Tag: serial killers

Pair of Woke Bills in NY Could Free Notorious Killers Including ‘Son of Sam’

In the mid-1970’s, New York was gripped with fear as an unknown murderer roamed the streets.

During his murder spree, David Berkowitz often approached victims sitting in cars and fired through the windshield or window.

He left taunting letters to police and columnist Jimmy Breslin, signing them “Son of Sam” (he claimed a demon-possessed dog named Sam told him to kill).

He was arrested in August of 1977, confessed to murdering six victims and wounding seven others.

Now, thanks to two woke bills being pushed in Albany, cell doors could swing open for Berkowitz and other notorious killers.

The Elder Parole bill would allow people convicted of certain crimes (including some violent felonies and murders) to apply for parole once they reach age 55 and have served at least 15 years of their sentence. It expands early parole eligibility for older inmates.

The Fair and Timely Parole bill would require the parole board to presume release for most inmates who have served their minimum sentence, unless the board can prove they still pose a clear public safety risk, and also reduces the weight given to the “nature of the original crime, especially for older convictions.

Further, it shortens the time between parole hearings.

The bill emphasizes factors like age, rehabilitation efforts, and time served over the severity of the original offense, placing more weight on behaviors during incarceration rather than the actual violent crimes that put someone behind bars in the first place.

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Zodiac Killer may be tied to Black Dahlia case after ‘code cracked,’ new suspect emerges

The Zodiac Killer’s cryptic messages weren’t just taunts to police — they were a twisted throwback to his first victim, according to an independent investigator who says he’s cracked the code and uncovered new evidence suggesting the infamous serial killer began his career 23 years earlier with the California murder of Elizabeth Short, also known as the Black Dahlia.

Alex Baber, co-founder of Cold Case Consultants of America, said that after nine months of work, he cracked a double-layered encryption that involved transposition and substitution in a 2 by 7 grid.

“Currently, for the first time in history, LAPD detectives approached the family of a suspect to obtain DNA,” he told Fox News Digital in an interview on the sidelines of the Hamptons Whodunit event in East Hampton over the weekend. “That’s never happened for the Black Dahlia case… we got a pretty good feeling that we’re sitting in the right seat.”

The Los Angeles Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An FBI spokesperson declined to weigh in.

Baber’s finding, that the Zodiac’s “Z13” cipher depicts the name of a prime suspect in the 1947 Black Dahlia murder, was first revealed in the Daily Mail, and he presented them publicly Saturday at the East Hampton Library.

With help from a proprietary artificial intelligence software and self-taught knowledge of cryptography, he said the 13-character message is decoded to read “Marvin Merrill.” After further digging into social security records, he said he discovered that’s an alias for Marvin Margolis, who he said dated Short in the 1940s and had been on the LAPD’s suspect list after her murder and dismemberment. His AI software flagged the connection between the two cases, he added.

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SPAIN: Prolific Serial Killer Transitions While Serving 127-Year Sentence, Is Now Being Held In A Women’s Unit

One of Spain’s most prolific serial killers is now being held in a women’s correctional unit after beginning to identify as transgender while behind bars. Joan Vila Dilmé, also known as the Olot nursing home killer, is reportedly now going by the name “Aida.”

Vila, 60, was sentenced to 127 years in prison in 2013 for the murders of 11 elderly residents at the care home he worked at.

Dubbed “the angel of death” by Spanish media, Vila was arrested following the death of an 85-year-old resident at the La Caritat nursing home in the northeastern Catalan town of Olot. Medical staff determined that the woman had died after ingesting a corrosive substance, prompting authorities to classify the case as suspicious.

Police soon identified Vila, a caregiver at the facility, as a person of interest after establishing that he had been present at the time of the woman’s death. During questioning, he confessed to the killing, admitting that he had forced her to drink a corrosive substance.

Although Vila initially confessed to just three murders, a subsequent investigation revealed a far more extensive pattern of abuse. Authorities ultimately linked him to at least 11 deaths at the nursing home—nine women and two men. The victims, all of whom were between 80 and 90 years of age, were identified as:

  • Rosa Barbures Pujol
  • Francisca Matilde Fiol
  • Teresa Puig Boixadera
  • Isidra García Aseijas
  • Carme Vilanova Viñolas
  • Lluís Salleras Claret
  • Joan Canal Julià
  • Montserrat Canalias Muntada
  • Sabina Masllorens i Sala
  • Montserrat Guillamet Bartolich
  • Paquita Gironès i Quintana

The murders were carried out between August of 2009 and October of 2010.

Investigators determined that Vila had evaded detection for an extended period by initially employing methods that were difficult to trace. In early cases, he administered cocktails of barbiturates and other drugs mixed with water, or delivered high doses of insulin intravenously to diabetic patients. These methods often led to the deaths being mistakenly classified as natural or medical.

