If you love true-crime podcasts, check out the Murder Mile true-crime podcast on iTunes, Soundcloud, Podbean, Pocketcast, Stitcher, Acast, Tune-In, Otto Radio or Libsyn
In the second part of Murder Mile's three part blog on whether a star-sign, birthday or lunar cycle could be a factor in whether anyone is predisposed to being a serial killer, we present... Serial Killers and their Birthdays. Which is not to say that the day a serial killer was born on is the sole determining factor on whether someone becomes a serial killer, that's just stupid - but that (as seen in my blog on serial killer's star-signs in which three times as many killers were born under Gemini than any other star sign), what I'm asking is could this be a contributing factor?
So, what can you tell about a person's personality by the day they were born? Is Wednesday's child full of woe, Friday's child loving and giving, or are they both a bubbling pot of rage and hatred waiting to explode? And - compared with my other studies on murderer's names, jobs, music, foods and favourite drinks, etc - do you also share similarities with a serial killer? Let's find out. As before, the following is taken from a sample of 100 of the world's most infamous serial killers, mass-murders, killer couples and spree-killers, with a few exceptions where I was unable to track their date of birth (listed in the footnotes**).
Listen to Ep1 of the Murder Mile true-crime podcast, which focuses of Britain's most infamous and least known mass murder, the Denmark Place fire? Press PLAY on the media player below.
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What Date Were Serial Killers / Murderers Born On?
Here's three handy charts created by the Murder Mile UK True Crime Podcast showing you a serial killer / murderer / spree-killer / war-criminal for every day of the year. If you'd like to download them, click here - JAN to APR, MAY to AUG and SEPT to DEC. 
Which Serial Killer Shares My Birth Month?
Which Serial Killer Shares My Day Of Birth?
MONDAY: David Berkowitz, David Ray Parker, Richard Ramirez, Donald Henry Gaskins, Fred West, Harold Shipman, Javed Iqbal Mughal, Orville Lynn Majors, Ed Gein, Kristen Gilbert, Lee Boyd Malvo, Karla Homolka, Henri Desire Landru, Robert “Willie” Pickton, Robert Black, Rodney Alcala, Steven Grieveson, Trevor Hardy and Paul Bernardo. (20)
TUESDAY: Alexander Pichushkin, Colin Ireland, Joel Rifkin, John Wayne Gacy, Moses Sithole, Randall Woodfield, Peter Tobin, Raymond Morris, Richard Chase, Kenneth Bianchi and Ronald Dominique (11) WEDNESDAY: Aileen Wuornos, Arthur Shawcross, Carol M. Bundy, Derrick Bird, Catherine Birnie, Dorothea Puente, Doug Clark, Ray Copeland, Michael Ryan and Stephen Griffiths (10). THURSDAY: Albert DeSalvo, Albert Fish, Anthony Hardy, H H Holmes, Faye Copeland, Myra Hindley, Patrick MacKay, Steven Wright, Ray Fernandez, Martha Beck, George Joseph Smith and John Straffen. (12) FRIDAY: Beverley Allitt, Dennis Nilsen, Dennis Rader, Andrei Chikatilo, Cynthia Coffman, David Birnie, Gary Ridgway, Levi Bellfield, Luis Alfredo Garavito, Robert Maudsley, Ted Kaczynski, Robert Napper, Jeremy Bamber and Herbert Mullin. (14) SATURDAY: David Copeland, Anatoly Onoprienko, Donald Neilson, Edmund Kemper, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Allen Muhammad, John Bodkin Adams, John George Haigh, Peter Bryan, Peter Kurten, Stephen Port, Velma Barfield, John Reginald Christie and Fritz Haarmann (14) SUNDAY: Dean Arnold Corll, Glen Edward Rogers, Graham Young, Henry Lee Lucas, Ian Brady, Janie Lou Gibbs, Judy Buenoano, Larry Eyler, Peter Manuel, Rose West, Ted Bundy and Peter Sutcliffe (12).
Here, let's delve a little deeper into whether the day you were born affects your personality, with the following details kindly purloined from the numerology website dayofbirth.com. You can find out what day you were born on there.
MONDAY: you are blessed with a good memory, softly spoken, often whimsical, sensitive, emotional and prone to get nervous easily. You love to spend time with family and friends, and are always the pacifier of quarrels. Men born on Mondays lead a disciplined life and are immensely successful in their jobs. Women born on Mondays grow up to be very good wives and mothers, who are loving and caring of their families.
Serial killers who were born on a Monday include Fred West (who brutally tortured and murdered his own daughter, together with his wife), Harold Shipman (who euthenised 287+ elderly patients) and Ed Gein (who slept every night snuggled-up with the decomposing corpse of his dead mother)
TUESDAY: you are very active, lively and vivacious, with warrior-like qualities, brave and serious in your work, and yet always willing to help others out. A great worrier who attracts problems, finds it difficult to let go, or simplify their life. You are overtly materialistic, tend to overindulge and are bad with money. Although you ask your mother’s opinion a lot, you tend to go your own way, and because you often don’t think before you speak others often misunderstand you. You are hardworking, sensitive but often difficult to deal with.
Serial killers who were born on a Tuesday include John Wayne Gacy (the killer clown who kept the dismembered corpse's of his 33 victims underneath his floorboards) and "Joel the Ripper" Rifkin (who scattered his victim's limbs far and wide, whether in the East River or dumped on the New Jersey golf course).
WEDNESDAY: you are witty, creative, disorganised, not concerned about looks, but are hugely curious in nature and eager to learn and develop as a person. You are satisfied with life, efficient at work, but often short-tempered when it comes to maintaining good relationships. You are materialistic, highly intelligent, often sly, and always do things which warrant something in return. Wednesday’s woman (especially after 6pm) often exhibit very different characteristics to those listed above.
Serial killers who were born on a Wednesday include Michael Ryan (spree killer of the "Hungerford Massacre) and Aileen Wuornos (prostitute who murdered seven of her punters).
THURSDAY: you are wise, optimistic, understanding, respected and attract a lot of attention wherever you go. You’re a good leader, who carves their own path, and is very independent, yet you are stubborn, difficult, unable to accept criticism and easily bored. Although you are well behaved and treat others with respect, you often hold a grudge and take revenge. You are intelligent, conscientious, irritable and “an unusual character”, which makes you difficult for others to cope with.
Serial killers who were born on a Thursday include Albert DeSalvo (aka the boston strangler who lured his way into his victim's apartments by measuring them for the latest fashions, hence he was dubbed "The Measuring Man") and Myra Hindley (who coerced young children into her car - for her and her boyfriend Ian Brady to kill - with the promise of sweets if they'd help her with a little task)
FRIDAY: you are a creative and artistic spirit, you are the harbinger of peace, love, beauty and pleasure. You are happy-go-lucky, sensitive, but do not take heartbreak well at all. Friday’s woman is highly emotional, very possessive, yet quick witted and business minded. Friday’s male loves being a ladies man, but terrible with family affairs. You are intuitive, spiritual, worldly wise and strong in constitution (but when you get ill, it takes you longer than normal to recover).
Serial killers who were born on a Friday include Cynthia Coffman, Beverly "The Angel of Death" Allitt and Britain's most notorious serial-killer Dennis Nilsen, whose murderous killing spree of 15+ victims and 9+ attempted murders was sparked when "Twinkle" his boyfriend left him. read more about this in my blog on London's Deadliest Pubs.
SATURDAY: you are serious, responsible, trusted, but a real worrier who lives in the past. You are very intelligent, a perfectionist, who maintains a high standard in everything you do, but is prone to rebellion (without good reason), hard to control, stubborn and unlikely to trust others, even close friends, colleagues or family.
Serial killers who were born on a Saturday include Peter "The Vampire of Dusseldorf" Kurten, Jeffrey "The Killer Cannibal" Dahmer, John "The Acid Bath Murderer" George Haigh, John Reginald Christie (the friendly neighbourhood abortionist, strangler and necrophile) and Velma Barfield (who murdered six residents in the old people's home that she ran).
SUNDAY: you have a positive attitude to life, generous, trustworthy, and yet are introverted, with very few friends, owing to a deeply suspicious nature and an inability to trust others. You are too sensitive, an over-thinker, a procrastinator, who loses focus from reality. Although helpful and caring, your stubborn independent streak (combined with a short-fuse) means you find it hard to work with others, making it difficult for you to compromise or conform.
