Top 25 most infamous black serial killers and where they are today

Statistically, many serial killers in the United States are white males. However, a small percentage of black killers terrorized their victims and the neighbourhoods before apprehension. The black serial killers' list has their names, sentences, and their crime span.

Tens of killers on the serial killers' list barely show remorse during 'sentencing.' In their twisted minds, they believe that the murders were justified and feel nothing for the surviving family members of their victims.

Famous black serial killers list

While white people represent about 56 per cent of serial killers, black people also contribute significantly to the American serial killer population at about 29 per cent. Here is a complete list of the 25 most infamous black serial killers and where they are today.

1. Harrison Graham

• Date of birth: 9 September 1959
• Place of birth: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
• No of victims: 7
• Crimes span: 1986 - 1987

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Harrison Frank Graham targeted female victims. The 63-year-old committed the murders between 1986 to 1987 and was eventually caught in 1987. He defiled his victims, killed them, and later kept their remains in his apartment.

After Harrison Frank's trial, the Philadelphia killer was sentenced to death. The sentence was, however, changed to life imprisonment.

2. Wayne Williams

• Date of birth: 27 May 1958
• Place of birth: Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.
• No of victims: 2-24
• Crimes span: 1979 - 1981

Wayne Williams is also known as Atlanta Child Murders. He is one of the most dreaded black serial killers. He was just 23 years old at the last murder. Wayne Williams killed more than 20 people.

Though not all of his victims were identified, Wayne was apprehended and tried for other murders. He is serving life imprisonment for the 1981 killing of two men in Atlanta, Georgia.

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3. Samuel Little

• Date of birth: 7 June 1940 - 30 December 2020
• Place of birth: Los Angeles County, California, United States
• No of victims: 100+
• Crimes span: 1970 - 2005

Talk about ill-famed black serial killers, and Samuel Little's name will pop up. The murderer was also a sexual abuser and had taken the lives of about 100 victims before his apprehension.

Samuel escaped authorities for about four decades and was only arrested and charged for the murders in 2012. After his trial, he was given three life sentences and died in jail in 2020.

4. Charles Lendelle Carter

• Date of birth: 1968
• Place of birth: Atlanta, Georgia U.S.A
• No of victims: 5
• Crimes span: 2004 - 2006

Charles Lendelle Carter's method of killing was str*ngulation and stabbing. The confessed killer was charged and sentenced for the murders of three women though Charles Lendelle Carter is suspected of having committed more killings.

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He was given three life sentences. During his sentencing, the serial killer was quoted saying:

Whatever I am, a monster or whatever, I do have a conscience, and I am sorry.

5. Henry Louis Wallace

• Date of birth: 4 November 1965
• Place of birth: Barnwell, South Carolina, United States
• No of victims: 9+
• Crimes span: 1992 - 1994

Henry Louis Wallace was convicted of the murders of 10 young black women in Charlotte, North Carolina. The serial killer committed the crimes between May 1992 and March 1994.

Henry was apprehended and charged in May 1994. The 57-year-old was sentenced to death and is currently awaiting execution.

6. Debra Brown

• Date of birth: 11 November 1962 - 23 June 1986
• Place of birth: Waukegan, Illinois, United States
• No of victims: 8
• Crimes span: May 1984 - July 1984

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It is rare to read of black female serial killers as most are male. However, Debra Brown is among the few infamous female serial killers that left many families without their loved ones. Ms Brown committed the murders with her boyfriend, Alton Coleman.

Apart from murders, Debra and her boyfriend were also involved in kidnappings and armed robberies. After her arrest in July 1984, Debra was tried and sentenced to death in Indiana on 23 June, 1986.

7. Matthew Emmanuel Macon

• Date of birth: 8 September 1979
• Place of birth: Lansing, Michigan, United States
• No of victims: 6
• Crimes span: 2004 - 2007

Mathew Emmanuel Macon, also known as Chilly, raped and tortured his victims before taking their lives. The serial killer took the lives of 6 women between 2004 and 2007. Mathew Emmanuel was first arrested for an unrelated crime in 2001, released, and arrested again.

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He was on and off in prison for a couple of years until his conviction in 2007. His sentencing was in June 2008, where he was given two terms of life imprisonment without parole

8. Chester Turner

• Date of birth: 5 November 1966
• Place of birth: Warren, Arkansas, United States
• No of victims: 13
• Crimes span: 1987-1998

Chester Turner, aka The Southside Slayer, was another lethal black serial killer who murdered more than 15 people.

He was convicted for the murders of ten women in Los Angeles and was also found guilty of the death of the unborn child of one of his victims. Chester Turner faced charges of four more murders in 2014 and was sentenced to death.

