Serial Killers People Tried to Warn Us About
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VOICE OVER: Peter DeGiglio
In a chilling exploration, we delve into the stories of serial killers who were flagged by concerned individuals, yet somehow slipped through the cracks of law enforcement. From Edmund Kemper to Jeffrey Dahmer, these are the terrifying tales of warnings that went unheeded. Our countdown includes shocking stories of missed opportunities, systemic failures, and the devastating consequences of ignored warnings from victims, families, and community members. Which serial killer disturbs you most? Let us know in the comments.
Serial Killers People Tried to Warn Us About
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at various stories in which people tried to warn the authorities about budding or active serial killers.
Edmund Kemper
Unlike many killers on this list, Edmund Kemper’s tendency for violence already known by the time he started actively serial killing. On August 27, 1964, 15-year-old Kemper shot and murdered his grandparents, Maude and Edmund. He called the police on himself and was taken to a psychiatric facility. Inside, Kemper was a model prisoner and was eventually deemed both highly intelligent and rehabilitated. However, Kemper’s psychiatrists were not convinced, arguing that he was not well and warning that further violence could occur should he be released. Their warnings were not heeded, and Kemper was paroled on his 21st birthday. This was December 1969. Less than three years later, between May 1972 and April 1973, Kemper would murder eight more people, including his mother, Clarnell.
Deangelo Martin
Between 2018 and 2019, Deangelo Martin murdered four people in the greater Detroit area. However, an extensive study performed by the Associated Press found that Detroit had been warned about Martin for nearly two decades. They claimed that for fifteen years, the city’s police bungled evidence linking him to various crimes, like losing a kit in 2004 that could have tied Martin to a sexual assault. They also ignored personal warnings and failed to properly handle DNA. One supervisor called it a “total systemic breakdown,” and two officers were suspended for neglecting their duties. It’s believed that, should the proper precautions have been taken, Martin would have been caught before he killed anyone.
Bruce McArthur
Between 2010 and 2017, Bruce McArthur terrorized the Church and Wellesley neighborhood of Toronto, killing eight people. This neighborhood is well known for its LGBT activity, hosting Pride Toronto and offering many bars and stores catered to the community. A PhD candidate named Sasha Reid warned police that a serial killer was likely active in the area. Nothing happened. Locals pleaded with police to investigate, as a large number of gay men were disappearing. Again, not much happened. Many people blame discrimination, as the victims were part of a marginalized community. A report written by Ontario justice Gloria Epstein claimed that “Toronto police [lost] important opportunities to identify him as the killer,” often owing to their “misconceptions or stereotypical ideas” about the gay community.
Peter Sutcliffe
Dubbed The Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe murdered at least thirteen women between 1975 and 1980. Like McArthur, he preyed on a marginalized community that he knew would go unnoticed - in this case, sex workers. It was quite obvious, even from the beginning, that Sutcliffe was a serial killer. Dozens of people warned the Yorkshire police about Sutcliffe, including survivors, crime analysts, Sutcliffe’s friend Trevor Birdsall, and even the FBI. In fact, Sutcliffe was interviewed nine different times, but he was let go each and every time thanks to horrible police work and a casual indifference towards sex workers. A report written by Inspector Lawrence Byford heavily criticized the Yorkshire police, leading to systemic changes in the country’s investigative procedures.
Robert Pickton
Perhaps Canada’s most notorious serial killer, Robert Pickton killed at least 26 women, but he confessed to murdering 49. And the clues were there. A profiler named Kim Rossmo tried setting up an investigative unit to study disappearances in the Vancouver area, and even attempted to warn the public that a serial killer was on the loose. However, these attempts were stopped by Inspector Fred Biddlecombe, supposedly to prevent the panic and political pressure that would result. Police were even receiving grotesque tips - an employee of Pickton’s claimed that he was hoarding women’s purses, and an anonymous tip declared that he had a freezer full of human remains at his farmhouse. Bizarrely, this nightmarish piece of information was completely ignored.
Gary Ridgway
Despite having an enormous body count, Gary Ridgway isn’t as famous as some of the bigger names. Known as The Green River Killer, Ridgway was convicted of 49 murders, although it’s possible that he committed more than 90. While he wasn’t caught until 2001, he was a major suspect in the case for nearly twenty years. His name was mentioned all the way back in 1983, when the boyfriend of Marie Malvar found the truck she had disappeared in parked in front of Ridgway’s house. Police were also receiving other tips mentioning Ridgway, leading them to arraign and interview him. However, he passed a polygraph and investigators were unable to link him to the killings, so he was freed and allowed to continue his spree.
