I watch a lot of scary movies. Vampires, werewolves, zombies… they’ve got nothing on one other group when it comes to scaring me — serial killers. Even when they’re just fictional characters, I find serial killers to be terrifying not because I expect to come across one any more than a movie monster, but because they represent something real.
These awful excuses for human beings do exist, and they pose a real threat to society. They come in all shapes and sizes, colors, and races. Today we’ll take a quick look at 25 serial killers from around the world. There will be some of the more well-known U.S. and other serial killers, but we’ll also have some from places like Russia, Indonesia, Mexico, China, and more. They aren’t all the most famous serial killers. You’ve probably never heard of some of them. And some of your “favorites” won’t be included here. This list is a little different.
Rather than focusing solely on well-known serial killers (although some will be included), we’re looking at a more diverse group — both men and women, different races and nationalities, etc. Even more importantly, I wanted to take a look at some of the world’s recent and distant serial killers with some of the most disturbing motives or stories.
Keep in mind…. I’m not claiming these are THE most disturbing serial killers. There have been too many for me to ever know about them all, and that would be subjective. These are just some examples of particularly disturbing individuals that caught my attention or made me cringe. If other serial killers top your own personal list, feel free to leave a comment below to tell us about them.
25 Disturbing Serial Killers from Around the World
The serial killers profiled below are listed in alphabetical order (by first names) — not in any order based on how “disturbing” I might find them, by race, nationality, etc. Also, understand that the definition of “serial killer” is heavily debated. For example some definitions simply state there must be a break between killings to separate serial killers from mass-murderers. Other definitions give a specific length that break must be in order to qualify as a serial killer rather than a spree killer. We’re not going split hairs about that here.
Note: Where legal images were available for re-publication, I’ve included them below. You can run a Google image search to view other serial killers from the list if you’re interested — but having them appear in image search results doesn’t give us the right to publish them here for you directly. I did, however, try to link to one page with an image where possible when one wasn’t available for republication.
Now, let’s get to the list.
1. Ahmad Suradji
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The idea of ritualistic serial killers on one hand baffles me and on the other hand fascinates me. They’re a reminder that the world is full of different cultures where different practices are considered acceptable than here in the West.
But Ahmad Suradji doesn’t seem to be following any kind of cultural norm. Instead he just sounds deranged. At the same time, I have to admit it’s one of the more “interesting” excuses or motives I’ve ever seen. Here’s more on Indonesian serial killer, Ahmad Suradji.
Victims: Suradji murdered 42 females between the ages of 11 and 30. The killings took place over 11 years.
Kill Zone: Medan, Indonesia
Methods: Suradji buried his victims up to their waists and strangled them with a cable.
Motives: Suradji conducted ritual killings. He claimed to be told by his father’s ghost in a dream that by killing these women and drinking their saliva, he would become a mystic healer.
Outcome: Ahmad Suradji was found guilty on April 27, 1998 of his crimes and was executed by firing squad on July 10, 2008.
Additional Information: One of Suradji’s three wives (Tumini) was tried as an accomplice. Often Suradji’s victims were women who came to him seeking his services as a healer.
2. Aileen Wuornos
Credit: Robot Nine via Picasa Web Albums
On one hand, I can understand that traumatic experiences can lead to disturbing behavior. Still…. Call me crazy, but I just can’t see trauma caused by someone else as justification for murdering others. Then again, that’s probably because I’m not crazy. Aileen Wuornos is the first female serial killer on our list here, and she’s an example of someone who was (or who claimed to be) traumatized, leading to the murders of several men.
Victims: Wuornos killed 7 men between the ages of 40 and 65.
Kill Zone: Florida, United States
Methods: The murders were committed with multiple gun shots.
Motives: Wuornos claimed that the men she killed had raped her (or tried to) while she was working as a prostitute.
Outcome: Wuornos was executed by lethal injection on October 9, 2002.
Additional Information: Aileen Wuornos’ story was the basis for the movie Monster. She had a child when she was a young teen, claiming she was raped by an unknown man. However, it’s suspected by some that her brother actually fathered the child.
3. Alexander Pichushkin
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Alexander Pichushkin is a Russian serial killer known as “The Chessboard Killer.” Unlike some killers who have almost understandable motives (such as being abused or tortured themselves in some way — not that it excuses anything), Pichushkin is a whole different level of crazy. He killed for the competition of it.
Victims: Pichushkin has 48 verified victims. While not all, most of them were elderly homeless men.
Kill Zone: Moscow, Russia
Methods: Most of Alexander Pichushkin’s victims were killed with hammer blows to the head. He preferred to strike them from behind supposedly to avoid spilling blood on himself. He then threw some of his victims into the sewers.
Motives: It is believed Pichushkin considered himself to be in competition with another serial killer — Andrei Chikatilo. At one point he mentioned that his “goal” was to kill 64 victims — enough to fill the squares on a chessboard, hence his nickname.
Outcome: Pichushkin was convicted on October 24, 2007 to life in prison, including 15 years of solitary confinement.
Additional Information: Pichushkin has been quoted as saying “For me, life without killing is like life without food for you…. I felt like the father of all these people, since it was I who opened the door for them to another world.” He was kept in a glass cage during his trial.
4. Andrei Chikatilo
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You’ve already seen the name Andrei Chikatilo mentioned, because he was at least partially the inspiration for another Russian serial killer — Alexander Pichushkin. Chikatilo was known by two nicknames — “The Red Ripper” and “The Rostov Ripper.”
Victims: Chikatilo killed 53 women and children (of both genders).
Kill Zone: Rostov Oblast, Russia
Methods: Chikatilo didn’t kill all of his victims in the same way. Most were stabbed, but a few were strangled or battered to death. All were mutilated.
Motives: Chikatilo killed for sexual satisfaction — he could only become aroused by committing violent acts against women.
Outcome: Andrei Chikatilo was shot and executed on February 14, 1994.
Additional Information: Chikatilo was impotent due to a childhood illness, yet had two children of his own. His son Yuri was charged with the attempted murder of a man.
5. Carl Eugene Watts
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One thing I find particularly disturbing is when killers start young and no one “notices” or stops them before they can escalate. According to Watts, he was one of those kinds of killers.
Victims: Watts killed females between the ages of 14 and 44. Twelve victims are confirmed, but it’s expected that there were more — possibly dozens.
Kill Zone: Texas and Michigan, United States
Methods: Watts wasn’t faithful to any particular method of killing his victims. He use strangulation, stabbing, drowning, and beatings.
Motives: While his motives aren’t believed to be sexual in nature (as with many serial killers), they aren’t known.
Outcome: Watts died of cancer on September 21, 2007 shortly after being sentenced to life in prison. Prior to this, he had been serving time in Texas.
Additional Information: Watts is believed to have had an IQ of just 68, and he may have killed his first victim at the young age of 15.
6. Carlton Gary
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I won’t say that I do or don’t believe Carlton Gary is guilty of being “The Stocking Strangler.” But for all that we know, that’s who he is. Others disagree, and believe it’s a case of poor evidence. What do you think?
Victims: Carlton Gary is believed to have killed 7 elderly women.
Kill Zone: Georgia, United States
Methods: Victims were beaten, raped, and then strangled to death.
Outcome: Gary was convicted of murder on August 26, 1986 and then sentenced to death. He is still on death row. He was supposed to be executed on December 16, 2009 but the Georgia Supreme Court stopped his execution the day it was supposed to happen to allow for a hearing on the DNA evidence.
7. Dana Sue Gray
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Have you ever seen an “outfit to die for?” Apparently serial killer / shopaholic Dana Sue Gray has. This has got to be one of the most screwed up motives for murder I’ve seen. But really, greed is one of the oldest I guess.
Victims: Gray killed 3 elderly women age 57 – 87, and a fourth victim survived.
Kill Zone: California, United States
Methods: Two of the victims were strangled with telephone cords (the survivor was one of them), one was beaten, and one was stabbed.
Motives: Gray’s motives were financial. She said she killed her victims to support her overwhelming need to shop. She stole cash and credit cards from her victims to help support her lifestyle.
Outcome: Gray was convicted and sentenced to life without parole on October 16, 1998.
8. Dean Arnold Corll
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Child molester / serial killer, Dean Arnold Corll — known as “The Candy Man” — received a fate rather deserved (at least in this writer’s eyes). I won’t even share what I think should be done to people who abuse and kill children. This is the kind of killer nightmares are made of.
Victims: He killed 27 or 28 young boys.
Kill Zone: Texas, United States
Methods: Victims were raped / sexually assaulted, tortured, and then strangled or shot.
Outcome: He was killed by one of his accomplices.
Additional Information: He had two accomplices who found his victims for him — for $200 each. Apparently that’s the price of a little boy’s life.
