Nicknames of 40 Infamous Serial Killers

Nicknames of 40 Infamous Serial Killers

Over the years, there have been people who have wreaked havoc in different parts of the world by committing heinous crimes like murder that shocked people. Some of these serial killers earned nicknames in the process of committing gruesome acts. The names are usually created by the media and law enforcement authorities as a way of identifying these criminals. Some of the serial killers got their names because of the methods they used while committing murders while others got them because of where they committed the crimes. Therefore, in this article, we are going to explore the 40 infamous serial killers and the monikers that they had while they were active to give the reader more knowledge on this topic.

1 Ted Bundy- The Campus Killer

A colored mugshot of serial killer Ted Bundy. Florida Department of Corrections, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Ted Bundy is one of the most notorious serial killers to ever exist in the history of the United States of America. He was active in the 1970s and during this time, he would target young women especially campus students as his victims. Bundy got his victims by pretending to be injured and then charming young ladies into helping him with his things into his car. When they reached his car, the serial killer would turn and kidnap them. He would assault his victims before proceeding to kill them. Bundy went on a killing spree in different states including Utah, Colorado, Washington and Oregon. He was finally arrested and convicted for the murders in 1988 where he was sentenced to death. Bundy was executed in Florida by an electric chair in 1989.

2 Jeffrey Dhamer- The Milwaukee Cannibal

The notorious serial killer was popularly known as the Milwaukee Cannibal and also the Milwaukee Monster. He was active from the 1980s up to the early 1990s in the Milwaukee region of Wisconsin. The serial killer targeted young boys and men as his victims and during the time that he was active, he is believed to have killed at least 17 boys. Dahmer’s crimes were gruesome having involved the assault, murder and dismemberment of his victims’ bodies.

With the promise of cash or drink, he would entice his victims to his flat before brutally attacking them. Police found images of severed bodies and human remains in Dahmer’s flat when they arrested him in 1991. He was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison but he did not serve his sentence fully as he was murdered by another inmate while in prison

3 John Wayne Gacy-The Killer Clown

John Wayne Gacy’s mugshot. Des Plaines Police Department, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The notorious serial killer was popularly known as the Killer Clown because he used to dress up as a clown to go and entertain children at a local hospital before deciding to embark on a killing spree.  At least 33 boys and men in the Chicago region were brutally murdered by Gacy.

His tactics involved luring his victims to his house under a variety of pretences, then brutally beating and strangling many of them. After his arrest in 1978, the bones of many of Gacy’s victims were found where they had been buried in the crawl space under his home. In 1994, he was put to death by lethal injection after being found guilty of his crimes and given a death sentence.

4 Aileen Wuornos- Monster

She was one of the most infamous female serial killers in America. Between 1989 and 1990, while working as a prostitute in Florida, Wuornos viciously killed seven men. She stated that she was acting in self-defence because these males had threatened or sexually abused her during their interactions.

Following her arrest in 1991, a sensationalized trial which attracted a lot of media attention was held. In the end, Aileen Wuornos received a death sentence and was put to death by lethal injection in 2002.

5 Richard Ramirez- The Night Stalker

A mugshot of Richard Ramirez.Los Angeles Police Department, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons 

He is among the most infamous serial killers to exist in the United States of America. He went on a murder spree from 1984 up to 1985 and during this time, the criminal wrecked a lot of havoc and caused widespread fear among the residents of California.  The serial killer would break into the victims’ homes at night where he would sexually assault them before proceeding to kill them. He was later arrested in 1985 and charged with 13 counts of murder as well as 5 counts of attempted murder. He was found guilty and sentenced to death. However, he died while on death row awaiting execution due to complications that emanated from B-cell lymphoma.

6 Albert Fish- The Werewolf of Wysteria or The Gray Man

Albert was a serial killer and cannibal who was active in the early 20^th century around the New York area. The serial killer whose crimes were characterized by a lot of violence targeted children as his victims and his crimes are believed to date back to the 1920s. The serial killer earned the moniker the Gray Man because of his ability to dupe and gain the trust of the families of the victims. He was later arrested in 1933 when he proceeded to confess to his crimes. Albert Fish was found guilty and sentenced to death and in 1936, he was executed by the electric chair in Sing Sing Prison.

