130 Fun Facts About Serial Killer

Jack the Ripper's murders took place in 1888 in which district of London?

The killer was never identified; the name comes from the 'Dear Boss' letter sent to the press.

The Ripper victims generally accepted as linked are known collectively by what name?

Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly were killed between 31 August and 9 November 1888.

The 'From Hell' letter sent to George Lusk of the local vigilance committee arrived with what enclosed?

The writer claimed it came from one of the victims; the 'Dear Boss' letter and 'Saucy Jacky' postcard are the other two famous messages.

Which FBI agent is usually credited with coining the English term 'serial killer' in the 1970s?

The German 'Serienmörder' had already been coined in 1930 by Berlin detective Ernst Gennat, describing Peter Kürten.

By the most common research definition, how many murders make someone a serial killer?

The killings must be spread over more than a month in separate events, distinguishing them from mass and spree murder.

H. H. Holmes committed his most notorious crimes in Chicago around which 1893 event?

His real name was Herman Webster Mudgett; the 'Murder Castle' legend has grown well beyond what records support.

Ted Bundy was executed in Florida in January 1989 by what method?

He received three death sentences in two trials for the Florida murders after two escapes from custody in Colorado.

Witnesses at several Bundy crime scenes described a man in a sling or cast driving what kind of car?

The 'Ted' who asked women to help him carry books or a sailboat became the composite that broke the case open.

In January 1978 Bundy attacked students at the Chi Omega sorority house on which campus?

He had arrived in Tallahassee by bus a week earlier after his second escape.

Jeffrey Dahmer, the 'Milwaukee Cannibal', was arrested in 1991 after what happened?

He was beaten to death by a fellow inmate at a Wisconsin prison in November 1994.

John Wayne Gacy earned his 'Killer Clown' nickname because of what?

Twenty-six of his 33 victims were buried in the crawl space of his home outside Chicago.

Where were most of Gacy's victims found?

The investigation into the disappearance of teenager Robert Piest led to his arrest in December 1978.

The Zodiac Killer's crimes took place in and around which city?

He attacked three couples and a cab driver between December 1968 and October 1969, and two of his seven victims survived.

How many of the Zodiac's four cryptograms have been decrypted?

The first was cracked in 1969 by a schoolteacher and his wife; the second, the '340', was solved by amateur codebreakers in 2020.

The 2007 film Zodiac, directed by David Fincher, is based on books by which cartoonist-turned-author?

Jake Gyllenhaal plays the cartoonist, with Mark Ruffalo as detective Toschi and Robert Downey Jr. as reporter Avery.

David Berkowitz, the 'Son of Sam', was finally traced in 1977 thanks to what?

He initially claimed a demon speaking through his neighbour's dog ordered the shootings, then admitted it was a hoax.

Berkowitz was also known as the '.44 Caliber Killer' because of his weapon. What kind of gun was it?

His taunting letters to police and the press set off possibly the biggest manhunt in New York's history.

The Wichita killer BTK gave himself a name that stood for what?

Dennis Rader murdered at least ten people between 1974 and 1991 and was president of his church council when arrested.

What finally identified BTK in 2005?

He had asked police whether a disk could be traced; a deleted Word document on it was marked as last modified by 'Dennis' at Christ Lutheran Church.

The Golden State Killer, arrested in 2018, had once worked in what profession?

Joseph James DeAngelo was identified through forensic genetic genealogy after decades as the East Area Rapist and Original Night Stalker.

Which crime writer coined the name 'Golden State Killer' and wrote I'll Be Gone in the Dark?

The book's title comes from a threat the attacker made to a victim; McNamara died in 2016, two years before the arrest.

Gary Ridgway, the Green River Killer, was arrested in 2001 as he left work at a plant that made what?

He was convicted of 49 murders and avoided the death penalty by agreeing to reveal where missing victims were.

Aileen Wuornos, executed in Florida in 2002, was portrayed in the film Monster by which actress?

The performance won the Academy Award for Best Actress; Wuornos had shot seven of her clients along Florida highways.

Harold Shipman, thought to have killed around 250 people, worked as what?

