Killers On The Hunt: How Murderers Caught Fellow Killers

Killers On The Hunt: How Murderers Caught Fellow Killers

Serial killers are some of the most twisted and disturbing individuals to ever walk the earth. Their crimes are often characterized by a complete lack of empathy, a thirst for power and control, and a sheer disregard for human life. However, in a strange twist of fate, some of history’s most notorious murderers have actually played a role in catching and convicting their fellow killers.

In this in-depth blog post, we’ll explore five chilling cases where killers helped bring other killers to justice. From a twisted “killing cousins” duo who turned on each other, to a serial killer who provided key insights to the FBI, these stories offer a rare glimpse into the dark psyche of the most depraved minds.

The “Killing Cousins” Who Turned on Each Other

Our first case involves a pair of killers known as the “Killing Cousins” – David Gore and Fred Waterfield. In the early 1980s, the people of Indian River County, Florida were living in fear as a series of young women and girls began to mysteriously vanish.

Over the course of just two years, six victims disappeared, leaving their families devastated and the local authorities scrambling to find the culprit. Little did they know, the monster responsible was hiding in plain sight.

It wasn’t until the summer of 1983 that David Gore was finally apprehended – and it happened while he was in the midst of attacking his latest victims, 17-year-old Lynn Elliott and 14-year-old Regan Martin.

• Gore had picked the girls up while they were hitchhiking, then brought them back to a house owned by his parents.
• He separated the two victims, tying them up and preparing to assault them.
• However, Lynn managed to break free and make a run for it. As she fled the house naked, Gore chased her down and shot her twice at point-blank range.
• As Gore was dragging Lynn’s body back towards the house, a neighbor’s son witnessed the entire horrific scene and immediately alerted the police.

After a tense 90-minute standoff, the authorities were able to arrest Gore and rescue the still-living Regan Martin, who they found handcuffed in the attic.

But the story doesn’t end there. As the investigation unfolded, it was revealed that Gore’s cousin, Fred Waterfield, was actually his partner in crime. The two had been on a nearly decade-long spree of kidnapping, assault, and murder – a reign of terror they referred to as the “Killing Cousins.”

Waterfield had been with Gore when they picked up the two girls that fateful day, but he had gotten spooked and left before the attack. Gore was left to carry out the crimes alone, ultimately leading to his downfall.

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As the authorities closed in, the twisted cousins began to turn on each other. Gore, perhaps seeking a plea deal to avoid the electric chair, started cooperating with detectives and leading them to remote locations where the bodies of their victims were buried.

His chilling, remorseless recounting of the abductions and murders provided a disturbing window into the mindset of these killers. In the end, Waterfield was convicted of two killings and sentenced to two life terms, while Gore was executed in 2012 after nearly three decades on death row.

The Serial Killer Who Helped Catch the Green River Killer

Our next case involves another infamous serial killer who ended up playing a role in the capture of a fellow murderer – Ted Bundy.

In the early 1980s, the Pacific Northwest was gripped by the terrifying crimes of the “Green River Killer.” Bodies were piling up along the Green River in Washington state, with the killer’s victim count climbing into the dozens within a matter of weeks.

Authorities were desperate to identify and apprehend this prolific murderer, but the killer was proving to be elusive, leaving behind little more than the lifeless bodies of his victims.

That’s when investigators decided to turn to an unlikely source for help – another notorious serial killer who was already behind bars: Ted Bundy.

Bundy, known for his charm and sadistic tendencies, had terrorized the nation in the 1970s before he was finally captured in 1978. While he sat on death row, maintaining his innocence and hinting at the horrors he had committed, detectives saw an opportunity to leverage his twisted expertise.

Detectives Robert Keppel and David Reichert approached Bundy, hoping he could provide some insight into the mind of a serial killer that might aid their investigation. Surprisingly, Bundy agreed to help.

• Bundy suggested that the Green River Killer likely revisited his crime scenes to engage in acts of necrophilia, a behavior Bundy himself had exhibited.
• He advised the investigators to stake out fresh burial sites, believing the killer would return to them.
• Bundy even went so far as to suggest that the authorities should publicize the fact that they were surveilling these sites, playing a psychological game with the killer.

In Bundy’s twisted logic, this would plant seeds of doubt and fear in the killer’s mind, drawing him into a game of cat and mouse – a game Bundy had once mastered himself.

Of course, Bundy’s “assistance” came with a price. He craved the control and attention he had lost when he was locked away, and this investigation provided him with a brief moment of relevance. Every piece of advice he offered was laced with his own self-serving motives.

Ultimately, it wasn’t Bundy’s insights that led to the capture of the Green River Killer. It would take nearly two decades and the advancement of DNA technology before Gary Ridgeway was finally identified as the culprit in 2001. Ridgeway, a mild-mannered truck painter, confessed to the murder of 71 women, making him one of the most prolific serial killers in American history.

Bundy, who had been executed in 1989, never lived to see the capture of the Green River Killer. His involvement in the case remains an interesting footnote – a moment when one of history’s most infamous killers tried to outmaneuver another, using his own twisted expertise to aid the criminal justice system.

The Vigilante Killer Who Targeted Other Criminals

Our next case takes us to Brazil, where a man named Pedro Rodrigues Filho, known as the “Vigilante Killer,” embarked on a chilling crusade of his own.

Filho’s story is a complex one, rooted in a childhood of abuse and violence. His father, a cruel man with a vicious temper, often beat Filho’s mother, leaving the young boy to witness horrors no child should ever see. This early exposure to violence would shape Filho’s twisted sense of justice.

