List of serial killers in the United States
A serial killer is typically a person who kills three or more people, with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines serial murder as "a series of two or more murders, committed as separate events, usually, but not always, by one offender acting alone".
The United States has by far the largest number of documented serial killers in the world. According to Radford University's Serial Killer Information Center, it has more documented serial killers than the next ten highest countries on the list combined.
Identified serial killers
| Name | Years active | Proven victims | Possible victims | Status | Notes | |
| Ables, Tony | 1970–1990 | 4 | 4+ | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Murdered robbery victim; paroled and later killed at least three women in St. Petersburg, Florida | |
| Acevedo, Francisco | 1989–1996 | 3 | 3 | Sentenced to 75 years to life | Strangled three prostitutes in New York between 1989 and 1996 | |
| Adams, Edward James | 1920–1921 | 7 | 7 | Killed by police | Murdered seven people, including three policemen | |
| Agrue, John | 1966–1982 | 3 | 3+ | Died in 2009 | Killed his sister-in-law in Illinois; paroled and moved to Colorado, where he killed two more women | |
| Albanese, Charles | 1980–1981 | 3 | 3 | Executed 1995 | Poisoned family members with arsenic in Fox Lake, Illinois to receive their inheritance | |
| Alcala, Rodney | 1971–1979 | 8 | 50–130+ | Died in prison awaiting execution | Sometimes called "The Dating Game Killer" because of his 1978 appearance on the television show The Dating Game in the midst of his murder spree | |
| Alix, Franklin DeWayne | 1997–1998 | 4 | 4 | Executed 2010 | Murdered people in Houston, Texas, during robberies | |
| Allen, Herman | 1930–1942 | 4 | 4 | Executed 1942 | Killed a lodger in 1930; after release, he killed three more people in a fit of jealousy | |
| Allen, Howard | 1974–1987 | 3 | 3 | Died in prison | Targeted elderly victims during burglaries in Indiana | |
| Allen, Quincy | 2002 | 4 | 4 | Sentenced to death; commuted to life imprisonment | Murdered four people in North and South Carolina between July–August 2002 | |
| Allridge, Ronald | 1976–1985 | 3 | 3 | Executed 1995 | Murdered people in Fort Worth, Texas, in robberies alongside his brother | |
| Alston, Robert Sylvester | 1991–1993 | 4 | 6 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Raped and strangled prostitutes and drug addicts around Greensboro, North Carolina, dismembering their bodies post-mortem | |
| Anderson, Joshua | 2006–2007 | 4 | 5 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Fatally shot at least four people in Tulsa, Oklahoma, cannibalizing one, in a series of robbery and revenge-related murders. | |
| Anderson, Stephen Wayne | 1973–1980 | 9 | 9+ | Executed 2002 | Murdered people in Utah, Nevada, and California | |
| Andrews, Patrick | 1997–2007 | 3 | 3 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Killed three people between 1997 and 2007, including one while incarcerated at USP Hazelton | |
| Angelo, Richard | 1987 | 4 | 10 | Sentenced to 61 years to life | Long Island nurse who poisoned patients in his care | |
| Archerd, William Dale | 1947–1966 | 3 | 6 | Died in prison | First person convicted of using insulin as a murder weapon | |
| Archer-Gilligan, Amy | 1910–1917 | 10 | 50 | Died in Connecticut Hospital for the Insane | Poisoned a husband and residents of her nursing home in Windsor, Connecticut | |
| Arguelles, Roberto | 1992 | 4 | 4+ | Died in prison | Known as "The Salt Lake City Strangler"; violent sex offender who kidnapped and murdered women and girls | |
| Armstrong, John Eric | 1992–1999 | 5 | 18 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Navy sailor convicted for murdering prostitutes in Michigan and Illinois; confessed to more murders around the world | |
| Atkins, Benjamin | 1991–1992 | 11 | 11 | Died in prison | Known as "The Woodward Corridor Killer"; serial rapist who preyed on women in Highland Park and Detroit, Michigan | |
| Atkins, Joseph | 1969–1985 | 3 | 3 | Executed 1999 | Murdered his half-brother; paroled, and later murdered his adoptive father and a neighboring couple's daughter during a drunken shooting spree | |
| Avalos, Johnny | 2012–2015 | 5 | 5 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Raped and strangled women in San Antonio, Texas | |
| Avila-Torrez, Jorge | 2005–2009 | 3 | 3 | Sentenced to death; commuted to life imprisonment | Murdered two underage girls in 2005 in Illinois and a 20-year-old Navy Petty Officer in Virginia in 2009 | |
| Balaam, Anthony | 1994–1996 | 4 | 4 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Known as "The Trenton Strangler"; raped and murdered four women in Trenton, New Jersey | |