He was convicted of 15 murders in 2000 and hanged himself in Wakefield prison the day before his 58th birthday.

Peter Sutcliffe, the 'Yorkshire Ripper', was finally arrested in Sheffield in 1981 for what offence?

The investigation had been derailed by hoax letters and a tape from a man later nicknamed 'Wearside Jack'.

Andrei Chikatilo, the 'Butcher of Rostov', was executed in 1994 in which country?

The Ukrainian-born killer murdered at least 52 people in the Soviet Union; his hunt inspired the film Citizen X.

In which country did Luis Garavito, 'La Bestia', the most prolific modern serial killer, commit his crimes?

He confessed in October 1999 after being caught during an attempted attack; his confirmed total is at least 193 minors.

Countess Elizabeth Báthory, the 'Blood Countess', was walled up in a castle in which kingdom?

The tale that she bathed in the blood of virgins was only written down more than a century after her death in 1614.

Belle Gunness lured most of her victims to her Indiana farm using what?

'Hell's Belle' apparently died in a farmhouse fire in 1908, but her real fate has never been confirmed.

Ed Gein inspired Norman Bates in Psycho and which Silence of the Lambs character?

Leatherface from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre also drew on Gein's crimes, discovered in 1957.

Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho was adapted from a 1959 novel by which author?

The novel was published just two years after the Gein case broke in Wisconsin.

The Silence of the Lambs was the third film to win the 'Big Five' Oscars. Who played Hannibal Lecter?

The five are Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress and Adapted Screenplay; no film has done it since.

The Netflix series Mindhunter is based on a memoir by which FBI profiler?

David Fincher directed most episodes; the show follows the founding of the Behavioral Science Unit in the late 1970s.

How many imprisoned serial killers did Ressler and Douglas interview from 1976 to 1979?

The interviews became the basis for criminal profiling and, later, the book and series Mindhunter.

Edmund Kemper, the 'Co-ed Killer' featured in Mindhunter, committed his crimes around which California county?

He had murdered his grandparents at 15 and, after killing his mother in 1973, phoned police to turn himself in.

Herbert Mullin, a California killer of the early 1970s, claimed his 13 murders prevented what?

He was found sane and convicted in 1973, the same year as Kemper.

How many murders did Samuel Little, the FBI's most prolific US serial killer, confess to?

The FBI has confirmed at least 60; Little drew colour portraits of victims from memory to help identify them.

Richard Ramirez, the 'Night Stalker' who terrorised Los Angeles in 1984-85, died in 2013 of what?

He had been on death row at San Quentin since 1989 with a strong interest in Satanism.

Albert Fish, executed at Sing Sing in 1936, was tried for the murder of which child?

He was caught six years after the crime because he sent her mother a letter.

Dennis Nilsen, who killed at least twelve men in North London, was known by which nickname?

He was caught in 1983 after human remains blocked the drains of his flat.

Ian Brady and Myra Hindley buried their victims on which stretch of Pennine upland near Manchester?

The body of Keith Bennett, one of the five children, has never been found.

Robert Pickton, convicted of six murders in 2007, ran what kind of business in British Columbia?

The case forced Canada to confront the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

What linked Albert DeSalvo to the final Boston Strangler victim in 2013?

For decades many investigators believed the 13 murders were the work of more than one person.

Dexter Morgan, TV's fictional vigilante serial killer, works for Miami police in what job?

The show ran on Showtime from 2006 to 2013 and began as an adaptation of Jeff Lindsay's novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter.

Locusta, sometimes called history's first documented serial killer, made poisons for which Roman emperor?

She was implicated in the deaths of Claudius and Britannicus and was executed by Nero's successor Galba.

Which German criminologist coined the term Serienmörder in 1930, describing Peter Kürten?

The German concept predates Robert Ressler's English 'serial homicide' by more than four decades.

Ann Rule credited the term 'serial killer' to which LAPD detective, later ViCAP's founder?

Rule made the claim in her 2004 book Kiss Me, Kill Me.

Which period is often called the 'golden age of serial murder' in the United States?

The number of active US serial killers peaked in 1989 and has fallen since.

