Victim Targets - Women

Leonard Thomas Lake became one of the most infamous serial killers in American history after operating a secluded compound in Wilseyville, California, with accomplice Charles Ng during the early 1980s. Investigators believe the pair murdered at least 11 people, although the true number of victims may be significantly higher. Their crimes came to light in 1985 following Lake's arrest for shoplifting, leading police to uncover buried human remains, extensive video recordings, journals, and evidence documenting one of the most disturbing serial murder investigations in United States history.

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.

David Parker Ray became one of the most infamous serial offenders in American history after constructing a soundproof torture chamber inside a trailer on his property in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. Known as the "Toy-Box Killer," Ray was convicted of kidnapping, torture, and sexual offences against multiple women. Although investigators suspected he murdered numerous victims over several decades, no homicide convictions were ever secured because no bodies were recovered. His crimes remain among the most disturbing criminal investigations in modern American history.

John George Haigh, known as the Acid Bath Murderer, was an English serial killer who murdered six people between 1944 and 1949, although he claimed responsibility for three additional killings that could not be substantiated. Haigh targeted people he believed could provide him with financial gain, killing them before dissolving their bodies in concentrated sulphuric acid and exploiting their property and possessions. His final victim, wealthy widow Olive Durand-Deacon, was murdered at his workshop in Crawley, where investigators subsequently discovered human remains and other evidence linking him to the killings. Convicted of murder at Lewes Assizes in July 1949, Haigh was sentenced to death and hanged at Wandsworth Prison on 10 August 1949.

Mikhail Viktorovich Popkov, known as the "Angarsk Maniac" and "Werewolf," is a former Russian police officer who murdered women across the Irkutsk region between 1992 and 2010. He typically approached women at night in his police vehicle, offering them rides before taking them to isolated locations where he sexually assaulted and murdered them using weapons including knives, axes, screwdrivers and ropes. Popkov was arrested in 2012 after DNA testing connected him to the killings and was subsequently convicted in multiple trials. By 2026, courts had established his responsibility for 91 murders and three attempted murders, making him one of Russia's most prolific serial killers. He is serving life imprisonment in a special-regime prison in Mordovia.

Rosemary Pauline West became one of the United Kingdom's most infamous serial killers after participating in a series of murders with her husband, Fred West, between the 1970s and 1980s. Convicted of ten murders in 1995, Rose played a central role in abusing, controlling, and murdering young women and girls, many of whom were buried at the couple's home at 25 Cromwell Street in Gloucester. The case shocked Britain because of the scale of the crimes and the years they remained hidden behind the façade of an ordinary family.

Israel Keyes became one of America's most infamous serial killers after carrying out a series of meticulously planned murders across multiple states between 2001 and 2012. Unlike many serial offenders, Keyes travelled extensively, buried "kill kits" years in advance, and deliberately selected victims with no personal connection to him. Although he confessed to eight murders, investigators believe the true number of victims may never be known due to his suicide before revealing the full extent of his crimes.

Andrei Chikatilo became one of the Soviet Union’s most infamous serial killers after murdering and mutilating dozens of women and children across Russia and Ukraine between 1978 and 1990. Nicknamed “The Butcher of Rostov” and “The Red Ripper,” Chikatilo terrorized the Soviet Union for over a decade while authorities struggled to identify the perpetrator amid political pressure, investigative failures and widespread public fear. His crimes shocked investigators because of their extreme brutality, sexual sadism and mutilation of victims. Chikatilo appeared outwardly quiet and socially awkward, allowing him to blend into ordinary Soviet society while secretly carrying out one of the deadliest serial murder sprees in modern history. His eventual arrest and confession exposed major flaws within the Soviet criminal justice system and transformed the case into one of the most notorious serial killer investigations ever conducted behind the Iron Curtain.