Serialkillers

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The numbers within the parenthesis are the estimated killing the persons have done. Some are suspected to have killed more, and some might have killed less.

Ottis Toole and Henry Lee Lucas (200+)
When Henry Lee Lucas was young, he was convicted and sentenced to prison for killing his grandmother. He was later released, to his own chagrin (he pleaded with the prison authorities to let him remain in prison, claiming "I will kill again"), and started the most devastating serial killing career ever. He would drive around a city stalking women, and his method of killing was always different, so the cops never realized it was the work of the same man. He later took on an accomplice, Ottis Toole, who joined in the killing spree. But after Henry got involved with Toole's niece, they had a falling out and the girl was later found dismembered, stuffed in a suitcase, and left in a roadside ditch. Lucas was finally caught, and continues to confess to more murders. They have confessed to over 500 deaths. Authorities believe that 200 death is a more realistic tally.

H.H. Holmes (200+)
Born as Herman Webster Mudgett he started his criminal career as a medical student by stealing corpses from the University of Michigan. He used the bodys to collect insurance money from policies taken out under fictitious names.

He later moved to Chicago and started a drugstore empire from which he made a fortune. He built up a hundred-room mansion complete with gas chambers, acid vats, lime pits, trap doors, fake walls and secret entrances. During the World's Fair in 1893 he rented rooms to visitors. He then killed most of his lodgers and continued his insurance fraud scheme. He also lured women to his "torture castle" with the promise of marriage. But instead, he forced them to sign over their savings, then throw them down an elevator shaft and gas them to death. In the basement of the castle he dismembered and skinned his prey and experimented with their corpses.

When the law inforcement grew suspicious about H.H's activities, he torched the castle and fled. In the burnt hulk of the building, authorities found the remains of over two hundred people. H.H. was caught when one of his insurance schemes was unravelled by Pinkerton detectives. He was executed by hanging on May 7, 1896, after one the first sensational crime trial in America.

Luis Alfredo Gavarito (140)
On October 30, 1998, The Colombian announced that a man named Luis Alfredo Gavarito confessed to raping, torturing and killing 140 children in a five-year killing spree. Chief prosecutor Alfonso Gomez telled: "Luis Alfredo Garavito has admitted the murder of about 140 children of which we have so far found 114 skeleton." Gavarito drawed a battered notebook from his pocket, He showed the interrogating judge and psychologist his tally of the killings he claimed during a four-hour confession. Across the creased pages were 140 lines, one for every murdered youngster.

At first the investigators said the children may have been murdered in a black magic ritual. After an 18-month investigation, Garavito was arrested in the eastern plains city of Villavicencio in Aprilon charges of attempting to rape a child.

Gavarito was the oldest of seven children. While he was growing up he was repeatedly beaten by his father and raped by two male neighbors. Garavito was also a heavy alcoholic, and was treated for depression and suicidal tendencies. He said he committed most of the murders after heavy drinking. Garavito had just five years of schooling before he left home at 16, working first as a store clerk, then as a street vendor who sold religious icons and prayer cards. Prosecutors said Garavito found most of his victims on the streets, gaining their confidence by giving them soft drinks and money.

Garavito apparently committed his first murder in 1992. The victims - mostly boys between eight and 16 - were found with their throats slit. Some showed signs of torture and rape. The victims were mostly poor. Many of them were children of street vendors or homeless kids. Garavito - who was known as "El Loco", "Goofy" and "The Priest" - passed himself off as "a street vendor, monk, indigent, disabled person or a representative of fictitious foundations for the elderly and children's education, in that way gaining entrance to schools as a speaker," Gomez said.

Garavito moved around Columbia frequently and he also spent time in Ecuador, where investigations are trying to determine whether he might be linked to child slayings there too. Most of the killings took place in the western state of Risaralda, and its capital, Pereira. Forty-one bodies have been found in Pereira and another 27 have turned up in neighboring Valle de Cauca.

Dr. Jack Kevorkian (130)
The 26´th of March 1999, Suicide advocate Dr. Jack Kevorkian was convicted of second-degree murder for giving an ailing man a lethal injection and putting it all on a videotape that aired on "60 Minutes." It was the first time in five trials that he was found guilty. The jury took a day and a half to clear him of first-degree murder, which would have meant a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.

But they rejected his claim in his closing argument that some acts "by sheer common sense are not crimes." 70-year-old Kevorkian, still could get a life term at sentencing April 14 for the death of Thomas Youk, 52, who suffered from Lou Gehrig's disease. Prosecutor David Gorcyca said he believes sentencing guidelines call for a minimum of 10 to 25 years on the murder charge. Kevorkian also was convicted of delivery of a controlled substance, which carries up to seven years.

