10 Notorious Female Criminals In The United States

List of 10 of the most Notorious Female Criminals in the United States

Notorious Female Criminals in the USA

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On the surface, these women look perfectly pleasant; normal individuals, living their lives as wives or mothers and holding down professional jobs, but looks can be deceptive, as they are, in fact, some of the most notorious female criminals in the United States. Murder, theft, drugs and kidnapping are the main foundations of their crimes, with many of them finding themselves bundled off to prison or sentenced to death, once caught. So who are the most notorious of these troubling individuals?

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Bonnie Parker was born in 1910 in Rowena, Texas and was one half of the infamous "Bonnie & Clyde" team along with Clyde Barrow. She died in 1934 at the age of 23.

Crime: Spree of bank robberies and murders in the south during the great depression.

Facts: 9 police officers killed, as well as many other murders though there was no official record that she ever shot a gun or killed anyone.

Griselda Blanco was born in 1943 and had the nickname of "Cocaine Godmother." She died at the age of 69 in 2012.

Crime: Drug lord of the Medellin cartel who ordered the murder of 250 people as well as three of her husbands.

Facts: Moved 300kg of cocaine a month. She served 19 years in a US jail for murder and racketeering.

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Leona Helmsley was born in Marbletown, New York in 1920. She was known to be prone to rages against her staff and was nicknamed the "Queen of Mean." Leona died in 2007 at the ago of 87 with a net worth of $8 billion. Two of her grandchildren were left nothing but she left her dog, Trouble, $12 million.

Crime: She was convicted of 33 felony counts, including tax fraud, conspiracy to defraud the US government and extortion, and sentenced to 16 years in prison. She served just 18 months after her appeal.

Facts: Built a property empire worth millions but stories of her bullying and intimidating staff were legendary. Donald Trump dubbed her "The Meanest Woman in History". She was a victim of a mysterious stabbing in 1973, surviving a chest wound.

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Mary Surratt was born in Waterloo, Maryland in 1820 to 1823 and was the first woman to be executed by the United States Federal Government. She was 42 to 45 years old at the time of her death in 1865.

Crime: She was convicted for her part in the conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln.

Facts: Mary was arrested for treason, conspiracy and plotting murder. She was tried and hanged in 1865.

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Diane Downs was born in Phoenix, Arizona in 1955. She was recorded laughing as she described the traumatic details of her horrific actions. She is currently 59 years old.

Crime: Shot her three children, killing one, in order to keep her lover who didn’t want children. Diane was found guilty of all charges and sentenced to life in prison on 17th june 1984.

Facts: Fabricated a story that a stranger tried to carjack her. Her oldest daughter gave a key testimony that it was in fact her mother who shot her and her sisters. It was this testimony which secured her guilt.

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Aileen Wuornos was born in Rochester, Michigan in 1956 and is widely considered as America's first female serial killer. She was 58 years old when she died in 2002.

Crime: Richard Mallory was found dead in December 1989. He had been shot three times. By November 1990 four other men were found dead as the result of a shooting. Wuornos confessed to six killings, all allegedly performed in self-defence.

Facts: Pregnant at age 14 and she claimed her brother was the father. Raised by her grandmother, she hitchhiked across America working as a prostitute. Aileen was found guilty and sentenced to death.

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Patty Hearst was born in San Francisco, California in 1954 and grew up in an affluent and sheltered environment. Currently she is 60 years old and is an actress, author and mother.

Crime: She appeared on a bank camera wielding an assault weapon before going on the run. She was arrested by the FBI in 1975 and sentenced to seven years in prison.

Facts: Patty's high profile made her a target for the Symbionese Liberation Army which brainwashed and abused her to the point where Hearst appeared in a video saying that she’d joined their fight to free the oppressed.

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Ruth Eisemann - Schier was born in Honduras in 1941/1942 and is credited as the first woman in history to appear on the FBI's Most Wanted List. She is currently 74/75 years old.

Crime: Gary Steven Krist & Eisemann-Schier kidnapped heiress Barbara Jane Mackle who they buried in the woods in a box two feet below ground. Despite spending three days underground, Barbara was rescued alive and unharmed.

Facts: Ruth stayed on the run for 11 weeks before being apprehended by authorities where she was tried, convicted and sentenced to seven years in jail, of which only four were served. She was eventually deported back to Honduras.

Dishonourable Mentions

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Hell Cat Maggie was born in 1820 and was an early member of the Deadrabbits, an Irish American gang in New York City in the 19th century. She was a female fighter, who filed her teeth into points and wore long claw like brass fingernails. She is considered as one of the earliest female criminals of the "Gangs of New York" era.

Belle Starr was born in 1848 and was one of the most notorious female American outlaws of all time. In 1874 a warrant was issued for her arrest for a stagecoach robbery. She learned ways of organising, planning and fencing for the rustlers, horse thieves and bootleggers, as well as harbouring them from the law. Belle died in 1889 at the age of 40.

For decades, the number of women being convicted of felonies has been rising. The rate is not only changing, but it's changing fast. Are women racing to prison? Is this a competition to see who's the most badass?

When and if they get out of prison, the challenges women face are quite different than those faced by men. Family issues pile up while they are inside and can be overwhelmingly difficult to resolve once they're home.

Jailexchange.com takes the approach that each case is different, but the common thread is that people are hurting and they need information to navigate their own criminal justice situation. This is why we help make the inmate search information available for the time of arrest, and why we provide every bit of information we can about what's needed throughout the incarceration period until the agony and ecstasy of the reentry process after release.