Serial killers who were born on a Sunday include such notorious loners Peter "Yorkshire Ripper" Sutcliffe, Ian "Moors Murderer" Brady, Rose West and Ted Bundy (serial killer, burglar, rapist of 30+ young women, who once described himself as "the most cold-hearted son of a bitch you'll ever meet".
Whether you believe in Numerology or not, I think it's safe to say, by the personality traits alone, steer clear of anyone who is was born on a Sunday or a Monday, as - even without comparing them to serial killers - there's very little about them to like.
Join me for next week's blog which asks: "does the lunar cycle, on the day you were born, mean you could be a serial killer?"
** Those I couldn't find the exact birth dates of were Linda Hazzard 1867, Catherine Flannagan, “Black Widows of Liverpool” 1829, Margaret Higgins “Black Widows of Liverpool” 1829, Mary Elizabeth Wilson 1893, Rhonda Belle Martin 1907, Tillie Klimek 1876, Jane Toppan 1857, Amy Archer-Gilligan 1868, Amelia Dyer 1837, Gordon Frederick Cummins 1913/14, William Burke “The body snatchers” 1792, William Hare “The body snatchers” 1792, and Michael Lupo 1953. Oddly, excluding those born overseas, the majority were working-class females.
If you "enjoyed" this blog post, take a peek at other intreguing topics such as; Killer Couples Part 1 & Part 2, Life, Death & Whole Life Sentences, Famous British Serial Killers - Where Are They Now? Serial Killers & Murderers Who Were Never Caught, London's Deadliest & Often Forgotten Disasters, 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.
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If you love true-crime podcasts, subscribe to the Murder Mile true-crime podcast on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podbean, Pocketcast, Stitcher, Acast, Tune-In, Otto Radio or Libsyn
As a Valentine's Day treat, here's the second part of my list of deadly couples; whose dark fantasties, morbid passions and murderous desires only come to the surface when they fall head-over-heels in love with a kindred spirit, who is willing to do anything to prove their love for each other... even going so far as to commit murder. Often, when we think of "couples who kill", we usually think of Myra Hindley & Ian Brady, Fred & Rose West and even Bonnie & Clyde, but they were not the first and they won't be the last. What follows is a list of "murderous lovers", so shocking are the stories that it's hard to simplify them, and so long is the list that I've barely touched the surface and had to split this list into a two-part blog, the first part can be viewed here. Warning: this blog contains graphic (& very unromantic) details.
Jasmine Richardson & Jeremy Steinke
On 23rd April 2006, 23 year old self-confessed “vampire” Jeremy Steinke and his 12 year old girlfriend Jasmine Richardson brutally murdered her family including her father Marc (42), mother Debra (48) and brother Jacob (8) in the basement of their home, it is claimed they’d been inspired by the film Natural Born Killers which Steinke told an undercover officer is “the best love story of all time”.
On 15th December 2008, Steinke was sentenced to 3 life sentences and is eligible for parole in 25 years. On 9th July 2007, Richardson was found guilty of three counts of first degree murder, but was sentenced to 10 years (the maximum sentence given her age); with 4 ½ spent in a psychiatric institution and the remainder as a student at the University of Calgary and Mount Royal University (Calgary). On 6th May 2016 her sentence was completed and she was freed. Read more.
Jens Söring & Elizabeth Haysom
In 1985, Canadian couple Elizabeth Roxanne Haysom & German national Jens Söring murdered her parents - Derek & Nancy Haysom – in their Boonsboro home (Virginia). They’d been brutally slashed, stabbed and (so ferocious was the attack that they were) almost decapitated. Both blamed the other during their trials – even though it is believed that Jens committed the murders - but both were found guilty.
Elizabeth Haysom acknowledged her guilt and was sentenced to 90 years at the Fluvanna Correctional Centre (Troy, VA) and won’t be eligible for parole until 2032, aged 68. Jens Söring fought extradition, and following a plea bargain (which saw the death sentence dropped) was sentenced to life imprisonment at the Buckingham Correctional Center in Dillwyn (VA), and became eligible for parole in 2003... but his application was rejected. Jens Söring maintains his innocence. A recent documentary cast doubt on the conviction. Read more.
Judith & Alvin Neelley
On 25th September 1982, Judith & Alvin Neelley kidnapped Lisa Ann Millican from the Riverbend Mall in Rome (Georgia). Driven to the Neelley’s motel room, the frightened 13 year old girl was repeatedly raped and tortured for three days, and later injected with liquid drain cleaner in the neck, arms and buttocks, which – although a hideously painful death – didn’t kill her, so Judith shot her in the back and tossed her body off a cliff.
One week later, with their sadism unsated, the Neeley’s abducted young couple Janice Chatman & John Hancock and were brought back to the same motel room, during which John Hancock was shot in the head… but did not die, and subsequently identified Judith & Alvin Neelley as the culprits. To avoid Georgia’s mandatory death penalty, Alvin pleaded guilty to murder and received a life sentence served at the Bostick State Prison until his death in November 2005, whilst undergoing surgery. Having given birth in prison, Judith Neelley was convicted of the torture & murder of Lisa Ann Millican and was sentenced to death at the Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women (Alabama), making her the youngest woman on death row in the USA. But on 15th January 1999, days from execution, she was granted clemency and the state governor commuted her sentence to life in prison without parole. She is now 52. Watch a documentary about them here.
Michelle Michaud & James Daveggio
On 2nd December 1997, sadistic lovers Michelle Michaud (38) & James Daveggio (42) lured 22 year old university student Vanessa Lei Samson into their green Dodge caravan (specially fitted with hooks and ropes) in Pleasanton (California) and repeatedly raped and tortured her as they drove to South Lake Tahoe, forcing her to wear a rubber-ball gag, strangled her with nylon rope and then dumped her body in the snow.
Both were found guilty, sentenced to death and are currently on Death Row. At their trial, Judge Goodman said "the death penalty is the appropriate penalty", adding that Samson's slaying and torture was "vile, cruel, senseless, depraved, brutal, evil and vicious", especially after – in her own defence – Michaud described each assault as an “adventure” and “huntings". Records show that Daveggio & Michaud sexually assaulted at least six other young women, two of whom were relatives. Read more.
Paul Bernardo & Karla Homolka – The Barbie & Ken Killers
In October 1987, Karla Homolka met Paul Bernardo and fell in love. But unlike most loving/sexual relationships, between 4th May 1987 and 27th December 1992, she encouraged his sadistic sexual desires and together they’d stalk, assault, abduct, drug, rape, torture and murder at least 20 young women in the Scarborough area of Toronto (Canada), as they exited buses late at night… although the true victim count is estimated to be as many as 100+. Found guilty of sexual assault, kidnapping and murder, Paul Bernardo was declared a dangerous offender in 1995 having amassed a score of 35/40 on the psychopathy checklist and was sentenced to life imprisonment at Millhaven Institution.
He is eligible for parole this year. Karla Homolka agreed a plea-bargain, testified against Bernardo, and was subsequently sentenced to just 12 years in prison, having claimed she was an “unwilling accomplice”, even though there is evidence against this, including video footage of Karla performing oral sex on their victims. Karla Homolka is currently living with her children in Châteauguay, Quebec. Read more.
Ray & Faye Copeland
Aged 76 & 69, Ray & Faye Copeland are the oldest couple sentenced to death in the United States. Between 17th October 1986 and 1st May 1989, the Copeland’s killed at least five homeless drifters, shooting them with a .22 Marlin rifle to the back of the head and burying their bodies in a nearby barn. Following a conviction for fraud, Ray couldn’t buy or sell cattle, so he’d employ hobos as farmhands, got them to buy cattle for him using fake cheques, and then the men would ”disappear”.
Both were sentenced to death. When Ray learned that his wife of 50 years had been sentenced to death, he unemotionally said “well, those things happen to some, you know". But neither Ray nor Faye were executed. On 19th October 1993 Ray died of natural causes and in September 2002, following a severe stroke which left her paralysed, and having been moved to the Morningside Centre nursing home in Chillicothe (Missouri), Faye died aged 82. Read more.
