Kajavia Globe was murdered in December 2015. Her body was found stuffed in a trash can and found by a horrified homeowner a day later. These unsettling images of an unknown person driving her car and using her credit card were captured just hours before she was found. The vehicle was later found abandoned. Although her boyfriend was charged with the murder, he claims that this was not him in the skeleton mask and was said to be “freaked the fuck out” by this surveillance footage.

In the rare instance where a prolific serial killer is a woman, we are often met with a case that is so callous that imagining what went on in that killer’s head seems an impossible task. Female killers are often fuelled by spite, greed, and jealousy. Some crimes, however, see a murderess succeed only by opportunity, and those of a notorious Danish killer are no exception.

Dagmar Overbye was a 18th century serial killer who preyed on children. Over seven years, she slaughtered between 9 and 25 children, including her own child. Working as a professional babysitter, Overbye would strangle or drown the children in her care. On more than one occasion, she locked her victims in a masonry heater and cooked them to death. The corpses were either cremated, buried or hidden in the loft. 

Overbye was convicted of 9 murders, as there were no proof of the others. However 9 murders was plenty to earn her a death sentence. She never fell victim to the notorious noose, and instead died of natural causes aged 46 in 1929. After her death, the Danish government enforced much stricter rules for those applying for a job in childcare. 

When he was 10-years-old, Earle Nelson was involved in a serious traffic accident that left him brain damaged and in a coma for 6 days. When he awoke, it was recorded that his personality was completely different and he became a violent child who was prone to periods of memory loss. This wasn’t to be the last time a future serial killer had suffered a head injury.

Young Earle was committed to several mental asylums before the age of 25, but nothing seemed to cure his erratic behaviour. In 1926, he embarked on a chilling murder spree that would leave some 22 people dead, often strangled to death in their own homes.

Most victims were Nelson’s landladies, however two of his most horrific murders involved a schoolgirl and a young housewife. Nelson murder 14-year-old Lola Cowen then slept with her mutilated body hidden under his bed for three days. Next, he moved onto Emily Paterson who was at home doing chores when the killer snuck in and raped her. He fled the town after killing her. Her corpse was discovered by her bereaved husband, who had knelt by her bed to pray for her safe return. She, too, had been stuffed under a bed and left to rot.

Nelson was eventually captured and a subsequent trial linked Nelson to 22 murders. There were dozens of similar murders in the same area that he is likely to have committed, but there was not enough evidence to link him to them. He was found guilty and hanged at the age of twenty nine, in 1928.

REAL LIFE AMITYVILLE HORROR

One of the best-known horror films is based upon a real series of events. On November 13th 1974, Ronald DeFeo Jr. entered a bar in Amityville, Long Island, New York, and exclaimed to the bartender “You gotta help me! I think my mother and father are shot!” Accompanied by a small group of concerned onlookers, DeFeo returned to his family home where, not only where his mother and father dead, but his siblings had also been shot while they slept.

Baffled, the police took DeFeo to the local police station for his own protection. He had suggested to the officers that a mob hitman had been hired to kill the wealthy family. However, police found blatant inconsistencies in his story and in his version of events. The following day, DeFeo confessed to killing his entire family telling detectives: “Once I started, I just couldn't stop. It went so fast.”

DeFeo had a volatile relationship with his father, but the motive for the killings still remains unclear. He was given 6 concurrent sentences of 25 years to life and remains imprisoned to this day.

In October 1994, Susan Smith called the police and claimed that her car, containing her two children, had been carjacked by a black man. For over a week, she made dramatic pleas on live television for the safe return of her two boys, three-year-old Michael and one-year-old Alexander. However, after a massive investigation and a nationwide search, on November 3, 1994, she confessed to letting her car roll into nearby John D. Long Lake with her two children still inside. Smith purposefully murdered her two children, in an unimaginably selfish act. Her reason behind such a heinous crime? She was in love with a wealthy man who didn’t like her children. 

