- 17 hours ago
Some killers vanish without a trace, leaving justice forever out of reach. Join us as we count down the most notorious serial killers throughout history who were never caught! Our chilling list includes infamous cases like the Zodiac Killer, Jack the Ripper, The Babysitter, Charlie Chop-Off, the Servant Girl Annihilator, Jack the Stripper, the Atlanta Ripper, and many more terrifying unsolved cases!
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00He says police knew they were dealing with a serial killer because of the similar ways the women were victimized
00:05and their free-spirited lifestyles.
00:08Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at the most notorious serial killers throughout history who never faced justice for
00:14their crimes.
00:15The bodies of all the victims had been left in scrubland, and efforts were made by the offender to conceal
00:21their location and their identity.
00:25The Frankfurt Slasher.
00:27Walking beneath the Market Frankfurt line, long-time Philly reporter Walt Hunter still recalls the mood here in the late
00:341980s as serial killer headlines popped up again and again.
00:38The working-class Frankfurt neighborhood of Philadelphia was haunted by a vicious serial killer between 1985 and 1990 who claimed
00:46the lives of eight to nine women.
00:48The targeted victims were sexually assaulted and repeatedly stabbed, sending waves of panic throughout the tight-knit community.
00:54While a man named Leonard Christopher was ultimately convicted of one of the brutal murders, many experts and locals strongly
01:00believe he was innocent.
01:02For one thing, witnesses reported seeing a middle-aged white man.
01:05Christopher was young and black.
01:08Furthermore, a further identical murder occurred while he was in prison.
01:11Because of these glaring inconsistencies, many believe that the true Frankfurt Slasher was never caught, leaving a permanent stain on
01:18the local history.
01:19In September of 1990, while Christopher was in jail awaiting trial, there was a ninth stabbing that appeared to be
01:27the work of the Frankfurt Slasher.
01:30Blustein says that final murder was proof Christopher was not the serial killer and raises deep doubt about the Dowd
01:38conviction.
01:39The Chicago Strangler.
01:40How many women are we talking about here?
01:42And do you see this as an emerging pattern that has you concerned enough that there is a killer still
01:47at large?
01:47Since 2001, more than 50 women have been found strangled and discarded in abandoned buildings and dark alleys across Chicago.
01:55While the local police department initially hesitated to link these crimes, criminal justice experts, dedicated journalists, and passionate community advocates
02:04strongly believe that a serial killer is responsible.
02:07For example, many shared the same gruesome causes of death, and many of the victims shared the same tragic profile.
02:13Yet despite the eventual creation of specialized task forces, the cases remain largely unsolved to this day.
02:20The profound lack of concrete answers continues to plague the city, leaving countless grieving families waiting desperately for long overdue
02:27justice.
02:28Thank you so much for coming on and sharing your thoughts on this and your perspective and the fact that
02:32you still believe that there is somebody or some people out there killing black women,
02:37and a lot of these cases are going unsolved, as many as possibly a hundred.
02:40The Lisbon Ripper
02:41Lisbon, Portugal, was plunged into absolute terror between 1992 and 93 by a shadowy figure who targeted local sex workers.
02:49This killer brutally murdered three young women, leaving their mutilated bodies behind and keeping the entire city on a terrifying
02:56knife's edge.
02:57Interestingly, some investigators and true crime hypotheses have suggested this elusive Portuguese killer could have been the New Bedford Highway
03:04Killer,
03:05who killed 11 in Massachusetts in the late 80s.
03:08More on them later.
03:09Despite massive coordinated police efforts and relentless public scrutiny, the Lisbon Ripper's true identity remains completely unknown.
03:16Decades have passed, the cold case has tragically reached its statute of limitations, and justice remains forever unserved.
03:23The Monster of Udine
03:25Italy has been home to several unidentified serial killers.
03:28While the notorious monster of Florence often dominates international headlines, another terrifying predator lurked in the shadows during that same
03:35era, the Monster of Udine.
03:37Operating between 1971 and 1989, this phantom killer is suspected of murdering at least four women, though some local authorities
03:45claim as many as 16.
03:46The victims were discovered with eerie unsettling similarities, often displaying a sickening surgical precision in their fatal mutilations.
03:54To this day, despite decades of exhaustive inquiries, forensic tests, and endless public speculation, the monstrous killer haunting Udine has
04:02never been successfully identified.
04:04The Eastbound Strangler
04:06Have you ever seen anything like this?
04:10When these girls, these women, were found behind the Golden Key Motel in that dirty drainage ditch?
04:15In November 2006, the decaying bodies of four women were discovered face down in a drainage ditch behind a budget
04:22motel outside Atlantic City.
04:24All four innocent victims had been strangled and were strangely positioned facing the East, earning the killer the name The
04:30Eastbound Strangler.
04:31The story is a bizarre one reminiscent of a creepy thriller, and the case naturally attracted intense media scrutiny.
04:38Yet despite the attention, police were unable to track down the killer.
04:41The terrifying symmetry of the crime scene suggests a deeply disturbed predator who carefully planned his horrific deeds before melting
04:48back into the shadows,
04:50forever evading the relentless pursuit of local law enforcement.
04:53If you think about it, these girls, in his mind, were nothing but garbage.
05:01The Belize Ripper
05:02It has been almost two decades since the shocking murders, but the members and unsolved mystery of their deaths still
05:09haunt their families.
