These 17 Serial Killers Still Haven’t Been Caught And OMG I'm Crying

Time to start sleeping with one eye open.

1. Smiley Face Murderer

Kevin Gannon and Anthony Duarte / Via arollingcrone.blogspot.com

Since the late ’90s, at least 40 college students in the Midwest area have died of "accidental drowning." All victims are male, and many were popular, athletic students with a high GPA. Two retired NYPD detectives believe that they were each targeted, drugged, and thrown into various bodies of water to make it appear like an accident or suicide. Another creepy similarity to the cases is the presence of a smiley face graffitied on trees or surfaces near the crime scenes, which has happened in at least 12 cases.

2. The Jeff Davis 8 Killer

FBI / Via vice.com

Between 2005 and 2009, eight women were murdered in Jefferson Davis Parish in Jennings, Louisiana. Each of the victims — all of whom had ties to drugs and prostitution — either had their throats slashed or were strangled, though some bodies were too decomposed for an official cause of death to be determined. Both a strip club owner and a cousin of one of the victims were arrested, along with two others, but they were eventually released due to insufficient evidence — some of which was caused by the authorities’ mismanagement of the case.

3. The Eastbound Strangler

Discovery Network / Via youtube.com

In 2006, the bodies of four prostitutes were found facedown in a drainage ditch behind a seedy motel on the borders of Atlantic City. The women — all of whom were mothers — were found clothed, yet barefoot, and some bodies were so badly decomposed that an official cause of death could not be determined (though it is suspected they were strangled). A $25,000 reward was offered for information leading to an arrest and conviction, but it has gone unclaimed for over 10 years.

4. The February 9 Killer

KSL / Via cnn.com

On Feb. 9, 2006, a young, pregnant woman was raped and strangled in her Salt Lake City apartment. Two years later on the same day, a 55-year-old woman was also strangled in her apartment — which showed no signs of forced entry. Both victims were Latino, and one had jewelry stolen from her residence. With DNA evidence, police were able to link the crimes to one killer, but the case has gone cold over the years with no suspects, arrests, or any idea of the date’s significance to the crimes.

5. The Rainbow Maniac

Raul Arboleda / AFP / Getty Images

From 2007 to 2008, 13 gay men between the ages of 20 and 40 were murdered in São Paolo, Brazil, many of whom had been shot in the back of the head with a .38-caliber weapon. Their half-naked bodies were discovered in Paturis Park, a known rendezvous spot for members of the gay community. In 2008, a retired police sergeant was arrested for the crime; however, he was released in 2011 after a not guilty verdict, suggesting the real killer is still out there.

6. The Seven Bridges Killer

Edgecombe County Sheriff's Office / Via wral.com

Beginning in 2005, the remains of nine black women have been found along the Seven Bridges Road outside of Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Most of the victims' bodies were too badly decomposed for the medical examiner to determine a cause of death, but a 2009 victim was confirmed to have been strangled. In 2011, Antwan Pittman was convicted for the murder of 28-year-old Taraha Nicholson; while he is a suspect in some of the other murders, those cases are currently unsolved and two women are still missing.

7. The I-70 Killer

St. Chalres Missouri Police / Via voxmagazine.com

In the spring of 1992, six women were shot in the head with a .22-caliber rifle while they were working in small stores that lined the I-70 in the Midwest. The victims were all young, petite, brunette women — except for one man who police believe was murdered accidentally; he kept his long hair in a ponytail, reportedly confusing the culprit. The stores were robbed, but because they only had a few hundred dollars in the register, police suspected that murder was the primary motive. Witnesses provided police with a description of the killer, but no suspects were ever arrested.

8. The Redhead Murderer

Josh Breslow / Via youtube.com

Between 1978 and 1992, the bodies of eight, young white women were discovered in multiple Southern states. A majority of the victims had red-colored hair, were suspected hitchhikers and/or prostitutes, and were found along major highways. Five of the eight victims were strangled, some were found clothed while others were nude, and a handful had engaged in sexual activity prior to their death.

9. The Colonial Parkway Killer

Virginia State Police / Via nbcnews.com

From 1986 to 1989, the bodies of three couples were found along the Colonial Parkway in Virginia; another couple went missing during the same time and, while no bodies were discovered, they are presumed dead. Each couple was killed in a different way: One was strangled with each of their throats slashed, another was killed with shots to the back of the head, and the last was stabbed to death.