9. Benjamin Atkins

• Date of birth: 26 August 1968 - 17 September 1997
• Place of birth: Detroit, Michigan, United States
• No of victims: 11
• Crimes span: 1991 - 1992

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Like many American serial killers, Benjamin Atkins was sure he would not live for long after apprehension. Atkins targeted women and those he perceived as weak.

Atkins raped and murdered women and later dumped their bodies in Highland Park and Detroit. Most of his victims were adult workers. Atkins was arrested in 1992 and given 11 consecutive life sentences. He died in 1997 due to an infection related to HIV.

10. Darren Vann

• Date of birth: 21 March 1971
• Place of birth: Indiana, United States
• No of victims: 7
• Crimes span: 2013 - 2014

Darren Deon Vann is one of Indiana's most prolific serial killers. This man's monster was a violent convicted offender who preyed on women.

Vann's killing mode was taking his victims to abandoned homes, where he choked them. Darren Vann's trial took four years. He was given life in prison after pleading guilty in 2018.

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11. Anthony McKnight

• Date of birth: 1954 - 17 October 2019
• Place of birth: U.S.A
• No of victims: 5
• Crimes span: 1985 - 1986

The cold-blooded killer targeted women in Oakland, California, between 1985 and 1986. He killed five women and was found guilty of all murders. McKnight had enlisted in the United States Army and Navy and later served at Naval Air Station Alameda in his early years.

His charming personality masked the monster beneath him. Anthony McKnight was sentenced to death but died awaiting execution in October 2019.

12. Derrick Todd Lee

• Date of birth: 5 November 1968 - 21 January 2016
• Place of birth: Saint Francisville, Louisiana, United States
• No of victims: 11
• Crimes span: 1992 - 2003

Derrick Todd Lee was also known as The Baton Rouge Serial Killer. Before he was known as a killer, Derrick Todd Lee had a habit of stalking women and watching them in their homes. This got him arrested on several occasions.

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Lee was apprehended for the murders in 2003 and sentenced to death via lethal injection. He died of heart disease at a hospital in Louisiana in 2016 before his execution date.

13. Lonnie David Franklin Jr.

• Date of birth: 30 August 1952 - 28 March 2020
• Place of birth: Los Angeles, California, U.S.
• No of victims: 10-25+
• Crimes span: 1985 - 2007

Lonnie Frankie Jr. is one of the most infamous serial killers in California. He is another brutal killer who primarily targeted black female adult workers in Los Angeles. Lonnie Frankie was a kind and gentle boy growing up, and those who knew him had difficulty believing that he was a serial killer.

14. Shelly Andre Brooks

• Date of birth: 22 January 1969
• Place of birth: Detroit, Michigan, United States
• No of victims: 7
• Crimes span: 2001 - 2006

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Shelly Brooks befriended adult workers and drug addicts before killing them. He lured his victims to Detroit, Michigan, from 2001 to 2006. Shelly Brooks is currently serving life in prison for 25 to 50 years.

15. Roberta Elder

• Date of birth: 1907- Unknown
• Place of birth: Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A
• No of victims: 14
• Crimes span: 1938 - 1952

Roberta Elder is another of the few female black serial killers. Roberta started killing in the late 1930s. The first murder may have occurred in 1938, though the date is not verified. Roberta Elder killed her family members, thus the nickname Mrs Bluebeard.

16. Lorenzo Gilyard

• Date of birth: 24 May 1950
• Place of birth: Kansas City, Missouri, United States
• No of victims: 13
• Crimes span: 1977 - 1993

The 72-year-old Lorenzo Jerome Gilyard, Jr., is among the most notorious black serial killers. Lorenzo, also known as the Kansas City Strangler, raped and murdered at least 13 women and girls between 1977 and 1993.

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17. Paul Durousseau

• Date of birth: 11 August 1970
• Place of birth: Beaumont, Texas, United States
• No of victims: 7
• Crimes span: 1977 - 1993

Paul Durousseau was a cab diver who befriended his passengers before killing them. The Jacksonville, Florida resident especially preyed on women he raped before killing.

The Cabbie killer was apprehended in 2003 and later sentenced to death by lethal injection in Jacksonville, Florida. However, this sentencing was thrown out after an appeal, and Paul Durousseau is currently sitting on death row.

18. Carl Eugene Watts

• Date of birth: 7 November 1953 - 21 September 2007
• Place of birth: Killeen, Texas, United States
• No of victims: 22-100+
• Crimes span: 1974 - 1982

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Carl Eugene Watts, aka Coral, was another ill-reputed American serial killer who killed using the most brutal methods.

