Ten of The Most Notable Serial Killers in US History

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FastTrax

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I found Dennis Rader to be the most “overall” dangerous killer because he did small groups or mostly single victims. He didn’t kill in large groups and wasn’t a continuously active killer. He sometimes would go a year or more between killings. This is what made him so difficult to catch. He also served the community and his church. People like him are really difficult to identify. He also left behind very little, if any evidence.

I found serial killers to be very interesting to read about. I mentioned the other day here on this forum about a forensic psychiatrist named Dr. Michael Stone. I spent almost a full day at one of his seminars, or it was more like a training session. He explored serial killers from the inside out, including their brain after their execution. Unknown to most of us, many of their brains are identical in the areas that pertain to control and behavior. He kind of lost me when he spoke about the medical part of his presentation.

I had a real problem understanding what drives someone to kill continuously. How can anyone get their thrill from killing 20, 30 or more people you don’t know, they were innocent and unknown to them. These people are mostly psychopaths. This is what I would warn women about when they would tell me about a guy they met online. They are very good at grooming their victims and earning their trust. They are excellent at their trade. I spoke to one serial killer, whom I won’t name, but he told me he would feel the need to kill. It was almost like an addiction. Those type of killers are the most dangerous. Anyone that kills 3 or more are labeled as a serial killer.
 

Would you count Mafia hitmen as serial killers? The reason I ask is that Berkowitz killed 6 people, while Sammy Gravano a.k.a. “Sammy the Bull” killed 19. I think he should be considered a serial killer, even though he was a gun for hire. Even Richard Kuklinski a.k.a. “The Iceman” admitted to killing over 200 men.

Kuklinski did kill some as a gun for hire, but he killed most for his own greedy reasons. He would invite big time business men to a meeting with the intention of offering them a huge business deal and then kill and rob them. One of his favorite weapons was cyanide.

In 2005, I was able to tour Trenton State Prison in New Jersey. There is where I met Mr. Kuklinski. He often gave interviews to psychiatrists, prosecutors, TV producers and more. He enjoyed the spotlight. I mostly listened to him speak and asked him only 2 questions, which were what drove him to kill so many people. His answer was, “money.” I had heard that death by cyanide was very painful, so I did ask him, “Why not just shoot your victims?” He said “Guns are too noisy.”

I also met M. William Phelps, who happened to be my favorite true crime writer. When I told him he was my favorite writer, he met me in the cafeteria (chow hall) and gave me a signed book. I think I have a picture taken with him someplace. I will have to look for it.
 
An area of serial killing that doesn't get much media attention are the medical types, such as nurses and Doctors, who kill patients they are caring for. In one case in Indiana, a male nurse was eventually charged, tried and convicted of six homicides in one small town hospital. The actual number of deaths he was involved in was more than 150 elderly people. Orville Lynn Majors - Wikipedia

In this case, he was injecting elderly patients with potassium. The investigation was poorly managed, and he got away with it for way too long. Jimb.
 
jimintoronto said:
An area of serial killing that doesn't get much media attention are the medical types, such as nurses and Doctors, who kill patients they are caring for. In one case in Indiana, a male nurse was eventually charged, tried and convicted of six homicides in one small town hospital. The actual number of deaths he was involved in was more than 150 elderly people. Orville Lynn Majors - Wikipedia

In this case, he was injecting elderly patients with potassium. The investigation was poorly managed, and he got away with it for way too long. Jimb.
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I vaguely remember something about potassium levels being checked in toxicology reports. I think they have trouble finding true toxicity levels of potassium because the body absorbs it very quickly. I may be wrong about that, but I remember something about potassium level being difficult to get a true number post-mortem. Maybe a nurse on this forum can help.
 
I did a quick look up on Bing for "untraceable injectable drugs that won't show up in an autopsy " ? These are the 6 results.
In order of effectiveness. Cyanide, Ricin, Aconite, Arsenic, Abrin, Succinylcholine. With 50 different States in the USA, each with it's own regulations about when an autopsy is legally required to take place, some murders will go undetected.

In my jurisdiction, the Canadian Province of Ontario, autopsies are mandatory in a number of situations, such as the death of a patient in a hospital within 2 days of their being admitted. Children under age 14 are an automatic autopsy, as are all deaths that occur while a person is in Police custody.

In Ontario all autopsies are conducted by a Forensic Pathologist, and the Coroner's Court system is used to decide if the death was natural, was the result of homicide or "death by mis-adventure " where the individual did something that resulted in their own death. A Canadian Coroner's Court jury can make recommendations about changes to law that may prevent future deaths of this kind. The Coroner's Court jury cannot lay blame for a death, so it is up to the Crown Prosecutor to lay criminal charges and procced based on the evidence gathered by the Police service.

JimB.
 


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