On November 24, CBS aired a tape of the Youk assisted suicide in the program "60 Minutes." The show finished No. 3 in the weekly Nielsen ratings. Prosecutor David Gorcyca filed charges after receiving an unedited tape from CBS. Following the televised suicide, Dr. Death arrived smiling at the police station after being charged with first-degree murder. Kevorkian was released on $750,000 personal bond following his arraignment. "A review of the tapes involving Mr. Youk and Kevorkian present sufficient facts and probable cause to support charges of assisted suicide," Gorcyca said. "Not withstanding Mr. Youk's consent, consent is not a viable defense in taking the life of another, even under the most controlled environment."

Kevorkian, 70, has acknowledged a role in some 130 assisted suicides since 1990, making him the most active known serial killers in the nation. Hisis previous trials, all on assisted suicide charges, resulted in three acquittals and one mistrial. This was the first time he stood trial for murder. In past cases, Kevorkian has said his clients used his homemade devices to start the flow of carbon monoxide or intravenous chemicals that caused their death. In Youk's case, however, Kevorkian administered the injection.

In closing arguments, prosecutor John Skrzynski likened Kevorkian to "a medical hitman in the night" and asked jurors not to let him make a political statement with Youk's death. Kevorkian said he was no more culpable than an executioner because he was merely doing his duty as a physician to relieve Youk's suffering. He compared himself to civil rights pioneers Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. and invited the jury to disregard the law. "Words on paper do not necessarily create crimes," he said. "There are certain acts that by sheer common sense are not crimes. This may be one of them. That's for you to decide."

Attorney David Gorosh, who had been serving as Kevorkian's legal adviser, said he will appeal. He also said he will ask the judge to use her discretion at sentencing and give Kevorkian no jail time. "Dr. Kevorkian is certainly no murderer," Gorosh said. "We believe it's certainly unjust to equate an act of compassion to an act of murder." Kevorkian won the right to represent himself during the trial despite the misgivings of the judge, who asked him: "Do you understand you could spend the rest of your life in prison?" He responded: "There's not much of it left."

On April 13 he was sentenced by Judge Jessica Cooper to 10 to 25 years in prison for the videotaped death of a Lou Gehrig's disease patient. He was also sentenced to three to seven years for delivery of a controlled substance. The fiesty judge lectured the 70-year-old doctor: "This trial was not about the political or moral correctness of euthanasia. It was about lawlessness. It was about disrespect for a society that exists because of the strength of the legal system. No one, sir, is above the law. No one. You had the audacity to go on national television, show the world what you did and dare the legal system to stop you. Well, sir, consider yourself stopped!"

Hu Wanlin (100+)
On January 18, 1999, the Chinese state-run Xinhua News Agency reported of a self-styled "doctor" who practiced the traditional medical art of qigong (An ancient deep-breathing technique. Qigong masters are said to have the ability to concentrate "qi" or energy in certain parts of their bodies and to use it to help diagnose and cure a wide range of ailments.) was arrested for killing between 100 to 190 patients. Hu Wanlin, 50, from Shangqiu in central Henan province, had been practicing qigong in the area since June 1998. He previously served two prison terms for operating illegal medical clinics in various parts of China.

Authorities allege Hu's home-brewed Chinese herbal medicines included lethal amounts of sodium sulphate. Hu came to prominence in 1997 with his claims of a 90 percent cure rate in treatment of cancer, hepatitis and high blood pressure. He was even the subject of a book, "Qigong Master," which supported his claim to possess mystical healing powers.

When he was released in 1997, after 14 years spent in prison on murder charges, Hu set up the Hu Wanling Hospital in Taiyuan, Shaanxi province, where authorities allege his treatment caused the death of 20 patients. In November 1997, Hu established the Zhongnanshan Hospital, also in Shaanxi, where 146 people died under his treatment, the report said. After police closed the hospital, Hu fled to Shangqiu, where the local health bureau formally invited him to set up the Weida Hospital. Under Hu´s care thirty more patients died at the Weida Hospital.

Green river killer (48+)
The Green River Killer have never been caught, but is believed to have been killing young women in the Pacific- Northwest U.S.A. since the early 70's. He seems to target prostitutes picked up in the state of Washington. He then leaves the dead victims in the surrounding hills of the heavily forested Green River. The badly decomposed corpses are usually stumbled upon by hikers or campers, sometimes years after they have been buried. Several arrests have been made in this case, but none have ever been convicted. Authorities haven't released specific details concerning these homocides as the perpetrator remains at large. The Green River Killer is estimated to have murdered between 50 to 66 women. Corpses attributed to him have turned up as far south as Portland, Oregon. Dead girls still continues to turn up.