The serial killer also referred to as The Sunday Morning Slasher, stalked his victims and tortured them before killing them. Eugene Watts was apprehended in 1982, tried and given two sentences of life without parole. He died of prostate cancer in 2007.

19. Craig Price

• Date of birth: 11 October 1973
• Place of birth: Warwick, Rhode Island, U.S.
• No of victims: 4
• Crimes span: 1987-1989

Craig is among the serial killers who started killing while still a teenager. The Rhode Island native committed his first murder when he was 13.

His second murder was when he was 15 and just a freshman. The other murders were committed when he was an adult, one of them being the stabbing of an inmate. Craig Price was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

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20. Mark Goudeau

• Date of birth: 6 September 1964
• Place of birth: Phoenix, Arizona
• No of victims: 9
• Crimes span: 2005 - 2006

The 58-year-old Mark Goudeau was convicted of the murders of 9 victims. He is also known as The Baseline Killer. Mark, previously a construction worker, is infamous for terrorizing victims in the Phoenix metro area between August 2005 and June 2006.

He also has other charges, including assault on minors, murder, robbery, sexual assault, kidnapping, and sexual abuse. He was sentenced to death and is awaiting execution.

21. Cleophus Prince Jr.

• Date of birth: 24 July 1967
• Place of birth: San Diego, California, United States
• Number of victims: 6
• Crimes span: 1990

Cleophus Prince Jr., also known as The Clairemont Killer, was an American serial killer who targeted women in the Clairemont neighbourhood of San Diego. Cleophus Prince was arrested in 1990, convicted of six murders, and sentenced to death.

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22. Kendall Francois

• Date of birth: 26 July 1971 - 11 September 2014
• Place of birth: Poughkeepsie, New York, United States
• Number of victims: 8
• Crimes span: 1996-1998

Kendall Francois was an American serial killer who targeted women in Poughkeepsie, New York. He strangled his victims and hid their bodies in his home. Kendall Francois was arrested in 1998 after the decomposing bodies were discovered. He was convicted of eight murders and sentenced to life in prison without parole. He died in prison in 2014.

23. Lorenzo Fayne

• Date of birth: 31 October 1960
• Place of birth: Ohio, United States
• Number of victims: 6
• Crimes span: 1988-1989

Lorenzo Fayne, also known as The Strangler, was an African-American serial killer who targeted women in Cleveland, Ohio. He would lure his victims to his home, where he would assault and kill them. Lorenzo Fayne was apprehended in 1989 and convicted of four murders, but he claims to have killed more. He is currently serving a life sentence in prison.

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24. Eddie Lee Mosley

• Date of birth: 31 March 1947 - 28 May 2020
• Place of birth: Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States
• Number of victims: 8-16
• Crimes span: 1971-1987

Eddie operated in the Miami, Florida area during the early 1980s. He was known for his violent crimes against women, specifically targeting young African-American women.

His crimes included rape, murder, and abduction. Eddie Lee Mosley would often approach his victims, most of whom were walking alone, and then sexually assault and kill them.

25. Calvin Jackson

• Date of birth: 5 March 1948
• Place of birth: Buffalo, New York, U.S.
• Number of victims: 9
• Crimes span: 1973-1974

Calvin Jackson is accused of murdering nine women on Manhattan's West Side between 1973 and 1974. The homicides were linked only after Calvin Jackson was captured and confessed.

Prior to that, the deaths were attributed to natural causes or accidents. He was convicted and sentenced to four life sentences with the possibility of parole in July 1976.

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Summary table of the top 25 most infamous black serial killers

How many black serial killers are there?

There is no exact figure out there because the numbers keep changing.

Who is the most famous black serial killer?

Henry Louis Wallace, Harrison Graham, and Samuel Little are some of the leading on the list.

Who are the unsolved serial killers?

There are dozens of other unsolved homicides that remain active, and investigators are hopeful for a resolution. Some include the New Bedford Highway Killer and the Highway of Tears.

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These notorious black serial killers were terrorizing people in the 60s, 70s, and 80s through the 90s. The few remaining are still incarcerated but might never taste freedom again. Some of the individuals in this black serial killer list await execution, while others have died due to illnesses.

Yen.com.gh shared an interesting piece about the top 20 dead Nigerian actors issed by fans every day. The list of dead actors and actresses is devastating to look at.

Many had tragic deaths when some passed on right after launching their careers. It is never a good thing to see talent being taken away by death. Check out the post for more details about their deaths.

Source: YEN.com.gh