5 serial killers who terrorised the 1980s
The 1980s were a strange decade for crime. It was a time before DNA profiling and before CCTV became part of everyday life. Police investigations often relied on witness accounts and gut instinct. Some of the most infamous names in true crime were active during this era, leaving behind stories that still haunt headlines and documentaries today.
Join Crime+Investigation as we list some of the most notorious serial killers who terrorised the 1980s.
1. Dennis Nilsen
Although Dennis Nilsen began killing in the late 1970s, his crimes continued into the early 1980s and were only uncovered in 1983. Living in North London, Scotland-born Nilsen murdered at least twelve young men and boys, many of whom he met through pubs or on the streets. He would invite them back to his flat, where he strangled them, often after drinking together.
As well as having the moniker 'Kindly Killer' due to his calm and emotionless demeanour, Nilsen was also referred to as 'The Muswell Hill Killer' as that’s where most of his crimes took place. Sometimes referred to as the UK’s version of Jeffrey Dahmer, Dennis Nilsen, was sentenced to life imprisonment and died in prison in 2018.
2. Fred and Rose West
Next up are Fred and Rose West, and their house of horrors. Few cases in British criminal history are as notorious as that of this killer couple. While some of their murders took place in the 1970s, the full scale of their crimes was not uncovered until the mid-1990s. However, during the 1980s, the Wests were actively abusing and killing young women and girls inside their Gloucester home at 25 Cromwell Street.
The couple murdered at least 12 people, including members of their own family. Victims were subjected to extreme sexual violence before being killed and buried in the house or garden. For years, neighbours and police had little idea of what was happening behind the walls of what later became known as the 'house of horrors'.
3. Peter Sutcliffe
Peter Sutcliffe, 'The Yorkshire Ripper', murdered 13 women between 1975 and 1980. While most of his killings took place before the decade turned, the impact of his crimes dominated the early 1980s. He was arrested in January 1981 after years of one of the most expensive and flawed manhunts in British policing. His killings still echoed throughout the era.
Convicted in 1981, Sutcliffe was initially sentenced to life imprisonment. His case reshaped how British police approached serial investigations and remains a grim reference point in discussions about investigative failure.
4. Richard Ramirez
Even if you weren’t around in the 1980s, you would’ve heard the moniker 'The Night Stalker', whether it be from a documentary or podcast. 1980s America was terrorised by Ramirez, who operated primarily in California between 1984 and 1985. He broke into homes at night, assaulting and murdering his victims of completely different ages and backgrounds.
What made Ramirez especially terrifying was the randomness of his attacks. There was no single victim type, no consistent location and no clear pattern. Southern California lived in fear as people slept with lights on and weapons nearby.
His capture in 1985 followed public recognition of his face from media coverage and his pursuit in the street. In 1989, Ramirez was convicted of 13 murders and sentenced to death. He died on death row in 2013.
5. Jeffrey Dahmer
Jeffrey Dahmer’s crimes came to light in 1991, but many of 'The Milwaukee Cannibal' murders took place in the late 1980s. Between 1978 and 1991, Dahmer killed 17 young men and boys, with a significant number of victims murdered during the latter half of the 1980s.
Dahmer’s case horrified the world due to the extreme nature of his crimes, which included necrophilia, dismemberment and cannibalism. He lured victims to his apartment, where he drugged and killed them, often keeping body parts as trophies.
Dahmer avoided capture for so long. On more than one occasion, police returned injured victims to him, accepting his explanations without proper checks. He was finally arrested and exposed in 1991.
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