Who is the deadliest serial killer in america

The most prolific serial killer in U.S. history died Wednesday at age 80. Samuel Little had confessed to 93 murders in more than a dozen states over 35 years.

Samuel Little, a convicted murderer who the FBI says is the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history, died Wednesday at age 80.

Little was serving three consecutive life-without-parole sentences for the deaths of three women in the late 1980s in Los Angeles, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said in its announcement of his death.

Little died at 4:53 a.m. An official cause will be determined by the Los Angeles County medical examiner's office.

In 2018, Little confessed to the murder of 93 women nationwide from the 1970s through 2005. The FBI says it believes all of his confessions are credible.

Since then, law enforcement officers from around the U.S. have tried to connect details of his confessions to unsolved homicides in their regions. They had verified at least 50 of Little's murder confessions as of last year.

Work continues on corroborating more than 40 other cases, an effort that is likely to become more difficult now that Little is dead.

Little's victims and crimes

Little was convicted in 2014 for the murder of the three women killed in Los Angeles in the 1980s, after he was extradited to California from Kentucky on a narcotics charge.

Once in custody for the drug charge, detectives collected DNA from Little that tied him to three unsolved homicides from 1987 and 1989. In all three cases, the women were beaten and strangled, and their bodies were dumped in an alley, a dumpster and a garage, the FBI said. It became Little's modus operandi throughout his 35-year killing spree.

Little's life of crime started when he dropped out of high school and left his home in Ohio in the 1950s. He lived a nomadic life, getting by through stealing, selling his loot and using the money for drugs and alcohol. He had frequent run-ins with police but was often let go after a short stint in jail, the FBI said.

He chose his murder victims because they were marginalized and vulnerable — often prostitutes or women addicted to drugs, according to the FBI. Their bodies, if they were found, typically went unidentified, and their murders were not carefully investigated.

Little's method of killing — strangulation — didn't always leave reliable signs for local police to determine whether the woman's death was a homicide. The FBI said he usually stunned or knocked out his victims before strangling them, thus leaving no signs of a struggle.

Law enforcement investigation

Little first confessed to the murders in 2018 when he was interviewed by Texas Ranger James Holland. Holland was investigating an unsolved homicide in Odessa, Texas, at the time. Little shared details of the killings because he sought to move prisons and offered information as a deal with police. It's unclear why he wanted a prison transfer or if detectives agreed to make that deal or if Little shared information separate from any agreement with law enforcement.

His confessions touched off a nationwide effort to confirm that Little was tied to unsolved killings in more than a dozen states. Over the course of almost two years, Little shared detailed information about each of his victims, how he killed them and the general location of their bodies.

Little also drew incredibly detailed pictures of his victims, which the FBI has used to help solve the murders. The FBI created a webpage listing the details Little shared with detectives, his drawings, where he believes each woman was from and Little's videotaped confessions.

Detectives hope that with the public's help and the information from Little, they can resolve the remaining 40 unresolved cases.

Ida May Fuller paid only $24.50 in payroll taxes over three years before collecting the first ever Social Security check. She would live to 100, receiving nearly $23,000 in benefits.

SERIAL killers became scarily common between 1970 and the early 00s, in what's known as the golden age of serial murder.

In fact the concept of a serial killer was not coined until 1974, when FBI special agent Robert Ressler used the term "serial homicide" to describe the epidemic sweeping the USA.

The majority of serial killers during this time came from America, although Britain has some high profile cases too.

Many American serial killers gained infamy for their prolific crimes, here are the most notorious and prolific of the lot.

Ted Bundy

One of the most infamous names when discussing serial killers is Ted Bundy, famed for his charisma and good looks - a narrative perpetuated by the casting of Zac Efron as Bundy in a film about his life.

Theodore Robert Bundy, born November 24, 1946, kidnapped, raped and murdered numerous victims - all young women and girls.

He confessed to killing at least 30 victims from seven states during his crime spree between 1974 and 1978.