Ricky Davis & Dena Riley
In April 2006, serial rapist and methamphetamine addicts Richard D. Davis & Dena D. Riley, who were once the FBI’s most wanted couple, kidnapped, tortured and murdered mother-of-four Michelle Huff-Ricci (36). When Police searched the couple’s apartment, whilst investigating the disappearance of Marsha Speer on 14th May 2006, they discovered a stash of videotapes depicting the torture, beating, rape and strangulation of Marsha Speer and Michelle Huff-Ricci. One tape was more than two hours long.
The bodies of Marsha Speer and Michelle Huff-Ricci were subsequently dumped and doused with lighter fluid. But before David & Riley could be arrested, they fled, sparking an 8-day manhunt, during which they abducted and sexually assaulted a 5 year old girl. In August 2008, Dena Riley & Ricky David were given nine life sentences. Read more.
Suzan & James Carson
Now, I don’t wish to denigrate stoners but… between March 1981 and March 1983, heavy cannabis-users and radical anarchists (who predicted a nuclear apocalypse within the year) Suzan & James Carson murdered three people in California and San Francisco Bay. First, their 22 year old roommate Keryn Barnes, who’d been stabbed 13 times and had her skull bashed in with a frying pan, as Suzan was convinced she was a witch. Secondly, Clarke Stephen, a fellow worker at the cannabis farm, who Suzan also thought was a witch, who they shot, burned and buried.
And thirdly, whilst on the run, a 30 year old hitchhiker called Jon Charles Hellyar, who (have you guessed it?) Suzan thought was a witch. Whilst driving at speed on Route 101 near Santa Rosa (Sonoma County), Suzan repeatedly stabbed Jon and James shot him dead at point blank range, all in view of passing motorists. On 12th June 1984, the Carsons were found guilty of murder and sentenced to 25 years a piece for the murder of Jon Charles Hellyar, with their sentence extended to 50 to 75 years for the two subsequent murders. Read more.
Ray Fernandez & Martha Beck - The Lonely Hearts Killers
Between 1947-49, convicted fraudster Raymond Fernandez and his lover Martha Beck killed 20+ women who’d they’d met through lonely hearts adverts. Desperate to marry her lover, Martha fled Milton (Florida) to New York City, abandoning her children with the Salvation Army, believing this to be a sign of her unconditional love for him. Besotted and fully accepting of his criminal plan, Martha posed as his sister / chaperone as Raymond would lure hopeful “lonely hearts” to his Long Island apartment, and con monies out of them, having made them believe they were in love with a much younger man.
Unfortunately, Martha had an awful temper and – in fits of jealousy, witnessing the couples kissing, or worse – would smash the “lonely hearts” over the head with a hammer, strangle them, drown them... and even their children. Fernandez quickly confessed and on 8th March 1951, both were executed by electric chair at the infamous Sing Sing prison (Ossining, New York). Their final words were Raymond: "I wanna shout it out; I love Martha! What do the public know about love?" and Martha: "My story is a love story. But only those tortured by love can know what I mean. I am not unfeeling, stupid or moronic. I am a woman who had a great love and always will have it. Imprisonment in the Death House has only strengthened my feeling for Raymond". Read more.
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
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, Podcast Addict, Podbean, Pocketcast, Stitcher, Acast, Tune-In, Otto Radio or Libsyn
Some people don't feel like they aren a whole person until they meet that certain special someone who "completes them". Whether you believe this or not? This can be the basis of the world's most successful marriages. Unfortunately the same can also be said for serial killers, especially those sadistic couples whose dark fantasties, morbid passions and murderous predelictions only come to the surface when they fall head-over-heels in love with a kindred spirit, who is willing to do anything to prove their love for each other... even going so far as to commit murder.
So, when we think of "couples who kill", we usually think of Myra Hindley & Ian Brady, Fred & Rose West and even Bonnie & Clyde, three of the most sadistic couples who have every existed (it could be argued), but they were not the first and they won't be the last. As a Valentine's Day treat, what follows is a list of "murderous lovers", so shocking are the stories that it's hard to simplify them, and so long is the list that I've barely touched the surface and had to split this list into a two-part blog, to be continued next week. Warning: contains graphic (& unromantic) details.
Alton Coleman and Debra Brown
Alton Coleman was a spree killer who brutally raped and murdered eight adults and children (some as young as 9 years old) across six states in the American Midwest, between May 29th and 13th July 1984, with the help of his accomplice Debra Brown.
Although Brown previously had no criminal record nor history of violence, she was complicit in all of the murders having (it is claimed) had a childhood head trauma which caused her to suffer from dependent personality disorder. Coleman received a death sentence in three states and was executed in Ohio on 26th April 2002 by lethal injection. Having been declared as “intellectually disabled”, Brown’s death sentence was commuted to a life sentence, which she is serving at the Dayton Correctional Institution (Ohio). Read more.
Charles Starkweather & Caril Fugate – “The Badlands Killers”
Charles Starkweather was 19 year old spree killer who – with his 14 year old girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate – raped and murdered eleven people (mostly by a shotgun blast to the head), during a 60 day crime spree from 1st December 1957 to 29th January 1958. Starkweather’s first victim was Robert Colvert, a gas-station attendant who refused to sell Starkweather a stuffed animal on credit and later killed Velda & Marion Bartlett (Carol’s mother and step-father). Although Caril Ann was complicit in the killings, she would later claim in court that she was Starkweather’s hostage.
Starkweather was executed by electric chair on 25th June 1959 in Nebraska State Penitentiary. Caril Ann was sentenced to life imprisonment at Nebraska Correctional Center in Nebraska, and after 17 years was paroled. She currently lives in Hillsdale (Michigan) with her husband Fredrick, and until her recent retirement was an observer for the National Weather Service. Read more.
Carol M. Bundy and Doug Clark – “The Sunset Strip Killers”
Sadistic sweethearts Carol M Bundy and Doug Clark had a n odd relationship fuelled by dark fantasies, as Clark would often bring home young prostitutes for them both to have sex with, his ultimate goal being to kill a woman during sex and “feel her vaginal contractions during death”. Between 1st June and 26th August 1980, Bundy & Clark’s sick fantasies turned into a reality as Clark murdered 6 teenage prostitutes; forcing them to perform lewd sex acts, shooting them in the head, defiling their corpses and dumping their bodies, once taking a victim's head as a trophy.
Clark is reported to have said that if ever they were arrested, he would take the blame… but at his trail, he blamed Bundy for everything. Found guilty by the court, Doug Clark was sentenced to death on 15th February 1983 and – 33 years on – still sits on Death Row in San Quentin Prison (California) with Carol M Bundy receiving a life sentence having entered a plea bargain. She died in prison on 9th December 2003 from heart failure. Read more.
Charlene and Gerald Gallego – “The Love Slave Killers”
Between 11th September 1978 and 2nd November 1980, married couple Charlene & Gerald Gallego murdered 10 victims, some as young as 13 years old, across the states of California, Nevada and Oregon. Unable to be aroused during normal sex, Gerald (aided by Charlene) lured their terrified teenage victims into a van, where they were repeatedly raped, tortured and abused over the course of an evening or night, and then driven to a secluded spot, bludgeoned, shot in the head and their bodies dumped.
Best-friends Brenda Judd (14) & Sandra Colley (13) who were abducted together, weren’t discovered until four years later when a tractor unearthed their skeletal remains. In 1984, Gerald Gallego was sentenced to death in two states (Nevada & California) but died of rectal cancer on 18th July 2002 at Nevada State Prison. Charlene testified against him in exchange for a plea bargain and having served 16 years and 8 months of her sentence, Charlene Gallego was released from Nevada State Prison and moved to Fair Oaks (California) where she changed her name to Mary Martinez. She is now 60 years old. Read more.
Cynthia Coffman and James Gregory Marlow
Between 11th October & 12th November 1986, newly-weds Cynthia Coffman & James Marlow murdered 4 women who were withdrawing cash from an ATM. Each victim was robbed, abducted, strangled, sodomised and their bodies were dumped in a shallow grave, all whilst Cynthia & Gregory were high on methamphetamine.