05:10Between 1998 and 2000, a killer known as the Belize Ripper stalked the country of the same name, abducting, assaulting,
05:18and murdering five young girls.
05:20The victims were all between 8 and 14 years old, and their bodies were found heavily mutilated.
05:25The killer used shocking surgical precision in his crimes, leading authorities to strongly believe that he possessed advanced medical training.
05:32But despite extensive investigations aided by the FBI and Scotland Yard, the trail went completely cold.
05:39A local auto mechanic named Michael Williams was formally charged with the murder of the third victim, Jackie Malik,
05:45but he was exonerated and released after the fourth victim was killed while he was in jail.
05:49Today, the tragic murders remain the greatest and most infamous cold case in Belize.
05:54So 16 years later, here's what we know.
05:57Whoever killed these girls possibly had some kind of medical training.
06:01It appears that there was more than one person involved, and at some point in time, at least three of
06:08the girls were held at the same place.
06:10The Thames Torso Murders
06:12Did you know that another serial killer was terrorizing London at the same time as Jack the Ripper?
06:17Yes.
06:17The Thames Torso Murders gripped the city between 1887 and 1889.
06:22Four female victims were discovered heavily dismembered, their mutilated remains scattered along the muddy banks of the River Thames.
06:29Like Jack the Ripper, the killer used shocking medical precision to dismember the bodies.
06:34Despite the horrific and highly publicized nature of these crimes, the killer evaded capture, and no solid suspects were ever
06:41officially named.
06:42However, one thing is clear.
06:44It was not Jack.
06:45It was someone else entirely.
06:47A recent BBC documentary named abusive river bargeman James Crick as the primary suspect.
06:52But even if it was him, he took his secret to the grave.
06:56The Texas Killing Fields
06:57Who would have done this?
06:58Who came out here?
07:00It had to be someone who knew the area or someone who frequented that area, possibly.
07:04Since the early 1970s, a desolate stretch of Interstate 45 has hidden dark secrets.
07:10Located between Houston and Galveston is an area of Texas known as the Killing Fields.
07:15This unforgiving area has been the dumping ground for over 30 women and young girls over the decades.
07:20Its isolation makes it a perfect spot for killers to hide their crimes and dump their bodies.
07:25A few localized murders have been solved and tied to specific individuals, but the vast majority remain completely unsolved.
07:31Investigators believe a highly prolific serial killer has utilized the fields for decades, but it's also possible that multiple serial
07:39predators are responsible.
07:40Whether it's one killer or many, the Killing Fields continue to baffle and frustrate the local authorities.
07:46When Donna's body was found, which of course was Janet Doe at that time, it was like, now we really
07:56have a reason for this to be called the damn Killing Fields.
07:59The Highway of Tears
08:01People are going missing. Kids are going missing. Women are going missing. It doesn't matter who they are or what
08:08their race is or anything. It shouldn't matter, especially in Canada. But, you know, there's a lot of people who
08:15tell you it does.
08:17Canada has its own Killing Fields. It's called the Highway of Tears.
08:20Since 1970, dozens of innocent women, mostly local indigenous women, have either vanished or been murdered along this stretch of
08:28isolated road.
08:29The consistency of indigenous women disappearing in the area points to opportunistic serial predators, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
08:36strongly suspects that multiple serial killers are responsible.
08:39These monsters continue to operate with horrifying impunity, their true identities fiercely guarded by the sprawling, unforgiving wilderness.
08:46The string of violence has left many devastated families desperately searching for long overdue answers, and some basic human justice.
08:54I don't think they're active now at all. I think, you know, while Epana was spending their $25 million, some
09:02of these investigations were active.
09:04But I also think there's a difference in focusing an investigation on catching a serial killer versus solving a case
09:11-by-case.
09:12The Jeff Davis 8
09:13A fisherman made the first gruesome discovery May 20, 2005, in a canal off Highway 1126.
09:21The victim is 28-year-old Loretta Chasson-Lewis, last seen alive three days earlier.
09:27Her body was too decomposed to determine a cause of death.
09:31Between 2005 and 2009, the decaying bodies of eight women were discovered in the murky swamps and isolated canals around
09:38Jennings, Louisiana.
09:39The targeted victims all intimately knew each other, shared deeply troubled personal histories, and were directly tied to the exact
09:46same social circles.
09:47While frustrated authorities suspected a classic serial killer, the subsequent investigations were heavily criticized by the community and plagued by
09:55shocking allegations of police misconduct and cover-ups.
09:58Because of the compromised law enforcement efforts and the complete lack of transparent evidence, the true nature of the Louisiana
10:04killings, and the identity of the ruthless person responsible, remain unknown.
10:09We follow every lead. We have the resources from the FBI. We have resources from the state police. In addition
10:16to the FBI, we have their behavioral analysis unit. So we have resources that are available to us from all
10:23walks of life.
10:25The Beer Man
10:26Between October 2006 and January 2007, the bustling streets of Mumbai were struck by a string of brutal murders targeting
10:33unhoused men.
10:34The killer's unique M.O. involved leaving empty beer bottles next to the mutilated victim's lifeless bodies, earning him the
10:41unsettling local moniker The Beer Man.
10:43Seven impoverished victims were found severely bludgeoned or repeatedly stabbed to death in the middle of the night.
10:48Although a suspect named Ravinda Cantrell was arrested and briefly convicted based on controversial narco analysis, he was later fully
10:56acquitted due to a lack of concrete physical evidence.
