Jeffrey Lionel Dahmer (1960-1994) – a sexually motivated serial killer otherwise known as the Milwaukee Cannibal. The span of killings before being apprehended took place from June 18th, 1978 to July 19th, 1991 (Ohio and Wisconsin). Dahmer was responsible for gruesomely murdering seventeen young men whom he used to fulfill the sadistic sexual desires. The majority of victims were found outside, in bars or on the streets, and then lured by the killer to hotel rooms or his grandmother’s basement (Montaldo, 2016). Identified victims include Steven Hicks, Steven Tuomi, James Doxtator, Richard Guerrero, Anthony Sears, Raymond Smith, Eddie Smith, Ernest Miller, David Thomas, Curtis Straughter, Errol Lindsey, Tony Hughs, Koneral Sinthasomphone, Matt Turner, Jeremiah Weinberger, Oliver Lacy, and Joseph Bradehoft.
Theodore Robert Bundy (1946-1989) – a serial killer, necrophile, and rapist who took many pseudonyms to hide from the police. The span of killings before being apprehended occurred between August 31st, 1961 (or February 1st, 1974) and February 8th, 1978. Bundy was responsible for murdering and sexually assaulting more than thirty victims (Washington, Utah, Florida, and more); however, there are speculations that he committed up to a hundred of sexually motivated killings (Biography, 2014). The majority of victims were young women Bundy found on the street and lured into his car, although there were cases when he struck victims in their homes when they were sleeping. Identified victims include Anne Burr, Lonnie Trumbell, Joni Lenz, Lynda Healy, Donna Manson, Susan Rancourt, Roberta Parks, Brenda Ball, Georgeann Hawkins, Janice Ott, Caryn Cambell, and many more.
Gary Leon Ridgway (born 1949) – one of the most infamous serial killers who is believed to murder more than 90 victims. Before being apprehended, was active between 1982 and 1998, although some speculate that Ridgway killed up until 2001. Otherwise known as the Green River Killer, Ridgway admitted to 71 killings. He developed inappropriate sexual desires from adolescence and prayed for the victims that would be the least important for the society – prostitutes (Crime Feed Staff, 2015). They were picked by Ridgway on the streets, fooled into trusting him, and then raped, murdered, and dumped in wooded areas. The list of identified victims includes 46 names along with three Jane Does.
Carl Panzram (1981-1930) – serial killer, rapist, and a burglar that took up to ten different aliases to hide his identity. Active between 1920 and 1929 in Washington, the number of suspected victims is as high as 22. He also admitted to raping men when robbing them, as well as killing and raping young boys. He found victims on the streets, sometimes got them drunk, and then robbed, raped, and murdered; the location of crimes was scattered across the states (from Oregon to New York) (Pandika, 2015). Two of his confirmed victims were Alexander Uszacke and Robert Warnke.
John Wayne Gacy (1942-1994) – a serial killer and rapist otherwise known as the Killer Clown. Active killings spanned from January 3rd, 1972 to December 11th, 1978 before apprehension (40 Famous serial killers of men, n.d.). Gacy murdered and sexually assaulted thirty-three young men and boys; all of the known murders to place in Norwood Park, IL. He lured his victims to a secluded location (his house) where they were raped and either strangled or asphyxiated (the first victim was stabbed), consequently being buried in the crawlspace or elsewhere on his property. The list of identified victims includes twenty-six names while seven more victims remain unidentified.
References
40 Famous serial killers of men. (n.d.). Web.
Biography. (2016). Ted Bundy biography. Web.
Crime Feed Staff. (2015). The depraved sex lives of notorious serial killers. Web.
Montaldo, C. (2016). The life and crimes or serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Web.
Pandika, M. (2015). History’s most sadistic serial killer. Web.