By September of 2010, colleagues began noticing a marked shift in Vila behavior. He reportedly became increasingly aggressive and expressed frustration with caring for elderly residents, stating that he wanted to leave his job. Following one of his later killings, he allegedly compelled a co-worker to remain in the victim’s room and watch over the body.

The final series of murders occurred within a five-day span between October 12 and 17, 2010. During this period, Vila killed Sabina Masllorens i Sala, Montserrat Guillamet Bartolich and Paquita Gironès i Quintana. In these cases, he abandoned earlier methods and instead forced victims to ingest bleach or injected corrosive substances directly into their mouths.

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Ted Bundy named as killer of teen girl who left a Halloween party and never returned after DNA breakthrough

Notorious serial killer Ted Bundy has been identified as the murderer of a teenage girl who vanished on Halloween night more than half a century ago.

Laura Ann Aime, 17, was last seen alive at a party in Utah County on October 31, 1974, when she told friends she was heading out to buy cigarettes. She never returned.

Around a month later on November 27, 1974, her naked body was found in an embankment up in the mountains near American Fork Canyon Road. The teen had been raped and strangled.

For decades, her murder has been linked to Bundy, with the serial killer giving a deathbed confession to killing Aime and at least 29 other victims before he was sent to the electric chair in January 1989.

But, her case remained unsolved for the next 37 years, with investigators needing more evidence to close the investigation once and for all.

That evidence finally arrived in the way of a breakthrough in DNA evidence last month.

In a press conference on Wednesday, Utah County Sheriff Mike Smith announced that advanced DNA testing of bodily fluids found on the victim had proven Bundy to be the killer once and for all.  

‘Although Bundy did claim that he committed the murder of Laura, the confession he gave was deemed to be not enough evidence to close the case and rule out any other party having had committed this crime, as had been speculated at the time,’ Smith said.

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Fresh fears Texas serial killer could be on the loose as three more bodies pulled from bayous

Fears of a Texas serial killer resurfaced in Houston after three more bodies were recovered from the city’s bayous this week.

The latest discoveries bring the number of bodies found in the waterways in 2025 to at least 34, according to KTRK, just one less than last year’s total.

Authorities have repeatedly denied that the high figure is the work of a mystery murderer, as terrified locals have demanded answers.

On Monday, a body was found in the Buffalo Bayou near the 100 block of Crawford Street, per Houston Public Media.

The deceased was recovered after someone spotted a body in the water and called 911, bringing a response from the Houston Police Department’s dive team.

That same day, another body was found near the Brays Bayou at the intersection of Texas Spur 5 and Old Spanish Trail.

The person was found on Christmas Eve in the Buffalo Bayou around 3500 Memorial Parkway, Houston police said on X.

Since 2017, at least 198 dead bodies have been found in Houston’s bayous, per Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office records obtained by KPRC 2.

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Female serial killer admits to fatally drugging, robbing men she met for sex

A female serial killer and mom has pleaded guilty to drugging four men with fentanyl and robbing them after meeting them at hotels for sex.

Rebecca Auborn, 36, of Columbus, Ohio, admitted to the grisly string of fatal drug overdoses at a hearing on Friday.

Her murderous rampage was only brought to an end after one of her victims survived the overdose and went to the police, according to court records seen by the Columbus Dispatch.

Auborn killed her four victims — Joseph Crumpler, 30; Robert Snoke, 54; Wayne Akin, 64; and Guy Renda, 42 — by dosing them with narcotics, including the extremely potent synthetic opioid fentanyl, after luring them to hotels for sex.

She told detectives in one case she mixed fentanyl in a man’s crack pipe during their encounter, court records show.

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Fears New York handyman is a serial killer as he’s charged with third murder… and cops warn there could be more victims

An upstate New York handyman who has already pleaded guilty to murdering two women is now feared to be a serial killer, as he was charged with a third homicide.

Richard Fox, 62, has been charged with second-degree murder for the death of 32-year-old Crystal Curthoys after her decomposed body was found in a home he once owned in Niagara Falls, WBKW reports.

The former handyman is already behind bars for the murders of 40-year-old Cassandra Watson in 2003 and 50-year-old Marquita Mull in 2021.

He had pleaded guilty to killing the two women and dumping their bodies off the path of Chautauqua Rails to Trails, near where he grew up.

Chautauqua County Sheriff James Quattrone said he now considers Fox to be a ‘serial killer,’ noting that there are still about two or three homicides in the New York county that remain unsolved.

‘I do believe that there [are] other victims,’ he said in September, when Fox was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison, according to WIVB.

‘We’re hopeful that Richard Fox will hopefully try to ease his conscience a little bit and give us some more information.’ 

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The Zodiac killer and Black Dahlia murderer were the SAME man: Explosive investigation unmasks single suspect behind two of America’s darkest murders

Two sadistic crimes that were the stuff of nightmares.

Two reigns of terror over California.

