The Most Notorious Crime Duos Of All Time

By Joy Boyd 1 year ago

1. Bonnie and Clyde

Image Source: Wikipedia
Bonnie and Clyde are incredibly famous for being a crime duo who were both very good-looking and very in love with each other. We've seen them referenced time and again across pop culture even today. They were known for their robberies and kept their heists pretty small, but they weren't above killing anyone who got in their way!

2. Robert Thompson and Jon Venables

Image Source: iNews
This one is sad. Robert and Jon are two of the youngest killers ever. When they were just 10 years old, they abducted and killed 2 year old James Bolger. They lured the child away from his mother and took him to a railway line where they tortured and killed him. Both were tried as adults and sentenced to prison indefinitely.

3. Alton Coleman and Debra Brown

Image Source: Rolling Stone
When the couple met, Alton had already racked up multiple robbery and s*x crime charges. In 1984, when he was charged with the rape and murder of a young girl, Alton and Debra went on the run together. They began a crime spree of kidnapping, grand theft auto, burglary and murder. Alton was executed and Debra received life in prison.

4. Henry Lucas and Ottis Toole

Image Source: ListVerse
The sad reality is that the number of people this couple murdered together is unknown. After they began their intimate relationship, their serial killer behavior heightened. The pair drifted around the country spending their time abducting, r*ping and murdering people.

5. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Image Source: The Cabinet Card Gallery
These two got their criminal kicks from robbing trains. It's said that along with their gang called "Robbers Roost," they robbed dozens of trains and stole thousands of dollars. That's a lot of cash back in the early 1900s. When they were being chased by authorities, they escaped to South America, where they died, but their exact fate is unknown.

6. Rose Turford and Carolyn Stevens

Image Source: Unsolved Mysteries Wiki
You may have heard of the film 
Thelma and Louise
. Well, they call these two the real-life versions of them. Through their crimes, they robbed at least 10 men of $250,000. They had various disguises from nuns to strippers, even after they were caught, to continue their crime spree. While they didn't kill anyone, they wreaked a lot of havoc on anyone who crossed their path!

7. The Sunset Strip Killers

Image Source: Los Angeles Magazine
Carol M. Bundy and Doug Clark quickly moved in together after meeting. Shortly after, Doug began bringing prostitutes back to the house. This then led to p*dophilia and eventually murder. They began luring girls they picked up on the Sunset Strip back to their place to kill them and then assault their corpses.

8. The Bonnie and Clyde wannabes

Image Source: WTVY
When Immanuel and Cara Lee Williams couldn't pay their bills and had a baby on the way, they decided that the answer was a crime spree. They began robbing banks to pay for Cara's maternity leave. Together, they robbed 15 banks across Florida and Alabama, and Cara referred to their crimes as their "Bonnie and Clyde moments."

9. Frank and Jesse James

Image Source: Atlas Obscura
Jesse and Frank James became the most infamous criminals in the Wild West. Starting out as Confederate guerrillas during the Civil War, they hijacked a train, looted it, and then killed 22 people onboard. They then moved on to banks, stage coaches, and shops, and they also pulled off the first daylight bank robbery, killing someone in the process and escaping with $58,000.

10. San Francisco Witch Killers

Image Source: People
Susan and Michael "Bear" Carson had a shared love for mysticism and drugs. This combination along with a fundamentalist moral code led to their criminal behavior. They believed it was their duty to murder anyone they believed to be a witch, and that they were on this mission given by God.

11. DC Snipers

Image Source: The Daily Beast
John Muhammad (41) and John Lee Malvo (17) shot and killed 13 people over the course of 3 weeks in the Washington D.C. area. While on their sniper rampage, the two would take turns as shooter and lookout. When they were finally caught, Muhammad was sentenced to death, and Malvo was tried as an adult and given life in prison.

12. The Spahalski Twins

Image Source: Java Films
The Spahalski twins grew up committing crimes together. It started out as a desire to steal the biggest items possible and resulted in a murder. While Stephen was in jail for that murder, Robert began committing murders of his own. Although they were estranged for a long time, they both committed multiple murders.

13. Myra Hindley and Ian Brady

Image Source: Wikipedia
This young couple had a horrific, shared desire for raping, torturing and killing children. The two kidnapped five children in the 1960s, between the ages of 10 and 17, and then left their bodies in the Saddleworth Moors (in England), hence becoming known as the "Moors Murders."