| Baldi, Joseph | 1970–1972 | 4 | 4 | Died in prison | Known as "The Queens Creeper"; mentally-ill burglar who stabbed women to death in the Jamaica, Queens neighborhood after breaking into their apartments | |
| Baldwin, Clark Perry | 1991–1992 | 3 | 3+ | Died in prison | Long-haul trucker linked via DNA to the murders of three women in Wyoming and Tennessee | |
| Barber, Danny | 1978–1980 | 4 | 4 | Executed 1999 | Murdered three women and one man in Dallas County, Texas, having sex with the corpses of two of his victims | |
| Barfield, Velma | 1971–1978 | 7 | 7 | Executed 1984 | North Carolina serial poisoner who was the first woman in the United States to be executed after the 1976 resumption of capital punishment and the first since 1962. She was also the first woman to be executed by lethal injection. | |
| Barnes, James Antonio | 1988 | 3 | 7 | Released in 2016 | Mentally-ill factory worker who shot and killed prostitutes around Memphis | |
| Barone, Cesar | 1991–1993 | 4 | 4+ | Died in prison awaiting execution | Killed four women around the Portland area and sexually assaulted a number of others | |
| Barr, Charles | 1923 | 3 | 3 | Executed 1926 | Known as "The Petting Party Bandit"; shot couples in lovers' lanes in Memphis during robberies | |
| Barrett, Eugene | 1959–1995 | 3 | 3 | Died in prison | Killed three women he was romantically involved with in Honolulu, Hawaii | |
| Bartlett, Polly | 1868 | 22 | 22 | Murdered in police custody | Wyoming's first serial killer before it was even a state. Innkeeper who poisoned her rich male patrons with arsenic to rob them with her father Jim. Was arrested by a would-be victim from a bounty on her head, then shot dead while in jail by an employee of her last victim's father. | |
| Baumeister, Herb | 1980–1996 | 11 | 20 | Committed suicide to avoid arrest | Responsible for murdering at least eleven victims who were found buried on his property in Westfield, Indiana | |
| Baxter, Patrick | 1987–1990 | 3 | 3 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Raped and murdered one girl and two women in Westchester County, New York | |
| Beardslee, Donald | 1969–1981 | 3 | 3 | Executed 2005 | Murdered a woman in Missouri; paroled, and later murdered two more women on separate occasions in California | |
| Beasley, Richard | 2011 | 3 | 3 | Sentenced to death | Murdered three men after luring them with online advertisements of fake job offers | |
| Beck, Martha | 1947–1949 | 3 | 20 | Executed 1951 | With accomplice Raymond Fernandez, became known as "The Lonely Hearts Killers" | |
| Bell, Cimarron | 2003–2004 | 4 | 4 | Sentenced to death | Shot his girlfriend, and then a trio of men in financially motivated schemes | |
| Bell, Larry Gene | 1984–1985 | 3 | 4+ | Executed 1996 | Abducted, raped and murdered women in the Carolinas, then made taunting phone calls to their families | |
| Bender Family | 1869–1872 | 11 | 11+ | Unknown | Family of serial killers who lived and operated in Labette County, Kansas | |
| Berdella, Robert | 1984–1987 | 6 | 6 | Died in prison | Known as "The Kansas City Butcher" and "The Collector"; kidnapped, raped, tortured, and murdered young men in Missouri | |
| Berkowitz, David | 1976–1977 | 6 | 6 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Known as "The Son of Sam" and the ".44 Caliber Killer"; shot eight random strangers, killing six, in and around New York City | |
| Betterton, Monroe | 1904–1919 | 3 | 3 | Executed 1920 | Murdered his wives in Missouri and Oklahoma during violent arguments | |
| Bianchi, Kenneth | 1977–1978 | 12 | 12 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | With accomplice Angelo Buono Jr., known as "The Hillside Stranglers". Murdered young women in Los Angeles and Washington | |
| Bible, Danny | 1979–1983 | 4 | 4 | Executed 2018 | Known as "The Ice Pick Killer"; serial rapist who raped and murdered a neighbor, then committed a triple murder four years later | |
| Biegenwald, Richard | 1958–1983 | 6 | 11 | Died in prison | Active in New Jersey, suspected in at least two other murders | |
| Biehler, Robert | 1966–1973 | 4 | 4 | Died in prison | Career criminal who shot four people in Los Angeles to cover up other crimes | |
| Bird, Jake | 1930–1947 | 13 | 46 | Executed 1949 | Sentenced to death for the murders of two people; confessed to forty-four other murders | |
| Bishop, Arthur Gary | 1979–1983 | 5 | 5 | Executed 1988 | Preyed on young boys in Utah between 1979 and 1983 | |
| Bittaker, Lawrence | 1979 | 5 | 5 | Died in prison awaiting execution | With accomplice Roy Norris known as "The Tool Box Killers"; kidnapped, sexually assaulted, tortured and murdered teenage girls in Los Angeles County, California | |
