We often think of serial killers as relics of the past—bundled into news clippings and documentaries, safely tucked behind the bars of history. But some of the world’s most brutal murderers are still alive today. Breathing. Waiting. Serving life sentences—or in some cases, still unsentenced.
These aren’t ghosts from another era.
These are real people, in real prisons—monsters who walked among us, and in some terrifying cases, still do.
1. Joseph James DeAngelo – The Golden State Killer
For decades, he was a faceless predator.
Responsible for 13 murders, over 50 rapes, and 100 burglaries, DeAngelo terrorized California throughout the 1970s and 80s under multiple names: the East Area Rapist, the Original Night Stalker, the Golden State Killer.
He was finally caught in 2018—thanks to genetic genealogy—and sentenced to life in 2020. Now in his late 70s, he lives out his days behind bars, silent and unrepentant.
2. David Berkowitz – The Son of Sam
Between 1976 and 1977, Berkowitz killed six people and wounded seven others in New York City, claiming he was ordered to kill by a demon-possessed dog.
He caused widespread panic, left cryptic letters for police, and earned a name that still chills true crime fans: Son of Sam.
Now 70, Berkowitz is serving six consecutive life sentences. He claims to have found God—but his victims’ families remain unconvinced.
3. Robert Maudsley – The Real Hannibal Lecter
Dubbed “Hannibal the Cannibal” by tabloids (though reports of cannibalism were exaggerated), Maudsley is a British serial killer who murdered four men, including three while in custody.
He has been held in solitary confinement in a glass cell beneath Wakefield Prison for over 40 years—a cell built just for him.
He’s still alive. And still considered too dangerous to be near any other human being.
4. Wayne Williams – Atlanta Child Murders
From 1979 to 1981, over 25 Black children and young adults were murdered in Atlanta. Wayne Williams was convicted of two adult murders, and police believe he was responsible for most of the other killings.
Controversial and racially charged, the case remains disputed.
Williams, now in his 60s, has never confessed and continues to claim innocence from prison.
5. Charles Ng – The Killing Duo of Leonard Lake
In the 1980s, Charles Ng and Leonard Lake kidnapped, tortured, and murdered victims in a hidden bunker in California. While Lake took his own life, Ng was captured in Canada and extradited to the U.S.
He is currently on death row at San Quentin, convicted of 11 murders, though authorities believe the real number is far higher.
Ng remains one of the most chilling figures in American serial murder—a manipulative, remorseless killer with no interest in redemption.
6. Katherine Knight – Australia’s Female Cannibal Killer
In 2000, Katherine Knight became the first Australian woman sentenced to life without parole.
She stabbed her partner 37 times, skinned his body, and attempted to cook parts of it with vegetables. Plates were set at the table for his children.
She remains incarcerated at Silverwater Women’s Correctional Centre—and is considered one of the most dangerous women alive.
These killers remind us that evil doesn’t always die—it sometimes waits behind concrete walls, still very much alive, still part of the world they helped destroy.
Whether imprisoned, isolated, or aging in silence, these are not stories from another era.
They are warnings—living relics of human darkness still breathing somewhere out there.
For more cases like this, explore our archive. SinisterArchive.com—where the legends are real.
