Serial Killers Who Were Never Caught

Serial Killers Who Were Never Caught is full of darkly fascinating profiles of the many shadowy and harrowing serial killers who proved so frustratingly elusive they were never brought to justice for their grisly and gruesome crimes. What follows is a ghoulish gallery of the most mysterious and terrifying killers of all time...

*Includes pictures *Includes excerpts of contemporary accounts *Includes a bibliography for further reading When one hears the term "Victorian," many images come to mind. For some, the term conjures up visions of lace and gloves and delicate fans. Others think of tight corsets and even tighter morals. Others, swayed perhaps by one too many British costume dramas, envision gentle elegance and long lost beauty. Naturally, few people think of multiple dead bodies cast about in the streets or dark bedrooms, most mutilated to a shocking degree, and yet, those tragic images played a significant role not only in late Victorian London but ever since. In 1888 and 1889, a killer stalked the dark backstreets of the city through the notoriously overcrowded and crime-ridden Whitechapel district, murdering young women and then cutting their bodies up like a butcher. There have been a countless number of serial killers throughout history, and certainly more prolific ones, but the timing, circumstances, and unsolved nature of the case continue to make Jack the Ripper the most famous serial killer in history. The murders came at a time when media coverage could be both more acute and more widespread, and it allowed the public a closer look into how police agencies operated at the time, exposing both their strengths and shortcomings. Of course, the lack of modern forensics hamstrung the investigators in the late 19th century, and while the police file for the case was extensive and active for several years, much of the evidence disappeared from the file without explanation, possibly as souvenirs. Despite the fact the police interviewed thousands and considered hundreds of suspects, they were never able to arrest anyone for the murders. The intense media coverage also likely played a role in both the actual murderer and would-be copycats and pranksters sending hundreds of letters to police claiming to be Jack the Ripper. It's also indisputable that the use of a precise modus operandi, the serial killer being given a nickname, and the taunting letters sent to police all influenced subsequent serial killers and the way they were covered. Whether it's the Zodiac Killer, the Son of Sam, or the Boston Strangler, the antecedent of all 20th century and 21st century killers remains Jack the Ripper. Toward the end of 1968, a new and more sinister headline began to pop up. At first it was just in California and seemed to be simply a random crime, with a couple being murdered a few days before Christmas. It was a tragic tale, but in California, it was often dismissed as a byproduct of the youth culture of sex, drugs and rock and roll that often led young people to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Then, some months later, another couple was shot, and this time the man survived. The story he told was not of someone targeting either him or his friend, but of a type of madman shooting them again and again. The idea that there was an unhinged serial killer on the loose was confirmed when he began writing letters to the police and the newspapers, not only claiming responsibility for these killings but for others that either had been or would be committed. After he stabbed a third couple and then shot a cab driver in cold blood, he began to send more and more letters. These, like the earlier ones, were signed with a symbol understood only by the killer, a man who called himself "Zodiac." In addition to sending cryptic letters that authorities had to decipher, the Zodiac Killer used them to both taunt people and threaten more violence, warning that a failure to publish what he would wrote would lead him to "cruse [sic] around all weekend killing lone people in the night then move on to kill again, until I end up with a dozen people over the weekend." This book examines the cases, crimes, investigations, and attempts to identify all the potential suspects for the two notorious serial killers.

The Encyclopaedia of Serial Killers, Second Edition provides accurate information on hundreds of serial murder cases - from early history to the present. Written in a non-sensational manner, this authoritative encyclopaedia debunks many of the myths surrounding this most notorious of criminal activities. New major serial killers have come to light since the first edition was published, and many older cases have been solved (such as the Green River Killer) or further investigated (like Jack the Ripper and the Zodiac Killer). Completely updated entries and appendixes pair with more than 30 new photographs and many new entries to make this new edition more fascinating than ever. New and updated entries include: Axe Man of New Orleans; BTK Strangler; Jack the Ripper; Cuidad Juarez, Mexico; John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, the Sniper Killers; Gary Leon Ridgway, the Green River Killer; and Harold Frederick Shipman.

