Serial Killers of the '70s
Stories Behind a Notorious Decade of Death
From Ted Bundy to John Wayne Gacy and David Berkowitz, the 1970s were a time of notorious and brutal serial killers. Find out more about them, along with some you may never have heard of.
The Co-Ed Killer, Son of Sam, Hillside Strangler, and Dating Game Killer--in many ways, terrifying serial killers were as synonymous with the 1970s as Watergate, disco, and the oil crisis. This fascinating collection of profiles presents the most notorious as well as lesser-known serial murderers of that decade. Beyond Ted Bundy and David Berkowitz, it includes more obscure killers like Carl Eugene Watts, known as "The Sunday Morning Slasher," who killed 80 women; Richard Chase, the "Vampire of Sacramento"; and Rodney Alacala, who is believed to have killed between 50 and 130 people between 1971-1979. Profiles will include Rodney Alcala: The Dating Game Killer David Berkowitz: Son of Sam Kenneth A. Bianchi and Angelo Buono, Jr: The Hillside Strangler Ted Bundy Richard Chase: The Vampire of Sacramento John Wayne Gacy: The Killer Clown Carl Eugene Watts: The Sunday Morning Slasher Vaughn Greenwood: The Skid Row Slasher
Jane Fritsch is a journalist who was a reporter and editor at The New York Times, where she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. She was also a reporter for The Los Angeles Times, Newsday, and The Chicago Tribune, where she covered the trial of the serial killer John Wayne Gacy. She was an assistant professor at The Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University.