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The killer's identity was a mystery until 2001 when officials announced they arrested Gary Rididgeway. Welcome to Watch Mojo and today we're looking at instances in which serial killers were suspected of committing crimes before they were officially identified and caught. Ultimately, what happened is he really started to break down psychologically. Harold Shipman. However, by March 1998, suspicions had been raised about the 52-year-old by another nearby doctor's surgery. Long before Harold Shipman was apprehended, fellow practitioner Dr. Linda Reynolds developed serious doubts due to the unusually high mortality rate among his patients. He had asked her to verify 16 cremation forms for elderly women in just 3 months, while her
practice of nearly 10,000 patients recorded only 14 deaths during that same time frame. Local morticians also expressed anxiety regarding the fact that many of Shipman's victims were found dead in their homes despite having no known history of sickness. Dr. Reynolds reported her misgivings to the coroner, which led to an investigation into Shipman. Tragically, the police failed to find sufficient evidence and closed the case, allowing Shipman to murder at least three more people. There was a new GP, Linda Reynolds, who joined the group practice across the road from Shipman's. And she'd noticed that they were signing many more death certificates for Shipman than any other GP. And when she researched it further,
she found that his death rate was three times that of any other doctor in town. Peter Sutcliffe. By May 1978, West Yorkshire Police had interviewed Sutliffe on seven different occasions, but continually ruled him out of the investigation. Lead detective George Olfield's attention had been diverted elsewhere. The infamous Yorkshire Ripper was subjected to a massive manhunt, but he was actually on the radar of West Yorkshire police long before his capture. Sutcliffe was interviewed a staggering nine times over the course of the 5-year investigation. Detectives even visited his home on one occasion, but his wife confirmed his alibi and he was taken off the hook. At one point, investigators even traced a 5-pound note
found on one of the victims directly back to Suckliff's employer, but he successfully talked his way out of it. Luckily, Sutcliffe was finally caught when police spotted him in a red light district with a sex worker, finally bringing his reign of terror to an end after 13 victims. I think that the longer that serial killers get away with it, the more bold and the more kind of dramatic their offending becomes and the more prolific they become because they they've been flying under the radar for so long. They may have even been interviewed by the police and subsequently not charged with anything.
They do get to the point where they feel completely untouchable. Herb Balmeister. It was early last fall when Herbert Balmeister's kids found a human skull on the property. Bmeister is said to have taken it away and explained that it was somehow related to his father's work as a physician. The skull has not been seen since. Suspicion surrounding her Bowmeister quite literally surfaced in his own backyard at Fox Hollow Farm. In 1994, Bowmeister's son was playing in the woods behind their house when he uncovered a human skull and a collection of bones. Naturally, Bowmeister's wife, Julie, confronted him about the human skeleton found in their backyard. But Bowmeister casually dismissed the grim discovery, claiming that the remains were merely an
old medical skeleton of his father's that he had thrown out. By June 1996, their relationship had deteriorated and Julie was filing for divorce. And when Bowmeister went on vacation, she allowed the police to search their property. They discovered the remains of at least 11 men and Bowmeister took his own life after learning of the find. It was in 1996 that police found 10,000 bone fragments in the woods that surrounded his property, the Fox Hollow Farm in Westfield. Bowmeister escaped to Canada and then he took his own life before authorities could catch up with him. Bruce MacArthur. Canada's largest LGBTQ community has long been rife with rumors of missing persons and mysterious deaths. Crimes unsolved, some believed, because of bad
