Victim Targets - Women

Ryan Alexander Duke became widely known after being charged in the 2005 death of Georgia high school teacher and former beauty queen Tara Grinstead. The case remained one of Georgia's most infamous unsolved mysteries for nearly 12 years before Duke confessed to being involved in Grinstead's death. In 2022, he pleaded guilty to concealing her death rather than murder, bringing a partial resolution to a case that had captivated investigators and the public for years.

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.

Richard Francis Cottingham became one of the most infamous serial killers in American history after murdering numerous women and girls in New York and New Jersey between 1967 and 1980. Known as the "Torso Killer" because several victims were dismembered, Cottingham targeted women he encountered in hotels, bars, and areas associated with sex work. Following his arrest in 1980, he was convicted of multiple murders and later confessed to additional killings, making him one of the most prolific identified serial killers in the northeastern United States.

Allan Joseph Legere, known as the "Monster of the Miramichi," was a Canadian serial killer, rapist and arsonist who murdered five people in New Brunswick between 1986 and 1989. Already serving a life sentence for the 1986 murder of shopkeeper John Glendenning, Legere escaped from a hospital in May 1989 and spent seven months terrorising the Miramichi region, murdering Annie Flam, sisters Donna and Linda Daughney, and Catholic priest James Smith. He was captured in November 1989 following a massive manhunt and convicted of the four murders in 1991, with DNA evidence playing a major role in the prosecution. Legere remained imprisoned for the rest of his life and died at Edmonton Institution in March 2026.

Peter William Sutcliffe, known worldwide as the "Yorkshire Ripper," became one of the United Kingdom's most infamous serial killers after murdering 13 women and attempting to murder seven others between 1975 and 1980. Operating across Yorkshire and Greater Manchester, Sutcliffe evaded capture for more than five years despite one of the largest police investigations in British history. His crimes generated widespread fear, exposed major investigative failures, and permanently changed homicide investigations in the United Kingdom.

Wayne Couzens became one of Britain’s most notorious killers after abducting, raping and murdering Sarah Everard in London in 2021 while serving as a Metropolitan Police officer. The case horrified the United Kingdom because Couzens used his police credentials and authority to falsely arrest Everard before carrying out the murder. The killing triggered national outrage, widespread protests and intense scrutiny of policing culture within the United Kingdom. Couzens’ crimes exposed serious failures surrounding misconduct warnings and vetting processes inside British law enforcement, while the murder of Sarah Everard became one of the most significant criminal and social justice cases in modern British history.

Edward Theodore Gein became one of the most infamous killers in American history after murdering two women and exhuming numerous bodies from local cemeteries near Plainfield, Wisconsin, during the 1950s. Although convicted of only two murders, the disturbing discoveries inside his farmhouse—including items fashioned from human remains—made Gein a cultural phenomenon whose crimes inspired characters such as Norman Bates, Leatherface, and Buffalo Bill. His case remains one of the most extensively studied in criminal psychology.

Allen Lee "Tiny" Davis was convicted of murdering Nancy Weiler and her two young daughters, Kristina and Katherine, during a violent attack at their Jacksonville, Florida, home on May 11, 1982. Davis entered the house armed with a handgun and a length of rope, brutally beat Nancy and shot both children before fleeing with property taken from the home. He was already on parole for previous robbery convictions when the murders occurred. Convicted of three counts of first-degree murder in 1983 and sentenced to death, Davis exhausted numerous appeals before being executed by electrocution at Florida State Prison on July 8, 1999.