5 wives of notorious serial killers
Imagine marrying your partner, living a seemingly happy and normal life together for decades, only to one day discover they’re a serial killer.
It might sound far-fetched, the sort of story that only happens in films. Yet for a handful of women, this nightmare scenario became all too real.
The idea of a serial killer leading a double life is terrifying enough. For wives of notorious killers, the eventual revelations didn’t just shatter their lives – they obliterated their sense of reality.
Crime+Investigation will tap into the wives of prolific serial killers and how, according to them, they were kept in the dark about their husbands’ crimes.
1. Paula Rader: Dennis Rader's wife
Dennis Rader, known to the world as the BTK (‘Bind, Torture, Kill’) killer, murdered 10 people in Kansas between 1974 and 1991. At home, however, he was the model husband to Paula Rader. For decades, Paula believed she was married to a quiet, church-going family man who held down steady jobs and took his role as Scout leader seriously.
When Rader was finally unmasked in 2005, Paula filed for divorce almost immediately – and it was granted in record time. She has never spoken publicly about her husband’s crimes, instead retreating from the spotlight with her children.
The silence itself speaks volumes. How could the man she shared a bed with be capable of such cruelty? Paula’s decision not to relive it publicly is her own way of drawing a line under a life she never truly understood.
2. Carole Hoff: John Wayne Gacy's wife
John Wayne Gacy, the ‘Killer Clown’, murdered 33 young men and boys in the 1970s, burying most of them under his Chicago home. His second wife, Carole Hoff, had no clue about the horrors hidden beneath their feet. To her, Gacy was a charismatic contractor who sometimes drank too much but seemed otherwise ordinary.
When Gacy was arrested in 1978, Hoff’s world came crashing down. In later interviews, she admitted she never suspected the truth, though she had grown uneasy with his mood swings and controlling behaviour. Hoff gave some interviews after Gacy’s conviction but disappeared from public life. The sheer proximity of his crimes, bodies under her home, became one of the most haunting details of the case, and a reminder of how completely a façade can conceal the truth.
3. Primrose Shipman: Harold Shipman's wife
Harold Shipman, one of Britain’s most prolific serial killers, murdered hundreds of his patients while working as a GP in Greater Manchester. His wife, Primrose, stood by him during his trial in 2000, even writing supportive letters while he sat in prison. Unlike many other wives, Primrose initially refused to believe her husband was capable of such crimes.
Over time, however, her faith began to crack. By the time Shipman hanged himself in his cell in 2004, Primrose had distanced herself completely, changing her name and vanishing from public view.
To this day, she has never spoken openly about her husband’s crimes. For many, her initial loyalty remains one of the most baffling aspects of the case, a testament to how deep denial can run when the truth is unthinkable.
4. Carole Ann Boone: Ted Bundy's wife
Ted Bundy is often remembered for his charm and manipulation, qualities he used not only to lure victims but also to keep those closest to him in the dark. Carole Ann Boone, whom Bundy met at work, became his partner and later his wife during his trial. She refused to believe in his guilt and even testified on his behalf.
Bundy proposed to her in court, exploiting a loophole in Florida law to make their relationship official in front of the jury.
Boone gave birth to Bundy’s daughter while he was on death row. Only in his final years, as the evidence became overwhelming, did Boone cut ties with him. She never spoke publicly about their marriage and lived the rest of her life under a new identity.
5. Rena Costello: Fred West's first wife
In the UK, the crimes of Fred and Rose West shocked the nation. Rose was complicit in the killings, but Fred’s first wife, Rena Costello, was not.
Rena reportedly endured violence and manipulation before eventually leaving him. She vanished in 1971 and is believed to have been one of Fred’s victims. In this case, it wasn’t about a wife kept in the dark, it was about one who was silenced forever.
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