Historic Crimes

Pedro Lopez may be the most prolific known serial killer of all time. He was convicted of the murder of 110 girls. He has confessed to the murder of more than 300. While more than 300 may be incorrect, he almost certainly killed more than the 110 he was convicted of killing. The story of his early life is known only from his lips, but if it is true, it certainly helps the "nurture" argument of what drives some people to kill. However, he could simply by lying, as serial killers are wont to do. True or false, here is his story. (His capture, incarceration, the information regarding his M.O. and the discovery of some of his victims are certainly true.) Pedro Lopez was born in October of 1948 in Tolima, Colombia. According to Pedro, his mother was a prostitute who had 13 children of which Pedro had knowledge, including himself. At the time of his birth, Colombia was in turmoil. It was not a safe place for a child to grow up, nor was Pedro's home, if he is to be believed. His...

In the annals of criminal history, there are a slew of serial rapists and sadistic killers who target young women. Nearly all of them are men. However, a rare few sexually deviant killers are women. Many of these women are involved with men who have the same sick sexual appetite. Such was the case for Karla Homolka and her husband Paul Bernardo . They are otherwise known as the Ken and Barbie killers. This couple had a repugnant habit of forcefully involving teenage girls in their sexual forays. On at least three occasions, these rapes ended in murder. Paul Bernardo's childhood was strange by most standards. He was the product of an adulterous affair by his mother. Nonetheless, he was accepted by his mother's husband and included in the family as if he was his adopted father's child. The man who accepted Paul was a pedophile who abused little girls, including his own daughter, Paul's sister. Mrs. Bernardo became aware of this somehow and reacted by becoming...

Drawing of Jesse Pomeroy Jesse Pomeroy or Boston's "Boy Fiend" is numbered among the most sadistic and remorseless serial killers of all time. He was brutal, demented and, well, fiendish. However, unlike most criminals who are dubbed "serial killers," his murder count was quite low. Jesse Pomeroy was guilty of killing only two people (two people is two too many, but few in the world of serial killers). Another very strange fact about Jesse Pomeroy that is also frightening is that he was only 14 years old when he committed these murders. He was even younger when he began torturing young boys.   Jesse Pomeroy was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts on November 29, 1859. His full name was Jesse Harding Pomeroy and he was the younger of two children (both boys) born to Ruth and Charles Pomeroy. According to his mother and records, Jesse took ill when he was just a baby. He fully recovered and was described as intelligent when he was older. However, his ...

Fred and Rosemary West are one of the thankfully rare serial killer couples in England's history. They are also among the most demented, cruel and sexually sadistic killers in world history. It is always shocking when more than one person is involved in a string of serial murders. However, it is even more shocking when it came to Fred and Rosemary West. They were a married couple with several children, two of which they brutally murdered. Before Fred and Rosemary West met and married, they were both on the wrong path. Fred was aggressive with women from his teenage years on. He claimed that his father raped his sisters and Fred himself was guilty of impregnating his own younger sister, a crime that made him a convicted child molester by the age of 20. When Fred was 17, he was in a serious motorcycle accident that resulted in a traumatic brain injury and a plate in his head. He hurt his head again when he put his hand up a girl's skirt and she pushed him off a fire escape. E...

Richard Davis and Dena Riley were drug-crazed serial killers willing to do the unthinkable. They were the classic killer couple, feeding off each other's depravity and, in the case of Dena, willing to do anything to please her partner. There were few lines this duo did not cross, even though their killing spree was relatively short and included comparatively few victims. Richard "Ricky" Davis was a repeat sex offender and general lawbreaker who was raised in Kansas City. He was institutionalized as a teenager. Later, he was imprisoned for stealing. Within months of his release, he was back in prison for raping a woman at knifepoint. He was sentenced to 25 years but was released in May of 2005 after roughly 18 years. For nine months after his release, Ricky Davis catered to a bondage, strangulation and sexual murder fetish with pornography. At the same time, he attended sex counseling, drug counseling and kept in touch with his parole officer religiously. ...

The street on which the couple lived. Photo by Gene Hunt (Mikey) The Moor Murders were some of the most horrific serial killings ever committed by a couple. The monsters behind these murders were IanBrady and Myra Hindley. The bulk of their murders were committed in Saddleworth Moor near Oldham in Greater Manchester, England. They were the sort of couple that fed off each other's sadistic, dark and brooding characteristics to the point where neither could see the evil in the other's actions. They were child torturers and murderers–sexually sadistic pedophiles who murdered at least five children. Myra would have had people think that she had little to no hand in the killings. Ian asserts that she was just as involved as he was. The evidence suggests that Ian was telling the truth. Myra led a relatively normal life. She was raised by her mother the first few years of her life, but later went to live with her doting grandmother. She was not abused. S...

Police composite sketch of the Original Night Stalker The Original Night Stalker is a serial killer and rapist who operated in both the northern and southern parts of California from 1976 until the mid-1980s. He is assumed to be one of the most active serial rapists and murderers in California history. He is also one of the most active unidentified serial killers in world history. The only reasons we know he exists are the links between his horrific crimes and the DNA taken from several crime scenes. Even with the DNA database that California is now keeping of criminals, the killer has yet to be caught. The name "Original Night Stalker" derives from that of a serial killer/rapist arrested in California after the crimes of this serial killer were committed. The crimes of the "Night Stalker" Richard Ramirez differed from those of the Original Night Stalker in many ways and other evidence rules Richard out as the perpetrator of the previous crimes. Richard wa...

Few things are as terrifying as knowing a serial killer is on the loose and not knowing if he or she is still active. Unfortunately, that is the situation the residents of Long Island face with the so-called Long Island or Gilgo Beach Killer. The killer's victims come from several states, but the dumping ground is always in Long Island, leading police and locals to wonder if the killer is one of their neighbors. It is a tough case with few leads, but police are continuing to work on it, as of early 2014. The true beginnings of the Long Island Killer case go back to at least 1996, but realization that a serial killer is at work in the area did not come until 2010. The discoveries of at least 10 related bodies began with the unrelated disappearance of a young escort named Shannan Gilbert. Shannan had been working when she ran off from her client's house, as her driver watched. She screamed for help, banging on people's doors and even calling 911 to say, "they" ...