| Bixler, Rodney Troy | 2000 | 3 | 4 | Sentenced to 40 years in prison | Strangled three women to death in Kentucky in 2000 | |
| Bladel, Rudy | 1963–1978 | 7 | 7 | Died while incarcerated at Henry Ford Allegiance Health | Known as "The Railway Killer"; his case was part of Michigan v. Jackson, which was later overruled by the Supreme Court | |
| Blair, Terry | 1982–2004 | 7 | 9 | Died in prison | Sentenced to 25 years in prison for one murder, released on parole after serving 21 years and committed additional murders upon release | |
| Blake, Eugene | 1967–1984 | 3 | 3 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Murdered a girl during an unprovoked attack; later paroled and committed two additional murders across Ohio and West Virginia | |
| Blank, Daniel | 1996–1997 | 6 | 6 | Sentenced to death | Murdered six people between 1996 and 1997 in River Parishes, Louisiana | |
| Bloomfield, Clifton | 2005–2008 | 5 | 5 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Movie extra who murdered five people in Albuquerque, New Mexico | |
| Bolin, Oscar Ray | 1986–1987 | 4 | 4+ | Executed 2016 | Murdered three women in Florida and a fourth woman in Texas | |
| Boatman, Leo | 2003–2019 | 4 | 4 | Sentenced to death | Murdered two campers in 2006, plus two prisoners between 2010 and 2019, all in Florida | |
| Bolsinger, John Charles | 1980–1988 | 4 | 4 | Committed suicide in custody | Convicted of manslaughter in Utah in 1980; posthumously linked to three rapes and murders in Eugene, Oregon | |
| Bonin, William | 1979–1980 | 21 | 36+ | Executed 1996 | Known as "The Freeway Killer"; preyed on young men and boys in Southern California with several accomplices | |
| Bounds, Dallen | 1999 | 4 | 4 | Committed suicide to avoid arrest | Murdered acquaintances around South Carolina | |
| Bowles, Gary Ray | 1994 | 6 | 6+ | Executed 2019 | Known as "The I-95 Killer"; targeted gay men in Florida, Georgia and Maryland | |
| Boyd, Charles Anthony | 1986–1987 | 3 | 3 | Executed 1999 | Known as "The Bathroom Slayer"; preyed on women living in the same apartment building in North Dallas he was living in with his brother at the time | |
| Bradley, James Opelton | 1988–2014 | 3 | 3 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Murdered his stepdaughter; paroled, and later murdered two women | |
| Brandt, Charlie | 1971–2004 | 4 | 7+ | Committed suicide to avoid arrest | Shot his parents in 1971 when he was 13, killing his pregnant mother; stabbed his wife and niece to death in 2004 | |
| Brant, Joseph | 2007–2008 | 4 | 4+ | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Killed at least four women in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina | |
| Brashers, Robert Eugene | 1990–1998 | 8 | 8+ | Committed suicide to avoid arrest | Known as "Mister Maroon"; serial rapist who murdered at least eight women and girls in Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, and Texas, including four in the 1991 Austin yogurt shop murders. | |
| Breslin, Joseph | 1968–1982 | 3 | 3 | Killed by intended victims | Mental patient who killed a fellow patient in Pennsylvania; after release, killed a mother and daughter in his hometown in California | |
| Bright, Larry | 2003–2004 | 8 | 8+ | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Known as "The Bonecrusher"; strangled black prostitutes at his house in Peoria, burning some of them afterwards | |
| Britt, Eugene | 1995 | 7 | 10 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Raped and murdered girls and women in Gary and Portage, Indiana | |
| Briley Brothers | 1979 | 12 | 21 | Executed 1984/1985 Sentenced to life imprisonment | Three brothers and an accomplice responsible for eleven murders | |
| Broadnax, Donald | 1977–1996 | 3 | 3 | Sentenced to death | Shot his friend to death; later murdered his wife and her grandson while out on work release | |
| Brockelhurst, Lester | 1937 | 3 | 3+ | Executed 1938 | Robbed and murdered men across three states | |
| Brooks, Shelly | 2001–2006 | 7 | 20+ | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Raped and murdered middle aged women around Detroit, Michigan | |
| Brown, Curtis Don | 1985–1986 | 3 | 18 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Murdered three women around Arlington and Fort Worth, Texas between 1985 and 1986; suspected of up to eighteen murders. | |
| Brown, Debra Denise | 1984 | 8 | 8 | Sentenced to death; commuted to life imprisonment | Accomplice of Alton Coleman | |
| Brown, Kenyel | 2019–2020 | 6 | 6 | Committed suicide to avoid arrest | Known as "The Metro Detroit Serial Killer"; lifelong criminal who killed six people in the course of robberies between December 2019 and February 2020 in Wayne County, Michigan | |
