List of serial killers by number of victims

A serial killer is defined as a person who kills three or more people, in three or more separate events over a period of time. There are gaps of time in between the killings, which may comprise of a few hours up to many years. This list shows serial killers in order of how many victims they had. In many cases, the exact number of victims assigned to a serial killer is not exactly known, and even if that person is convicted of a few, there can be the possibility that he/she killed many more.

The second column in the table states the number of victims that were definitely assigned to that particular serial killer. The third column states the number of other possible victims that the killer could also have murdered. Some of these crimes are yet to be solved, but have been included because they are notorious or clearly the work of a serial killer, despite nobody being caught.

Name Country Proven Victims (either in court, by detailed confession, or according to most scholars) Possible Victims Notes
Thug Behram India 0 931 from 1791 to 1830 – He confessed to 125 murders, and reported being present at 987.
Elizabeth Báthory Hungary 100–200 200–600 Born 1560, died 1614; accused of murdering about 600 people, but there was no public trial.
Luis Garavito Colombia 195 200–6700+ Targeted young boys, arrested in 1987.
Pedro López Colombia 110 300 Targeted girls, arrested in 1980.
Harold Shipman United Kingdom 15–215 250+ Targeted his hospital patients, many of whom were elderly women. Caught when Kathleen Grundy died suddenly in his care, and her will had been amended to benefit him. Killed patients with lethal injections of diamorphine.
Henry Lee Lucas United States 11 2–200 Born 1936, died 2001. Confessed to about 3,000 murders, convicted of 11, though some were dubious.
Gilles de Rais France 140 140+ Testimony gained under torture and confession under threat, as was customary.
John Wesley Hardin United States 10 3 (?) From 1868 to 1877 – claimed in autobiography to have committed 44 killings.
William Preston Longley United States 7 0 From 1868 to 1877 – claimed to have committed 32 killings.
H. H. Holmes United States 1 9 Confessed to 27 murders, though some of his "victims" were still alive.
Johann Otto Hoch United States 1 15 (?) Active from 1888/1891 to 1904. Hanged for 1 murder in Chicago, 1906.
Billy Gohl United States 2 40 (alleged) Alleged to have committed 40 murders. Convicted of 2 in 1913.
Carl Panzram United States 4 3 From 1920 to 1928 – claimed to have committed over 22 killings.
Hu Wanlin China 196 196 Sentenced to 15 years on 1 October 2000.
John Bodkin Adams United Kingdom 0 163+ Controversially acquitted of one murder in 1957; suspected in 163 others.
Randy Steven Kraft United States 16 67–100 Convicted on 15 counts of murder; left a cryptic list of 65 murders.
Ted Bundy United States 30–36 100+ Estimated to have killed more than 100.
John S. Williams United States 11 7+ 1921 trial – found guilty. Only white man convicted for killing Black peons between 1866–1966.
Andrei Chikatilo Soviet Union/Russia 53 56 Convicted of the murder of 52 women and children between 1978 and 1990.
Anatoly Onoprienko Ukraine 52 52+ Convicted of 52 murders between 1989 and 1996.
Ahmad Suradji Indonesia 42 42 Admitted to murdering 42 girls and women between 1986 and 1997.
Zodiac Killer United States 5 37 Targeted young couples, was never apprehended.
Moninder Singh Pandher India 0 30+ Investigation underway after discovery of remains in 2006.
Gary Ridgway United States 49 71–90 Known as the Green River Killer; confessed to killing 48 women.
Belle Gunness United States 40 40+ Of La Porte, Indiana; possibly Los Angeles, California.
Charles Cullen United States 29 400+ Nurse in New Jersey and Pennsylvania; murdered patients between 1988 and 2003.
John Wayne Gacy United States 33 45+ The “Killer Clown”; buried bodies under his Chicago home.
Joseph Paul Franklin United States 8 20 Confessed to 20 murders and several attempted murders.
Jeffrey Dahmer United States 17 17 Cannibalized some victims; kept body parts in freezer.
Dennis Nilsen United Kingdom 15 15 Picked up young men in London between 1978–1982, dismembered them.
Herbert Mullin United States 13 13 Claimed divine voices ordered him to kill to prevent earthquakes.
Kaspars Petrovs Latvia 13 38+ Strangled elderly residents of Riga in 2003.
Fred West and Rosemary West United Kingdom 12 12+ Targeted young females; buried victims around their home.
John Wayne Glover Australia 12 12 Targeted elderly women.
Edmund Kemper United States 10 10 Killed grandparents and co-eds; known as the “Co-ed Killer.”
Dennis Rader United States 10 10 Known as the BTK Killer; active in Wichita, Kansas, 1974–1991.
Ivan Milat Australia 7 7 Backpacker murders.
Christopher Worrell Australia 7 7 Died before capture.
James Miller Australia 6 7 Sentenced to life imprisonment for 6 murders.
Robert Pickton Canada 6 49+ Charged with at least 6 murders, possibly over 29.
Kristen Gilbert United States 5 5+ Nurse who murdered patients; sentenced to life.
Jack the Ripper United Kingdom 5 4–16 Identity never discovered; preyed on prostitutes in Whitechapel, 1888.
Ian Brady and Myra Hindley United Kingdom 5 5 The “Moors Murderers”; abducted and killed children.
“Suffolk Ripper” United Kingdom 5 5–14 Convicted of five prostitute murders in Ipswich, 2006.
Peter Woodcock Canada 4 4 Sexual sadist; killed children in Toronto, 1950s.
Lam Kor-wan Hong Kong 4 4 Taxi driver; kept body parts in parents’ home.
Eddie Leonski Australia 3 3 “Brownout Strangler”; hanged in 1942.
Danny Rolling United States 5 5+ “Gainesville Ripper”; murdered 5 students in 1990.
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