Who Are The Scariest Minnesota Serial Killers

Who Are The Scariest Minnesota Serial Killers

Originally published by Faith and updated by Vanessa M in February 2024.

Minnesota has already dealt with more than its fair share of serial killers since its beginning. It has been the home of gangsters, a hotbed for murderers and spree killers. Minnesota being a state, has produced several hugely notorious serial killers over the years. The serial killers have continued to shock the nation in the way they conducted the murders in a gruesome manner, either by stabbing, molesting, poisoning, burning or strangling. Most murderers are exposed to severe punishment upon their arrest. They’re either given a long-term sentence or life sentence in prison and sometimes a death penalty is issued to them. Therefore, today in this article we are going to look at some of the notable serial killers in Minnesota.

1. Paul Michael Stephani

Paul was a famous serial killer who was also dubbed the “Weepy-Voiced Killer,” because of the telephone calls he made to the police in a tearful and high-pitched voice. In the calls Stephanie would apologize for the killings, saying he couldn’t help it. He killed a total of three women; Kimberly Compton, Kathleen Greening and Barbara Simons. He was eventually convicted for the murder of three women and two attempted murders of Denise Williams and Karen Potack. On June 12, 1998, Paul died in Oak Park Heights prison of skin cancer.

2. Michael John Anderson

A picture of a crime scene tape. Kat Wilcox, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

 Michael was a famous American serial killer who formerly resided in Savage, Minnesota. He was also called the “Craigslist killer,” because he created and posted a fake advertisement on Craigslist to lure women into his home. He posted as a married woman who was looking for nanny services. It was at this particular point that he exchanged emails with Olson his victim. She instructed her to come for an interview and when she arrived, he shot her to death with a 357Magnum. He later drove to Burnsville and dropped the body there. On April 1 2009, He was found guilty of first-degree murder of Katherine Ann Olson in October 2007 and he ended up receiving a life sentence without parole.

3. Charles Noel Brown

Charles Noel Brown together with his friend Charles Kelley, were dubbed as the “Mad Dog Killers.” They killed three people by shooting them in order to avoid leaving any witnesses. The duo wounded three others during a five-day, three-state rampage in February 1961. Noel and Kelly were arrested and sentenced to death for the murder they had committed in Iowa. They became among the last people to be executed in the state. The death penalty was later abolished in Iowa in 1965.

4. Billy Richard Glaze

A picture of a crowbar. The serial killer used a crowbar to kill his victims. Juha KämäräinenJuha Kämäräinen at fi.wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Billy Glaze also known as “Jesse Sitting Crow” was a convicted American serial Killer whose guilt has come into question by the discovery of DNA evidence excluding him. He became a suspect in the murders of at least 50 women in multiple states. He also became a suspect in the 1986 murders of three Native -American women in the Minnesota area.

His girlfriend’s information led the police to search for him and they captured him on August 31, 1987, while he was driving under the influence of alcohol, for a violation of his parole from a Texas conviction for rape in 1974. Later, he was found guilty and convicted of three counts of first-degree murder. He was in prison at the T Vaughn Correctional Center in Smyrna Delaware when he died from cancer on December 22, 2015.

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5. William Williams

William was a former Cornish Immigrant working as a miner in Saint Paul, Minnesota. At one point he was hospitalized for diphtheria and he ended up befriending a local teenager who had had the same disease as him. They later developed a close homosexual relationship with the teenager, Johny Keller. Keller’s parents did not accept the relationship and Keller was forced to go back home to his parent’s house.

William wrote him several letters and when Keller did not respond he returned to Saint Paul and in a fit of rage he shot and killed Johny Keller and his mother at their home. William was arrested and sentenced to death by hanging. On 13 February 1906, Williams was executed and he became the last person to be executed by the state of Minnesota.

6. Jeffrey James Weise

A picture of serial killer Jeff Weise. 

Jeffrey was a student at the Red Lake Senior High School in Red Lake, Minnesota. Jeffrey committed the Red Lake Shootings in 2005. He had attempted suicide and was briefly hospitalized in May and June 2004. When in hospital he was diagnosed with depression and had been given medication, Prozac which was an ant-depressant. The Food and Administration published a warning about the drug as a factor in increased suicides and violence among youths in October 2004.

On March 21, 2005, Weise murdered his grandfather together with his partners before heading to the Red Lake Senior Highschool and murdering seven more people and wounding five others. He committed suicide before his arrest. Apart from depression, Jeffrey also struggled in school due to frequent relocations, bullying, disruptions in his personal life and truancy.

7. Lawrence Scott Dame

Lawrence was a serial killer who murdered a man using a knife to slash his throat during an altercation. He began his four-year sentence for first-degree assault in 1995. In February 2000, Larry was released from prison and he started suffering from alcohol abuse which led to him losing most of his jobs. He stole his sister’s car and this led to his arrest in October 2000. His brother-in-law removed him from jail and started seeking mental health care for him because he couldn’t stay with them. The officers failed to accept Lawrence because he was neither suicidal nor making threats.

One early morning, Lawrence killed his sister Donna, her husband Todd and their three children, John, Amber and Daniel while they were sleeping in their beds. He used a hammer on each member of the family, as well as a kitchen knife on everyone except his sister. Larry confessed that they were voices in his head telling him his family was out to kill him because they were trying to commit him to a mental hospital and so he performed the dreadful act first. He is currently 50 years old and an inmate at Minnesota Correctional Facility.

