Top 10 Killers Who Began Their Dark Journey at a Young Age

The criminal justice system is full of heinous criminals, whose actions often defy comprehension. Some of these criminals began their dark journey when they were just children or teenagers, turning to a life of crime early in their lives. This article takes an in-depth look into the tragic paths of ten of the world’s most notorious killers who started young.

Steven Avery

Perhaps the most well-known of this list of killers is Steven Avery. He was convicted of murdering Teresa Halbach in 2005. He had served 18 years in prison for a previous wrongful conviction when he was arrested for the murder. At the time of his arrest, Avery was 44 years old and had already been engaging in criminal behavior since he was 14.

Mark Bridger

Another high-profile young killer is Mark Bridger. In 2012, he abducted and murdered five-year-old April Jones, who he encountered while driving around Machynlleth, Wales. Bridger was 47 at the time of his arrest, but had been engaged in increasingly violent criminal activity since he was 15.

Ian Huntley

In 2002, 29-year-old Ian Huntley killed two ten-year-old girls, Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, in Soham, England. While Huntley had been involved in criminality from an early age, he began his killing spree at the age of 17 when he strangled a 16-year-old girl.

John Wayne Gacy

One of the most notorious serial killers in U.S. history was John Wayne Gacy, who was convicted of murdering 33 victims in Illinois. Born in 1942, Gacy had a troubled childhood, including three arrests by age 18. He later committed more than two dozen murders between 1972 and 1978.

Beverly Allitt

Beverly Allitt, also known as The Angel of Death, was convicted of killing four children and attempting to murder nine more at Grantham and Kesteven Hospital in Lincolnshire, England in 1991 and 1992. Allitt began her career in nursing at the age of 19, which is when she began her deadly rampage.

Joseph Edward Duncan III

Joseph Edward Duncan III was one of the most prolific child murderers in American history. He was convicted of killing seven people, including four children, in Idaho, California, and Washington between 1997 and 2005. He began committing violent crimes from an early age, being first arrested at the age of 12.

Herman Webster Mudgett

Herman Webster Mudgett, better known as H.H. Holmes, was one of America’s first documented serial killers. Between 1886 and 1895, Holmes is believed to have killed as many as 200 people. But his murderous activities began much earlier, with his first confirmed killing occurring when he was 17.

Carl Panzram

American serial killer Carl Panzram is believed to have killed up to 20 people during the 1920s, though the exact number is unknown. His dark journey began when he was just 14, when he committed his first burglary. He would later go on to commit multiple rapes, robberies, and killings before being apprehended.

Albert Fish

Albert Fish was an American serial killer and cannibal who was convicted of killing several children between 1924 and 1934. Though there is no record of his first murder, Fish began his killing spree when he was a teen and continued until his arrest at the age of 63.

Dennis Nilsen

British serial killer Dennis Nilsen was found guilty of six counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder in 1983. But his criminal activities began much earlier, at the age of 15 when he ran away from home and began committing burglaries.

Conclusion

This article took an in-depth look into the tragic stories of some of the world’s most notorious killers, who all began their dark journey at a young age. These cases serve as a stark reminder of the importance of recognizing any signs of mental illness or instability in young people, so that tragedies such as these can be prevented.