| Brown, Raymond Eugene | 1960–1987 | 5 | 5 | Died in prison awaiting execution | Killed three relatives as a teenager; paroled, and later killed and mutilated his girlfriend and her young daughter | |
| Brudos, Jerry | 1968–1969 | 4 | 4 | Died in prison | Known as "The Lust Killer" and "The Shoe Fetish Slayer"; necrophile and foot fetishist who assaulted, murdered and dismembered women in Oregon | |
| Brummett, Lyle | 1975–1976 | 3 | 3 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Raped and strangled three women in Texas with an accomplice | |
| Buenoano, Judy | 1971–1983 | 3 | 3+ | Executed 1998 | Murdered her husband, son and a boyfriend. Apprehended in 1983 after poisoning and car bombing a fiancé | |
| Bullock, David | 1981–1982 | 6 | 6+ | Sentenced to 150 years to life | Known as "The.38 Caliber Killer"; shot people at random around New York City to "amuse himself" | |
| Bunday, Thomas | 1979–1981 | 5 | 6 | Committed suicide to avoid arrest | United States Air Force non-commissioned officer who targeted women and young girls in Fairbanks, Alaska, while serving at Eielson Air Force Base | |
| Bundy, Ted | 1971–1978 | 20 | 30+ | Executed 1989 | Preyed on young white women throughout the United States | |
| Buono, Angelo Jr. | 1977–1978 | 10 | 10 | Died in prison | With accomplice Kenneth Bianchi, known as "The Hillside Stranglers". Murdered young women in Los Angeles | |
| Burchart, Leslie | 1994–1996 | 3 | 7+ | Died in prison | Schizophrenic vagrant who killed fellow homeless men; prime suspect in the Golden Years Murders | |
| Burkett, Nathaniel | 1978–2002 | 5 | 5+ | Died in prison | Murdered women in Mississippi and Nevada during a 24-year period | |
| Burkhart, Timothy | 1986–2001 | 4 | 4+ | Committed suicide to avoid arrest | Murdered young girls and women in Pierce County, Washington | |
| Busch, Henry | 1960 | 3 | 3 | Executed 1962 | Strangled three women to death in California, saying that he felt an irresistible urge to kill | |
| Bush, Jason Eugene | 1997–2009 | 3 | 5 | Sentenced to death | Neo-Nazi who killed at least three Hispanic people in racially motivated slayings | |
| Butler, Eugene | 1900–1906 | 6 | 6 | Died in North Dakota State Hospital | Mentally ill farmer in Niagara, North Dakota who killed six men and buried their bodies under his home; his crimes were discovered two years after his death during a home renovation | |
| Cable, James Ray | 1977–1989 | 4 | 6+ | Died in prison | Murdered an inmate while imprisoned for rape; released, then killed at least three women in Kentucky | |
| Campbell, Charles Rodman | 1975–1982 | 4 | 4+ | Executed 1994 | Murdered a woman, her daughter, and a neighbor in Clearview, Washington in 1982. DNA test would later connect Campbell to the murder of a University of Washington student in 1975. | |
| Canaday, John Dwight | 1968–1969 | 3 | 3 | Died in prison | Considered Washington state's first known serial killer; sexually assaulted and murdered women in Seattle | |
| Cannon, Patty | 1802–1829 | 4 | 25+ | Died in prison awaiting trial | Gang leader who kidnapped slaves and free blacks to either sell or torture them | |
| Cantu, Peter Anthony | 1993 | 3 | 3 | Executed 2010 | Leader of the "Black and White" gang that kidnapped, raped, and murdered a woman and two teenage girls in a Texas | |
| Caputo, Ricardo | 1971–1977 | 4 | 6 | Died in prison | Argentine-born man who killed three women in the U.S. and one in Mexico | |
| Carignan, Harvey | 1949–1974 | 3 | 5+ | Died in prison | Known as "The Want-Ad Killer"; escaped hanging for a 1949 killing on a technicality | |
| Caro, Fernando Eros | 1979–1980 | 3 | 5+ | Died in prison | Kidnapped, raped and shot children and teenagers around Fresno County, California | |
| Carpenter, David | 1979–1981 | 8 | 10+ | Sentenced to death | Known as "The Trailside Killer"; serial rapist known for stalking and murdering women hiking on trails in state parks in California | |
| Carr, Robert Frederick | 1972–1976 | 4 | 4 | Died in prison | Pedophile who targeted children in both Florida and Connecticut. | |
| Carson, Michael Bear | 1981–1983 | 3 | 3+ | Sentenced to 75 years to life | With his wife, Suzan Carson, dubbed "The San Francisco Witch Killers"; considered suspects in nearly a dozen other deaths in the U.S. and Europe | |
| Carson, Suzan | 1981–1983 | 3 | 3+ | Sentenced to 75 years to life | With her husband, Michael Bear Carson, dubbed "The San Francisco Witch Killers"; considered suspects in nearly a dozen other deaths in the U.S. and Europe | |
| Castro, Edward | 1986–1987 | 3 | 3 | Executed 2000 | Robbed and murdered gay men across three Florida counties | |