With very little evidence, Police hoped for a bit of luck, and it came when their third victim’s chequebook was found in a dumpster near Laguna Niguel, hidden inside a fast-food takeaway bag, which contained bank statements bearing the names Cynthia Coffman and James Marlow. Besotted with each other, Cynthia & Gregory married on 30th July 1986, barely months before the murders, and as a mark of her love, Cynthia had tattooed on her buttock “Property of The Folsom Wolf” (Gregory’s nickname). But upon visiting Cynthia during the trial, her lawyer asked if there was anything she wanted, she replied “Yeah! Find someone who can help me lose this damn tattoo!”. Both Cynthia & Gregory are on Death Row in San Bernardino (California) with Cynthia Coffman being the first woman to receive a death sentence in the state since capital punishment was reinstated in 1977. Read more.
David and Catherine Birnie – “The Moorhouse Murderers”
Between 6th October and 5th November 1986, married couple David & Catherine Birnie of 3 Moorhouse Street in Willagee (a suburb of Perth, Western Australia) murdered four young women - Mary Neilson (22), Susannah Candy (15), Noelene Patterson (31), Denise Brown (21) - and attempted to kill Kate Moir (17), many in their own home. Fuelled by sick fantasies, the Birnie’s would abduct, gag, chain to a bed and rape their victims, then drive them to a secluded spot, where their terrified victim would be strangled, stabbed and buried in a shallow grave.
Their victims were not known to them, they were merely strangers who were either hitchhiking, stranded, waiting for a bus or were replying to an advert for a set of tyres. Luckily, following her abduction and rape, 17 year old Kate Moir escaped and called the Police. David & Catherine Birnie were sentenced to four life terms. One day before his trial having raped a fellow inmate, David Birnie committed suicide by hanging in his cell at Casuarina Prison on 7th October 2005 at 1.33am. Catherine Birnie is imprisoned in Bandyup Women's Prison; her 2007 and 2010 application for parole was rejected, with Jim McGinty (Attorney General of Western Australia) marking her papers as “never to be released”. Her case is up for review in 2019. Read more.
Delfina and María de Jesús González – “Las Poquianchis”
Following the arrest of Josefina Gutiérrez, a known kidnapper of young girls in Guanajuato on 14th January 1964, Police arrested Delfina and María de Jesús González, two sisters from Guanajuato (north-central Mexico) who ran a large-scale prostitution ring known as Rancho el Angel near the city of San Francisco del Rincón. Inside the brothel they found the rotting corpses of 80 women, 11 men and numerous fetuses.
From the early 1950’s onwards, Delfine & Maria had advertised for housemaids, but had abducted those who applied for the job, injected them heroin till they sustained a heavy drug-addiction and forced them into prostitution. When their prisoners/prostitutes became too ill, too unwilling, lost their looks, or were so badly damaged internally from being repeatedly raped, Defline & Maria murdered and dumped their bodies. Along with any unwanted babies, and any male customer who they felt was a suitable target for robbery. Both were sentenced to 40 years; Delfina died in Irapuato prison on 17th October 1968 when a workmen doing repairs above her cell “accidentally” dropped a bucket of cement on her head. Maria was subsequently freed in the mid-1990’s having completed her sentence, and vanished into obscurity. Read more.
Gwendolyn Graham & Cathy Wood – “The Lethal Lovers”
in January & February 1987, two nurses aides - Gwendolyn Graham and Catherine May Wood – at Alpine Manor (Walker, Michigan) suffocated five vulnerable elderly patients, aged 65 to 97 years old, who all had Alzheimer's disease. Their victims were not murdered out of malice or for financial gain, but as part of a twisted love-bond between the two lesbian lovers, who chose their victims based on whether their first initial would spell “M-U-R-D-E-and finally - R)”.
Ultimately the couple broke up, and Catherine Wood’s ex-husband went to the Police having been told about the murders which Wood blamed entirely on Graham. On 4th & 5th December 1988, both women were arrested and charged with two of the five murders (as three of their victims had already been cremated). On 3rd November 1989, Graham convicted of five counts of murder and given five life sentences at Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility (Michigan). Wood – who testified against Graham – received a lesser sentence of second degree murder and is due for release from Federal Correctional Institution (Tallahassee, Florida) on 6th June 2021. The Alpine Manor nursing home – unsurprisingly - went out of business. Read more.
Part Two of Killer Couples is available here next Wednesday 25th January
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
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, Podcast Addict, Podbean, Pocketcast, Stitcher, Acast, Tune-In, Otto Radio or Libsyn
"How tall are the world's most infamous serial killers and murderers?" is a question often asked by wierdos like myself obsessed with pointless facts to clog up our brains. As along side famous dictators and despots, there is a belief that being off an abnormal height, causes those who are predisposed to being a serial killer or murderer to feel isolated, different and an outcast from society... but does it? Surely the heights of serial killers, murderers, despots and dictators are as varied as anyone else in the world? That said, even if it is, it's still interesting to see what height infamous serial killers actually were.
What follows is a list (updated as and when) of infamous serial killers and murderers, arranged tallest to shortest, in feet/inches and metres/cms, as taken from their medical records, Police arrest reports, witness statements or measurements taken from their execution.
Love true-crime podcast? Try Murder Mile, featuring 300+ untold, unsolved and long-forgotten murders in one square mile. To listen to Ep1, click PLAY on the media player below.
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CAUTIONARY NOTE: this list is entirely subjective, as no-one is ever a consistent height across our days, years and decades. We are all (owing to the force of gravity) almost an inch shorter when we go to be than when we wake, and the same person measured in their 20s will be an inch to a few inches shorter in their 30s and especially in their later years. This list is only a bit of fun, and if you find yourself getting all bent out of shape about a single details which you believe to be incorrect - but can't prove - ask yourself "what the f**k am I doing with my life". Not enough I'm guessing turd face.
Infamous serial killers and murderers by height. For more information on each person, click the red link to the right for a full biography, or check out my other blogs listed below. .
So, how do some of the world's most dangerous and demented serial killers compare to the world's most powerful people... in terms of height? As before, what follows is some of the world's most infamous world leaders, despots and dictators, arranged tallest to shortest.
If you "enjoyed" this blog post, why not take a peek at; Britain's Most Famous Murderers - Dead or Alive? Serial Killer IQ's, 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, check out the Murder Mile true-crime podcast on iTunes, Soundcloud, Podbean, Pocketcast, Stitcher, Acast, Tune-In, Otto Radio or Libsyn
Myra Hindley - DEAD – Infamous as one of the Moor’s Murderers who, with her partner Ian Brady, lured five children to their deaths, burying four on Saddleworth Moor. Following her conviction and sentenced to 25 years (later increased to 30 years), Hindley successfully appealed to have her Category A status changed to B, which enabled Holloway’s prison governor Dorothy Wing to take her on walks around Hampstead Heath.
Myra Hindley died on 15th November 2002 aged 60 of bronchial pneumonia. So vehement was the anger at Hindley that even 35 years after the murders, twenty undertakers refused to handle her corpse for cremation. In February 2003, Patricia Cairns – Hindley’s ex-partner – scattered her ashes in Stalybridge County Park, less than ten miles from Saddleworth Moor. Want to know more? Do serial killers make great pet lovers? Click the red link to find out.
Ian Brady – DEAD – Along with fellow Moor’s Murderer Myra Hindley, he lured five children to their deaths and even today heartlessly refuses to tell his victim’s grieving families where their children are buried. Brady served the first 19 years of his life sentence in various Category A prisons – Wakefield, Full Sutton, Frankland and Strangeway (it’s almost like nobody wanted him) – before he was diagnosed as a psychopath in November 1985 and transferred to the high-security Ashworth Psychiatric Hospital in Sefton, stating he never wanted to be released.
On 15th May 2017, Brady died of lung cancer at Ashworth Prison aged 60. He never apologised for his crimes, instead he stated that he “expresses his remorse through actions”, but after 20 years of transcribing classical texts into braille, his translating machine was confiscated for fear that he may ”use it as a weapon”. Want to know more? Ever wondered what a serial killers favourite drink is? Click the red link to find out.
Peter Sutcliffe - ALIVE – Dubbed the "Yorkshire Ripper"; Sutcliffe murdered 13 women and attacked 7 others between 1975-80. Although his defence pleaded diminished responsibility owing to a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia, this was rejected by the jury, and although he has served much of his whole life tariff (twenty concurrent sentences with no chance of parole) in Broadmoor’s psychiatric prison, Sutcliffe was moved to HMP Frankland in Durham on 24th August 2016, having been deemed mentally fit to return to prison. Ever wondered what most serial killer's musical tastes are? Click to find out.
