What Makes a Killer

On February 8, 1983, a plumbing engineer arrived at an apartment in Cranley Gardens to investigate a blocked drain. When he opened the drain cover, he knew right away that the smell was not anything that would usually be in a pipe . . .and he pulled out large pieces of flesh. It was traced back to the top floor, where lived 27-year-old Dennis Nilsen. When he was arrested, Nilsen was discovered to...

On December 1st, 1996, single father Lee Harvey was murdered on the side of the road. The only person who witnessed what happened was his fiancé, Tracie Andrews, who claimed he had been killed in a road rage incident by strangers. But not long after a tearful plea to the press, Andrews’s story began to fall apart. And she went from the number one witness to the number one suspect.   Original music...

In August 1985, California police officers rescued a man from an angry mod that attacked him as he exited a bus. What they didn't know, was that they had just detained a man the media had dubbed "The Night Stalker". The killer had spent 14 months terrorizing the state of California, claiming 13 victims. After finally getting a good look at the man, police realized they had just made the arrest of...

In February 1994, in Sunderland, England, a badly burned body of a teenager was found on a plot of land. It was the third in just three months. Despite all three deaths being similar, and suspicious, pathologists initially ruled out murder. Police didn’t know it yet, but there is a serial killer on the loose, and his name, was Steven Grieveson. This episode is sponsored by: Raycon Original music b...

On November 25th, 1987 in Paris, France. 87-year old Bertha Finalteri was strangled and robbed. It was the latest in a string of older women being robbed, tortured, and murdered . . . but Bertha survived. The culprits were a pair of young lovers, Thierry Paulin and Jean-Thierry Maturin. And when they split up, Paulin continued to steal from helpless women – and admitted to killing at least 21 peop...

In November 1988, detectives in Sacramento California discovered the body of a missing man named Burt Montoya. His body was found buried in the yard of the boarding house he had been living in. The woman in charge of the boarding house was shocked by the discovery of her tenant, but as more and more bodies were discovered, it became apparent that the little old landlady was not as innocent as she...

When we face challenges in life, we seek answers from people we believe can help us. When tragedy strikes an exclusive retreat with a self-help superstar, many people are left to wonder: how far is too far? James Arthur Ray was an Oprah-endorsed self-help teacher who achieved fame, fortune, and influence. But friends and family members of his followers questioned his unorthodox methods, and tried...

What Makes a Killer is a series that chronicles the lives and crimes of the world’s most notorious killers. In every episode host Jennifer Nittoso will trace a killer’s origins, examine their behavior, and follow their path to bloodshed. We’ll hear from family members, survivors, and experts to uncover how they became killers. On this season, we will cover thirteen killers, each more sinister than...

On the Season finale of What Makes a Killer: On November 17th 2006, police in the German city of Cologne searched the vehicle of a 47-year man suspected of murder. What they found inside the truck was a collection of gruesome memorabilia. That day, police apprehended Volker Eckert, bringing an end to a 32 year career of murder that spanned five European countries. To this day, the exact number of...

Shortly before midnight on July 22nd, 1991, two Milwaukee police officers were flagged down in their patrol car by a man with a pair of handcuffs dangling from one wrist. The man had escaped from a small one bedroom apartment. When the officers went to investigate, they found themselves in a living nightmare. Between 1978 and 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer killed 17 young men and boys by luring them back to...

Levi Bellfield  was responsible for the brutal murders of two young women and the attempted murder of another across a 16 month period between 2003 and 2004. While serving time in prison, he was again found guilty in 2011 of one of the highest profile cases of the 21st century - a crime that had gone unsolved for almost a decade. Original music by Ben Krejci , Kai Engel and Daniel Birch . Licensed...

In September 2006, Glasgow police discovered the body of a 23-year-old student, Angelika Kluk, under the floorboards of a local church. The investigation into Angelika's murder would uncover a series of shocking crimes dating back as far as the early 1990s. Original music by Ben Krejci , Kai Engel , and Daniel Birch . Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License .

Serial killer and rapist, Stephen Port used online dating sites to lure young men to their deaths. His victims had been found within yards of one another in East London, and it was initially thought that no foul play was involved. But the discovery of a fourth victim in September 2015, led the police to the killer who had poisoned his trusting victims. Original music by Ben Krejci  and  Kai Engel...

For 20 years, Fred and Rosemary West satisfied their appetite for sex and murder inside their home on 25 Cromwell Street, Gloucester – which became known as “The House of Horrors.” This episode is sponsored by: Embr   Original music by Ben Krejci , Kai Engel and Daniel Birch . Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License .

On August 4th, 2002, 10 year olds Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman went out to buy candy in Soham, England...and then disappeared. A local school caretaker, Ian Huntley, is the last one to see them alive... This episode is sponsored by: Native Audible Original music by Ben Krejci and Daniel Birch . Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License .

When a local woman went missing in 1957, police searched the farmhouse of loner Ed Gein. What they found stunned the small town of Plainfield, Wisconsin - and the world. This episode is sponsored by: Embr BetterHelp   Original music by Ben Krejci and Daniel Birch . Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License .

In her twelve day killing spree, 31-year old Joanne Dennehy killed three men and stabbed two others in broad daylight, leaving them for dead. Some have characterized Dennehy as a femme fatale, a woman who entices men into her life before turning in an instant... with deadly results.  This episode is sponsored by: BetterHelp   Lola Kencko Promo Code: WHAT Original music by Ben Krejci and Daniel Bir...

In his five-year reign of terror, Peter Sutcliffe brutally murdered 13 young women across the North of England. During the investigation, Sutcliffe was interviewed nine times by police - narrowly escaping capture each time. When he was finally apprehended in January 1981, it brought an end to a manhunt that had both terrified and captivated the nation. This episode is sponsored by: Embr   Care/of...

A local businessman, socialite, and Democratic precinct captain, known to spend his weekends entertaining children as a clown -- but over the course of six years, John Wayne Gacy kidnapped, tortured, and brutally murdered 33 young men and boys in and around Chicago, Illinois. 27 of the 33 victims were discovered buried in a crawl space directly below Gacy’s home. This episode is sponsored by: Kenc...

Pedophile, rapist, murderer, and cannibal, Joachim Kroll is considered to be one of the most twisted serial killers in Europe in the twentieth century. Between the mid 1950s and the late 1970s, Kroll targeted women and children across West Germany, evading the authorities for years.  This episode is sponsored by: AMC's Shudder   BetterHelp   MDRN CBD   Original music by Ben Krejci and Daniel Birch...

What Makes a Killer is a twelve-part series that chronicles the lives and crimes of the world’s most notorious serial killers. In every episode host Jennifer Nittoso will trace a killer’s origins, examine their behavior, and follow their path to bloodshed. We’ll hear from family members, survivors, and experts to uncover how they became killers.  What Makes a Killer premieres October 31st with new...