Dennis Rader
Famously known as BTK, Dennis Rader killed ten people in the greater Wichita area between 1974 and 1991, often taunting the police with sordid letters. At the time, Rader was quite unassuming, known as a quiet and reserved security specialist working for ADT. But as he aged, Rader became more outspoken and belligerent. Throughout the early 1990s, locals began having major problems with Rader, especially in his capacity as a strict compliance officer. He also became known for harassing women, and numerous victims filed restraining orders against him. One neighbor even alleged that Rader murdered her dog. The signs were there, but police did not dig deeper. If they did, they may have uncovered one of the country’s most infamous serial killers.
John Wayne Gacy
By all accounts, John Wayne Gacy was a friendly and popular man who was active in his Chicago community. But some people tried speaking out against him - specifically Marko Butkovich. Marko’s son John was working for Gacy’s construction company, PDM Contractors, when he disappeared in 1975. Butkovich was reportedly having problems with his boss, having confronted him over unpaid wages. So when his car showed up with his jacket and wallet still inside, Marko suspected Gacy of murdering his son. He and his wife Terezia called the police over one hundred times over the next three years, urging them to investigate and question Gacy. They did not. Butkovich was Gacy’s third victim. Third of 33.
Ted Bundy
Despite his infamy, Ted Bundy was quite a sloppy serial killer. Many people survived his attacks, he was jailed on numerous occasions, and friends and acquaintances had long suspected him of being a killer. A rash of murders occurred on the west coast throughout 1974. A composite sketch and a criminal profile describing the perp were made public, and numerous people immediately recognized it as Bundy. That includes two of Bundy’s co-workers, a professor at the University of Washington, and even his girlfriend, Elizabeth Kloepfer. All went to the police and told them that Bundy was their man. However, investigators were not convinced and ignored their statements, as Bundy was a respectable law student with no criminal record. A wolf in sheep’s clothing…
Jeffrey Dahmer
People who watched “Monster” may have thought that the character of Glenda Cleveland was made up, a sort of composite character made to represent all the people that tried alerting the police about Dahmer. But no, she was very real. Cleveland, her daughter, and her niece all contacted police to warn them about Dahmer, even alerting them to the scary incident involving Konerak Sinthasomphone. The young man was famously returned into Dahmer’s care and murdered. After learning that Sinthasomphone had disappeared, Cleveland made repeated calls to the police and even contacted the FBI. All of these calls were ignored. Dahmer murdered four men after Sinthasomphone, Cleveland’s alarm bells having been totally unheard.
Do you know of any other examples? Let us know in the comments below!
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re looking at various stories in which people tried to warn the authorities about budding or active serial killers.
Edmund Kemper
Unlike many killers on this list, Edmund Kemper’s tendency for violence already known by the time he started actively serial killing. On August 27, 1964, 15-year-old Kemper shot and murdered his grandparents, Maude and Edmund. He called the police on himself and was taken to a psychiatric facility. Inside, Kemper was a model prisoner and was eventually deemed both highly intelligent and rehabilitated. However, Kemper’s psychiatrists were not convinced, arguing that he was not well and warning that further violence could occur should he be released. Their warnings were not heeded, and Kemper was paroled on his 21st birthday. This was December 1969. Less than three years later, between May 1972 and April 1973, Kemper would murder eight more people, including his mother, Clarnell.
Deangelo Martin
Between 2018 and 2019, Deangelo Martin murdered four people in the greater Detroit area. However, an extensive study performed by the Associated Press found that Detroit had been warned about Martin for nearly two decades. They claimed that for fifteen years, the city’s police bungled evidence linking him to various crimes, like losing a kit in 2004 that could have tied Martin to a sexual assault. They also ignored personal warnings and failed to properly handle DNA. One supervisor called it a “total systemic breakdown,” and two officers were suspended for neglecting their duties. It’s believed that, should the proper precautions have been taken, Martin would have been caught before he killed anyone.
Bruce McArthur
Between 2010 and 2017, Bruce McArthur terrorized the Church and Wellesley neighborhood of Toronto, killing eight people. This neighborhood is well known for its LGBT activity, hosting Pride Toronto and offering many bars and stores catered to the community. A PhD candidate named Sasha Reid warned police that a serial killer was likely active in the area. Nothing happened. Locals pleaded with police to investigate, as a large number of gay men were disappearing. Again, not much happened. Many people blame discrimination, as the victims were part of a marginalized community. A report written by Ontario justice Gloria Epstein claimed that “Toronto police [lost] important opportunities to identify him as the killer,” often owing to their “misconceptions or stereotypical ideas” about the gay community.