| Catlin, Steven David | 1976–1984 | 3 | 4 | Sentenced to death | Poisoned his mother and two wives with Paraquat | |
| Catoe, Jarvis | 1935–1941 | 8 | 11 | Executed 1943 | Sometimes referred to as the "D.C. Strangler"; active in Washington, D.C. | |
| Chadd, Billy Lee | 1974–1978 | 3 | 4 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Raped and murdered two women in California. He also murdered a man in Nevada. | |
| Chandler, Oba | 1989–1990 | 4 | 4+ | Executed 2011 | Also known as "Dave Posner" and "Dave Posno" | |
| Chase, Richard | 1977–1978 | 6 | 6 | Committed suicide prior to execution | Known as "The Vampire of Sacramento"; necrophile and cannibal who murdered six people in the span of a month, between December 1977 and January 1978 in Sacramento, California | |
| Chaves, Louis | 1968–1987 | 3 | 3 | Released in 2022 | Murdered a couple in 1968 and later killed a police officer in 1987 | |
| Chavez, Juan | 1986–1990 | 6 | 6+ | Committed suicide in prison | Robbed and killed gay men in three cities in Los Angeles County | |
| Chavez, Juan Rodriguez | 1985–1995 | 12 | 12 | Executed 2003 | Known as "The Thrill Killer"; killed a neighbor during a burglary; paroled and went on a killing spree with a teenage accomplice | |
| Cherry, Ervin | 1993–1994 | 3 | 3 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Habitual criminal who strangled three women to death in North Florida | |
| Chester, Elroy | 1997–1998 | 5 | 5 | Executed 2013 | Killed five people in Texas, including his brother-in-law | |
| Childs, Terry | 1979–1985 | 5 | 12 | Died in prison | Kidnapped, tortured, raped and killed women across Nevada and California | |
| Christensen, William Dean | 1982–1983 | 4 | 24+ | Died in prison | Known as "The American Jack the Ripper"; murdered and mutilated people between Canada and the United States | |
| Christiansen, Thor Nis | 1976–1979 | 4 | 4 | Murdered in prison by fellow inmate | Preyed on college-aged women in California | |
| Christopher, Joseph | 1980–1981 | 12 | 12 | Died in prison | Known as "The Midtown Slasher" and the ".22-Caliber Killer"; targeted mainly African-American men and boys in New York, shooting some victims and stabbing and dismembering others | |
| Clark, Doug | 1980 | 7 | 7 | Died in prison awaiting execution | With accomplice Carol Bundy, known as "The Sunset Strip Killers"; preyed on young women in West Hollywood and Los Angeles, California | |
| Clark, Vernon Lee | 1980–1989 | 4 | 6+ | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Sexually assaulted and killed at least four women in Maryland | |
| Clement, Mary | 1880–1885 | 4 | 4 | Died in 1944 | Luxembourgish immigrant who poisoned her family members with arsenic; released in 1886 | |
| Code, Nathaniel | 1984–1987 | 8 | 12 | Sentenced to death | Committed at least eight murders in Shreveport, Louisiana | |
| Coffman, Cynthia | 1986 | 4 | 4 | Sentenced to death | Kidnapped four women by ATMs before accomplice James Gregory Marlow strangled them | |
| Cole, Carroll | 1947–1980 | 5 | 35 | Executed 1985 | Drowned an 8-year old classmate while still a child and strangled multiple women in California, Nevada and Texas as an adult | |
| Coleman, Alton | 1984 | 8 | 8 | Executed 2002 | Multi-state killer who, with his accomplice, murdered a man and injured another, murdered four women and three young girls, and raped a young girl | |
| Collins, Harvey | 1953–1955 | 3 | 3 | Executed 1957 | Marine who stabbed a woman to death in Kentucky; later killed two people in Washington during robberies | |
| Colvin, Dellmus | 1987–2005 | 7 | 7+ | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Truck driver who killed prostitutes in New Jersey and Ohio | |
| Conde, Rory Enrique | 1994–1995 | 6 | 6 | Sentenced to death | Known as "The Tamiami Trail Strangler"; Colombian-born man who killed six prostitutes in Florida over a span of five months | |
| Cook, Anthony | 1973–1981 | 9 | 9+ | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Committed crimes with his brother Nathaniel Cook | |
| Cook, Nathaniel | 1973–1981 | 9 | 9+ | Released in 2018 | Committed crimes with his brother Anthony Cook | |
| Cooks, Jessie Lee | 1973–1974 | 15 | 73+ | Died in prison | Part of "The Death Angels", group responsible for the Zebra murders | |
| Cooksey Jr., Cleophus | 2017 | 8 | 9 | Sentenced to death | Murdered eight people in Phoenix, Arizona between November and December 2017. | |
| Cooper, Samuel | 2006–2007 | 5 | 5 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Shot and killed men in North Carolina | |
| Copeland, Faye | 1986–1989 | 5 | 12 | Died in 2003 after release on parole in 2002 | With her husband, Ray Copeland, the oldest couple ever sentenced to death in the United States | |