The Unsolved Murder of Sandy Drummond

33-year-old Sandy Drummond was known to be a loner, rarely talking to anyone other than his brother, James. The brothers lived together in an isolated cottage in rural Scotland, and both of them preferred a quiet lifestyle. Sandy worked at the local papermill but he was once a soldier of the Black Watch, stationed in Ireland as an apprentice engineer. He only returned home to his parents' cottage to look after his father who had dementia and give his elderly mum, Effie, a well-deserved break. This selfless act was not out of character for Sandy, as he was known for his kindness and love for his family. With his quiet nature and kind personality, he was the last person you would think of to have any enemies. But in June 1991, somebody strangled Sandy to death. Decades later, his death remains a mystery. Who killed him, and more importantly- why?

On the night of June 24th 1991, his lifeless body was found on a farm track close to his home. He was lying face down on the grass with his arms underneath him and his legs straight out. From the position he was in, police believed that Sandy had collapsed clutching his stomach in pain. His family recalled that he was acting strangely before his death. Just days before, he had withdrawn his life savings from his bank account. The £850 was later discovered in his house after his death, ruling out robbery for a motive. On the same day, he had also resigned from his job at the papermill, giving no reason as to why. Hours before he was found dead, a witness saw him sprinting from his house to fields opposite carrying a blue sports bag which has never been found.

Other witness reports only add more mystery to the case. At 4pm, Sandy was seen running along the road. At the same time, an orange car was seen parked outside his home, and two unknown men were seen through the living room window. At 7.15pm a red hatchback car was seen reversing away from the farm road where Sandy was found 45 minutes later.

After his death, police looked into Sandy's co-workers at the papermill. Apparently, his final months had been made a living hell by certain people at work. He always seemed happy with his job but suddenly, he got transferred to a new department and something inside him changed. He became troubled and secretive, not sharing his secret with anyone. His mother feared he was being persecuted or blackmailed for something, but no matter how much she tried to talk to her son, he just shut her out.

The night before he died, he had written down the names of several employees, perhaps meant as a clue for police. Every mill employee was questioned. Detectives agreed that somebody knew something, but nobody was talking.

Sadly, this case remains a frustrating mystery. Whoever killed Sandy Drummond had accomplices and will probably take the terrible secret to their graves. His tortured mother died not knowing what happened to her son, and the case is likely to remain cold.

A woman who threw her new-born baby in a dumpster claimed she didn’t know she was pregnant until she went into labour in January. Instead of going to a hospital for help, Alexis Avila wrapped her tiny baby in a towel and threw it in the trash behind a shopping centre in Hobbs, New Mexico. The defenceless baby stayed there for 5 hours until a group of unlikely heroes came along- Dumpster Divers pulled out the “trash bag” and heard the unmistakable sounds of crying.

They called 911 and officers rushed to the scene. The baby was barely alive, but thankfully he made a full recovery. Avila remained emotionless in court but shed a tear upon hearing how a blood transfusion saved her baby’s life. Crowds were outraged when the judge handed down the measly sentence. He placed Avila on house arrest - adding that she is only allowed to leave her parents’ home for school, medical treatment and psychological help.

Who was Little Miss Lake Panasoffkee?

On February 19th, 1971, two teenagers were hitchhiking on a highway overpass near Lake Panasoffkee in Florida. Below them in the lake, they were horrified to see the body of a woman floating in the water. She was wearing a green poncho and plaid pants and a belt had been wrapped around her neck, suggesting she had been strangled. The woman has remained unidentified ever since, but a few clues have emerged thanks to forensic technology.

By examining isotopes, scientists confirmed she had spent her childhood in Greece, and had lived near Athens until about a year before her murder. Investigators had a theory that the woman had travelled from Greece for an Epiphany celebration, perhaps welcomed by the large Greek-American population nearby in Tarpon Springs.

A forensic examination of her hair confirmed she had only been in Florida for about 2 months. As the case gained popularity, it was featured on a Greek crime show. Immediately, a woman came forward to say that she believed the Jane Doe was a girl she went to prep School with, called Konstantina. The school trained it's students to be domestic helpers, and after successfully completing their course they were sent to Australia or America as part of a two-year work contract.

