Unfortunately, America has a reputation for being the serial killer capital of the world. This is because the country has nearly 35 times the number of documented serial killers as the next highest country. That is a vast spread, even if you take into account the per capita statistics. The even more tragic truth is that number is likely a lot higher, except many of these killers never get charged or caught for their crimes.
Why exactly does America have such a high rate of serial killers? Some theories suggest a cultural difference or an increased propensity for violence. However, those theories have no measurable evidence. According to Dr. Mike Aamodt through A & E, the reasoning may be a lot simpler.
“…it’s just much easier to find serial killers here than it is in other countries…you need competent law-enforcement agencies, which the U.S. has. The second part of being able to track serial killers is once the killer is identified, it has to be announced by law enforcement and made available in prison records.”
When you combine those two elements, it would make sense that the United States would have more serial killers. You could look at it as a good thing because we are better at capturing the killers than in other places. That theory does not explain why people kill, though.
The truth is every serial killer is different. Some kill out of rage or jealousy. Others kill for hatred. Some kill for financial gain. Others kill purely for the sport or enjoyment. The truth is, every situation is different. Some serial killers, though, find far more enjoyment in it than most.
The following sections describe some of the most prolific serial killers in our nation’s history, although there are many more. They have been accused of killing more people than any other killer in America. Some you may have heard of, and others you may not have. The crimes these individuals committed were heinous and deprived of any moral code. They truly were the worst of the worst, and their victims deserved so much better.
Serial Killer: Samuel Little
Samuel Little has officially been declared by the FBI as America’s most prolific serial killer. Little was born in Reynolds, Georgia, on June 7, 1940. He was raised in Ohio by his grandmother. As a teenager, Little had a fascination with true crime. Throughout his young adulthood, he had various arrests and run-ins with law enforcement. According to arrest records, Little was arrested 26 times by the time he was 35 years old.
Over the next 40 decades, Samuel Little committed upwards of 90 murders across the country. Twice in the 1980s, Samuel was arrested for murder, once in California and the other in Florida, but in both cases, he was ultimately set free. It was not until 2012 that he was finally arrested in Kentucky for the first of his many murders, thanks to the help of DNA evidence. He was extradited to California, where he was connected to the murders of three women in the 1980s: Guadalupe Duarte Apodaca, Audrey Nelson Everett, and Linda Alford. He finally was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
Unfortunately, that is not where the story ends. Once convicted, Little chose to speak to investigators about other murder victims. All told he was investigated in connection with 93 murders. Although he confessed to them all before his death, police have so far been able to verify between 50-60 depending on the source, with still others pending investigation. Either way, that number is by far the most verified murders by any one individual on record. He felt the women he murdered would not be missed and would leave fewer traces to lead back to him. These women deserved better and just had the unfortunate luck of crossing paths with a cold-blooded killer.
Serial Killer: Gary Ridgway
Once again, it was DNA evidence that finally brought this killer to justice. Gary Ridgway was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on February 18, 1949. He was raised by his parents in a strict household in which punishment was often physical. He also was exposed to negative attitudes towards female sex workers. He shared that he harbored deep resentment and anger towards his mother, which likely was the start of his negative views on women.
Although Ridgway did not have a particularly long criminal history before his arrest, there were several red flags. During his time in the military, he was known to be involved sexually with many women, including sex workers. All of his three marriages ultimately failed, with both violence and infidelity cited as factors. Most of his relationships also reported him having a high sex drive and seeking out sex through any means possible.
All told, Ridgway is said to have murdered over 70 females in the Seattle area and later dumped at the Green River, which got him the nickname “The Green River Killer”. Although he began his murder spree in the 1980s, he was arrested on suspicion but never convicted for the murders. It was not until 2001, when DNA finally provided conclusive evidence, that he was finally charged and convicted of the murder of his first four victims: Marcia Chapman, Opal Mills, Cynthia Hinds, and Carol Ann Christensen.
Evidence continued to pour in from there. He confessed to 71 murders, but not all could be confirmed. However, he eventually pled guilty to 49 murders (48 originally plus an additional charge later) and was sentenced to 49 consecutive life sentences. He was spurred on by his hatred of sex workers and women and his sexual addiction. Not only did he murder these women, but he would also return to the corpses to continue his sexual acts against the bodies.
These women did nothing wrong, but Ridgway had such deep-seated hatred and urges that he used them as an excuse for his behavior. The women he killed received some form of justice, but not nearly enough for what he put them through.
Serial Killers: Joshua and William Harper
Unlike other killers in more recent history, the murders these two brothers committed could never be proven. The two were born around 1750, and they served for the British during the Revolutionary War. When the war ended, they transitioned to becoming Kentucky outlaws. The two brothers nicknamed the “Horrible Harpes,” are considered two of the earliest serial killers in recorded American history.
