active 2006, 4 suspected, at large.
  6. 2006Shawn Grate, Ohio, active 2006 to 2016, 5 convicted, imprisoned.
  7. 2007Anthony Sowell (The Cleveland Strangler), Ohio, active 2007 to 2009, 11 convicted, died in prison.
  8. 2007Gary Michael Hilton (The National Forest Serial Killer), North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, active 2007 to 2008, 4 convicted, imprisoned.

2010s: 1 profile

  1. 2016Khalil Wheeler-Weaver, New Jersey, active 2016, 3 convicted, imprisoned.

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