This woman lost contact with Konstantina so couldn't provide many details on her, but she knew that Konstantina was sent to America at exactly the same time as the forensic testing indicated the victim had. Though it seems a strong lead, the case remains cold.

Unsolved: Death of Dave Bocks

Working at a nuclear energy facility in rural Ohio, Dave Bocks was an engineer responsible for fitting pipes. The facility opened in the 1950′s, and was one of the few factories in America that produced uranium, a much sought-after material for the production of nuclear weapons at the time. The place was dangerous should things go wrong, and an incident in the fall of 1984 proved this when 200 tons of radioactive dust particles were released into the atmosphere, polluting local air and water supplies. Three years before this scandal, Dave Bocks mysteriously vanished into thin air in an incident far more horrific.

Dave normally carpooled to work with his co-worker, Harry Easterling. On the night of June 18th, 1984, Harry picked him up and they drove to work, ready to start the graveyard shift. They chatted about the usual things- Dave told his buddy that he was planning on taking his three children on holiday at some point. Though a divorcee, he had a good relationship with his kids and was apparently on good terms with his ex-wife. The pair clocked on at midnight and began work. Dave’s assignment for the night was to look at a broken water pump in building 8. Four hours later, another employee witnessed Dave sitting in a car. Dave and an unknown person were deep in conversation with both windows up, which the worker noted as being unusual based on how hot the night was. Later, Dave was seen walking into building 4, which was also unusual as there were no faults or work to be done in that particular building. Dave Bocks was never seen alive again.

His disappearance was first noticed when he didn’t show up to the 7 a.m. safety meeting. His colleagues assumed he was working overtime, probably stuck on some problem that needed fixing. 30 minutes later, an operator working in building 6 noticed a strange smell coming from the furnace. When a supervisor was called, they noticed that a sticky residue had formed on the casing inside the oven. At 11pm that night, when Dave was due to go to work again, he didn’t show up. A search of his locker revealed he hadn’t been back to change into his own clothes, meaning he had never left the site. It was discovered that at 5:15am on the morning of Dave's disappearance, something foreign had entered the furnace in building 6. A worker had also found a piece of bone on the lip of the furnace. A horrible feeling of unease swept over the workforce as they all had the same idea: Dave had fallen into the hot liquid metal.

The plant was shut for several days while authorities investigated. Once the metal had cooled properly, they were able to unearth more bone fragments, a pair of steel-toed boots, and part of the signature thick glasses that Dave used to wear. It was clear this is where he had met his end. Police suspected suicide, as Dave had been depressed after his divorce and there were rumours he had attempted it before. His heartbroken family suspect foul play, as nobody knows who he was talking to in that car or more importantly, what they were talking about. Anonymous employees have come forward to say they believe Dave was a whistle-blower for the facility’s many safety concerns. There is a possibility that he was silenced by the factory in the most gruesome way possible. However, the truth remains a frustrating mystery.

Posing as a rich American, 38-year-old Swedish doctor, Martin Trenneborg, met up with a woman who he’d been talking to online and surprised her with Champagne and chocolate-dipped strawberries. The romantic gesture had a sickening twist, as the chocolate had been infused with Rohypnol. Once drugged, Martin used two different masks in an attempt to hide his identity. He bound his victim to a wheelchair before driving her to his cabin in the Swedish countryside. There, he had built a “dungeon” and planned to keep the woman as his captive for "at least a decade". For 6 days, he raped his prisoner repeatedly.

One morning, he brazenly travelled back to her apartment to retrieve some of her belongings. Unsurprisingly, a heavy police presence surrounded the area, and Martin began to panic. He drove to the nearest police station where he casually confessed to the crime. He played the victim and said he only did it because he was very lonely and longed for a girlfriend. A judge sentenced him to 10 years in prison.

A John Doe who remained unidentified for over 60 years finally got his name back thanks to DNA technology.

On the evening of Monday, March 27th, 1961, a motorist picked up a hitchhiker around the area of Centreville, Alabama. The boy was young- between the ages of 15-18 and he walked with a limp. He had dark hair but parts of it had been bleached blonde. He mentioned to the driver he had run away from home after his parents’ divorce in North Carolina.

