Explore Killers

Michael Swango became one of the most notorious medical serial killers in American history after being linked to a series of poisonings involving patients, coworkers, and acquaintances over several decades. A licensed physician and former paramedic, Swango exploited positions within hospitals and medical institutions to gain access to vulnerable victims while maintaining the outward image of a highly educated healthcare professional. The case generated international attention because Swango continued obtaining medical employment despite repeated suspicions, disciplinary actions, and criminal convictions. Investigators later connected him to deaths and poisonings across the United States and Africa, leading many experts to believe the true number of victims may never be fully known. His ability to repeatedly evade detection turned the case into one of the most disturbing examples of institutional failure and medical predation in modern criminal history.

Mitchell Sims became one of America's most notorious transient serial killers after carrying out a series of murders across multiple states during the 1980s. Nicknamed the "Pizza Hut Serial Killer," Sims was convicted of abducting, robbing, and murdering pizza delivery driver John Harrington in Las Vegas, Nevada, while investigators also linked him to the murders of another pizza employee and a customer in South Carolina. His willingness to kill complete strangers during robberies, combined with his mobility across state lines, made him one of the FBI's most infamous traveling serial offenders before his execution in 2015.

Randy Steven Kraft became one of America's most infamous serial killers after murdering at least 16 young men and boys across California, Oregon, and Michigan between 1972 and 1983. Often referred to as the "Scorecard Killer" because of a coded list discovered in his possession after his arrest, Kraft is suspected by investigators of murdering more than 60 victims. Convicted of 16 murders, he was sentenced to death in California, where he remains incarcerated.

Rex Heuermann became one of America’s most infamous alleged serial killers after being charged in connection with the Gilgo Beach murders on Long Island. The architect from Massapequa Park shocked the United States because prosecutors alleged he secretly murdered multiple women for years while outwardly living as a married family man and successful New York professional. The Gilgo Beach investigation became one of the most heavily publicized serial killer cases in modern American history after human remains were discovered along Ocean Parkway near Long Island’s South Shore. Authorities later accused Heuermann of targeting vulnerable women, particularly sex workers, before allegedly carrying out murders over an extended period while avoiding detection for more than a decade.

Richard Beasley became known as the “Craigslist Serial Killer” after orchestrating a series of murders involving fake job advertisements posted online in Ohio during 2011. Prosecutors alleged Beasley used Craigslist employment listings to lure financially vulnerable men to isolated rural locations where they were robbed, shot, and buried in shallow graves. The case generated national attention because it exposed how online classified platforms could be exploited by violent offenders targeting strangers. Investigators later connected Beasley to multiple killings and attempted murders linked to the fake employment scheme. The horrifying combination of internet deception, execution-style murders, and burial sites hidden in wooded areas made the case one of the most infamous online predator serial killer investigations in modern American criminal history.

Richard Francis Cottingham became one of the most infamous serial killers in American history after murdering numerous women and girls in New York and New Jersey between 1967 and 1980. Known as the "Torso Killer" because several victims were dismembered, Cottingham targeted women he encountered in hotels, bars, and areas associated with sex work. Following his arrest in 1980, he was convicted of multiple murders and later confessed to additional killings, making him one of the most prolific identified serial killers in the northeastern United States.

Richard Ramirez, known as the “Night Stalker,” was an American serial killer who carried out a series of murders and attacks across California between 1984 and 1985. His crimes were marked by unpredictability, extreme violence, and a lack of a consistent victim profile. Ramirez created widespread fear due to the random nature of his attacks and his ability to evade capture for an extended period. He was later convicted of multiple murders and sentenced to death, becoming one of the most infamous serial killers in U.S. history.

Robert Hansen became one of Alaska’s most infamous serial killers after abducting women, flying them into the wilderness and hunting them before murdering them. Nicknamed “The Butcher Baker” because he outwardly lived as a quiet family baker while secretly committing brutal murders, Hansen terrorized Anchorage and surrounding areas throughout the 1970s and early 1980s. The case shocked investigators because Hansen appeared to be an ordinary husband, business owner and outdoorsman while hiding a sadistic double life. Authorities later discovered he targeted vulnerable women, particularly sex workers and dancers, before using Alaska’s remote wilderness as a personal hunting ground. His crimes became one of the most disturbing serial murder cases in American history and inspired numerous books, documentaries and films.