17 March
Ricardo Leyva Muñoz Ramírez, known as Richard Ramirez (29 February 1960 – 7 June 2013), was an American serial killer, rapist, and burglar. His highly publicized home invasion crime spree terrorized the residents of the greater Los Angeles area, and later the residents of the San Francisco area, from June 1984 until August 1985. Continue reading “1985 – Serial killer Richard Ramirez, commits his first two murders”
15 January
Dennis Lynn Rader (born 9 March, 1945) is an American serial killer who murdered ten people in Sedgwick County (in and around Wichita, Kansas), between 1974 and 1991. Continue reading “1974 – Dennis Rader a.k.a. the BTK Killer kills his first victims”
30 December
Theodore Robert “Ted” Bundy (24 Nov, 1946 – 24 Jan, 1989) was an American serial killer, kidnapper, rapist, and necrophiliac who assaulted and murdered numerous young women and girls during the 1970s and possibly earlier. Shortly before his execution, after more than a decade of denials, he confessed to 30 homicides committed in seven states between 1974 and 1978. The true victim count remains unknown, and could be much higher. Continue reading “1977 – For the second time, Ted Bundy escapes from his cell in Glenwood Springs, Colorado”
24 December
Charles Milles Manson is an American criminal who led what became known as the Manson Family, a quasi-commune that arose in the California desert in the late 1960s. Manson and his followers committed a series of nine murders at four locations over a period of five weeks in the summer of 1969.
Originally, Judge William Keene had reluctantly granted Manson permission to act as his own attorney. Because of Manson’s conduct, including violations of a gag order and submission of “outlandish” and “nonsensical” pretrial motions, the permission was withdrawn before the trial’s start. Continue reading “1969 – Charles Manson is allowed to defend himself at the Tate–LaBianca murder trial”
20 December
Zodiac Killer is the nickname given to an unidentified serial killer who operated in northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The Zodiac murdered victims in Benicia, Vallejo, Lake Berryessa, and San Francisco between December 1968 and October 1969. Four men and three women between the ages of 16 and 29 were targeted. The killer originated the name “Zodiac” in an August 7, 1969 letter to the local Bay Area press, which was just one in a series of taunting letters. These letters included four cryptograms (or ciphers). Of the four cryptograms sent, only one has been definitively solved. Continue reading “1968 – The Zodiac Killer kills Betty Lou Jenson and David Faraday in Vallejo, California”
20 December
Authorities believe that 24-year-old Christine Walker arrived at the family’s farm home around 4pm on Saturday, 19 December, 1959, and was raped and shot by intruders. Her husband Cliff, 25, then arrived, and was shot to death. Their three-year-old son Jimmie was also shot, and Debbie, a month shy of her second birthday, was shot and drowned in a bathtub. News stories at the time noted that there were gifts around the Christmas tree. Continue reading “1959 – Unknown attackers murder the Walker family in Osprey, Florida”
5 November
Gary Leon Ridgway (born 18 Feb, 1949) is the American serial killer known as the Green River Killer. He was initially convicted of 48 separate murders and later confessed to nearly twice that number. He is the most prolific American serial killer in history according to confirmed murders. Continue reading “2003 – Gary Ridgway pleads guilty to 48 counts of murder”
15 September – On this day
Gilles de Montmorency-Laval (1405 – 1440), Baron de Rais, was a knight and lord from Brittany, Anjou and Poitou, a leader in the French army, and a companion-in-arms of Joan of Arc. He is best known for his reputation and later conviction as a confessed serial killer of children. Continue reading “1440 – Gillies de Rais arrested”
