The Real-Life Stories Behind All Of The Killers From ‘Mindhunter’ Season 2
The Real-Life Stories Behind All Of The Killers From ‘Mindhunter’ Season 2
It’s not quite spooky season yet, but it might as well be because season two of Mindhunter is now officially streaming on Netflix (finallyyyy!).
In season one, you watched FBI Special Agents Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany), along with psychologist Wendy Carr (Anna Torv), interview the worst-of-the-worst serial killers. ICYDK, the hit TV show is inspired by the true accounts of former FBI agent John E. Douglas, and, well, you’ll see a lot more of his stories in season two.
But, before you sprint to your couch for a weekend-long binge-watch, you might want a quick refresher on the chilling killers featured throughout the series—including the new creeps you'll meet this season.
1) Charles Manson
Whether you have a fascination with cults or not, you’ve more than likely heard this name before. Charles Manson was a notorious cult leader in Southern California in the 1960s, a time that was supposed to be all about peace of love.
But instead, he influenced members of the Manson Family (read: mostly young women) to commit a long list of crimes for him, including at least nine murders, per CNN. His victims included, most infamously, pregnant actress Sharon Tate.
He was originally sentenced to death, but then his sentence was commuted to life in prison. Manson eventually died of natural causes in 2017 when he was 83.
2) Wayne Williams
From 1979 to 1981, mystery and terror overtook Atlanta. At least 29 African American children and teens—mostly boys—were murdered over the span of two years, according to CNN. While Wayne Williams was arrested for the murder of two of the young men, the rest of what became known as the Atlanta Child Murders remain unsolved.
Police eventually linked 22 additional cases to Williams, but there’s still lots of speculation, including from the victims’ family, that someone else may have been responsible.
He’s currently serving two life sentences, though he maintains his innocence.
3) David Berkowitz
You know when people joke “the devil made me do it”? Yeah… David Berkowitz took that literally and wickedly. In New York City from 1976 to 1977, Berkowitz randomly shot strangers, leaving six dead and seven injured, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.
The victims shared two things in common: Many sat in parked cars and were women with shoulder-length, dark brown hair. (**Clutches own shoulder-length, dark brown hair**)
He gave himself the moniker “Son of Sam” and, when confessing to the murders, told authorities a demonic dog told him to commit the murders. Oh, and he was also in a satanic cult.
Later, Berkowitz said he lied about those details. No matter the cause of his crimes, he was definitely overtaken by darkness. Currently, he’s serving six life sentences in prison.
4) Monte Rissell
Rissell got his criminal record going young, and by the time he was arrested at 18, he’d already been institutionalized, having raped and killed five women, The Sun says.
Rissell committed his first murder shortly after seeing his ex-girlfriend with another man. Now, he’s imprisoned in Virginia, serving five life sentences.
5) Darrell Gene Devier
Devier isn’t a serial killer by definition, but a monster all the same.
He worked as a tree-trimmer in Georgia and developed a sick obsession with his boss’ 12-year-old girl. One day, he raped and killed her with a rock, the Atlanta-Journal Constitution reported.
This case was actually Douglas’ first interrogation where he put some of his serial killer insights to work to coax a confession from Devier. In 1995, he was executed via electric chair in Georgia.
6) Ed Kemper
A rough childhood led Kemper to kill his grandparents as a teenager. He then spent some time in a mental hospital, but went on a murder spree after he was released, according to Biography.
In 1972 and 1973, Kemper kidnapped, murdered and dismembered eight people—including his mother.
The “Co-Ed Killer” then turned himself in and is still in prison serving eight life sentences. Oh yeah, he’s also six foot nine and was on the same prison block as Charles Manson at one point. Just some fun facts.
7) Jerome "Jerry" Brudos
This serial killer goes by many a nickname, all equally disturbing: “Lust Killer” and “Salem Shoe Fetish Slayer” are two. Yep, he had a fetish for women’s shoes.
At 17, Brudos went to a mental hospital after kidnapping and assaulting a woman, per Biography. When he was released, he actually got married and had children.
In Oregon during the late 1960s, Brudos went on a spree and killed four women. He dismembered, dressed parts of the bodies up in high heels and other garments, and wore their clothing. He even kept some of the cut-off parts for himself (like one woman’s breast).
He died in prison of natural causes in 2006.
8) Dennis Rader
Remember the ADT man in the first season’s opening scenes? Well, there was nothing safe and secure about him. That guy is Dennis Rader, known as “the BTK killer.”
Over two decades, he killed 10 people in Kansas before his arrest," per Biography. Hold onto your eyeballs: “BTK” stood for bind, torture, kill—his grotesque methodology with his victims. He also had a thing for sending letters and clues to police in between crimes.
At 72, Rader is now serving his time in a Kansas prison.
9) Richard Speck
Speck wreaked havoc in one day in 1966, torturing and murdering eight Chicago nurses. One woman was lucky enough to escape by hiding under a bed until Speck forgot about her, the Chicago Tribune reported.
He was caught in an emergency room getting treatment when a doctor recognized him from the newspaper. Speck died of a heart attack in prison when he was 49.
This season is one big creep fest.