American Offender Profiles
Overview
American offender profiles encompass a wide range of individuals responsible for some of the most notorious killings and violent crimes in United States history. The collection covers all American killer classifications represented on CrimeTrakr, rather than concentrating on one particular type of offender. This includes serial killers, mass murderers, family annihilators, child killers, cult leaders and other documented classifications.
The American collection includes both internationally notorious offenders and lesser-known individuals whose crimes form part of the wider history of violent crime in the United States. Profiles can be explored through their criminal classification, allowing broader categories to lead into individual offenders and their associated cases.
Names such as Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy, Dennis Rader, David Berkowitz and the Zodiac Killer demonstrate the range of serial-killer cases contained within American criminal history. Other cases, including the Manson Family murders, Jonestown, the Columbine High School massacre and the Green River Killer investigation, illustrate the very different circumstances surrounding mass killings, cult-related violence and prolonged investigations.
Historical Context
American criminal history contains an extraordinary variety of offenders, with patterns of violence changing considerably across different periods and circumstances. Some offenders committed multiple murders over many years, while others killed several victims during a single event. Family annihilators targeted people within their own households, child killers selected particularly vulnerable victims, and cult leaders or other influential figures sometimes became associated with crimes committed within tightly controlled groups.
Several American cases have had an enduring impact on the public understanding of violent crime. Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahmer, John Wayne Gacy and Dennis Rader became among the country's most recognisable serial-killer cases, while the Zodiac Killer remains associated with one of America's most famous unresolved murder investigations. The Golden State Killer case demonstrated how advances in forensic science and genetic genealogy could eventually identify an offender decades after the crimes occurred.
Other cases illustrate different classifications and circumstances. The Manson Family murders became one of the most notorious cult-related criminal cases in American history, while the Jonestown deaths demonstrated the devastating consequences that could occur within an intensely controlled religious movement. Mass killings such as Columbine also became significant events in the modern history of American violent crime.
These cases represent only a small portion of the wider collection. The purpose of the American offender profiles is to bring together the full range of documented classifications rather than focusing solely on the country's most famous offenders.
What You'll Find
CrimeTrakr's American offender collection provides access to profiles across multiple classifications, including serial killers, mass murderers, family annihilators, child killers, cult leaders and other documented killer types.
Individual profiles provide information about the offender and their criminal history, while classification groupings make it possible to explore offenders who share particular characteristics or patterns of offending. The collection also connects offenders with related cases, allowing the circumstances surrounding individual victims and investigations to be explored separately.
The American collection includes both well-known cases and offenders who may be less familiar outside the communities, regions or investigations connected to their crimes. This creates a broader picture of American violent crime rather than reducing the subject to a list of the country's most notorious names.
Explore American serial killers, American mass murderers, American family annihilators, American child killers, American cult leaders and other classifications to narrow the collection, or browse the complete American offender profiles to see the full range of individuals currently represented on CrimeTrakr.
Explore all American offender profiles across every criminal classification currently represented on CrimeTrakr.
American Offender Profiles Listings
Richard Church
Richard “Rick” Church was 19 when he attacked the Ritter family home in Woodstock, Illinois, on August 21, 1988. Church had previously dated 17-year-old Colleen Ritter, but their relationship had deteriorated after he left for college. During the attack, Church stabbed Colleen and her younger brother Matthew and fatally stabbed Colleen's parents, Raymond and Ruth Ann Ritter. Church fled Illinois and became one of the country's most wanted fugitives, living under aliases and moving between several states for more than three years. His case was featured on America's Most Wanted as authorities attempted to locate him. In November 1991, a Utah police detective recognized Church while he was working at a restaurant. Church was arrested, returned to Illinois, pleaded guilty to the murders and attempted murders, and was sentenced to life in prison.
Bradford James Gille
Bradford James Gille attacked 11 people with a folding knife inside a Walmart in Garfield Township, near Traverse City, Michigan, on July 26, 2025. The victims, five women and six men, ranged in age from 29 to 84, and one was a Walmart employee. Gille was arrested after bystanders intervened and prevented him from continuing the attack. He was initially charged with 11 counts of assault with intent to murder and one count of terrorism. A judge later found him incompetent to stand trial. In September 2026, following forensic psychiatric evaluations, Gille pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. The court accepted the plea, ending the criminal case and ordering his commitment to a state psychiatric facility.
Lloyd Neurauter
Lloyd Neurauter was convicted of murdering his ex-wife, 46-year-old Michele Neurauter, at her home in Corning, New York, on August 27, 2017. Michele was initially found hanging from a cord in what appeared to be a suicide, but investigators noticed suspicious injuries and determined that she had been strangled. Neurauter eventually admitted that he had planned and carried out the murder, saying he wanted to gain custody of their youngest daughter and was struggling with the financial consequences of their divorce. He also coerced their 19-year-old daughter, Karrie, into helping him. Neurauter pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.
Sarah Buzzard
Sarah Buzzard was convicted of the aggravated murder of 21-year-old Ryan Zimmerman, whose dismembered remains were discovered in Mercer County, Ohio, in January 2016. Zimmerman had moved from Kentucky to Columbus in 2015 and was living with Buzzard, her then-husband and Buzzard's friend Naira Jen Whitaker. Investigators determined that Zimmerman was killed inside the Columbus apartment in September 2015. Buzzard later confessed to strangling him and dismembering his body, telling investigators that she was angry with Zimmerman and believed he had contributed to the breakdown of her marriage. Whitaker was identified as an accomplice but died by suicide when police attempted to arrest her in 2021. Buzzard pleaded guilty to aggravated murder in December 2021 and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years.
Liam McAtasney
Liam McAtasney was convicted of murdering 19-year-old Sarah Stern in Neptune City, New Jersey, in December 2016. McAtasney lured Stern to the Route 35 bridge, strangled her with a belt and stole approximately $20,000 she had inherited from her mother. He then dumped her body from the bridge into the Shark River and attempted to conceal the crime with the help of his friend Preston Taylor. McAtasney was convicted of murder and related charges in 2019 and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Austin Thompson
Austin David Thompson carried out a mass shooting in Raleigh's Hedingham neighborhood on October 13, 2022, killing five people and injuring two others. Thompson, who was 15 at the time, first killed his 16-year-old brother James inside their home before leaving the house and shooting people in the surrounding neighborhood, including off-duty Raleigh Police Officer Gabriel Torres. He later pleaded guilty to five counts of first-degree murder and additional charges. In February 2026, Thompson was sentenced to five consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.
Jeffrey Spence
Jeffrey Spence was convicted of murdering Kirby Carpenter, his daughter's boyfriend, outside Carpenter's home in Mississippi in November 2022. Spence was accused of confronting Carpenter and shooting him during a dispute involving his daughter. Investigators identified Spence as the shooter, and he was subsequently arrested and prosecuted for the killing. A jury ultimately found him guilty of murder, bringing an end to the case.
Brandon Risner
Brandon Christopher Risner was convicted of murdering his longtime friend, 21-year-old Aaron William Davis, in Rome, Georgia, on November 11, 2022. Davis had travelled to Risner's home while on his way to visit his girlfriend in Alabama. Risner stabbed Davis repeatedly before dismembering his body and attempting to conceal the killing. He pleaded guilty to 12 charges, including malice murder, and was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole in July 2024.