Top Ten Unknown Serial Killers

Top 10: Unknown Serial Killers




By Ross Bonander

Entertainment Correspondent - Every other Wednesday










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Carl Panzram's mugshot

Some of the best nicknames are wasted on serial killers. A wrestler
known as The Sydney Mutilator would inspire fear and fanaticism, and if
women knew you as The Florida Sex Beast wherever you went, your
reputation would precede you like satin sheets on a waterbed.

Unfortunately, these nicknames
describe truly horrible human beings. Often, nicknames aren’t necessary
when the crimes are so gruesome and the killer’s given name becomes
synonymous with ultimate horror. Dahmer and Bundy come to mind, but few
know that serial killers have been a scourge on humanity for centuries
and their numbers are in the hundreds.

And so, here are the
Top 10 Unknown Serial Killers. This is not a chronicle of praise or
endorsement. At the very least, it is a grisly read through the human
bizarre and at most a cautionary tale refuting the cheery notion that
we’re all decent people at heart. In fact, it seems some of us are
inhuman abominations.

If a killer has made this list, he (or she) satisfied the following criteria.

• As of 2007 he is good and dead.
  
• He faced some form of earthly justice, whether through arrest, conviction, execution or mob rule.
  
• His acts of violence were so totally incompatible with civilized human society that he was entirely unfit for life within it.
  

Number 10

Gilles de Rais

The Sadistic Aristocrat



Despite a staggering 80 to 600 body count, the man regarded by many as
the prototype of today’s serial killer barely cracks the top ten. This
is because historical records are unreliable and Gilles de Rais’
murderous statistics cannot be proven.

De Rais was a
wealthy and powerful 15th century French nobleman who once fought side
by side with Joan of Arc. De Rais had a sick obsession with young boys
and preferred victims who resembled himself as a child. The Sadistic
Aristocrat, as he came to be known, lured blond-haired, blue-eyed
peasant boys to his stately home where he and a few assumed accomplices
raped, tortured and mutilated them.
In 1440 the ecclesiastical court in Nantes hanged the monster before torching his body -- just to be on the safe side

Seriously psychotic: De Rais would sit on the stomach of his dying victim and pleasure himself.

Number 9

Carl Panzram

Rage Personified


Many serial killers often rely on charm to seduce
their victims into their clutches, but very few had Panzram’s
qualities: a sense of humor and a sense -- albeit sparse -- of some
regret.

Panzram’s commitment to mayhem was as disturbing as
it was frank and unapologetic. After being sentenced to death for
killing a man in prison, he threatened to kill anyone who tried to have
his verdict overturned. In his autobiography, Panzram: A Journal of Murder,
he employed a matter-of-fact tone in confessing to 21 murders and the
rape of 1,000 boys, adding, “for all these things I am not the least
bit sorry.” However, Panzram did express regret for one thing: being
born. Since childhood, he considered himself so incessantly angry that
he called himself Rage Personified.

Seriously psychotic: After
raping and killing a boy Panzram claimed, "His brains were coming out
of his ears when I left him. I am not sorry. My conscience doesn’t
bother me. I sleep sound and have sweet dreams.”

Top 10: Unknown Serial Killers




By Ross Bonander

Entertainment Correspondent - Every other Wednesday










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Number 8

Bender Family

The Bloody Benders



Be it ever so humble, the Kansas shack that the Benders called home in
1872 was still a busy, inviting place open to the public as an Inn
for weary travelers. Wealthy-looking guests were always seated at the
head of their modest dinner table, conveniently placed in front of a
hanging canvas. John Bender’s beautiful and charming daughter Kate was
effective bait and often told the guests their fortunes as her father,
sneaking behind the large curtain, prepared to slam a hammer into their
heads. Later, The Bloody Benders would strip the body of all valuables
and bury the remains in their orchard.

This family affair
functioned with great efficiency for approximately one year before
people caught on. However, it is said that the Bender clan got away and
never actually faced justice. In fact, the family became almost
mythical, and stories of various members popping up all over the US
persisted for many years.

Seriously psychotic: As if a hammer in the skull weren’t enough, John Bender slit his victim’s throats for good measure.
Number 7

Hélène Jegado

The Pious Poisoner



Jegado, a domestic servant in 19th century France, must have been an
impatient woman: If someone irked her, she didn’t give them many
opportunities to apologize.


From 1833 to 1841, at least 36 people -- the vast majority of them
employers or boarders who had the poor judgment to reprimand her --
wound up dead from arsenic poisoning. Because of her devout and sincere
nature, authorities routinely ruled The Pious Poisoner out as a
suspect. In 1851, when she hastily declared her innocence without
actually being accused, The Pious Poisoner was arrested and convicted
of at least three murders. A year later Jegado’s neck met the
guillotine.

Seriously psychotic: Jegado’s first victims included a priest and her own sister.
Number 6

Andrei Chikatilo

The Rostov Ripper


Poor little Andrei Chikatilo; his mother beat him every time he wet the bed, but it’s hard to blame her when you consider that she had to share the bed with him.


The Rostov Ripper’s killing spree began in 1978 with the murder of a
9-year-old girl and continued unabated through 52 more victims across
12 brutal years. The Soviet government did their part by covering up
the crimes they considered embarrassing and preventing parents from
taking protective measures for their children. When word finally did
get out, locals feared a werewolf was on the loose.

Finally
caught in 1990, Chikatilo spent the duration of his trial locked in a
cage for his own safety. After receiving 52 death sentences he
addressed the court, placing much of the blame for his crimes on the
shoulders of the Soviet Regime.

On February 15, 1994, The Rostov Ripper’s death penalty was fulfilled with a bullet behind his right ear.

Seriously psychotic:
Chikatilo ejaculated while stabbing his first victim, making him
realize just how aroused he was by the prospect of murder -- hence the
12-year killing spree.

Number 5

Gerard John Schaefer

The Florida Sex Beast


By definition, serial killers are loathsome folks, but Gerard John Schaefer was just downright despicable.


As a boy, Schaefer’s hobbies included killing animals, wearing panties
and peeping through windows. Despite his strange childhood activities,
he eventually became a Florida cop. While on patrol, The Florida Sex
Beast used his badge to abduct two teenage girls, but they escaped
before he could rape and murder them. Claiming he was trying to teach
the girls not to hitchhike he called his sergeant to say he’d done
“something foolish.” Schaefer was fired and arrested, but while out on
bail he raped and killed two other teenage girls. Police put the two
incidents together and Schaefer was given two life sentences.


A search of Schaefer’s home -- which he shared with his mom -- found
evidence linking him to the disappearance of at least eight other
girls. Ultimately, authorities believed they could tie him to as much
as 30 murders, but Schaefer maintained his innocence. In prison, he
kept busy filing frivolous lawsuits; he even tried to sue a writer for
suggesting he was fat.


As a former cop, a sex offender and a jailhouse snitch, it should come
as no surprise that The Florida Sex Beast was stabbed to death in
prison.

Seriously psychotic: Committing the “ultimate betrayal” by using the Badge is about as low as you can go.

Top 10: Unknown Serial Killers




By Ross Bonander

Entertainment Correspondent - Every other Wednesday










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Elizabeth Bathory aka The Bloody Lady of Cachtice

Number 4


Elizabeth Báthory

The Bloody Lady of Cachtice



The Bloody Lady of Cachtice, a sadistic 16th century countess, is still
the most infamous serial killer in the history of Hungary and Slovakia.

Inside her own Hungarian castle,
Elizabeth Báthory functioned with virtual impunity. She lured peasant
girls to work as maids and enticed the daughters of lower nobility with
lessons on etiquette, snaring her victims under false pretenses. With
the help of a handful of accomplices, Báthory enjoyed starving,
freezing, and torturing her victims. The Bloody Lady racked up a
significant body count -- estimated to be from 36 to as many as 200.


