Serial Killers

After years of charming women into getting engaged to him, Henri Désiré Landru had perfected his system of making his fiances, and all of their wealth, disappear. But when the sisters of two of his victims catch on to his ploy, they threaten the whole complex process. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In France, a con man charmed women into getting engaged before robbing them and taking them to his country villa. Where they all mysteriously disappeared. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Numerous childhood traumas led Tsutomu Miyazaki to create a monstrous character in his head named "Rat Man" that eventually took control of his thoughts and actions. "Rat Man" required human sacrifices and his preference was little girls. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 2010 a serial killer terrorized an area of Philadelphia known as the Badlands. Police swabbed hundreds of men for DNA before a CODIS backlog revealed they’d had what they needed all along. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mack Ray Edwards was proud of his career as a heavy machine operator. It made him important on construction sites. But the very same machine he used to build a series of freeways in Los Angeles would also be used to hide the bodies of his murder victims.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

When Veronica Compton met Kenneth Bianchi, she was working on a play about serial killers. She interviewed the “Hillside Strangler” as part of her process. But then he charmed his way from research subject to love interest, and Veronica found herself wrapped up in a horrifying scheme.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wesley Shermantine and Loren Herzog went from hunting animals to preying on humans. Even as they grew older and settled down, they continued their spree. When they finally faced justice years later, their killer instincts would lead them to turn on one another. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wesley Shermantine and Loren Herzog grew up in the California countryside, hunting for deer and elk. In high school, they turned to methamphetamine to recreate the thrill they once got from hunting. But as their drug use intensified, they needed something stronger to maintain their high. They needed to kill, and this time, their prey was human. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

At a young age, Mikhail Popkov developed a deeply misogynistic view of the world. As an adult, he used his power as a police officer to act on these feelings, murdering women he deemed to be morally defunct. By the time he was finally caught, he’d claimed over 80 lives and become one of Russia’s worst serial killers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Police had taken Roger Kibbe into custody numerous times but never had enough evidence to arrest him. Each time he was let go, he went on to claim more victims. But a discovery by a forensics investigator was exactly what authorities needed to put him away for good. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

After killing his first victim, Roger Kibbe decided to keep a low profile. But years later, his urge to kill returned. By mid-July of 1986, he had killed four young women — three of them in the past three months. And he had no intention of quitting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Roger Kibbe spent most of his adolescence filled with rage. And while he had a long list of arrests by his mid-30s, it was never for violent crimes. Until one day in 1977, he finally snapped. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1946, the mysterious Phantom Killer who had terrorized the town of Texarkana for months disappeared just as quickly as he'd appeared. With little evidence to go on, the police home in on one suspect. But justice proves to be harder to come by than they'd hoped. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1946, the city of Texarkana was plagued by a series of attacks and murders on couples parked in their cars. Police, however, failed to act quickly enough, potentially giving the murderer enough time to get away. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As a child in the ‘80s, Matthew Macon was thrust into a world of chaos and turmoil. From a young age, he was in and out of federal institutions, but nothing seemed to curb his darker impulses. Eventually, he gave into them, and his killing spree began. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Viktor Sayenko and Igor Suprunyuk were insecure children, scared of the world around them. As teenagers in the 2000s, they pushed themselves to move past their fears. But in the process, they unlocked something even more terrifying: an uncontrollable desire to kill anything and anyone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Glennon Engleman had claimed two lives during his insurance fraud schemes and escaped police detection with ease. His love of deceit and murder propelled him forward as he continued to manipulate those around him. But eventually, his inflated ego would lead to his downfall. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Glennon Engleman seemed like your average neighborhood dentist, but he was harboring a dark secret. He had a deep desire for money and power, and would do anything to get his way. Even kill. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

He got a taste for killing while he was a soldier. But when the conflict between Iran and neighboring Iraq ended, his desire to kill remained. Only now, the targets were the people who Saeed Hanaei hated the most: sex workers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the early 1900s, a man lured his victims with lonely hearts ads, drained their blood, and stored their bodies in barrels filled with methanol.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices