50 Chilling Serial Killer Facts That Will Shock Your Friends

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Simply a mega list of serial killer facts! Perfect for true crime trivia, serial killer knowledge, impressing your friends, or to brush up on history.

Countries With the Most Documented Serial Killers

The exact varies depending on source and the criteria used to classify a person as a serial killer. For example, spree killers are sometimes included with serial killers. For this list, only recorded serial killers have been considered.

  1. United States – The United States has the highest number of recorded serial killers, with more than 2,700 documented cases.
  2. England – England comes in second place, with around 145 recorded serial killers.
  3. South Africa – South Africa has approximately 112 documented serial killers.
  4. Canada – Canada has around 101 recorded serial killers.
  5. Australia – Australia has approximately 79 documented serial killers.
  6. Germany – Germany has around 75 recorded serial killers.
  7. Russia – Russia has an estimated 70 documented serial killers.
  8. France – France has approximately 61 recorded serial killers.
  9. India – India has around 55 documented serial killers.
  10. Japan – Japan has approximately 43 recorded serial killers.

Serial Killers with the Highest PROVEN Number of Victims

This generally means the number of victims each serial killer has been convicted on. For highest number of suspected victims, see the next list! This is as of end of 2022, as newer cases tend to still be ongoing.

  1. Luis Garavito (Colombia) – Known as “La Bestia” or “The Beast”, Garavito was convicted of murdering 138 young boys, but he is suspected of having killed more than 300 victims in the 1990s.
  2. Pedro López (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru) – López, also known as the “Monster of the Andes”, was convicted of killing 110 girls but confessed to the murders of 240 more, bringing the suspected total to 350.
  3. Daniel Camargo Barbosa (Colombia, Ecuador) – Barbosa, known as “The Sadist of Chanquito,” was convicted of 72 murders but confessed to killing over 150 victims in the 1970s and 1980s.
  4. Pedro Rodrigues Filho (Brazil) – Filho, known as “Killer Petey,” was convicted of 71 murders, most of which he committed while in prison for other crimes. His total victim count is believed to be around 100.
  5. Yang Xinhai (China) – Yang, dubbed the “Monster Killer,” was convicted of 67 murders and 23 rapes committed between 1999 and 2003.
  6. Andrei Chikatilo (Soviet Union) – Chikatilo, also known as the “Butcher of Rostov” or “The Red Ripper,” was convicted of 52 murders of women and children between 1978 and 1990.
  7. Anatoly Onoprienko (Ukraine) – Onoprienko, known as the “Terminator” or “The Beast of Ukraine,” was convicted of 52 murders committed between 1989 and 1995.
  8. Gary Ridgway (United States) – Ridgway, also known as the “Green River Killer,” was convicted of 49 murders, but he confessed to killing at least 71 women in the state of Washington between 1982 and 1998.
  9. Alexander Pichushkin (Russia) – Pichushkin, nicknamed the “Chessboard Killer,” was convicted of 48 murders committed between 1992 and 2006 in Moscow’s Bitsa Park.
  10. Ahmad Suradji (Indonesia) – Suradji, a self-proclaimed sorcerer, was convicted of murdering 42 women between 1986 and 1997, as part of a ritual he believed would give him supernatural powers.
50 Chilling Serial Killer Facts That Will Shock Your Friends

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Serial Killers with the Highest SUSPECTED Number of Victims.

The numbers vary depending on the source. However, these are the generally recognised numbers.

In the case of people like Harold Shipman, it was confirmed he killed around 250 but he died before being convicted on them, thus – considered ‘suspected’.

