Deadly serial killers that are still at large
Leave aside coming face to face with one, just hearing the words “Serial Killer” makes a chill run down the spine. Usually, when we think of infamous serial killers, we typically imagine people who committed crimes in the last century and were executed or died in prison a long time ago. But there are a host of serial killers who’ve never been caught and could be prowling the streets right now.
Here’s a list of the most notorious and deadly serial killers that haven’t been caught to date.
The Long Island Serial Killer
One New York serial killer, dubbed the Long Island Serial Killer or the Craigslist Ripper, has been plying his grisly trade for over twenty years now, killing at least ten known victims between 1996 and 2010.
What started with a search for 24-year-old sex worker Shannan Gilbert in May, 2010, after receiving a panicked 911 call from her, ended with authorities stumbling upon an apparent dump yard along Oak Beach of the human remains of the Craigslist Ripper’s victims.
After initially uncovering four bodies, police widened their search and discovered another six. 8 of them were women, all sex workers who used Craigslist to advertise their services. One body was that of a toddler, later discovered to be the daughter of one of the victims. Another body was that of a cross-dressing male, adding further mystery to the killer’s motives.
Several suspects were identified but none with any conclusive ties to the ten victims found. According to the evidence from the crime scene and judging by the fact that the killer has avoided capture for so long, it’s theorized that he is probably a former police officer.
Although there have been no new murders associated with the case in years, authorities don’t believe the killer would stop unless he was apprehended, incapacitated or killed.
Jeff Davis 8 Killers
The Jeff Davis 8 investigation dealt with the murders of eight women between 2005 and 2009, whose bodies were found dumped in the swamps of Jefferson Davis Parish near Jennings, Louisiana.
It is rare that the victims of serial killers know each other. But in this case, the victims not only knew each other, but a pair of them were even cousins. In an even more bizarre twist, all of the victims were police informants, several of whom actually reported on other Jeff Davis victims before their own murders.
The investigation never identified a proper suspect, but led to allegations of misconduct and corruption against the Louisiana police. The fact that the killer (or killers) could be investigating their own crimes makes this case particularly disturbing.
The Monster of the Andes
Pedro Alonzo Lopez is a Colombian serial killer and diagnosed sociopath who targeted young girls around Peru and Ecuador, looking to seek revenge for his early life of homelessness, violence and recurring sexual assault. It’s estimated that he may have killed over 300 people but was ultimately convicted for “just” 110 murders.
What’s chilling about this case is that although “The Monster of the Andes” was caught in 1980, the laws of Ecuador allowed him a maximum prison sentence of only 16 years. After serving 14 years of this sentence in prison, Lopez was released in 1995 for good behavior and was deported to his native Colombia.
There he was declared insane and put in a psychiatric hospital, but 3 years later he was declared sane, which needless to say was a bad move. Upon being released, Lopez promptly visited his elderly mother to demand his inheritance and then sold her sole possessions (a chair and a bed) after learning of her poverty.
After that, he disappeared without a trace. The whereabouts of this terrifying man, who would be 71 years old this year, are unknown. In 2002, Lopez was suspected of being responsible for a new murder. However, no one has been able to find him since his vanishing act.
The Rainbow Maniac
In the city of Carapicuíba in São Paulo, Brazil, a murderer killed 13 men in Paturis Park — a popular gay meet-up spot in the city — between 2007 and 2009, by shooting them in the head and then dumping their bodies in nearby bushes.
Although São Paulo is one of the most progressive cities in South America, at the time of the murders several conservative groups were highly vocal about their intolerance towards homosexuality. It is possible that the murderer was a homophobe belonging to one of these groups.
In 2011, a suspect was put on trial for this case: Jairo Francisco Franco, a retired state police sergeant. But he was found not guilty and was acquitted by the deciding jury which consisted of his peers. No other arrests have been made, and it’s very possible that the Rainbow Maniac is still out there.
The West Mesa Bone Collector
In February 2009, a woman out for a walk with her dog discovered what she believed to be human bones on a mesa near Albuquerque, New Mexico. Police soon investigated and subsequently discovered the remains of eleven women — most of whom were Hispanic and sex workers — buried in shallow graves along a stretch of 92 acres of land.
Dubbed Albuquerque’s “crime of the century,” the case frustrated investigators. The women had all gone missing between 2001 and 2006, but their remains were only discovered in 2009. Two of the women “identified” amongst the remains later turned up alive. It was also found that one of the women was four months pregnant at the time of her murder.
Police did have two major suspects at the time — one who was imprisoned on an unrelated charge, and the other dead. The case remains unsolved to this day.
The Monster Of Florence
Between 1974 and 1985, seven couples were murdered while making love in parked cars in the hills of Florence. The exceptionally brutal murderer, who came to be known as the Monster of Florence, targeted couples in the hills near the city and killed at least 16 people over the years.
The hunt for the Monster was long and expensive, with tens of thousands of men viewed as potential suspects, dozens arrested, and scores of lives ruined by rumor and false accusations. New information revealing a worse possibility sent the city into a panicked frenzy: there could be not just one serial killer, but a whole clan of them.
This famous and messy investigation included suicides, poisonings, body parts sent by post, séances in graveyards, lawsuits, and prosecutorial vendettas. Some people who are extremely familiar with the case believe that the true Monster of Florence (or perhaps monsters) was still out there.
The I-70 Killer
For a month in 1992, Interstate 70 was a dangerous place, and it wasn’t because of the traffic. A killing spree started in Terre Haute, Indiana and ended in Wichita, Kansas, with a man pulling off the interstate and into small stores, targeting brunette women working at mom-and-pop or herbal shops.
The killer, described by eyewitnesses as a 5’7 tall man with light brown hair, would approach the store clerk from behind and fire a bullet into the back of her head. He would then take a small amount of money from the register before getting back on the highway and repeating the behavior hundreds of miles away only a few days later.
In total, the killer took six lives in 30 days. Investigators found the case impossible to crack due to lack of suspects or motive and it is still unsolved, with some of the victims’ families giving up on ever finding out the truth behind the deaths. If still alive, the killer would be in his 40s or 50s today.
Serial killers are considered the worst of the worst and believed to not exist in our vicinity. Yet they are very, very real and could live right among us. A vigilant neighbourhood and responsible citizens are the only way to deal with such threats to society.