9. Elizabeth Báthory
Credit: Wikimedia
Now let’s take a look at one of the worst female serial killers known, even if a few centuries too late — the “Blood Countess” Elizabeth Báthory.
Victims: Although she was never personally tried, hundreds of female accomplices were convicted for 80 murders.
Kill Zone: Kingdom of Hungary
Methods: Victims were treated to torture, mutilation, and beatings.
Outcome: The accomplices of Elizabeth Báthory were executed. She, on the other hand, was bricked into rooms of her castle for house arrest. She was found dead on August 21, 1614.
Additional Information: Legend has it that she killed and then bathed in the blood of virgins to try to maintain her youth.
10. Gary Leon Ridgway
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Gary Leon Ridgway — “The Green River Killer” — makes my list of one of the most disturbing serial killers for the sheer volume of victims he had. It’s a reminder that sometimes awful people really can evade the law for quite some time. And that is something I find terrifying.
Victims: Ridgway was convicted of 48 murders, although he confessed to killing 71 women. He generally killed prostitutes that he would pick up and have sex with before committing the murders.
Kill Zone: Washington, United States
Methods: Strangulation
Outcome: Ridgway pled guilty to 48 counts of murder on November 5, 2003. He was then sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Additional Information: Ridgway is said to have an IQ of 82.
11. Gregorio Cárdenas Hernández
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When I think of violence in Mexico, I tend to think about drug-related instances and deaths — not serial killers. But I guess we all have our “outstanding citizens” don’t we? Gregorio Cárdenas Hernández — also known as the “Strangler of Tacuba” — didn’t have a lot of victims. But what he did with them is disturbingly strange.
Victims: Cárdenas Hernández killed 3 teenage girls — two 16-year-old prostitutes and one 19-year-old student.
Kill Zone: Mexico City, Mexico
Methods: After having sex with his victims, he strangled them and buried their bodies in his garden.
Outcome: He was arrested and given a life sentence in 1942, but escaped from prison in 1947. After being re-arrested he stayed in prison until 1976 when he was pardoned, cited as a great example of rehabilitation. He died in 1999, of natural causes.
Additional Information: He studied law and psychiatry while in prison, and practiced law after his release. He also wrote three books.
12. Huang Yong
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Apparently “because I wanted to” is a good enough motive to become a serial killer for some. I don’t know about you, but in my mind that’s even worse than killing people for their money because you like to spend too much.
Victims: Yong killed at least 17 teenage boys (but based on a survivor’s account, it was 25).
Kill Zone: Henan province, China
Methods: He drugged, rapes, and then suffocated his victims.
Motives: Huang Yong was quoted as saying “I’ve always wanted to be an assassin since I was a kid, but I never had the chance.”
Outcome: He was both sentenced to death and then executed by firing squad December 2003 — apparently the Chinese don’t wait around. And in this case and the admission, really, I can’t say I blame them.
Additional Information: Yong was a migrant laborer, and he kept his victim’s belts as souvenirs. He claimed that killing females wouldn’t make him as much of a “hero” as killing males.
13. Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper might be famous, but he’s still relatively unknown. His identity has never been discovered. In fact, the murders attributed to him might not have even been committed by the same person. But Jack the Ripper makes my list of some of the most disturbing serial killers in the world because, real or not, the lore surrounding those Whitechapel killings went a long way towards solidifying the image of the sinister serial killer in many of our minds — an image that might even be dangerous, given the socially charming nature of others.
Victims: Jack the Ripper was believed to have killed at least 5 prostitutes from 1888-1891.
Kill Zone: London, England (Whitechapel District)
Methods: Victims’ throats were slit and their abdomens were mutilated.
Additional Information: A letter supposedly sent to the media from the killer ignited a media frenzy around the image of Jack the Ripper.
14. Jeffrey Dahmer
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Yes, Jeffrey Dahmer is another one of the more famous serial killers, but I didn’t promise to leave them all off. Let’s just say there was precious little Dahmer did that didn’t make him disturbing enough for this list. Eating your victims is more than enough for me.
Victims: Dahmer killed 17 young men and boys. His victims were of Asian or African descent.
Kill Zone: Wisconsin, United States
Methods: Dahmer was guilty of rape, torture, necrophilia, and cannibalism.
Outcome: Jeffrey Dahmer was sentenced to 15 terms of life in prison in 1992, and he was killed by a fellow inmate on November 28, 1994.
Additional Information: Apparently on May 27, 1991, a 14 year old victim got away. But when he went to police and Dahmer claimed he was his 19 year old boyfriend, police returned the boy to the killer. The boy was murdered that night.
15. Luis Garavito
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“La Bestia,” Luis Garavito, is one of the most prolific serial killers on our list. He’s another one who preyed on young boys, making him doubly disgusting — both for his choice in victims and the number of people he killed.
Victims: There are at least 138 confirmed victims of Luis Garavito — young boys.
Kill Zone: He committed his murders across 59 counties in Colombia.
Methods: Victims were raped, had their throats slit, and were then dismembered.
Outcome: Garavito was convicted on April 22, 1999, and is serving the maximum sentence available in Colombia. Although that sentence is only 30 years, he could still possibly be tried for other crimes he wasn’t yet convicted for, keeping him in longer. That said, there’s also the possibility he could be released early.
16. Mary Ann Cotton
Credit: Wikimedia
Mary Ann Cotton is a prime example of the “black widow” type of female serial killer. She tended to kill husbands, lovers, or those in her way. Well, you know what they say about a “woman scorned” — or in this case just a woman who wants something from you.
Victims: Cotton had 21 victims including husbands, lovers, and “competitors” (other women who were involved with her male victims).
Kill Zone: Durham, England
Methods: Cotton poisoned her victims.
Motives: She killed her victims for two reasons: financial security (collecting on life insurance policies) and jealousy.
Outcome: Cotton was hanged in March 1873.
Additional Information: At the time it was assumed many of her victims died of “gastric fever” rather than poison.
17. Moses Sithole
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Moses Sithole is a South African serial killer. What makes him most disturbing isn’t even how he killed his victims, but rather the fact that he would call and taunt his victims’ families.
Victims: Sithole killed 30 or more women before he was tried.
Kill Zone: Johannesburg, South Africa
Methods: Victims were raped and strangled.
Outcome: He was convicted on December 5, 1997 and sentenced to 2410 years in prison. He will be eligible for parole after 930 years — 2927. That’s an oddly comforting, if not almost amusing, thought.
Additional Information: Sithole is believed to have posed as a businessman offering jobs in order to gain the trust of the women he murdered.
18. Peter Kürten
Credit: Wikimedia
When you think of vampires, what era do you think of? I certainly don’t think of the 1900s… unless we’re talking about movies. But around 1930 the world met serial killer Peter Kürten, labeled the “Vampire of Düsseldorf.”
Victims: While he was only charged with 9 murders and 7 attempted murders, Kürten actually confessed to 79 killings.
Kill Zone: Düsseldorf, Germany
Methods: He intentionally chose to use a variety of killing methods to keep police in the dark about the connection between the murders.
Motives: His motive was of the good old “can’t get it up” variety. He killed for sexual stimulation, needing to see blood to become aroused.
Outcome: I’m sure he would have been pleased by the blood on display July 2, 1931 when he was executed by guillotine.
Additional Information: Kürten claimed that he committed his first murders when he was just 5 years old, drowning two friends.
19. Robert Hansen
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Robert Hansen took advantage of the Alaskan wilderness when he killed his victims. All in all he isn’t much different than other serial killers. What caught my attention about Hansen was his seeming addiction to “the hunt” — and I don’t just mean finding new victims.
Victims: Hansen is believed to have killed somewhere between 17 and 21 young women, with a particular emphasis on prostitutes.
Kill Zone: Alaska, United States
Methods: Hansen’s victims were kidnapped, raped, then released. Hansen would then hunt his victims around his cabins like hunting game, and they were ultimately killed with a hunting knife or a rifle.
Outcome: Hansen pled guilty to 4 of the murders, and has served in various federal prisons since June 13, 1983.
Additional Information: Hansen took jewelry from his victims.
20. Robert Maudsley
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Robert Maudsley — “Hannibal the Cannibal” — makes the list not only for the belief that he ate part of the brain of one of his victims, but because of the types of people he killed.
Victims: Maudsley had 4 victims, but 3 of them were murdered while they were in prison.
Kill Zone: Berkshire, England
Methods: One victim was killed by strangulation, another by torture, and two others by stabbings.
Outcome: Maudsley initially went to prison in 1974. But after killing 3 fellow prisoners he was placed in solitary confinement in 1983.
Additional Information: Three of Maudsley’s 4 victims were actually child molesters or sex offenders. Honestly that makes me dislike him just a wee bit less.
