List Of Serial Killers In Tennessee
List Of Serial Killers In Tennessee >>> https://blltly.com/2tt49U
According to the FBI, a murderer becomes serial when they kill two or more people in separate events. While the majority of serial killers commit their crimes for the thrill and "enjoyment," others are done out of anger and financial reward. Though it's easy to think that nothing bad like that has happened in Tennessee, the Volunteer State has seen plenty of heinous crimes through its history.
Micajah "Big" Harpe and Wiley "Little" Harpe, also known as "The Vicious Harpes," are responsible for the oldest crimes committed on this list. In the late 1700s, they were considered by many to be murderers, highwaymen, and river pirates who operated across Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, and Mississippi. Some historians call them America's first true serial killers, as it is believed they killed dozens of men, women, and children. Micajah was killed in 1799, but Wiley was sentenced to death and hanged in 1804.
As early as the 1800s, the United States has seen killers who murdered on a massive scale. Since then, the country has become captivated with true crime, particularly serial killers. Shows like Netflix's "Mindhunter" or books like "I'll be Gone in the Dark" try to get into the minds of these terrifying killers to learn about motives and tactics.
While Florida has seen the likes of Aileen Wuornos and Ted Bundy, one unknown serial killer makes this list for her brutality. Christine Falling became known as the "Babysitter from Hell" when she choked and killed five children in the early '80s, including an 8-month-old baby. She was just 19 years old when she murdered the children.
Lyda Southard makes the list because she's often credited with being Idaho's (and sometimes the country's) first woman serial killer. In the early 1900s, Lady Southard murdered her four former husbands, her brother-in-law, and ever her own daughter by poisoning.
Harvey Robinson is known for being one of the youngest serial killers reported in the United States. At just 17 years old, Robinson attacked and raped five women, killing three of them, The Morning Call reports.
Ted Bundy is perhaps one of the most recognizable serial killers on this list. Although he killed women all over the country, Bundy made his way to Utah in 1974. He was attending law school at the University of Utah at the time and tricked women with his clean, preppy looks. He would often lure them to him by faking an injury. He would then rape and murder them.
A serial killer is a person who murders two or more people in separate events, usually for abnormal psychological gratification, thrill-seeking, attention or financial gain. The FBI differentiates serial killing from mass murder or spree killing by the presence of a cooling-off period between victims. For this reason, mass murderers, such as school shooters and suicide bombers, are not included under the umbrella of serial killers. Serial murders are further defined as those committed by one or two individuals, excluding instances where groups are responsible for deaths.
Most serial killers kill for financial gain or enjoyment, with 32% on record stating they killed for financial gain and a quarter claiming to have killed for pleasure. Anger is cited as the primary motivator for another 18% of serial murders, and gang activity accounts for 6%.
Serial killers often have a preferred killing method and victim type.Ted Bundy, for example, targeted attractive, college-aged females and used strangulation as his primary method of killing. Shooting is the most common killing method among serial killers, followed by strangulation and stabbing. Serial killer victims are evenly split between males and females, and the median age of victims is 30.
The United States had more serial killers than any other country. A total of 12,746 victims of serial killings were registered nationwide between 1990 and 2020. California has the highest number of serial killings with 1,777 total, followed by Texas with 984. However, due to varied population sizes,