
Who is the shortest serial killer?
Cold, cruel, calculating…short? When you think of some of the most famous serial killers, you might not immediately imagine them to be shorter than the average person.
But, as history has proven, there have been more than a few who break that perception. Indeed, in some cases, these killers have even used their small size to their advantage, allowing them to go undetected and carry on their crimes for longer.
Fascinated by serial killers? So are we at Crime+Investigation. Read on to learn what we’ve discovered about some of the shortest serial killers from around the world.
Peter Kürten
5 ft 5 (1.65m)
When you hear the nickname ‘The Vampire of Düsseldorf’, what do you imagine? A scary Dracula-like imposing figure looming over six foot?
The reality is that Peter Kürten was significantly shorter than that, at only 5 ft 5, but his reputation was no less monstrous than famous vampires from folklore.
Described as 'the king of sexual perverts' by forensic scientist Karl Berg, Kürten was known for being particularly savage in his brutality. Between 1913 and 1929, he killed nine, attempted to kill more than 30 and committed scores more sexual assaults.
He earned his nickname due to his tendency to drink blood from his victims’ wounds. After being sentenced to death, Kürten was executed by guillotine in July 1931.
Aileen Wuornos
5 ft 4 (1.61m)
Aileen Wuornos may have been the average height of an American woman, but still makes this list, having stood at 5 ft 4.
Like many serial killers, Wuornos’ life was defined by a difficult childhood. Abandoned at age four by her mother, she never met her father and was brought up by her alcoholic, abusive grandparents.
By age 11, she began engaging in sexual activity at school in exchange for cigarettes, drugs and food. It’s also claimed she was sexually involved with her brother.
Considering this, it’s little surprise that Wuornos eventually fell into sex work, where she began her killing spree. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, while working as a street prostitute, she shot dead or robbed seven of her male clients.
During her trial, she claimed that her killings were self defence after the men had raped or attempted to rape her. But the jury saw through her defence and she was sentenced to death for six of the murders.
After spending ten years on Florida’s death row, Wuornos was executed by lethal injection in 2002.
Donald Henry Gaskins
5 ft 4
You’re probably familiar with the expression 'short man syndrome'
As you can probably guess from his nickname, Gaskins was not a tall man, standing at only 5 ft 4. Raised in poverty, he suffered bullying during his school years due to his small size. Did this contribute to his murderous tendencies? It’s unlikely, but it’s impossible to say for sure.
What we do know is that his killing spree began in the late 1960s. Gaskins would usually target hitchhikers and drifters – including teenagers, young women and even the elderly.
Even as his murders mounted up, Gaskins managed to avoid detection for years. It’s believed that his size worked in his favour – put simply, nobody could suspect a man so small could be so monstrous.
Dorothea Puente
5 ft 2 (1.57m)
It’s perhaps no surprise that many of the shortest serial killers are women. Dorothea Puente, known by her sinister nickname of 'The Death House Landlady' is one of the most notorious.
Puente was 5 ft 2 – slightly below the average height of a woman in the US. To outsiders, she appeared to be a respectable and generous member of her Sacramento community, running a boarding house for the vulnerable and destitute.
Secretly, however, she used this façade to cover her crimes – murdering at least nine people who stayed with her. Her motivations were purely financial, and during her trial she displayed no remorse for her actions.
Puente was found guilty of three murders, with the jury hung on the remaining six. She spent the final 18 years of her life behind bars and died, aged 82, in 2011.
Charles Manson
5 ft 2…or 5 ft 6 (1.67m)
He led a deadly cult that resulted in at least nine murders, but just how tall was Charles Manson? That’s a difficult question to answer due to the conflicting information available. Some reports suggest that he was far from the imposing figure you might suspect of someone so notorious, standing at just 5 ft 2 in height, significantly shorter than the average American man.
However, clearly worried that his small size would somehow diminish his reputation, the man himself was keen to correct the record.
'Everyone says I’m 5 foot 2. When I was arrested, I was 5 foot 7,' he is quoted as saying. 'Then I went down to 5 foot 6. Then I went down to 5 foot. By the time you all die, I will be about 3 feet tall.'
Manson claimed that he was five foot six 'and three-quarters'. Whatever the truth, the case remains that Manson was definitely on the shorter side when it comes to serial killers.
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