In which year did the number of active serial killers in the United States peak?

Experts credit less parole, better forensics and more cautious behaviour for the decline since.

Which Virginia university's Serial Killer Database seeded a 2012 joint project with FGCU?

The database tracks more than 170 data points per killer.

Which three childhood behaviours make up the Macdonald triad?

Proposed in 1963, the triad remains widely taught even though later research has not validated it.

In what year did the FBI create ViCAP, its database for linking violent crimes?

Founder Pierce Brooks was inspired by the Harvey Glatman case he had worked as a detective.

In which year did the FBI establish its Behavioral Science Unit at Quantico?

Director Hoover tasked agents Jack Kirsch and Eugene Crickenberger with forming the eleven-agent unit.

Fred and Rose West's home at 25 Cromwell Street became known by what nickname?

Victims were typically buried in the cellar or garden of the house.

How did Fred West die on 1 January 1995?

Rose West was convicted of ten murders that November and given a whole life order.

John Christie strangled at least eight people at which infamous London address?

Three bodies were found in a wallpaper-covered kitchen alcove after he moved out in 1953.

Which innocent lodger was hanged in 1950 for a murder now attributed to Christie?

Christie was a key prosecution witness at Evans's trial before his own crimes were exposed.

Which actor played John Christie in the 1971 film named after his address?

Attenborough said he disliked the part but accepted it at once without seeing the script.

Colombian killer Pedro López, who murdered at least 110 people, was nicknamed what?

He claimed over 300 victims in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru and vanished after release in 1999.

Charles Sobhraj preyed on Western tourists on which 1970s travel route?

Known as the Bikini Killer, he was convicted in Nepal in 2003 and freed in 2022 for old age.

Which country's Supreme Court ordered Charles Sobhraj released in December 2022?

He had served 19 years of a life sentence and was deported to France.

Israel Keyes was arrested in 2012 over the killing of a woman in which state?

Evidence in his cell led the FBI to suspect he had killed eleven people; he died by suicide awaiting trial.

What did Israel Keyes bury in multiple locations for use in future crimes?

Agents recovered two such caches after his arrest.

Rodney Alcala earned his nickname by appearing on which TV show in 1978, mid-spree?

He was later linked to nine murders, though the true number could be as high as 130.

Roughly how many photographs of women, girls and boys did Rodney Alcala compile?

In 2016 he was charged with the murder of a woman identified in one of the photos.

Why was Dean Corll nicknamed 'the Pied Piper' by locals in Houston Heights?

He gave free candy to local children; his crimes became known as the Houston Mass Murders.

How did Dean Corll's crimes come to light in 1973?

Eighteen victims were buried in a rented boat shed.

Wayne Williams is believed to be responsible for many of which series of 1979-81 killings?

He was convicted only of killing two adult men but linked to at least 24 of the 30 murders.

Police first suspected Wayne Williams after a splash from a bridge over which river?

Fibres from his home, car and dog were later matched to victims.

A 1993 Seinfeld episode gave Elaine a boyfriend named after which Long Island killer?

Rifkin confessed to 17 murders and received 203 years in prison.

Charles Cullen's crimes were dramatised in which 2022 Netflix film?

Researchers have suggested Cullen may have murdered as many as 400 patients over 16 years.

Charles Cullen killed patients while working as a nurse in which two US states?

He confessed to as many as 40 murders, at least 29 of them confirmed.

Nurse Beverley Allitt attacked children on a ward in which Lincolnshire town in 1991?

She received 13 life sentences and is held at Rampton Secure Hospital.

Peter Kürten, the 'Vampire of Düsseldorf', was executed in 1931 by what method?

Fritz Lang's film M, starring Peter Lorre as a child killer, appeared the same year.

Fritz Haarmann, the 'Butcher of Hanover', killed at least how many young men and boys?

He was nicknamed the Wolf Man for biting through his victims' throats and was guillotined in 1925.

Under what alias did Dr Marcel Petiot run a fake escape network in occupied Paris?

He promised Jews passage to South America, then poisoned them and stole their valuables.

Marcel Petiot was convicted of how many counts of murder before his 1946 execution?

