30 Terrifying Serial Killers Who Are Free Right NOW

30 Terrifying Serial Killers Who Are Free Right NOW

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today were looking at famous serial killers who are currently not locked up in prison. Well be covering cases of convicts being released from jail and those who havent been caught yet.

The Missouri River Killer

In 1982, the body of Annette Parker was found in the Missouri River. This would spark a series of murders, as women and girls residing in Kansas City, Missouri, were discovered in or near the river. Officially, between 1982 and 1994, there were seven victims of the Missouri River Killer who shared a very similar grizzly MO. However, there is speculation there could be more. In 1996, Gregory Breeden was charged as the serial killer. Yet, during that time, further bodies were discovered. However, the police deemed the cases unconnected to the Missouri River Killer. With a lack of evidence, Breedens case was dropped. He spent the rest of his life denying the allegations until his passing in 2014.

Warren Harris

In 1977, in the space of 2 months, five men were slain in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. Most of the victims were known to be gay, and most were found inside their own homes. A week after the last victim, a 16-year-old Harris was arrested for an attempted violent robbery. During the interrogation, he brought up his hatred of the gay community and confessed to 4 of the murders. In 1977, Harris was found guilty of three of the murders. He was sentenced to 3 consecutive life terms without the chance of pardon or parole. In 2021, his sentence was changed to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole. This opened it up for Harris to be released in 2024.

The Redhead Murders

From 1984 to 1985, the bodies of five females were found alongside roads in various US states. Each victim had reddish hair. Officially, theyre all victims of the redhead murderer. However, theres speculation that between 1978 and 1992, there could be over fourteen victims. In 1985, trucker Jerry Leon Johns was arrested for attempting to kill a redheaded woman. His connection to the serial killings was dismissed, but he was sentenced for attempted murder. In 2016, Johnss DNA was tied to one of the victims of the redhead murders. However, he passed away in 2015. This made his connection difficult to prove, leaving the culprits identity still a mystery.

Harnoko Dewantoro

In the late 80s, Dewantoro arrived in the US on a student visa from Indonesia. However, from 1991 to 1992, he began taking lives for revenge when his victims pulled out of business deals. Fearing getting caught, Dewantoro placed the bodies in a storage unit before going back to Indonesia. Yet when the unit was opened, the authorities in Indonesia arrested Dewantoro in 1995. He confessed to two of the murders but claimed his brother committed one of them. The cops didnt buy it and charged him for all three. With US police flying into Indonesia to provide evidence, in 1997, Dewantoro was sentenced to death. However, in 2019, after his sentence was changed to life imprisonment, then-Indonesian President Joko Widodo pardoned Dewantoro, resulting in his release.

The Skid Row Stabber

From 1978 to 1979, the homeless community in the Skid Row neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, was in a state of fear as eleven people were murdered, seemingly by the same culprit. In 1978, Bobby Joe Maxwell was arrested after holding a knife over a homeless person. This led the police to believe Maxwell was responsible and charged him for the killings. In 1984, with testimony from Maxwells cellmate claiming he admitted to the murders, he was sentenced to life without parole. After years of appeals against false testimony, in 2010, Maxwells sentence was overturned. However, in 2017, he fell into a coma from a heart attack. While he was acquitted in 2018 at the retrial, Maxwell never woke up and passed away in 2019.

Antonio Anglés & Miguel Ricart

In 1992, teenage girls Desirée Hernández, Miriam García, and Antonia Gómez got a ride at a petrol station to go to a nightclub. This was the last time they were seen alive. Collectively known as the Alcàsser Girls due to all living in the Spanish municipality, in 1993, their bodies were found after heavy rain disturbed their improvised grave. When the police arrived, they found Ricarts glove and a letter for his brother, leading to his arrest. He admitted to committing the crime with Anglés. However, the cops were unable to find him. Angléss last sighting was on a container ship to Ireland. Hes still wanted by Interpol. Ricart was sentenced to 170 years, with the maximum in jail being 30. He was released in 2013.

El Juguetero

In 2019, in the Mexican city of Culiacán, Sinaloa, a serial killer vigilante began prowling the streets. The unidentified murderer took action against those who stole cars, subjecting them to violent abuse before taking their lives. They then left the bodies out to be discovered with the killers signature of toy cars found on top of them. This led to the killer being dubbed El Juguetero, meaning The Toy-Maker, or El Asesino del Carrito, meaning The Toy Car Killer. One victim was recorded stealing a vehicle on CCTV only twelve hours before he was killed. In 2023, another body was found with toy cars placed on him, but its unsure if this is connected to El Juguetero.

