Imprisoned Killers

Ruby Carolyn Padgett became known in American criminal history after being convicted of first-degree murder for her role in the 1986 robbery and murder of Pizza Hut delivery driver John Steven Harrigan in Las Vegas, Nevada. Although Mitchell Sims carried out the fatal shooting, prosecutors successfully argued that Padgett was an active participant in the kidnapping and robbery that led to Harrigan's execution. Convicted under California's felony murder principles, Padgett received a sentence of life imprisonment without parole. Often overshadowed by Sims, who became known as the "Pizza Hut Serial Killer," Padgett remains a convicted murderer whose participation was instrumental in one of the most infamous pizza delivery murders in the United States.

Russell Arthur Henderson is an American convicted murderer who participated in the kidnapping, robbery and fatal attack on 21-year-old University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard near Laramie, Wyoming, in October 1998. Henderson and accomplice Aaron McKinney lured Shepard from a bar before taking him to a remote location, where he was severely beaten and left tied to a fence. Shepard died six days later. Henderson pleaded guilty to felony murder and kidnapping and received two consecutive life sentences.

Ryan Alexander Duke became widely known after being charged in the 2005 death of Georgia high school teacher and former beauty queen Tara Grinstead. The case remained one of Georgia's most infamous unsolved mysteries for nearly 12 years before Duke confessed to being involved in Grinstead's death. In 2022, he pleaded guilty to concealing her death rather than murder, bringing a partial resolution to a case that had captivated investigators and the public for years.

Ryan Derek Riggs murdered 25-year-old Rhonda "Chantay" Blankinship in Brown County, Texas, in May 2016 after abducting, sexually assaulting and killing her before abandoning her body in the cellar of an abandoned farmhouse. The case remained unsolved for 18 months until investigators used groundbreaking DNA phenotyping technology to generate a likeness of the suspect. Days after the image was released, Riggs stood before his church congregation and confessed to the murder before surrendering to police. In 2019, he pleaded guilty to capital murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Sarah Boone became infamous after being accused of trapping her boyfriend inside a suitcase and leaving him to die during one of Florida’s most disturbing domestic homicide cases. The case gained international attention after investigators discovered cellphone videos allegedly recorded by Boone showing her boyfriend pleading for help while trapped inside the suitcase shortly before his death. Nicknamed the “Suitcase Killer” by media outlets, Boone drew intense public fascination because of the bizarre circumstances surrounding the crime and her repeated claims that the incident was an accident during a game of hide-and-seek. The disturbing video evidence, volatile relationship history and Boone’s unusual courtroom behavior later transformed the case into one of the internet’s most heavily discussed modern true crime stories.

Sarah Buzzard was convicted of the aggravated murder of 21-year-old Ryan Zimmerman, whose dismembered remains were discovered in Mercer County, Ohio, in January 2016. Zimmerman had moved from Kentucky to Columbus in 2015 and was living with Buzzard, her then-husband and Buzzard's friend Naira Jen Whitaker. Investigators determined that Zimmerman was killed inside the Columbus apartment in September 2015. Buzzard later confessed to strangling him and dismembering his body, telling investigators that she was angry with Zimmerman and believed he had contributed to the breakdown of her marriage. Whitaker was identified as an accomplice but died by suicide when police attempted to arrest her in 2021. Buzzard pleaded guilty to aggravated murder in December 2021 and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years.

Scott Edward Nelson is an American convicted murderer who was sentenced to life without parole for the 2017 kidnapping and murder of Jennifer Lynn Fulford in Winter Park, Florida. Fulford, 56, worked as a personal assistant, caregiver and house manager for a family in Winter Park. On September 27, 2017, she was working at her employer's home when Nelson forced his way inside. He bound Fulford and abducted her in her own vehicle. Fulford was reported missing after she failed to pick up the child she cared for from school. Her body was discovered three days later in a wooded area in Orange County. The medical examiner determined that she had suffered multiple stab wounds and died from a combination of stab wounds and asphyxiation. Nelson was arrested in Jacksonville on October 1, 2017. Investigators linked him to Fulford's disappearance through evidence including the victim's vehicle and surveillance footage showing him using her bank card at an ATM. At trial, Nelson admitted that he killed Fulford but argued that another man, his probation officer Julio Dominguez, was ultimately responsible for her death. The jury rejected his defense and convicted him of first-degree murder, kidnapping, carjacking and robbery in June 2019. During the penalty phase, Nelson told jurors that he wanted to be executed and described himself as a "homicidal maniac." The jury nevertheless recommended life imprisonment rather than death. He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Scott Lee Peterson murdered his pregnant wife, Laci Peterson, on Christmas Eve 2002 before disposing of her body in San Francisco Bay. Laci's disappearance sparked a nationwide search and intense media coverage, particularly after investigators revealed Peterson had been conducting an extramarital affair while publicly appealing for her safe return. In April 2003, the bodies of Laci and her unborn son, Conner, were recovered along the bay shoreline. Peterson was convicted in 2004 of first-degree murder for Laci's death and second-degree murder for the death of Conner. Although originally sentenced to death, his sentence was later reduced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, where he remains incarcerated.