Scary Unidentified Serial Killers

I've always been so fascinated by true crime and especially serial killers. There's something about these cases that are just so scary. So, I decided to scare myself even further by looking at serial killers that have never been caught. Most of them probably never will be caught, unfortunately.

The Doodler

The Doodler (talk about some bad naming), was a serial killer most active between the years of 1974 to 1975 in San Francisco, California. His targets were white gay men that he met in gay spaces. There are five solid victims that are linked to The Doodler, but there could be as many as sixteen that were killed by him. There were three survivors but I’ll get to them in a little bit because that’s a difficult and tragic situation as well.

The name came from the fact that the killer sketched his victims prior to attacking them. After that was done, The Doodler would then brutally attack the victims with a knife, often cutting open their throats. Now, like I said, there were three survivors. They were able to paint a vague picture of their attacker. A black man between the ages of nineteen to twenty-five. He was tall and slender. There were a few suspects.

This is where the unfortunately comes in. The three survivors of these attacks were closeted gay men. They knew that if they went forward with a trial, that they would be outed to the world. The 1970s were still not a great time for gay men. So, nothing ever came of those suspects and San Francisco is still looking for The Doodler.

Redhead Murders

This case is interesting because of how long this serial killer was potentially active and how many different states he was possibly active in. He has also been referred to as the ‘Bible Belt Strangler’. It’s possible that he was active between the years of 1978 and 1992. The states that he was active in were Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Mississippi, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Tennessee.

There were between six to eleven victims, and I feel like it goes without saying that they all had red hair. Three of the victims haven’t been identified, unfortunately.

Lisa Nichols, the first known victim, was likely trying to hitchhike when she was picked up and murdered. Tina Farmer wasn’t identified until 2018, but she does have the strongest link to a suspect. Unfortunately, Jerry Leon Johns died long before his DNA had been discovered. Two skeletonized women were discovered in separate counties in Tennessee. Espy Pilgrim was identified in 2018, and unfortunately she left behind five children with one only being six weeks old when she disappeared. There is an unidentified victim from West Viriginia that is suspected to be one of the victims. There is also Elizabeth Lamotte. She was only seventeen when she died and she also linked to a potential killer; Terry Peder Rasmussen.

It’s believed that the Bible Belt Strangler would have been someone that was a trucker, due to the places that the victims were found and picked up. It was someone that was comfortable with these areas.

Atlanta Ripper.

This serial killer was active in 1911 and 1912. He was active in Atlanta, Georgia.

It's suspected that he killed up to twenty-one women with fifteen being the number most often cited. All of his victims were black or dark-skinned POC women. Although there are claims that this was a 'Jack the Ripper' of Atlanta, there are no signs that the women were sex workers. Belle Walker was a cook that was found near her home. There was also the issue that he killed a great deal more people than the Whitechapel Killer.

There were a lot of problems with the reporting of these crimes. It didn't help that these reports were being written by white journalists.

Six men were brought in as suspects, but none of them were convicted. There are suspicions that these murders were committed by more than killer.

West Mesa Murders.

In 2009, the bodies of eleven women and one fetus were found in West Mesa, Albuquerque, New Mexico. The women that were found had gone missing between the years of 2001 and 2005. The reason that the killer stopped bringing bodies to that area was because there was residential developments being made close by. So, it's likely that he stopped in fear of disposing of a body. However, the residential developments did not reach that area.

The bodies were found by a woman that was just out walking her dog. She saw what appeared to be a human bone and the area was excavated.

The youngest of the victims were two fifteen-year-olds. The oldest was a thirty-two year-old. Most of them were Latino and many of them were involved with sex work prior to their disappearances. There are potentially more victims that are linked to the same killer.

There have been suspects, many of them. But, none of them have been properly linked as the killer.

Boston Strangler.

There are a few names that have been given to this killer, such as 'The Mad Strangler of Boston' and 'The Silk Stocking Murders'. It is suspected that this killer murdered at least thirteen women. These women were all single and were between the ages of nineteen and eighty-five. There wasn't any sign of someone breaking into the homes, it's suspected that he was either someone that was known to the women or a service man.

The women were sexually assaulted most of the time and then strangled. Most often, they were strangled by an article of clothing such as nylon stockings.

In 1964, Albert DeSalvo confessed to the murders after being caught attempting to rape a woman in her home. His confessions were very close to what happened to those thirteen women, but not exact. And there was no physical evidence that linked him to the murders. Except, later on, there would be one of the victims that did link to DeSalvo.

However, there are a lot of things that don't quite add up.

Long Island Serial Killer.

There are a lot of names that are given to this killer; The Gilgo Beach Killer, Seashore Serial Killer, and Craigslist Ripper. There are about ten and sixteen victims. It's believed that this killer started in 1996 and was active until 2010. Although, it's likely that he might have continued until 2013.

Four of the victims that have been linked are women that were sex workers, advertising their services on Craigslist. That's one of the origins behind these nicknames.

There have been four major suspects. One was a Police Chief that blocked information from the FBI when dealing with this case. Another was a resident that was eventually charged with the murder of two sex workers. The third was an Oak Beach resident, who was one of the last people to see one of the victims. The fourth was a doctor and was also connected to one of the victims.

Many of the victims have remained unidentified. There are also other potential victims.

Phantom Killer.

Also known as the Texarkana Moonlight Murders. These murders took place between February 22, 1946 and May 3, 1946. There were five victims that were murdered and three of them were wounded.

Jimmy Hollis and Mary Jeanne Larey were on a lovers' lane when they were attacked by a man wearing a pillowcase over his head. Both of them survived the attack and they were able to give statements. Richard L. Griffin and Polly Ann Moore (which, side note, horrible. He was 29 and she was 17.) were murdered on a lovers lane. Betty Jo Booker and Paul Martin were the next victims, but they were found two miles apart. Virgil Starks, a 37 year old and his wife Katie, 36, were attacked at their home. Katie Starks survived.

Youell Swinney was the primary suspect. But, there was only circumstantial evidence. Including his wife saying that she believed that he was the Phantom Killer.

Cleveland Torso Murderer.

This killer was active in the 1930s. There are potentially anywhere between twelve to twenty victims. It goes without saying that these murders took place in Cleveland.

The victims were all lower class, making it easier to murder these people because no one's really going to be looking for them. There were men and women and some of the bodies haven't been identified yet. It's hard to tell how exactly they died because of the mutilation done to them. They were dismembered pretty extensively. Some parts of the bodies, including the head, have never been found.

This killer struck at a really good time in American history. There were a lot of people moving due to the lack of jobs and money. There are theories that there were more than one killer.

Zodiac Killer.

This is perhaps the most famous unknown serial killer in the United States. He was active in the 1960s and 1970s. He killed five, injured two, but claims that he has killed up to thirty-seven people. He seemed to have a lot of goals for his killing spree and made a lot of threats. We know this because he was in communication with Bay Area press. He wrote letters that included ciphers.

His modes of murder included shootings and stabbings.

It goes without saying that there were a ton of suspects. None of them ever really worked out

And no, Ted Cruz was not the Zodiac Killer.

Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed it, thank you! If you have the chance, adding a tip would really help me out.