Despite popular representations of killers who simply can't stop murdering, serial killer sprees can often stop for years at a time. In those cases, a clutch of bodies is found with evidence that indicates that a serial killer murdered them all within a short time frame. But if no other evidence comes forward after that, there's not much police can do except wait for the next spree. Even if authorities can figure out who might have committed multiple murders, once a serial killer has been identified, they often go to ground or leave the area.
There are several active serial killer sprees that are either ongoing, or have just recently have ended - meaning they could start again any time. In all cases, at least some of the perpetrators are still at large. A few sprees, like the "smiley face murders," might not be killings at all, but suspicious accidents that only seem related. Others cases involve single murders that may or may not be connected to a serial killer who has killed before, like the Eastbound Strangler or the Chillicothe Murders.
Whatever the case, serial killings are rare - but they do happen. Here are eight sprees that might still be going on.
Serial Killing Sprees That Are Currently Happening, other, True crime,
Pedro López
Colombian Pedro Lopez is one of the most prolific serial killers in history. In fact, he's been charged with 110 murders, and he confessed to 200 more - all the killings were of young women who he raped first. Lopez was arrested in 1981 and pleaded guilty, serving the maximum penalty Ecuador had at the time: 15 years. He was released, immediately re-arrested, and deported to Colombia, where he was first institutionalized, then released. Lopez then vanished, though he's suspected in a 2002 murder, and likely has continued killing.
The Chillicothe Killer
The small Ohio town of Chillicothe has been the scene of at least six female disappearances, with four bodies found dumped in local creeks or streams. The most recent victim was found in June 2015. The first victim disappeared a year earlier. Several of the women were involved in sex work, and it's possible they were contacted online, killed, and moved after their deaths. Police believe the shooting of a serial killer a month later in Charleston might be related, though no connection has been found as of yet.
The Gage Park Murders
The working-class Chicago community of Gage Park was shocked when six bodies from the same family were pulled out of a house. One family member had been shot, the others were stabbed. Police initially believed the killings were the result of a murder-suicide, but now believe the family was targeted for a mass killing. There's even some speculation among police that the wrong family was targeted, meaning the killer is likely to strike again.
The Long Island Serial Killer
Long Island's remote Gilgo Beach was the scene of a horror show in December 2010. That's when a Suffolk County police officer, looking for the remains of a missing woman, found a mass grave of 10 people, including a child, stretched across the sand spit. With seven other suspected victims found in the New York area, the so-called Long Island Serial Killer (also called the Gilgo Beach Killer) is one of the most prolific serial killers currently at large, and two more possible victims were found as late as 2013. The case is currently at a standstill, with victims' families desperate for closure. The NYPD had to bring in the FBI for help.
Highway of Tears Murders
From 1969 through 2011, at least 19 women were murdered and dumped along a remote stretch of Canada's Highway 16 in British Columbia. It's believed that the women were picked up hitchhiking, as the area is extremely poor and the people there have little access to public transportation. The most recent victim was found in 2011, and there are as many as 20 more suspected killings. It's highly likely that one or more serial killers are currently active in that area.
The Smiley Face Killer
Supposedly responsible for the drowning of over 40 students in the Midwest and on the east coast since 1997, the Smiley Face Killer plunges young, intoxicated, virile college men into icy water, and leaves a smiley face drawn on a wall near where the bodies were dumped. However, it's not at all clear if there actually is a Smiley Face Killer, or if the victims didn't drown due to misadventure, possibly brought on by being drunk.
Two victims have been identified as homicides, but no suspect has ever been found in either death. As recently as 2016, the drowning of 22-year-old Harvard student Zach Marr (last seen outside a bar in Boston) was attributed to the Smiley Face Killer, with another death pinned on the killer in 2015. Both police and pathologists continue to argue whether there's a killer or network of killers on the loose, or just a series of coincidental accidents.
The Eastbound Strangler
When four women were found choked to death in a ditch behind a motel in New Jersey in 2006, the police nicknamed the suspect the Eastbound Strangler. The motel was just off the expressway leading to Atlantic City, and all four women were killed in exactly the same way. After that, though, the case went cold, and no more bodies with the same MO were found. Then in 2014, two more strangled women were found in rural Egg Harbor, near the motel.
The killer of one of the women was identified and arrested, but the other murder is still unsolved - and it's quite possible the Eastbound Strangler has struck again.
The South African Gay Man Killings
Nine gay men were murdered in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa, with the most recent killing taking place in 2013. South African police arrested several men they believed were linked to one of the crimes - the murder of Barney Van Heerden. But the killings continued despite their capture, leading to suspicion that the murders are being committed by a gang with as many as eight men, rather than a single killer.
Another murder of a gay man, this one in 2014, was committed by a killer who invited local kids to watch. However, police don't believe it's connected. The two men arrested for Van Heerden's killing were convicted, but no other suspects have emerged.