Over the years, true crime and serial killers have become a popular topic in pop culture as well as on streaming services such as Netflix. More and more documentaries are being made about serial killers such as Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Bundy, who not only shock people but also fascinate them. Above all, viewers want to understand the motives for such horrific acts as murder, their brutality, precision and lack of remorse.
In March 2022, Statista published a ranking of the 25 cities with the most murder cases per 100,000 inhabitants. With the exception of Cape Town in 11th place and Mandela Bay in 23rd place, all 25 cities with the most murder cases are in the America.
In this article, we’ll take a look at the U.S. and their serial killers. Where were the most murders committed? Who are known serial killers? All this will be answered in the course of the article.
Alaska
The northern state of Alaska is the state with the most serial killings in the US. The total number of serial murders since 1900 is 51.00 and the adjusted number of serial murders per 1 million 15.65. One of the most famous serial killers among them was Robert Hansen. He was dubbed „The Flying Nightmare“ by the media. He got this name because he flew with at least 17 women in his private plane to a remote hut and abused them there and then let them flee into the wilderness to hunt them down and kill them towards the end. In Alaskan history, he is the serial killer with the most documented victims. To this day, this case causes great horror for the state of Alaska.
Florida
The total number of serial murders in Florida since 1900 was 98.00 per 1 million. Among the killers was a serial killer Aileen Wuornos, who killed six men between 1989 and 1990. In Florida, she was sentenced to death two years after her last murder, but aroused sympathy among many people through her years of suffering and her difficult childhood. Nevertheless, this by no means makes up for her actions.
Serial killer Ted Bundy was also mostly active in Florida, killing at least 30 young women and girls between 1974 and 1978. Through his appearance, authority and charm, Ted repeatedly managed to accompany women and girls to nearby places, where he eventually strangled his victims to unconsciousness, raped them and killed or strangled them. As if these acts weren’t horrific enough, he dismembered the corpses and transported them in his car to various locations.
California
One of the most famous serial killers in California is Charles Manson. Charles was the leader of a cult-like structured and racially oriented hippie commune called the Manson Family. He instigated his followers to commit murders, such as the pregnant Sharon Tate, who was the wife of director Roman Polanski. The second act was to boutique owner Leno and his wife Rosemary LaBianca. They also killed the couple and wrote confused messages on the front door with their blood. Charles Manson and all of his followers were eventually arrested, and in November 2017, Manson finally died of colon cancer in prison.
In Florida, there has been a total number of serial murders since 1900 of 1,507.00 per 1 million and the adjusted number of serial murders per 1 million of 7.81.
Washington
The US state of Washington also has a high number of serial murders. In 2003, Gary Ridgway was sentenced to life imprisonment for 48 confessed murders. 8 years later, he also confessed to a 49th murder. The Green River Killer (as Gary Ridgway was called) was in Seattle and repeatedly picked them up prostitutes into his car, with whom he drove to the Green River or home, had sexual intercourse and then murdered them. He preferred to strangled his victims to death and disposed of the bodies around the Green River. At night he often drove back to the places where he left the bodies to have sexual intercourse with the dead women again or to mutilate them. In 2003, he was sentenced to life imprisonment at the Washington State Correctional Facility in Walla Walla.
Oregon, Louisiana, Texas, Utah and then Oklahoma are also among the US states with the most serial killings. Serial killers have always and most likely will always exist, each murder affects not only the victim/victims family but also the community where they operated in.