American Killers

Christopher Gregory Davis murdered his boyfriend, 56-year-old Barry Schmalbach, in Cape Coral, Florida, after Schmalbach planned to end their relationship in July 2023. Although Schmalbach's body has never been recovered, investigators built an extensive circumstantial case showing Davis using his boyfriend's financial accounts, purchasing items associated with concealing and disposing of a body, renting an isolated property under a false identity and attempting to dispose of tools. In June 2025, a Lee County jury convicted Davis of second-degree murder, tampering with evidence and eight identity-related offences. He was sentenced to life imprisonment plus 45 consecutive 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.

Courtney Kelly became publicly known after being convicted in the 2012 murder of Gale Spencer during a home invasion robbery in Macon, Georgia. Prosecutors alleged Kelly participated alongside three co-defendants during the violent crime. The case generated local attention because of the multiple offenders involved in the fatal robbery. Authorities later secured convictions against all four defendants connected to Spencer’s death. Courtney Kelly ultimately received a life sentence.

Curtis Wayne Wright became known in American criminal history after participating in the 2015 murder-for-hire of Dr. Teresa Sievers in Bonita Springs, Florida. A longtime friend of Teresa's husband, Mark Sievers, Wright helped plan the killing before recruiting Jimmy Rodgers to assist in carrying out the attack. Wright later pleaded guilty, cooperated with prosecutors, and testified against both Rodgers and Mark Sievers, making him the key witness in one of Florida's most high-profile murder-for-hire cases.

Dale Bradley Jr. was convicted of killing 22-year-old Kennecott security guard Bryan Ruff in Utah in December 1991. Ruff, who was having an affair with Bradley's first wife, Kristi, disappeared from his guard post during a night shift and was found nearly 19 months later in a shallow grave near Five Mile Pass. Investigators eventually linked Bradley to the killing through physical evidence and witness testimony. Bradley originally faced a first-degree murder charge but entered an Alford plea to manslaughter and kidnapping in 2007 and received two consecutive prison terms of two to 20 years. In 2025, while seeking parole, Bradley finally admitted that he shot Ruff, saying anger and jealousy had overtaken him.

Daniel Charles "Dan" Howard, a former Idaho State Police trooper, murdered his wife Kendy Howard at their home in Athol, Idaho, on February 2, 2021, before staging the scene to make her death appear to be a suicide. Howard initially told police that Kendy had shot herself in the bathtub, but investigators found inconsistencies at the scene and later concluded that he had strangled her before placing her body in the bathtub and firing a gunshot into her mouth. After a two-year investigation, Howard was charged with murder and convicted of second-degree murder and domestic battery in March 2024. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole in May 2024.

Daniel Krug is an American man convicted of the 2020 murder of his wife in Topeka, Kansas. The case became widely known due to the elaborate and sustained deception he created to conceal the crime, including fabricating a false stalker narrative to mislead investigators. He was later arrested, convicted, and sentenced to a lengthy term of imprisonment.

Danny Johnson became one of Columbus, Ohio's most notorious domestic killers after murdering his girlfriend, 46-year-old Cathleen "Kit Kat" Howatt, at a homeless encampment near the Scioto River in April 2016. The killing followed a violent altercation witnessed by nearby residents who had become accustomed to Johnson's abuse of Howatt. Following a jury trial in 2017, Johnson was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole after 15 years.