Fred West - DEAD – Along with his wife Rose West, Fred raped, tortured, murdered, dismembered and buried at least twelve young women (including Fred’s own step-daughter) in the cellar or garden of their Cromwell Street house in Gloucester. On 1st January 1995 in his cell in Winson Green Prison, Fred West committed suicide by asphyxiation by fashioning a makeshift rope using bedsheets which he attached to the bars on his window and sunk to his knees. He killed himself just a few weeks before his trial. Want to know more? Are serial killers more likely to have a specific star sign? Click to find out.
Rose West - ALIVE – On 22nd November 1995, Rosemary West was found guilty by a unanimous jury of 10 murders and was sentenced to life imprisonment at HMP Low Newton (a closed prison for females, part of HMP Frankland) with a recommendation that she never be released. In July 1997, Home Secretary Jack Straw had this increased to a whole life tariff meaning she will never be released. Rose West has never appealed this, whilst also maintaining her innocence of all crimes. Want to know more? Are more serial killers born under a full moon?
Beverley Allitt – ALIVE – Dubbed “The Angel of Death”, Allitt murdered four children with lethal doses of insulin and "air-bubbles in their blood" between February & April 1991, as she worked as a state registered nurse at the Grantham & Kesteven Hospital (Lincolnshire). She's serving thirteen life sentences at Rampton Secure Hospital (Nottinghamshire), with the judge - Mr Justice Latham – commenting that it is unlikely she will ever be considered safe enough to be released. Want to know if serial killer's share common first names?
Levi Bellfield - ALIVE – Dubbed the Bus Stop Stalker, but more infamously known for the 2002 murder of Amanda “Milly” Dowler, Levi Bellfield has since been charged with the fatal hammer attacks of Marsha McDonnell and Amelie Delagrange and the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy, as well as being investigated for a string of abductions, rapes and murders across West London in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. Bellfield is currently serving a life sentence with the recommendation that he is never released at HMP Frankland (Durham) and has since converted to Islam. Of course, it's not just strangers who kill, there's been many celebrities who have murdered too.
Peter Bryan - ALIVE – In 1993 Peter Bryan fatally attacked a stranger with a hammer for which he was institutionalised, until February 2004 when he walked out of a psychiatric unit in Newham and paid a little visit to his friend Brian Cherry. Alerted to screams by the neighbours, when the Police broke down the door, he was cooking Cherry’s brain in a frying pan. Diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, Peter Bryan was committed to Broadmoor Psychiatric Hospital for treatment, where he battered and strangled a fellow inmate (Richard Loudwell) to death. Bryan – a self-confessed cannibal – has since said, had he not been interrupted, he would have devoured Loudwell’s flesh. Ever wondered what a serial killer's favourite food is?
Kenneth Erskine – ALIVE – Dubbed “The Stockwell Strangler”; burglar, drug-addict and homeless drifter Kenneth Erskine was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum recommendation of forty years for the murder of seven pensioners (and suspected murder of four others) in Stockwell, South London, many of whom had been strangled, beaten and sodomised. Erskine – who was witnessed masturbating during his trial – has since been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and committed to Broadmoor Psychiatric Hospital, with his convictions for murder reduced to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility. Interested in serial killer's birthdays?
Steven Grievesen - ALIVE – Dubbed “The Sunderland Strangler”, Steven Grievesen strangled four teenage boys in Sunderland (Tyne & Wear) between 1990 and 1994. He was sentenced to four terms of life imprisonment with a recommendation that he serve a minimum of 35 years at HMP Full Sutton (Yorkshire) before his release is considered by the Home Secretary. Want to know more? Ever wondered who Britain's deadliest family is?
Stephen Griffiths - ALIVE – Dubbed “The Crossbow Cannibal” by himself, as at his own trial, when asked by the judge for his name, this was what he gave (although there’s no evidence he ever ate any parts of his victims). Between June 2009 and April 2010, Stephen Griffiths murdered three local prostitutes – Susan Rushworth, Shelley Armitage and Suzanne Blamires - in Bradford, with the body parts of the final two victims found floating in the River Aire. No remains of Susan Rushworth have never been found.
Although he was diagnosed as a schizoid psychopath in 1991 and received a two-year sentence for assault on a young girl with a knife, Griffiths was free to roam Bradford and even started a PHD at the University of Bradford in Homicide Studies. He is currently serving a whole life tariff at Wakefield Prison. Although, there are many festive customs acorss the world which are weirder.
Dennis Nilsen – ALIVE – Dubbed “The Kindly Killer” and the "Mullwell Hill Killer", Dennis Nilsen was a north London serial killer who between 1978-83 strangled, drowned, sodomised and dismembered 15 young men and attempted to kill 7-9 others. Convicted of 6 counts of murder and 2 counts of attempted murder, Nilsen was sentence to life imprisonment – a 25 year term, which was later extended to a whole life sentence - at HMP Full Sutton (East Riding, Yorkshire).
Nilsen was declared sane and never lodged an appeal against his conviction as he fully accepts his punishment. Now aged 71, Nilsen spends his days reading, painting and composing music. In December 1983, Nilsen was briefly transferred to Parkhurst Prison having been attacked with a razor to the face & chest by fellow prisoner Albert Moffatt, requiring 89 stitches. To learn more about London’s most dangerous pubs, and the place where Nilsen’s murderous rampage began, click the link. Or book onto Murder Mile Walks to hear the full story of Dennis Nilsen.
Anthony Hardy - ALIVE – On 30th December 2002, a hungry homeless man discovered the dismembered corpses of two women - Bridgette MacClennan and Elizabeth Valad – stuffed into bin-bags outside Anthony Hardy’s flat. When Police investigated, they found the battered body of Camden prostitute – Sally White – in his bed, which Hardy claimed he had no memory of, owing to his severe drink problem and tendency to blackout. Dubbed “The Camden Ripper”, Anthony Hardy is serving a whole life sentence at Broadmoor Psychiatric Prison.
Ever wondered what most serial killers do as a day-job?
Colin Ireland - DEAD – Dubbed "The Gay Slayer" by tabloid hacks, (supposedly) heterosexual married man Colin Ireland preyed on gay men in the early 1990’s at the infamous Coleherne pub in Earls Court. Here you could pick up men with very specific sexual desires, such as sexually passive men who were into sadomasochism by the distinctive colour of handkerchief they wore, which made finding the perfect victim easier. Ireland – who always carried a murder kit and a full change of clothes with him – would often spend the night in his victim’s flat to avoid suspicion having scrubbed it of any forensic evidence.
Sentenced to a whole life sentence in HMP Wakefield (West Yorkshire), Ireland died on 21st February 2012 (57 years old) from pulmonary fibrosis, caused by a fractured hip. Ever wondered which London pubs most serial killers frequent?
Michael Lupo – DEAD – Real name Michele de Marco Lupo, dubbed “The Wolfman” (as his surname means “wolf” in Italian) Lupo – who boasted of having had 4000 lovers – was a serial killer who worked out of Yves Saint Laurent on Brompton Road in Kensington and was sentenced to four life terms plus 14 years at HMP Frankland (Durham) for four seemingly unrelated deaths and two attempted murders.
In February 1995, Lupo died at HMP Frankland of an AIDS related illness. Lupo confessed that his urge to kill was out of loathing and revenge for sexually promiscuous homosexuals who had infected him with (what in the 1980’s was) a walking death sentence.
Robert Maudsley - ALIVE – In 1978, whilst already serving a life sentence for the brutal (but possibly warranted) murder of a sadistic paedophile and child-rapist in Edmonton, Robert Maudsley went on to kill fellow prisoners – Salney Darwood and Bill Roberts – the latter he stabbed in the head, impaling his brain.
Dubbed “Hannibal the Cannibal” by useless tabloid hacks, Maudsley supposedly ate Robert’s brain using the knife as a scoop and is serving a whole life sentence in solitary confinement at Wakefield Prison in a 5.5m by 4.5m glass cage, just like fictional serial killer Hannibal Lector. Which is true… unlike the cannibalism which was entirely made-up by the press, but when did that ever stop them?