Catherine Wood

While working at the Alpine Manor nursing home in Walker, Michigan, Catherine Wood and Gwendolyn Graham fell in love. Soon, their romance turned deadly. In 1987, as some form of unsettling love pact, the duo smothered five patients to death. After Wood confessed the crimes to her ex-husband, he went to the police. Wood made a plea-bargain, claiming she was a lookout while Graham did the murders, which she denied and claimed Wood was the instigator. In 1989, Graham was sentenced to five life sentences. Wood received 20 to 40 years. While being eligible for parole since 2005, it was rejected each time. But that changed in 2020 when Wood was released, despite Graham and the victims families' pleas to keep her locked up.

The West Mesa Bone Collector

In 2009, a woman was walking her dog in the West Mesa desert in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when the animal found a human bone. Investigators soon excavated the site, finding a mass grave containing 11 women and girls. The victims had gone missing between 2003 and 2004. There are possibly other victims, as several additional women and girls with similar backgrounds had also gone missing in the area between 2001 and 2006. In 2010, police offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the culprit. While there have been several possible perpetrators linked to the case over the years, the killer is still unknown.

Nathaniel Cook

With his brother, Anthony, in jail for life for murder, Nathaniel wanted to move on with his life. But when he was arrested for a minor offense, his DNA was linked to a murder in 1998. In 2000, Anthony and Nathaniel agreed to a plea bargain. They confessed to having taken several lives together in and around Toledo, Ohio, from 1980 to 1981. Anthony pleaded guilty to nine slayings, while Anthony confirmed 1 and was complicit in two others. Due to the deal, Anthony had one life sentence added on, and Nathaniel received 75 years in prison, with the possibility of parole after 20 years. While Anthony has had his parole rejected multiple times, Nathaniels was granted, and he was released in 2018.

The Little Rock Slasher

Police in Arkansas believe that there is an active serial killer on the loose, and he goes by a number of names like The River City Ripper and The Little Rock Slasher. The city saw a rash of stabbings between August 2020 and April 2021, with four people being stabbed at random while walking alone at night. Three of the victims died. The fourth survived her attack and told police that she was accosted by a Black man who was tall, young, and slender. A reward of $20,000 has been established for the mans capture, but nothing has come to fruition and an investigation is currently ongoing.

Charles Sobhraj

Often, life in prison doesnt actually mean life in prison. Infamous for stalking Asias hippie trail during the 70s, Sobhraj is suspected of murdering between 12 and 30 people, primarily young Western tourists. He avoided detection for many years, earning the moniker The Serpent. However, Sobhraj was finally caught and jailed in 1976, and he was in and out of prison until 2022. In December of that year, the Supreme Court of Nepal ordered his release after serving 19 years of a life term. He was allegedly released due to old age, being 78 at the time. Sobhraj was deported back to France, where he is currently planning some films and hoping to sue those who imprisoned him.

Sammy Gravano

The only reason Sammy the Bull doesnt meet your standard definition of a serial killer is because he was in the mob. A high-ranking member of the Gambino crime family, Gravano was involved in at least nineteen murders throughout his time in the mafia. Among his victims were his own brother-in-law, his best friend, Louis Milito, and the head of the Gambino family, Paul Castellano. His crime spree finally came to an end in 1991 when he decided to turn states evidence and testify against famous mobster John Gotti. In exchange for his information, Gravano was only given five years in prison. He was later busted on a drug trafficking charge but was released in 2017 and now, of all things, runs a YouTube channel.

The Freeway Phantom

Active in the Washington, D.C. area in the early 1970s, the Freeway Phantom targeted young African American girls and was known to have killed six individuals. Perhaps his most famous victim was Brenda Crockett, a young girl who was forced to call her own family after being abducted, likely to feed them inaccurate information and throw off the investigation. Despite a number of suspects, The Freeway Phantom remains unidentified with no strong leads pointing towards his current whereabouts or status. But given that these murders occurred in the early 70s, its entirely possible that he is still alive.