| Copeland, Ray | 1986–1989 | 5 | 12 | Died in prison awaiting execution | With his wife, Faye Copeland, the oldest couple ever sentenced to death in the United States | |
| Corll, Dean | 1970–1973 | 29 | 29+ | Murdered by accomplice Elmer Wayne Henley | Known as "The Candy Man" and "The Pied Piper". Crimes referred to as "The Houston Mass Murders"; raped and murdered boys and young men in Texas with the aid of teenaged accomplices David Owen Brooks and Elmer Wayne Henley | |
| Corona, Juan | 1971 | 25 | 25 | Died in prison | Mexican farm contractor who murdered male migrant workers in Sutter County, California, and buried their bodies in peach orchards | |
| Corwin, Daniel Lee | 1987 | 3 | 3 | Executed 1998 | Abducted and killed three women around Texas | |
| Costa, Tony | 1968–1969 | 4 | 8 | Committed suicide in prison | Preyed on women in and around Truro, Massachusetts | |
| Cottingham, Richard | 1967–1980 | 18 | 85–100 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Known as "The Torso Killer"; raped, strangled and dismembered numerous women across New York and New Jersey | |
| Covington, Juan | 1998–2005 | 3 | 3+ | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Shot people at random in Philadelphia due to paranoid hallucinations | |
| Cowan, Mary | 1884–1894 | 6 | 6 | Died in prison | Known as "The Borgia of Maine". Poisoned two husbands and four children | |
| Cox, Frederick Pete | 1997 | 3 | 3 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Murdered prostitutes in Orlando, Florida | |
| Cox, Michael | 1984 | 3 | 3 | Sentenced to death | Kidnapped and fatally stabbed three teenage girls in California, burying their bodies in the Eldorado National Forest | |
| Craine, Louis | 1984–1987 | 4 | 5+ | Died in prison | Responsible for at least two of "The Southside Slayer" murders in South Los Angeles | |
| Crawford, Andre | 1993–1999 | 11 | 11 | Died in prison | Chicago transient who preyed on prostitutes and the destitute | |
| Creech, Thomas Eugene | 1974–1981 | 5 | 42 | Sentenced to death | Transient who killed people in various states, some allegedly as part of a biker gang or for human sacrifices | |
| Crump, Thomas Wayne | 1980–1982 | 4 | 7 | Died in prison | Murdered three people during a five-month crime spree in 1980 and a cab driver in 1982; confessed to murders dating back to 1956 | |
| Cullen, Charles | 1988–2003 | 10 | 40+ | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Nurse in New Jersey and Pennsylvania who murdered patients | |
| Cunanan, Andrew | 1997 | 5 | 5 | Committed suicide to avoid arrest | Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace was among his victims | |
| Cunningham, Mark William | 1983 | 3 | 3 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Shot and killed three men in Southern California for no apparent reason | |
| Curry, James Richard | 1982–1983 | 4 | 5 | Committed suicide in custody | One victim was Mary Silvani, whose identity was not discovered for 37 years | |
| Cutlip, Jeffrey Paul | 1975–1993 | 3 | 4 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Murdered two women and a teenage girl in Oregon | |
| Dahmer, Jeffrey | 1978–1991 | 17 | 17 | Murdered in prison by fellow inmate Christopher Scarver | Milwaukee cannibal who retained various body parts of his victims | |
| Daniels, James Edward | 1963–1984 | 4 | 4 | Died in a car crash prior to apprehension | Killed acquaintances in minor disputes | |
| Danielson, Robert Wayne | 1970–1982 | 7 | 7+ | Committed suicide prior to execution | Murdered people at campsites across three states | |
| Danks, Joseph Martin | 1986–1990 | 7 | 7 | Sentenced to death | Murdered his cellmate while serving a life sentence for murdering six homeless men during a stabbing spree | |
| Daugherty, Jeffrey Joseph | 1976 | 5 | 5 | Executed 1988 | Robbed and murdered a total of four women and one man in Pennsylvania and Florida. | |
| Davis, Bruce Alan | 1971–1982 | 3 | 33 | Committed suicide in prison | Murdered two men during robberies, and later a prison guard; confessed to numerous sexually motivated murders of men across the country | |
| Davis, Charles William | 1975–1977 | 4 | 4+ | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Ambulance dispatcher who abducted, raped and killed women in Baltimore | |
| Davis, Frank | 1971–1983 | 3 | 3 | Died in prison | Raped and murdered three teenage boys in Indiana | |
| Davis, Girvies | 1978–1979 | 4 | 9+ | Executed 1995 | Accomplice of Richard Holman; killed people during robberies since eliminating witnesses was "easier" than wearing a mask | |
| Davis, William George | 2017–2018 | 4 | 7 | Sentenced to death | Nurse who killed patients at the hospital where he worked | |