Attempting to avenge the loss of the war and believing they were murdering for justice, the brothers confessed to somewhere between 35-50 murders. The exact number is not known but has been pieced together through historical archives. Eventually, both men were killed. Joshua was shot in 1799, and William was hung in 1804. Their reign of terror took the lives of at least three dozen innocent victims across multiple southern states, unfortunately, lost to history. These men were impacted by the results of the war, and their rampage was driven by this anger. As both two of the earliest and most prolific killers in America, their legacy of evil carries through history.
Serial Killer: Donald Harvey
Donald Harvey is different from other serial killers in that he was caught through his negligence as opposed to DNA and was murdering in plain sight. Harvey was born in Hamilton, Ohio, on April 15, 1952. He was sexually abused throughout his childhood and was discharged from military service due to mental health challenges. His suicide attempts were likely driven by his hatred of himself and his romantic attractions.
Donald Harvey began working as an orderly at Marymount Hospital, where he committed his first murders. Harvey would claim his killings were mercy killings, which earned him the nickname of “The Angel of Death.” He believed that the victims were in pain and that his killing them was simply to end their suffering. However, it can be hard to believe these claims, as he also admitted that he was angry with the victims at the time of the killings and felt pleasure at being able to easily control their life and death.
Harvey was eventually figured out after a spree of murders across multiple hospitals, thanks to injecting cyanide in one of his victims. When police investigated him, he confessed to the killing. Unfortunately, as with many other serial killers, Harvey could have been stopped much sooner. Many hospital staff noted spikes in deaths while Harvey was working, but these statistics were shut down by the administration.
Harvey claimed to have killed over 70 people and that he could not even keep track of them. Unfortunately, because he flew under the radar for so long and used a variety of different methods to murder his victims, it is very hard for law enforcement to prove these murders. He eventually pled guilty to 24 murders in 1987 and was sentenced to 3 life sentences. As more evidence rolled in and had Harvey staring at the potential death penalty, he agreed to plea to a total of 37 murders.
Harvey took advantage of victims in their most vulnerable state, preying on their inability to defend themselves. He was eventually murdered in prison, perhaps the beginning of justice for the victims who could not seek justice themselves. While Harvey would try to say he was helping people, the hard reality is he destroyed countless lives.
Serial Killer: John Wayne Gacy Jr.
Perhaps the most well-known of the serial killers, John Wayne Gacy Jr., has been the subject of endless pop culture shows, movies, and other material. Gacy was born in Chicago, Illinois on March 17, 1942. He had underlying medical conditions that outcast him from boys his age. His father was considered an alcoholic, made reference to Gacy as being too feminine, and was often violent. He was also sexually assaulted repeatedly as a child.
He held many jobs throughout his adult life, some of which his father also heavily criticized. He eventually got married (twice, in fact), but both marriages ultimately failed. The first one ended when he was convicted of sexually assaulting a teenage boy through his work politically. He admitted to the one sexual assault, although he was accused of several others. He was sentenced to 10 years for his crime, and once again, these red flags could have potentially stopped him before he went on his murder spree.
That did not happen, of course. Upon release after only 18 months, he returned to Chicago and committed more sexual assaults, but charges were dropped, and his parole was not revoked. He did remarry, although the second marriage did not last. During this time, his killing spree took place.
Working in both construction and as a clown (earning him the nickname “The Killer Clown”), Gacy used his roles and other avenues to lure boys and young men to his home. He would use alcohol or drugs along with restraints to sexually assault these victims and eventually murder them through asphyxiation. All told, he committed at least 33 murders from 1972-1978. Of those, at least 26 bodies were found buried in the crawl space at his house.
Eventually, a missing persons report led to a search warrant being conducted at Gacy’s home. He remained under surveillance, and even a second search warrant was granted. Finally, Gacy confessed to a dead body being in his crawl space and was arrested for murder. He was eventually charged with and convicted of 33 murders and sentenced to death. He showed no remorse for his crimes and seemed to be driven by his violent sociopathy and deviant sexual interests.
While too late to help his victims, Gacy’s cases ultimately helped push legislation now known as an “Amber Alert”. His victims were lost far too young, but hopefully, his death brings some sense of justice to the families.
Final Thoughts
While these serial killers have been proven guilty of the most murders in American history, there are tens of thousands of others who have fallen victim to murder in this country. Of course, serial killers are not the only type of true crime stories, and every victim of a crime deserves justice. Hopefully, we can continue to learn from these gruesome crimes to help mitigate their occurrences in the future.