  1. Luis Garavito (Colombia) – While convicted of 138 murders, Garavito, also known as “La Bestia” or “The Beast,” is suspected of having killed more than 300 young boys during the 1990s.
  2. Pedro López (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru) – López, known as the “Monster of the Andes,” was convicted of 110 murders but confessed to killing 240 more, bringing his suspected total to around 350 victims.
  3. Thug Behram (India) – A leader of the Indian Thuggee cult, Behram is suspected of having participated in up to 931 murders between 1790 and 1840, although he was only convicted of one.
  4. Dr. Harold Shipman (United Kingdom) – Shipman, a British general practitioner, was convicted of 15 murders, but an inquiry after his conviction estimated that he might have killed around 250 patients.
  5. Daniel Camargo Barbosa (Colombia, Ecuador) – Barbosa, known as “The Sadist of Chanquito,” was convicted of 72 murders but confessed to killing over 150 victims in the 1970s and 1980s.
  6. Elizabeth Báthory (Hungary) – Countess Báthory was accused of torturing and killing hundreds of young girls in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, with estimates ranging from 80 to over 600 victims.
  7. Henry Lee Lucas (United States) – Lucas confessed to more than 600 murders, but law enforcement agencies have attributed around 200 to him. However, the exact number of his victims remains unclear due to inconsistencies in his confessions.
  8. H. H. Holmes (United States) – Holmes, one of America’s first documented serial killers, confessed to 27 murders, but some estimates suggest that he may have been responsible for up to 200 deaths.
  9. Javed Iqbal (Pakistan) – Iqbal confessed to murdering 100 boys in Lahore, Pakistan, but some sources suggest that he may have had more victims.
  10. Pedro Rodrigues Filho (Brazil) – Filho, known as “Killer Petey,” was convicted of 71 murders, most of which he committed while in prison for other crimes. His total victim count is believed to be around 100.

Serial Killing Doctors & Nurses

Angels of Death, Medical Monsters, call them what you will, these trusted medical professionals claimed the lives of their patients. Add these to your serial killer facts database!

  1. Harold Shipman: A British doctor who took the lives of over 250 patients (suspected), making him one of the most prolific serial killers in history.
  2. Charles Cullen: An American nurse who admitted to taking the lives of up to 40 patients by administering lethal doses of medication during his career in various hospitals.
  3. Niels Högel: A German nurse who was convicted of taking the lives of at least 85 patients by administering lethal doses of medication between 2000 and 2005.
  4. Elizabeth Wettlaufer: A Canadian nurse who confessed to taking the lives of eight elderly patients by injecting them with insulin between 2007 and 2016.
  5. Kristen Gilbert: An American nurse who was convicted of taking the lives of four patients by injecting them with a drug that induced cardiac arrest between 1995 and 1996.
  6. Orville Lynn Majors: An American nurse who was found guilty of taking the lives of six patients, but was suspected of being involved in up to 130 more between 1993 and 1995.
  7. Beverley Allitt: A British nurse who took the lives of four children and caused serious harm to several others by administering lethal doses of medication while working at a children’s hospital in 1991.
  8. Genene Jones: An American nurse who was convicted of taking the life of one infant but was suspected of being responsible for up to 60 more during her time at a pediatric clinic in Texas between 1978 and 1982.
  9. Efren Saldivar: An American respiratory therapist who claimed to have taken the lives of up to 50 patients by injecting them with paralytic drugs between 1989 and 1997.
  10. Michael Swango: An American physician who was convicted of taking the lives of four patients but was suspected of being involved in up to 60 more. He administered lethal doses of medication to his victims between 1981 and 1997.

Serial Killer Couples

Sometimes, dark forces put two souls on a disturbing path, resulting in the mass loss of life. Here are 10 serial killer facts about murderous couples who killed together.

  1. Fred and Rosemary West – British couple who killed at least 12 young women and girls in Gloucestershire, England in the 1970s and 1980s.
  2. Ray and Faye Copeland – American couple who killed at least 5 drifters on their Missouri farm in the 1980s.
  3. Charlene and Gerald Gallego – American couple who killed at least 10 young women in California and Nevada in the 1970s.
  4. Ian Brady and Myra Hindley – British couple who killed at least 5 children in the Manchester area of England in the 1960s.
  5. Alvin and Judith Neelley – American couple who killed at least 3 young women in Georgia and Alabama in the 1980s.
  6. David and Catherine Birnie – Australian couple who killed at least 4 women in Western Australia in the 1980s.
  7. Douglas Clark and Carol Bundy – American couple who killed at least 6 women in California in the 1980s.
  8. Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka – Canadian couple who killed at least 3 young women in Ontario in the 1990s.
  9. Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez – American couple who killed at least 3 women in New York and Michigan in the 1940s.
  10. Gwendolyn Graham and Catherine Wood – American couple who killed at least 5 elderly women at a nursing home in Michigan in the 1980s.

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