The Doodler

A unique killer, The Doodler earned his nickname because he often sketched his victims prior to killing them. In the mid 70s, The Doodler would meet his victims at gay nightclubs, take them to a private location, sketch them, then fatally stab them. Its believed that he killed between six and sixteen people in this manner. Amazingly, three victims survived. However, no convictions were made due to the victims unwillingness to testify in court, as they did not wish to publicly out themselves as gay. As it is, The Doodler has remained unnamed. He was described as being in his early 20s, so provided hes still alive, he would currently be in his early 70s.

David McGreavy

Also known as The Monster of Worcester, David McGreavy committed one of Britains most shocking crimes in 1973. On the night of April 13, McGreavy was minding the three children of his friend Clive Ralph. But when Clive and his wife Elsie returned home, David was gone - and so were their children. Upon a further search of the area, investigators found the bodies of the three in a neighbors yard. McGreavy served over four decades in prison before being controversially released on parole in 2018, the motive being that he had changed considerably while inside.

Arnfinn Nesset

This unassuming man once seemed like a stand-up citizen. After finishing school, Nesset quickly became head nurse at a Norwegian nursing home. When the number of deaths in the facility became suspiciously high however, the police got involved. It is suspected that Nesset may have been responsible for up to 138 deaths, but he only admitted to 27 when interrogated. In 1983, he was found guilty of murdering 22 patients and sentenced to 21 years in prison, which was Norways longest possible sentence at that time. After just 12 years in prison, he was released on good behavior and is now walking the streets under a pseudonym.

Mitchell Johnson

Nowadays it seems as if there is a violent shooting every month, but this wasnt the case in 1998 when middle school students Mitchell Johnson and Andrew Golden shocked the nation. On March 24, 1998, Johnson and Golden wounded ten people and killed five after pulling the fire alarm in a middle school in Arkansas. They then shot at the students and teachers who were evacuating the school. They were found guilty of five counts of murder and imprisoned until they reached 21, which was the maximum under Arkansas law. After serving seven and nine years respectively, the two were released. Johnson remains free, while Golden died in a car accident in 2019.

The Monster of Florence

Between 1968 and 1985, sixteen people were killed in eight double homicides inside the greater Florence area. The victims were couples who had ventured into remote areas to become intimate. Despite the first murder occurring in 1968, it wasnt until 1981 that the police realized they were connected, and an investigation led them to two men - Mario Vanni and Giancarlo Lotti. These men were allegedly part of a larger gang of murderers, but they were only convicted on four of the eight double homicides. Furthermore, their supposed guilt has been questioned and doubted by many legal experts. The other members of the supposed gang - including the ringleader - have never been caught. That is, if its even a gang in the first place

Marybeth Tinning

Tragedy seemed to follow Tinning wherever she lived in New York state. Starting in 1971, she would lose her children, one after another, over the course of fourteen years. This led to the belief that something genetic was causing the early deaths. However, in 1981, that theory changed when her adopted child fell down the stairs. When another biological child perished in 1985, government officials descended on Tinning and her husband, Joseph. During the interrogation, she signed a document that admitted to her taking three lives, which she later claimed was under duress. In 1987, Tinning was found guilty of one count of second-degree murder. She was sentenced to 20 years to life, but in 2018, Tinning was released on parole.

Collins Jumaisi Khalusha

In 2024, desperate to find their missing relative, a family member contacted a diver to search a quarry near a police station in Nairobi, Kenya, after having a dream about the location. When they did so, they discovered the remains of ten people. During the investigation, Collins Jumaisi Khalusha was interrogated. He seemingly confessed to taking forty-two lives since 2022, including his own wifes. Khalusha later claimed the confession was taken during abuse from officers. However, while in jail, Khalusha broke out along with twelve other prisoners who were arrested for alleged illegal immigration. Several officers believed to have helped in the breakout were arrested. So far, even with a cash reward issued by the police, Khalusha has remained free.

The Smiley Face Gang

If you believe retired NYPD detectives Kevin Gannon and Anthony Duarte, then there are a number of unsolved murders in the American midwest. They theorize that one or more serial killers was active in the general area from the late 90s to the 2010s, killing upwards of 45 individuals. According to local law enforcement agencies and the FBI, these deaths were attributed to alcohol-related drownings, but Gannon and Duarte are convinced that they are connected. Their hypothesis is backed by criminal justice professor Dr. Lee Gilbertson, who publicly endorsed the theory on Larry King Live back in 2009. If their assumptions are correct, then not one person has been arrested in connection to the alleged killings.

