List of famous serial killers of children, loosely ranked by their infamy. There is no more heinous crime than the murder of a young child. Taking the life of a small innocent boy or girl seems unfathomable because it’s often in human nature to want to protect and care for children, not harm them. That’s why it’s all the more despicable to hear of serial killers who have not only taken the lives of multiple children, but also ensured that their final moments alive were tortuous ones. Serial killers who focus their horrific crimes on children are often considered among the highest level of evil. Many of these serial killers of children include torture, mutilation, and sexual assault among their crimes against children.
The motives of the serial killers on this list vastly differ. Some of these serial killers are pedophiles and psychopaths who take their hatred out on young victims. A few of the vicious killers on this list were also mothers who took the lives of their own children due to mental illness. Many serial killers of children work as nurses and other career paths where access to children is all too easy.
This list of some of the worst child killers is recorded history features serial murders from all over the world. Who are the most famous serial killers of children? What are their motives? And what became of these kid killers?
40 Famous Serial Killers of Children,
Andrei Chikatilo
52 women and children were raped and murdered by The Red Ripper aka Andrei Chikatilo in 1978-1990. He was caught in the Soviet Union in 1990 and sentenced to death.
Beverley Allitt
Nurse Beverly Allitt killed four children and tried to kill many more while working in a hospital in 1991. She'd give the children large doses of insulin over the course of 59 days, with no motive. Allitt was sentenced to minimum 30 years in prison, one of the longest sentences given to a woman in Britain.
Daniel Camargo Barbosa
Throughout the 70s and 80s, Colombia was haunted by a serial killer who was raping and murdering young girls. When Daniel Barbosa was convicted in 1989, he only received 16 years in prison. However, he was murdered in prison in 1994 by the cousin of one of his victims, Luis Masache Narvaez.
Ian Brady
Ian Brady, along with his partner Myra Hindley, killed 5 children, aged 10-17, between 1963 and 1965. The victims were sexually assaulted and murdered. Brady was caught in 1965 and declared criminally insane. He has been in a high-security mental institution since then.
Luis Garavito
Colombian serial killer Luis Garavito killed at least 138 young boys over his murderous history. Most of the victims were homeless boys between 8 to 16 years old. After he lured them with money or gifts, he'd rape, torture, and murder them. He was caught in 1999 and sentenced to only 30 years in prison.
Robert Black
In 1981-1986, Robert Black kidnapped and murdered 4 young girls, aged 5-11. He was arrested in 1990 when he was seen trying to kidnap another young girl. When the investigating officer opened the back of Black's van, he found that it was his own daughter who had been abducted. She was found alive, but sexually abused in a manner similar to his other victims.
He was sentenced to life in prison and was a target of constant harassment by his fellow inmates.
Miyuki Ishikawa
In the 1940s, Miyuki Ishikawa was a highly respected midwife in a maternity hospital. Little did her admirers know, she was neglecting infants to the point of their deaths because she believed their parents were too poor to take care of their children. She even took money from some of the parents who didn't want their children. Around 103 children were killed through her actions. She was arrested in 1948 but only given four years in prison.
Abraão José Bueno
Abraao Jose Bueno was working as a nurse in Brazil in 2005 when officials discovered that he was giving babies and children overdoses of sedatives. Many of his victims were suffering from leukemia or AIDS. Bueno attempted to resuscitate each child after giving the overdose, but four of the children died. He was sentenced to 110 years in prison.
Ramadan Abdel Rehim Mansour
Over a period of 7 years, Ramadan Abdel Rehim Mansour raped and murdered at least 32 children. His victims were mostly young boys between the ages of 10 and 14. He had 6 accomplices, all of whom were caught in 2006 and sentenced to death.
Pedro Lopez
Pedro Lopex may have raped and killed more than 300 young girls throughout South America. The killings took place between 1969 to 1980, when he was discovered and arrested. He was released in 1994, arrested again for another murder, released again in 1998, and arrested once again for murder in 2002.