21. Robert Pickton
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Here’s another killer who didn’t make this list because of how he killed his victims, but rather for something he did with their bodies after the fact. Robert Pickton fed the bodies of his victims to pigs. Yeah.
Victims: Pickton was convicted of killing 6 people, but charged with the murders of 20 others. He murdered prostitutes.
Kill Zone: Vancouver, Canada
Methods: Pickton killed his victims by strangling and mutilation. Details are largely unknown about victims he wasn’t convicted on, but there were also possibly gunshot victims.
Outcome: His conviction on 6 counts of second degree murder happened on December 9, 2007. He’s serving a life sentence with no possibility of parole for 25 years.
Additional Information: Robert Pickton’s story was loosely used in an episode of TV’s CSI and also served as the basis for an episode of Criminal Minds.
22. Saeed Hanaei
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I don’t know which is worse… killing people because you are morally depraved, or killing people because you think you’re cleansing that depravity or corruption. Apparently Iranian serial killer Saeed Hanaei — the “Spider Killer” — had no problem with the latter.
Victims: Hanaei killed 16 prostitutes, with an emphasis on prostitutes who were drug addicts.
Kill Zone: Mashad, Iran
Methods: Hanaei strangled his victims.
Motives: He killed his victims because he believed he was eliminating their moral corruption.
Outcome: Saeed Hanaei was hanged on April 8, 2002.
Additional Information: Hanaei was called the “spider killer” because he lured women to his home before having sex with and murdering them, similar to the way a spider lures prey into its web. Hanaei was a high profile and controversial figure in Iran. Some fundamentalists even praised his actions (although I can’t quite see how sleeping with prostitutes before killing them is any kind of moral high ground — but hey, that’s just me). Hanaei’s murders were the inspiration behind Alice Cooper’s 2008 “Along Came a Spider.”
23. Ted Bundy
Credit: Wikimedia
Okay. So Ted Bundy is another pretty well-known serial killer. But cutting off and keeping the heads of victims definitely puts him in my list of seriously disturbing serial killers.
Victims: Bundy confessed to over 30 murders of white middle-class females between the ages of 15 and 25.
Kill Zone: Washington, Oregon, Utah, Idaho, Colorado, and Florida, United States
Methods: Bundy’s victims were beaten then strangled. He was also guilty of rape and necrophilia.
Outcome: Bundy faced execution by the electric chair in Florida on January 24, 1989.
Additional Information: Bundy tended to kill women that resembled his fiancé and had similar hair styles. But because they were physically different in other ways, Bundy denied a resentment towards here was part of his motive.
24. Tsutomu Miyazaki
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Well, when someone’s known by names like the “Little Girl Murderer” and “Dracula,” it just can’t be good. I’m guessing the “Dracula” title would be a hint that Tsutomu Miyazaki drank blood from his victims. But here’s the even more disturbing part. (And yes… it gets more disturbing than drinking the blood of little girls.) He was also known to have eaten hands of a victim. Oh, and just for good measure, he went out of his way to torment his victims’ families. I literally can’t read about this man without feeling physically ill.
Victims: Miyazaki killed 4 little girls between 4 and 7 years old.
Kill Zone: Tokyo, Japan
Methods: Bodies were mutilated and corpses were molested.
Outcome: Miyazaki was sentenced to death April 14, 1997 and hanged June 17, 2008.
Additional Information: Miyazaki was born with deformed hands fused directly to his wrists, and contacted family members of victims with cryptic, taunting messages (and even the cremated remains of one victim). At one point, anime and horror films were cited as the reason for his crimes.
25. Zodiac Killer
What can I say? I find unknown serial killers to be rather disturbing. Are they still out there? I don’t know. But that’s why the well-known Zodiac Killer makes my list. The thought that these monsters could evade arrest gives me the willies.
Victims: The Zodiac Killer has 7 confirmed victims (5 dead and 2 survivors). However some believe the killer has as many as 37 victims.
Kill Zone: California, United States
Methods: Victims were killed via stabbings and shootings. Various cases were linked because of the Zodiac letters sent to newspapers. The letters included strange symbols and ciphers, some of which are still unsolved. They also included lines such as “Me=37, SFPD=0,” announcing 37 victims for the killer and no points for the police. The letters date from August 1969 to 1974 (last confirmed).
Motives: One deciphered code claimed the thrill of killing was a motive, as well as talking about the victims serving as his slaves in the afterlife.
Additional Information: Dirty Harry is loosely based on these crimes, among other films like 2007′s Zodiac.
Given that this is a blog post and not a book, it would be absolutely impossible to share details about all of the world’s serial killers. These are some of the ones who jumped out at me and disgusted, intrigued, or disturbed me in some way — at least a bit moreso than the others. What about you? Is there a local or historical serial killer you’re aware of that has a disturbing story, methods, or motives? Feel free to share that information with the rest of us by leaving a comment.
I find the bit where you give us your (highly original) opinion that “serial killers are bad” to be annoying. Stick to the facts, it makes for a less self-righteous read. Otherwise, fantastic post.
Nobody cares what you would do to child abusers in your little fantasies. Stop being so self-righteous.
anon & Craig — Sorry to disappoint. Well, not really. You’re welcome to your opinions, and I’m welcome to mine, even if you happen to consider them “self-righteous.” I could say the same about people who troll blogs just to criticize posts just because they don’t agree as if they’re doing readers some great service. But I won’t. The beauty of the blogosphere is that it’s filled with opinions… this isn’t journalism with purely objective “stick to the facts” styling; it’s a blog. And I genuinely and wholeheartedly encourage you to write your own post on the topic if you disagree, and then come back and link us to it here in the comments. Different perspectives in that sense are a good thing for everyone, and I’m sure other readers would appreciate it as well.
Nice, or should I say disturbing list
Surprised you didn’t include H. H. Holmes though, more disturbing than a couple in the list.
Thank you for linking to me. I have gotten a lot of traffic from this link.
I hope that the people who go to my feature on Carlton Gary read the report. There are serious doubts regarding his guilt. If he were to be executed while innocent, the real killer(s) would be set free.
Give the author a fuc*ing break. It’s a blog. Not every post has to be all about facts, and s/he wanted to explain her/his choices, because s/he was the one who made that list. Fuc*ing Internetors.
Interesting read, pal, enjoyed it dearly
This is really really disappointed. But i share it here. In my funny and interesting collection.
http://whatpeoplelike.blogspot.com/2010/07/25-seriously-disturbing-serial-killers.html
Great post.
Don’t waste your time with the trolls.
Rarely do we see a list with the international twist! Thanks for shaking it up a bit, very interesting read.
Carlton Gary looks to have got the shitty end of the stick..poor guy.
The scariest time of my life growing up in the area where most of the missing and murdered children of Atlanta where. Not being able to walk to friends homes alone and never knowing when these where going to stop. Living in those times and that era where very weird although some do not agree, Wayne Williams was convicted of these killings.. he is not on your list.
@Matt – “Disturbing” is subjective, and this list was about both a combination of diversity and the ones that disturbed me. Given that there are hundreds to thousands of serial killers (and that’s probably an understatement) it’s not possible for me to know them all. I researched many before choosing, but there will certainly be many known to others that I didn’t come across or who didn’t phase me as much. But thanks for mentioning Holmes… if others want to learn more about serial killers, now they have another one they can look into.
@chamblee54 – You’re welcome.
@MM – Thank you. That’s precisely the reason I gave opinions and not just facts. That was done previously by another writer on a site connected to this one, and readers there were never happy either. Go figure.
@Martin – Agreed.
@k8 – That was a big part of why this list was created, so thanks for noticing.
@charlie – I honestly don’t know the details — that’s for the legal system to figure out in the end. But it certainly made his case an interesting one.
@nikiaa – This list was limited to 25, so there are many who aren’t in this list. It sounds like you did indeed go through a scary time, and I’m sorry you (or anyone) has to live through experiences like that.
Although I now live in the No GA Mountains, I was an Atlanta Firefighter during the Missing & Murdered Children. Racial tensions were peaked due to suspicions of racial motives. Ironically the present Mayor of Atlanta was best friends with one of the tragic victims.
RE: Outcome: Gary Carlton was convicted of murder on August 26, 1986 and then sentenced to death. He is still on death row. He was supposed to be executed on December 16, 2009 but the Georgia Supreme Court stopped his execution the day it was supposed to happen to allow for a hearing on the DNA evidence.
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DNA Databases and Laws are in effect in aprox half of the States. IMO, DNA is the most lethal weapon of LE for identifying predators and SKS before they hone their skills and their victim count escalates.
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Gary Leon Ridgway — “The Green River Killer” — makes my list of one of the most disturbing serial killers for the sheer volume of victims he had. It’s a reminder that sometimes awful people really can evade the law for quite some time. And that is something I find terrifying.
