Married to a Murderer / Husbands, Wives & Lovers of Serial Killers

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A lot is known about many of the world's most notorious serial killers, but often we overlook the people who knew these murderers on a day-to-day basis and understood them on a level which none of us could ever understand, they are their lovers. Whether a wife, husband, girl/boyfriend or ex', these people give an invaluable insight into the mind of a serial killer.

So, who were these people who dated, got engaged to, married and (hopefully) divorced from some of the world's most infamous serial killers? Which killers were single? And, who were these twisted people who actually married a known serial killer... AFTER they were arrested for murder? As always, this is not a comprehensive list and it will be updated over time. Please note: as gay married has only recently been legalised in the UK/USA, any gay serial killers (who weren't a marriage prior to this change in the law, I've had to put in the single category, as this blog is about being "married" to a serial killer. Don't blame me! Blame politicians and their inability to realise that the times have changed. 

Married (before/during) Murders: 

• Aileen Wuornos - married to 69 year old Lewis Gratz Fell, annulled after nine weeks
• Albert DeSalvo - married to Irmgard Beck in Frankfurt, had two children, one disabled
• Dennis Rader - married to Paula Dietz (1971-2005), had two kids, later divorced

• John Wayne Gacy - a closet homosexual, married to Carole Hoff (1972-1976)

• H H Holmes - bigamously married three times; Clara Lovering (1876-96), Myrta Belknap (1887-96) and Georgiana Yoke (1894-96), until his execution on 7th May 1896
• Albert Fish - paedophile, child rapist & murderer, married to Estella Wilcox (1898-1917) and together had six children: Albert, Anna, Gertrude, Eugene, John and Henry Fish. 
• Janie Lou Gibbs - poisoned her husband Charles Gibbs, their three sons and grandson
• Judy Buenoano - murdered husband James Goodyear and her son Michael, attempted to murder of her fiancé John Gentry and murdered her boyfriend Bobby Joe Morris
• Kristen Gilbert - married to Glenn Gilbert (1988-95) with two sons
• Dorothea Puente - married to soldier Fred McFaul (1945-48), Swede Axel Johanson (1952-66), Roberto Puente (1966-68) and Pedro Montalvo (1976)
• Velma Barfield - married to Thomas Burke (1949-69) until his death and Jennings Barfield (1970-71) until his death, both committed by Velma Barfield
• Gary Ridgway - married three times; Claudia Kraig Barrows (1970-72), Marcia Lorene Brown (1973-81) and Judith Lorraine Lynch (1988-2002), only Lynch was married to Ridgway during his 16 year killing spree 
• Randall Woodfield - married three times, once whilst in prison to Jennifer Lyn Coria 
• Donald Henry Gaskins - married five times, one who was 13 years old, has two children
• John Allen Muhammad - married and divorced twice, once to Mildred Muhammad

• Arthur Shawcross - married four times; to Sarah Chatterton with one son, Linda Neary, Penny Sherbino and had an affair with Clara D. Neal

• Glen Edward Rogers - married Deborah Ann Nix aged 14 years old (1978-83)
• Charles Manson - married and divorced twice to Rosalie Willis (1955-58) and Leona Stevens (1959-63)
• John Reginald Christie - married to Ethel Simpson (1920-52), who he murdered
• John George Haigh - married to Beatrice 'Betty' Hamer (1934), annulled, with one child who was given up for adoption

• Donald Neilson - married to Irene Tate with one daughter Kathryn, jailed as an accessory

• Fred West - married to Catherine “Rena” Costello (1962-71)
• Harold Shipman - married to Primrose Shipman (1966-2004, his death)

• Peter Sutcliffe - married to Sonia Szurma in 1974, separated in 1982, divorced in 1994
• Anthony Hardy - married to Judith Dwight (1972-86) with four kids, all prior to murders

• Colin Ireland - married twice to paraplegic athlete Virginia Zammit (1982-87) and Janet Young (1989-91) but claimed he "pretended to be gay" to lure his homosexual victims in

• Levi Bellfield - unmarried but fathered five children with three women, the final three children with Emma Mills (1995-2004) 

• Raymond Morris - married twice, second wife was called Carol Morris

• George Joseph Smith - married bigamously seven times between 1908 and 1914; Caroline Beatrice Thornhill, Florence Wilson, Edith Peglar, Sarah Freeman, Bessie Munday, Alice Burnham and Alice Reid, two of whom he murdered... to name but a few

• Peter Tobin - married and divorced three times; Margaret Mountney / MacKintosh (1969-71), Sylvia Jefferies (1973-76) and Cathy Wilson (1989-93)

• Steve Wright - married Angela O'Donovan (1978-87) and Diane Cassell/Cole (1987-88)

Married (after) Murders/Crimes

• Richard Ramirez - married in prison to Doreen Lioy, up to his death (1996-2013)
• Ted Bundy - engaged to Diane Edwards known as Stephanie Brooks in 1973, and later married Carole Ann Boone whilst on trial and had a daughter with him
• Arthur Shawcross - Clara D. Neal who he later married whilst in prison for murder
• Henry Lee Lucas  - married Betty Crawford after his conviction for kidnapping three girls
• Charles Manson - engaged in prison to Afton Elaine "Star" Burton, never married
• Myra Hindley - engaged to Ronnie Sinclair on her 17th birthday for six months

Killers Couples

• Ray & Faye Copeland - the killer couple of Missouri (1940-93)

• Paul Bernardo & Karla Homolka - "The Ken & Barbie Killers" 
• Ray Fernandez & Martha Beck - "The Lonely Hearts Killers"
• Carol M. Bundy & Doug Clark - "The Sunset Strip Killers"
• Cynthia Coffman & James Gregory Marlow - another killer couple

• David Ray Parker "The ToyBox Killer" & his girlfriend / accomplice Cindy Lee Hendy

• Ian Brady & Myra Hindley - "The Moors Murderers"
• David and Catherine Birnie – “The Moorhouse Murderers”
  
• Fred West & Rose West - "The Gloucester Killers"​

...to name but a few, others are listed in my blogs Killer Couples #1 and part #2

Single / Dated Only: (or unmarried owing to a lack of equal rights for gay couples)

• Dennis NIlsen - single, homosexual, lived with David "Twinkle" Gallichan
• David Berkowitz - single, no wives or known girlfriends

• Edmund Kemper - single, troubled upbringing, unable to maintain a normal relationship, but was briefly engaged to a 16-year-old Turlock High School student
  

• Jeffrey Dahmer - single, a homosexual loner, one brief relationship with a boy at school
• Joel Rifkin - single, with learning difficulties, no known girlfriends
• Ed Gein - single, no girlfriends, his only true love was his mother
• Ted Kaczynski - single, but "dated" Joy Richards whilst in prison (1998-2006)
• Rodney Alcala - dated Beth Kelleher for a few months before his arrest in 1979

• Robert Pickton - habitual user/murderer of prostitutes, he once dated Connie Anderson

• Ronald Dominique - single, homosexual serial killer, no known boyfriends or partners
• Larry Eyler - single, homosexual serial killer, no known boyfriends or partners

• Dean Arnold Corll - a homosexual "relationship" with 12 year old David Brooks

• Lee Boyd Malvo - single, a few girlfriends, once was referred in the press as "Kaitlin"

• Orville Lynn Majors - unmarried, single
• Herbert Mullin - had a steady girlfriend but expressed worries to her that he was gay

• Richard Chase - single, hospitalised, no known girlfriends

• Graham Young - single, no known girlfriends, convicted / hospitalised

• Michael Lupo - homosexual, claimed to have had over 3000 lovers
• Patrick MacKay - single, institutionalised from his early teens
• Robert Maudsley - single, rent-boy / drug-addict, sexually-abused and incarcerated
• Robert Black - single, occasional girlfriends, nothing long-term

• Kenneth Erskine - unknown
• Steven Grieveson - unknown
• Stephen Griffiths - dated Kathy Hancock for 12 months, stalked her for 10 years

• Trevor Hardy - his partner Sheilagh Farrow provided his alibi, which meant he was released from prison, and went on to murder Sharon Mosoph

• Stephen Port - homosexual, numerous former boyfriends but names unknown

• Robert Napper - Single, sexually-abused, unknown of any long-term relationships​

• Beverley Allitt - boyfriend Stephen Biggs, the only real love in her life

If you "enjoyed" this blog post, why not take a peek at; Serial Killers & Murderers Who Were Never Caught, 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 

No plans this weekend? Looking for a curious & quirky thing to do in London / Soho, which would be the perfect treat for true-crime fans? Book onto Murder Mile Walks. 

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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.