While the pair were driving across the Cahaba River, the car smashed into the guardrail and tumbled into the river below. The motorist was able to swim to safety and survive the accident, but tragically the young boy had broken his neck and drowned. Upon recovering his body, there was little to go on in terms of identifying him, however it was clear he was dearly loved and was religious. In his pocket, he carried a photo of himself and a girl of a similar age with the inscription: “Think of me always and remember how we used to go places together.”  Unusually, this photograph has never been released to the public and the identity of the girl has not been discussed. He also had the message “RY+ LOVE” carved into his left arm. 

For decades, the Bibb County John Doe has remained in the thoughts of locals and internet sleuths alike. Being unidentified for so long, it seemed unlikely that he’d ever get his name back as the likelihood that his relatives had all passed away became a depressing reality. With the hopes of new DNA technology, funds were raised and his body was exhumed in 2016 and DNA testing was performed in order to identify him. They used bone fragments to extract the DNA, but the process of linking it to any relatives proved difficult, and for over 4 more years nothing turned up. Finally, a breakthrough came after the DNA was sent to a different lab in California. The had found a match: A brother, now 77, who lives in Florida. When his brother ran away, he had been in the army and had always wondered what happened to him. He was “very emotional” to learn the truth about his sibling, who we now know was called Daniel Paul Armantrout, a 15-year-old from Tennessee who wanted to start afresh after life with his mother and stepfather became too much.

May Daniel rest in peace.

The bizarre mugshot of homeless man Banner Sperlazzo, the 28-year-old who unleashed a series of random attacks on residents of Logan Square, Chicago. 

Throughout late September and early November 2021, Sperlazzo would stalk the streets for random pedestrians armed with a hammer and machete. His first victim was walking home from work when he heard somebody running up behind him. When he turned around, he saw Sperlazzo brandishing a huge knife and before he knew it, the knife had been plunged into his abdomen. His crazed attacker shouted “In the name of Jesus Christ!” before slashing the man several more times. The stabber then slunk off into the night. Thankfully, the victim survived after a long spell in hospital to repair damage done to his intestines and spleen.

Sperlazzo’s car was seized after a traffic stop on September 27th, and cops found blood-stained pants in the vehicle which DNA testing later confirmed belonged to the first stab victim. Incredibly, Sperlazzo was not charged at the time, and police returned the car to him. On November 20th, the would-be killer struck again, this time on a dog-walker who was taking an evening stroll. Sperlazzo snuck up behind the victim and struck him with a hammer, knocking him to the ground. The man was able to fight for his life and escaped with a minor head injury.

Sperlazzo was arrested in a second traffic stop, and this time cops took notice of the re-occurring bloody clothes in his trunk. He was linked to both the assaults and both suspects identified him in a live line-up. In a third case, the homeless slasher attacked a man with a machete leaving him with “life-changing” injuries, though he was not charged for this particular attack.

“He reached over and cut my throat, so I just lay there and pretended I was dead. If he knew I was alive, he would come back and kill me for sure.”

- Krystal Surles, the 10-year-old girl who survived serial killer, Tommy Lynn Sells.

Krystal was asleep in her bunk bed when she was awoken by an intruder. Sells had broken into her family home and killed her best friend, Kaylene Harris, who was asleep in the bunk below her. Horrified, Krystal kept quiet hoping not to draw attention to herself. It didn’t work. After slashing her throat, Sells switched off the light and calmly walked out, leaving through the front door. After a minute, Krystal heard a car start and drive off. She put a hand to her throat and ran outdoors. Assuming that everyone in the house had been killed, she made her way to a neighbour’s house a quarter-mile away.

After receiving medical help, Surles was able to give a detailed description to the police. Sells was finally apprehended thanks to the composite sketch, and claimed to have killed upwards of seventy people before his execution in 2014.