blood with the police. Between 2010 and 2017, a series of mysterious disappearances left Toronto's church in Welssley Village in a state of escalating dread. Locals strongly suspected that a serial killer was operating in the area. A fear exacerbated by the fact that many of the missing men were vulnerable immigrants or refugees. While community leaders continually warned authorities and asked them to do something, their words were ignored. It was only after a massive forensic investigation into a missing man named Andrew Kinsman that police finally tied the disappearances to Bruce MacArthur, a 66-year-old local landscaper. As the community leaders suspected, MacArthur was indeed a serial
killer, having murdered eight men. Been part of what happened then. Uh I don't want to think about that cuz it makes me sick. Um it makes me wonder what about the 80s and '9s and 2000s and how many people did he come across through that time period. Dennis Nielsen. When my two colleagues and I walked up to the uh front door of the place in order to wait for him inside, we had no idea what we were going to find. We knew we had a killer, but we didn't know what he'd done. One of Britain's most notorious serial killers, Dennis Nielson, was quite literally flushed out of hiding by a local plumber. In February 1983, a drainage engineer was called to Nielson's home to investigate a series of blocked pipes. The plumber dislodged
quote fleshy material from the pipes and suspected that it might be human remains. Nielson played dumb and suggested that someone had flushed their leftover KFC skins. The plumber was not convinced and went to the police and scientific tests revealed that the fleshy substance was indeed human skin. Police arrived at Neielson's doorstep and asked to be taken upstairs. He tried to play it off at first, but he soon confessed to killing at least 15 people and flushing their remains down his toilet. I said to him, "I'm here because your drains were blocked with human remains." And he said, "Oh my god, how awful." Um, and I just got a little bit closer to him face to face, looked him straight in the eyes, and said, "Don't mess me about. Uh, where's the rest of the body?"
Derek Todd Lee. Tonight, we're reopening some of those cases and exploring how Lee could have been caught a decade before women started going missing. Before he was ever linked to the murders of several Louisiana women, Derek Todd Lee was well known to local police for his alarming behavior. Since his teenage years, Lee had a history of peeping through windows and stalking residents. In 1992, he was arrested for breaking into a locked home, and the next year, he attacked two teenagers with a machete inside a local cemetery. In 1999, he was observed stalking a woman at her workplace and approached her in a parking lot. Many locals suspected that he was committing even worse crimes, and their fears were founded in May 2003 when Lee was
arrested for murder. The FBI's psychological profile of Lee had been completely wrong. And he was only caught when a DNA swab taken from him for an unrelated charge matched DNA left at the murder scenes. This sketch, eerily similar to one connected to a case in Zachary 10 years earlier when someone attacked two teenagers sitting in their car at a cemetery. Wayne Williams. Bob Campbell, a police recruit, jumped to his feet down beside the Chattahuchi River. I was really startled. It sound like a body entering water. He looked up at the bridge and I saw brake lights of a car come on.
I saw red lights. The car started slowly moving away from me across the bridge. For years, investigators searched tirelessly for the person responsible for the horrific Atlanta child murders. Between 1979 and 1981, at least 28 people had been murdered around the southern city. Based on the theory that the culprit was discarding bodies in the Chattahuchi River, authorities placed local bridges under intense surveillance. This strategy paid off in May 1981 when stakeout officers confronted Wayne Williams after hearing him throw something in the river. Unfortunately, they had nothing to arrest him on, and Williams was allowed to walk free, but their hunch was correct. A deeper look into Williams
life eventually uncovered distinct carpet fibers in his house that matched those found on various victims. He was only convicted of two murders, but many suspect that he was responsible for most, if not all, of the Atlanta killings. You said, "I know this is about those boys, isn't it?" Correct. Mhm. That's what I said. Pretty damning statement, don't you think? Kristen Gilbert. It's February 15th, 1996. After the shock of discovering the empty epinephrine door in the ICU following patient Ed Square's cardiac arrest, nurses Kathy Ricks, John Wall, and Renee Walsh called the nurse manager, Melody Turner.
