serial killers

In a murderous episode reminiscent of London's Jack the Ripper, the Croydon Cat Killer has butchered and mutilated more than 50 animals (mostly cats) in the Croydon, England area, taking “trophies” with him before dumping the creature’s disfigured body on or near the owner’s home. Authorities fear the maniac killer may be out of control and evolving toward human prey. Said one policeman who is investigating the killings, “This is the stuff of nightmares.” Wayne Bryant, who lives near Croydon, found the remains of his tortoiseshell cat Amber in an area behind his home a day after she went missing. He told reporters, “Her head was missing; her tail was missing. We found out afterwards that she also had a broken back. That's quite a level of violence against

“I was born with the devil in me. I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than the poet can help the inspiration to sing -- I was born with the "Evil One" standing as my sponsor beside the bed where I was ushered into the world, and he has been with me since.” H.H. HOLMES Herman Webster Mudgett, aka Dr. Henry Howard Holmes or just H.H. Holmes, was one of the first documented serial killers in the modern sense of the word. His legendary crimes have been written about in several books, including Erik Larson’s popular The Devil in the White City, and featured in many movies and TV shows including American Horror Story: Hotel and the 2016 movie The

A visit from "Frank Howard" At 18-years old, Edward Budd refused to accept the desperate poverty of his parents and was determined to make something of himself. Edward was a strapping young lad, eager to work and do his part to ensure the well-being of his impoverished family. Trapped in the stinking, crowded confines of New York City, living in a miserable tenement with his father, mother, and four younger siblings, he longed to work in the wide open spaces of the countryside where the air was fresh and clean.  On May 25, 1928, he placed a classified ad in the Sunday edition of the New York World.  It read, "Young man, 18, wishes position in country. Edward Budd, 406 West 15th Street." On the following Monday, May 28, Edward's mother, Delia, a huge

Police now believe several unsolved Colorado shootings are related and that a single serial killer is on the loose and beginning to gain steam. In April, 20-year-old Cori Romero was shot through her neck while driving onto an I-25 entrance ramp near Fort Collins, Colorado. Romero survived the attack and told police that she was taking the onramp on April 22 when a dark-colored SUV pulled beside her vehicle. She said the car window shattered and she called 911, not realizing that she had been shot. One month later, on May 18, 48-year-old John Jacoby was found lying near his bicycle on Country Road 15 in Windsor. He had been killed by two bullets – and only five miles from the spot where Romero was killed. The

First victim discovered – police track down suspected serial killer His first alleged victim was 19-year-old Afrika Hardy (aka Octavia), a known prostitute in Hammond, Indiana who advertised her services on the Illinois section of Backpage.com. “Are you ready to have some real FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am 5'7 and 165 pounds. I am very friendly but I DON'T TAKE NO STUFF NEITHER. I Love Mature Men.” On October 17, 2014, a female friend helped Afrika arrange a meeting with 43-year-old Darren Deon Vann at a Motel 6 at 3840 179th Street in Hammond, Indiana. Soon thereafter, the friend began receiving “suspicious text messages” from Afrika’s phone. Alarmed and concerned for Afrika’s safey, she called a male friend who went to the Motel 6 to check on her. There, at around 9:30

Identity of Zodiac Killer revealed in 2014 book It has been kept secret for over a year but today, HarperCollins has released a potentially explosive new book in which its author, Gary L. Stewart, alleges that the infamous serial killer The Zodiac Killer (view complete article on the Zodiac Killer here) – is his father. According to the book’s author, during a twelve-year search for his paternal father, he made the chilling discovery that his father was one of the most notorious, and still at large, serial killers in American history. Although the San Francisco Police (the Zodiac killings took place around San Francisco and most of the killer's cryptic letters were sent from within the city) have yet to review the book, The Most Dangerous Animal

Yonkers, New York residents and city officials were horrified to find the bodies of at least two dozen dead cats hung from a tree near Overlook Terrace.  The cats, some of which were badly decomposed and hanging from tree limbs in black bags, were found by public works employees cleaning up trash in an abandoned lot in Yonkers, New York. The skull of each cat had been crushed before the body was placed in a plastic bag and tied to branches of the tree like ornaments. Investigators are searching for the cat slayer who they fear may be taking part in some sort of sick ritual. Investigators told reporters: “They were placed in small shopping bags, the plastic bags that you might get from an A&P or

