Straight Killers

Frederick Walter Stephen West became one of the United Kingdom's most infamous serial killers after murdering numerous young women and girls between the late 1960s and 1980s. Working both alone and with his wife, Rose West, he targeted vulnerable victims, many of whom disappeared after visiting the couple's home at 25 Cromwell Street in Gloucester. The discovery of multiple bodies buried beneath the property exposed one of Britain's most shocking serial murder cases and permanently cemented Fred West's place among the country's most reviled offenders.

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.

Gary Ridgway, known as the “Green River Killer,” is an American serial killer responsible for the murders of dozens of women in Washington State during the 1980s and 1990s. He targeted vulnerable individuals, often sex workers and runaways, and became one of the most prolific serial killers in U.S. history. Ridgway evaded capture for nearly two decades before advances in DNA technology led to his arrest in 2001. He later pleaded guilty to multiple counts of murder and received numerous life sentences, ensuring he would remain imprisoned for the rest of his life.

George Emil Banks became one of the most infamous mass killers in Pennsylvania history after murdering 13 people during a shooting spree in Wilkes-Barre on September 25, 1982. Among his victims were five of his own children, their mothers, and several relatives. The murders shocked the United States because of the extraordinary number of family members killed in a single attack. After decades of legal proceedings centred on his mental competency, Banks died in prison in 2024 without ever being executed.

George "Billy" Wagner III was a member of the Wagner family responsible for the Pike County massacre, one of the deadliest family murder cases in Ohio history. Prosecutors proved that Wagner, together with his parents George "Billy" Wagner II and Angela Wagner, and his brother Edward "Jake" Wagner, conspired to murder eight members of the Rhoden family in April 2016 during a bitter custody dispute over Jake Wagner's daughter. Following one of Ohio's largest criminal investigations, Wagner was convicted in 2022 of eight counts of aggravated murder and numerous related offences. He was sentenced to eight consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole and remains incarcerated.

George Wagner IV was convicted for his role in the Pike County massacre, one of the largest homicide investigations in Ohio history. Along with his father, George "Billy" Wagner III, mother Angela Wagner and younger brother Edward "Jake" Wagner, he participated in a conspiracy that resulted in the murders of eight members of the Rhoden family across four crime scenes on April 22, 2016. Prosecutors established that the killings were motivated by a custody dispute involving Jake Wagner's daughter. Following a lengthy trial, George Wagner IV was convicted in 2022 of eight counts of aggravated murder and numerous related offences. He was sentenced to eight consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole and remains incarcerated.

Grant Amato became infamous after murdering members of his own family inside their Florida home in 2019 following an escalating financial and psychological obsession with an online cam model. The case shocked the United States because investigators uncovered extreme levels of deception, addiction, theft and fantasy-driven behavior leading up to the killings. The murders later became one of the internet era’s most heavily discussed family annihilation cases due to the bizarre combination of online obsession, financial ruin and emotional isolation surrounding Amato’s motive. Extensive documentaries, podcasts and streaming coverage transformed the case into a major true crime phenomenon focused on digital addiction and parasocial relationships.

Herman Webster Mudgett, better known as H.H. Holmes, became one of America's earliest infamous serial killers after carrying out a series of murders during the late nineteenth century. Operating from a specially designed building in Chicago that later became known as the "Murder Castle," Holmes used deception, fraud, and false identities to lure victims. Although he confessed to 27 murders before his execution, historians believe the true number of victims remains uncertain. His case remains one of the most famous in American criminal history.