List of serial killers before 1900
Name Country Years active Claimed victims Notes
Catalina de los Ríos y Lisperguer Spanish Chile c. 1630 to c. 1660 40 Aristocrat nicknamed La Quintrala , possibly after the local red-flowered mistletoe ( quintral ) and because of her long red hair . Investigated for the deaths of 40 servants and slaves in her property , but never tried or convicted . Died of natural causes in 1665
Giulia Tofana Spanish Sicily Papal States 1633 to 1651 100+ Leader of a group of female poisoners that moved from Palermo to Rome after a botched poisoning . Died in her bed , having never been arrested . Often confused with her pupil and successor , Girolama Spara
Jasper Hanebuth Holy Roman Empire 1652 and earlier 19 Former mercenary in the Swedish Army turned highwayman who was active in Eilenriede forest , then outside Hanover . Usually shot people from a distance , before knowing if they had any money . Confessed to the murder of 19 people including his robber bride , and was broken at the wheel
Catherine Monvoisin France 1660s to 1679 1000-2500 Known as La Voisin . Alleged sorceress , fortune-teller , cult leader and poisoner for hire who confessed under torture to the ritual murder of over a thousand infants in black masses . Also tried to poison Louis XIV . She was convicted along with 35 others as part of the Affair of the Poisons , and burned at the stake in 1680
Marie-Madeleine-Marguerite d'Aubrey , Madame de Brinvilliers and Godin de Sainte-Croix France 1666 to 1670 3-50+ Lovers , they poisoned d'Aubrey 's father and two brothers to inherit their estates , and an undetermined number of poor people in hospitals . Sainte-Croix died of natural causes in 1672 , but d'Aubrey was tried , beheaded and burned at the stake in 1676 . Her sensational trial led to the Affair of the Poisons
Ahaya Cuscowilla Spanish Florida 1730s to 1783 86+ Seminole chief , called Cowkeeper by the British , who led continuous raids against Spanish garrisons and their allied tribes in Florida . Although his killings were done during war parties , he was partially motivated by a dream in which he was revealed that he would not find peace after death unless he killed 100 Spaniards . Died of natural causes , telling his sons in his deathbed that he had only killed 86 Spaniards and that they should kill another 14 in his name
Lewis Hutchinson British Jamaica 1760s to 1773 43+ Scottish doctor and rancher known as The Mad Master and The Mad Doctor of Edinburgh Castle . Shot and robbed passers-by of all types in his property , sometimes with the help of accomplices , after which his slaves threw the bodies in Hutchinson 's Hole where they were devoured by animals . Hanged
Dorcas Kelly Ireland 1761 and earlier 1-5 Also known as Darkey Kelly . Dublin brothel owner hanged and burned at the stake for the murder of a client . Four skeletons were found in her establishment after her execution
Darya Nikolayevna Saltykova Russia 1755 to 1762 38-147 Aristocrat who beat and tortured female serfs to death . Sentenced to life in prison in 1768 , where she died of natural causes in 1801
Crown Prince Sado Joseon 1757 to 1762 100+ Serial rapist and killer who was also heir to King Yeongjo of Joseon . Sealed in a rice chest until he died eight days later
Luísa de Jesus Portugal 1772 and earlier 28-33 Luísa de Jesus ( 1750 - Coimbra , 1 July 1772 ) , was accused of having murdered 33 abandoned children , taken from the foundling wheel in the town of Coimbra , Portugal . She only confessed to 28 of the homicides . She was mortified and insulted by crowds as she was led to the gallows , had her hands cut off , was then hanged , beaten with a club , and burned until she was reduced to ashes in a public execution . She was the last woman executed in Portugal
Klaas Annink , Anne Spanjers and Jannes Annink Netherlands 1774 and earlier 400+ Family of robber-murderers active around Twente . Klaas ( nicknamed Huttenkloas ) and his wife , Anne , were tried and executed in 1775
Thug Behram Mughal Empire Oudh State 1790 to 1840 125-931 Leader of the Thuggee cult of murder-robbers in central India , also known as Buhram Jemedar and the King of the Thugs . Behram is often cited as one of the most prolific serial killers in History ( if not the most ) with up to 931 victims , although he only admitted to have been present for that many murders , committing 125 himself and witnessing 150 or more . Thuggee victims were travellers that the Thuggees latched to and befriended before strangling them with a ceremonial handkerchief ( rumal ) and stealing their belongings . Hanged by officers of the East India Company as part of the British colonial Thuggee and Dacoity Suppression Acts , 1836-1848
Micajah and Wiley Harpe United States 1797 to 1803 40 Highwaymen and river pirates known as Big and Little Harpe , or the Harpe Brothers , who often killed people of all types for the thrill or minor slights without actual monetary gain , even babies . Big Harpe bashed his own infant daughter 's head against a tree because her crying annoyed him ; this was the only murder he claimed to feel sorry about . Big Harpe was shot and beheaded in 1799 by people who sought vengeance for the murder of a woman , while Little Harpe was arrested when he took fellow outlaw Samuel Mason 's head to the authorities and tried to collect a bounty put on him in 1803 , but was recognized , tried and hanged in 1804
Samuel Mason United States Spanish Louisiana 1797 to 1803 20+ Highwayman and river pirate sometimes associated with the Harpe Brothers and other outlaws . After being arrested in Louisiana and turned over to American authorities , Mason overpowered his guards and escaped , but was shot in the process . His head was later given to the authorities by his accomplice Wiley Harpe who wished to collect the bounty on the fugitive Mason . It is unknown if Mason died of his injuries or Harpe killed him
Sophie Charlotte Elisabeth Ursinus Holy Roman Empire 1800 to 1803 3 Prussian aristocrat who poisoned her lover , husband , and aunt , and tried to poison an unhappy servant , always with arsenic . Sentenced to life in prison but pardoned in 1833 . Died of natural causes three years later
1600 to 1800