After a brief escape while on trial, Bundy went on to escape again, this time from his cell in December 1977, and kill two more women and one 12-year-old-girl.

Bundy was sentenced to death by electric chair, which was carried out on January 24, 1989 when he was 42, an event which was met with celebration on the streets outside the prison.

Charles Manson

Charles Manson, born November 12, 1934, was the head of a cult in the 60s and 70s known as the Manson Family.

The cult, made up of predominately young white women, were responsible for a number of murders, assaults and petty crimes.

The most famous of which was the 1969 murder of pregnant Hollywood actress Sharon Tate and four others, although Manson himself was not present for the crime.

Cincinnati born Manson was convicted of murder and conspiracy to commit murder for the deaths of seven people, including Sharon Tate, in 1971.

He died of acute cardiac arrest, respiratory failure and metastatic colon cancer on November 19, 2017, aged 83 in Mercy Hospital, California.

David Berkowitz

Known best by his moniker the Son of Sam, David Berkowitz was a serial killer who's spree lasted from July 1976 to July 1977.

Initially the media dubbed him the .44-caliber killer, after his weapon of choice, which he used to murder six people in New York.

Son of Sam was a nickname he gave himself in a letter he wrote to the police, in which he claimed that Sam was commanding him to go out and kill.

He was caught when Cacilia Davis walked past his crime scene and Berkowitz himself, she tipped off the police who found a rifle in his car and arrested him.

Berkowitz claimed during questioning that the possessed dog of his neighbour Sam was telling him to carry out the murders but he later changed his story, saying that was a hoax.

He plead guilty in 1978 and was sentenced to six 25-year life sentences, however, Berkowitz has applied for parole multiple times - the latest denial of parole came in 2018.

Ed Gein

Most infamous for his souvenirs, the Butcher of Plainfield, Ed Gein was born August 27, 1906 in Wisconsin.

Though suspected, Gein was never confirmed as a serial killer on a technicality, although he did confess to killing two women, in the mid to late 50s.

The horror of Gein's crimes comes from the discovery of artefacts in his house made from human remains when he was arrested.

Among the collection of horrors, police found a belt made from nipples, a lampshade, chair seats and clothing items such as leggings and a corset all made from human skin.

Gein admitted to stealing from nine graves, as well as the murders of Bernice Worden and Mary Hogan, however, he pled not guilty by reason of insanity.

The supposed inspiration for fictional characters Norman Bates (Psycho), and Buffalo Bill (Silence of the Lambs), spent the rest of his life in a mental hospital until his death in 1984 at the age of 77.

Zodiac Killer

One of the biggest mysteries to plague America was the identity of the Zodiac Killer, who murdered five victims in the late 60s.

He named himself Zodiac in the letters he sent the regional newspapers, which he used to threaten more killings and claimed he killed 37 victims.

The letters contained four ciphers, two still remain unsolved but the most famous 340 cipher was cracked after 51 years by a team of three private citizens.

The case was inactive since 2004 but in March of 2007 it was reopened by the San Francisco police due to continued interest in the Zodiac Killer.

In 2021, investigators known as the Case Breakers, claimed that they had identified Gary Francis Poste as the allusive killer, who died in 2018.

The FBI were reluctant to confirm this finding as much of the groups claims are "circumstantial" and the case remains open and unsolved.

Richard Ramirez

Another serial killer known best by his nickname The Night Stalker, Richard Ramirez was active from July 1984 to August 1985.

Ramirez was convicted on 13 counts of murder, five attempted murders, 11 sexual assaults and 14 burglaries, for which he was given 19 death sentences.

Despite his ticket to death row in 1989, Ramirez was never executed - he died instead from complications with B-cell lymphoma on June 7, 2013.

Texas born Ramirez allegedly learned some of the military skills he used in his crimes from his cousin during his teens.

The Night Stalker also became interested in Satanism and the occult as well as using cocaine frequently, which he would fuel through his burglaries.

Ramirez would use a variety of weapons including guns, knives and hammers as well as punching and strangling victims, in one extreme case he stomped a victim to death in her sleep.