Colleagues of Kristen Gilbert grew suspicious of her lethal behavior well before her eventual capture. Beginning in 1989, Gilbert was stationed at Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Northampton and was present for approximately half of the 350 patient deaths recorded during her tenure. This startling frequency led other nursing staff to give her the grim nickname the angel of death as a dark joke. However, the humor vanished in 1996 when three nurses formally flagged a suspicious rise in cardiac arrests alongside a dwindling supply of epinephrine. Their report sparked the official investigation that finally brought Gilbert's deadly career to an end. She was indeed an angel of death, suspected of murdering up to 100
patients. With the casually discarded epinephrine, plus the numerous instances of Kristen being close to patients immediately preceding their death, it appears she is becoming sloppy. Beverly Alllet. It was agreed by Stuart, who was the head of the operational C for the county, that we'd have to set up a major inquiry team. The report came back and confirmed the suspicions of the investigating team. The police realized they had a major murder case on their hands. This killer was another pediatric nurse driven by a lethal motive. Responsible for the deaths of four children and the
injuries of numerous others during a two-month period in 1991. But long before her assignment to the pediatric unit, Alllet exhibited troubling conduct while training, including instances of smearing feces on walls. She also maintained an abnormally high frequency of sick leave. Hospital staff eventually grew suspicious after observing a series of cardiac arrests in previously healthy infants that was completely without precedent. Following a pediatrician's report on this surge of mysterious deaths, an inquiry disclosed that Alllet was the only nurse on duty with access to medications during each of the medical emergencies.
There are certain aspects of the case that have been investigated already which lead me to believe that some of the incidents at the hospital are suspicious. Charles Subraj. Over his lifetime, Subraj has been convicted of two murders. He remains the prime suspect in eight others with his name associated with up to 30 deaths. Nicknamed the serpent for his slippery nature, Charles Sabraj targeted western backpackers along the hippie trail in the 1970s. While his crime spanned several continents, Indian police officer Mukarjendai was hot on his trail long before his final capture, having arrested him multiple times over a span of 15 years.
In 1971, Jendai received a tip about a planned robbery and successfully arrested Sraj and a number of accompllices. He later escaped from prison, but a hotel owner noticed Sraj using fake license plates on a motorcycle and tipped off the police, putting them once again on his trail. Following this lead to a restaurant in Goa, Jendai finally apprehended the serial killer after he had murdered between 12 and 30 people. Do you think there are signs there that suggest he's still a dangerous man? This is a man who still believes that unless the world, those around him, can provide what he believes is his right, he will find a way to take it. That's what I would expect.
So dangerous. I would not want to say he's not dangerous. David Burkowitz, the son of Sam, terrorized New York between 1976 and 77, killing six people and wounding another seven. And it's something that we all have to worry about. What is your wife saying? She wouldn't even come out tonight. The entire city was placed on high alert and a massive manhunt was underway to catch the random shooter and he was caught thanks to the suspicions of one Cecilia Davis. Davis saw a police officer ticketing a car and soon spotted a man walking from that direction. a woman who says she saw police officers ticket Burkowitz's car the night of the last murder after hearing shots and being approached by a man with a dark object in his hand.
The man deeply troubled her as he was carrying a dark object and seemed to be studying her. Soon after arriving home, she heard gunshots. Rightfully fearing that the man was dangerous, Davis contacted the police. They identified the ticketed car as belonging to one David Burkowitz. And with that, the son of Sam was finally identified and caught. It was just a break from reality and thought I was doing something to uh appease the devil. I'm I'm sorry for it. But Anthony Soil, also going by the Cleveland Strangler and the Imperial Avenue murderer, Anthony Soell killed at least 11 victims between 2007 and 2009. Anthony Soil would lure his victims in with conversation and what I call props.
He was finally captured thanks to a woman named Latundra Bilips who told the police that soil had sexually assaulted her. When Soul was arrested, police found human remains littered throughout his house and buried on his property. It appears that this man had a sustainable appetite that he had to fill. Five of the bodies have been identified as women. But suspicions had been raised before this, particularly from one Lorie Frasier. Frasier was a partner of Souls and she lived with him for some time. She reportedly smelled decaying bodies in the house, but Soul told her the smell was coming from a nearby sausage shop.
