Jeffrey Dahmer was a homosexual sexual deviant who raped, murdered and ate parts of 17 victims. Like other killers such as John Wayne Gacy, he managed to elude capture while continuing to carry out his crimes. Like every other sociopath serial killer in history he believed himself to be completely justified in his actions. Why does a Jeffrey Dahmer happen? How does a man become a serial killer, necrophiliac, cannibal and psychopath? Many of the theories would have you believe that the answers can always be found in childhood abuse, bad parenting, head trauma, foetal alcoholism and drug addiction. Perhaps in some cases these are contributing factors, but not for Jeffrey Dahmer…

For many years, Myra Hindley was depicted by the tabloid press as "the most hated woman in Britain". The crimes committed by Hindley and her lover, Ian Brady, shocked the nation and became the benchmark by which other acts of evil came to be measured. Until she met Brady, Hindley had been, by all accounts, a perfectly normal girl, with strong religious feelings. She loved children and animals, and was much in demand as a babysitter. When they became lovers, Hindley was prepared to do anything Brady asked… Can people be persuaded to kill for love? Were they crimes of passion? Brady claimed that Hindley was a manipulative liar who was as committed to murder as he had been…

Two black Americans, John Allen Muhammad, 42, a veteran of the Gulf War in 1991, and his stepson John Lee Malvo, 17, were convicted in 2004 of being the ‘Washington sniper’, who had been terrorizing America over a period of three weeks. Police found a gun in the suspects car - the criminals had supposedly shot it 13 times. Ten innocent people were killed, and three were wounded. Police also found a scope and a tripod. The criminals probably shot the victims without even leaving the car, as it has an opening in the trunk that allows people to lie hidden and shoot the victims. Experts unanimously agreed that it was John Allen Muhammad who was the force of the criminal tandem. What were the motives of these men, and was one ‘guiltier’ than the other? Psychologists suppose that John Allen Muhammad is non compos mentis, but find it difficult to explain why the stepson acted in the same way…

The Back Pack Killer. Australia's worst solo serial killer, Ivan Milat, is now serving life for the murders of seven hitchhiking backpackers between 1989 and 1992. Many questions remain unanswered and there is uncertainty about the full extent of Ivan Milat’s crimes. Did he murder for entertainment? Some say his motivation lay in his family background and upbringing. Ivan Milat grew up as one of 14 siblings, a close-knit family who didn’t mix with others. They were surrounded by guns amidst an ethos of lawlessness and unbreakable family loyalty. Did he kill alone? One of his siblings, Boris, broke the bonds of rigid family loyalty to speak out against the convicted killer. He said it was likely there were more of his victims that haven’t yet been found…

The world’s most prolific killer, Shipman is estimated to have killed 275 people, but the actual figure will never be known. The 57-year-old GP was given 15 life sentences to run concurrently for the murders, and four years for forging a will, but hung himself in his cell after he was sentenced. He always denied his crimes. When the police began investigating Dr Harold Shipman in September 1998 they struggled to understand him. How could a GP who was trusted and respected by more than 3,000 patients also be a killer who struck time after time with no obvious motive? The coroner speculated that ‘the only valid possible explanation for it is that he simply enjoyed viewing the process of dying and enjoyed the feeling of control over life and death, literally over life and death …’

Over a period of about twenty years Fred and Rose West abducted, tortured, raped and murdered an unknown number of girls, many of whom lay buried in the garden until the police dug them up. What motivated West to commit such terrible crimes? Was he born evil or did his upbringing make him this way? Did he do it for sexual kicks? Or, as some allege, did he supply the sacrificial victims to a black magic coven?

Ted Bundy orchestrated a campaign of terror that stretched across the United States. Between 1974 and 1978 he lured a series of pretty, dark haired women to gruesome deaths. Described as handsome and charming, Ted didn’t fit the bill of a conventional murderer. Until the end, Bundy remained arrogant and defiant, choosing to conduct his own defence in the trial. Bundy was sent to the electric chair in 1989, whilst hundreds of people cheered his death outside the prison…

He was known as the ‘Killer Clown’, and buried his young male victims under the crawl space of his suburban home. John Wayne Gacy was a monster in human form – a pillar of the community who viciously snuffed out the lives of more than thirty men. He’d prowl the streets at night, luring hitchhikers and runaways back to his home where he’d torture and kill them. Gacy was found guilty in 1980 and sentenced to death…

Made famous for Charlize Theron’s portrayal of her in the film Monster, Aileen Wuornos was executed in 2002 for the murder of seven men. A down-on-her luck lesbian prostitute, she lured her clients to remote wooded areas, and more often than not, shot them at point blank range. Tried and convicted in a Florida court, Aileen received 6 death sentences and spent a total of 12 years on death row…

Known as the Vampire of Sacramento, Richard Trenton Chase was a deranged monster who slaughtered men, women and children in a bloody rampage that shook the Californian State Capital…

In 1958 the real ‘Natural Born Killers’, Charles Starkweather and his teenage girlfriend Caril Ann Fugate, embarked on an 8-day killing spree that left 10 people dead and many more fearing for their lives. The duo was captured in January 1958 and Starkweather was executed on the electric chair little over a year later…

He was one of the infamous serial killers in modern American history. Better known as the Boston Strangler, De Salvo’s reign of terror claimed at least 13 victims. A violent sexual deviant, he confessed to all the murders – yet some doubt his authenticity.