Their bodies were left for the animals in cane fields and swamplands. He would then rape those men, and suffocate or strangle them. Ronald Dominique, the Bayou Strangler, would frequent gay bars and target men who he thought would be willing to accept pay for sex. He confessed to the murders of 23 victims. Heard of the Bayou Strangler? Ronald Dominique is one of the most on our list of the biggest American serial killers. Nelson killed girls as young as 14 years old. His victims weren’t only businesswomen, however. He’d then strangle the landladies, usually sexually violate them after death, and hide their bodies. He would visit landladies, giving them the impression that he was seeking a room to rent. Upon release from the Napa State Mental Hospital in 1926, at only 29 years old, Nelson claimed his first victim, Clara Newman.
In and out of mental institutions and correctional facilities for the majority of his life, Earle Nelson began killing his victims when he was fairly young. He was charged and convicted with the deaths of 22 women, but possibly killed more victims. Earle NelsonĮarle Nelson is number eight on the list of the biggest American serial killers.
It wasn’t until his victims were dead that he experimented with the bodies. Mercifully, Kearney preferred a quick method of execution. Patrick Kearney was possibly responsible for over 60 deaths, but was only tried and committed for 21. He shot a man in the head, then carried the body to the bathroom where he sodomized, dismembered and skinned it. Kearney claims that he took his first victim in 1967 – in Tijuana, Mexico, Kearney killed a man for presumably the first time. Patrick Kearney, also known as the Trash Bag Killer or the Freeway Killer, committed a string of 21 murders in California just prior to the murders of William Bonin. Patrick Kearneyīelieve it or not, William Bonin wasn’t the only Freeway Killer. While William Bonin only makes number 10 on our list of the biggest American serial killers, his methods certainly make him one of the most brutal. Three more were found with ice picks driven through their ears. One of the Freeway Killer’s victims, Darin Kendrick, drank hydrochloric acid before his death. All were found in SoCal.Īs if the number of young men he killed wasn’t shocking enough, Bonin killed them in atrocious ways. The “nickname” was coined because most of his victims’ bodies were disposed of along major freeways. Between 19 in Southern California, Bonin raped, tortured and killed at least 21 boys between the ages of 12 and 19. William Bonin, also known as the “Freeway Killer” was convicted of 21 murders. Of course, there may have been more victims it’s possible we’ll never know for sure. But who were the biggest killers in America? Here we’re going to focus on the proven number of murders American serial killers have committed. On Ways To Die, we often explore specific killers, and specific murders. But the United States has certainly had its share of notorious murderers. In fact, the four serial killers with the most victims in history have been from South America.