He was captured when the police identified him publicly and he was spotted re-entering LA after failing to meet up with his brother.

Citizens held him down after chasing him across a freeway and over several fences, the police then took the killer into custody.

Aileen Wuornos

Michigan born Aileen Wuornos began her killing spree in November 1989, shooting convicted rapist Richard Mallory, 51, dead.

After this she went on to murder six more men, claiming all of them had tried to rape her and she was acting in self defence.

She claimed that she had a rough upbringing in which she had been assaulted by her alcoholic grandfather and his friends, as well as being abandoned by her mother.

Wuornos was arrested when her fingerprints matched those found in a victim's car and she was sentenced to death for her crimes in the early 90s but was not executed until 2002, having served 12 years on death row.

Charlize Theron won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Wuornos in Monster (2003).

John Wayne Gacy

Killer Clown, John Wayne Gacy, murdered and sexually assaulted at least 33 young men and boys during his killing spree throughout the 70s.

He lived a normal life on the surface, marrying Marylynn Myers and having two children - although Marylynn divorced him after he was convicted of sexually assaulting a teenage boy in 1968.

Gacy's morbid nickname comes from his regular performances as clowns named Pogo and Patches for children's hospitals and other charitable events.

The killing spree began in 1972, coinciding with his marriage to second wife Carole, with the murder of Timothy McCoy, 16, and continued all the way through to his capture in 1978.

He buried bodies of 29 young men in under his Chicago home and in the crawl space, as well as four victims in the Des Plaines River.

Gacy was put to death by lethal injection in 1994, after waiting 14 years on death row - his final meal request was fried shrimp and a bucket of KFC chicken.

Jeffrey Dahmer

Jeffrey Dahmer, born in Milwaukee on May 21, 1960, was one of the most notorious killers in the US and known for keeping souvenirs of his victims.

He murdered and dismembered seventeen men and boys between 1978 and 1991, becoming involved in cannibalism, necrophilia and body preservation in his later crimes.

Dahmer was eventually caught when his final intended victim Tracy Edwards, 32, came back to his apartment, using his wits and calming tactics to subdue Dahmer until he could escape.

The police, lead to Dahmer by Edwards, found a large knife beneath his bed and a drawer full of Polaroids of human bodies, some of which were dismembered.

The Milwaukee Cannibal was diagnosed with borderline and schitzotypall personality disorders as well as a psychotic disorder but was declared sane and fit to stand trial.

Dahmer was convicted of 16 of his 17 murders and sentenced to life terms for each, however, he was beaten to death by another inmate in 1994.

Edmund Kemper

One of the major characters in the Netflix show Mindhunter, the real Edmund Kemper murdered his grandparents, mother and six students over the period of a year.

Kemper began by killing his family cats as a child before moving on to murder his grandparents at just 15 years old, for which he served time at a psychiatric hospital.

His record was wiped clean at 21 when he was released but he returned quickly to his murderous ways, killing six college students and earning his nickname the Co-ed Killer.

Most of his murders involved necrophilia with occasional instances of rape, he would keep body parts for several days before discarding the body and attacking again.

Kemper murdered his mother on April 20, 1973 when she came home from a night out, he decapitated her and raped her, which he later claimed was because he hated her.

He also invited her best friend round and killed her too in order to create a cover story that the pair had run away.

Despite his efforts to conceal his crimes, Kemper called the police and turned himself in - which the police did not initially take seriously.

When he called back later, the Co-ed killer asked to speak to an officer he knew personally and confessed once more, this time he was captured and confessed to the further six murders.

Kemper requested the death penalty for his crimes but was given eight concurrent life sentences in 1973, and remains incarcerated at California Medical Facility to this day.

Dennis Rader

This might be a name that is less familiar but Dennis Rader was a serial killer who disappeared and then came back for more, totalling 10 murders.

Known as BTK (bind, torture, kill), a name which he gave himself, Rader killed between 1974 and 1991 before a decade-long hiatus.