10. The Original Night Stalker

Sacramento County Sheriff's Department / Via fbi.gov

The Original Night Stalker, previously known as the East Area Rapist, is responsible for over 50 sexual assaults, at least 100 home invasions, and12 homicides, including that of a soon-to-be-judge, his wife, and a court clerk. The crimes spanned both time and distance, taking place up and down the coast of California from 1976 to 1986. The killer often tied up his victims, before they were shot or bludgeoned to death. Now, the FBI is on the case and hopes the public will help them catch the notorious criminal.

11. The Honolulu Strangler

KHON / Via youtube.com

Suspected to be Hawaii's first and only serial killer, the Honolulu Strangler took the lives of at least five women, from 1985 to 1986. The women had their hands bound behind their back before they were raped, then strangled. Many of the victims were found near bodies of water just 24 hours after they were reported missing, though some weren't discovered for a week. A man who tipped off the police to the location of the last victim was arrested as the main suspect, but had to be released due to insufficient evidence.

12. The Doodler

San Fransisco Police Department / Via theawl.com

Beginning in 1974, a killer named the Doodler haunted gay bars and clubs, hitting on men by sketching their portrait on a cocktail napkin. After being lured away with promises of a tryst, the men were stabbed to death, their bodies dumped along the beach. Police were able to apprehend a suspect, but were forced to set him free when no witnesses or survivors would come forward. Three years later in 1977, just a year before he would be assassinated, gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk told AP News, “I can understand their position. I respect the pressure that society has put on them. They have to stay in the closet."

13. The Oakland County Child Killer

WDIV / Via clickondetroit.com

In the winters of 1976 and 1977, four young children — two boys and two girls — were abducted and murdered in Oakland County, Michigan. Both boys were sexually assaulted and smothered, and one was meticulously cleaned. Neither of the girls had been assaulted, and while one was smothered like the boys, the other (and oldest victim at only 12) was shot in the face. The bodies of all four victims were discovered laid gently in the snow, some even with their arms crossed atop their chest.

14. Charlie Chop-Off

Scott Olson / Getty Images

Beginning in the spring of 1972, a number of young boys were murdered in Manhattan. The five victims, all of whom were black, had their genitals mutilated before they were stabbed to death. In 1974, psychiatric patient Erno Soto was arrested in connection to the case, after a young boy had narrowly escaped an attack. Soto confessed to the murder of the last known victim, but was found not guilty by reason of insanity and confined to a state psychiatric facility.

15. The Freeway Phantom

Del Wilber/The Washington Post / Via youtube.com

From 1971 to 1972, the bodies of six young black girls were found along the highway in Washington, DC, and Maryland. All of the victims were strangled, and three were raped. The killer, who remains a mystery to this day, liked to taunt both the police as well as (in one known case) the victims' families. A note was found in the pocket of one of the victims, which read, "This is tantamount to my insensititivity [sic] to people especially women. I will admit the others when you catch me if you can! Free-way Phantom."

16. Long Island Serial Killer

A&E / Via youtube.com

Eight months after 24-year-old Shannan Gilbert went missing in Long Island, New York, a police officer and his dog discovered female remains wrapped in a burlap sack on Gilgo Beach. However…the remains didn’t belong to Shannan. Shannan’s body was finally discovered, along with nine other sets of remains (the earliest dating back to 1996), in early 2011. Many of the victims were escorts who had contacted clients via phone or online shortly before they went missing; the causes of death vary, and include strangulation, brutal beatings, and dismemberment.

Also disturbing — six years after her daughter’s body was finally discovered, the mother of Shannan Gilbert, Mari Gilbert, was also murdered.

17. The Zodiac Killer

San Fransisco Police Department / Via sfgate.com

One of the most notorious serial killers in history, the Zodiac Killer murdered five people during the late 1960s and early '70s in San Fransisco — though he claims to have killed a total of 37 people. Four of his victims were shot while in a car and another was stabbed; two other people were also attacked by the Zodiac, but survived. The killer began sending notes with coded messages to news outlets to taunt the police; one of the only messages to be deciphered reads: “I LIKE KILLING PEOPLE BECAUSE IT IS SO MUCH FUN IT IS MORE FUN THAN KILLING WILD GAME IN THE FORREST MAN IS THE MOST DANGEROU[S] ANAMAL OF ALL” Despite a crazy conspiracy theory that 2016 presidential candidate Ted Cruz is the Zodiac Killer, his identity is still unknown to this day.