10:58So while the crimes seemingly stopped in Mumbai, The Beer Man is still out there somewhere, having completely gotten away
11:05with his crimes.
11:06The Kauai serial killer
11:07The arrest in the Gallus case is giving Kauai police hope that other investigations will soon be solved, particularly the
11:15deadly attacks on women 12 years ago, which police believe was the work of a serial killer.
11:21Between April and August 2000, a killer stalked the Hawaiian island of Kauai.
11:26The unidentified man brutally murdered two women and severely injured a third.
11:30He specifically targeted middle-aged Caucasian women who were alone, and the vicious attacks all occurred on the island's west
11:37coast.
11:37The killer was also known to sexually assault his victims before repeatedly stabbing them with a knife.
11:42Yet despite a surviving witness and a composite sketch of the attacker, the police struggled to find solid leads.
11:48A suspect named Waldorf Roy Wilson eventually emerged due to his violent history, but his DNA tests were ultimately inconclusive,
11:55and he was never officially charged with the crimes.
11:58Unfortunately, the Kauai serial killer remains unidentified.
12:02In April of 2000, the body of Lisa Bissell was found alongside a cane field in Polihale.
12:09In August, Darren Singer was killed while camping at Pakala Beach.
12:13A third woman, Nancy Jones, was also stabbed and beaten that year while serving as a caretaker of a home
12:20in Kekaha.
12:22The Tube Sock Killings
12:23In late 1985, two young couples were mercilessly murdered in Washington state, the crimes occurring in the dense, isolated forests
12:30just outside Tacoma.
12:32These disturbing cold cases became known as the Tube Sock Killings, as the sadistic killer utilized athletic tube socks to
12:39strangle his victims.
12:40The doomed victims were either lured or silently ambushed deep in the woods, and the remote locations made the ensuing
12:46investigations incredibly difficult for local detectives.
12:49Investigators identified several plausible suspects throughout the years and launched exhaustive forensic searches.
12:55Despite their best efforts, the cunning woodland killer effortlessly slipped through the cracks, and his identity remains a mystery to
13:01this day.
13:02The Flat Tire Murders
13:03South Florida was terrorized by an elusive serial killer back in 1975 who would employ a highly cunning and incredibly
13:10deadly trap.
13:11The perpetrator would purposefully deflate the tires of women's cars in crowded parking lots.
13:16He would then wait in the shadows for them to return, see their frustrated reactions, and then offer his assistance.
13:22Once he gained their trust, he would violently abduct and murder them.
13:25The horrifying string of systematic killings abruptly stopped after just a few months, frustrating local investigators and leaving them completely
13:33baffled.
13:33In the mid-2020s, two suspects were named, a known felon Robert Keebler and his accomplice Lawrence Stein.
13:40Unfortunately, both have since died, meaning they were never caught or even suspected in their lifetimes.
13:47Homicide Squad detectives are appealing for information regarding the abduction and murder of six women, whose bodies were found in
13:56Tainong North and Frankston areas in the early 1980s.
14:00Between 1980 and 1981, a serial killer prowled the Australian state of Victoria.
14:06Six women vanished while going about their daily routines.
14:09Some were simply waiting for a bus, others running errands.
14:12Their bodies were eventually discovered in rural scrubland, meticulously hidden near the towns of Tainong North and Frankston.
14:19Their ages ranged from 14 to 73, which completely baffled local detectives, as serial killers often target victims within the
14:26same general age bracket.
14:28Police launched massive investigations and interviewed thousands of people throughout the years, even offering multi-million dollar rewards.
14:35And indeed, several suspects did come forth, but none was ever officially charged with the crimes.
14:40I urge anyone that has any information regarding the deaths of any of these women to come forward and contact
14:48Crimestoppers.
14:49The Bowerville murders.
14:50Come in, you're a police officer. I was in homicide. Thought I'd seen everything.
14:55And then I saw what happened here, and it was very disappointing and made me check myself in terms of
15:02my attitudes.
15:03Tragedy struck the small town of Bowerville, Australia in the early 1990s.
15:06Three Aboriginal children vanished without a trace over a five-month period, leaving the tight-knit rural community completely shattered.
15:14Eventually, the decomposed remains of two children were discovered in the surrounding bushland.
15:19A suspect named Thomas Hart was officially tried for the horrific murders, but he was controversially acquitted in court due
15:25to insufficient physical evidence.
15:27The verdict sparked both outrage and deep sorrow.
15:30The grieving families bravely continue to fight tirelessly for legal justice, yet the monster that killed their children officially remains
15:37unpunished.
15:38The whole case has left behind many painful and open wounds in Australian history.
15:43I always feel a sense of sadness when I come up to Bowerville.
15:46Clearly this is a community that has still not got over there.
15:49And I don't think they ever will.
15:53Beginning in the 1990s, the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez became worldwide news.
15:58That's when the border city saw a horrifying epidemic of extreme violence targeting young women.
16:03Hundreds of vulnerable females were brutally abducted and murdered, and many were hard-working young factory employees.
16:09Their deeply mutilated bodies were often dumped in the unforgiving desert, and most of the blame was placed on the
16:15ruthless local street gangs and powerful drug cartels.
16:18However, international forensic experts believe the truth is even darker.
16:22They suspect that multiple distinct and highly organized serial killers continuously used the chaotic environment for their own nefarious purposes.
