Buono owned an auto upholstery shop and was not a suspect until Bianchi was caught, confessed and identified his cousin as his accomplice.Īrrest, conviction and sentence: Bianchi was arrested on JanuBuono was arrested on October 19, 1979. Bianchi claimed that he suffered from multiple personality disorder but later admitted that he faked the condition. Years and locations: 1970s, Los Angeles, Washington stateĬharacteristics: Buono and Bianchi were cousins who posed as police officers to trap teenage girls and young women, some of whom worked as prostitutes. He was convicted on three counts of murder and sentenced to death in the electric chair. Bundy was apprehended a third and final time in Pensacola in a stolen car. While a fugitive in Florida, he killed two college students and a 12-year-old girl. Months later, Bundy escaped again, prompting a nationwide manhunt. He had been previously arrested for murder in Colorado but escaped from custody, before being captured in Aspen a few days later. Bundy had studied psychology in college, worked as a suicide hotline volunteer while at school and served at one point as assistant director of the Seattle Crime Prevention Advisory Commission.Īrrest, conviction and sentence: Arrested for the final time on February 15, 1978. Years and locations: 1970s, multiple states including Washington, Utah, Colorado and FloridaĬharacteristics: Preyed on young women and sometimes lured victims by pretending to be injured. Number of confirmed victims: Unknown, confessed to more than two dozen murders before he was executed but he may have been linked to additional slayings. Currently incarcerated at the Shawangunk Correctional Facility in upstate New York. Pleaded guilty to murdering six people and sentenced to 25-years-to-life for each murder. Berkowitz later said the dog story was a hoax.Īrrest, conviction and sentence: Arrested on August 10, 1977.

Fewer than one percent of homicides during a given year are committed by serial killers, the FBI reports.Ĭharacteristics: Initially claimed a neighbor’s dog was possessed by an ancient spirit that commanded him to shoot people. Serial murder is defined by the FBI as two or more killings separated by a span of time.

Here’s a select list of convicted American serial killers and notable open or unsolved cases.

Serial Killers Middle Name Lee