Although Ridgway’s IQ was low, he honed his skills over the decades that he was active. Although he was a suspect early in the investigation, he passed two polygraphs and evaded police until DNA caught up to him in November 2001. One of the tricks that he learned was to offer the prostitutes $200.00, which was much more than their normal rates. Although they knew that a Serial Killer was preying on prostitutes, this caused them to lower their guard. Ridgway had no intention in paying…
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JM, A Prolific Serial Killer omitted from the partial list and one that I have been backtracking and researching since 01/06/08 is Gary Michael Hilton: Murderer of Meredith Hope Emerson: Blood Mountain, GA Hiker. GMH is/was an emulator. Thought by Law Enforcement to be a petty thief and drifter, he was a copycat of SKs prior, had no victim profile, and had been doing his evil deeds since he was 14 years old.
GMH actually assisted his Attorney Samuel Rael in Producing a Serial Killer Movie: ‘Deadly Run’ -Hunting Humans, 14 years before his capture… Sound Familiar?
Wolfscratch
JM, last season’s top 10 TV Shows included 7 which had a serial killer theme. Human Nature requires rubber necking when one sees an auto collision. Guess human nature may be one of the reasons for the fascination with or interest in serial killers. Although many people can name many Serial Killers. With the exception of Family members and Friends, the innocent victims are usually soon forgotten.
Gary Hilton held Meredith Hope Emerson, within 200 yards of my home…
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In Response to Re: Cheryl Dunlap’s Forum:(Tallahassee Democrat)
Awe…I can’t talk about it anymore…it just makes me too sad. I’ll never understand why he still went ahead with it knowing so many people witnessed them and the dogs together that day and had to know he’d be a main POI. Meredith sure did everything possible though. God love her.
Posted by BandMom1
Because she challenged him on the morning of 01/04/08, sacrificing her life for others..
Hope we all could be so courageous..
Meredith knew that GMH, never intended to let her go free..
She fought him with mind, body, and spirit..
She was Victorious…
‘Right To Hike’
‘In Memory of Meredith Hope Emerson’
“An Evening of Hope”
http://www.youtube.com/watch...
“If not for her perception, courageous fight, and unselfish sacrifice, Gary Michael Hilton would still be preying on our Families, Friends, and Loved Ones”..
Wolfscratch: http://www.youtube.com/watch...
JM, Sorry about the above links:
Right to Hike – in memory of Meredith Hope Emerson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1D7ygV25YE
Wolfscratch
Sometimes Life imitates Art.
I have been backtracking & researching a Serial Killer named Gary Michael Hilton, since 01/06/08 when he held a victim within 200 yards of my home in an abandoned house.(Blood Mountain Hiker).
The information that I have gathered has come from conventional and nonconventional investigative methods.
Age 62 years when he was arrested, he was thought to be a petty drifter and thief.
After backtracking him only a few days, it was obvious to me that he was very intelligent, cagey, calculating, evil, demonic, cannibal, ritual; Serial Killer, with no victim profile and had been preying on his many innocent victims for decades. My analogy of him was that of a mountain lion.
He would hunt his prey, capture them, return them to his primary den, toy and torture them, then devour them, mind, body, and spirit..
GMH’s victims range in age between 11 year old to Levi Frady(GA) & 84 year old Irene Bryant and her husband John. GMH had no victim profile, only a preference; female mid 20s.
GMH’s IQ when he entered the military was 150+.. He could have been Ted Bundy’s Professor…
A LE officer close to the case, working another cold case of a missing GA school teacher was asked by me, why did GMH have no victim profile?” The Agents response: ‘ Food’…different cuts of meat….
In 1994, Hilton, helped to creatively write a movie that went straight to video(Available at Netflix): “Deadly Run”. He helped write, handpicked the cast & crew, shoot locations, and tutored the lead actor in the ‘Art’ of Serial Kiling. The movie’s plot; luring young girls to a cabin in the North GA Mtns, holding them captive, releasing them into the forest, then hunting them as prey…
The movie’s producer; Samuel Rael/Hilton’s Defense Attorney in an Arson case with inhabitants said, “I knew that he was Sociopath, but didn’t know that he was violent.” In one of GMH’s interviews by the GBI, he states, “I am a hunter, a professional.”
A Serial Killer with a script… GMH was a master at emulation, he was a copycat of many with an added twist of his own creativity.
In the attic of the abandoned farmhouse, he had a frigid weather room which was complete with a wood burning stove, which he used newspaper and cardboard as fuel. I found an article in the attic from an Oct 1989 Gainesville, GA Times Newspaper: ‘Night Stalker says Lucifer will avenge me’…
When the jury handed down the death sentence to Richard Ramirez: Night Stalker, he said, “I don’t expect you to understand me, I am beyond Good and Evil, Lucifer will Avenge me.”
In many of his interviews, GMH states that he reads constantly. I talked to a Thrift Store Volunteer, that eye witnessed him at the Jasper, GA Thrift Store, checked out their book supply, and here I am 2 & 1/2 years and over 150 novels later….
Wolfscratch
Wolfscratch — I have to agree with you about DNA being such an important tool in catching killers before they have a chance to escalate to serial killer status. It makes me wonder how we ever got by without things like that and the kind of inter-agency cooperation we have today to help identify these people (although there could certainly always be better cooperation).
As for the fascination with with serial killers on TV, I honestly hadn’t thought about it much. I happen to be a fan of the crime genre on the rare occasion I watch tv shows anymore, even if I don’t particularly have a fascination with serial killers myself. But they do always seem to pop up, even if the show doesn’t entirely revolve around that concept. I suppose you’re right about the rubber-necking analogy. I think it might also partly be a case of writers wanting a continuing storyline in the genre, which serial killers lend themselves to better than one-time killers. But regardless of the reasoning, thanks for pointing it out. It’s something interesting I might not have otherwise noticed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5B9lGZfj78
wolfscratch
Great article, but it does make you look like a self-righteous a*s indeed.
So do comments like that. Point being?
Due to fate, Gerard John Schaefer’s reign of terror was cut short and prevented him from being included in the top 25 disturbing serial killers, IMO.
Schaefer’s I.Q. tested at aprox 130, within the very superior range, and it seems that he was an autodidact, as opposed to Gary Ridgeway, who may have been idiot savant.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerard_John_Schaefer
Wolfscratch
browsed the internet after reading “The fate of katherine Carr” by Thomas h cook.Came across this site,blog,and found it interesting.So keep up the good work JM and from now on I willcontinue to read your blog.
Found you through StumbleUpon (thumbs up, btw) – this is a great post – lots of serial’s that I wasn’t aware of (and now I have to find their biographies..lol).
Thanks!
J.M., many of the TV, shows and movies are inspired by the FBI BAU2, which was pioneered by John Douglas, Roger L Depue, and other ‘special’ Agents.. When the BAU was first established, it was named the BSU(name changed for obvious reasons), was dimly lighted with no windows, and was located 60′ underground at Quantico, VA, and was referred too by the other agents as the ‘Witches Unit’..
One of the top TV shows of 2009/2010 was ‘Criminal Minds’:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6P1-JJ-umA&feature=related
I picked up a nonfiction book; “JOURNEY INTO DARKNESS” BY JOHN DOUGLAS(1997); Author and FBI Criminal Behavioral Profiler.
He penetrates the minds and motives of the most terrifying Serial Killers. Of course Gary Michael Hilton, wasn’t on their radar when this statement was made. He is one of the pioneers of the FBI’s Elite BAU and many of the techniques, strategies, and procedures used in tracking and identifying unidentified subjects today, can be attributed to his research and experiences on his journey into the abyss or darkness…
Prologue:’In the Mind of a Killer’….
John Dougas,
‘This isn’t the Hollywood version. It isn’t sanitized or prettied up or rendered into art. This is the way it really happens. If anything, it’s worse than the way I describe it’…
“AS I HAD SO MANY TIMES BEFORE, I PUT MYSELF IN THE MIND OF THE KILLER”..
Special Agent Douglas, goes on to say that he also puts his head into the head of the ‘innocent victims’ also, to be able to see the whole picture….
This experience would have to be very traumatic for anyone and could cause a very strong minded person to cry a river of tears. Especially when the victim total will possibly exceed 150 + victims over decades, as in the Gary Michael & Associates; Trail of Terror….