After moving into their dream home in Westfield, New Jersey, Derek Broaddus and his wife Maria were confident that 657 Boulevard would be a safe haven to raise their three children. This couldn’t be further from the truth: a few weeks after purchasing the $1.3 million property, the Broaddus family started receiving ominous letters from somebody calling themselves The Watcher.

The letters first started in June 2014 when Derek was decorating one of the kids’ bedrooms. That morning, the mailman delivered the usual assortment of bills and junk-mail, but one letter stood out to Derek in particular. It was a thick white envelope with “To the New Owner” written on the front in clunky handwriting. The letter began warmly enough, starting with “Dearest new neighbor at 657 Boulevard, Allow me to welcome you to the neighborhood.” But as Derek read on, the letter turned sinister:

Creeped out, he contacted police immediately who advised the family not to tell anybody about the letter in case the perpetrator craved media attention. However, the letters only got worse.

Over the coming weeks, the Broaddus family became understandably paranoid. Derek cancelled important work trips in fear of leaving his family alone and Maria wouldn’t let the kids out of her sight for a second. The slightest noise sent them into a blind panic, and to make matters worse they couldn’t tell anybody about their torment. Eventually, the weird letters stopped but that didn’t end the family’s fear. In October of 2016, a horror movie titled The Watcher was released by Lifetime. The Broadduses' had a cease-and-desist order but it did not stop them. In 2018, Netflix won the rights to the story of The Watcher and the Broadduses'. In July of 2019, 657 Boulevard was sold for $959,000 and the family moved on. The Watcher was never caught and never heard from again.

Thierry Paulin was a talented Drag Artist and performer- he was also one of France’s most vicious serial killers. Born on the Caribbean island of Martinique, Paulin moved to Paris as a teenager and began working in bars and restaurants to make ends meet. While he was doing this he was in the Military, but he was loathed for his open homosexuality and skin colour. While working in a nightclub, he became infatuated with Jean-Thierry Mathurin, a drug addict and dealer. The pair became inseparable.

On October 5th, 1984, Paulin attacked two elderly women, killing one by smothering her with a pillow. He then robbed her for 300 francs ($50) and left her friend for dead. This callous murder would be the very beginning of the local legend of the old-lady-killer known by the name of The Beast of Montmartre. For a month straight, Paulin went on to murder at least 8 more elderly women. The way in which he killed these innocent victims was particularly cruel; some were stabbed, others had plastic bags wrapped tightly around their heads. Some were even forced to drink drain-cleaner resulting in a slow, agonising death.

From December 1985, to June 1986, eight more old women were murdered. Although police didn’t have a suspect, they matched the fingerprints to the same murders in 1984 so they knew they had a vicious serial killer on their hands. After these murders, Paulin served time for attacking one of his cocaine dealers with a baseball bat. In prison, he discovered he was HIV positive, a diagnosis that only made his hatred for those around him spiral out of control.

In the space of one week in November 1987, Paulin attacked his last three victims. He murdered Rachel Cohen (79) and then attacked Berthe Finalteri (87) on the same day. A few days later he strangled Genevieve Germont, his last ever victim. Miraculously, Berthe survived her attack and was able to give detectives an accurate description of the mysterious figure they called The Beast. She said that he was “A mixed-race man in his twenties, with hair like Carl Lewis and an earring in his left ear.” The very next day, a patrolling officer spotted Paulin who matched the description perfectly. He was arrested and eventually confessed to 21 murders in total.

While awaiting trial, Paulin succumbed to his HIV and died from complications. His long-term boyfriend was arrested for his part in at least 9 of the murders. He received a life sentence, while his deceased boyfriend was technically never held accountable for his vicious crimes. The Beast of Montmartre may be safely off the streets, but those living in 1980′s Paris will always remember the fear that once swept across the city for every little old lady’s safety.

Although Ted Bundy arrogantly acted as his own lawyer during his trial, he did not have a law degree, dropping out of the University of Puget Sound sometime in 1974. Despite his academic failures, he was a promising law student and after sentencing him to death for multiple murders, Judge Cowart even said “You're a bright young man. You'd have made a good lawyer and I would have loved to have you practice in front of me, but you went the other way, partner.”