One way to make Valentine’s Day better? Serial Killers.
Valentine’s Day is quite the polarizing holiday. Some love it, some hate it, and some love to hate it. To celebrate, we’re looking at some killer couples that reminds us that love can be pretty deadly.
Myra Hindley & Ian Brady
Infamous for their “Moor Murders,” Hindley and Brady spent the 1960s going on dates in the Saddleworth Moors in the English countryside, where they would lure teenagers to their deaths. From 1963-1965, Myra would convince their victims from aged 10-17 years old to join her on the moors where Brady would attack them and then bury them in the desolate moors. The couple was turned in by Hindley’s brother-in-law. Myra Hindley died in prison in 2002 and Ian Brady was declared insane and served his time at Asthworth Hospital until he died in 2017. Despite the fact that the couple confessed to five murders, the police were only able to find three of the bodies.
Jasmine Richardson & Jeremy Steinke
Nothing says true love like a 12-year-old asking her 23-year-old boyfriend to kill her family. Upset that her parents demanded that she break up with Jeremy, in 2006, young Jasmine convinced him to kill both her parents as well as her eight-year-old brother. Luckily, the duo was arrested as soon as they left the crime scene, and both were sent to jail. Oh, and did we mention that Steinke thinks that he is a 300-year-old werewolf? He’s currently serving three life sentences which shouldn’t be too bad for a werewolf.
John & Sarah Makin
Not every couple is destined to have kids, and the Makins have found infamy as baby farmers. In the late 19th century, the Makins took in babies to make a profit off of childcare but found that it was much easier to kill the children and continue to take payments than actually raising the children. When the couple was arrested in 1892, at least 12 bodies were found (some reports say 13). John was hanged in 1893 for his crimes while Sarah was sent to prison for 19 years before she was granted parole in 1911.
Suzan & Michael Carson
What do witches, Islam, and pot have in common? The Carsons. Known as the San Fransisco Witch Killers, Suzan and Michael moved to a pot farm, converted to Islam, and decided it was up to them to cleanse the world of evil energy (aka: witches, don’t cha know). In the early 1980s, they killed at least three people (although they are suspected of killing up to a dozen) they considered being witches. Luckily, they were caught before they could complete their impressive list of would-be victims… including former President Jimmy Carter.
Marie-Madeleine-Marguerite d’Aubray & Godin de Sainte-Croix
Charges were brought up in 1675 against the French noblewoman who had concocted a conspiracy to inherit her family’s estate. In 1666, Marie-Madeleine-Marguerite d’Aubray (what a name) convinced her lover, Captain Godin de Sainte-Croix, to help her poison her father. Again in 1670, she successfully killed her two brothers by poison as well in the hopes of inheriting their estates as well. Godin died of natural causes in 1672, but it was his letters to and from Marie that sealed his lover’s fate. In 1675, Marie was captured and tortured before confessing to her crimes. As punishment, she was beheaded and her bodied was burned, leading to the Affair of Poisons (which is a super fun part of French history).
Raymond Fernandez & Martha Beck
Perhaps the most twisted love story among our killer couples is the story of the “Lonely Hearts Killers” of the 1940s. Young Martha read Raymond Fernandez’s romantic ad in a newspaper and was immediately put under Fernandez’s spell. Beck abandoned her own children and moved to New York where she and Fernandez began their killing spree. Together, they would answer “lonely hearts” ads in the newspaper, Fernandez would seduce the women and then the two would rob them. This killer couple had four victims, including a young woman and her child. The two didn’t live happily ever after. In 1951, they were executed by electric chair on the same day… how romantic.
Fred & Rosemary West
The unassuming British couple was arrested for kidnapping, torturing, sexually assaulting, and killing at least a dozen young women (including two of their own daughters). Sometimes their victims would be released, other times they were killed, and by the time the Wests were arrested in 1994, nine bodies were found buried in their yard. They were (of course) sentenced to life in prison where Rosemary still resides… Fred killed himself just six months after being arrested.
The Bloody Benders
Time for a double date! Shortly after the Civil War, the Bender family settled in Labette County, Kansas where they ran an inn for weary travelers. The Bender family consisted of John Bender Sr. and his wife, Elvira, as well as his son John Bender Jr. and his wife, Kate (some legends claim they were siblings while local newspapers claimed they were married). Killing customers at their inn, the Benders would cut their victims’ throats before dropping them through a trap door into their basement. Stripped of clothes and valuables, bodies were buried on the Bender property as many as 12 times. When their crimes were discovered, the family fled and their fate is uncertain.
Gwendolyn Graham & Catherine May Wood
Taking a killer love story to an all-new level, Graham and Wood began having sex in the presence of their kills starting in 1987. The couple would smother elderly victims, ritualistically wash the body, and then make love beside it. The two women managed to do this five times before the two broke up and Wood turned herself in. The former lovers quickly turned on each other with Wood confessing in order to get only a 20-year sentence while Graham was sentenced to life in prison.
Bonnie & Clyde
Possibly the most famous couple on this list, Bonnie and Clyde made their rounds during the Great Depression, robbing stores and gas stations and killing when caught in a corner. It is believed that they killed at least nine police officers as well as several civilians until they were ambushed and gunned down in Sailes, Louisiana in 1934. Despite the tales and legends surrounding the dynamic duo, Bonnie was actually known to be a bit more on the docile side and not the cigar smoking, gunslinger that she is portrayed as. Sadly, the couple’s final wishes were not honored and they are not buried side by side.
Do you have a favorite killer couple that you love to hate or hate to love? How about a Valentine’s Day ghost story? Let us know in the comments below and maybe we’ll share your tales next Valentine’s Day (not that anyone is looking forward to it… the day, not your stories…)!
If you own a haunted bar, cafe, hotel, or restaurant and you’d like us to check it out, reach out to us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. If you have a favorite haunted hot spot with great food and atmosphere and you’d like to share it with us, hit us up on social media or leave a comment below! We’d love to hear from you… Thanks for joining us, and Happy Haunting!
spookeats.com 
Leave a Reply