Straight Killers

Charles Chi-Tat Ng became one of the most infamous serial killers in American history after participating in a series of kidnappings and murders with Leonard Lake at a secluded compound in Wilseyville, California, during the early 1980s. Investigators linked the pair to at least 11 murders, although the true number of victims may never be known. Following one of the longest extradition battles and murder trials in California history, Ng was convicted of 11 murders and sentenced to death.

Charles Howard Schmid Jr., nicknamed the "Pied Piper of Tucson," was an American serial killer who murdered three teenage girls in Tucson, Arizona, between 1964 and 1965. Charismatic and manipulative, Schmid gained the trust of local teenagers before committing the murders. He was convicted of the killings and sentenced to death, although his sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment. Schmid was murdered by fellow inmates in prison in 1975.

Charles Whitman was an American mass murderer responsible for the 1966 University of Texas tower shooting in Austin. Prior to the attack, he killed members of his family before carrying out a public shooting that resulted in multiple deaths and injuries. The incident became one of the earliest widely documented mass shootings in modern U.S. history. Whitman was killed by police during the attack, ending the event.

Chris Watts is an American family annihilator who murdered his immediate family in Colorado in 2018. His case gained widespread attention due to the contrast between his outward image as a quiet family man and the calculated nature of his actions. Watts initially attempted to mislead investigators and the public before confessing. He later pleaded guilty to multiple counts of murder and received multiple life sentences without the possibility of parole.

Christa Gail Pike was convicted of the first-degree murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville, Tennessee, in January 1996. Pike, then 18, and her boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp lured Slemmer into a wooded area near the University of Tennessee Agricultural campus, where Pike attacked and killed her. The murder involved prolonged physical violence and the carving of a pentagram into Slemmer's body. Pike was sentenced to death and has remained on Tennessee's death row since 1996. She was scheduled for execution on September 30, 2026, which would have made her the first woman executed by Tennessee in more than 200 years.

Christian Longo became one of America’s most notorious family killers after murdering his wife and three young children before fleeing the country and assuming a new identity in Mexico. The horrifying case shocked the United States in 2001 due to the brutality of the crimes and Longo’s efforts to escape responsibility by reinventing himself as a carefree tourist while his family’s bodies were being recovered from the Oregon coast. Longo was portrayed as a manipulative conman who spent years hiding financial fraud, lies and personal failures behind the image of a devoted husband and father. His case later gained worldwide attention through books, documentaries and the film adaptation of True Story, which explored Longo’s deception, narcissism and relationship with journalist Michael Finkel.

Christopher McGowan murdered his girlfriend, Claire Inglis, in Stirling, Scotland, in November 2021 after being released on bail to live at her home despite an extensive history of violent offending. Claire had begun a relationship with McGowan unaware of his violent past, and after he moved into her home she became trapped in an escalating pattern of coercive control, abuse and violence. McGowan subjected her to a prolonged and sadistic assault before strangling her to death. In 2023, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 23 years.

Courtney Taylor Clenney, known online as Courtney Tailor, was convicted of manslaughter after fatally stabbing her boyfriend, 27-year-old Christian “Toby” Obumseli, inside their Miami condominium on April 3, 2022. Clenney initially claimed she had acted in self-defense during a violent confrontation, but she was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. After spending four years in custody awaiting trial, Clenney accepted a plea agreement in August 2026, pleading guilty to manslaughter with a deadly weapon. She was sentenced to six years in prison, with credit for time served, followed by five years of probation.