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Humans are capable of cruel and despicable acts. Perhaps nothing can testify to that more than someone who’s taken a life – more so as an act of pleasure. Here are 5 serial killers who were known to have documented their inhumane crimes in notes and photographs. And, their victims (may their souls rest in peace) who were captured on film by their killers moments before their deaths.
1. Harvey Glatman
Known as the ‘Lonely hearts killer’, Harvey Glatman was an American serial killer who exhibited his antisocial behaviour and sadomasochistic sexual tendencies from a very early age. Posing as a photographer Glatman would lure girls under the guise of offering them modelling opportunities, and then torture and rape, before eventually killing them.
Victim: Judy Ann Dull
One among his many victims, this photograph of Judy Ann Dull gained mass media attention once the killer and his acts were discovered. Authorities later found a series of such photographs with many women being tortured and raped. Ghastly!
2. Robert Ben Rhoades
Between 1975 and 1990, Robert Ben Rhoades was suspected to have tortured, raped and killed over 50 women, only 3 of which were confirmed and he was convicted for. Rhoades had converted the rear compartment of his truck into a personal torture chamber where he would commit his heinous crimes. Rhoades was convicted for his crimes in 1994 and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Victim: Regina Kay Walters
Perhaps one of the most famous photographs of a victim by their killer, the image shows Regina Kay Walters who’s boyfriend was killed by Rhoades before he imprisoned her for a considerable amount of time, torturing and raping her repeatedly. The image shows him having cut her hair short and forced to wear the black dress and heels. Regina was 14 years old at the time.
3. Robert Berdella
Robert Berdella was an American serial killer who tortured, raped and murdered at least 6 men. He began his killings with his first boyfriend, Jerry Howell, who was 19 years old at the time. Berdella would drug his victims, repeatedly rape them, before killing them brutally. Records of which he carefully kept in his personal diary along with photographs.
Victim: Jerry Howell
Berdella’s first victim was also his first lover, 19-year-old Jerry Howell. Many of Berdella’s victims’ bodies were reported to have never been found. Berdella later claimed that the movie The Collector, where a man abducts a young and tortures her, was his first inspiration.
4. Rosario Porto Ortega and Alfonso Basterra Camporro
A very well respected couple, Camporro and Ortega were despicable underneath. The couple reported their adopted daughter, Asunta Basterra missing on September 21, 2013.
Victim: Asunta Basterra
Amazingly enough Asunta’s killer were her own adoptive parents who poisoned her over a prolonged period, before eventually strangling her to death. The motive behind the murder was the expensive real estate the young girl was to inherit from her grandparents. The image below shows Asunta’s lifeless body wrapped in a blanket by her parents.
5. William Richard Bradford
Bradford was only ever convicted for the murders of his 15-year-old neighbour Tracey Campbell and barmaid Shari Miller. Luring women under the pretence of being a fashion photographer, Bradford would later murder them gruesomely.
Victim: Shari Miller
Authorities later found a number of different photographs of many women who had posed for Bradford, heavily suggesting the fact that Bradford was in fact a serial killer.