7 Ed Gein- The Butcher of Plainfield

A picture of Ed Gein’s headstone. Bryanwake at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

This serial killer operated in Plainfield, Wisconsin in the 1950s hence the nickname.  The serial killer was notorious for exhuming graves and then making keepsakes with the bones from the bodies he had exhumed.  When he was arrested, he confessed to killing two women Mary Hogan and Bernice Worden in 1954 and 1957. He was declared unfit to stand trial but he was again evaluated and found fit to go on trial. The serial killer was found guilty of the murder of Worden and placed at a psychiatric institution as he was found to be legally insane. Ed Gein died in 1984 from lung cancer while still at the institution.

8 David Berkowitz- Son of Sam

The serial killer was active in New York City where he terrorised the people of the city in the summer of 1977. In a span of a year, he killed 6 people and injured several others. His weapon of choice was a .44 calibre revolver. The serial killer did not have a specific target for his victims in that they were random and this caused widespread panic in the city as everyone was worried that they may be the victim’s next target. He was finally apprehended in August 1977 and when questioned on why he committed the crimes, he claimed that demonic forces were forcing him to commit them which is quite bizarre. He was sentenced to six consecutive life terms in prison.

 9 Dennis Rader – BTK Killer

This serial killer got his nickname because of his modus operandi. This is because he would bind, torture and then kill his victims hence the initials BTK killer. He would kill most of his victims by strangling them to death. From 1974 up to 1991 which was the time that he was active, the serial killer had ten people with his victims comprising of men, women and children. After killing a victim, the killer would leave a cryptic message behind to taunt law enforcement authorities. He was finally apprehended in 2005 and the public was shocked as the killer was a family man and even a church leader. He was found guilty and sentenced to ten life sentences.

10 Gary Ridgeway- The Green River Killer

A mugshot of Gary Ridgeway. King County Sheriff’s Office., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Gary Ridgeway was a notorious serial killer who operated in Seattle and Washington in the 1980s up to the 1990s. He earned his nickname as the Green River Killer because most of his victims were found in the Green River. He targeted vulnerable people like sex workers and homeless girls as his victims as it was not easy to notice when they went missing. He lured them into his car with the promise of money and drugs where he would then proceed to strangle them to death and then dispose of their bodies in the river. He was finally arrested in 2001 when DNA evidence linked him to the murders. After his arrest, he confessed to killing 71 women and he was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

11 Richard Angelo – Angel of Death

He was a nurse turned serial killer who was active in different hospitals around New York in the 1980s. His target victims were patients in the hospitals that he worked in. He would inject the patients with large doses of drugs which would result in their deaths. His drugs of choice were Pavulon and Anectine. He was finally arrested in 1987 when suspicious deaths were reported in the hospitals that he worked in. He was sentenced to fifty years to life in prison.

12 Dennis Nilsen- Muswell Hill Murderer

Nilsen was a British serial killer who was active in the late 1970s up to the early 1980s in London. The serial killer killed 12 young boys during this time that he was active by luring them into his house with the promise of food and shelter. He would then proceed to torture them by performing necrophilic acts on them for long periods and finally kill them by strangling or drowning them. The serial killer would then go on and dismember the bodies of his victims and burn them in his backyard or flush them down the toilet. He was finally arrested in 1983 when the pieces of his victim’s body clogged the sewer system. He was charged with six counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison. 

13 Andrei Chikatilo – The Butcher of Rostov

A picture of Andrei Chikatilo

He was a serial killer who operated from 1978 up to 1990 in the Rostov Oblast of the Soviet Union. During the time that he was active, this serial killer went on a murder spree where he killed 53 women, teenagers as well and children. His crimes were very gruesome involving acts of cannibalism and mutilation. He was finally arrested in 1990 and charged with the murders. Andrei was found guilty and sentenced to death. He was executed in 1994.

14 Ed Kemper – The Co-ed Killer

Ed Kemper was a serial killer popularly known as the Co-ed killer who was active in the early 1970s in California. He earned his nickname because of his choice of victims who were young college students. He would get his victims by offering to give them a ride and then kidnap them. He would then perform acts of necrophilia on them before killing them and then proceeding to dismember their bodies. Shockingly, Ed Kemper turned himself in to law enforcement authorities and confessed to his crime where he was charged with several counts of murder. He was sentenced to life in prison and he is serving his sentence in a prison in California.