The majority of her accomplices were put to death, but Báthory’s wealth
and influence earned her the 16th century’s version of aristocratic
house arrest: imprisonment in her own castle.

Seriously psychotic: Elizabeth Báthory’s favorite pastime included burning, biting and mutilating the genitalia of her victims.
Number 3

Freidrich (Fritz) Haarmann

The Butcher from Hanover



Fritz Haarmann, an unassuming and sympathetic-looking man, used his
friendly manner to serve him well as both a police informant and a
sexual sadist. Over six years he murdered at least 24 vagrants and male
prostitutes -- killings he considered an act of love. Haarman only
wanted to bring peace to his victims. It all came to an end when the
discarded skulls of his victims began washing up on the shore of the
river Leine.

The Butcher from Hanover had a strict preference for boys he found handsome.
In fact in 1925, while in prison awaiting his execution (by beheading),
he was shown a photo of a missing boy whom the police believed Haarmann
had killed. After one look at the ugly boy’s picture he scoffed at the
idea of killing such an ungainly kid.

Seriously psychotic: Haarmann
insisted he was “driven by beauty and sensuality.” Instead of letting a
young boy’s allure bring him to tears, he would bite his victim’s
Adam’s apple and chew through his throat.
Number 2

Karl Denke

The Ziębice Cannibal



Everyone knew and seemed to like Karl Denke. He was a good Christian
who played the organ at church. Denke supported himself with a small
business selling a variety of goods door to door, from leather belts
and shoelaces to boneless pork. He was held in such high regard that he
was known affectionately as Papa Denke. But this was all before he
jumped off the deep end.

In December of 1924, a man stumbled
into police headquarters claiming Denke had attacked him with an axe.
Although police initially found this impossible to believe, Denke was
arrested and put in jail. As authorities went to search his home, he
committed suicide. This should have been their first clue to Ziebice
Cannibal’s murderous history.

The body count, composed
mostly of beggars and journeyman extended the courtesy of a place to
stay, reached anywhere from 20 to 40.

Seriously psychotic:
Inside Danke’s home authorities found belts and snaps made of human
skin, shoelaces made from human hair, and jars of pickled human flesh
-- his famous “boneless pork.”
Number 1

Javed Iqbal


The Boy Hunter


Hailing from Punjab, Pakistan, Javed Iqbal could well be one of the most detested men in history.


Iqbal went to great lengths to surround himself with young boys. He
opened video arcades, schools, aquariums, and gyms. He also married the
older sister of one boy to keep him close by, and he married off his
own sister to another boy to keep him close by. Iqbal was arrested a
number of times on charges of sodomy, but his father’s money always got
him off.

In his eventual confession, The Boy Hunter claimed
to have killed 100 boys in only five months, preferring to drug, rape,
strangle, then chop them into pieces. Iqbal would then either store the
bodies in a vat of acid near his house or dump them into the sewer.


When the judge sentenced Iqbal to death in 2000, it was suggested that
he be strangled in front of the victims’ families, his body chopped to
bits and finally, stored in a vat of acid just as he’d done to his
victims. Officially, he committed suicide while in prison, but an
autopsy suggested he may have been murdered. It was irrelevant to his family who refused to collect his remains, claiming that he had died to them the day he confessed.

Seriously psychotic:
The Boy Hunter was said to have declared in his confession, “I am not
ashamed of my actions… I have no regrets. I killed 100 children… It
cost me 120 rupees ($2 USD) to erase each victim.”
what’s in a name?


It is easy to see why some people are obsessed with serial killers;
their behavior, their actions and their thought processes are so beyond
the norm that they inspire great morbid fascination as well as some
catchy nicknames. Sadly, history reveals that the serial killer is much
like the Lernaean Hydra; cutting off one of their heads is not a cause
for celebration, but an unequivocal implication that another is on the
way.

Resources:
http://wikipedia.org
www.crimelibrary.com
www.denke.org
www.dawn.com