Remains of 23 people were found in his basement; he may have killed up to 200.

Which Charlie Chaplin film was inspired by the case of French 'Bluebeard' Henri Landru?

Landru met lonely war widows through newspaper ads and burned their bodies in his stove.

Police traced Henri Landru's correspondence with how many women?

Seventy-two of them were never found.

Australian 'Backpacker Murderer' Ivan Milat killed his victims in which state forest?

He picked up backpackers along the Hume Highway between 1989 and 1992.

Where were most bodies from Australia's Snowtown murders discovered?

Only one victim was actually killed in Snowtown, about 140 km north of Adelaide.

Which Chinese serial killer confessed to 67 murders and was executed in 2004?

The South China Morning Post dubbed him the 'Monster Killer'.

Russia's 'Chessboard Killer' Alexander Pichushkin hunted victims in which Moscow park?

He is believed to have killed at least 49 people between 1992 and 2006.

Victorian killer Amelia Dyer, the 'Ogress of Reading', practised what trade?

Her downfall came when a bagged infant's corpse was found in the Thames in 1896.

Mary Ann Cotton, hanged in 1873, is thought to have poisoned her victims with what?

She was believed to have killed 11 of her 13 children and three of four husbands for insurance.

Burke and Hare sold their sixteen 1828 victims to which Edinburgh anatomist?

The murders coined a new word: 'burking', meaning to smother a victim.

Which new verb entered English as a result of the Burke and Hare murders?

Their trial began at 10 am on Christmas Eve 1828.

Henry Lee Lucas, the 'Confession Killer', falsely confessed to roughly how many murders?

A Dallas Times-Herald investigation showed many confessions were impossible.

Which law-enforcement agency's reputation was damaged by the Henry Lee Lucas confessions?

The Texas Attorney General concluded Lucas was a fabulist; his death sentence was commuted in 1998.

Carl Panzram was hanged in 1930 for murdering an employee at which federal prison?

He confessed to 21 murders in his autobiography, though only five could be corroborated.

The Hillside Stranglers, Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono, were related how?

Almost all their murders took place in Buono's upholstery shop in Glendale.

How did the Hillside Stranglers lure victims into their car?

Bodies were dumped naked on wooded hillsides around Los Angeles.

Leonard Lake and Charles Ng held victims at a remote cabin near which California town?

Lake took cyanide after a shoplifting arrest in 1985 and died four days later.

'Butcher Baker' Robert Hansen hunted released victims with what rifle?

He was sentenced to 461 years in 1983 and was played by John Cusack in The Frozen Ground.

William Bonin, the 'Freeway Killer', dumped his victims where in southern California?

Gay rights activists offered a $50,000 reward that helped lead to his conviction.

Danny Rolling's 1990 Gainesville murders inspired which slasher franchise?

He killed five college students in four days and was executed in 2006.

What did Danny Rolling record in a Sarasota motel room before the Gainesville murders?

The tape held 11 demo songs, including 'Mystery Rider'.

Ángel Maturino Reséndiz was called the 'Railroad Killer' because he did what?

He was the FBI's 457th Ten Most Wanted fugitive before surrendering in Texas in 1999.

Why was Los Angeles killer Lonnie Franklin Jr. nicknamed the 'Grim Sleeper'?

The apparent gap ran from 1988 to 2002; he was sentenced to death in 2016.

Bruce McArthur, Canada's oldest known serial killer, worked in which trade in Toronto?

He pleaded guilty in 2019 to murdering eight men from the Church and Wellesley village.

Which Toronto neighbourhood did Bruce McArthur's eight victims disappear from?

Criticism of the police response led to a dedicated missing persons unit.

Who was Paul Bernardo's wife and accomplice, freed in 2005 after a contested plea deal?

Bernardo, the 'Scarborough Rapist', was declared a dangerous offender.

Belgian killer Marc Dutroux was paroled after just three years for what 1989 conviction?

His 1996 re-arrest and lenient earlier treatment triggered a national scandal.

Which Thomas Harris novel introduced Hannibal Lecter in 1981?