Donald Neilson – DEAD – Dubbed “The Black Panther”; burglar Donald Neilson murdered three people whilst robbing sub-post-offices between 1971 and 74 as well as kidnapping an heiress in 1975. Always believing he was smarter than the Police, Neilson briefly alluded them by adapting key aspects of each robbery, firstly by deliberately stealing a radio from each scene (almost like he had a compulsion)… and then he would suddenly stop.
In 1976, Neilson was sentenced to a whole life tariff (five life sentences with an extra 61 years for kidnapping and blackmail) at HMP Norwich (oddly a category b/c prison), but was transferred to Norwich University Hospital on 17th December 2911 owing to breathing difficulties and died the following morning. Want something different? What about London's deadliest disasters?
Stephen Port - ALIVE – Between 2014 and 2015, bus-garage chef Stephen Port lured four gay men to their deaths in Barking (East London) having met them online via dating app’s and lured them home with the promise of sex. Port drugged his victims with a lethal mix of GHB, amyl nitrate, Viagra, mephedrone (aka “meow meow”) and methamphetamine (“crystal meth”), raped and strangled the men whilst they were unconscious and dumped their bodies in a local cemetery, a faked suicide note nearby. Port was sentenced to a whole life order (with no chance of parole) on 25th November 2016.
His current location has not been announced, but as he has not been declared insane (which would require him to be committed to s secure psychiatric facility such as Broadmoor or Ashworth), murderers will often serve their sentence in a Category A prison, of which the England & Wales currently has nine (HMP Bellmarsh, Frankland, Full Sutton, Long Lartin, Manchester aka Strangeways, Wakefield, Whitemoor and Woodhill, with Bronzefield being the only category a female & young offenders prison). Read more about prison categorisation.
Harold Shipman - DEAD – Dubbed “Dr Death”, Harold Shipman – a friendly family GP in the sleepy towns of Hyde and Todmorden - was convicted of the murders of 15 pensioners (mostly elderly female patients who he “euthanized”), although a later inquiry concluded he killed at least 215, and possibly as many as 457 over a 25 year period, making him one of the most prolific serial killers in history.
Sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommendation that he never be released, Shipman hung himself on the 13th January 2004 (aged 57) in his cell at HMP Wakefield, using bedsheets hanging from the bars on his window as a makeshift noose. It is said that Shipman’s “desire” to bring a peaceful end to many elderly women began when as a young boy he witnessed his mother die after a painful and protracted battle with cancer. Ever wondered what serial killers looked like as children and babies? Horrible, right? You'd be surprised.
Steven Wright – ALIVE – Dubbed "The Suffolk Strangler" and the “Ipswich Ripper”; Wright murdered six local prostitutes over six weeks in 2006 and dumped their bodies in ditches, but was arrested owing to keen-eyed sex-workers who had nicknamed him “Mondeo Man” and the “Silver-backed Gorilla” owing to his silvery hair, stocky build and the make of car he drove. His identity was pinpointed further because of his prediliction for wearing women’s clothes and a curly black wig. Wright was sentenced to life imprisonment, with the recommendation that he never be released, from HMP Bellmarsh (Thamesmead).
Graham Young - DEAD – Dubbed “The Teacup Poisoner”, chemistry-obsessive Graham Young poisoned three members of his family at their family home in Neasden in 1962, using antimony (a poison which in small doses causes vomiting, diarrhoea and stomach cramps, but with higher and prolonged exposure causes death), killing his step-mother Molly, for which he was transferred to Broadmoor Psychiatric Hospital with a “personality disorder”*.
But in 1971, having been declared mentally fit, Young was released, and began work at Hadland Laboratories (Bovington, Herts) where he would poison a further 70 people – spiking their tea with antimony – two of whom died. Graham Young died in 1990 at HMP Parkhurst having suffered a heart attack. * subsequently, Young was later diagnosed as a schizophrenic on the autism spectrum.
Peter Tobin - ALIVE – Scottish serial killer and sadist who is serving a whole life sentence at HMP Edinburgh* for the murder of three women between 1991 and 2006. Tobin was diagnosed as a psychopath by Professor David Wilson who also believes that Peter Tobin is the infamous “Bible John” – a Glasgow-based serial killer from the 1960’s who was never caught – hence Tobin’s body count may be a lot higher, although the true number, we shall never know. Learn more about "Bible John" and other serial killers who were never caught.
* Although England & Wales have nine Category A prisons (HMP Bellmarsh, Frankland, Full Sutton, Long Lartin, Manchester, Wakefield, Whitemoor, Woodhill and Bronzefield), Scotland & Northern Ireland have their own prisons and classifications. Read more about prison categorisation.
Robert Black - DEAD – Scottish serial killer Robert Black attacked four young girls aged 5 to 11 between 1981 and 1986 as he worked as a lorry-driver. Sentenced to life imprisonment at HMP Maghaberry (Northern Ireland) with a minimum of 35 years, Black has been linked to 13 other child murders and abductions across the UK, Ireland and Europe, but died of a heart attack on 12th January 2016, as he was about to be charged with the murder of a fifth young girl. The true scale of his heinous crimes may never be known.
John Cooper - ALIVE – Dubbed "The Bullseye Killer", burglar John Cooper got his nickname having chillingly appeared on ITV gameshow Bullseye, the same year he would tie-up, rob and brutally murderer holidaymakers – Peter & Gwenda Dixon – just one of two double murders he committed in the Pembrokeshire area. Cooper is currently serving a whole life tariff in HMP Wakefield, having also raped and sexually assaulted a 15 and a 16 year old girl. See The Bullseye's Killers TV appearance.
Patrick MacKay – ALIVE – Violent alcoholic, drug-abuser and psychotic, Patrick MacKay was charged in 1975 for the murder of 5 people (including priest Father Crean who he hacked to death with an axe and a homeless tramp he drowned in the Thames), convicted of 3 owing to a lack of evidence but later confessed to the murder of 11 people between 1974 & 75. MacKay was sentenced to a whole life tariff at the psychiatric prison HMP Wayland in Norfolk, where he has been for the last 40 years, and it is unlikely he will ever be released.
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
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, Podcast Addict, Podbean, Pocketcast, Stitcher, Acast, Tune-In, Otto Radio or Libsyn
In the final part of Murder Mile's three part blog on whether a star-sign, birthday or lunar cycle could help predict if anyone is more/less predisposed to being a serial killer, we present a curious look at whether serial killers are more likely to be born... during a full-moon? Just as (we've seen in my previous blogs) serial killers are three times more likely to be a Gemini than most other star signs and twice as likely to be born on a Monday than any other day.
Which is not to say that the "position of the moon" is the overall factor in determining whether someone could become a serial killer - of course not, that's just stupid - but what I'm asking is, could these small, yet seemingly insignificant details be a contributing factor worth considering? Consider this: the Moon is the fulcrum upon which the Earth generates and regulates its gravity, the Moon is vital for regulating time, days, moods, sleep, seasons and it is scientifically proven that more people are born and die during the ebb-tide (3am & 3pm, when the moon's gravitational pull is at its weakest). So could the position of the Moon have a significant affect on a (future) serial killer during one of the most traumatic experiences of their life - their own birth? As before, the following is taken from a sample of 38 of the world's most infamous serial killers (including Dennis Nilsen, Ted Bundy, Aileen Wuornos, Hindley & Brady and Dr Shipman), as used in my previous blog on the most popular names for serial killers, with a few notable exceptions where I was unable to track their exact date of birth (listed in the footnotes**). Are more serial killers born during a full moon? Or maybe, more murderers were born during a new moon, first quarter, last quarter or maybe it makes no difference what-so-ever? Let's find out.
What Was The Lunar Cycle On The Day A Serial Killer Was Born?
What follows is a list of 38 infamous UK/USA serial killers and murderers, their birthdays and what phase the moon was in on the day they were born. You can work out what your birth lunar cycle was by clicking here and changing the year (../1976) at the end of the web address. The lunar cycle has distinct four phases: Full Moon, New (or no) Moon, First Quarter and Third Quarter (which are often referred to as a crescent moon). Simply for speed and to save confusion, I've eliminated waxing & waning crescents, although this may appear in later blogs.
* denotes a birth on the exact day of that specific Moon phase ** denotes a birth exactly in the middle two Moon phases No asterisk denotes being born during any other day
And to summarise this:
Does this mean that those born on/near a Full/New Moon are three times more likely to be a serial killer of mass murderer? Probably not. But - as before - let's delve in a little deeper into the personality traits of those born under specific moon phases to see whether the moon phase could affect your personality, as kindly purloined from the lunar natal site Cafe Astrology.
