A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more people, with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them.[1][2] The British Centre for Crime and Justice Studies defines a serial killer when an individual has killed three or more people who were previously unknown to him or her, with a ‘cooling off’ period between each murder. This definition is accepted by both police and academic experts and therefore provides a useful frame of reference. [3]
Leader of "The London Burkers"; together with Thomas Williams and two accomplices, formed a gang of body snatchers that drugged and killed victims for money
Strangled two men, one in Tilbury and another in Denmark, in 1979; sentenced to life, but released in 1994, and later killed a prostitute in Woodsetton in 1999.
Institutionalized for fatal hammer attack on woman in 1993; re-apprehended for cannibalizing a friend in 2004, but able to batter a fellow patient to death months later
Murdered three young girls in Beenham; originally convicted of two murders, he was released in 1996, only to be convicted of the third murder in 2012 after new DNA evidence was found.
Known as "The Rillington Place Strangler"; gassed, raped and strangled at least five women from 1943 to 1953, hiding the bodies at his house in Notting Hill, London; also strangled his wife Ethel, as well as the wife and baby daughter of neighbour Timothy Evans, who was wrongfully executed for their murders.
Known as "The Blackout Ripper"; RAF pilot who murdered four women in London during the wartime blackout in 1942, and suspect in two previous murders from 1941
Nobleman known for assaulting and sometimes killing fellow peers for no discernible reason; although he faced lesser charges, research indicates that he was responsible for all the murders attributed to him
Known as "Dr Death"; general practitioner who murdered patients placed in his care; only British doctor to be convicted of such charges. Convicted of 15 murders and responsible for the deaths of 218 patients identified by inquiry, but is believed to have killed around 250 people.[53][54]
Known as "The Yorkshire Ripper"; murdered women around West Yorkshire and Manchester; the manhunt for him was one of the most extensive and expensive in British history
Together with his wife Rose, known as "The House of Horrors Murderers"; tortured and murdered teenage girls and young women around Gloucestershire; Fred committed some separate killings on his own
Member of "The London Burkers"; together with John Bishop and two accomplices, formed a gang of body snatchers that drugged and killed victims for money
Known as "The Teacup Poisoner"; poisoned school friends and family at age fourteen in 1961, killing his stepmother in 1962. Detained at Broadmoor Hospital. Released in 1971, he began poisoning coworkers, murdering two. His case sparked debate on the treatment of mentally-ill offenders, leading to legislation being passed
Known as "The Monster Butler"; murdered people to cover up his crimes while working as a butler for British aristocracy, some with the help of accomplice Michael Kitto
Known as "The Saturday Night Strangler"; raped and murdered three teenage girls in Llandarcy and Tonmawr; first serial killer to be posthumously identified via familial DNA profiling
Murdered prostitutes around London, then dismembered their remains and dumped them into the River Thames; some speculate that these killings were committed by Jack the Ripper, but this has not been confirmed
↑ Ronald M. Holmes; Stephen T. Holmes (1998). Contemporary Perspectives on Serial Murder. SAGE Publications. p.1. ISBN0-7619-1421-8. Retrieved 15 June 2016. Serial murder is the killing of three or more people over a period of more than 30 days, with a significant cooling-off period between the murders [...] The baseline number of three victims appears to be most common among those who are the academic authorities in the field. The time frame also appears to be an agreed-upon component of the definition.
Burkhalter Chmelir, Sandra (2003). "Serial Killers". In Robert Kastenbaum (ed.). Macmillan Encyclopedia of Death and Dying. Vol.2. New York: Macmillan Reference USA/Thomson/Gale. p.1. Archived from the original on 3 May 2009. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
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