As does Priests that perform multiple exorcisms, FBI BAU Special Agent Douglas, suffered severe traumatic stress and therefore paid a hefty price with his health, even though he possessed a very high tolerance level, due to the enormous ‘EVIL’ he encountered…
Wolfscratch: VICAP: the computer system that tracks Serial Killers was implemented in 1985 under the Leadership of LA PDs Pierce Brooks…
http://fightforjustice.blogspot.com/2005/12/roger- l-depue.html
Roger Depue “Between Good and Evil” He is a retired FBI Profiler:
********************
Snipit from R. Depue:
When I was a young man, a friend taught me the ancient art of dowsing, and after a time, I became something of a practitioner myself, finding water underground as a kind of parlor trick for friends. It might seem odd that a man so rooted in grim reality would take an interest in something so ethereal. In fact, I’m fascinated by the unseen forces at play in the lives of human beings.
My job has been to try to stop human predators before they kill again, and after studying them so closely over so many years, to me their traits seem clearly recognizable.
Evil is more than a vague notion. It is an entity, and it is manifest on the earth. It has reflexes and intuition, senses vulnerability, and changes its form to adapt to its surroundings. Those who do not believe the Devil walks this earth have not seen the things that I have seen.
Evil is not a discrete entity that springs forth fully formed. It is born in the mind, takes root there as fantasy, and prospers when normal human restraint can no longer contain it. I have seen it devour the personalities of men like Richard Speck, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Ted Bundy, turning them into blank-faced sociopaths who clearly know right from wrong, but choose, time and again, to follow their own base urges, with complete disregard for the terrible human suffering they cause.
I believe that every act of homicide causes a slight unbalancing in the world, and that it diminishes life’s universal equation. In the interest of justice, it is imperative that someone try to right that imbalance. But the task of fighting evil can take a terrible toll on the people who are charged with it. It can cost them their families, their equilibrium, their capacity for joy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Depue: ‘a great read’…
Wolfscratch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kI5dw2UEZFw&NR=1
WOLFSCRATCH
Snipit from R. Depue:
When I was a young man, a friend taught me the ancient art of dowsing, and after a time, I became something of a practitioner myself, finding water underground as a kind of parlor trick for friends. It might seem odd that a man so rooted in grim reality would take an interest in something so ethereal. In fact, I’m fascinated by the unseen forces at play in the lives of human beings.
************************************
http://nancyimperiale.wordpress.com/2009/08/07/grave-dowsing-a-personal-account/
By Jeff Warren
Pickens County (GA) Progress News
-’Grave Dowsing’-
(snipet)
Trying is believing. I stepped slowly across a burying ground, carrying two brass dowsing rods ahead of me. Held level and a little higher than my waist, the 21-inch rods pointed straight ahead. An additional five and a half inches of brass turned down at 90 degrees through my fingers.
With my fingers curled, the long brass of the rods lay across my index fingers between the hand and first knuckle. At the 90-degree bend, the short handles pointed straight down, curled inside my fingers, excluding the two smallest digits. The brass rode against the outside of my pinkie fingers. Thumbs stayed folded out of the way.
As I moved on to a grave, the rods turned inward toward each other and aligned parallel to the plot. The sensation was only as eerie as watching the play of a compass needle. I was doing this under the tutelage of an expert, Jasper dowser Joe Chastain.
A longtime resident of Pickens County, Chastain is retired from Lockheed. He started dowsing when he was nineteen years old.
“I didn’t have a teacher,” Chastain said. “The first time I ever used the rods, an old farmer had some. I was in a little disbelief.”
Wolfscratch
Dowsing is an Ancient Art. Wishbone shaped green tree branches were originally used for dowsing.. Branches from the Wicca tree were first used, hence dowsing is sometimes referred to as Witching. The only branch that is ineffective is that of the Dogwood Tree.
Dowsing has many uses. Locating water is one, locating graves is another, but anything buried can be located with dowsing rods; gold, artifacts, lost items, etc.. 80% of all people have the ability to dowse. If the ability is lost, it can be regained by placing your hand on the Bible.
A self taught Master Dowser: Joe Chastain taught me the fundamentals of grave dowsing a few years ago. The James Daniel Cemetary, from above comment, was located on my property in Tate, GA.
Dowsing was very instrumental in the journey backtracking GMH and locating his ritual grounds, icebox, garbage pile containing items of clothing, etc. of his many victims. The rods can also serve as a conduit for channelled information from GMH as well as his many victims.
The dowsing rods will not follow your movements or mine, but will indicate Gary Michael Hilton’s movements as well as anything that he hides or buries. The only logical explanation that I can give for this phenomenon is that he emits a lingering evil demonic aura or energy…
I rode up to Blood Mountain(Blairsville, GA) and dowsed the area where GMH, abducted Meredith Hope Emerson, beginning at the point of attack. The rods took me through the dense Forest, indicated where MHE was tied to two different trees, eventually directing me to a large oak tree, next to the trail head parking lot, where GMH, tied her up the last time, while preparing to load her in his van. There was a utility flag at the base of the large oak tree: UCSO(Union County Sheriffs Office).
Wolfscratch
JM, another Serial Killer that prolly deserves a dishonorable mention is Richard Ramirez: San Diego, CA, ‘Night Stalker’…
A Serial Killer with a script… Gary Michael Hilton was a master at emulation, he was a copycat of many other prolific Serial Killers, with an added twist of his own evil creativity.
In the attic of the abandoned Densmore farmhouse, he had a frigid weather room which was complete with a wood burning stove, which he used newspaper and cardboard as fuel. I found an article in the attic from an Oct 1989 Gainesville, GA Times Newspaper: ‘Night Stalker says Lucifer will avenge me’…
When the jury handed down the death sentence to Richard Ramirez: Night Stalker, he said, “I don’t expect you to understand me, I am beyond Good and Evil, Lucifer will Avenge me.”
‘The tragic Reign of Terror of Ramirez; 5 Part Series-Biography on A&E’
in full graphic details.
Are Serial Killers formed or predestined at birth, or are they formed as products of their environments?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dR6_UF-SrU&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyR-hhMJwS0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qvP3s0P9ink
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTy22Rzc0o8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oYYmufvfMU
Wolfscratch
Meredith Hope Emerson: Blood Mountain(GA) Hiker, disarmed Gary Michael Hilton: Prolific Serial Killer, of his hunting knife, expandable baton, and physically fought him three times. She was buying time for a rescue by Law Enforcement.
The rescue never came….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jXrmAKBBTU
Wolfscratch
Meredith Hope Emerson, was a kindred spirit and a fighter. ‘She still is’…
http://www.blueridgeoutdoors.com/current-issue/jennifer-pharr-outdoor-person-of-the-year/
In the past four years, Jennifer Pharr Davis has logged more miles on trails than most people will in a lifetime. Since her first thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail in 2005, she has hiked over 6,000 miles on six continents, including a thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail and a summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro. Being on trails is where she feels most happy and comfortable—although a tragedy earlier this year nearly changed that.
On New Year’s Day, 24-year-old Meredith Emerson was hiking on Georgia’s Blood Mountain when she was abducted by Gary Michael Hilton. Emerson struggled and courageously fought Hilton for three days before he brutally murdered her. Hilton has since confessed to the crime and is serving a 30-year prison sentence. He is also the only suspect in the murders of John and Irene Bryant, whose bodies were found in the Pisgah and Nantahala National Forests of North Carolina.
The two women didn’t know each other, but when Davis learned about Emerson’s death, it felt like a personal attack. It angered her that suddenly the Appalachian woods—statistically safer than any city street—would be feared. So she decided to take back the wild the way she knows best—with a hike.
This summer Davis set a supported speed record on the Appalachian Trail, completing the 2,175-mile trail in 57 days, 8 hours and 35 minutes. She also became the fifth fastest person to ever finish the trail. Hiking an average of 38 miles a day for nearly two full months, Davis dedicated the endeavor to Emerson’s memory. The adventure was fully supported by her husband, Brew Davis, who met her every night along the trail with food, supplies, and shelter. The couple began their A.T. adventure only a week after getting married. It certainly was not a traditional honeymoon, but it turned out to be a multi-dimensional journey of endurance, trust, and redemption.
You dedicated the hike to someone you never met. Why?
JPD: When the Gary Michael Hilton murders came into the news, they deeply affected me. Meredith Emerson was the capstone. I wanted to do something for her, so this hike became a memorial. I wasn’t set on doing it publicly at first, but I got in touch with her father and asked him what he wanted. He wanted me to make it as public as possible.
Were you trying to recapture a feeling of peace in the wild after what had happened to Meredith?
The woods are a place where I feel safe and at home, but after Hilton’s murders, I felt like the woods had been tainted. I hated that one person could have such a negative effect on a place that’s so pure. I wanted to prove that it was safe, and that there were more people out there that will help you than hurt you. Evil feels out of place in the woods. This summer reminded me of that, and I wanted to pass the message on to others.
How did the end result differ from what you initially expected?