| DeAngelo, Joseph James | 1979–1986 | 13 | 13+ | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Known as "The Golden State Killer", "The Visalia Ransacker", "The East Area Rapist", and "The Original Night Stalker"; murdered three people in Sacramento and ten people in Southern California from 1975 through 1986; also linked to more than fifty rapes in the Sacramento area from 1976 to 1979 | |
| DeJesus, Carmello | 1971–1973 | 3 | 4 | Committed suicide to avoid arrest | Itinerant gambler who killed female acquaintances during arguments | |
| Demps, Bennie | 1971–1976 | 3 | 3 | Executed 2000 | Murdered two people during a robbery in 1971, and later killed another inmate in 1976 while serving life imprisonment | |
| Dennis, Jerome | 1991–1992 | 5 | 5 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Responsible for killing five women in Newark and East Orange, New Jersey, while on parole | |
| Denton, Earl Van | 1970–1977 | 8 | 8 | Executed 1997 | Along with accomplice Paul Ruiz, escaped from prison and murdered seven people in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma while serving life sentence for previous murder | |
| Devonshire, William | 2003–2022 | 3 | 3 | Died before trial | Murdered a neighbor in Delaware; paroled, then murdered two homeless women along the Tamiami Trail in Florida | |
| Dewantoro, Harnoko | 1991–1992 | 3 | 3 | Sentenced to death; released in 2019 | Indonesian national who killed two business associates and his brother in Los Angeles, stashing their bodies in storage facilities | |
| Dieteman, Samuel | 2005–2006 | 8 | 8 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Targeted random strangers during drive-by shootings and arsons in Phoenix, Arizona. Accomplice Dale Hausner committed suicide in prison | |
| Dillon, Thomas | 1989–1992 | 5 | 5+ | Died in prison | Shot men at random in southeastern Ohio | |
| Dodd, Westley Allan | 1989 | 3 | 3 | Executed 1993 | Convicted sex offender who sexually assaulted and murdered three young boys in Vancouver, Washington, in 1989 | |
| Dominique, Ronald | 1997–2006 | 23 | 23+ | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Raped and murdered male victims in Louisiana | |
| Donaldson, Howell | 2017 | 4 | 4 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Shot and killed four people, seemingly at random, in the Seminole Heights neighborhood of Tampa, Florida | |
| Dorsey, Leon | 1994 | 3 | 3 | Executed 2008 | Murdered store employees around Texas | |
| Doss, Nannie | 1927–1954 | 11 | 11 | Died in prison | Known as "The Giggling Granny" and "The Jolly Black Widow"; poisoned four husbands, two children, her two sisters, her mother, a grandson, and a mother-in-law | |
| Dotson, Jessie | 1994–2008 | 7 | 7 | Sentenced to death | Killed a man during a botched drug deal; after release, he killed six people, including his brother, brother's girlfriend, and two nephews | |
| Dowler, David | 1983–1987 | 3 | 3 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Poisoned three acquaintances in Odessa, Texas | |
| Duffy, Charles Lee | 1997 | 3 | 3 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Robbed, raped, and murdered women across two Georgia counties | |
| Dugan, Brian | 1983–1985 | 3 | 3+ | Sentenced to death; commuted to life imprisonment | Serial rapist active in and around Chicago, Illinois | |
| DuMond, Wayne | 1972–2001 | 3 | 3 | Died in prison | Gained notoriety after Governor Mike Huckabee commuted his life sentence for rape in Arkansas; later went on to rape and murder two women in Missouri | |
| Duncan, Joseph Edward | 1996–2005 | 5 | 7 | Died in prison awaiting execution | Raped at least seventeen young boys and three young girls | |
| Duncan, Vender | 1955–1957 | 3 | 3 | Executed 1959 | Burglar who raped and violently beat elderly women in San Francisco, fatally injuring three | |
| Dunkle, Jon | 1981–1985 | 3 | 3 | Sentenced to death | Murdered three young boys in California, including his friend's younger brother | |
| Durocher, Michael Alan | 1983–1988 | 5 | 5 | Executed 1993 | Murdered five people in Florida, including his six-month-old son, his girlfriend and her daughter | |
| Durousseau, Paul | 1997–2003 | 7 | 7+ | Sentenced to death; commuted to life imprisonment | Murdered seven women in the Southeastern United States, included two who were pregnant; German authorities suspect Durousseau may have killed several local women when he was stationed there with the Army during the early 1990s | |
| Edwards, Andrew David | 1987–1992 | 4 | 4 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Murdered transients in alcohol-induced rages | |