The awful odor on Imperial Avenue brought health inspectors back again that summer. They blamed Ray's sausage, who sits right next door to Soel. Frraasier escaped with her life, but her intuition would prove tragically correct. Andre Chicatillo, a true monster. Andre Chicatillo is responsible for at least 52 murders between 1978 and 1990. Some of the bodies were still fresh. which gave us a broader picture of the injuries and the killer's behavior at the site of crime. Before he was caught, Chicatillo was the subject of a psychological profile done by Dr. Alexander Bukinowski. It said
he would be between 45 and 50. By 1985, around the time the profile was made, Chicatillo was 49. It said he had a difficult childhood. Chicatillo was born in a famine and often starved. Young Andre realized that he was not like the other boys in the youth league. He never fit in very well and he felt embarrassed and humiliated generally. It said he was well educated. He graduated from Rostov University. It said he traveled a lot. He was a factory supply clerk and traveled widely.
A lot of the bodies were found near transportation points, bus stations, train stations in particular, which indicated that the killer, whoever he was, was somebody who used the Soviet transportation system extensively. It's said he was married with children. Chicatillo had been married since 1963 and had two children. Basically, Bukinowski had him to a tea. Robert Hansen, a very unique serial killer. Robert Hansen would abduct women, often sex workers, and take them to the Alaskan wilderness. And it said, "This is the greatest mass murder in the history of Alaska." Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather. I had no idea. It is then
believed that he hunted these women like game, often tracking them with a knife and a semi-automatic rifle. One girl named Cindy Pulson escaped from Hansen and a passing driver picked her up and called the police. Uh we found her in handcuffs with very little clothes on. She was real credible. She was very scared. She's very frightened. And uh she told us her story. They questioned Hansen about his involvement in the kidnapping, but his gentle personality convinced them of his innocence. The FBI was then brought in and like Andre Chicatillo, they made a profile that perfectly matched Hansen.
Realizing they had the right guy all along, police arrested Hansen again and he confessed to the crimes. Finally, it was time to confess. Time for Hansen to cut a deal. Hansen said he would confess to the murders that could be proven as long as the trial was given no publicity and that his family be left alone. Charles Cullen. While working as a nurse in New Jersey, Charles Cullen took the lives of dozens, possibly even hundreds of patients by making them overdose. In Cullen's case, all of his victims were patients assigned to hospital units
where he worked as a nurse. Despite his high body count, Cullen wasn't nearly as smooth as he may have believed. Several co-workers suspected that he was killing patients and even brought it up to the local district attorney, but the case was dismissed. He was the main suspect for poisoning random bags of saline. He if you talk to the investigators there, they'll tell you Cullen was our man. We knew he was dirty. They couldn't prove anything. It's all circumstantial. They fire him. He moved on. Other officials were warned by the New Jersey Poison Information and Education System that a doctor was likely killing patients. Finally, a c-orker named Amy Lochan contacted the authorities over
Cullen's suspicious behavior, and they convinced Lan to talk to Cullen while wearing a wire. Were you angry? I was sad for my patients. I was um so many things were going through my mind. I was sad I didn't see it. I felt betrayed by my own intuition. The conversation contained enough evidence to have Colin arrested and he was given 18 life sentences. Paul Bernardo. When it comes to Canadian criminals, it doesn't get much more notorious than Paul Bernardo. There never was before, never was since. uh such a string of attacks like that. People were scared stiff for a very long time.
Bernardo committed a series of sexual assaults and later killed three people with his wife, Carla Hamoka, including Hulka's younger sister, Tammy. However, many people held theories about Bernardo long before he was captured. The police questioned Bernardo multiple times in relation to his possible involvement in both the murders and the sexual assaults and even took DNA samples. I asked Bernardo to provide samples of his hair and saliva and blood. Gave them up right away. By doing this, this is my opinion. He was trying to deflect any suspicion on himself by being so cooperative.
These samples would later be used to take him down. Meanwhile, people who knew Bernardo reported him to the police, including John Motile, an acquaintance, and Tina Smrnis, the wife of one of Bernardo's friends. Smus' tip came before Bernardo had killed anyone. What was certain, however, was that together, Bernardo and Hermula were a deadly duo. Jeffrey Dmer. It seems inconceivable that Jeffrey Dmer was able to kill and dismember so many people in his small Milwaukee apartment.
