re: What serial killer fact sounds fake, exaggerated, or fiction. But is 100% real?

quote:

---

had a house with a pond in the front yard, and that is where I learned how to fish, and caught my first fish.

---

I caught many fish in that pond as well. Small world

quote:

---

Gary Ridgeway. Convicted of 49 murders, very well possibly committed up to 60.

For comparison, Gacy had 33, Bundy had 30, Dahmer 17 and Zodiac just 5. Those 4 names are probably the first 4 people would come up with when asked about notorious serial killers but Ridgeway just flew under the radar for all those years, and still does somehow.

---

Robert Lee Yates who they were able to tie to 16 murders but it was suspected he could have killed as many as 100 since he was in the pilot for the Army and he spent time flying all over the world including Germany, Somalia, and Hatiti as part of the UN peacekeeping missions.

quote:

---

BTK getting busted because he didn't know how computers work was pretty surreal.

---

I thought his daughter turned him in?

quote:

---

He got popped by metadata on a floppy disk

---

I don't know why I thought his daughter brought him down? Just read the short of it all.

quote:

---

Technological advancement caught up with Dennis Rader’s outdated methods of deception. He terrorized Wichita for three decades until his poor understanding of digital forensics led to his capture.

Modern criminal investigations learned a significant lesson from BTK’s fatal mistake. Years of traditional police work could not accomplish what a single piece of metadata achieved. This invisible digital signature, embedded in a simple floppy disk, exposed his identity.

Rader’s narcissism and constant need for attention led him to take risks that cost him his freedom. His careful planning and attempts to outsmart law enforcement collapsed against modern forensic capabilities. The notorious criminal, who once mocked police with puzzles and cryptic messages, admitted defeat simply: “The floppy did me in.”

Law enforcement changed its approach to digital evidence after this case. Even the most minor technological traces can expose the most elusive criminals. Rader serves ten consecutive life sentences today, while his victims’ families found the closure they deserved after thirty years of terror.

---

From 1974 to 1975 in San Francisco there were a series of murders targeting gay men. The killer was known as "The Doodler", because he would sketch portraits of them before luring them away.

Victims were found stabbed to death near beaches and parks. 5-6 confirmed victims, but possibly up to 16.


Here is where it gets interesting. There are three survivors.
1 was a diplomat
1 was a popular entertainer
1 was a prominent local figure.

Each survivor supposedly identified the suspect off the record to police, but refused to testify in fear of being outed as gay.

SFPD interviewed the suspect. Young black male, intelligent and educated, saw sketching people in bars. Fully cooperated with the police but never admitted to anything.

Because SFPD could not get witness testimony, this guy is probably still alive, but has not killed again. SFPD knows who the guy is but can't do much because the survivors still won't talk.

It is rumored that one of the survivors was Robert Reed of Brady Bunch fame, who kept is gayness a secret until his death.

SFPD Crime Bulletin onn the Doodler

quote:

---

unalived

---

I really wish this trend would stop.

Christman Genippertinga

quote:

---

Also, LatAm serial killers are in an entirely different league

---

There's a guy in Brazil who's up to 150+.

Gennero "Meatball" Arthur a hit man for the metz gang in NOLA killed more than any of these guys.

quote:

---

In 2026 in San Francisco of all places, why on earth would the gay victims be scared of being outed as gay?

---

Because the three surviving victims were popular or important people.

1 was an actor, another a diplomat, and the third was a prominent local figure. I can see why they wouldn't want to be outed.