| Edwards, Edward | 1977–1996 | 5 | 15+ | Died in prison awaiting execution | Sentenced to death for shooting his foster son in 1996 insurance murder | |
| Edwards, Mack Ray | 1953–1970 | 6 | 6+ | Committed suicide prior to execution | Pedophile who preyed on children in Los Angeles County, California | |
| Edwards, Thomas Francis | 1970–1981 | 3 | 3 | Died in prison awaiting execution | Known as "The Bethesda Butcher"; shot and killed a young girl in California; posthumously linked to two murders in Maryland | |
| Eichinger, John | 1999–2005 | 4 | 4 | Sentenced to death | Stabbed three women and a child to death in Pennsylvania; two of the women had rejected his romantic advances | |
| Eisele, Joseph | 1867 | 3 | 3 | Executed 1868 | Known as "The Parkersburg Murderer"; German emigrant who killed fellow emigrants in violent robberies | |
| Ellis, Walter E. | 1986–2007 | 8 | 10+ | Died in prison | Known as "The Milwaukee North Side Strangler" | |
| Engleman, Glennon | 1958–1980 | 5 | 7+ | Died in prison | Dentist who worked as a contract killer and plotted with women to kill their husbands so they could share the insurance money | |
| Erskine, Scott | 1989–1993 | 3 | 3+ | Died in prison awaiting execution | Raped and murdered two young boys in California and a woman in Florida | |
| Ervin, Joe Michael | 1969–1981 | 6 | 6 | Committed suicide in custody | Shot and killed a police officer in Denver, Colorado while avoiding a murder warrant in Texas; posthumously linked to four additional murders in the Denver metropolitan area | |
| Escobar, Ramon | 2018–2023 | 7 | 8 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Beat his uncle, aunt, and several homeless people to death between Texas and California | |
| Espinosa, Felipe | 1863 | 32 | 32 | Killed by Tom Tobin | Murdered various people across the Colorado Territory | |
| Evans, Donald Leroy | 1985–1991 | 3 | 70 | Murdered in prison by a fellow death row inmate | Suspected of another dozen murders but recanted his confessions to over seventy more | |
| Evans, Gary | 1985–1997 | 5 | 5 | Committed suicide after escaping police custody | Leader of a ring of jewelry and antique thieves who operated in and around Capital District, New York | |
| Evonitz, Richard | 1996–1997 | 3 | 3+ | Committed suicide to avoid arrest | Kidnapped, raped and murdered three girls in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, and abducted and assaulted a 15-year-old girl in Richland County, South Carolina | |
| Ewell, John | 2010 | 4 | 4 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Advocate against the "3 strikes law" who robbed and murdered middle-aged and elderly people in Los Angeles | |
| Eyler, Larry | 1982–1984 | 21 | 24 | Died in prison awaiting execution | Known as "The Interstate Killer" and the "Highway Killer"; preyed on boys and young men in the Midwest | |
| Falling, Christine | 1980–1982 | 6 | 6 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Epileptic who strangled infants in Florida because of voices in her head | |
| Fautenberry, John | 1990–1991 | 5 | 6 | Executed 2009 | Befriended, murdered and robbed people across four states | |
| Fayne, Lorenzo | 1989–1993 | 6 | 6 | Sentenced to death; commuted to life imprisonment | Raped and murdered a woman and five children in Wisconsin and Illinois | |
| Feltner, Jeffrey | 1988–1989 | 7 | 7 | Died in prison | Nurse's aide who smothered patients to "end their suffering" | |
| Ferguson, John Errol | 1974–1978 | 8 | 12 | Executed 2013 | Murdered multiple people in the Miami-Dade County, Florida area | |
| Fernandes, Roberto Wagner | 2000–2001 | 3 | 4+ | Died in a plane crash | Brazilian flight attendant who killed prostitutes in Miami, Florida; suspected in other deaths | |
| Fernandez, Raymond | 1947–1949 | 3 | 20 | Executed 1951 | With accomplice Martha Beck, became known as "The Lonely Hearts Killers" | |
| Figueroa, Danny | 1986 | 3 | 3 | Died in prison | Known as "The Backwoods Sniper"; Self-styled survivalist who shot three people to death across Southern California | |
| Fish, Albert | 1924–1932 | 3 | 8+ | Executed 1936 | Known as "The Werewolf of Wysteria"; sadist and pedophile who cannibalized several children. | |
| Fisher, Constance | 1954–1966 | 6 | 6 | Accidentally drowned after escaping from a mental hospital | Paranoid schizophrenic who drowned her six children on two different occasions in Maine | |
| Fitzsimmons, George | 1969–1973 | 4 | 4 | Died in prison | Known as "The Karate Chop Killer"; mental patient who killed his parents in New York, then was released and killed his aunt and uncle in Pennsylvania | |
| Flowers, Norman | 2004–2005 | 3 | 4 | Sentenced to life imprisonment | Raped, beat, and strangled women in their Las Vegas apartments | |
| Floyd, C |