15 Infamous Serial Killers In North Carolina

15 Infamous Serial Killers In North Carolina

* Originally published by Faith on July 2023 and updated by Faith on March 2024.

North Carolina has recorded some notorious serial killers throughout history. Serial killers have continued to be the topic of most true crime tv shows, podcasts, news and even books. They performed these unlawful acts either out of anger, for the thrill or for financial gain. Their crimes have not gone unnoticed because of the way they ruthlessly kill their victims either by strangulation, stabbing, shooting, poisoning or burning them. Some of the serial killers go uncaught, some commit suicide before they are caught but most of them are captured and they are severely punished by the law.

These serial killers lost the lives of several people in North Carolina and the nation is still in shock up to date. Below are the 15 infamous serial killers in North Carolina history.

1. Henry Louis Wallace

Henry Louis Wallace dubbed “The Taco Bell Strangler” is a former employer of the fast-food chain. He killed eleven black women in North Carolina between March 1990 to March 1994. Several of his victims were employees of the fast-food chain. Henry would hit, sexually assault, and strangle his victims to death. He once strangled a woman in front of her son. In 1997 he was convicted of nine murders and sentenced to death. Henry is currently waiting for his prosecution at the Central Prison in Raleigh.

2. Gary Michael Hilton

A mugshot of Gary Hilton. Florida Department of Corrections, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Gary Michael Hilton is also known as “The National Forest serial killer” because he murdered several of his victims within the site of national forests. Gary would kidnap, murder and decapitate hikers from Florida, Georgia and a couple from North Carolina between 2007 and 2008. Gary was sentenced to death in Florida and to life imprisonment in Georgia. In 2012 he confessed to the murder of a North Carolina couple and was added to another four life sentences.

3. Jeffrey Robert MacDonald

Jeffrey Robert MacDonald also nicknamed “The Green Beret Killer,” is a former U.S. Army officer and an Army Special Forces physician. In February 1970 he was accused of murdering his pregnant wife and his two young daughters. He used a knife and an ice pick to stab his pregnant wife and their kids. He also injured himself with the blades and after being treated Jeffrey stated that they had been attacked by three males and one female at their apartment. Most of the evidence pointed at him and he was charged for the murder of his family.

4. Frederick Robert Klenner Jr

A picture of a car on fire. The killer died after the explosives he had in his car exploded.Car fire on Reservoir Road by Mat Fascione, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Comm

Frederick Robert was a notorious mass murderer who killed his victims between 1984 and 1985. Frederick killed most of the family members of his lover Susie Newsom Lynch. When the police went after him, they couldn’t have a hold of him because he kept running away with Susie and her sons, John and Jim. At one point Frederick wounded a Greensboro police officer when he opened fire with an automated weapon. The chase ended when he blew up an explosive inside his car and it ended killing him together with his lover Susie Lynch, and her two sons.

5. Erick Rudolph

Erick Rudolph conducted a series of four bombings between 1996 and 1998. He was responsible for the Centennial Olympic Park bombing which happened at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The explosive killed one person and injured 111 others. He was finally caught in 2003 after the police kept searching for him for five years. Rudolph was also listed as one of the FBI’s Ten most wanted Fugitives. He finally pleaded guilty in 2005 and he agreed to serve four consecutive life sentences in exchange for avoiding a trial and a possible death sentence.

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6. Danny Harold Rolling

A mugshot of Danny Rolling. State of Florida Corrections, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Danny Harold Rolling also dubbed the Gainesville Ripper was known for murdering five students in Gainesville, Florida in August 1990. He was also responsible for the dual murder in the town of Fayetteville, North Carolina, in 1989. In other charges, Danny murdered three people in Shreveport, Louisiana and tried murdering his own father in May 1990. He confessed to raping his victims and killing several other people. Rolling was sentenced to death in 1994 and was executed by lethal injection in 2006.

7. Gary Ray Bowles

Gary Ray Bowles is also known as “The I-95 killer” since most of the people that he killed stayed close to the Interstate 95 highway. Gary targeted the gay men because he blamed them for the abortion of his child. Out of rage, he ended up murdering six men in 1994. He would beat and strangle them to death before stealing their credit cards. In the 1990s, Gary was convicted of six murders. He was later executed by lethal injection in 2019.