15 Alexander Pushkin- The Chessboard Killer

This was a serial killer who was active in Moscow from 1992 up to 2002. The killer had a chilling reason why he committed the murders in that he claimed that he killed the victims for every piece of square in the chess box. His victims were mostly vulnerable men whom he lured to him with the promise of vodka in the Bitsa Park in Moscow. When they reached there, he would kill them by strangling them or bludgeoning them to death. He was finally arrested and charged with 48 counts of murder but he claims that he killed 60 victims. He was sentenced to life in prison in 2007.

16 Donald Harvey – Angel of Death

Mugshot taken of Donald Harvey, taken in prison.

He is another serial killer that shares a nickname with Richard Angelo who was also known as the Angel of Death. Like Richard Angelo, Donald Harvey also worked as a nurse aide in Kentucky around the 1970s up to the 1980s. During this time, Harvey killed 37 victims with most of his victims being the patients that he interacted with at the hospital. He would inject the patients with large doses of either arsenic or cyanide leading to their death. He was finally arrested in 1987 and when asked why he killed the patients he responded that he was helping them as they were suffering and in turn putting it as some sort of mercy killing. He was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison.

17 Richard Chase – The Vampire of Sacramento

The serial killer was active in the 1970s in Northern California.  The serial killer earned his nickname because he drank the blood of his victims after killing his victims. Between 1977 and 1978 he killed six people. He would into the homes of his victims and then proceed to perform atrocious acts on them. He was finally arrested in 1978 and sentenced to death.  However, he committed suicide while in his cell to avoid execution. He believed that he had to drink the blood of his victims so that he could prevent his blood from turning into powder. This is a clear portrayal of the state of his mind.

18 Charles Manson – Cult Leader

Charles Manson was a cult leader which was based in California who was responsible for the murder of seven people. The cult members were responsible for a series of killings under the command of Charles Manson. The cult was active in the 1969s and his ideologues constituted of overt acts of conspiracy. He was arrested and charged with 7 counts of murder and 9 counts of murder by proxy. He was found guilty and sentenced to death but the sentence was commuted to life in prison where he died while serving his sentence.

Explore this article on the Kansas serial killers

19 Harold Shipman – Dr. Death

A mugshot of Harold Shipman.

The general doctor was one of the notorious serial killers who operated in Hyde, Manchester between 1975 and 1988. The serial killer targeted his patients as his victims in that he would inject them with large doses of morphine making them die. The doctor’s victims were mostly elderly women whom he killed and then manipulated their health records as well as their death certificates to make it seem that they died of natural causes. He was finally arrested in 1998 and sentenced to life in prison. He died while serving his sentence by committing suicide.

20 Arthur Shawcross – The Genesee Killer

He was a serial killer popularly known as the Genesee Killer. He was active in the 1980s in the Rochester area of New York. His victims were mainly young women and during the time that he was active, he was responsible for at least 14 murders even though it is suspected that his victim count is higher than that.  Arthur would strangle his victims and then proceed to mutilate their bodies after they died. He was arrested in 1991 and charged with several counts of murder which earned him a sentence of 250 years in prison. He died while serving his sentence in 2008.

21 Caroll Cole – The Walker Family Killer

The American serial killer was active in crime in in the 1940s and the 1950s. During this time, this serial killer is responsible for the murder of several women with some of his victims being members of his own family. His sadistic behaviour started while he was young in that as a young boy, he would be cruel to animals. He was finally apprehended in 1948 for the murder of his mother and half-sister. He was tried and sentenced to death. While in prison, he confessed to 35 other murders that he had committed. He was executed in 1985 by lethal injection.

22 Juan Corona – The Machete Murderer

A mugshot of Juan Corona California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

He was a serial killer who was active in the 1970s in California. He earned the nickname the machete murderer because he would prey on other migrant workers being that he was a migrant labour contractor himself and kill them using a machete-like weapon. His target victims were migrant farm workers as they were within his reach. During the time that he was active, he killed at least 25 victims and buried their bodies in the orchard. He was finally arrested and found guilty of several counts of murder in 1973. He was sentenced to 25 consecutive life terms.

23 Lonnie David Franklin – The Grim Sleeper

The serial killer is one of the serial killers who was active for quite a long time. Lonnie David Franklin popularly known as the Grim Sleeper was a serial killer who was active between 1985 and 2007. During this period, he was responsible for the murder of several women with his target being women of African American descent.

