Life Killers

David Tronnes became one of Florida's most notorious domestic killers after murdering his wife, Shanti Cooper-Tronnes, inside their Orlando home in 2018. Prosecutors alleged Tronnes killed Shanti after their marriage deteriorated amid financial disputes and his obsession with renovating their home for profit. He then attempted to disguise the homicide as an accidental fall during construction work. Following a lengthy investigation and trial, Tronnes was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.

Derek Joseph Daigneault murdered his 26-year-old cousin, Mandy Rose Reynolds, in Texas in April 2023 after staying at her San Marcos apartment while on felony probation with an active warrant. Daigneault shot Reynolds in the head, placed her body inside a large plastic storage container, transported it to Robinson and set it on fire. Her body was initially burned beyond recognition, but her dog Titan remained at the scene, and his microchip helped investigators identify Reynolds. Daigneault was arrested in Kansas after fleeing from police in Reynolds' stolen car and was convicted of murder in November 2024. He was sentenced to life imprisonment, and his conviction and sentence were affirmed by the Texas Tenth Court of Appeals in April 2026.

Dr. Robert Bierenbaum became one of New York’s most infamous domestic killers after being convicted in the murder of his wife, Gail Katz, in a case widely known as “The Private Pilot Wife Disappearance.” A respected plastic surgeon and licensed private pilot, Bierenbaum was accused of killing Gail in 1985 before disposing of her body in a manner prosecutors argued exploited his aviation knowledge and access to aircraft. The case generated enormous public attention because Gail Katz vanished without a trace, leaving investigators with no body and little physical evidence for years. Prosecutors later argued Bierenbaum murdered his wife during escalating marital conflict before flying her body out over the Atlantic Ocean and disposing of it from a private aircraft. The combination of professional status, aviation-related body disposal allegations, and decades-long mystery made the case one of the most heavily discussed no-body homicide prosecutions in New York criminal history.

Erin Patterson became one of Australia’s most internationally discussed accused killers after allegedly poisoning multiple family members with deadly mushrooms during a lunch gathering in regional Victoria in 2023. The case generated extraordinary worldwide attention because of the unusual alleged murder method, the family dynamics involved and the mystery surrounding whether the poisonings were deliberate. The investigation rapidly became one of the biggest true crime stories in Australia, attracting nonstop media coverage, internet speculation and global fascination. The combination of toxicology evidence, alleged deception, suspicious behavior and courtroom developments transformed the case into one of the most discussed criminal prosecutions of the decade.

Gareth Pursehouse is an American man convicted of the 2020 murder of his ex-girlfriend in Los Angeles, California. The case involved a targeted attack following a prior relationship. He was later convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

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

James Toliver Craig, an Aurora, Colorado, dentist, murdered his wife of 23 years, Angela Craig, by poisoning her over a ten-day period in March 2023. Prosecutors established that Craig secretly obtained arsenic, cyanide and tetrahydrozoline while Angela repeatedly became seriously ill and required hospital treatment, ultimately administering a fatal dose of cyanide while she was hospitalised. Investigators uncovered internet searches about lethal and difficult-to-detect poisons, financial difficulties and extramarital affairs, while Craig later attempted to manufacture evidence supporting a suicide narrative and solicited the murder of the lead detective. A jury convicted him of first-degree murder and five solicitation charges in July 2025, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Jamie Reynolds murdered 17-year-old Georgia Williams in Wellington, Shropshire, on 26 May 2013 after luring his friend to his parents' home under the pretence of taking photographs. Reynolds had meticulously planned the killing around his fascination with hanging and violent pornography, using a ligature to strangle Georgia before sexually abusing her body and abandoning her in woodland near Wrexham. He fled the area but was arrested in Glasgow three days later. Reynolds pleaded guilty to murder in December 2013 and was sentenced to a whole-life prison term, meaning he will never be released.