Mika Muranen

The role of the military in any country should be to keep the nation and its citizens safe. In 1994 however, military conscript Mika Muranen brought the war home to Kotka, Finland. Dressed in uniform, he took a crossbow from his house and shot two of his neighbors. The next day, using an assault rifle he had stolen from his military base, he shot a mailman, before fleeing into the woods while shooting at random houses. After he was captured, he was sentenced to life in prison. However, after four previous attempts, he was granted parole in September 2014.

Charlene Gallego

Charlene Gallego, along with her husband Gerald, were serial killers who killed ten people, the majority of whom were teenagers, in the American West between 1978 and 1980. They would abduct people off the street and assault and murder them, earning themselves the moniker of The Love Slave Killers. After being captured, Charlene was offered a plea deal in exchange for testifying against Gerald, and she was subsequently sentenced to 16 years and eight months in prison. While Gerald eventually died in prison while awaiting execution, Charlene was freed in July of 1997.

Aleksandr Rubel

From September 1997 to June 1998, Rubel (who was then a teenager) murdered six to eight people while high on gasoline vapors. His first victim, a neighbor with disabilities, was reportedly murdered simply because Rubel had an uncontrollable urge to kill someone. Having acquired a taste for murder, Rubel proceeded to kill several more people. Other murders of his include slitting the throat of a young girl and attacking a random passerby with an axe after asking for money. He was sentenced to 8 years, the maximum allowed for a minor, and now allegedly lives in Ukraine.

The Highway of Tears Killer

This is the name for a long stretch of road on British Columbias Highway 16, which has seen many disappearances and murders of local indigenous women. The exact number of victims remains unknown, but some estimates place it above 80. Even worse, these attacks have been going on unimpeded since 1970. A number of arrests have been made, but most of the murders remain unsolved. Unfortunately, there are many factors going into the high number of missing women, including Highway 16s remote location and the prevalence of hitchhiking that occurs in the area owing to systemic poverty and a lack of public transportation.

Karla Homolka

Among Canadas most notorious serial killers, Karla Homolka and her husband, Paul Bernardo, were responsible for assaulting and murdering three women, including Homolkas sister, Tammy - who they drugged and assaulted. They then kidnapped two more minors off the street and did the same to them as well. When captured, Homolka struck a plea deal to testify against Bernardo, claiming a diminished role in the murders. However, this was later found to be a lie. She was sentenced to 12 years and was released in 2005. Whats she doing now? Recently she caused an uproar for volunteering at her daughters elementary school in Quebec.

Lainz Angels of Death

Throughout the 1980s, the Lainz Angels of Death were employed as nurses aides in Austria. After one of the Angels killed a patient with a morphine overdose, she discovered her lust for power and talked her friends into joining her foray into murder. Over the years, they allegedly killed upwards of 200 patients by holding their noses and filling their mouths with water until they drowned. After being caught discussing their latest kill in a bar, they confessed to 49 of the murders. Their sentences ranged from 15 years to life, but as of 2008, all have been released and are walking free.

Pedro López

Lopez was a mass murderer who says he assaulted and killed up to 300 girls throughout Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador in the late 70s. He claimed to have killed around three a week, and he confessed to murdering over 300. He was found guilty on 110 counts of murder and was sentenced to 16 years in prison, which was Ecuadors highest form of punishment. After later being held in a psychiatric hospital, he was released on bail in 1998, and disappeared. While he could have been recaptured, he could also be free, or even dead. No one really knows, and isnt that even more terrifying?

The Zodiac Killer

And here we come to a legendary serial killer who has commanded Americas attention for decades. The Zodiac has remained an enduring figure of pop culture since his crime spree in the late 60s that left at least five people dead. The case has many famous aspects, including Zodiacs correspondence with the media and the elusive cryptograms that he published through the local newspapers. And of course, theres one other aspect that has allowed the story to remain so popular - he was never caught. Eyewitnesses have given wildly different ages for the Zodiac, but many have placed him in his 30s. So, while he would be very old, its entirely possible that the Zodiac is still aliveand out there somewhere.

Which of these serial killers being free scares you the most? Let us know in the comments below!