At the beginning of the hike, I was trying to honor Meredith. About halfway through the hike, someone sent me an article about the murder trial proceedings. During the trial it came out that she had fought Gary Michael Hilton for three days to preserve her life and lead him to justice. She was giving him the wrong pin number for her ATM card and physically fighting back when she had the opportunity. The authorities said her instincts and courage ended up leading them to Hilton. It made me realize that she was the reason he was caught, and if it wasn’t for her, he could still be out there victimizing people on the trail—me, my husband, or a friend. So by the end of the hike, it ended up being more of a thank you to Meredith. I wanted to highlight her as a hero.
Did you do anything specifically to pay tribute to her on the hike?
On my last morning, I hiked up Blood Mountain where Meredith was abducted. My husband, two dear friends, and I sat up at the top and thanked Meredith. We also expressed our hopes and visions for the trail to be a safe place that people could enjoy in the future. That was the most gratifying feeling of the hike. It finally gave me closure.
CP Wolfscratch
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:XLCSxI-xyoMJ:www.sagepub.com/criminologystudy/12/chapter12_outline.doc+dominant+%26+subserviant+personalities+serial+killeral+teams+fbi&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
Seven Obstacles to Serial Murder Investigations – Associated …
Linkage blindness is a key reason serial murders go undetected. A serial murderer and a mass murderer are two different categories of killer. …
Why was Gary Michael Hilton: Stealth Predator, Oblivious to Law Enforcement for almost 5 decades?
Linkage Blindness – Murders occurring in many different jurisdictions may not be linked due to agencies’ lack of cooperation with each other or lack of information accessibility. Thus a serial killer may go undetected for long periods of time due to linkage blindness between several cases. Victimology – Many victims of serial killers are prostitutes, runaways, hitchhikers and the homeless. Yet, these are the murder cases that get the least attention because they are considered the “less-dead,” disposable members of society. Because the agency does not look in-depth into these cases, they loose valuable victimological information on the type of victim the serial killer looks for and the area in which he or she may be killing.
Analyzing Previous Investigations – The failure to review previous investigators’ procedures in serial killer investigations is also a common problem. Prior serial killer cases, which have been solved, can give an investigative team vital information and direction on how to proceed with a current investigation. This information however, is rarely used.
This piece is not designed to be critical of law enforcement, only to point out the potential pitfalls inherent in a serial murder investigation. When one knows where the pitfalls lie, they can be avoided or a course over, around or through them can be charted.
References
All Serial Killers Dot Com, retrieved from the Internet February 20, 2005, from
http://www.allserialkillers.com/
Apsche, J. 1993, Probing The Mind Of A Serial Killer
Bell, Rachael (2005), Setting the Stage, retrieved from the Internet May 11, 2005 from
http://www.crimelibrary.com/serial/atlanta/
CIA United States Statistics, retrieved from the Internet, February 22, 2005, from
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/
factbook/geos/us.html#People
Egger, Steven A., (2002), The Killers Among Us, 2nd Edition
Fox, J.A., & Levin, J. 1994, OverKill – Mass Murder and Serial Killing Exposed
Frank, Christina. 2000, Stalkers, Serial Killers, and other sociopaths: Dr. Park Dietz Explores the Dark Side Of The Mind
‘The artwork must be viewed to fully understand the Artist’
Wolfscratch
Serial Killers normally select complete strangers in their abductions. When normal investigative procedures are followed in abductions and murders, many innocent POIs and Suspects such as the spouse or lover will be scrutinized, some may even be charged, and some indicted if the focus is placed on them..
An example of one portion of the investigative technique used by LE:
Searching and Examining a Major Case Crime Scene (http://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/searchingandexamining.html)
Personal Information
Is the victim married or in a relationship? Determine as much about the state of the marriage or relationship as possible, for example, abuse, infidelity on either partners part, drug or alcohol abuse, monetary problems. Is there a suicide note, if so does it appear genuine or staged? Process for prints, get handwriting samples from the other occupants of the location. Has the victim threatened suicide recently, has he/she been despondent, what has happened recently to prompt or preclude such actions? Check the victims computer…
In many cases, if there was infidelity, abuse, etc., the victim list grows due to the suspicion by family members, the community, and many cases Law Enforcement and the Judicial System. One example of this was the Green River Serial Killer Investigation which lasted over two decades, and where thousands of POIs and Suspects were identified and raked over the coals.
Pat Brown; Criminal Behavioral Profiler, responded to a comment made by me on the ‘Women in Crime’, Forum. Although it was a correction on a statement that I made concerning the profile of Robert Hansen, the Alaskan Serial Killer that the Deadly Run movie, that Gary Hilton and Attorney: Samuel Rael concocted, mirrored,. It indicated that she is following the comments on many forums including the Tallahassee Democrat Newspaper Forum. If that’s the only correction that she has made in two years, guess I can’t complain.
RE: Green River Prosecution Strategy:After reading Ann Rules’ book; ‘GREEN RIVER, RUNNING RED’,
my suspicions of the reason for the silence in the Gary Michael Hilton; Prolific Serial Killer Investigation has peaked.. I am confident that GMH, had Associates as well as sidekicks in the decades long ‘Trail of Terror.’ There is an untold number of unknown victims in multiple States up and down the East coast of the United States, that need identifying and locating, to afford some semblance of closure
for the victims Families, Friends, and Loved ones…
Proclaimed: ‘The Real Story’ of America’s Deadliest Serial Murder’, the book highlights the lives of Gary Ridgeway’s victims, for which I salute yhe author: Ann Rule. They were mothers, sisters, aunts, grandaughters, neices, and daughters… Ann Rule, proclaimed the Master of True Crime Reporting, sifted through almost 100, 000 pages of official transcripts, pics, LE records/reports, and maps, identifying critical info.
For over two decades Ridgeway eluded Law Enforcement while the body count continued to rise and the suspect list of those scrutinized by the Green River Task Force grew to over 40, 000. Although Ridgeway’s first victim Wendy Lee Coffield was discovered in the Green River in July 1982, it wasn’t until November 30, 2001, almost two decades later, that Gary Ridgeway was identified by DNA as the Green River Serial Killer and Arrested.
GR, was housed in an ultra security cell. GR was arested for soliciting prostitutes two months prior to the discovery of the first victim and was suspected in 1987 as being the Green River Serial Killer. He was cleared after passing two polygraphs and convincing LE of his innocence. GR, would let some of his victims live as well as befriending some for alibis and witnesses to confirm his innocence. Obviously a psychopath, passing the polygraph was childsplay for him. GR also claimed that there was a Good Gary and an Evil Gary, although LE discounted the claim. On December 5, 2001, although responsible for many tragic murders, Gary Ridgeway was formally charged with the murder of only four victims: Marcia Chapman, Opal Mills, Cynthia Hinds, and Carol Ann Christensen. Ironically in August 1982, in the clenched hand of victim Opal Mills, was a brown Cau. hair yanked from her killer’s head. It had been bagged, tagged, and misplaced.
A tag number reported to LE, nineteen years before GR’s arrest by a friend of Kim Nelson; another victim, had also been lost… The Federal Govt contributed $500,000.00 in Dec 2001, to help pay for DNA tests for 45 more probable victims, where there were no charges yet filed. Several Meetings between Task Force Members and the Proscecutors were held to devise a strategy.
A unique or ‘out of the box’ strategy was agreed upon that was to be held in the upmost secrecy under the radar of the media and the public, even the victims families. Their first goal was to locate the previously owned vehicles of Ridgeway’s to check for DNA or other residue. The Green River Task Force was housed in a segregated building and no one outside the Task Force knew the strategy or the avenue of the continuing investigation of the victims where charges hadn’t been filed.
On March 27, 2002 Gr was charged with three more victims; Wendy Coffield, Debra Estes, and Debra Bonner. The discovery in the Green River Case produced overt 420, 000 pages of discovery evidence, and that was only the beginning. By June 2003, after threats by GR’s defense team of a change of venue, it apeared that GR would be tried in King County, Washington, where the murders occured. GR’s Defense Team consisted of 8 Lawers, 8 investigators, 2 clerks, and 6 paralegals. (Dream Team, huh..) The original jury summons consisted of over 10,000 registered voters, which was whittled down to 500 prospective jurors. The first tentative date of a trial was July 2004,
****************************************************************************************** Gary Michael Hilton’s reply concerning a Death Penalty Trial and how the other prisoners & guards treated him, GMH said:
“No one messes with me here. They treat me real good.” “I’ve got my own T.V. ‘I READ’. I’ve got my meals cooked, served…the dishes are washed. My laundry is done….Hey, I love it!” “I’m gonna f—— raise hell, total hell. I’m not gonna be happy unless it takes three to four years to go to trial. Unless we have a ’1,000 person Jury Pool’, and unless we have at least ‘Two Changes of Venue’.
