Victim Targets - Random People

William J. Brock became widely known after fatally shooting 61-year-old Uber driver Lo-Letha Hall outside his home in South Charleston, Ohio, on March 25, 2024. Brock had been deceived by telephone scammers into believing his family was in danger and wrongly concluded Hall was part of the scheme when she arrived to collect a package through the Uber app. A jury rejected Brock's claim of self-defense, finding that Hall was an innocent victim with no knowledge of the scam. Brock was convicted of murder in 2026 and sentenced to life imprisonment.

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.

Joseph James DeAngelo, known as the "Golden State Killer," became one of the most infamous serial offenders in American history after committing a series of murders, rapes, and burglaries across California between 1974 and 1986. A former police officer, DeAngelo evaded identification for more than 40 years before investigators used investigative genetic genealogy to identify and arrest him in 2018. His case transformed modern criminal investigations and demonstrated the power of forensic DNA technology in solving long-unsolved crimes.

John Reginald Halliday Christie became one of the United Kingdom's most infamous serial killers after murdering multiple women, including his wife, at his home in Notting Hill, London, during the 1940s and early 1950s. His crimes, committed at 10 Rillington Place, led to one of Britain's greatest miscarriages of justice when Timothy Evans was wrongly convicted and executed before Christie's guilt was uncovered. The case remains one of the most significant in British criminal history.

Ian Rich became known in Ohio criminal history after carrying out a targeted drive-by shooting on Interstate 77 that killed David Perez and seriously wounded Jacqueline Perez on April 28, 2024. Prosecutors alleged Rich deliberately followed the couple from Newburgh Heights before pulling alongside their vehicle and firing multiple gunshots. He later pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, attempted murder, and firearms offences, receiving a prison sentence of 40 to 46½ years. The case attracted significant attention because of the seemingly unprovoked nature of the attack and subsequent claims regarding Rich's mental health and drug use.

John Asher Farrell Villarreal became known in American criminal history after the murders of a Texas couple who stopped to help him while he was hitchhiking on Christmas Eve in 2014. Prosecutors alleged Villarreal repaid the victims' kindness with extreme violence, killing both occupants before stealing their vehicle and attempting to evade capture. The case attracted significant attention because of the apparent randomness of the attack and the betrayal involved. Investigators argued the victims had no prior connection to Villarreal and had simply offered assistance to a stranger. The murders shocked the local community and became a tragic example of a good Samaritan encounter ending in deadly violence.

Vickrum Digwa became known in British criminal history after the murder of 18-year-old university student Henry Nowak in Southampton, England, on December 3, 2025. Prosecutors argued Digwa fatally stabbed the first-year University of Southampton student during a confrontation before attempting to portray himself as the victim when police arrived at the scene. The case attracted national attention because of the circumstances surrounding the stabbing and the controversy that followed. During the investigation and trial, prosecutors alleged Digwa falsely claimed Henry had attacked him and subjected him to racial abuse. The jury rejected those claims and convicted Digwa of murder. Public discussion later expanded beyond the killing itself to include the initial police response, which became the subject of significant scrutiny and debate across the United Kingdom.

Justin Jason Keeding, widely known as the “Little Merchant Killer,” became one of the more notorious robbery-murder offenders of the early twentieth century after being linked to violent attacks against rural merchants and storekeepers. Operating during the 1920s, Keeding allegedly targeted isolated business owners in smaller communities, earning his nickname through repeated attacks connected to robbery and financial gain. The case generated significant regional media attention during the era because of the fear surrounding traveling offenders targeting small-town businesses. Authorities portrayed Keeding as a violent drifter willing to kill during robberies, while newspapers sensationalized the crimes through dramatic reporting common during the period. His eventual death in 1926 closed a violent criminal chapter that remained part of regional crime history for years afterward.