Top 10 Infamous Serial Killers in America: Part 1

She is one of the only female serial killers. Wuornos was abused during childhood, and eventually became a prostitute to support herself. She went to jail multiple times for robbery assault and more, but her murders began in 1989. While her story often changed, Wuornos claimed all her victims tried to rape her before she shot them. By 1993, she was convicted of six murders, and she was executed by lethal injection nine years later. In 2003, Wuornos’ life story made it to the big screen, with Charlize Theron taking on the role of a “Monster.”

While DeSalvo took the fall for these crimes, evidence suggests they were committed by more than one person. Panic struck Boston in the early ‘60s when thirteen single women between the ages of 19-85 were sexually assaulted and strangled in their homes. The terror ended in 1964 when DeSalvo was arrested for rape: he soon confessed to being the Boston Strangler and was sentenced to life in prison in 1967. To this day, some proclaim his innocence, but he was found murdered in jail in 1973.

The Zodiac Killer plagued California in the late-1960s and early ‘70s by stabbing and gunning down innocent people. During the spree, the killer sent letters to local newspapers and police in which he claimed responsibility for a total of 37 murders, though police only credited him with five stabbings and shootings. Zodiac also left coded messages he claimed revealed his true identity, but they were never cracked. The most prominent suspect in this case was Arthur Leigh Allen, who died of kidney failure in 1992; however, most experts agreed he was not the killer. The case remains unsolved.

The Son of Sam crimes terrified New York in the mid-1970s. Around the same time, Berkowitz allegedly joined a cult, and he later claimed his fellow cult members actually committed some of the crimes. For his own motive, he asserted that his neighbor’s demon-possessed dog instructed him to kill. He cryptically explained this to police and media in a series of letters. Finally, after receiving a parking ticket near one of his shootings, Berkowitz was captured. In 1978, he was sentenced to 365 years in prison for six murders and seven attempted murders. He has since become a born-again Christian and is a counselor for disturbed prisoners.

Law student Bundy used his charm and good looks to lure multiple women to their deaths. The turning point in his life came when he was dumped by his first love. His first confirmed murders took place in the mid-1970s and he continued to evade police across multiple states for years by using his forensic knowledge. To gain his victims’ trust, he dressed as an authority figure or with a cast. He then hit them over the head, raped and then strangled them. Bundy blamed pornography for his crimes, and he admitted to over 30 murders, though many have not been confirmed. He died in the electric chair in 1989.

Stay tuned for part two where we count down the Top Five most chilling, real-life serial killers in American history.