An explosive and historic New York Times bestseller of true crime and an emotionally powerful and revelatory memoir of a man whose ten-year search for his biological father leads to a chilling discovery: His father is one of the most notorious-and still at large-serial killers in America—THE BASIS FOR A 4-PART FX DOCUMENTARY MINISERIES. “I promise that you’ve never read anything like The Most Dangerous Animal of All. Mesmerizing from the first page, the story includes a shattering surprise that will sear itself in your memory. Be prepared to read non-stop; this really is a book you won’t be able to put down.” —Jeff Guinn, author of Manson: The Life and Times of Charles Manson Soon after his birthmother contacted him for the first time at the age of thirty-nine, adoptee Gary L. Stewart decided to search for his biological father. It was a quest that would lead him to a horrifying truth and force him to reconsider everything he thought he knew about himself and his world. Written with award-winning author and journalist Susan D. Mustafa, The Most Dangerous Animal of All tells the story of Stewart’s decade-long hunt for his father following a complex trail of startling twists and connections. Combing through government records and news reports and through conversations with his father’s relatives and friends, Stewart turns up a host of clues, including forensic evidence, identifying his father as one of the most infamous and still-wanted serial killers in American history.

The Terrifying Story of the Most Monstrous Serial Killers through History. Serial Killers are the most notorious and disturbing of all criminals, representing the very darkest side of humanity. Yet they endlessy fascinate and continue to capture the public's attention with their strange charisma and deadly deeds. From Jack the Ripper to Ted Bundy and the Moors Murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, these killers transfix us with their ability to commit utterly savage acts of cruelty and depravity. Only with modern police detection methods and psychological profiling, have these figures that have existed throughout human history finally been identified in the deadliest category: serial killers. These methods, the killers' characters and their crimes are described here in fascinating and terrifyingly gripping detail. The whole history of serial killers is brought to life in 50 chapters, including: Herman Webster Mudget, Devil in the White City John Christie, 10 Rillington Place murders Zodiac Killer Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, The Moors Murderers Ted Bundy Fred and Rosemary West Jeffrey Dahmer Aileen Wuornos Harold Shipman, Dr Death

Critically acclaimed author Kathryn Casey delivers a riveting account of the brutal murders of young women in the I-45/Texas Killing Fields—a chilling true story that has already helped police uncover evidence that may link suspected serial killer William Lewis Reece to some of the heinous crimes Over a three-decade span, more than twenty women—many teenagers—died mysteriously in the small towns bordering Interstate 45, a fifty-mile stretch of highway running from Houston to Galveston. The victims were strangled, shot, or savagely beaten. Six met their demise in pairs. They had one thing in common: being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The day she vanished, Colette Wilson waited for her mother after band practice. Best friends Debbie Ackerman and Maria Johnson loved to surf and were last seen hitchhiking. Laura Kate Smither dreamed of becoming a ballerina and disappeared just weeks before her thirteenth birthday. In this harrowing true crime exposition, award-winning journalist Kathryn Casey tracks these tragic cases, investigates the evidence, interviews the suspects, and pulls back the cloak of secrecy in search of elusive answers.

From the A6 Disappearances to the Zodiac Killer, and all points between, here is a definitive A to Z of the many serial killer cases through history that were never solved. Jack the Ripper, The Freeway Phantom, The New Orleans Axeman, The Thames Torso Murders, Charlie Chop Off - they are all here. Read about these unsolved serial killer and murder cases in history in this book

Welcome back to Unsolved Serial Killers, the third volume with 10 more bone-chilling and nightmare-inducing cases of serial killers you've never heard of, and the victims whose names were either never discovered or have been forgotten over time. Featuring 10 more of the most shocking and notorious serial killers who were never caught, take a ride from coast to coast and relive the terrible crimes that rocked perfectly normal communities and shattered their sense of security as they encountered firsthand the depravity of mankind. With detailed investigative reports and psychological profiles of the killers who set out to claim helpless victims for one reason or another, the following crimes will keep you turning the pages. Enter the world of history's most ruthless unknown killers and the people whose lives they cut short in Unsolved Serial Killers, Volume 3. And be warned.