Male Killers

Rodney James Alcala became one of America's most infamous serial killers after murdering at least eight women and girls between 1971 and 1979, although investigators believe he may have killed well over 100 victims. Nicknamed the "Dating Game Killer" after appearing on the television show The Dating Game during his killing spree, Alcala used his charm and photography hobby to lure victims before murdering them. He was convicted in multiple states and died on California's death row in 2021.

Roy Lewis Norris became one of America's most infamous serial killers after murdering five teenage girls alongside accomplice Lawrence Bittaker during a five-month killing spree across Southern California in 1979. Working together in a customized van known as the "Murder Mac," the pair abducted vulnerable teenage girls before murdering them and disposing of their bodies in remote locations. After his arrest, Norris agreed to testify against Bittaker in exchange for avoiding the death penalty and was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

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 Gene Erickson was a Catholic priest in Wisconsin who was identified after his death as the likely perpetrator of the 2002 double murder of funeral director Daniel O'Connell and mortuary science intern James Ellison. The two men were shot inside O'Connell's funeral home in Hudson, Wisconsin, on February 5, 2002. Investigators eventually developed evidence linking Erickson to the killings, including his knowledge of previously unreleased crime-scene details and an alleged admission to a church deacon. Police questioned him in late 2004 and searched his rectory, but Erickson died by suicide on December 19, 2004, before he could be arrested. In October 2005, a judge ruled there was probable cause to conclude that Erickson had committed the murders.

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.

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.