He earned his nickname because he would go for long periods without killing another person after killing his victim. This also made it hard for law enforcement authorities to apprehend him. He was finally arrested in 2010 after some DNA evidence linked him to the murders.  He was charged with ten counts of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

24 Fritz Haarmann – The Butcher from Hanover

The German serial killer was active in the early 20^th century particularly from 1918 to 1924. During this period, he murdered at least 24 young men and boys but his victim count is believed to be higher than that. He would target vulnerable people as his victims and take them to his house which was located in Hanover and then proceed to torture them before killing them. After that, he would dismember the bodies of his victims and dispose of them at a nearby river. He was finally arrested in 1924 and charged with the murders. He was sentenced to death and beheaded in 1925.

25 Pedro Lopez -The Monster of Andes

A mug shot of Pedro Lopez.

The South American serial killer is among the most notorious serial killers to ever exist. He was active in the late 1979s up to the 1989s and he operated in Ecuador, Colombia and Peru where he targeted young girls as his victims. He would lure his victims by promising them money and gifts and then proceed to sexually assault them before murdering them.

He is believed to have killed more than 300 girls because he went unnoticed for quite a long time. This can be attributed to the fact that there were a lot of murders during this period and law enforcement authorities were spread thin trying to capture the perpetrators. He was finally apprehended in 1989 in Ecuador and charged with some of the murders. However,  he did not stay in prison for long as he was released in the 1990s and his whereabouts are unknown.

26 Elizabeth Bàthory – Blood Countess

The Hungarian serial killer is among the first female serial killers to ever exist. She is said to have murdered young girls from 1590 up to 1610 because she believed that by bathing in their blood, she would remain young and preserve her youth. The exact number of victims that she killed is not known and it is believed to be in the hundreds. She was arrested in 1610 and found guilty. She was put on house arrest where she stayed until she died in 1614.

27 Tommy Lynn Sells – The Cross Country Killer

The infamous American serial killer was active between 1985 and 1999. During this period, he was responsible for the death of at least 70 people.  The serial killer would break into people’s homes and attack them. He did not have a specific target when he broke into the homes, therefore, his victims comprised of men and women as well as children. He was finally arrested in 199 and put on trial where he was found guilty and given the death sentence. He was later executed in 2014 by way of lethal injection.

Read on the Japanese serial killers here

28 Louis Van Schoor – The Hammerman

This serial killer was active in South Africa.  The serial killer would kill people and then claim that they were burglars who had come to steal from him and he killed them as a form of self-defence.  After each time that he was killed, the law enforcement authorities cleared him without much thought and it was not until 1992 when he was discovered.  His imprisonment only lasted 12 years and he was released which is quite shocking considering the gravity of his crimes.

29 Hélène Jégado – The pious poisoner

The serial killer was a domestic worker in the 19^th century in France. Hélène would poison someone who irked her without giving them an opportunity to apologize for it. Between 1833 and 1841, the domestic worker is believed to have murdered at least 36 people. She was ruled out as a suspect because of her pious nature but she was later charged for the crimes and sentenced to death. She was executed by a guillotine in 1852.

30 Randy Kraft – The Scorecard Killer

The serial killer was active in the 1980 and the 1990s and he operated in Southern California.  He would torture and sexually assault young men before killing them. His victim count is said to be 16 but it is believed that it might be higher than that. Randy Kraft earned the nickname the Scorecard Killer because he liked to keep a cryptic list that contained information about his victims on something that resembled a scorecard.  He was finally arrested in 1993 and charged with 16 counts of murder. He was found guilty and sentenced to death in 1989.

31 Wayne Williams- Atlanta Child Killer

A picture of the Atlanta Child Murders killer. User:Bradliebler, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, convicted serial killer Williams terrorized Atlanta, Georgia. His crimes mainly targeted teenagers and children of African-American descent. Over 25 young people were kidnapped and murdered between 1979 and 1981, shocking the community and sparking a thorough police investigation.

Williams has never been formally charged with the murders of the children, but he was apprehended and found guilty in 1982 for the killings of two adults, Nathaniel Cater and Jimmy Ray Payne. Although the majority of the evidence in his Favor was circumstantial, fibre analysis was crucial to his conviction. Williams has been imprisoned for life for the murders of Cater and Payne.

32 Joe Metheny – The Hannibal Lecter of the Suburbs

The serial killer was active in the 1990s near Baltimore, Maryland. He admitted to killing at least ten individuals, mostly women, but some of his claims have been called into question. Metheny used deception to lure victims to isolated locales where he would rape, torment, and ultimately kill them.