Without detection, 31-year-old Jeffrey Dmer had killed 17 young men across a 13-year period. But one neighbor was highly suspicious of Dmer, and her name was Glenda Cleveland. Cleveland was one of many neighbors who reported rotting smells coming from Dmer's apartment. But she took the complaints one step further by actually speaking with the authorities. When I say what I have to say and I know it to be true, I don't feel that I have to constantly keep repeating myself. And I think that can be said for everyone. Cleveland saw a victim named Connor Cynthone running from their apartment building and attempted to report her suspicions to the police, but they ignored her. She also contacted the FBI
in a desperate attempt to have someone listen, but they too ignored her warnings. Dmer would claim four more victims before he was captured on the night of July 22nd, 1991. The first day was local television, second day national television. By the third day, it was international television. They were able to show video of these items coming out of the front door of this apartment building. That's not usual. John Wayne Gayy, one of the most active serial killers in American history, the killer clown took at least 33 lives throughout the 1970s, burying 26 of them in the crawl space of his Chicago home.
He would become one of the most prolific serial killers in American history. Gayy's legendary crime spree finally came to an end thanks to the work of police chief Joseph Kosenzac. A boy named Robert Past had gone missing after speaking to a contractor. This contractor was identified as John Wayne Gasey, whom Kosenzac learned had a serious criminal record. They supplied us with some information pertaining to his telephone number. And through the phone number, we were able to determine his full name and address. And that's that's the first time we ever knew the name John Wayne Gasey. He launched an investigation into Gayy and even had him tailed by police officers. While searching Gayy's home, one officer noticed a rotting smell
coming from the heating duct. They later explored the crawl space and found numerous bodies, and the rest is history. The mounting evidence convinced detectives that they should begin digging in the crawl space under Gase's house. Ted Bundy, often regarded as a remorseless psychopath, Ted Bundy claimed at least 20 lives throughout the 1970s. He was a master predator. It was as well planned as military action. He's become the most infamous serial killer in American history. Bundy's infamous killing spree began in the Pacific Northwest in 1974, where he killed eight and left another with permanent brain damage. He then moved east to Utah, leaving behind a
trail of bodies and some dumbfounded authorities. He went to Utah and girls started disappearing in Salt Lake City suburbs around um there much in the same way that um girls had been disappearing in um in Washington state. However, they were not without hope. Investigators compiled a computerized database and Ted Bundy's name continuously appeared as a potential suspect. In fact, Bundy was considered one of the prime suspects in the murder spree when he was arrested in Utah in 1975. An offduty Utah State police officer saw him prowling around a neighborhood and the Volkswagen stopped him. They charged him with possession of burglary tools, were able to use his photograph
in a photographic lineup and Carol Danch was able to pick him out. Unfortunately, Bundy would escape from prison and kill again before he was apprehended for good in 1978. Before we continue, check out this single from Sound Mojo's album Balance. Classical music reimagined as rock, hard rock, and metal. Check out the full track and album below. Gary Rididgeway. While names like Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dmer have become enduring artifacts of American culture, most people ignore Gary Rididgeway aka the Green River Killer.
We start putting him under surveillance and sure enough, he's still out cruising. He's still out there obviously watching girls working the street because we were watching him watch them. This despite the fact that Rididgeway is the second most prolific killer in American history, having been convicted of 49 murders, Ridgeway was finally apprehended on November 30th, 2001, but he'd been a primary suspect for nearly 20 years. Ridgeway was arrested for prostitution in 1982 and was quickly suspected of being the Green River Killer. We had a very strong circumstantial case against Gary Ridgeway in 1987. What we didn't have was any physical evidence
to substantiate that the circumstances he was even given a polygraph test and was forced to provide hair and saliva samples. It was these very samples that took down Rididgeway in 2001 as they were finally tested for DNA and matched what was found on the victims. And Mr. Ridgeway, is it your desire to plead guilty to the 48 charges of aggravated murder in the first degree because you believe that you are guilty of each of those offenses? Yes. Do you think you would have caught these red flags? Let us know in the comments.