At the tender age of just 14, Filho committed his first killing – the vice mayor of his town, whom he believed had wrongfully fired his father from his job as a school guard. This was just the beginning of Filho’s reign of terror.

• Over the next several years, Filho would go on to kill over 10 people, targeting criminals, drug dealers, and other assaulters.
• He saw himself as a vigilante, a force of “justice” who was ridding the world of evil.
• Filho even killed his own father while in prison, stabbing him 22 times and carving out his heart, in a chilling symbolic act.

Despite his twisted motives, Filho’s actions did have a noticeable impact. The areas where he operated saw a decrease in criminal activity, as the message was clear – commit a crime, and you might end up on Filho’s list.

In a strange way, Filho was doing the work that the authorities couldn’t or wouldn’t do, infiltrating the dark underbelly of the criminal world and eliminating those he deemed unworthy. To some, he was a hero; to others, he was a monster. Perhaps he was a bit of both.

When Filho was finally released from prison in 2007 after serving 34 years, he walked out not as a free man, but as a legend. He even started his own YouTube channel, “pedrino X Matador,” where he commented on modern crimes and the inner workings of the criminal underworld.

Officially, Filho had 71 counts of murder under his belt, but he claimed the number was actually over 100. At the age of 68, in 2023, Filho was killed in a drive-by shooting, and no suspects have ever been apprehended.

The Killer Who Helped the FBI Develop Criminal Profiling

Our next case involves a serial killer who, in a twist of irony, ended up playing a crucial role in the development of modern criminal profiling – Edmund Kemper.

Kemper’s story begins with a deeply troubled childhood. From a young age, he displayed disturbing behavior, mutilating and decapitating his sister’s dolls and developing a morbid fascination with death. This dark path only escalated when, at the age of 15, Kemper shot and killed his grandmother and grandfather.

Institutionalized for these crimes, Kemper was eventually released at the age of 21, despite being diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic. This would prove to be a disastrous decision, as Kemper would go on to become one of the most terrifying serial killers of the 20th century.

In the early 1970s, college girls in California began disappearing without a trace, and Kemper was the one responsible. Using his imposing 6’9″ frame and remarkable intelligence, Kemper was able to lure his victims, murder them, and then dismember their bodies in a series of gruesome acts.

Unlike most serial killers who fight to avoid capture, Kemper had a different approach. In 1973, he turned himself in to the police, confessing to everything. It was as if he knew what he was doing was wrong, and the only way he could stop was to put himself behind bars.

During his time in custody, Kemper began to open up, providing the FBI with a rare opportunity to peer into the mind of a serial killer. Special Agent John Douglas, a pioneer of the FBI’s Behavioral Science unit, recognized the value in Kemper’s insights.

• Kemper detailed his fantasies, his methods, and his motives, offering a clinical detachment that made him an ideal “tutor” of sorts.
• Through these interviews, the FBI began to develop the revolutionary technique of criminal profiling, aimed at identifying behavioral patterns and predicting the actions of serial offenders.
• Kemper’s intellect and articulate nature made him a valuable resource, as he taught the FBI how killers like him think and operate.

Ironically, Kemper’s legacy is not just one of horror, but also one of education. His insights helped the FBI build psychological profiles that have been crucial in solving some of the most complex criminal cases since then. In a twisted way, this serial killer played a pivotal role in advancing the field of criminal investigation.

The Killer Who Incriminated Himself with a List

Our final case involves a serial killer who, in a chilling twist, ended up incriminating himself through a simple handwritten list.

Joseph Naso was an unassuming man, a former photographer who lived a quiet, transient life, never drawing much attention to himself. However, in 2010, a routine probation check revealed a stash of firearms in his home, leading to a search that would uncover a disturbing trove of evidence.

Among the items found were binders filled with photographs of women in various stages of undress, often posed as if lifeless. But the most damning discovery was a neatly written list titled “List of 10.”

At first, investigators couldn’t make sense of the list, which contained vague entries like “girl near laguna” and “girl from Mount Tam.” However, as they delved deeper, the horrifying truth began to surface – each entry on the list corresponded to a woman who had been murdered.

The names on Naso’s list matched cold cases that had baffled investigators for years, spanning decades and multiple states. One by one, the dots were connected, and it became clear that this unassuming man had been a prolific serial killer, evading capture for decades through his ability to blend in and his transient lifestyle.

During his trial, Naso, acting as his own attorney, calmly explained the entries on the list as though they were nothing more than trivial anecdotes. To him, the list was nothing more than a hobby, but to everyone else, it was a chilling confession written in cold, detached handwriting.

Ultimately, it was this list that sealed Naso’s fate. The key piece of evidence that spoke louder than any witness, the list that began as a silent boast had come full circle, ending as the testimony that condemned the killer who had incriminated himself.

Today, at the age of 90, the killer who documented his own crimes sits on death row, a testament to the power of a simple piece of paper and the twisted minds that can produce such horrors.

Conclusion Killers On The Hunt: How Murderers Caught Fellow Killers

These five cases offer a rare and unsettling glimpse into the dark psyche of serial killers. From the “Killing Cousins” who turned on each other, to the serial killer who provided crucial insights to the FBI, these stories demonstrate the complex and often unpredictable nature of the most depraved minds.

Whether driven by a twisted sense of justice, a desire for control and attention, or a simple need to document their own crimes, these killers have all played a role in bringing their fellow murderers to justice. Their stories serve as a stark reminder that the line between good and evil can sometimes blur, and that even the most monstrous individuals can inadvertently aid in the pursuit of justice.