Sometimes, it's the ones you least expect. These dangerous, notorious serial killers all had perfectly normal jobs and many were considered kind, contributing citizens in their communities. But then things took a turn. Which serial killers had normal day jobs? This is a list of serial killers with normal jobs before they changed career paths and took up killing.
A serial killer is defined as someone who murders three or more victims over a relatively short interval. Though it has been said that serial killers often fail to keep jobs for long periods of time, such as Ted Bundy, who held a number of low-end jobs, some psychologists also claim that serial killers can appear to be completely normal and have high-functioning lives. John Wayne Gacy, for example, was a highly respected individual within his community, and Dennis Rader was the elected president of his church.
Though many assume that most serial killers are rooted in violent families and abusive upbringings, there are many examples of serial killers who grew up in normal families with surprisingly average childhoods. Thus, it's hard to pinpoint conclusive personality characteristics of serial killers since the motives for killing can vary anywhere from wanting to be a hero by saving victims they previously poisoned, to sick and sadistic pleasure.
Here's a list of serial killers who had surprisingly normal jobs, although some are a bit creepy. Ice cream truck driver, anyone?
Serial Killers Who Had Normal Jobs,
Andrei Chikatilo
Day jobs: literature teacher, day laborer, regional sports manager
Andrei Chikatilo was a Russian Soviet serial killer whose victim count included at least 52 women and children, whom he sexually assaulted and mutilated. He committed the murders between 1978 and 1990 before he was arrested and confessed to 56 murders. In 1992, he was tried for 53 of the killings. He was convicted, sentenced to death, and executed in 1994.
David Berkowitz
Day jobs: United States Postal Service letter sorter, Army veteran
Known as the ".44 Caliber Killer" and "Son of Sam," David Berkowitz was a New York City serial killer who was arrested in 1977 for a series of shooting attacks with a .44 caliber revolver. In more than a year, Berkowitz murdered six victims and wounded seven others while terrorizing New York City with acts of arson.
Dean Corll
Day job: Vice President of a candy factory
What's creepier than a serial killer known as the Candy Man? From 1970 to 1973, before he was murdered himself, Corll murdered at least 28 boys whom he abducted, raped, and tortured.
Dennis Nilsen
Day jobs: British Army cook, London police officer
Often described as the "British Jeffrey Dahmer," Dennis Nilsen was a serial killer in London who murdered 15 young men from 1978 to 1983 before he was arrested and charged with six counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder.
Dennis Rader
Day job: ADT Security Services alarm installer
From 1970 to 1990, Dennis Rader, known as the BTK killer (Bind, torture, and kill) terrorized the Wichita, Kansas area until he was finally arrested and his identity was revealed in 2005. Many unsuspecting ADT clients hired the company to protect themselves from Rader, not knowing that it was he who they had just invited into their homes. Rader seemed to be an average married father of two. He is currently serving 10 life sentences in a Kansas prison.
Donald Harvey
Day jobs: various jobs in the medical profession
Donald Harvey claims to have murdered 87 people in various hospitals where he worked. He claimed, at least in the beginning, that he was committing the murders to "ease the pain" of his patients. Harvey is currently serving 28 consecutive life sentences.
Harold Shipman
Day job: doctor
Harold Shipman was found guilty of 15 murders using lethal injection and falsifying death certificates, but he may have been responsible for up to 250 murders. He was sentenced to life in prison in 2000 but hung himself in his cell. Shipman had even appeared in a documentary as an expert on mental illness.
Jeffrey Dahmer
Day jobs: Army combat medic, mixer at the Ambrosia Chocolate Factory
Between 1978 and 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer killed 17 men before he was sentenced to 15 consecutive life terms in 1992. Dahmer had an alcohol abuse problem that led to his Army discharge. After he was kicked out of the Army, Dahmer moved in with his grandmother in the hopes that he could clean up his act, though she later asked him to move out after discovering disturbing things in her home. Dahmer was arrested in 1991 and eventually admitted to all 17 murders. Dahmer pled "guilty but insane" to 16 counts of murder and was given 16 sentences of life imprisonment. In 1994, he was murdered in prison.
John Wayne Gacy
Day jobs: shoe store manager, Kentucky Fried Chicken manager, children's birthday party clown
Also known as the Killer Clown, John Wayne Gacy was an American serial killer who was convicted of murdering over 30 teenage boys and young men in the 1970s. He was sentenced to death and spent 14 years on death row before he was executed on May 10, 1994.
Ted Bundy
Day jobs: grocery store bagger and stocker, shoe clerk, bus boy, campaign volunteer
One of the most prolific serial killers in America, Ted Bundy murdered more than 30 women in the 1970s before he was finally apprehended on February 15, 1978. Bundy was executed at the Florida State Prison on January 24th, 1989.