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10 Most Ruthless Serial Killers From Indiana

Indiana is home to some of the most notorious serial killers in the history of the United States of America. The killers are often motivated by emotional, psychological and pathological issues that push them to commit heinous crimes that often leave a lasting impact on society. Therefore this article will explore the ten ruthless serial killers to give the reader knowledge on this intriguing topic.

1 Herb Baumeister

American serial killer Herb Baumeister mostly targeted Indiana residents. He is referred to as the “I-70 Strangler” since his victims’ remains were discovered close to the Interstate 70 motorway. From the early 1980s to the mid-1990s, Baumeister was on a murdering rampage. He sought out homosexual individuals and enticed them to his “Fox Hollow Farm” property.

Baumeister buried his victims after killing them. He is thought to have killed at least 11 men, however, the precise number is unknown. In 1996, when the remains of a number of victims were found on his property, a probe and subsequent manhunt were launched. When police started to pursue Baumeister in June 1996, he escaped to Canada but eventually killed himself before being found.

2 Belle Gunness

A black and white picture of Belle Gunness.

Belle Gunness, who was born on November 11, 1859, was a prominent female serial murderer who operated in Indiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She is notorious for enticing unwary victims, including her husbands and kids, to her property in La Porte, Indiana. Gunness is thought to have killed at least 14 people and possibly more. Her primary motivations were purely monetary as she aimed to obtain inheritances and life insurance benefits. Due to the huge fire that completely destroyed her house in 1908, the precise number of her victims is still unknown. Around the same time, Gunness unexpectedly vanished, and it’s still unclear what happened to her.

3 Larry Eyler

Larry Eyler, also known as the Highway Killer, was a serial killer who mostly operated in the Midwest, especially Indiana, between the 1980s and the early 1990s. He mainly targeted young men and boys, usually hitchhikers or sex workers. Although he admitted to killing more than 20, the exact number of victims remains unknown. In addition to mutilation, dismemberment, and torture, Eyler also used roads to dispose of his victims. This made him known as the “Highway Killer鈥�. Eyler was later apprehended in 1983 and when he was arraigned in court he was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. However, he did not fully serve his term as he died in 1994.

4 Joseph Paul Franklin

A white supremacist and serial killer Joseph Paul Franklin killed people in Indiana among other states. In keeping with his racist views, Franklin, who was born James Clayton Vaughn Jr. on April 13, 1950, targeted Jewish people and interracial couples. He perpetrated at least eight killings in Indiana, one of which being the 1977 shooting at an Indianapolis synagogue that killed one person and injured many more. The 1980 Kentucky arrest of Franklin put an end to his terrorising activities. On November 20, 2013, he was put to death by lethal injection after ultimately being found guilty of several murders. His situation served to emphasise the perils of extremism and violence motivated by hatred.

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5 Charles Starkweather

The American serial killer was born on November 24, 1938. Starkweather together with his girlfriend Ann Fugate went on a killing spree in the 1950s in Nebraska and Indiana. The pair started the murder spree in Nebraska where they killed Ann’s family and then fled the state. When they reached Indiana, they murdered a gas station attendant.  They fled but were later arrested in Wyoming. Starkweather was sentenced to execution by an electric chair while his girlfriend was sentenced to 17 years.

6 Orville Lynn Majors

A mugshot of Orville Majors

The American serial killer worked as a nurse at Vermillion County Hospital in Indiana. He targeted patients as his victims as he could easily access them and murder them. In two years from 1993 and 1995, Majors is said to have murdered many patients that were under his care at the hospital. The serial killer would kill his patients by administering large quantities of potassium chloride which would result in cardiac arrest. When he was apprehended, he was sentenced to 360 years in prison.

7 Edward Wayne Edwards

Born on June 14, 1933, Edward Wayne Edwards was an American serial killer that killed people in different states including Indiana. Before his arrest,  Wayne Edwards already had a criminal history that included convictions for arson and burglary. He is suspected to have been involved in the murder of a couple known as Judy Straub and Billy Lavaco in Indiana. He is said to have also been involved in other notable cases like the Zodiac Killer murders.

8 Alfred Leonard Cline

A picture of a crime scene tape. , CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Popularly known as the Midwest Strangler, Alfred Leonard Cline was a serial killer that operated in Ohio and Indiana in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Cline鈥檚 victims were mostly drug addicts and sex workers as no one would easily notice them when they went missing. His modus operandi was strangling his victims and when he was arrested, he was convicted for the murder of three women but it is suspected that he killed more. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.

9 Charles Cohen

Popularly known as the Midtown Slasher, Charles Cohen operated in Indiana between 1978 and 1979. During this one year that he was active, he killed three victims. The serial killer would attack his victims and then stab them to death with a knife. Cohen was arrested in 1980 and charged with three counts of murder. He received three consecutive life terms in prison.

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10 Arthur Gary Bishop

The serial killer committed crimes in Utah and Indiana between 1979 and 1983. During this time, Bishop went on a killing spree targeting young boys. He would abduct them and then proceed to sexually assault them before killing them. He would manipulate his victims and ensure that he gains their trust then abduct them. He was arrested after one of his victims escaped and alerted local authorities.  He confessed to the murders and in 1988 he was executed by lethal injection