He tormented police and the community by sending letters detailing his crimes, which included the murders of two children.

Rader's first crime was on January 15, 1974 when he killed four members of the Otero family in Wichita, Kansas, including their nine and 11-year-old children.

He went on to kill six more people over the course of 17 years, finishing his spree in 1991 by murdering 62-year-old Dolores Earline Johnson Davis in her home.

By 2004, the case was cold and Rader was living a normal life as a Scout leader and president of his church, with two children and a wife.

A 30th anniversary piece on BTK reignited the killer, causing him to begin sending taunting letters and evidence from old crime scenes to the police.

He was captured a year later, through the discovery of a cereal box with a note in it that asked if it would be safe to send the police a floppy disk.

The police indicated to BTK that they would not be able to trace him, so he sent the disk and the cops traced it back, much to Rader's shock.

Rader's DNA was found to match DNA from the crime scenes and in June he pled guilty to the murders and was given 10 consecutive life-imprisonments.

Samuel Little

Considered by the FBI to be the most prolific serial killer, Samuel Little murdered an estimated 93 people across the whole of America over 35 years.

After serving time for breaking in to a furniture store, Little went on to be arrested 26 times in 11 states over the span of nine years.

In 1982, just seven years later, he was arrested and charged for the murder of a 22-year-old woman but was not indicted.

He was then extradited to Florida for the murder of another woman but was acquitted due to mistrust of witness testimonies.

Little would later be arrested for the assault of two more women in San Diego but released once more after only two and a half years served.

On his release in 1987, he immediately moved to Los Angeles, where he committed at least 10 more murders, he continued his patterns until his arrest on September 5, 2012.

The prolific killer was tested for involvement in 93 cases of murdered woman across multiple states, with 50 of his confessed cases confirmed by law enforcement.

Little died on Wednesday, December 30, 2020 at the age of 80, with many of his confessions still pending confirmation and taking any answers with him to the grave.

Gary Ridgway

The true number of victims who died at the hands of Gary Ridgway is unknown but could be as many as 71 vulnerable teenage girls and women.

On July 15, 1982, children found the body of Wendy Caulfield, 16, floating in the Green River, Seattle.

Within a month the bodies of more women had been found in the river, all strangled to death and by August 16, 1982, a task force had been set up.

Nicknamed the Green River Killer by the press, Ridgway became a suspect in April the following year after a victim was seen getting into his car.

The police questioned Ridgway in the spring and autumn of 1983 but he denied knowledge of the crimes and without evidence they had to let him go.

Serial killer Ted Bundy actually helped in this case and advised police that the Green River Killer might be returning to his victims and performing sexual acts on them.

Police got a warrant to search his house in 1987, after he was seen with two victims, and Ridgway provided a DNA sample, however, it was not until March 2001 that the sample could be matched to the evidence.

Two decades after the first murder, Ridgeway was arrested and pled guilty to 48 charges of aggravated first-degree murder, taking a plead deal to spare his life in exchange for information.

Donald Harvey

Sharing similarities with Britain's Harold Shipman, Donald Harvey was a hospital orderly who murdered between 37 and 87 people in a 17 year spree.

Harvey killed vulnerable patients between 1970 and 1987, often by injecting them or their IV drip with arsenic or cyanide.

He confessed that he would smother patients or connect them top near empty oxygen tanks, initially in an attempt to ease their suffering.

Although his crimes were hidden for so long, he did earn himself the nickname of the Angel of Death due to the fact he was often present around patients who would later pass away.

On top of the hospital patients, Harvey killed his father, brother-in-law and two of his neighbours.

Harvey was finally captured when the autopsy of a patient revealed high levels of cyanide in their system, alerting the police to malpractice.

The killer had actually been forced to resign after he had been caught stealing body parts for occult rituals, which pulled the cops attention to him.

After being brought in for questioning, Harvey confessed to the death, which led to the reveal that he had killed an estimated 70 people.

He was sentenced to life in prison on 24 counts of first degree murder and died in custody after a fellow inmate severely beat him.