8. Khoua Her

A picture of dead bodies covered. Mstyslav Chernov/Unframe/http://www.unframe.com/, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Khoua had been raped and married at the age of 12 and by the time she was 21 years old, Khoua had six children from his husband. She faced domestic incidents in her marriage and the police had already been called 16 times between 1996 and 1998. Khoua was really depressed and they lived in poverty as she was also estranged from her husband. On September 3, 1998, Khoua strangled each one of her children with a piece of cloth and later informed the police that she had killed all her children. On December 1, 1998, Khoua pleaded guilty to six counts of second-degree murder. She was sentenced to 50 years with the possibility of parole in 33 years.

9. Joseph Donald Ture, Jr

Donald was a famous Minnesota serial killer who was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting two women and a 13-year-old girl. While he was in custody he was questioned about the murder of Diane Edwards because five witnesses of the 19-year-old University of Minnesota Student reported seeing a vehicle similar to Ture’s station wagon at the scene. In April 1981, Ture was convicted of sexual assault and kidnapping and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. He was also convicted of the murder of Edwards and received a life sentence. While in prison, Donald confessed to several other murders and he was given other multiple life sentences.

10. David Francis Brom

David used an axe to murder his family. Beherdolf, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

David was born to his parents Bernard and Paulette on October 3, 1971, in Cascade Township, Minnesota. Bernard had three siblings: Joe, Diane and Rick. On February 18, 1988, David told her friend that he had killed his parents, Diane and Rick that morning. The school administrators also heard the rumor so they notified the Rochester police. When the police arrived at the Brom’s house they found the bodies of Bernard, Paulette, Diane and Rick. David had used an axe to kill all four victims and they had sustained a total of 56 gashes to their heads and upper bodies.

On February 19, 1988, David was arrested after someone saw him using a nearby payphone. He confessed to the murders and he told the police that he was having trouble with his father over a music tape. Medical records showed that he was depressed, mentally competent, had a visual hallucination and had talked about killing his parents in the past 6 months. On October 16, 1989, David was convicted of four counts of first-degree murder after originally being charged as a juvenile because he was 16. A few days later, David was sentenced to three consecutive life sentences.

11. Donald Blom

Donald Blom committed a heinous crime in 1999, kidnapping and murdering 19-year-old Katie Poirier in Minnesota. Blom, a convicted sex offender, abducted Poirier from a convenience store, prompting a statewide search. Tragically, her remains were discovered several months later. Blom was apprehended, and in 2000 he was found guilty of first-degree murder.

This case highlighted the vulnerability of individuals to repeat offenders and sparked debate about public safety measures. Katie Poirier’s kidnapping and murder serve as a somber reminder of the devastation caused by violent crimes and the importance of ongoing efforts to protect communities from such threats.

12. Alfred Gaynor

https://pixabay.com/photos/knife-stabbing-stab-kill-murder-316655/

Alfred Gaynor, a serial killer active in the 1990s became known for his violent crimes in Minnesota. Gaynor was convicted of murdering three women, all of whom were brutally assaulted and strangled. His criminal spree left a trail of terror, with the murders featuring disturbing levels of violence.

Gaynor was apprehended in 1997 and later convicted of his heinous crimes, facing life in prison. The case demonstrated the importance of law enforcement efforts in apprehending and prosecuting those responsible for heinous crimes, thereby providing victims and their grieving families with some semblance of justice.

13. John LaRoche

John LaRoche, convicted in 2003, committed a heinous crime by murdering his wife and stepdaughter in Minnesota. The details of the case revealed a disturbing act of domestic violence that sent shockwaves throughout the community. LaRoche was apprehended after a police investigation turned up evidence linking him to the brutal murders.

The trial exposed the tragedy of family violence and emphasized the importance of addressing abuse and mental health concerns. The case served as a stark reminder of the serious consequences of unchecked aggression in intimate relationships, as well as the ongoing need for efforts to prevent similar tragedies.

14. Glen Edward Rogers

Florida Department of Corrections, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Glen Edward Rogers claimed responsibility for several murders during the 1990s. In 1995, he admitted to the murder of a woman in Minnesota. Rogers, also known as the “Cross-Country Killer” or the “Casanova Killer,” killed a string of people across the United States. His criminal activity included robbery, arson, and violence.

Captured in 1995, he was later sentenced to death in Florida for another murder. Despite his claims, the veracity of Rogers’ confessions has been questioned, and he remains on death row. The case demonstrates the complexities of investigating and prosecuting serial killers.

15. Carlton Gary

Carlton Gary, known as the “Stocking Strangler,” terrorized Georgia in the late 1970s. Gary was convicted in 1986 of raping and murdering elderly women by strangling them with stockings. Although primarily associated with Georgia, he was also suspected of committing similar crimes in Minnesota. The modus operandi and geographical similarities raised suspicions of a connection.

Gary claimed he was innocent, but evidence and eyewitness testimony led to his conviction. In 2018, he was executed via lethal injection. The case highlighted the difficulties in linking crimes across jurisdictions and the complexities of solving serial murder cases.

The chilling stories of Minnesota’s serial killers reveal a dark side to the state’s history. From the heinous acts of Billy Glaze to the infamous “Stocking Strangler” Carlton Gary, these individuals left indelible marks on communities. These stories serve as reminders of the pernicious nature of crime and the tenacity required for justice. The pursuit of understanding in these cases ensures that the victims are not forgotten and that society remains vigilant against the threat of such malevolence.

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