And that’s just to begin with (laughs).”
*******************************
A very tight lid was kept on what was happening behind the scenes. Gary Ridgeway’s attorneys had contacted the Proscecutor to ask if GR might avoid the death Penalty, if he would plead guilty to the original charges and show the location of the undiscovered victims. Although there were more than 50 possible victims of Gary Ridgeway, the state could only proscecute on the seven victims, the rest going unavenged. Considering the lengthy Appeals process, the now 54 year old Ridgeway. might very well die of natural causes before excecution could be carried out….
On June 13, 2003, the proscecutors and the defense team entered into an agreement: the State would not seek the Death Penalty, but GR, would have to plead guilty to aggravated murder in the 1st degree for all the homicides that he had committed in Kings Co., Washington. The plea agreement was not revealed to the public or the innocent victims’ families. It was June 2003 when the rumors began: Where was Gary Ridgeway?
It was certain that he was not in the King County Jail, but any info on his whereabouts had been ‘Sealed by a Judge’….
Green River Task Force Members and Search & Rescue teams were spotted in areas where victim’s remains were previously located. Questions were asked, were proscecutors seeking evidence overlooked or or had they struck up some kind of plea deal with the defense team; ‘Ridgeway’s Life, in exchange for the identity and location of the unknown victims from Kings County, Washington? The plea deal did not include other geographical area that Ridgeway preyed.. The task force personnel wore civilian clothes to remain stealth to the media and behind the heavely tinted glass of the unmarked cars was a Prolific Serial Killer, wearing leg irons and handcuffs. Rumors of where Ridgeway was being out of control. It was reported that he was being kept secured under armed guard in a posh apartment. The public was outraged that he was being held in luxury after the body count that he had amassed.
The Task Forces PIA , under this pressure anounced that a cell had been constructed in the Task Force Headquarters and GR was living among the investigators. It was the last place anyone thought to look… There had been no precedent for this strategy.. In order to get in to the head of Ridgeway, although it meant spending so much time with an evil cold blooded killer, tantamount to residing with a noncharismatic Hannibal Lecter, it was necessary to bridge the wall, erected by his team of Attorneys and seek the truth of his Terror Trail. GR had a captive audience and relished the attention paid to him as did Ted Bundy, was delighted of the attention given him by Florida detectives after his 1978 arrest. Ridgeway would now have the opportunity to gloat over the details of his ghastly deeds.. He made himself available as a subject that was quite willing to participate in marathon interogations. He found pleasure in demonstrating his expertise in the art of of torturous murder, to his ideal audience; the same detectives that he had taunted, remaining oblivious too, for decades. He loved being the focus of their attention. For the interrogators, it was exausting, disgusting, shocking, traumatic ,frustrating, and very horrific work. The experience would have been and unsettling and traumatic experience for anyone, hundreds of hours of grotesque recollections from a man that apeared totally harmless as he calmly described, raping, torturing, mutilitating, and killing dozens of Women in a halting and disspassionate voice. GR stated, “all I wanted to do was have sex with them and kill them.”
When Ridgeway accompanied them on ‘Field Trips’ to the undiscovered Body Dumps, he brightened, smiling in anticipation, as they got closer to his killing fields and trophy areas… The Task Force Team was elated and relieved when Psychiatrists and other FBI BAU Agents flew in to interview Ridgeway. It gave them a much needed break from their journey into the abyss, the darkness.. Although Ridgeway had maps and a sharp recall of the areas where the bodies were dumped, he could not remember his victims faces or names.
When referring to his innocent victims remains, he would say, “I dumped ‘it’ in that location”, meaning that they were objects subject to disposal… GR, had let some of his intended victims, go free. He would say. “your to cute for a guy like me”. He later admitted that he let them go for future witnesses, in case he should ever need them to verify that he was a good guy and couldn’t possibly be the Green River Serial Killer. After being asked to elaborate on his abnormal sexual desires during childhood, he admitted to frotterism, exposing himself, stalking, voyerism, rape, murder for sexual release, and finally Necrophillia. Ridgeway had, indeed, had an inapriate relationship with Mary Ridgeway, his late Mother. After wetting his bed at the age of 13 or 14, she had humilated him as well as sexually stimulated him. Ridgeway to being sexually aroused when his mother apeared half naked in front of him and spent 15 minutes or more soaping, washing, and drying his penis and testicles, causing an erection.
Oedipus syndrome http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oedipus_complex (According to my info, GMH’s childhood friend was asked if GMH, had mentioned having sex with his mother) Ridgeway admitted to returrning to the bodies of about ten of the women having post mortem sex, until the flies came.. On one occasion his son waited in the truck only 30 feet away. When asked by the detective if his son remembered and threatened to tell, if he would have killed him? Gary Ridgeway, responded, “No….I might have”…. When asked how he felt when his first victim’s remains were found. Ridgeway said that he felt that they were taking something that belonged to him…
He began taking skeletons or partial skeletons to an adjacent State at that time to confuse task force detectives and prevent them from confiscating any more of his possessions. By the time Ridgeway was scheduled to go to trial, 71 innocent victims’ remains had been located in Kings County, WA, alone, by Task Force members with the assistance of Gary Ridgeway, K9s, Sonar-XRay Devices provided by the FBI, and ‘Grave Dowsing, yes, that’s correct; ‘Grave Dowsing’: an Ancient Art, utilized by Law Enforcement Agencies across the US, for locating remains and other items of evidence…
(To be continued) about 10 more pages to outline…
Wolfscratch
A heartwrenching quote by the Mother of an Innocent Victim of Serial Killer Gary Ridgway:
“there is a hole in my heart that only a child can fill”..
Snipet from The Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi:
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;
I Will Not Say Goodbye…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IUl-JwJC5U
Wolfscratch: ‘where there is silence, Truth’…
(Green River Prosecution Strategy Continued)
Ridgeway, feeling invincible, continued his research to perfect his crimes. He not only took great pains to remove all forensic traces of himself from the victims, his house and truck, and went as far as planting evidence; cigarette butts & chewed gum of others, that he found at the airport, to confuse investigators into believing that the unsub was a traveler. False tips were sent to the media: ‘The Post Intelligencer’.
Ridgeway, insured his Stealth by not sharing his evil deeds with friends. He had no friends or confidants. He was gratified to revisite his crime scenes and was fascinated to find some of the victims skeletons intact years later, in areas where he had expected animals to dismantle them. Yet others that were left exposed in open fields that had vanished without a trace…
Ridgeway, would sometimes lie to the investigators to keep them on the hook, insuring the delay of the inevitable: ‘ Being returned to Jail or Prison ‘… In addition to the delay, GR had an audience to pontificate on all aspects of his evil deeds…
GR’s IQ tested in the low/normal range. It was suspected that he may have been idiot savant: although of low intelligence, being Brilliant in one area(Mathmatical aptitude, musical prodigy, etc.) Guess, GR, had excelled in perfecting the skills of a Stealth Predator..
GR, began his Evil Trail of Terror, as a teenager, when he tricked a 6 year old boy to go into the woods with him to build a fort. Once in the woods, GR stabbed the little boy. The little boy survived the stabbing and was located by investigators. The day of the incident, the little boy asked GR why he killed him? GR, smiling and laughing responded, “I always wanted to know what it felt like to kill somebody, GR, then started walking down the knoll. laughing, putting his head in the air and laughing real loud”…
GR, revealed to the investigators that he had read many crime magazines, including “True Detective”, and other fact-detective magazines that Ann Rule, had written articles for and even dropping her name on occasion.
GR said that he researched Zodiac articles, two or three of Ann rule’s, and how not to act in a courtroom; when to speak up and when to keep quiet.
Ann Rule, states that writting about Gary Ridgeway, was one of the hardest things that she has ever done. She said that she had no desire to be inside his head due to the sheer cruelty and brutality that consumed him and his total inability to empathize with humanity, possesing a black cloud of Evil, that was so hard to erase from her memory…
The first two years of GR’s Trail of Terror from 1982 to 1984, were considered to be the peak of his killing women, yet most serial killers accelerate, raising many questions for the Investigators.
Once incarcerated, Gary Ridgeway, said that he thought alot about the Death Penalty. He said that he figured that it would be a decade before it was carried out and that with Lethal Injection, you simply doze off to sleep, your heart stops, and their is very little pain.(think about the pain, torture, and terror GR, inflicted on his innocent victims.)
GR said that if he told the truth and prayed that he would go to Heaven. He noted that ‘Life in Prison’ would be much worse…yet he selfishly wanted to live…
In November 2003, Gary Ridgeway, would plead guilty in Court for the 1st degree Aggravated Murder of 48 young women, in the presence of their Families, Friends, and Loved Ones.
