American Killers

Joseph Kerekes was convicted of conspiring with Harlow Cuadra to murder Bryan Kocis, the founder of Cobra Video, in January 2007. Prosecutors established that the pair killed Kocis inside his Pennsylvania home as part of a plan to seize control of Cobra Video and profit from the career of Sean Lockhart, better known by his stage name Brent Corrigan, whose contract with Kocis had become the centre of a bitter legal dispute. A lengthy investigation involving DNA evidence, financial records and witness testimony ultimately exposed the conspiracy. Kerekes was convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy and related offences in 2011 and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Keith Dozier became known in Georgia criminal cases after being convicted in the 2012 home invasion killing of Gale Spencer in Macon, Georgia. Prosecutors alleged Dozier was one of four offenders involved in the violent robbery that ended in Spencer’s death. The homicide received local media attention because of the coordinated nature of the crime and the multiple offenders prosecuted afterward. Dozier later received a life sentence plus an additional 20 years for his role in the case.

Kevin West is an American convicted murderer and former battalion chief with the Camas-Washougal Fire Department in Washington. In January 2026, he was convicted of first-degree murder for strangling his wife, Marcelle "Marcy" West, inside their Washougal home in January 2024. Prosecutors proved West staged the killing as a medical emergency by falsely reporting that his wife had suffered a seizure. He was sentenced to 25 years' imprisonment in February 2026.

Kouri Richins became one of the most heavily discussed true crime defendants in the United States after prosecutors accused the Utah mother and real estate investor of murdering her husband, Eric Richins, with a fatal dose of fentanyl in 2022. The case exploded into national headlines after investigators revealed that Richins later published a children’s book about grief dedicated to helping children cope with the death of a parent, creating widespread public fascination and intense media scrutiny. Prosecutors alleged the killing was financially motivated and tied to marital conflict, property disputes, and life insurance concerns. The investigation quickly expanded beyond the poisoning allegations and into Richins’ business dealings, finances, deleted communications, and alleged attempts to obtain fentanyl before her husband’s death. The combination of an affluent family image, children’s grief book promotion, and accusations of secret financial pressure turned the case into a major modern true crime story followed closely across television, podcasts, social media, and online crime communities.

Lance Kirkpatrick became one of Australia's most widely reported convicted killers after being found guilty of the 2022 murder of Melbourne mother Samantha Murphy. Murphy's disappearance prompted an extensive search across regional Victoria before investigators built a circumstantial case that ultimately led to Kirkpatrick's conviction. The case attracted national attention because of the lengthy investigation, widespread community involvement, and the absence of the victim's recovered remains.

Larissa Schuster became widely known after being convicted in the murder of her husband, Tim Schuster, in a case that became infamous as The Acid Barrel Murder. Prosecutors alleged Schuster killed her husband during escalating marital and financial conflict before attempting to dispose of his body using industrial acid inside large storage barrels at the family property in California with the help of James Fagone.

Lawrence "Larry" Rudolph, a prominent Pennsylvania dentist and big-game hunter, murdered his wife, Bianca Rudolph, while the couple were on a safari in Zambia in October 2016. Rudolph claimed Bianca accidentally shot herself while packing a shotgun before a hunting trip, and her death was initially ruled accidental. A lengthy international investigation later concluded that Rudolph deliberately shot Bianca to collect millions of dollars in life insurance and pursue a long-term extramarital relationship. In 2022, a federal jury convicted him of foreign murder and mail fraud, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder together with an additional term for fraud.

Lawrence Sigmund Bittaker became one of the most infamous serial killers in American history after murdering five teenage girls alongside accomplice Roy Lewis Norris during a five-month period in Southern California in 1979. Operating from a customized van that became known as the "Murder Mac," the pair targeted runaway and hitchhiking teenagers before killing them and disposing of their bodies in remote mountain areas. Bittaker was convicted of five murders and sentenced to death, remaining on California's death row until his death in prison in 2019.