Serial Killers

By 1985, the Monster of Florence had claimed 16 lives—but authorities were no closer to catching the killer than when they'd started their investigation, and the trail was getting colder every day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

One of Italy’s most notorious serial killers has never (definitively) been identified. The mysterious Monster of Florence murdered couples in their cars, beginning in 1974. The crimes were so horrific that all of Florence was on edge, and the hunt for the killer was vast. This episode originally aired February 2021. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the so-called murder capital of the world, Terry Childs grew up in the shadows of infamous serial killers. Until he became one himself.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Following a string of brutal murders throughout the 1960s, the Zodiac Killer continues to write letters taunting the press and police. This episode originally aired in February 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the summer of 1969, newspapers in San Francisco began receiving coded letters from a man who would come to identify himself as "the Zodiac." The killer confessed to a string of brutal murders and would go on to terrorize the Bay area into the early 1970s. This episode originally aired in February 2020. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Some hitmen must walk the line between being a family man at home and a killer at work. But Greg Scarpa wasn't your ordinary hitman. He was paid by the FBI as a Criminal Informant and was instrumental in helping them solve crimes. But some think his close relationship with his handler gave him a license to kill. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Starting in the 1950s, Greg Scarpa killed his way up the ladder to become the Colombo family's main hitman. By the mid-1980s, his children were in on the family secret. And the only thing more surprising than the number of kills he racked up was who else was paying him. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In 1982, while Richard Biegenwald was on a killing spree along the Jersey Shore, he also groomed a young woman he lived with to be his protégé. But when she ultimately wasn't up to the task, it meant Biegenwald's secret was out. And it would lead to his downfall. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Before he was even five years old, Richard Biegenwald was diagnosed with schizophrenia. After more than a decade in institutions and reform schools, he finally got the freedom he longed for. But once out in the world, he reverted to old habits and destructive behavior. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

During his twenties, he spent his free time reading books about how to kill a human being. Naturally, a job as a mafia hitman was perfect for Thomas Pitera. But when he went from a cold, calculated killer to slowly torturing his targets, it became harder for him to evade authorities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices