5 Lesser-Known American Serial Killers Who Have Yet to Be Captured

Oxygen audiences are no strangers to some of the deadliest serial killers in the nation. Jeffrey Dahmer , for example, earned notoriety for the cannibalistic murders of 17 young men and boys in the Milwaukee area. John Wayne Gacy , too, became infamous for brutally murdering dozens of victims and hiding their bodies in his crawlspace. Ted Bundy killed a string of women in the mid-70s, though his exact body count remains unknown.

Unknown Serial Killers of America , a new Oxygen original series premiering Sunday, May 18, 2025, takes a look at the lesser-known serial killers of the country, some of whom were perhaps even more prolific than their more infamous counterparts.

Each of the six episodes puts a name to the likes of The Sunday Morning Slasher and The Chameleon Killer, plus more. And while many uncaptured killers, including Jack the Ripper and the Zodiac Killer , are well-known to even the most seasoned Oxygen viewers, here are a few not-as-famous American cases in which the killer (or killers) has never been identified.

The West Mesa Bone Collector

In February 2009, a woman walking her dog on the west side of Albuquerque, New Mexico discovered a bone resembling a human femur protruding from the desert ground. After contacting the Albuquerque Police Department , investigators uncovered 11 women and teens, plus an unborn child, buried in a collection of makeshift graves.

Ten of the 11 victims had ties to drugs and sex work, officials said, and it was later determined that most of them were last seen alive between 2001 and 2005. At least eight missing females who have yet to be accounted for are considered possible victims of the same killer.

Due to the location of the bodies and the manner in which they were found, the unidentified killer garnered several monikers, including the 118th Street Serial Killer, the West Mesa Killer, the Bone Collector, and variations of.

An official suspect has never been named, and a reward of up to $100,000 remains in place for information leading to an arrest and conviction.

The Doodler

The “Doodler” or “Black Doodler” is the name connected to an unidentified killer who targeted gay men in the Bay Area between 1974 and 1975. San Francisco Police say the serial killer murdered a confirmed six men — and possibly more — by primarily stabbing them to death and leaving them on the beach. According to The San Francisco Chronicle , there may be as many as 16 victims.

One survivor reported meeting a slender Black male, between 19 and 25 years old, at a diner after the bars closed. He said his assailant skillfully drew animal figures on a napkin and claimed to be attending school as an aspiring cartoonist, hence the killer’s nickname.

A composite sketch of the suspect prompted an unknown woman to place multiple anonymous calls to police regarding the name and license plate number of a “ strong suspect ,” according to police. Other calls reporting the same information followed, and the unnamed suspect was interviewed in 1976.

For unknown reasons, police do not know the tipsters’ identities and have appealed to the public for help, stating in 2023, “The same person interviewed by police in 1976 is still the focus of our investigation.”

Police officials hope to identify the suspect, with a $250,000 reward in place for an arrest and conviction.

The Jeff Davis 8 Killer

The Jeff Davis 8 and the Jennings 8 are the colloquial terms for eight murder victims discovered in the bayous around Jennings, Louisiana, in Jefferson Davis Parish, about 90 miles west of Baton Rouge. The women, most of whom had connections with drugs and sex work, were discovered in swamps and canals between 2005 and 2009.

Decomposition made it impossible to determine a cause of death for all, though some had their throats slit while others appeared to have died from asphyxiation, according to Fox News .

Former strip club owner and alleged pimp and drug abuser Frankie Richard reportedly knew each victim and became a person of interest in the case but was never officially charged. He passed away in 2020, as reported by Lafayette ABC affiliate KATC , and the case of the eight murdered women remains unsolved.

The Freeway Phantom

Between April 1971 and September 1972, someone abducted, raped, and strangled six Black girls — whose ages ranged from 10 to 18 — in neighborhoods around Washington, D.C., according to The Washington Post . The girls, many of whom were walking close to home, were believed to have been kept alive for days, as supported by 10-year-old murder victim Brenda Faye Crockett calling home following her abduction, as previously reported by Oxygen.com .

Crockett reported being “snatched” by a white man before her body — like the others — was found near a busy road.

The killer, who called himself the “Free-way Phantom,” taunted investigators as his crimes progressed. He had 18-year-old Brenda Woodard write a note on his behalf, later found in the coat pocket with Woodard’s raped, strangled, and stabbed body.

“This is tantamount to my insensititivity [sic] to people especially women. I will admit the others when you catch me if you can!” it read.

Despite efforts, the killer’s identity was never learned.

Metro Police are offering up to $150,000 for information.

The New Bedford Highway Killer

It is widely accepted that a single killer, dubbed the New Bedford Highway Killer, was responsible for terrorizing the coastal town in southeastern Massachusetts. Between April and September 1988, nine female sex workers disappeared, their bodies found along interstates and off-ramps, typically months after they vanished.

Two victims remain missing, according to Boston’s WFXT .

Kenneth Ponte, a former New Bedford-based lawyer, was charged in 1989 with killing one of the women, but charges against him were eventually dropped due to insufficient evidence, according to The Standard-Times . He was found dead in his apartment in 2010, though no foul play was suspected.

Attorneys claimed another, Anthony DeGrazia, was a “strong suspect” in the case after he was charged in a series of attacks against sex workers unrelated to the victims. He was found dead in his girlfriend’s parents’ backyard in 1991, allegedly a suicide from overdosing on pills.

Some believed DeGrazia took his own life upon hearing reports that prosecutors sought to drop the murder charge against Ponte, as reported by United Press International .

Several persons of interest came and went, though the New Bedford slayings remain unsolved.

Tune in to learn more about the Unknown Serial Killers of America , premiering Sunday, May 18, 2025, at 7/6c on Oxygen.