16:30It provided a perfect cover for their sickening personal crimes, with the blame going squarely to the cartels.
16:36The Järvenpa serial killer.
16:38Finland, like other Nordic countries, is known for being extremely safe.
16:42But it is not without its criminals, including the Järvenpa serial killer.
16:46This unknown man targeted vulnerable women about an hour north of Helsinki, picking them up in his sedan before driving
16:51them to remote areas.
16:53His horrific crimes were eventually linked to an isolated gravel pit in the small municipality of Hausjarvi.
16:59At least one killing is officially connected to the man, but he has also been linked to many other cases,
17:04including a disappearance and an attempted murder.
17:06Despite a detailed physical description of the attacker that came from the survivor,
17:10the trail eventually went cold, and the Järvenpa serial killer disappeared into the cold Finnish night.
17:16The Wanda Beach Murders.
17:18Here at Wanda Beach today, there is practically no trace of the tragedy which has shocked all of Sydney.
17:23Behind me, a short distance down the beach, a young man and his nephews yesterday stumbled upon the bodies of
17:29the two teenage girls from Ryde buried in a shallow grave.
17:32On January 12, 1965, a shocking discovery was made in Sydney, Australia.
17:37The mutilated bodies of two 15-year-old girls were hidden in the sand dunes of Wanda Beach.
17:42Their names were Marianne Schmidt and Christine Sherrick, and they had been savagely stabbed and sexually assaulted.
17:47This crime understandably shocked the nation, as it had seemingly occurred in broad daylight,
17:52and it triggered one of the largest police investigations in Australian history.
17:56Detectives interviewed over 7,000 suspects, and the case generated massive public interest.
18:01However, the violence of the crime yielded little actionable evidence.
18:05Now, half a century after the crimes, the unknown perpetrator of the infamous Wanda Beach murders has still never been
18:11identified.
18:12We're in the day and age of DNA solving so many unsolved crimes.
18:18Why hasn't DNA helped solve the Wanda Beach murders?
18:21The Edgecombe County Killer
18:22Ten victims went missing in North Carolina between 2005 and 2009.
18:27Many of their severely decomposed bodies were discovered in wooded areas surrounding Edgecombe County,
18:32and the targeted victims were black women with histories of sex work and substance use disorder.
18:37The women were not only viciously murdered, but they had also been carelessly dumped and scattered throughout the woods.
18:42Eventually, a local man named Antoine Pittman was convicted for one of the murders,
18:47but frustrated authorities have not been able to link him to the other victims.
18:50There simply isn't enough concrete evidence, leaving the true scope of the killer's crimes unknown.
18:56Were they all Pittman, or did someone else manage to slip through the dense vegetation?
19:00The Saw Killer of Hanover
19:01Between 1975 and 1977, residents of Hanover, Germany made a series of chilling discoveries.
19:08Human remains left in plain sight across the city.
19:11I'm dead.
19:14Drop it.
19:19These belonged to at least six individuals, none of whom were ever identified.
19:24Authorities noticed a disturbing pattern.
19:26The bodies had all been dismembered, like with a saw or surgical instrument.
19:30Herp used a saw?
19:31This pointed to a single perpetrator, later dubbed the Saw Killer of Hanover.
19:36With no way to identify the victims, the investigation stalled, leaving the police unable to trace their killer.
19:42However, they believed that by placing the victims' remains in public locations, the perpetrator was likely trying to incite fear.
19:49In 1977, the murders abruptly stopped, suggesting that the killer either left Hanover, was imprisoned, or died.
19:57The severed leg killer.
19:58In the early 2000s, Istanbul was gripped by fear when a series of dismembered legs were found in various locations
20:04across the city.
20:05These levels are consistent with residue on a dismembered leg we found in Miami.
20:10This was the grisly work of a maniac referred to as the severed leg killer.
20:15The limbs belonged to eight victims, six of whom were female and two male, but only one of them was
20:21ever identified.
20:22We gotta match.
20:23The rest of their bodies were never recovered, making it nearly impossible to determine who they were, let alone who
20:29killed them.
20:29A psychological profile of the perpetrator was created, which suggested he wasn't originally from Istanbul and likely had a violent
20:36past.
20:36However, even this failed to bring investigators any closer to uncovering his identity.
20:42The Connecticut River Valley Killer.
20:44More than seven women in New Hampshire and Vermont apparently lost their lives to an individual known as the Connecticut
20:49River Valley Killer.
20:50The community knew a serial killer had stalked the estuaries and villages many call home.
20:55These murders took place over a 10-year period and mostly involved the victims being stabbed to death.
21:00The last confirmed case occurred in 1988 involving a woman named Jane Borosky, who was repeatedly stabbed outside a convenience
21:08store but miraculously survived.
21:10I'm trying not to get emotional right now about it because, you know, there have been so many people, there's
21:20been so many persons of interest over the years.
21:23After Borosky reported the incident and helped develop a composite sketch of her attacker, the murders stopped.
21:29Despite these efforts, the killer's identity remains a mystery.
21:32In 2006, Borosky publicly named a man she believed was responsible, though he had already killed his family and taken
21:40his own life the previous year.
21:41She later retracted this claim.
21:43The I-70 killer.
21:45In the spring of 1992, six store clerks were gunned down along the Interstate 70 Highway in the Midwest.
21:51Victims of what police in four states are almost sure is a serial killer.
21:56The victims shared unsettling similarities.
21:59They were young, petite women with long brown hair.
