Michael J Buchanan-Dunne is a writer, crime historian and tour-guide who runs Murder Mile Walks, a guided tour of Soho’s most notorious murder cases, hailed as “one of the top ten quirky & unusual things to do in London” and featuring 12 murderers, including 3 serial killers, across 15 locations, totalling 75 deaths, over just a one mile walk.
0 Comments
Thankfully, with the rapid advances in DNA, finger-printing, psychological profiling and forensic science, along with living in a world awash with CCTV, security devices and social media covering every inch of the globe (with practically every person clutching a lightweight camera which beams images around the world in seconds), many modern-day mass-murderers are all too quickly caught. Hence why - in western society at least - we've had so few serial killers in recent years.
But that doesn't mean there aren't still serial killers out there? Not just new ones, but many who have never been caught. What follows is a non-comprehensive list of the world's most infamous serial killers and mass-murders... who were never caught. Sleep well.
The Zodiac Killer: Between 20th December 1968 and 11th October 1969, in California and possibly Nevada, The Zodiac Killer stalked, shot and stabbed 4 men and 3 women, all aged 16-29, with 2 surviving their horrifying injuries, although his death toll may have been as many as 28 (he claimed to have killed 37). The Zodiac Killer got his nickname from the symbol he used on a series of cryptograms he sent to the press, giving clues to his identity. Read more here.
Stone Man: In the last half of 1989, a serial killer known as Stone Man brutally bashed in the skulls of at least 13 homeless people in Calcutta and 12 in Bombay, using a single rock which weighed as much as 30kg, whilst his victims slept. Even today, it is unknown whether this was the work of one person, a few , a group, or a series of copy-cat killings.
The Northern Line Serial Kiiler - In the late 1970's/early 1980's, a serial killer stalked London Underground's Northern lines (Kensington, Clapham Common, Oval, Stockwell and Tottenham Court Road, to name but a few) where he killed 18+ people by pushing them in front of a tube train. This story went unreported by the press as nobody wanted a panic on their hands. That said, there is a lot of dispute over who Kelly actually killed.
Although the killer himself - Kieran Kelly, a violent alcoholic - was arrested for many other crimes, including murdering a homeless beggar in Soho by stabbing him with a broken bottle in his anus, Kieran Kelly was never tried or arrested for the murder of 18 people on the tube. Read more.
Charlie Chop-Off: Between 9th March 1972 and 7th August 1973, a sadist affectionately known as "Charlie Chop-Off" - because of his fondness for mutilating the penis of his victims - brutally stabbed and severed the penises of either 5 or 7 young black children in the Manhattan area of New York. Although Erno Solo (a serial child abductor) confessed to being "Charlie Chop-Off", he was deemed unfit to stand trail, and was sent back to the mental asylum. Read more.
The Axeman of New Orleans: Between 22nd May 1918 to 27th October 1919, a jazz-loving serial killer known as The Axeman terrorised the New Orleans, killing 6-7 people and injuring 6-7 others, by breaking into their homes and attacking them with an axe. Oddly, on 19th March 1919, The Axeman sent a letter to the press stating that he wouldn't kill anyone who was playing jazz music. That night, the city echoed to the all-night buzz of sultry sax solos, and (true to his word) nobody died. Read more:
The Servant Girl Annihilator: Between 30th December 1884 and 24th December 1885, in Austin (Texas, USA), 7 women and 1 man were murderered, with another 6 women and 2 men seriously injured. Many were dragged from their beds, knocked unconscious, severely mutilated and then deliberately posed, with some having had a sharp object thrust into their ears. This became the grisly calling-card of The Ssrvant Girl Annihilator, who it has been speculated was James Maybrick, a possible suspect in the Jack the Ripper case three years later. Read more.
The West Mesa Murders: On 2nd February 2009, a dog-walker in West Mesa (Albuquerque, New Mexico) found a human bone, this discovery lead to the mutilated remains of 11 female prostitutes, aged between 15 & 32, of mostly Hispanic origin, all of whom had disappeared between 2001 to 2005. Although there have been many suspects, no-one has been arrested for these murders, so until further evidence emerges the case remains open. Read more.
Jack the Stripper: Between 2nd February 1964 to 16th February 1965, 6 female prostitutes (and possibly 2 others) were murdered, stripped and dumped around West London, most notably near Hammersmith Bridge and floating in the River Thames, hence they are often referred to as the "Hammersmith Nudes", which was also the inspiration for Alfred Hitchock's penultimate film - Frenzy. Oddly, on many of the bodies, unusual flecks of paint were found, but were never attributed to a specific location or culprit. Read more.
* Statistically, there are on average 300+ murders in the United Kingdom each year, but it is 42 times more likely that, than the average person - if you work in the sex-trade - that you will be murdered.
Bible John: Between 22nd February 1968 and 31st October 1969, three women were strangled and raped having met a man called "John" at the Barrowland Ballroom (Glasgow); 25 year old nurse Patricia Docker, 32 year old mother of three Jemima McDonald and 29 year old Helen Puttock. Helen's sister Jean described "John" as "well-dressed, tall, slim, with reddish hair, who was polite, well-spoken" and quoted from the Bible on the taxi ride home, hence his nickname of "Bible John". Unusually, these killings have uncanny similarities to those of the Scottish serial killer Peter Tobin who lived in Glasgow at the time, but this has never been proven. Read more.
The Doodler: Between 24th January 1974 to 4th June 1975, five gay men - Gerald Earl Cavanaugh, Joseph Steven, Klaus Christmann, Frederick Elmer Capin and Harald Gullberg - were stabbed to death, in remote locations around San Fransisco Bay, having met their killer first in a bar or nightclub, for the purposes of sex.
The Doodler's unusual nickname came about owing to his habit of sketching his victim... prior to their deaths. And although The Doodler is believed to have been responsible for 14 deaths and 3 attempted murders, many witnesses refused to come forward to the Police as "being gay" was still considered a crime in 1970's America. Read more.
Obviously this is just a few of the serial-killers who were never caught, there has also been unsolved serial killings in Ann Arbor, Atlanta, Bowraville, Claremont, Cleveland, Colonial Parkway, Connecticut River Valley, Daytona Beach, Edgecombe County, Frankford, Gypsy Hill, Honolulu, Hwaseong, New Bedford, Lisbon, Long Island, Udine, Novosibirsk, Oakland County, Ohio, Santa Rosa, The Monster of Florence and the Texarkana Moonlight Murders. As well as Alphabet Murders, Atlanta Ripper, B1 Butcher, Beer Man, February 9th Killer, the Flat-Tire murders, the Freeway Phantom, Jeff Davis 8, I-70 Killer, Redhead murder, Smiley Face and the Night Stalker, to name but a few.
And last, there is - of course - Jack the Ripper: Supposedly, "London's most notorious serial killer" even though no-one is certain whether he killed 3 women, or 5, 7, 9, 11... or 22, if at all, with no conclusive evidence and 106 current suspects (many of which are preposterous). What it is though is a very clever piece of media manipulation using a wildly salacious story, spawned during the birth of tabloid news to lure in a new less-educated working-class customer... which the tabloids still do today. And yet as a piece of storytelling, you have to applaud its simplicity, as we're still talking about it over 140 years later. If you want to know the truth about Jack the Ripper? Book onto Murder Mile Walk.
If you "enjoyed" this blog post, why not take a peek at; London's Deadliest & Often Forgotten Disasters, Are More Serial KIllers Born During a Full Moon, Killer's Birthdays / Star Signs, Serial Killers Who Were On TV, Celebrities Who Have Killed, London's Railway of Death, Serial Killers as Kids and the World's Weirdest Death Rituals
Michael J Buchanan-Dunne is a writer, crime historian and tour-guide who runs Murder Mile Walks, a guided tour of Soho’s most notorious murder cases, hailed as “one of the top ten quirky & unusual things to do in London” and featuring 12 murderers, including 3 serial killers, across 15 locations, totalling 75 deaths, over just a one mile walk.
 If you love true-crime podcasts, subscribe to the Murder Mile true-crime podcast on iTunes, Soundcloud, Podbean, Pocketcast, Stitcher, Acast, Tune-In, Otto Radio or Libsyn  Hoorah! It's almost Christmas. It's that time of the year when - no matter where you live - your drab town or village is given a dash of sparkle, a twinkle of light and a big dollop of notoriety, as one special person is chosen (from a list of literally thousands of d-list faces from "off the telly") to switch on the Christmas lights. Most famously, the Oxford Street and Regent Street Christmas - a firm fixture in the London calendar since as far back as 1981 ("oooh", I hear you Americans cry, "that far back") - which have been switched on by such luminaries as Jim Carrey, Robbie Williams, Terry Wogan, The Spice Girls and even Peter Andre. (Gasp). But sometimes, many years later, a (seemingly innocent, but now wildly inappropriate) "celebrity" booking can come back to haunt each village or town, as a miserable little miser like me, compiles a list of inappropriate celebrities who switched on the Christmas lights. Enjoy! Sir Jimmy Savile OBE KCSG* - In 2010, Jimmy Savile switched on the Bingley (West Yorkshire) Christmas lIghts. As reported in the local paper, the Telegraph & Argus, "Sir Jimmy Savile was guest of honour in Bingley... he proposed marriage to any of the town’s “marvellous ladies” who would have him... the 84-year-old bachelor had a look around the grotto where Santa handed out more than 400 presents to children". In 2012, one year after his death, an ITV investigation implicated the TV celebrity (famous for BBC kid's shows Jim'll Fix It and Top of the Pops) in a series of sickening sex scandals involving vulnerable children - many whom were in hospital or care homes - spanning across six decades. Today, Savile is widely regarded as one of the UK's most prolific paedophiles, with 300+ known victims, including 28 children under the age of 10. * yes, he's still an OBE & KCSG, as well as many other honours and awards, he is yet to be stripped of Rolf Harris - In 2006, cartoonist Rolf Harris - famed for his popular kid's TV show Rolf's Cartoon Club, songs like "Tie M'Kangeroo Down Sport" as well as painting an official portrait of The Queen - switched on the Christmas Lights in Crawley (Surrey), as well as Regent Street in 1995 and Leeds in 1997. Since 2014, Rolf Harris has been in prison in HMP Stafford serving just five years and nine months for the indecent assault of 12 girls, all aged between 8-19. * interestingly, (unlike Savile) many of Rolf Harris' honours and awards have been rescinded Stuart Hall - In 2007, TV presenter Stuart Hall - famous for his infectious laugh during his popular 1980's BBC TV gameshow "It's a Knockout" (basically a kid's sportsday with inflatables) - switched on the Christmas Lights in Southport (Merseyside). In April 2013, Hall pleaded guilty to indecently assaulting 13 girls aged between 9 and 17 years old, with an additional two charges added in 2014. He is currently out of prison and on licence having served half of his sentence. * yet again, unlike Savile, Hall's OBE was stripped in October 2013. Max Clifford - In 2011, celebrity publicist Max Clifford switched on the Christmas Lights in Weybridge (Surrey). One year later, Clifford was arrested by the Police as part of Operation Yewtree - a criminal investigation into allegations of child-abuse following Jimmy Savile inquiry - and was charged with 8 counts of indecent assault against girls aged between 14 and 19 and sentenced to 8 years in prison at HM Prison Littlehey. Oddly, there's seems to be an unusual correlation between being a predatory paedofile or sex offender and a desire to switch on the Christmas Lights, as - hard as I've tried - I have struggled to find very few celebrities with dubious histories who have done the "switching on" duties. That said, here's a few others which also were inappropriate.
* this seems to be a curse; one year after all of the above switched on the Christmas Lights, their life turns to shit If you "enjoyed" this, you may also like my blog - Celebrities Who Have Killed. Michael J Buchanan-Dunne is a writer, crime historian and tour-guide who runs Murder Mile Walks, a guided tour of Soho’s most notorious murder cases, hailed as “one of the top ten quirky & unusual things to do in London” and featuring 12 murderers, including 3 serial killers, across 15 locations, totalling 75 deaths, over just a one mile walk.
|
AuthorMichael J Buchanan-Dunne is a crime writer, podcaster of Murder Mile UK True Crime and creator of true-crime TV series. 
Archives
April 2025
Subscribe to the Murder Mile true-crime podcast
Categories
All
Note: This blog contains only licence-free images or photos shot by myself in compliance with UK & EU copyright laws. If any image breaches these laws, blame Google Images.
|
