When the cops catch a serial killer, the best thought that can go through your head is, “Well, at least they caught them and they won’t be out roaming the streets anymore.” Our loved ones are safe from murderers once those criminals are behind bars, right? Well, after a period of years, a lot of times those killers are let out of prison. It might not make sense to most people, but the system is complicated. Maybe we aren’t as safe as we think…
1.) Genene Jones
Genene Jones was a Pediatric nurse who is believed to have murdered upwards of 60 infants. While working as a nurse, Jones would inject the infants with a series of chemicals in order to save them so she could look like a hero to the parents. Unfortunately, she rarely, if ever, saved the infants she was poisoning. She is set to be released from prison in 2018 for good behavior.
2.) Issei Sagawa
Sagawa was always worried about being too ugly and too nerdy to be successful. So instead of earning confidence through self help books, what he decided to do was invite a female classmate over, shoot her in the neck, and eat her for two days in order to “absorb her energy.” He was put in a mental institution in France where they then expedited him to Japan where he was declared sane and set free.
3.) Juha Valjakkala
Mr. Valjakkala (do any of these people have normal names?) stole a bike in 1992. Not so serious, right? Well, when the owner of the bike and his son chase him down, Valjakkala shot and killed the 2 men, doubled back and killed the man’s wife. While in prison, he escaped 4 times and 19 years into his life sentence was released on parole. Shortly after, he was caught stealing a car and thrown back into jail only to be released a year later.
4.) Karla Homolka
This Canadian killer was part of a murderous duo with her husband. Her husband was infatuated with her sister, Tammy, so Karla would drug her sister and let her husband have sex with her unconscious body. One day, Karla accidentally made her sister OD. She died choking on her own vomit. They continued their murderous ways for a few more victims before finally getting caught. Karla then convinced the judge that she was just an innocent party in the killing spree and that her husband was the mastermind behind the plan. Her husband was sentenced to life in jail and Karla got 15 years. She was released in 2005 and now lives in Guadeloupe with a husband and three kids.
5.) Mary Bell
Mary Bell (hey, a normal name) murdered 2 people in cold blood before she even became an adult. One day before her 11th birthday, Bell strangled a 4 year old boy in an abandoned house and enlisted the help of a friend to murder a second boy. She also strangled this three year old, carved letters into his body, cut off some of his hair, and mutilated his genitals. Mary spent 12 years in prison and was released when she was 23. She now has grandchildren.
6.) Arnfinn Nesset
Arfinn Nesset was a nurse at hospices in Norway. He is believed to have killed hundreds of patients with muscle relaxers but only was convicted of murdering 22 people. At the time in Norway the maximum sentence that could be given was 21 years. He served his time and is now a free man living in an undisclosed location.
7.) Louis Van Schoor
Van Schoor, an ex-cop, would wait for silent alarms at businesses to be enacted, drive to the business and shoot the intruders with his pistol. He is believed to have killed 39 people, but was only convicted of 7 murders and 2 attempted murders. He was sentenced to 20 years in jail and was released after 12.
8.) Nikolai Dzhumagaliev
Nikolai Dzhumagaliev had a nickname, “Metal Fang” because of his false teeth that were made of metal. He is believed to have murdered 7 women… and he even ATE some of them. Once he was caught, he was only convicted to a year in jail because he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Once released, he held a party for his friends and during the party, killed one of the guests and began dismembering them in front of the other partygoers, who fled immediately. When the cops arrived they were so shocked that Dzhumagaliev was able to escape only to be arrested the next day. Due to his previous mental instability he was only sentenced to 8 years in prison and is now a free man.
9.) Gagliano
This man is currently serving time, so he is not technically a free man BUT! he is on this list because he has been able to escape prisons quite frequently. He was originally put away for murdering a prostitute and injuring another. While in captivity, he escaped and murdered two more people. He then was issued a 2 day good behavior pass so he could visit his sick mother. When he didn’t return after his 2 days were up, a country-wide manhunt for him began and he was captured after he shot his girlfriend in the chin. He has escaped a total of 6 times.
10.) Pedro Lopez
300 murders. Pedro Lopez preyed on young women in Columbia, Peru, and Ecuador. It seemed super farfetched to believe that one man was responsible for the deaths of so many people, so the police actually had a hard time believing him when he initially confessed to the crimes. That is until a flood revealed a mass grave where he stored many of the bodies. He (for some reason) was only sentenced to 18 years in prison and now walks the streets.
The next time you are walking down the street thinking everything is safe, just remember that these madmen are on the loose. Keep your eyes peeled and your head on a swivel. You never know who is out there, folks.