22:01The only outlier, a male clerk, is thought to have been mistaken for a woman because of his long hair.
22:07In addition to this, all the victims were shot in the same manner, with a .22 caliber firearm.
22:13I think this guy's out there.
22:15It's just a matter of getting the information we need because we need something to work with.
22:21The suspected culprit, dubbed the I-70 killer, is believed to have claimed even more lives.
22:26Two store clerks in Texas and another in Indiana between 1993 and 2001.
22:31Despite years of publicity and a detailed sketch of the perpetrator being circulated on crime shows,
22:36he remains unidentified.
22:39His quirk is that he got off on the fact that people were basically right there,
22:44and he was doing something that heinous and getting away with it.
22:48The Honolulu Strangler.
22:50Hawaii has rarely been plagued by serial killers, but in 1985, the Honolulu Strangler struck fear into
22:56the state. Believed to be Hawaii's second-ever serial killer, this individual claimed the lives
23:01of five women between 1985 and 1986.
23:05The killings prompted HPD to form a task force that included an FBI profiler who helped put
23:10together a profile of the person they believed could be the suspect.
23:14These young victims were sexually assaulted, strangled, and left with their hands bound behind their backs.
23:20After the fifth victim was discovered, police arrested a man named Howard Gay,
23:24whose ex-wife and girlfriend claimed he had a preference for tying their hands during sex.
23:29Howard Gay was originally from Buffalo, New York.
23:32A military serviceman, he had been stationed at George Air Force Base in California until
23:371965, when he was honorably discharged.
23:41Gay was interrogated and given a polygraph test, which he failed.
23:44But with no solid evidence implicating him, authorities had no choice but to release him.
23:49He died in 2003, and no one else has been arrested since.
23:53The Doodler.
23:54Back in the mid-1970s, San Francisco's gay community was terrorized by a serial killer
23:59known as the Doodler.
24:01For nearly 50 years, it looked like we would never know the Doodler's true identity.
24:06Now that could be about to change, though.
24:08The case has been reopened.
24:09The reward has been doubled.
24:11This individual, who was reportedly a cartoonist, would lure his victims from gay nightclubs and
24:16bars, then draw a sketch of them before stabbing them to death.
24:20He is believed to have killed between 6 and 16 people, with at least three others narrowly
24:25surviving his attacks.
24:27A lot of horrible things were happening with gay men.
24:30These survivors helped police develop a sketch of the perpetrator, but when a suspect was finally
24:35arrested, they refused to testify for fear of outing themselves in public.
24:39As a result, the suspect walked free.
24:42It remains an open case in the San Francisco Police Department, with a $250,000 reward being
24:48offered for any leads.
24:50The Stone Man.
24:51The moniker of this notorious Indian serial killer is disturbingly quite literal.
24:55It comes from their method of killing victims with a heavy stone.
24:59This pattern, paired with the fact that the victims were unhoused, led police to suspect
25:04they had a serial killer on their hands.
25:05What did the police know?
25:07Very little, only that it was assumed that the killer was well built.
25:10The first spree occurred in Mumbai between 1983 and 1988, leaving up to 26 people dead.
25:17After a brief hiatus, the killings resumed in Calcutta during the summer of 1989, claiming
25:23at least 13 more lives.
25:25We are going back to the Stone Age, is what Rushpal Singh, the deputy commissioner of the
25:29Calcutta police, said at the time of the killings.
25:31It is still unknown if both sprees were carried out by the same person, or if a copycat was
25:36responsible for the Calcutta murders.
25:38Although numerous arrests have been made, no one has ever been charged, and the case
25:43remains unsolved.
25:45The Axeman of New Orleans.
25:47Between May 1918 and October 1919, the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, suffered a terrifying
25:53rampage that left its residents in perpetual fear.
25:56There were 12 attacks during this roughly 18-month period, and six deaths.
26:04A serial killer, who came to be known as the Axeman of New Orleans, broke into homes and
26:09used the victim's own axes to slay them.
26:11Most of the casualties were women, and many were of Italian descent, which raised various
26:16theories about his motives.
26:18Some even believed the killings were a twisted way of promoting jazz music, as a letter, supposedly
26:23sent by the Axeman, claimed he would spare those who played it.
26:27Better safe than sorry.
26:29Have a jazz party.
26:30The murders mysteriously stopped after six people had died, and the Axeman's identity
26:35has never been uncovered.
26:36The Alphabet Killer.
26:37In Rochester, New York, between 1971 and 1973, three girls disappeared, only to later be found
26:45dead, having been sexually assaulted and strangled.
26:48The similarities between the cases were already disturbing, but one detail made them even more
26:53so.
26:53The first and last names of each victim, Carmen Colon, Wanda Walkowicz, and Michelle
26:58Mayenza, began with the same letter.
27:00This led police to believe a serial killer was at work.
27:03As time has gone on, experts think the likelihood that this was intentional is very low, but even
27:08if the killer had chosen his victims on this basis, that's not even the strangest of the
27:13similarities in the crimes.
27:15Following Mayenza's murder, eyewitnesses helped create a composite sketch of the man she
27:19was last seen with, but the search for him led nowhere.
27:22Most of the tiny nuggets of possible leads that crept up through the case, real concrete
27:26information was not to be had.
27:28Police also questioned other suspects, including one of the girl's uncles, but with no solid
27:33evidence, they were all let off the hook.
27:36The Freeway Phantom.
