Life Killers

Leslie Louise Van Houten was a member of Charles Manson's Family who participated in the murders of Leno and Rosemary LaBianca during the second night of the infamous Manson Family killings in August 1969. Under Manson's direction, she joined Charles "Tex" Watson and Patricia Krenwinkel in attacking the LaBiancas inside their Los Feliz home. Van Houten was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder after multiple trials and originally sentenced to death before California's death penalty was invalidated. She spent more than five decades in prison before being released on parole in 2023 after numerous successful parole recommendations and legal challenges.

Liam McAtasney was convicted of murdering 19-year-old Sarah Stern in Neptune City, New Jersey, in December 2016. McAtasney lured Stern to the Route 35 bridge, strangled her with a belt and stole approximately $20,000 she had inherited from her mother. He then dumped her body from the bridge into the Shark River and attempted to conceal the crime with the help of his friend Preston Taylor. McAtasney was convicted of murder and related charges in 2019 and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Lloyd Neurauter was convicted of murdering his ex-wife, 46-year-old Michele Neurauter, at her home in Corning, New York, on August 27, 2017. Michele was initially found hanging from a cord in what appeared to be a suicide, but investigators noticed suspicious injuries and determined that she had been strangled. Neurauter eventually admitted that he had planned and carried out the murder, saying he wanted to gain custody of their youngest daughter and was struggling with the financial consequences of their divorce. He also coerced their 19-year-old daughter, Karrie, into helping him. Neurauter pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.

Mark Daniel Gooch murdered 27-year-old Mennonite teacher Sasha Krause in January 2020 after travelling from Arizona to the Mennonite community where she lived near Farmington, New Mexico. Krause disappeared on January 18 while retrieving materials for a Sunday school class, and her body was discovered more than a month later in the Coconino National Forest near Flagstaff, Arizona. She had been shot in the head and her wrists were bound. Gooch, who had been raised in the Mennonite faith but later rejected it, was convicted of first-degree murder and kidnapping in October 2021 and sentenced to natural life imprisonment plus five years for kidnapping in January 2022.

Mark Douglas Hacking murdered his pregnant wife, Lori Hacking, in July 2004 after she uncovered years of deception about his education, employment and plans to attend medical school. After initially reporting Lori missing and participating in public searches, Hacking became the focus of the investigation as detectives uncovered evidence contradicting his account. He eventually admitted killing Lori, disposing of her body in a landfill and attempting to conceal the crime. In 2005, Hacking pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole.

Mark Sievers became infamous after orchestrating the brutal murder-for-hire killing of his wife inside their Florida home in 2015. The case shocked the United States because the victim was a highly respected physician and mother, while investigators later uncovered a conspiracy involving Sievers, close friends and hired killers. Authorities described the crime as a calculated and financially motivated murder plot driven by greed, personal dysfunction and manipulation. The investigation later exposed disturbing details involving staged alibis, conspiracy planning and violent execution-style attacks, transforming the case into one of Florida’s most heavily publicized murder-for-hire prosecutions.

Melody Walker Farris was convicted of murdering her husband, 58-year-old Atlanta attorney Gary Farris, at their Cherokee County, Georgia, property in July 2018. Gary's extensively burned remains were discovered on a burn pile days after his disappearance, with a bullet lodged in his rib cage. Prosecutors argued that Melody killed her husband because she wanted to end their troubled marriage, pursue a relationship with her lover Roy "Rusty" Barton and gain access to Gary's substantial assets. A jury convicted her of malice murder, felony murder, aggravated assault, concealing the death of another and making a false statement. She was sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 30 years, plus five years for concealing Gary's death and five years for making false statements.

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.