He frequently fed the corpses of his victims to unwitting customers at his roadside food shop, earning him the horrifying moniker “The Hannibal Lecter of the Suburbs.” Metheny was apprehended in 1996, and after being found guilty on numerous counts of murder in 1998, he was given a life sentence without the chance of parole. In 2017, he died.

Explore this article on the deadliest serial killers

33 Gilles de Rais- The Sadistic Aristocrat

The 15th-century French nobleman Gilles de Rais, who committed some of history’s first known serial killings, is notorious for his horrible atrocities. An estimated 80 to 200 children, mostly boys, were kidnapped, tortured, and killed by him over the course of several years.

De Rais’ motivations continue to be a mystery, and theories about them range from esoteric rituals to sadistic delight. For a while, his money and prestige allowed him to avoid suspicion, but when he was finally apprehended, it resulted in a memorable trial in 1440. He was executed after being found guilty of his offences.

34 Joel Rifkin – Long Island Serial Killer

A mugshot of Joel Rifkin

The notorious serial killer was active from the end of the 1980s up to the beginning of the 1990s and during this time he was responsible for the deaths of at least 17 women around New York City. Rifkin mainly preyed on prostitutes, seeing them as easy pickings. His crimes went unnoticed for a number of years until his capture in 1993, when police, conducting a routine traffic stop, found a victim’s body in the back of his truck. Rifkin is serving a life term in jail without the chance of release after being found guilty of multiple counts of murder.

35 Joseph Vacher – The French Ripper

The serial killer was active in rural France from the 19^th century up until the early 20^th century. He went on a killing spree between 1894 and 1897 and during these three years, he targeted young women, vagrants and shepherds as his victims. His method of operation involved slashing the throats of his victims to kill them. He was finally arrested in 1897 and found guilty of the murders. However, he was not sent to prison and instead committed to a mental institution as he was found to be legally insane.

36 Robert Hansen – The Butcher Baker

In the 1970s and early 1980s, he committed serial killings in Alaska. Hansen would entice ladies, frequently sex workers or dancers, by pretending to give them a ride or to be their hunting guide. He would release his victims once he was alone in the bush, and then use his understanding of the Alaskan nature to hunt them down like prey. Hansen was found guilty of murdering 17 women, however, it’s possible that he had more. He was captured in 1983 and given a 461-year prison term with no possibility of parole.

37 Peter Sutcliffe- Yorkshire Ripper

The late 1970s saw the activity of a British serial murderer. During Sutcliffe’s reign of terror, which mostly targeted women, at least 13 women were brutally murdered and a number of others were attempted to be murdered in Yorkshire, England. He frequently beat and stabbed his victims with hammers and screwdrivers. The town was terrorized by Sutcliffe’s actions, which sparked a massive manhunt. He was ultimately caught in 1981 and given a life sentence.

38 Angelo Buono and Kenneth Bianchi – The Hillside Stranglers

The duo was a well-known American serial killing team that operated in Los Angeles in the late 1970s. During their reign of terror, young women, usually prostitutes and runaways, were kidnapped, raped, and killed. The two used promises of rides or jobs to entice victims. They were notorious for their cruel techniques, which included torture and suffocation. They were finally arrested and imprisoned.

39 The Zodiac Killer

A sketch of who the zodiac killer could be. San Francisco Police Department, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The Zodiac Killer was a serial killer who operated in the San Fransisco Bay area from the late 1960s up to the early 1970s. the identity of the killer was never uncovered which is quite chilling. He would leave letters signed with the zodiac sign on where the victims’ bodies were found hence the nickname, The Zodiac Killer. He is responsible for the death of five victims but his victim count is believed to be higher than that. To date, the identity of the killer was never revealed.

40 The Freeway Killer

This nickname was used to describe a group of serial killers who were active in the 1970s up to the 1980s in Southern California. The group would target hitchhikers as their victims and kidnap them under the preteens that they were offering them a ride and then proceed to torture and kill them. The group were arrested, tried and given different sentences.

Over the years, there have been many serial killers who have terrorized people in different parts of the world. Some of these serial killers have nicknames that make it easier for them to be recognized. This article is not exhaustive when it comes to serial killers who have nicknames but it is a good place to start when doing research and getting more knowledge about this particular topic.

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