By Ljudmila Petrovic
Photos by Eleanor Qu
Jack the Ripper is a legend: he was a serial killer in 1888 London, and to this day, his identity remains an enigma. His victims were female prostitutes in impoverished parts of London, and it was believed that he might have had medical training due to the immaculate surgical removal of some of his victims’ organs. There were numerous letters to local media that hinted at the true identity of Jack the Ripper, but to this day, everything is merely speculation. This has led to over a century of fascination, and has been the inspiration for numerous films and books.
The Zodiac Killer
The self-proclaimed “Zodiac Killer” took responsibility for the murders of 37 people in the Northern California area in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Police investigators only managed to confirm seven attacks, mainly because the identity of the killer remains unknown to this day. This case is more known for its enigmatic nature than for its bloodcurdling brutality. The killer sent series of coded letters to local newspapers, saying he would go on a killing rampage if they didn’t print the letters on the front page. He continued to send cipher messages that professionals and civilians alike attempted to decode for years; in some cases, it was decided to be a fraud, but in other cases, the letters revealed information that only the killer could possibly know. The case remains a mystery, and has been the inspiration for several movies.
Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo
Prior to meeting Homolka, Paul Bernardo committed a long string of sexual assaults, and became known as “The Scarborough Rapist.” Together, though, Homolka and Bernardo were also known as the “Ken and Barbie Killers;” they were young, vibrant, and attractive. When the two got involved, Bernardo was allegedly upset that Homolka wasn’t a virgin. Homolka subsequently decided that it was her responsibility to provide her lover with a virgin, and so for Christmas in 1990, she drugged her 15-year-old sister Tammy with the intent of having Bernardo rape her. Things went violently wrong, however, when Tammy started choking on her own vomit. She was rushed to the hospital where she subsequently died. Bernardo and Homolka were not convicted, and it was deemed an accident. They went on to kidnap several adolescent girls, with Homolka playing a key role; Bernardo would then viciously rape and kill the girls. When they were caught, Homolka went with a plea bargain: in exchange for a 12-year sentence for manslaughter, she testified against Bernardo, and claimed that he had abused her. She was released in 2005, while Bernardo is still in prison.
Hillside Strangler
The Hillside Strangler actually refers to two men: Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono. Their murders took place in California over a four-month period, and their victims were 10 girls and women that they raped, tortured, and killed. When they were finally charged, Buono fled the state, but was soon arrested for another, similar crime. Bianchi claimed that he had dissociative identity disorder in an attempt to set up the insanity defense; his act was so good that he almost succeeded, but court psychologists caught him in the act. He agreed to plead guilty, and to exchange leniency for testimony against Buono.
Richard Trenton Chase
Chase had the delusion that Nazis were trying to turn his blood into powder by putting poison under his soap dish. As part of this delusion, he developed the habits of cannibalizing his victims and drinking their blood, earning him the nickname of “The Vampire of Sacramento.” In 1977, Chase was found guilty of six counts of first-degree murder, having performed necrophilia, mutilation, and/or cannibalism on all his victims. He was sentenced to death, but his crimes followed him and, according to prison officials, the other inmates on death row frequently tried to talk Chase into suicide. Three years later, he was found dead in his cell, having overdosed on prescription medication he had been hoarding.
Ted Bundy
Known mostly for the charms and good looks that he used to lure his young female victims, Ted Bundy is one of the most notorious serial killers. He raped and killed over 30 women between the ages of 15 and 25, most of whom were said to resemble his fiancee. Not only did he engage in necrophilia, but he also collected the heads of his victims. He has become infamous for the violence and number of his crimes, but also for the fact that he didn’t resemble the stereotypical image of a “serial killer” that people had. He was executed in 1989 for his murders.
John Wayne Gacy
Scared of clowns? Maybe you should be. John Wayne Gacy was known as the killer clown, an allusion to the fact that he dressed up as “Pogo the Clown” for charitable events, parades, and birthday parties. He wasn’t all about the smiles, however: Gacy sexually assaulted and murdered at least 33 teenage boys and young men over a span of six years. The remains of a majority of his victims were found buried in the crawl space of his home, with the others discarded in the vicinity of his home. He was sentenced to death for these murders — which he had committed because of the “thrill” they provided — and was consequently executed in 1994.
Charles Manson
“Summer of Love,” indeed! Set to the backdrop of the hippie movement, Manson was responsible for the brutal stabbing of Sharon Tate, Roman Polanski’s pregnant wife. Manson had a history of petty crime dating back to his adolescence, but it was not until later that he truly became the face of evil. Manson believed that the Beatles’ song “Helter Skelter” subliminally predicted a race war, and that it was up to him to fight it. So, in the late 1960s, he founded a cult that became known as “The Family.” This group of young men and women killed on his behalf, and showed their support throughout the entire trial, even taking blame for all accusations against Manson. The trial was in itself a bizarre event (at one point, Manson came to court with a swastika carved into his forehead); he is currently serving a life sentence in California, and it is unlikely that he will ever be let out.
Aileen Wuornos
Wuornos is part of the rare breed of female serial killers; even rarer, she would shoot her victims multiple times rather than using a more passive weapon, such as poison (which women killers usually choose). Wuornos was held responsible for the death of seven men, some of whom she claimed to have killed in self-defense during instances of her sex work. She remained remorseless for the murders until her execution in 2002. Charlize Theron portrayed her in the 2003 film Monster, with Christina Ricci playing her girlfriend, Tyria.
Ed Gein
Freud would have had a field day with this guy. His mother was a single parent, abusive and fervently religious, preaching to Gein and his brothers that all women but her were prostitutes. After her death, Gein became obsessed with studying the female anatomy and, eventually, with becoming a woman. He would rob the graves of recently dead females, and skin them for certain body parts. He would drape himself in these body parts, and made various clothing items from them. Sound familiar? That’s because Gein was the inspiration behind film serial killers such as Silence of the Lamb’s Buffalo Bill, and Texas Chainsaw Massacre’s Leatherface. Technically, Gein only killed two women — and three is the number used in the definition of a serial killer — but his crimes mark him as a notoriously twisted killer