Ahmad Suradji (42)
On May 2, 1997, The Indonesian authorities arrested a self-described witch doctor named Ahmad Suradji. They had found three bodies buried in a sugarcane plantation near Ahmads home on the outskirts of Medan, the capital of North Sumatra.

Ahmad, also known as Datuk Maringgi or Nasib Kelewang initially confessed to killing 16 women over a five-year period. A search of Ahmad's property revealed clothes and watches belonging to 25 missing women. Under further questioning he increased the body count of his 11-year rampage to 42. Ahmad's three wives, all sisters, were also arrested for helping him commit the murders and hide the corpses. The oldest of his wives, a women named Tumini, was tried as his accomplice in his 11-year rampage.

Ahmad was revered by locals who believed he had paranormal powers, and often asked him for medical and spiritual advice. Many women would hire him to cast magic spells to ensure the faithfulness of their husbands or boyfriends. Neighbors said that many women sought the sorcerer's help believing they would make themselves richer, healthier and more sexually attractive to men. Police believe the victims - whose ages ranged from 11 to 30 - may have been too embarrassed to tell their families of their seeking Ahmads help so their disappearances were not linked to him. A large amount of them were also prostitutes.

After Ahmad had charged his victim $200 to $400, he took them to a sugarcane plantation near his home and buried them in the ground up to their waist as part of a ritual. Once in the ground he strangled each woman with electrical cable. After that he drank their saliva, undressed their corpses and reburied them with their heads pointing towards his home so to enhance his magical powers. Suradji told the police that nine years ago he had a dream in which the ghost of his father told him to kill 70 women and drink their saliva so he could become a dukan, or mystic healer, he said.

Ahmad was said to be widely respected in his village. Neighbours said he was often willing to help sick villagers and contribute to charitable causes. Nasib, who led police to the bodies in the field next to his home, told officers he needed to kill up to 70 women to gain supernatural powers. Now that the unearthing of 40 corpses testify to Nasib's true mania, police have asked local residents to report any more missing women and children. About 80 families in the area have reported female relatives missing, leading to fears that more bodies could be uncovered.

During the trials both Suradji and Tumini denied the slayings, saying they confessed because they could no longer bear torture by interrogators. On April 27, 1998, an Indonesian court in North Sumatra found the sorcerer guilty of Indonesia's worst killing spree. As the last of the 42 bodies was being unearthed, the DEADLY sorcerer was sentenced to death by firing squad.

Richard "The Iceman" Kuklinski (40+)
Kuklinski was a professional hit man by trade with a serial killer passion on the side. Although suspected of at least 40 murders, while in custody Rich said that he only killed to support his family. A regular Mr. Short Fuse, Rich killed an unsuspecting motorist for cutting him off. He ran him off the road, beat him to death, before running over his body repeatedly.

Kuklinski is said to have once blown the head off the shoulders of a man over a bet. Once he chopped up a body, put it in a 50 gallon drum and placed the drum outside of his favorite hot dog stand. He also allegedly slit a man too see how long it would take him to bleed to death. Rich got the life sentence and is sitting to rot in a jail cell in New Jersey.

John Wayne Gacy (33)
Was a sadistic child killer. Gacy made a habit of burying his victims in the crawlspace under his house. Eventually the smell did him in. While in jail he started a new career as a painter. His favorite subjects were clowns and Disney cartoons. After his execution in 1994 the prices of his works skyrocketed but forgeries flooded the market bringing them back down.

Fritz Haarmann (27+)
Fritz Haarman claimed himself to be a vampire, Haarmann was known as the Butcher of Hannover. He was beheaded for killing more than 27 boys and selling their flesh in his butcher shop.

Ted Bundy (26?)
Ted was an extremely intelligent, handsome, and well liked law student, no one could expect him to be the striking serial killer. He fell in love with a girl from an prominent family and got engaged with her. He got crushed when she later broke off the engagement. Not long after that he started preying on young women, often catching up with them with his charm, then beating them, raping, and murdering them. Bundy killed over two dozen women in Washington, Utah, Colorado, Oregon and Florida. He escaped from prison twice. On january 15 1978, Bundy invaded the Chi Omega sorority house of a Florida university and killed two coeds, and critically wounded several others. He was finally caught for good in Florida 1979. In July that year he was convicted to two (only) murders. He was sentenced to death in the electric chair. After ten years of appeals, Bundy was finally executed by the state of Florida in 1989.

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