10 Serial Killers Who Were Murdered in Prison

10 Serial Killers Who Were Murdered in Prison

Matrix link: insert here

Freelancer Notes (optional):

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today well be taking a look at the serial killers who were brought to justice by murder in prison.

Thor Nis Christiansen

Born in Denmark, Thor Nis Christiansen was brought to the U.S. by his parents at the age of five. Although a bright student in high school, Christiansen later lost interest in his studies and dropped out to work at a gas station. Around this time, he began harboring despicable thoughts, which he then made a reality after stealing a pistol from a friend. He was responsible for the deaths of four women, but his murderous spree came to an end when his intended fifth victim survived the ordeal and led the police to him months later. While serving a life sentence at Folsom State Prison, Christiansen was wounded in the exercise yard by an unidentified prisoner and later succumbed to his injuries.

Roger Kibbe

Dubbed the I-5 Strangler, Roger Kibbe was responsible for the assault and deaths of at least eight women. His killing spree mostly occurred around Sacramento, California between 1977 and 1987, and he would hunt for his victims along the interstate highway, hence the nickname. He was eventually arrested in 1988 and received an initial prison sentence of 25 years to life. In the following years, more life sentences were added to this as further evidence of his other murders were discovered. On February 28th 2021, while at the Mule Creek State Prison in California, the I-5 Strangler was strangled to death by his cellmate, Jason Budrow, who reportedly did it in retribution for his crimes.

WM-Pop-50-Notorious-Criminals-Who-Were-Murdered-in-Prison_C3I3Y2

Robert Pickton

One of the most notorious serial killers in Canadian history, Robert Pickton was convicted of murdering six people, although he was charged with 21 and later confessed to 49. He mostly targeted sex workers in downtown Vancouver, picking them up and taking them to his pig farm, where he would kill and dispose of them. He was sentenced to life in prison and served his time in Quebecs Port-Cartier Institution. On May 19, 2024, Pickton was reportedly stabbed in the head with a broken broom handle by prisoner Martin Charest. He was rushed to the hospital and put on life support, but he died of his injuries twelve days later.

Daniel Camargo Barbosa

Born in Colombia in 1930, Daniel Camargo Barbosa had a pretty troubling childhood. Prevented from furthering his education by financial constraints, Barbosa eventually fell into a life of crime. He began with petty thefts before escalating into abducting, assaulting and murdering young girls. Barbosa first went to prison in Colombia, where it is believed that he claimed the lives of more than 80 girls. He escaped from prison and fled to Ecuador, where he continued his despicable actions, later owning up to 72 murders in the country. Barbosa was incarcerated for 16 years but his sentence was cut short just five years in when he was killed by another inmate, who happened to be one of his victims nephews.

José Antonio Rodríguez Vega

Dubbed El Mataviejas which translates to The Old Lady Killer in English, José Antonio Rodríguez Vega reigned terror on elderly women in Cantabria, an autonomous community in Spain. In the span of just eight months, Rodríguez Vega warmed his way into the hearts and homes of several women in the area and took the lives of at least sixteen of them. Upon his arrest, Rodríguez Vega confessed to the crimes, but later recanted his confession during his trial. Regardless, he was found guilty and sentenced to 440 years in prison. After only serving a fraction of his sentence, Rodríguez Vega met his end at the hands of two inmates at his prison in Salamanca, who brutally attacked him in the common area.

Léopold Dion

The crimes of Léopold Dion are pretty tragic. Not only because they involve the deaths of four people and the assault of many others, but because a large number of them could have been prevented. Dion had been convicted twice of crimes involving assault, but in both cases, he was released early by a parole board. He later succeeded in cutting short the lives of four young boys before he was arrested again - this time for good. Dion was convicted of just one murder and received the death penalty, although this was later commuted to a life sentence. He was attacked and killed in prison by a fellow inmate, who was acquitted of the crime on the basis of insanity.

Lee Roy Martin

Born and raised in Gaffney, South Carolina, Lee Roy Martin lived a seemingly normal life. He worked in a textile mill and had a wife and three children. Behind that facade, though, was a maniac who reigned terror on women in the area and was responsible for the deaths of four people. After placing two calls himself to a newspaper editor, Martin was spotted close to a crime scene by two local residents and was later arrested by police. He was sentenced to four consecutive life terms but only served about four years before he was put out of his misery by another inmate at the Central Correctional Institution in South Carolina.

Donald Harvey

While working as a hospital orderly in Ohio and Kentucky, Donald Harvey was responsible for the deaths of a self-proclaimed eighty-seven people. Harvey employed several methods in what he deemed as a mercy killing of his patients, including the use of poisons, suffocation and withholding essential medications. He pleaded guilty to thirty-seven murders to avoid the death penalty, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. But when you describe yourself as an angel of death, chances are youre bound to get a taste of your own medicine at some point. This came in the form of James Elliott, a fellow inmate at the Toledo Correctional Institution in Ohio, who descended upon Harvey, being familiar with his crimes.

Albert DeSalvo

1960s Boston, Massachusetts was terrorized by two criminals - one, dubbed the Boston Strangler, who killed thirteen women, and the Green Man, who broke into womens homes and assaulted them. As police launched an investigation into the Green Mans activities, they were pointed towards Albert DeSalvo, whom they arrested and charged with the crimes. While in custody, DeSalvo confessed to also being the Boston Strangler, but due to a lack of physical evidence, he was only tried for the Green Man allegations. DeSalvo was serving a life sentence when he died after being wounded by another inmate in the prison infirmary. Decades later, DNA evidence obtained from one of the victims would prove that DeSalvo was, in fact, the Boston Strangler.

Jeffrey Dahmer

One of the most infamous serial killers to ever walk the earth, Jeffrey Dahmer was responsible for the deaths of seventeen young men. His spree came to an end in July 1991, when an intended victim escaped from Dahmers apartment and led the police back to him. He pleaded guilty to all the charges leveled against him and received fifteen consecutive life sentences in Wisconsin, and an additional one in Ohio. In prison, Dahmer was reportedly unremorseful for his crimes, which reportedly infuriated his fellow inmate, Christopher Scarver, resulting in an attack in the prison gym that left Dahmer dead. Scarver also killed Jesse Anderson, another convicted murderer, who just happened to be in the gym at the same time.

Do you feel as though justice was served appropriately in these situations? Let us know in the comments.