Serial Killers by State

Three serial killers came from Alabama: Joseph Paul Franklin, Cleophus Prince Jr., and Nannie Doss. This makes Alabama the fourteenth state with the country's highest number of serial killers and in total, the state had 199 serial killer victims. Joseph Paul Franklin, a white supremacist, is suspected to have murdered more than twenty individuals in the 1970s and early 1980s. Cleophus Prince Jr. was convicted of six murders in California between 1990 and 1991. As for Nannie Doss, she confessed to killing 11 people between the 1920s and 1950s, including four of her five husbands. She was dubbed the "Giggling Granny".

One serial killer came from Alaska and there were 64 serial killer victims in this state. Robert Hansen, also known as the "Butcher Baker", was an American serial killer who operated in and around Anchorage, Alaska in the 1970s and early 1980s. He kidnapped women, flew them into the Alaskan wilderness, and then hunted and killed them. He was known for his skill as a hunter and used it to stalk his victims like prey. He was eventually caught and convicted of multiple murders in 1983 and died in prison in 2014.

Two serial killers are from Arkansas making Arkansas the twenty-second state with the highest number of serial killers in the U.S. In total, there were 143 serial killer victims in this state. The first serial killer is Mack Ray Edwards, who was convicted of killing at least 6 children in California in the 1950s. He was never formally charged with additional murders but he is suspected of killing many more children. He died by suicide in prison in 1971. The other serial killer born in Arkansas is Chester Turner who was born in 1966 and was convicted of killing 10 people between 1987 and 1998 in California. In 2014, he was charged with the murder of four other victims and was sentenced to death for his crimes in 2007.

The second state with the highest number of serial killers is California with fifteen serial killers coming from California. The state also has the highest number of serial killer victims in the country with 1,777 serial killer victims. One of the most notorious serial killers operating in Northern California is the Zodiac Killer. He is believed to have killed at least 5 people and injured 2 others in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He gained notoriety for taunting the police and the media with cryptic letters and codes. Despite an extensive investigation, the identity of the Zodiac Killer remains unknown to this day.

Colorado is the thirty-third state with the most serial killers with one serial killer coming from Colorado. There were 161 serial killer victims in total in this state. The name of Colorado’s serial killer was Scott Lee Kimball and he was convicted of the murder of four individuals that were committed while he was working as an FBI informant. Kimball pleaded guilty to two of the murders and was sentenced to 70 years in prison. He died in prison in 2021.

Florida is the thirty-fifth state with the most serial killers with one serial killer born in Orlando, Florida in 1946. Yet the state has the third-highest number of serial killer victims in the country with 933 serial killer victims. The name of Florida’s serial killer was Paul John Knowles but was known as the "Casanova Killer" because of his charm and good looks, which he used to lure his victims. Knowles killed at least 18 people in a cross-country killing spree in 1974, before being captured and killed in a shootout with police in Georgia.

The ninth state with the highest number of serial killers is Georgia with four serial killers coming from this state. Georgia also ranks ninth in terms of serial killer victims with 409 victims. Georgia’s most infamous serial killer was Wayne Williams, also known as the “Atlanta Monster”. Williams was convicted of killing two adults but is suspected of killing at least 23 children and young adults in the late 1970s and early 1980s. After a controversial investigation and trial, Williams was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. However, he still maintains his innocence to this day.

The fourth state with the highest number of serial killers is Illinois with seven serial killers coming from this state. Illinois also ranks fourth in terms of serial killer victims with 680 victims. One of the most infamous is John Wayne Gacy who was convicted of killing at least 33 teenage boys and young men in the 1970s. Gacy was known for luring his victims into his home, where he sexually assaulted and murdered them before burying their bodies or dumping them in nearby rivers. He was arrested in 1978 and sentenced to death for his crimes. He was executed by lethal injection in 1994.

Indiana is the sixth state with the highest number of serial killers with six serial killers being born in this state. Indiana ranks twelfth in terms of serial killer victims with 349 victims. One of Indiana’s most notorious serial killers is Herb Baumeister. He is believed to have killed at least 11 men in the 1980s and 1990s. Baumeister was known for luring his victims to his home, where he would strangle them and bury their bodies on his property. In 1996, his crimes were discovered and he fled to Canada where he committed suicide. Baumeister was the subject of the book "The I-70 Strangler" by Brian Lee Tucker.

Louisiana is the seventh state with the highest number of serial killers with six serial killers born in this state. Louisiana ranks thirteenth in terms of serial killer victims with 344 victims. Derrick Todd Lee is one of the most infamous serial killers from Louisiana. He is suspected of having killed at least seven women in the Baton Rouge area and was known for stalking his victims before breaking into their homes and attacking them. Lee was eventually caught through DNA evidence and was sentenced to death in 2004. He died in prison in 2016.

Michigan is the eighteenth state with the highest number of serial killers with three serial killers born in this state. Yet, Michigan ranks eighth in terms of serial killer victims with 425 victims. John Norman Collins is one of the most notorious serial killers from Michigan. He was convicted of killing one young woman and is suspected of killing six others in the late 1960s. Collins was known for targeting college-aged women in the Ann Arbor area and was eventually caught and sentenced to life in prison.

Minnesota is the twenty-fourth state with the highest number of serial killers and had 81 serial killer victims. The two serial killers who were born in this state were Carl Panzram who spent much of his life traveling and committing crimes all over the country, and Paul Michael Stephani. The latter was also known as the "Weepy-Voiced Killer" because he would call the police and confess to his crimes in a high-pitched, crying voice. Stephani is suspected of killing at least three women in the Minneapolis area in the early 1980s. He was caught and sentenced to 40 years in prison where he died in 1998.

The fifth state with the highest number of serial killers is Ohio with seven serial killers coming from this state. Ohio ranks sixth in terms of serial killer victims with 505 victims. One of Ohio’s notorious serial killers is Anthony Sowell who is also known as the “Cleveland Strangler”. He was convicted of killing 11 women in the Cleveland area between 2007 and 2009. Ultimately, Sowell was arrested and sentenced to death. He died in prison from a terminal illness in 2021.

Oregon is the twenty-eighth state with the highest number of serial killers with two serial killers born in this state named Dallen Bounds and Randall Woodfield. The former was convicted of killing four women in the early 1990s, while the latter was known as the "I-5 Killer" and was convicted of killing at least seven women and girls in the late 1970s. Both men are currently serving life sentences in prison for their crimes. Additionally, Oregon ranks twenty-sixth in terms of serial killer victims with 175 victims in total.

South Carolina is the twelfth state with the highest number of serial killers, with four being born in this state. In terms of serial killer victims, South Carolina ranks twenty-third with 198 victims. One of South Carolina’s most notorious serial killers is Donald Henry Gaskins, also known as "Pee Wee" Gaskins. Gaskins was convicted of killing at least 12 people in the 1960s and 1970s, but he claimed to have killed over 100 people. He was known for his violent and sadistic nature and was eventually sentenced to death and executed in 1991.

The third state with the highest number of serial killers is Texas with seven serial killers coming from this state. Texas ranks second in terms of serial killer victims with 984 victims. One of the most notorious serial killers who operated in Texas was Henry Lee Lucas who was known for his strange behavior and ability to manipulate others, including law enforcement. He was convicted of killing eleven people and was eventually sentenced to death which was commuted to life in prison by then-governor George W. Bush. Lucas died in prison in 2001

Virginia is the forty-seventh state with the highest number of serial killers with one serial killer born in this state named Gary Ray Bowles. He was born in Virginia but he committed most of his murders in Florida where he was convicted of killing six men in 1994. Bowles was known for his violent tendencies and had a history of criminal behavior. He was sentenced to death and executed in 2019. Additionally, Virginia ranks fifteenth in terms of serial killer victims with 272 victims in total.

Washington is the thirteenth state with the highest number of serial killers, with four being born in this state. In terms of serial killer victims, the state of Washington ranks tenth with 396 victims. One of Washington’s most notorious serial killers is Robert Lee Yates who was a former U.S. Army helicopter pilot. He is known for murdering at least 13 women in Spokane, Washington, between 1975 and 1998. Yates targeted sex workers and other vulnerable women and often disposed of their bodies in remote locations. He was arrested in 2000 and later pleaded guilty to 13 counts of first-degree murder. He is currently serving a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Wisconsin is the twenty-first state with the highest number of serial killers, with three being born in this state. In terms of serial killer victims, Wisconsin ranks thirty-first with 118 victims. Jeffrey Dahmer is one of Wisconsin’s most notorious serial killers. He is known for the rape, murder, and dismemberment of 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991. Dahmer was arrested in 1991 and later pleaded guilty to 15 counts of murder. He was sentenced to life in prison but was beaten to death by another inmate in 1994. Dahmer's crimes were particularly gruesome, as he often kept body parts and even consumed some of his victims.

No serial killers were born in Wyoming ranking the state fifty-second in the country. However, there were 32 serial killer victims in total in Wyoming.