FULL MOON: An idealist who is always searching for belief system they can relate to, has high value of family life, they are thoughtful, emotional and caring yet struggles to fit in, because of thier need for perfection and completion, so often gets bogged down by their desires. Murderers born under a full moon include; Dennis Nilsen, David Berkowitz, Dr Harold Shipman, Joel Rifkin and Beverly Allitt.
NEW MOON: Intuitive and instinctive, who navigate life without a map or a plan, and yet seem to reach their destination with time to spare, but are often too self-involved to see the dangers and are unwilling to learn when confronted by unsavoury facts or unpleasant truths. Murderers born under a New Moon include: John Wayne Gacy, Peter Sutcluffe, Ted Bundy, Ian Brady, Jeffrey Dahmer and Velma Barfield.
1ST QUARTER: Trail blazers, able to rise to the occasion, make split second decisions and tear down old structures, but often they get bored too easily and create havoc for the sake of excitement, and yet sometimes this conflict helps balance the status quo. Murderers born under a 1st Quarter include: Fred West, Ed Gein, Myra Hindley and John George Haigh "The Acid Bath Murderer".
3RD QUARTER: Appearing to be in a world of their own and yet they are great at re-evaluating life, thoughts and actions. Although regarded by others as uncooperative and rebellious, they are often very surprising, but easily get disillusioned with the shackles of life. Murderers born under a 3rd Quarter include: Albert DeSalvo, Rose West and Jeffrey Dahmer.
So, are more serial killers and murderers born under a Full Moon? Yes. But almost as many as were born under a New Moon? So what does this mean? Could there a correlation between the strength of the moon during a traumatic event (with our births being just one of many events) which could contribute to the creation of a serial killer? Who knows.
But this information is not to be taken in isolation - as stated at the start - this is just a small exploratory study to see if the lunar phase could be a contributing factor in the early development of a serial killer, just as their names, jobs, music, foods and favourite drinks could also be?
If you "enjoyed" this blog post, take a peek at other intreguing topics such as; Killer Couples Part 1 & Part 2, Life, Death & Whole Life Sentences, Famous British Serial Killers - Where Are They Now? Serial Killers & Murderers Who Were Never Caught, London's Deadliest & Often Forgotten Disasters, 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, Podcast Addict, Podbean, Pocketcast, Stitcher, Acast, Tune-In, Otto Radio or Libsyn
It is often said that you can tell a lot about a person's personality by their zodiac or star-sign; whether they're mild-mannered, moody or mischievous, happy, half-witted or horny, astrologers believe that everything about us is "in the stars". But is this also true about serial killers? Can the stars predict a madness according due to the month they're born? Are Pisces predatory, Virgos vicious, Geminis less likely to garrote or an Aquarius almost certain to go ape-shit? And more importantly, do you share a star-sign (and personality traits) with a mass murderer? Let's find out.
The following study is taken from a RANDOM SAMPLE of 100 of the world's most infamous serial killers with a few notable exceptions where I was unable to track their exact date of birth (listed in the footnotes**). Therefore not every serial killer nor murderer can be included. This is a part one of a three-part blog on whether the star-sign*, birthday or lunar cycle can predict whether anyone is predisposed to becoming a serial killer. Who knows, it may be you?
Love true-crime podcasts? Try the Murder Mile, featuring 300+ unsolved, untold and long forgotten murders, within 1 square mile. Click PLAY on the media player below to listen to Ep1.
If you love true-crime podcasts, subscribe to the Murder Mile true-crime podcast on iTunes, Podcast Addict, Podbean, Pocketcast, Stitcher, Acast, Tune-In, Otto Radio or Libsyn
Which Serial KIller Shares My Zodiac/Star-Sign?
So what does that mean? Are those born under the sign of Gemini, Pisces and Capricorn more likely to be murderers, with those born under Cancer being more placid and less likely to kill, and every other star sign set aside to be... erm... their victims? Let's see. The following attributes of each star-sign was kindly purloined from The Psychic Guild website and Astrology.com. .
ARIES: Strengths; independent, generous, optimistic, enthusiastic and courageous. Weaknesses; moody, short tempered, self-involved, impulsive and impatient. Ruling planet: Mars (God of War), life pursuit: the thrill of the moment, secret desire: to lead the way for others, and serial killers who are an Aries; Henri Desire "The Ladykiller" Landru (who romantically trapped widows and murdered them for their money), John Reginald Christie (the West London strangler, necrophile and murderer who killed under the guise of a kindly neighbourhood abortionist) and Judy Buenoano.
TAURUS: Strengths; dependable, persistent, loyal, patient and generous. Weaknesses; stubborn, laziness, possessive, materialistic and self-indulgent. Symbol: the bull, life pursuit: emotional and financial security, secret desire: to have a secure, happy and wealthy life/marriage, and serial killers who are a Taurus; Albert Fish (the child killer and cannibal), Orville Lynn Majors and Michael “Hungerford Massacre” Ryan
GEMINI: Strengths; energetic, clever, imaginative, witty and adaptable. Weaknesses; superficial, impulsive, restless, devious and indecisive. Life pursuit: to explore a little bit of everything, intense mental energy, secret desire: to be ahead of the crowd, and serial killers who are Gemini; Peter "Yorkshire Ripper" Sutcliffe, Peter "The Vampire of Dusseldorf" Kurten, Anthony "The Camden Ripper" Hardy, David "Son of Sam" Berkowitz, Jeffrey "The Killer Cannibal" Dahmer and Dr Thomas "The Lambeth Poisoner" Neil Cream. And if you're wondering? No, they don't just dole out notorious nicknames to anyone, you have to have... erm... earned it.
Oh, and who else is a Gemini? The 45th President of the USA - Donald J Trump.
CANCER: Strengths; loyalty, dependable, caring, adaptable and responsive. Weaknesses; moody, clingy, self-pitying, oversensitive and self-absorbed. Life pursuit: constant reassurance and intimacy, secret desire: to feel safe (emotionally, spiritually and financially). That's an interesting series of personality traits given that there are ONLY TWO SERIAL KILLERS (in the list above) were born under the sign of CANCER. Hmm.
LEO: Strengths; confident, ambitious, generous, loyal and encouraging. Weaknesses; pretentious, domineering, melodramatic, stubborn and vain. Symbol: the lion, life pursuit: to lead the way, secret desire: to be a star, and serial killers who are a Leo; John George "The Acid Bath Murderer" Haigh, Myra "Moors Murderer" Hindley and Faye Copeland (aged 69, with her husband Ray aged 78, they were the oldest couple ever sentenced to death for murder in the USA).
VIRGO: Strengths; analytical, observant, helpful, reliable and precise. Weakness; sceptical, fussy, inflexible, cold and interfering. Symbol: the virgin, life pursuit: to do the right thing, secret desire: to love and be loved in return, and serial killers who were Virgo; Dr H H Crippin (supposedly killed his wife to marry his mistress), Albert "The Boston Strangler" DeSalvo and Ed Gein (the inspiration for Norman Bates in Psycho who slept with his dead mother's corpse, fashioned himself a "woman suit" made from the skins of his victims, as well as wearing belts made from their nipples, making lampshades from their faces and eating out of bowls made from their skulls).
LIBRA: Strengths; diplomatic, graceful, peaceful, idealistic and hospitable. Weaknesses; superficial, vain, indecisive and unreliable. Life pursuit: to be consistent, often unsteady, secret desire: to live an easy, uncomplicated life, and serial killers who are Libra; Fred West (part of the notorious killer couple Fred & Rose West), Derrick "The Cumbria Killer" Bird and Beverly "The Angel of Death" Allitt (a paediatric nurse who'd attempt to murder 13 sick children under her care in just two months).
SCORPIO: Strengths; loyal, passionate, resourceful, observant and dynamic. Weaknesses: jealous, obsessive, suspicious, manipulative and unyielding. Symbol: the Scorpion, life pursuit: to survive against all opposition, resilient, secret desire: to triumph, and serial killers who are Scorpio; Kimberly Clark-Saenz, Kristen Gilbert and Velma Barfield - all of whom were nurses who killed their patients.