Peter Sutcliffe
Dubbed The Yorkshire Ripper, Peter Sutcliffe murdered at least thirteen women between 1975 and 1980. Like McArthur, he preyed on a marginalized community that he knew would go unnoticed - in this case, sex workers. It was quite obvious, even from the beginning, that Sutcliffe was a serial killer. Dozens of people warned the Yorkshire police about Sutcliffe, including survivors, crime analysts, Sutcliffe’s friend Trevor Birdsall, and even the FBI. In fact, Sutcliffe was interviewed nine different times, but he was let go each and every time thanks to horrible police work and a casual indifference towards sex workers. A report written by Inspector Lawrence Byford heavily criticized the Yorkshire police, leading to systemic changes in the country’s investigative procedures.
Robert Pickton
Perhaps Canada’s most notorious serial killer, Robert Pickton killed at least 26 women, but he confessed to murdering 49. And the clues were there. A profiler named Kim Rossmo tried setting up an investigative unit to study disappearances in the Vancouver area, and even attempted to warn the public that a serial killer was on the loose. However, these attempts were stopped by Inspector Fred Biddlecombe, supposedly to prevent the panic and political pressure that would result. Police were even receiving grotesque tips - an employee of Pickton’s claimed that he was hoarding women’s purses, and an anonymous tip declared that he had a freezer full of human remains at his farmhouse. Bizarrely, this nightmarish piece of information was completely ignored.
Gary Ridgway
Despite having an enormous body count, Gary Ridgway isn’t as famous as some of the bigger names. Known as The Green River Killer, Ridgway was convicted of 49 murders, although it’s possible that he committed more than 90. While he wasn’t caught until 2001, he was a major suspect in the case for nearly twenty years. His name was mentioned all the way back in 1983, when the boyfriend of Marie Malvar found the truck she had disappeared in parked in front of Ridgway’s house. Police were also receiving other tips mentioning Ridgway, leading them to arraign and interview him. However, he passed a polygraph and investigators were unable to link him to the killings, so he was freed and allowed to continue his spree.
Dennis Rader
Famously known as BTK, Dennis Rader killed ten people in the greater Wichita area between 1974 and 1991, often taunting the police with sordid letters. At the time, Rader was quite unassuming, known as a quiet and reserved security specialist working for ADT. But as he aged, Rader became more outspoken and belligerent. Throughout the early 1990s, locals began having major problems with Rader, especially in his capacity as a strict compliance officer. He also became known for harassing women, and numerous victims filed restraining orders against him. One neighbor even alleged that Rader murdered her dog. The signs were there, but police did not dig deeper. If they did, they may have uncovered one of the country’s most infamous serial killers.
John Wayne Gacy
By all accounts, John Wayne Gacy was a friendly and popular man who was active in his Chicago community. But some people tried speaking out against him - specifically Marko Butkovich. Marko’s son John was working for Gacy’s construction company, PDM Contractors, when he disappeared in 1975. Butkovich was reportedly having problems with his boss, having confronted him over unpaid wages. So when his car showed up with his jacket and wallet still inside, Marko suspected Gacy of murdering his son. He and his wife Terezia called the police over one hundred times over the next three years, urging them to investigate and question Gacy. They did not. Butkovich was Gacy’s third victim. Third of 33.
Ted Bundy
Despite his infamy, Ted Bundy was quite a sloppy serial killer. Many people survived his attacks, he was jailed on numerous occasions, and friends and acquaintances had long suspected him of being a killer. A rash of murders occurred on the west coast throughout 1974. A composite sketch and a criminal profile describing the perp were made public, and numerous people immediately recognized it as Bundy. That includes two of Bundy’s co-workers, a professor at the University of Washington, and even his girlfriend, Elizabeth Kloepfer. All went to the police and told them that Bundy was their man. However, investigators were not convinced and ignored their statements, as Bundy was a respectable law student with no criminal record. A wolf in sheep’s clothing…
Jeffrey Dahmer
People who watched “Monster” may have thought that the character of Glenda Cleveland was made up, a sort of composite character made to represent all the people that tried alerting the police about Dahmer. But no, she was very real. Cleveland, her daughter, and her niece all contacted police to warn them about Dahmer, even alerting them to the scary incident involving Konerak Sinthasomphone. The young man was famously returned into Dahmer’s care and murdered. After learning that Sinthasomphone had disappeared, Cleveland made repeated calls to the police and even contacted the FBI. All of these calls were ignored. Dahmer murdered four men after Sinthasomphone, Cleveland’s alarm bells having been totally unheard.
Do you know of any other examples? Let us know in the comments below!
