Top 10 Most Notorious Duos – Killers and Partners in Crime

Everyone knows the names that spring to mind when the most notorious crime duo ever gets mentioned! If I am of course talking of non other than Bonnie and Clyde. There have been rumours for years that they were  in fact caught and subsequently shot to death by the authorities who were tracing a rent a car which was stolen and turned out to be the get away car of the infamous pair. The bullet ridden car that they made their last stand in is now proudly on display in an America History Museum.

But what drove them to kill as a couple? All recorded partners in crime who have committed horrendous acts are said to have one thing in common; such a profound bond with each other that they would do anything for the other person, including commit murder! The fact that there are two people joining forces to commit these crimes makes it all the more difficult for the authorities to track them down and charge these criminals. It’s easy to understand why. Two different descriptions, two different sets of fingerprints, two totally different ways of thinking and acting and of course this makes them doubley as hard to predict. Plus, some of these couples before they began their killing sprees didn’t even socialise in the same circles together!

I think couples that are involved in these serious crimes really shock us. Probably because you can label a single serial killer as a psychopath or a nut job but two people who enjoy committing these hideous crimes together for fun, well, it just blows all our theories out of the water. We can’t understand it

These attractions tend to be fatal, but mostly for other people! So here are what I would class as the world’s ten most notorious killer partners in crime…

1. Bonnie and Clyde

Bonnie and Clyde are of course the most famous criminal duo to date and they committed their crimes during the Great Depression in the 1930’s. The kinds of crime they normally committed with their gang included armed robberies, usually on small gas stations, but they were also notorious for the murder of 9 police officers and several civilians. Subsequently, they were both shot and killed in a police ambush in 1934.

2. Fernandez and Beck

Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck became know as “The Lonely Hearts Killers” in 1949.

They were arrested and put on trial for the murder of 20 women between 1947 and 1949. Both faced the death penalty for luring lonely women to their deaths. They were both subsequently found guilty and were executed by electric chair.

3. Burke and Hare

Burke and Hare were the infamous serial killers who sold corpses to Dr. Robert Knox in Edinburgh for dissection.Their favourite method of killing was to smoother and compress their victims chest. When caught Hare confessed, but also testified against Burke. Resulting in Hare being let off and Burke to be hanged for their crimes.

4. The Papin Sisters

Christine and Lea Papin were the famous french maids who murdered their employers wife and daughter in Le Mans, in 1933.They beat the 2 women to death with a hammer and pewter pot, but also gouged out their eyes with a kitchen knife and their fingers. Both confessed to the murders. Christine, who was believed to be the instigator was sentenced to death, which was later revoked to just life imprisonment and Lea being the lesser involved in the horrific crime, received a 10 year prison sentence.

5. The Krays

Reggie and Ronnie Kray were the biggest perpetrators of organized crime in London in the 1950’s and 60’s. Made famous for their celebrity connections and violent crimes, including torture and murder. They were eventually arrested and convicted of various crimes to which they both received life sentences.

6. Brady and Hindley

Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, who were also know as the Moors Murderers, sexually assaulted and killed 5 children between the ages of 10 and 17. These young victims were murdered between July 1963 and October 1965 and were buried on Saddleworth Moor. The pair were arrested within days of each other in October 1965. They were eventually tried and convicted of all 5 murders for which they both served life sentences.

7. Leopold and Loeb

Nathan Freudenthal Leoplold Jr. and Richard Albert Loeb were 2 wealthy, well to do, university students who murdered a 14 year old boy in 1924. Their motive, that they wished to commit the perfect crime. They kidnapped the boy from school in a rented car, then killed him in the backseat with a chisel, intending to collect a ransom from his wealthy parents. After evidence pointed to them being involved in the murder, their alibis started to break down and they soon confessed. They were both sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder and 99 years for the kidnapping.

8. Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole

Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Toole were both friends, lovers and killing buddies. Supposedly (according to their confessions) they murdered up to 600 random victims all across America. They were real sickos, committing arson, cannibalism and bestiality in most places they went, right up until their arrests in 1983. That’s nearly 40 years of murdering people! Both were sentenced to life imprisonment for their horrific crimes.

9. Fred and Rosemary West

Fred West and his wife Rosemary were accused of murdering over 10 women and young girls. They bound them, raped them, killed and dismembered them and then buried them around their home. This took place at what is now known as The House of Horrors, 25, Cromwell Street, Gloucester, over a 20 year period from 1967 to 1987. Both were found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment however, Rosemary always maintained her innocence. Authorities believe that they had both killed more than 20 women but couldn’t gather enough evidence to charge them with more murders.

10. The Mendez Brothers

Joseph Lyle and Erik Galen Mendez were known for the so called Shotgun Murders where they killed their wealthy parents in Beverley Hills in 1989. They were made famous by the highly publicised trials that followed. Numerous different stories were thrown about court in their defense such as their father abusing them. But what it really boiled down to was money. They wanted it and their parents stood in their way, so they shot them. Both were sentenced to life imprisonment for the shootings.

Well I hope you enjoyed my little insight into these horrid crimes and the people who committed them. Until next time.

Demon Chick