27:37This serial killer was responsible for the deaths of five black girls and one young woman
27:42in the Washington, D.C. area between 1971 and 1972.
27:46I was in homicide, and I remember when Carol Spinks' case happened.
27:52His method was typically to abduct his victims while they were alone, sexually assault and
27:57strangle them, then dump their bodies in places where they would be easily found.
28:01The killer also taunted authorities by leaving a note with one of the victims, and forcing
28:06another to call her family with misleading information before killing her.
28:09This was the first time we had ever had anything like this, so we were totally, totally unprepared.
28:16The case was widely investigated, with countless tips from the public, but no meaningful leads
28:22emerged.
28:23Robert Elwood Askins, a known sexual predator, was suspected of the crimes, but with no physical
28:28evidence, he was never charged.
28:30The case remains unsolved.
28:32The Skid Row Stabber.
28:34This serial killer should not be confused with the Skid Row Slasher, a.k.a.
28:38Vaughn Greenwood.
28:39We're discussing the Skid Row Stabber, who reportedly had 11 victims to his or her name
28:44during their rampage in the late 1970s.
28:46The crimes all took place in or around Los Angeles' downtown Skid Row neighborhood, and
28:52targeted the area's substantial homeless population.
28:55Bodies were usually dumped or disposed of within various Skid Row alleys, and to this day,
29:01no one knows the true identity of the Stabber.
29:03Bobby Joe Maxwell was arrested, tried, and convicted of the Skid Row Stabber crimes, but
29:09the investigation was marred by corruption and circumstantial evidence, resulting in the
29:13ruling being overturned in 2010.
29:16The New Bedford Highway Killer.
29:18New Bedford, Massachusetts is known for its thriving fishing industry, and for being a
29:23setting in Herman Melville's classic work Moby Dick.
29:26It's also infamous for having been the hunting grounds of the New Bedford Highway Killer in
29:31the late 1980s.
29:32The targets were all women with drug dependency issues, or who worked in the city's sex industry,
29:38and their bodies were all found along major highways in the surrounding New Bedford area.
29:43The hottest thing for me is the families, and particularly the families of the two girls
29:49that we never recovered the remains of.
29:52A number of suspects have come up over the years, including the aforementioned Lisbon Ripper.
29:57Alas, this has never been proven.
29:59I'll never give up on her, never.
30:00To this day, families of the victims remain desperate for answers.
30:05I believe someone knows something.
30:07I made a promise I would never give up, and I won't.
30:10The Bible Belt Strangler.
30:12Also known as the Redhead Murders, the case of the Bible Belt Strangler remains unsolved.
30:17The perpetrator of these crimes received the moniker of the Bible Belt Strangler due to the
30:22crimes being committed in states like Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, and Mississippi between the
30:27years of 1978 and 1992.
30:30Jane Doe's bad, because that means you don't know who they are, which means you don't know
30:34who their family is, you don't know who their enemies were.
30:36The case bears similarities to the New Bedford Highway murders, as the victims were usually
30:41either hitchhikers or sex workers, and their bodies were dumped on the side of local highways.
30:46Pretty much he's a white truck driver.
30:48I would say he's around 5'11", 6'2", between the ages of his mid-20s to his 40s.
30:56A trucker named Jerry Leon Johns is considered today as a likely suspect in at least one of
31:02the murders.
31:02But he died in prison before he could be indicted.
31:05Knowing that it's her is a major part, but I don't think that's going to be fully all my closure.
31:13The Rainbow Maniac.
31:14The Brazilian police dubbed this killer the Rainbow Maniac because he exclusively targeted
31:20gay men who visited Pachuriz Park in Brazil's Carapiquiba municipality.
31:25Authorities actually suspected that the Rainbow Maniac could be a state police officer, with
31:30almost every victim being shot multiple times, potentially by the same gun.
31:34A retired agent named Jairo Francisco Franco was tried for the crimes in 2011, but he was
31:40found not guilty.
31:42That was despite witness testimony that Franco frequented the area and was allegedly seen
31:47shooting one man 12 times.
31:50The Paraquat Murderer.
31:51Serial killer murders can be premeditated, opportunistic, or completely random.
31:56But rarely are they this indirect.
32:00The Paraquat murders weren't actually directed at any one specific person, but rather a series
32:06of random poisonings in Japan during the mid-80s.
32:09Paraquat is a type of herbicide that was used to commit the crimes.
32:12The killer spiked drinks that were left in or on top of vending machines in the Fukuyama-Hiroshima
32:18area.
32:18In total, 12 people died and over 30 additional victims were poisoned by the mixture, but survived.
32:25The Japan Soft Drink Bottlers Association wound up printing over a million warning labels for
32:30the vending machines.
32:31Darker still, the unsolved murder spree inspired a number of copycats.
32:36The Santa Rosa Hitchhiker Murderer.
32:39Hitchhiking isn't a common occurrence today, but it's important to remember that for many
32:43years, many people used this method of travel to get where they wanted to go on a budget.
32:48Unfortunately, as the victims of the Santa Rosa Hitchhiker Murders tragically found out,
32:52you never know who it is that's picking you up.
32:55Can I get in my car, please?
32:56How come?
32:57I didn't do anything wrong.
32:58I'm gonna go down to the police station.
32:59Look, I'd really like to get my parents.
33:01The case is unique for its list of official and potential victims, as well as the laundry
33:06list of high-profile serial killers to whom these murders might be attributed.