8. Samwel Cooper

A picture of serial killer Samwel Cooper.

Samwel Cooper murdered five men from North Carolina between 2006 and 2007. He shot and killed most of his victims during an armed robbery. In 2007, the police finally arrested him during one of his robberies in a local bank. Samwel had dropped his gun accidentally when he was running away. He was convicted of five counts of first-degree murder. Samwel luckily escaped a death sentence and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

9. Quincy Jovan Allen

Quincy Jovan Allen is a famous serial killer who killed four people in 2002. He murdered 2 people from South Carolina and 2 other people from North Carolina. He committed these crimes between July and August before being arrested while he was sleeping in a left car in Mitchell County, Texas. Quincy was sentenced to life in prison without parole in North Carolina and sentenced to death in South Carolina, he is currently anticipating execution.

10. Donald “Pee Wee” Gaskins Jr

Donald “Pee Wee” Gaskins also known as the “Meanest Man in America,” confessed to 110 murders but was only found guilty of thirteen murders that happened between 1970 and 1975. He stabbed, shot, drowned and poisoned his victims to death. He was finally arrested on November 14, 1975. The police later found eight bodies buried in a shallow grave near Gaskin’s home. He was sentenced to death and on September 6, 1991, Donald was put to death in an electric chair.

11 Edgecombe County Killer

The Edgecombe County Killer also known as the Seven Bridges Killer was an unidentified serial killer who was active in North Carolina from 2005 up to 2009. During this time, the killer killed 10 victims while on his murder spree. He was dubbed the Seven Bridge Killer because the bodies of his victims were recovered near the Seven Bridges Road in Rocky Mount. The killer targeted vulnerable people like sex workers and drug addicts with his victims being African American women. To date, the identity of the killer has not been uncovered and in July 2012, a charity motorcycle ride was held to remember the women who were murdered by the unknown killer.

12 Nannie Doss

A mugshot of Nannie Doss.

The American serial killer was popularly known as The Black Widow, the Lonely Hearts Killer, Lady Bluebeard and the Giggling Granny. She was active in the 1920s and also in 1954 with her victim count coming up to 11 during the time that he was active. Nannie targeted her family as her victims and she confessed to having killed her four husbands, her mother, two grandsons, her sister and one of her mother-in-law. These killings happened in Alabama, North Carolina, Kansas and Oklahoma. Her motive for the murders was life insurance money that she would collect when her spouses passed away. She was arrested in 1954 after her confession and sentenced to life imprisonment.

13 William Pierce

A picture of handcuffs. 

William Pierce was a serial killer who was active in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia between 1970 and 971. In the one year that he was active, he killed more than nine victims. His first victim was Ann Goodwin, an 18-year-old girl who was babysitting when William broke into the house she was in and proceeded to sexually assault her before shooting her. Ann did not survive as she died later at the hospital. He then went on to kill eight other victims. He was arrested in 1954 for robbing a gas station and while being interrogated, he confessed to the murders. He was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment.

14 Scott Wilson William

serial killer wilson williams.

The American serial killer terrorised the residents of North Carolina over a period of nine years and during this time when he was on a murder spree, he killed three women. All his victims had similar forms of mutilations, had also been shot in the head and William was an acquaintance to all of them which enabled law enforcement authorities to make a connection and determine that they had been killed by the same person. William was apprehended in 2006 and his DNA sample matched the ones at the crime scene. Also, victims who have escaped his wrath gave witness statements which incriminated him further. He was found guilty of three counts of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.

15 Earl Richmond

Earl is an American serial killer who committed murders in New Jersey and North Carolina. He was active between April and November 1991, and during these few months, he committed four murders with two of his victims being children. He was in the military before the murders and while stationed in Fort Dix, he was convicted of assault but his conviction was overturned three years later. However, he did not stay in the army for long as he was discharged for misconduct in 1990. After his discharge, he went on a killing spree until he was arrested in April 1992. He was charged with four counts of first-degree murder and first-degree rape and found guilty. Richmond was sentenced to life imprisonment and was executed by lethal injection in 2005.

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