10 Serial Killers Who Killed AGAIN After Getting Released

10 Serial Killers Who Killed AGAIN After Getting Released

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’ll be looking at the most tragic cases where convicted serial killers were released early from prison, only to prove that leopards truly cannot change their spots.

Raymond Eugene Brown

On October 1st 1960, Raymond Eugene Brown broke into the house where his aunt, grandmother and great-grandmother lived, looking to steal money to buy himself shoes. After being caught by his aunt, he fatally stabbed her. Then to ensure there were no witnesses, he did the same to his grandmother and great-grandmother. Nevertheless, Brown was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. Due to his exemplary behavior behind bars, Brown was granted parole in 1973. However, he soon landed back in prison after sexually assaulting his apartment manager. In 1987, just one year after he was released again, Brown murdered his girlfriend and her daughter in their shared apartment. This time, he was sentenced to death, and he passed away on death row in 2008.

Hugo Bustamante Pérez

This Chilean killer lived a life of crime that led to multiple stints in prison. His first murder occurred in 1996, when he claimed the lives of Eduardo Páez, a former cellmate, and Páez’s mother, Elena Hinojosa. Pérez evaded justice for these murders and they remained unsolved for years. It wasn’t until 2005, when he killed his partner, Verónica Vásquez and her son, that he was handed a 27-year prison sentence. After serving just 11 years, Pérez was granted conditional release. He subsequently began a relationship with a woman named Denisse Llanos and successfully pulled her into his dark ways. In July 2020, Pérez and Llanos conspired to murder Llanos’ daughter, Ámbar Cornejo. They were both convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Somkid Pumpuang

Between January and June 2005, Somkid Pumpuang unleashed terror across several provinces of Thailand, ending the lives of five women in various hotels. While seemingly leading his intended sixth victim to another hotel, Pumpuang was finally apprehended by police. Although prosecutors initially sought the death penalty, he pleaded guilty to four of the murders, resulting in a life sentence instead. This sentence was further reduced to 13 years, thanks in part to his upstanding behavior behind bars. After his release in May 2019, Pumpuang began dating Rassamee Mulichan. But in December, a domestic argument between the two turned physical, and he killed Mulichan before fleeing the scene. He was later arrested on a train, and was condemned to death for Mulichan’s murder.

Maniram Sen

Back in 2000, India was gripped by a strange murder case. Five people had been blindfolded and killed with a stone, in what appeared to be a dark ritual. Police were able to trace the murders to Maniram Sen, who was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. Fast forward to 2020, an eerily similar murder resurfaced. Aadil Wahab had also been killed with a stone. During their investigation, authorities learned that Sen, who was released from prison in 2017, had borrowed money from Wahab. They also discovered that in both cases, Sen had duped the victims with false promises of helping them find a hidden treasure, only to kill them to avoid paying back. He was arrested and charged with Wahab’s murder.

Yuri Sparikhin

A lifelong criminal, Yuri Sparikhin committed his first murder in 1980, just weeks after being released from prison for theft. As he was still a minor, he was sentenced to only 10 years. Upon his release, he quickly found himself back behind bars, for a sexual assault case and for attacking a police officer. He was released again in 2000, but returned soon after, for sexually assaulting and killing two girls. This time, Sparikhin received a 20-year sentence, and he remained locked up until June 2020. Any attempts at rehabilitation were clearly futile, as Sparikhin went on to sexually assault and murder another woman just two months later. Following a heated police chase, he was apprehended and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Maina Ramulu

Maina Ramulu reportedly developed a hatred for women when his wife jilted him just days after their wedding. From 2003, he began killing women in India, claiming nine lives before his arrest in 2009. Ramulu received a life sentence but escaped less than a year later and murdered five more women before his rearrest. After he was sent back to prison, Ramulu petitioned a high court which inexplicably granted his release. During this time, he killed two more women. He was apprehended again, after which he filed another appeal, which resulted in his release yet again. Unsurprisingly, he is now alleged to have murdered two more women while free. Ramulu was arrested once more in 2021 and was charged with the murders.

David Edward Maust

Born in Pennsylvania in 1954, David Edward Maust had a troubled childhood that led to his admission in a psychiatric hospital at an early age. In 1971, he joined the Army and was stationed in Germany, where he killed his first victim. Maust claimed this death was accidental, hence he was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to four years in prison. Following his release, he killed another person, resulting in a 35-year sentence. However, due to time served and good behavior, he was released after just 17 years in 1999. He went on to murder three more people and buried their remains in his basement. These crimes earned Maust three life sentences, but he ultimately took his own life in his jail cell.

Arthur Shawcross

When Arthur Shawcross committed his first murder in May 1972, he had already been imprisoned for arson and burglary. His first victim’s body wasn’t discovered until September, just after he committed a second murder. For these two killings, Shawcross pleaded guilty to manslaughter and served 14 years in prison. Despite psychiatrists labeling him a “schizoid psychopath,” Shawcross was released on parole in 1987. He then began a murderous spree in Rochester, New York, claiming the lives of 12 women. Shawcross was arrested in January 1990 and pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, citing brain damage, traumatic childhood experiences and PTSD from the Vietnam War. Nevertheless, he was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison, where he died of cardiac arrest in 2008.

Pedro López

Pedro López is one of history’s most prolific serial killers, with at least 110 confirmed victims. His murderous spree began after his 1978 release from prison for car theft. López targeted girls across South America, claiming lives in Ecuador, Peru, and his native Colombia. His crimes might have remained unnoticed if not for a flash flood in Ecuador, which unearthed the remains of several victims. López was arrested shortly after and confessed to 110 murders in Ecuador alone. Despite the magnitude of his crimes, he received a 16-year sentence, the maximum under Ecuadorian law. After serving his time, López was deported to Colombia, where he spent three years in a psychiatric hospital before being released. He then disappeared and is suspected to have continued killing.

Kenneth McDuff

Although he had reportedly bragged of killing before, Kenneth McDuff was first convicted of murder for the 1966 slayings of Robert Brand, Edna Sullivan and Mark Dunnam. The three teenagers were visiting Texas from California when McDuff and an accomplice abducted and murdered them. For these crimes, McDuff received the death penalty, which was later commuted to a life sentence. Afterwards, he hired a lawyer who successfully secured his parole, leading to his release in 1989. It took all of three days for McDuff to give in to his murderous tendencies again. Over the next three years, he killed at least six women before being arrested in May 1992. McDuff was once again sentenced to death and was ultimately executed on November 17th 1998.

Did we miss any other recidivist serial killers? Let us know in the comments below.