Two of the most notorious cases in history left unsolved for more than half a century.

But now, after all this time, one suspected killer is unmasked.

In a world exclusive, the Daily Mail can reveal that a new investigation has concluded that the Zodiac killer and the murderer of the Black Dahlia were the same man.

The FBI and California police departments are reviewing the explosive theory – and a trove of damning evidence has been unearthed by independent investigators and is undergoing forensic analysis.

If the evidence passes scrutiny, it would mean that two of the world’s biggest murder mysteries will finally be solved.

Between 1968 and 1969, the Zodiac killer terrorized northern California, murdering at least five victims while claiming to have slaughtered dozens more. The phantom taunted the media and police with letters and ciphers, daring the public to unravel his identity.

Two decades earlier in 1947, another slaying cast a shadow of fear over the state.

Aspiring Hollywood actress Elizabeth Short, who became known as the Black Dahlia, was found dead near a lovers’ lane in Los Angeles. Her body had been mutilated – severed clean in half at the waist, with a grotesque smile carved into her cheeks.

Now, after more than a half-century of mystery, countless law enforcement and amateur investigations, unsuccessful attempts to harness DNA testing, and the world’s brightest codebreaking minds left defeated, investigative consultant Alex Baber believes he has finally solved both cases.

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Staggering data reveals almost 200 bodies have been pulled from Houston bayous – as officials insist there is no serial killer

Bone-chilling data has revealed nearly 200 corpses have been pulled from Houston’s bayous in the last eight years prompting terrified locals to demand answers.

Officials continue to insist that the alarmingly high figure is not the work of a serial killer.

But since 2017, 189 dead bodies have been found in the Texas city’s swampy waters according to Harris County Medical Examiner’s Office records obtained by KPRC 2. 

Of these deaths, 17 were classified as murders with 75 deaths marked as ‘unexplained’. 

‘That’s definitely worthy of further investigation,’ Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and criminal justice professor at Penn State Lehigh Valley, told the Daily Mail. 

Fears of a serial killer were ignited in late September after officials announced that five dead bodies had been recovered over the course of just five days.

On Friday The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences said that the causes of all but one of deaths still remain undetermined, per CW39. The death of Arnulfo Alvarado was ruled an accidental drowning mixed with the effects of methamphetamine.

Since the start of the year, the death toll has risen to 27 according to the data obtained by KPRC 2.

The new figures also indicate that the most common age of decedents was 30-39, with a quarter of the bodies pulled matching this demographic. 

 ‘Just the sheer number of cases, the fact that a few of them could be connected, I think that the percentage of something being connected – at least one or two of them – is pretty high,’ Giacalone said.

He urged Houston investigators to explore the possibility of ‘companion cases, or dare I say, patterns,’ among the deaths. 

Although he added that he wouldn’t want to ‘go out and over-speculate on anything’.

Among the unexplained deaths is that of Jade Elise McKissic, 20, who was a student at the University of Houston.

McKissic was last seen alive leaving a bar to get a drink at a gas station. She left her phone behind, the Houston Police homicide division said.

Her body was found in Brays Bayou on September 15, four days later, at around 10am. Police said there were no signs of trauma or foul play.

Of all the deaths, 39 percent have undetermined causes, while 24 percent were attributed to accidental drowning. 

Thirteen percent of them have been ruled suicides, nine percent were deemed homicides and sic percent were reportedly caused by accidents other than drowning.

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Murder suspect who killed himself in jail, linked to disappearance of TV anchor, was ‘possible serial killer’: sheriff

An EMT who died by suicide in his jail cell and was named a person of interest in the disappearance of a TV anchor was found responsible for the 2006 killing of a Wisconsin woman, according to authorities, who suspect he may have been a serial killer.

Christopher Revak, who killed himself in 2009 inside a Missouri jail cell, would be charged with the murder of 21-year-old Deidre Harm if he were still alive, according to a letter posted on Facebook from Wood County District Attorney Jonathan Barnett.

“I consider this case closed,” Barnett wrote.

“I believe I had enough to charge and, if Mr. Revak were still alive, win at trial,” he said in the memorandum.

Harm, a single mother in Wisconsin Rapids, disappeared on June 10, 2006, after going out to a bar with her friends.

Revak, a former EMT and Wisconsin native, had been visiting family in the area when the young mother vanished, authorities said.

Her remains were found five months later in a wooded area five miles away from the bars downtown.

“This may provide some closure for many, but won’t bring Deidre back,” the Wood County Sheriff’s Office and Wisconsin Rapids Police said in a joint statement.

“Our thoughts and prayers will always be with Deidre’s family.”

Revak died by suicide in his jail cell in July 2009, only one day after being charged with second-degree murder for the death of mom of three Rene Williams.

Williams, 26, was last seen in a Missouri watering hole where she worked as a bartender. Revak had also been in the bar that evening, FOX 9 reported.

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