In December the Families would have their say. The Proscecutor and Sheriff held a meeting with the families to prepare them, as well as explain to them why they had taken such a unusual and unique approach to prosecuting Ridgeway.
Although the decision for the plea agreement had been reached in June 2003, when the State of Washington had agreed to the Defense’s Proffer. ‘ABSOLUTE SECRECY’ had been maintained. The Majority of the Victims Families accepted the Prosecutor’s Decision. Some wanted to see Gary Ridgeway, Dead, and always would.
The Prosecutor knew that the many unknown Victims would have never been revealed if the Death Penalty had been sought. He was also aware of the many years of Trials and endless Appeals,
During the sentencing hearing Ridgeway, was directed by Judge Jones to state in his own words, if and why he had murdered the 48 innocent women. Ridgeway said, “I killed them, but didn’t know their names, I killed so many women that I don’t even remember their names.” He said that he picked prostitutes because he hated them and did not want to pay for sex. He said that he they were easy prey and possibly would not ever be reported missing and that he could kill as many as he desired without being caught.
Gary Ridgeway had honed his skills as a prolific serial killer, even improving the hiding of the dead girls.
Ridgeway stated to the Sheriff in his final interview that some of the victims had touched his heart and gave a victim’s name as an example; Debbie Abernathy. When asked why, GR stated, “because her murder happened on his son’s birthday.”
When asked why he killed them, Ridgeway said, “because I had a craving, because they were prostitutes, because I wanted to control them.”
Although Gary Ridgeway had revealed 48 victims, in his last interview before heading to prison for Life, he mentioned 71 victims that he had killed…
In Gary Ridgeways statement to the Court at Sentencing he said,
“I’m sorry for killing these Ladys. They had their whole life ahead of them. I am sorry that I caused so much pain to so many families.”
A statement by one of the victim’s mother read, “There is a Hole in My Heart, a Vacancy that only a Child can Fill, the Emptiness is very Deep and it Hurts!”
Wolfscratch
Steve Segars: Boyfriend of Meredith Hope Emerson Speaks from the Heart:
Have You Ever Known:
· Someone who warmed you?
· Someone who made you lose track of time?
· Someone who made you grin at the thought of them?
· Someone who complicated the picture?
· Someone who made ‘being me’ okay?
· Someone whose touch made you tingle?
· Someone whose whisper made you swoon?
· Someone whose pain hurt more than your own?
· Someone who helped you find a better you?
· Someone who kept you awake?
· Someone who restored your faith?
· Someone who made a dress very happy to wear her?
· Someone whose eyes widen, just a little, when she looks at you?
· Someone who said it?
· Someone who wrote it?
· Someone who meant it?
· Someone who cared more about you than you did?
· Someone who could make a perfect cup of tea?
· Someone who kept you on her shoulder?
· Someone who wouldn’t let you go home?
· Someone who winked knowingly?
· Someone who looked fantastic in your clothes?
· Someone you looked forward to doing nothing with?
· Someone you studied so closely, you could paint them from memory?
· Someone who looked at you that way?
· Someone who made your words fail you?
· Someone who was your mirror image, only beautiful?
· Someone who replaced your priority list?
· Someone who knew how you liked to be kissed?
· Someone who really didn’t care who was watching?
· Someone who made the flight home the best part of the trip?
· Someone who was worthy of your key?
· Someone who was your perfect spoon?
· Someone who held you a little too long to be appropriate?
· Someone who knew and appreciated Ani DiFranco?
· Someone whose memory is as devastating as it is beautiful?
· Someone whose absence is crippling?
· Someone you can’t wake up without?
· Someone you fall on your knees to beg God for?
cp by Wolfscratch
The FBI estimates that there are 50 Serial Killers are active at any given time in the US. Seems, that number is conservative, and is on the increase, IMO… I have my own ideas and opinions of the reasons for this tragic escalation.
http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/suspected-serial-killer-paged-590315.html
Suspected serial killer paged, captured at Atlanta airportShareThisPrint E-mail .By Rhonda Cook and Larry Hartstein
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A suspected serial killer, wanted in three states, was captured by simply paging him over an intercom at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, according to Atlanta police.
Michigan, Ohio and Virginia law enforcement officials have been looking for a serial killer only since Aug. 4, when they started to believe one person had been randomly stabbing people since the middle of May.
Flint police said they received more than 500 tips after they put the crimes together and that led to his arrest.
Yet, the 33-year-old Israeli citizen was arrested last week in Arlington, Va., during a traffic stop on an outstanding simple assault warrant issued in Leesburg, about 30 miles away. A magistrate released him on on personal recognizance. He also had a court date scheduled for next week on a 2008 misdemeanor assault charge.
Little is known about Abuelazam
Wolfscratch
RE: The FBI estimates that there are 50 Serial Killers are active at any given time in the US. Seems, that number is conservative, and is on the increase, IMO…
Due to items found backtracking Gary Michael Hilton, it was concluded that he was cannibal. This was verified a few months later from a very reliable source. I ask him why GMH had no victim profile. He replied, “food, different cuts of meat.”
Before her demise Meredith Hope Emerson, was given a book to read by GMH: ‘Cannibals and Kings’ by Marvin Davis.
I have my own personal ideas and opinions of the reasons for this tragic escalation of Serial Killers such as Gary Hilton, Mass Killers, and Rampage Killers, which is not only occuring in the US, but worldwide.
GMH, has a Demonic Personality, emits an evil aura, as well as a very pungent acrid odor…
I am confident that GMH, has Kuru,; a disease which causes the brain to mutate causing a Demonic Personality…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmissible_spongiform_encephalopathyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuru_(disease)
Transmission
It is believed by doctors and researchers that the disease spread easily and rapidly in the Fore people due to their endocannibalistic funeral practices, in which relatives consumed the deceased to return the “life force” of the deceased to his hamlet, a Fore societal subunit.[8] The dysmorphism evident in the infection rates—kuru was 8-9 times more prevalent in women and children than in men at its peak—is because while the men of the village took the choice cuts, the women and children would eat the rest of the body including the brain, where the prion particles were particularly concentrated.
The following action by the Pope, was in response to a request by the World Health Organization:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-504969/Popes-exorcist-squads-wage-war-Satan.html
Pope’s exorcist squads will wage war on Satan
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-504969/Popes-exorcist-squads-wage-war-Satan.html#ixzz0wS4fEnHw
Wolfsratch
Gary Michael Hilton, pulled a few of his teeth out to make him look more evil & said,“when I come off my meds, the Demons come back.”
Wolfscratch
http://nancyimperiale.wordpress.com/2010/02/26/gary-hiltons-killing-spree-in-florida-2007/
Wolfscratch
Interesting ‘make me sick’ list … Beware … There are still a lot of unknown serial killers around … Who knows Bob Arson? He told us how to cook human’s body, sick and very twisted. Just try googling … Personal and private sites that are offering snuff films (torture and mutilation?) … Sick really … They must have got something to do with missing persons … Try googling (again) … The dark side of internet …
What i post is not speculation or conjecture…
How about U, Bilbo?
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/madmen/snuff.asp
Wolfscratch
If you do a google search of bob arson serial killer, the results are:
Serial Killer Robert HansenHansen was married in 1961 and divorced within the year, following his first arrest, on charges of arson. … The first indication of a killer at large came in 1980, … On February 18, 1984, Robert Hansen pled guilty on four counts of …
http://www.francesfarmersrevenge.com/stuff/serialkillers/hansen.htm – Cached – Similar
***********************
Robert Hansen is the Alaskan Serial Killer that the Movie creatively written by Gary Michael Hilton: “Deadly Run” – ‘Hunting Humans’, was based on..
Go Figure…
Wolfscratch
Wolfscratch
In Memory of Meredith Hope Emerson..
She was my neighbor, for just four days..
Wolfscratch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IUl-JwJC5U&feature=player_embedded
Wolfscratch
Wolfscratch, thanks. You really dig it deeper. I can only say (sadly) … ‘This is the world we live in …’
http://www.churchofeuthanasia.org/e-sermons/butcher.html
Is that a bad joke or what? …
RE: Is that a bad joke or what? …
When I asked a Special Agent that worked the Gary Michael Hilton Investigation; ‘why did he have no victim profile’? His direct response was, ‘different cuts of meat, as you or I, would when we go to the Butcher’s Market”..
Bilbo, sadly yes, this is obviously the world that we live in today.. Our only protection from becoming an innocent victim ourselves is to rely on our natural instincts.
http://clintvanzandt.newsvine.com/_news/2009/08/17/3160211-how-to-escape-a-kidnapper
Wolfscratch
omg this is so true and unbelievably disturbing especcially the guy who killed little girls after drinking their blood eating their hands, then molesting them afterwards, can’t think of any one worse than that.
except m.hindley cos i hate her lol