33:10Ted Bundy, the Zodiac Killer, and the Hillside Stranglers have all been named as potential
33:16suspects for the Santa Rosa Hitchhiker murders.
33:18But to this day, no definitive name has been linked to the case.
33:22Did you ever know any of these girls?
33:25I've seen their pictures on television.
33:28Never met any of them?
33:30No, never.
33:32The Butcher of Mons.
33:33We're not sure what's worse about the Butcher of Mons.
33:36The brutality of his crimes, or the disturbing skill that went into the surgical destruction
33:41of the bodies.
33:42The Butcher struck the Belgian city of Mons in 1996 and 97, and left plastic bags containing
33:48body parts on the side of local roads.
33:50There were similarities to the victims' histories in that they all tended to congregate at the
33:55local train station, and had troubled backgrounds.
33:58Their remains were packaged with bright underwear, and seemed to be strategically dropped at places
34:03with names that translated to evocative phrases like, the path of worry.
34:08Bible John.
34:09If you dance with Bible John, you may just be dancing with death.
34:14This Scottish serial killer tended to target young brunette women at a local dance hall
34:19in the city of Glasgow.
34:20Sketches and composite drawings paint a portrait of Bible John as a young man, while the official
34:25psychological profile references John's apparent puritanical nature.
34:29The killer would reportedly quote the Bible and condemn those married women who would frequent
34:34the dance hall, equating the act with adultery.
34:37The infamous Scottish serial killer Peter Tobin is believed by some to be Bible John, but to this
34:43day, there is no definitive connection or answer in the case.
34:47The Monster of Mangones.
34:49The moniker of Monster is disgustingly fitting here.
34:53This Colombian serial killer is believed to have been responsible for the murders of at least 30 boys
34:58during the 1960s and 70s.
35:00The monster's reputation and reign of terror were such that he became something of a terrifying local legend.
35:06This was in part due to sadism involved in his methods, which included the use of syringes to extract blood.
35:13This led to suspicion that the Monster of Mangones was the closest thing to a real-life vampire Colombia had
35:19ever seen.
35:20The Monster of Florence.
35:22Italy has had a number of disturbing serial killer cases go unsolved.
35:26Among the most notable was the Monster of Udine, while another monster lurked in Tuscany, the Monster of Florence.
35:34The crimes were quite similar to the Son of Sam killings in New York City, as the culprit tended to
35:39target couples in parked cars.
35:41However, the Monster of Florence also removed organs from some victims.
35:45A turbulent police investigation followed.
35:49The conviction of one suspect, Pietro Pacciani, turned into an acquittal.
35:54Yet, after Pacciani's death, two alleged accomplices were tried and controversially sentenced to life in prison.
36:00To this day, the true identity of the Monster of Florence remains a mystery.
36:05The West Mesa Bone Collector.
36:07Why does this case remain unsolved after all this time?
36:10On February 2, 2009, the bodies of multiple women were found buried together.
36:15They were mostly sex workers, and had all gone missing between 2001 and 2005.
36:21The gruesome discovery was made by a woman on the West Mesa of Albuquerque, New Mexico, who noticed a human
36:27bone while walking her dog.
36:29The investigation and excavation ensued, and 11 bodies were found, bringing police to believe the work to be that of
36:36a serial killer.
36:37I know who killed her, and I know who did it.
36:40And I know why.
36:42Okay, bye.
36:44While there have been very few leads, investigators suspect that the killings might be linked to the yearly state fair,
36:51which draws large crowds and sex workers to the area.
36:55The Atlanta Ripper.
36:56In 1911, the Atlanta Ripper began his killing streak.
37:00By year's end, anywhere from 15 to 21 women's deaths were connected to the murderer, or murderers.
37:07The victims of the Ripper were all dispatched in the same way, their throats deeply slit.
37:13Each of the female victims was black and in her 20s.
37:16However, it wasn't until the sixth murder that police began to consider the possibility of a serial killer.
37:22Some speculate that the lack of a lead, as well as racial prejudice of the time, led to the delay
37:28of the investigations, and their ultimately being dismissed.
37:31While several men were arrested, no charges were ever brought to court, and the case remains unsolved.
37:39Jack the Stripper, also known as the Hammersmith Nudes Murderer.
37:46This murderer appeared and disappeared from the streets of London in the mid-1960s.
37:52This maniac earned the moniker Stripper, by virtue of his habit of undressing his victims before dumping them.
37:59The victims, and two other possible victims, were all between the ages of 21 and 30, and frequently bore similar
38:06paint fleck marks, which was thought to point to where the murderer worked.
38:10However, despite evidence found, no arrests were made.
38:14John DeRose, chief superintendent of Scotland Yard, had identified one Mungo, Ireland, as the most probable culprit.
38:22Unfortunately, around the time a possible link was made to Ireland, he took his own life.
38:28The truth of his guilt or innocence died with him.
38:31The Phantom Killer
38:32The Texarkana Moonlight Murders have spawned several urban legends and films.
38:37But in 1946, for the residents of the Twin Cities of Texarkana, Texas, and Texarkana, Arkansas, it was all too
38:45real.
38:45The first attack came against Jimmy Hollis and his girlfriend Mary Larry, who had parked their car on a secluded
38:51stretch of road known as Lover's Lane.
38:54Sammy, move your hand.
38:57Sound familiar?
