People are such wonderful beings capable of so many feelings that it’s sometimes impossible to believe some people are capable of creating so much disaster and chaos.
Here is a top 8 outrageous American serial killers who managed to destroy our trust in humanity. All of these killers have been quite famous for all the wrong reasons and operated during the 20th century.
There is a mix of both repulsion and fascination when it comes to serial killers, their lives and what triggers their insatiable thirst for killing but under no circumstances should a person take another person’s life.
1. David Berkowitz
David Berkowitz can also be referred to as the .44 Caliber Killer or the Son of Sam and he carried out a bunch of shootings during the 1976’s summer. His nickname came from the use of a .44 caliber revolver to conduct the shootings. Berkowitz killed a total of 6 people and wounded 7 more. What made him even scarier was the fact that he used to send letters to both the police and press threatening everyone with further attacks and terrorizing the inhabitants of New York City. However, Berkowitz was caught in 1977 and found guilty for all murders.
2. Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi
Bianchi and Buono were also knows as the Hillside Strangles after their MO. Between 1977 and 1978, these two serial killers kidnapped and murdered over 10 girls and women, aged between 12 and 28 years old, in California. After they kidnapped their victim, they would have driven all the way to the hills above Los Angeles and strangled her. After they were caught, Bianchi attempted to get away by pleading not guilty on the count of insanity but the court found out he was faking mental illness. Both Bianchi and Buono were found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.
3. Dennis Rader
Dennis Rader or the BTK Killer murdered 10 people between 1974 and 1991, in Wichita, Kansas. Rader used to send letters to the police under the pseudonym BTK which stand for bind, torture, kill. Rader used to follow and watch his victims after eventually breaking into their homes, binding their limbs and strangling them. Rader was eventually caught after sending a floppy disk to the police in 2005 and being traced via the disk. The BTK killer is serving 10 consecutive lifetime sentences and it is scary that someone who murdered so many people almost got away with it.
4. Arthur Shawcross
Arthur Shawcross or the Genesse River Killer first killed a 10-year-old boy and then an 8-year-old girl in 1972. He was caught after the killing of the girl, he plead guilty and was sentenced to 14 years in prison. He was released in 1988 and started killing again. Shawcross killed a total of 12 female prostitutes after spending 14 years in prison. The women were aged between 22 and 59 years old. Similar to the way he was caught the first time, Shawcross was eventually caught on the scene of his last murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.
5. Richard Ramirez
Ricardo Leyva Munoz Ramirez or the Night Stalker Ramirez was an American killer who terrorized the inhabitants of Los Angeles between 1984 and 1985. He used to break in the apartments of his victims and draw pentagrams as a way to express his worship for Satan after shooting, mutilating, rapping and stabbing his victims. Ramirez was found guilty and sentenced to death but remained on California’s death row for over 23 years before eventually dying in his cell in 2013.
6. Jeffrey Dahmer
Jeffrey Dahmer or the Milwaukee Cannibal was a serial killer, sex offender and cannibal who operated between 1978 and 1991. He murdered and dismembered a total of 17 boys and men and he even committed necrophilia with some of his late victims, eating parts of their bodies. It would have probably taken longer for Dahmer to be caught if it weren’t for one of his victims who managed to overpower him and alert the police. Dahmer was sentenced to 15 life terms in prison but was beaten to death two years after he was eventually caught, by a fellow inmate.
7. Ted Bundy
Ted Bundy was one of the most famous serial killers in American history. Authorities managed to link Bundy to the murder of 35 women in six states but it is believed he managed to kill way more than that. Bundy decapitated his victims and kept their heads as trophies in his apartment. He also managed to escape prison and the police twice and he committed three more killings after escaping the first time. Bundy used to approach his victims in public places and then lure them into selected places where he would rape and eventually kill them. After being caught for good, he was sentenced to death and executed in 1989, by the electric chair.
8. Gary Ridgway
Gary Ridgway or the Green River Killer was finally caught in 2001 being held responsible for 4 murders. However, in custody, Ridgway confessed to the murders of over 70 women in Washington State, between 1980 and 1990. He managed to avoid the death penalty by providing detailed descriptions of his murders and leading the officers to his victim’s remains. He was eventually found guilty for over 49 murders and sentenced to life in prison. Gary Ridgway is the most prolific American serial killer who was ever caught and sentenced to life imprisonment, without any possibility of parole.