Its killer is first nicknamed 'the Tooth Fairy'; the 1986 film version was titled Manhunter.

Who played Hannibal 'Lecktor' in Michael Mann's 1986 film Manhunter?

The film flopped at the box office but developed a cult following.

The title of Harris's first Lecter novel refers to a painting by which artist?

The painting is The Great Red Dragon and the Woman Clothed with the Sun.

Patrick Bateman, the narrator of American Psycho, works in what job?

Bret Easton Ellis's 1991 novel was filmed in 2000 with Christian Bale.

In Se7en, the killer's murders are modelled on what?

David Fincher agreed to direct only if the bleak original ending stayed intact.

Which director's career setback with Alien 3 preceded his comeback with Se7en?

He was mistakenly sent the original script and insisted on keeping its ending.

Austrian killer Jack Unterweger was paroled in 1990 after intellectuals championed what?

He became a playwright and journalist, then resumed killing within months.

Japan's Tsutomu Miyazaki was dubbed the 'Otaku Murderer' because of what?

The case triggered a moral panic against otaku in Japan.

Indonesian shaman Ahmad Suradji said his dead father ordered him to kill how many women?

He admitted killing 42 women and girls, burying them up to the waist before strangling them.

Anatoly Onoprienko, 'The Terminator', confessed to 52 murders in which country in 1996?

He was also nicknamed the Beast of Ukraine and Citizen O.

Hungarian killer Béla Kiss preserved his victims' bodies in what?

A tinsmith, he lured women through newspaper ads offering matrimonial or fortune-telling services.

Thierry Paulin, the 'Monster of Montmartre', targeted which victims in 1980s Paris?

He murdered 21 women and died of AIDS-related illness before his trial.

Scottish child-killer Robert Black died in 2016 at which prison?

He was the prime suspect in the 1978 disappearance of Genette Tate.

Steve Wright, the 'Suffolk Strangler', murdered five women in which town in 2006?

In 2026 he also admitted the 1999 murder of 17-year-old Victoria Hall.

Levi Bellfield holds what grim distinction in British sentencing?

He murdered Milly Dowler, Marsha McDonnell and Amélie Delagrange.

Nurse Kristen Gilbert killed patients by injecting IV bags with what?

She then answered the emergency codes, often resuscitating the patients herself.

Self-described 'angel of death' Donald Harvey committed his murders in what job?

He claimed 87 victims, with 37 confirmed, and was serving 28 life sentences when he died.

Texas nurse Genene Jones was charged in 2017 to stop her release under a law on what?

She pleaded guilty in 2020 to the murder of baby Joshua Sawyer.

Roughly how long is the 'Highway of Tears' corridor in British Columbia?

The 719 km corridor between Prince George and Prince Rupert has seen crimes since 1969.

Who directed Monster, the 2003 Aileen Wuornos biopic, as her feature debut?

It grossed $64.2 million on a $1.5 million budget.

Which actor played Jeffrey Dahmer in Netflix's 2022 series Dahmer – Monster?

The series was created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan; Peters won a Golden Globe.

Who played Ted Bundy in the 2019 film Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile?

The title quotes Judge Edward Cowart's words when sentencing Bundy to death.

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile is based on a memoir by whom?

Her book is The Phantom Prince: My Life with Ted Bundy.

'Death House Landlady' Dorothea Puente killed tenants of her boarding house in which California city?

She poisoned elderly and mentally disabled lodgers, buried them in the yard and kept cashing their Social Security checks until her 1988 arrest.

Richard Chase, who killed six people in 1977–78, earned which nickname for drinking his victims' blood?

His victims were chosen at random; the first was shot in a drive-by, the rest were killed in their own homes.

What caused New York state troopers to pull over Joel Rifkin's pickup truck on June 28, 1993?

He led police on a 20-to-25-minute chase before crashing into a light pole; he was later convicted of killing nine women and confessed to 17.

South African killer Moses Sithole's crimes are known as the 'ABC Murders' because of what?

The 1994–95 murders of at least 37 women are linked to Atteridgeville, Boksburg and Cleveland, a Johannesburg suburb, though the order is disputed.