38:58Both survived, though Hollis sustained skull injuries and Larry was assaulted.
39:03About a month later, another couple wasn't so lucky.
39:07Three weeks later, two teens were shot and killed.
39:10After that, a married couple was attacked, but only the husband died.
39:14Hollis and Larry were the best lead for the killer's appearance, stating that he wore a white hood.
39:19But when the killing stopped, so did investigations.
39:23The Servant Girl Annihilator
39:30Between 1884 and 1885, the people of Austin, Texas, were reeling in shock from a seemingly endless string of brutal
39:38murders.
39:39Each murder took place while the victims were in the so-called safety of their own beds.
39:43The Servant Girl Annihilator's name was devised by writer O. Henry in a letter penned to a friend, remarking,
39:50quote,
39:51Town is fearfully dull, except for the frequent raids of the Servant Girl Annihilators, who make things lively in the
39:58dull hours of the night.
39:59She was dragged outside and the job was finished out in the yard.
40:04Well, that's one way to discuss an axe murderer.
40:06Wendy, I'm home.
40:08The murders ended suddenly on Christmas Eve 1885.
40:11Some believe they only stopped as he'd boarded a ship to begin his reign of terror elsewhere.
40:17I promise I will kill again.
40:24The Oakland County Killer
40:25Also known as The Babysitter
40:27The loss of a child is every parent's worst nightmare.
40:30Over the course of about a year in the late 1970s, two boys and two girls went missing in Oakland
40:36County, Michigan.
40:37Their bodies were later discovered in public areas.
40:40They didn't cry until I left.
40:41These crimes led to the largest murder investigation in U.S. history up to that time.
40:47Several witnesses came forward, but provided no concrete leads.
40:51One witness claimed to have seen one of the boys talk to a man in a blue AMC gremlin,
40:55prompting investigators to inquire after every gremlin owner in the county.
41:00If he was involved, he should have been in jail and he shouldn't have been out the night Timmy was
41:04abducted.
41:05But answers about the killer, or killers, remain elusive.
41:09Is that good enough for the family?
41:11No, it's not.
41:12Charlie Chopoff.
41:13This vicious killer was known for targeting African American boys exclusively.
41:18He earned his ghoulish moniker from the brutal injuries he would inflict upon his victims.
41:23One of Charlie's victims did, however, survive his attack.
41:27And in 1974, police apprehended a suspect, Erno Soto.
41:32Caught in the act of kidnapping a Puerto Rican boy, Soto was brought in for questioning.
41:36The surviving boy said he thought he looked like his attacker, but he couldn't be sure.
41:41Give me an answer.
41:42How about him?
41:45Despite confessing to one of the murders, the Manhattan State Hospital,
41:49a psychiatric institution at which Soto was a patient, claimed Soto could not be guilty,
41:54but did say it was possible he could have slipped out on their watch.
41:58The Cleveland Torso Murderer.
41:59Back in the 1930s, a serial killer known as the Cleveland Torso Murderer stalked the streets of Ohio,
42:06particularly the neighborhood of Kingsbury Run.
42:08The town was in grip and fear.
42:10This individual preyed on vulnerable people, often those who were unhoused or working in the sex industry.
42:16The victims were found dismembered, with their torsos being the only recognizable parts left.
42:22Between 1934 and 1938, at least 12 victims were discovered,
42:26though many believe the true count is far higher.
42:29Out of the 12 official victims, only two were ever truly identified.
42:35The investigation was at one time spearheaded by renowned detective Elliot Ness,
42:39but even he struggled to find any solid leads.
42:42Two major suspects were investigated, including a doctor with wartime PTSD,
42:47but neither of them was ever charged, and the case has since gone cold.
42:51Who do I think did it?
42:53It was Dr. Francis Edward Sweeney, a skilled surgeon who fell into alcoholism and drug addiction.
43:01Jack the Ripper.
43:02You are going to bring out Jack the Ripper.
43:06One of the most notorious cases in history,
43:08this unidentified serial killer sent the Whitechapel district of London into a panic in the late Victorian era,
43:15after a series of ghastly murders was uncovered.
43:18It's hard to think of another killer who's inspired as much lore, research, or as many theories over his identity.
43:24In part because of the extreme brutality of the killings,
43:27and the taunts the killer sent the frustrated police,
43:30his name has taken on an almost fabled aspect.
43:33So, Jack the Ripper isn't just merely killing hawks.
43:39He's executing traitors.
43:40The most famous tease came in the form of the From Hell letter,
43:44which was sent with half the kidney of one of his victims.
43:47He claimed to have eaten the other half.
43:50The Zodiac Killer.
43:51I'm not the Zodiac.
43:53Undoubtedly the most elusive killer in American history,
43:57the Zodiac Killer is like something straight out of a Hollywood nightmare.
44:01Also one to pen letters to the police,
44:03he did so by way of puzzles and complex cryptograms,
44:07boasting about his feats and demanding that his letters be published on page one of the newspapers,
44:13or else the body count would rise.
44:15This killer would hunt his victims,
44:17usually young couples in secluded areas,
44:20before carrying out his work.
44:22Similarities in method and physical description have led some to postulate
44:26that the Zodiac and Phantom Killer may be one and the same.
44:30Regardless, the Zodiac has left a grisly legacy all his own.
44:34This man was a terrorist,
44:38and a terrorist that was American grown.
44:42What other elusive serial killers are still out there?
44:45Let us know in the comments.
Comments