Life in the Lewis-Clark Valley grows complicated after a serial killer strikes their quiet rural communities Life in rural America is supposed to be relaxing, simple, and even mundane. But for three years in the late 70’s, life in communities in and around the Lewis-Clark Valley was anything but ordinary. Parents shuffled their youth to school in groups and children were told to never be alone outside after dark. During those three years, five youth had disappeared. When human body parts were found wrapped in black garbage bags, floating in the nearby Snake River, police knew they had a serial killer running rampant in their community. In fact, they were even certain they knew who the killer was. Regardless, lack of evidence and one critical missing

The Zodiac Killing Spree Begins The murder spree initiated by a man known only as The Zodiac, is one of the United States' most intriguing  and enduring crime mysteries.  No one is sure exactly when the murderous wave of killings began nor when it ended.  All we do know is that for over 22 years, someone managed to outwit the California authorities all the while taunting, goading, and ridiculing the police while he maintained his cycle of vicious killings, often within sight of the very authorities that sought to stop him. The first Zodiac victim? The first victim of the Zodiac was likely 18-year-old Cheri Jo Bates (18), a student at Riverside City College.  Her nearly decapitated body was found on October 30, 1966 near the college library's

During several years in the early 1900’s, New Orleans teetered on the brink of panic after a string of horrendous murders that were as gruesome as they were terrifying. Reminiscent of an American version of Jack the Ripper, the ax-wielding serial killer known as “Axeman”, broke into homes across New Orleans in the middle of the night and savagely hacked his sleeping victims with an axe before quietly slipping away into the darkness. As with the Jack the Ripper murders that occurred in London during the late 1880's, a canonical list of victims was attributed to the Axeman serial killer but in truth, nobody is sure how many victims died by his hand.  Regardless, by the time the attacks suddenly ended in October 1919, at least

Those who watched season 3 of American Horror Story may be surprised to learn that Kathy Bate’s character, Madame Delphine LaLaurie, is based on a real-life New Orleans tale of horror. In true-life, Mad Madame Marie Delphine LaLaurie, a prominent New Orleans socialite, was discovered to have caged and savagely tortured her slaves in a small room at the top of her Royal Street mansion (now considered one of the most haunted places in New Orleans). When the bizarre atrocities were discovered after her mansion caught fire, she reportedly fled to Paris, France where she lived the remaining years of her life in hiding. But in 1924 the plot thickened further after an old cracked copper plate was found in Alley 4 of the St.

Israel Keyes murder spree Serial killer Israel Keyes is the type of serial killer the public, and police, fear: one that is so wily and meticulous, the complete story of his murders may never be known.  Keyes is believed to have embarked on a decades-long murder spree which may have included more than a dozen murder victims. He murdered his first victim in 2001 and his last in 2012 when he kidnapped 18-year-old Samantha Koenig of Anchorage, strangled her, and dumped her remains in an icy Alaskan lake. Thus far only three of Keyes' victims have been positively identified even though while in custody, Keyes admitted to eight murders.  The FBI has linked Keyes to at least 11 killings, and likely many more, and feel that

Between June 14, 1962 and January 4, 1964, 13 single women in the Boston area were victims of a deranged serial killer, or serial killers, who seemed to take pleasure in strangling his victims. While the police did not see all of these murders as the work of a single individual, the public believed all of the murders were related and that a monster was running rampant through their city. All of the victims were murdered in their apartments, had been sexually molested, and were strangled with articles of clothing. With no signs of forced entry, the women apparently knew their assailant or, at least, believing them to be an apartment maintenance man, delivery man, or some other service man, had voluntarily let him in

A major development in the infamous Boston Strangler case happened today. The most well-known suspect in the killings, Albert DeSalvo, confessed to 13 murders in the 1960′s (DeSalvo was killed in prison in 1973). Despite DeSalvo’s confession, he was never charged because the confession was ruled inadmissible in court (some say after a lengthy negotiation between the prosecutors and defense). However, DeSalvo was sentenced to life in prison on unrelated charges involving armed robberies and sexual assaults. Now, police say DNA evidence has put them in a position to “formally charge Albert DeSalvo with the murder of Mary Sullivan”, the 1964 murder that is generally believed to be the last Boston Strangler victim. DNA in that case had previously been tested ten years ago but test

At the 2013 Boston Marathon, two explosions happened at about 2:50 p.m. (within a 10-minute window of the average marathon-runner's finish time), more than two hours after the first of the race's nearly 27,000 runners had crossed the finish line.  The explosions went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday, killing at least three people (including an 8-year-old boy who was waiting for his father to cross the finish line) and injuring nearly 200 more, as runners completed the course and thousands cheered them on.  A third blast at the John F. Kennedy Library was initially thought to be related but later attributed to fire.  Witnesses described victims and frightened civilians running for cover while others sprinted towards the blast site