SAGITTARIUS: Strengths; independence. Weaknesses; unemotional (oddly there were only two personality traits listed for Sagittarius, it's almost as if they're robots or inhuman)? Life pursuit: to live the good life, overly expressive with frequent burnouts, secret desire: to make a difference in the world, and serial killers who are Sagittarius; Dennis Nilsen (murdered 15 men, attempted to murder 9 others), Ted Bundy (killer of 30+ victims and necrophile), Edmund "The Co-Ed Killer" Kemper and Rosemary West. (Learn more about the life of Dennis Nilsen on a Murder Mile Walks tour).
CAPRICORN: Strengths; responsible, patient, ambitious, resourceful and loyal. Weaknesses; dictatorial, inhibited, conceited, distrusting and unimaginative. Life pursuit: to be proud of their achievements, powerful resilient energy, secret desire: to be admired by their family and friends and the world at large, and serial killers who were Capricorn; "Moors Murderer" Ian Brady, "Doctor Death" Harold Shipman (283 known victims, estimated to be 400+), Cynthia Coffman (lured four women to their deaths at the hands of her brutal husband), Dorothea "The Death House Landlady" Puente and Janie Lou Gibbs, who murdered her three sons, grandson and husband with rat poison.
AQUARIUS: Strengths; witty, clever, humanitarian, inventive and original. Weaknesses; stubborn, unemotional, sarcastic, rebellious and aloof. Life pursuit: to understand life's mysteries, secret desire: to be unique and original, and serial killers who are Aquarius; Joel Rifkin. That's it. And for those of you who don't know, I am an Aquarius, and as much as I don't believe in Astrology, that's a pretty accurate assessment of me. Eek!
PISCES: Strengths; compassionate, adaptable, accepting, devoted and imaginative. Weaknesses; oversensitive, indecisive, self-pitying, lazy and escapist. Life pursuit: to avoid feeling alone and instead feel connected to others and the world at large, erratic energy levels, secret desire: to live their dreams and turn fantasies into realities, and serial killers who are Pisces; John Wayne "The Killer Clown" Gacy (sadist, serial killer and children's entertainer), Richard "The Night Stalker" Ramirez, Colin "The Gay Slayer" Ireland (who pretended to be gay to lure homosexual men to their deaths) and Aileen Wuornos (prostitute, who murdered her punters, claiming self-defence in all cases).
Whether you believe in Astrology or not, I think it's safe to say, by the personality traits alone, steer clear of anyone who is a Gemini, Pisces and Capricorn, and anyone else in between, except Cancer and Aquarius. Join me for next week's blog which asks: "could you be a serial killer because of the day you were born?"
If you "enjoyed" this blog post, why not take a peek at; Serial Killers as Siblings, Serial Killer's Nicknames, Serial Killers 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.
* Obviously anything to do with Astrology is slightly cocked up, given that the exact dates in which your star-sign sits changes according to the celestial cycle, as explained by New Scientist
** Those I couldn't find the exact birth dates of were Linda Hazzard 1867, Catherine Flannagan, “Black Widows of Liverpool” 1829, Margaret Higgins “Black Widows of Liverpool” 1829, Mary Elizabeth Wilson 1893, Rhonda Belle Martin 1907, Tillie Klimek 1876, Jane Toppan 1857, Amy Archer-Gilligan 1868, Amelia Dyer 1837, Gordon Frederick Cummins 1913/14, William Burke “The body snatchers” 1792, William Hare “The body snatchers” 1792, and Michael Lupo 1953. Oddly, excluding those born overseas, the majority were working-class females.
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, 3 serial killers, across 15 locations, totalling 75 deaths, over just a one mile walk.
If you love true-crime podcasts, check out the Murder Mile true-crime podcast on iTunes, Soundcloud, Podbean, Pocketcast, Stitcher, Acast, Tune-In, Otto Radio or Libsyn
To paraphrase Andy Warhol "everyone will get their fifteen minutes of fame", and in today's media saturated society the easiest way to do that is by appearing on television, whether as a game-show contestant, a vox-pops soundbite on the News or as a brainless monkey in a reality TV series. Unfortunately some people get two big bites of the fame cherry, firstly as a blink-and-you'll-miss-me nobody hoping to cash in any ounce of self respect for £250 and a cuddly toy, and secondly, as a serial killer. What follows is footage of infamous serial killers - before they were famous - who appeared, just like a regular Joe Public, on our nations favourite TV shows, such as BBC's Masterchef, ITV's Bullseye, Panorama, the news and even American's own matchmaker show - The Dating Game.
John William Cooper - "The Bullseye Killer": Having burned alive siblings Richard & Helen Thomas at their Scoveston Park farmhouse on 22nd December 1985 in a bungled burglary, John William Cooper would later go on to tie-up, rob and brutally murder holiday-makers Peter & Gwenda Dixon by shooting them, in the face, at point blank range, with a shotgun, on the 29th June 1989. Barely one month before this horrific double-killing, he appeared on the ITV game-show Bullseye. Footage of his TV appearance is seen here.
Stephen Port: Between June 2014 and Sept 2015, chef Stephen Port "allegedly" (as the case is ongoing) drugged his male victims with lethal quantities of GHB, raped and dumped their bodies. He is currently on trial at The Old Bailey for the murders of Anthony Patrick Walgate, Gabriel Kovari, Daniel Whitworth and Jack Taylor. During the same month that his first victim was discovered, Stephen Port appeared on BBC TV's Masterchef, where he helped JLS singer JB Gill and actress Emma Barton (Honey Mitchell in EastEnders)* make meatballs. The footage has been removed from youtube, but stills can be seen here.
Rodney Alcala: Dubbed "The Dating Game Killer", Rodney Alcala is a convicted serial killer, kidnapper and rapist who is currently awaiting execution on Death Row (San Quentin, California) for the rape and murder of 7 women, although it has been speculated that he may have murdered as many as 50 women. Therefore it's shocking to see that in 1978 - in the midst of his killing spree, having already been convicted of rape and registered as a sex offender - Rodney Alcala appeared as a contestant on the US TV show The Dating Game (like Blind Date). Even more shockingly he won the episode and his prize was to go on a date with contestant Cheryl Bradshaw, but - lucky for her - she refused to go on a date with him as she found him "too creepy". See the actual The Dating Game footage here.
Ian Huntley - "The Soham Murderer": In the following two weeks after the disappearance of schoolgirls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman on 4th August 2002, Ian Kevin Huntley, a 29 year old caretaker of Soham Village College appeared on Sky News and Look East, expressing shock and concern at their vanishing. And yet, appearing to proactively assist the Police with their search, he had in-fact murdered the two friends in his home, barely yards from where he was filmed - as seen here. Their bodies were found on 17th August 2002, he'd dumped them in a ditch near a perimeter fence at RAF Lakenheath (Suffolk). Huntley was sentenced to two life terms, with a minimum sentence of 40 years in prison. See the footage here.
Of course, these aren't the only "killers" who have appeared on TV. There are loads of famous people (many still working in film & TV today) who have either murdered, killed, or caused the death of someone, as seen in my blog - Famous Celebrities Who Have Killed.
* don't worry, I haven't heard of JB GIll or Emma Barton either.
Michael J Buchanan-Dunne is a writer, podcaster, 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 18 murderers, 3 serial killers, across 21 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
What are the last words, at the very moment of the execution, of some of the world's most notorious serial killers and murderers? And why is what they've said, so important? Well, most of us will never be given the opportunity to plan, write and rehearse our final words, at best we'll be able to mutter "ouch", "f**k" or "what bus?", so reading the final words of a person whose final moment is fast approaching, gives you a startling insight into their lives, loves, fears and regrets. I've chosen fifty for your absorbing; some are silly, some are sad, some are alluringly profound, but all are the actual final words of a murderer or serial killer.
If you'd like to read up further articles such as unusual last meal requests on Death Row, the most likely day job for a serial killer, most likely name for a mass murderer, or even what is a serial killer's favourite drink, as well as a wealth of others? Click on the links marked in red.
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 18 murderers, 3 serial killers, across 21 locations, totalling 75 deaths, over just a one mile walk.
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AuthorMichael J Buchanan-Dunne is a crime writer, podcaster of Murder Mile UK True Crime and creator of true-crime TV series. 
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