14. The Lonely Hearts Killers

Image Source: The Lineup
This is an odd one. Raymond Fernandez was in prison for petty theft, and while there, he learned about voodoo and the occult. He left prison convinced he could control women with his powers. He used these powers to rob them, and when Martha Beck showed up, they became partners in crime. They started scamming women together, which eventually led to them committing murders together too.

15. The Kray Twins

Image Source: British GQ
The Kray brothers were known for running "The Firm" which is a violent gang in London, while simultaneously owning a nightclub that saw the likes of Judy Garland and Frank Sinatra. Their crimes included extortion, torture, arson, and more. They worked together as a team and were known as Britain's Godfathers.

16. The Carr Brothers

Image Source: The Wichita Eagle
Speaking of murderous brothers, Reginald and Jonathan Carr went on a six-day crime and killing spree. They started off robbing an assistant baseball coach, and just a few days later, it escalated to fatally wounding someone during a car jacking. They continued to break into homes, commit sexual abuse, and murder.

17. William Burke and William Hare

Image Source: IrishCentral
Med students in the 18th century were desperate for cadavers to practice on. So William Hare decided to use this as a morbid opportunity. When a neighbor passed away, Hare sold the body to a university for their med students. The Williams went into business together, murdering people and selling their corpses for a profit. Terrifying!

18. Dick Hickock and Perry Smith

Image Source: Criminal Minds Wiki
Dick Hickock and Perry Smith murdered the Clutter family in 1959. They became the central characters for Truman Capote's non-fiction book "In Cold Blood." They raided the home searching for a safe that contained money, but they never found it. When they couldn't find the money, they killed the family members one at a time. Once caught, they were sentenced to death and executed by hanging.

19. Leopold and Loeb

Image Source: Chicago Tribune
Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold were lovers and only 18 and 19 respectively when they began planning there. Both were fantastic students who you'd never expect to be killers, but both also considered themselves above the law. They became obsessed with committing the perfect murder, the first unfortunate victim being Robert's own cousin. They did a messy job, though, and were caught very quickly.

20. The Lethal Lovers

Image Source: Serial Killer Database
Gwendolyn Graham and Catherine May Wood worked in a nursing home together and fell in love. They killed multiple patients together to "relieve tension," and they considered it their love ritual. After the couple broke up, they were caught when Catherine told her then husband about the murders, and he turned her in.

21. Christine Paolilla and Chris Snyder

Image Source: ABC News
Christine was voted "Miss Irresistible" in 2003, which is the same year she met Chris. The two developed a dr*g addiction that resulted in them killing four people when trying to steal dr*gs. After that, they went on the run and were at large for nearly three years before they were arrested.

22. Jasmine Richardson and Jeremy Steinke

Image Source: Medium 
At the very young age of 12, Jasmine Richardson met the then 23 year old Jeremy Steinke. Jeremy was a self-proclaimed vampire, and the two began dating. When her parents told her she was not allowed to see Jeremy, the pair decided to murder Jasmine's parents and her 8 year old brother.

23. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

Image Source: Wikipedia
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were the first two civilians ever to be executed in the United States for conspiracy to commit espionage. It's alleged that the pair shared information about the atomic bomb with the Soviet Union. The two were sentenced to death by the electric chair, much to the outrage of the people. It's still unclear as to whether they were guilty or not!

24. The Scissor Sisters

Image Source: Sunday World
Linda and Charlotte Mulhall became the subjects of one of the most famous cases in Ireland. The sisters killed and dismembered their mother's boyfriend, because he allegedly was abusive towards their mother. The sisters had a troubled history of crime, prostitution, and drugs.

25. The Twilight Killers

Image Source: Now TV
Kim Edwards and Lucas Markham were only 14 years old when they began their very intense and weird relationship. Kim did not have a good relationship with her mom, and when the mother tried to break up the young couple, Kim and Lucas made a plot to kill her. After they murdered Kim's mom and younger sister, they took a bath, had s*x, and watched the film
Twilight
.

26. The Menendez Brothers

Image Source: Rolling Stone
Lyle and Erik Menendez always seemingly had a bond others viewed as odd. Their father was incredibly strict, and the two became dependent on each other. They began committing thefts together, and both received a diagnosis of sociopathic tendencies. The two decided to kill their father to remove him from their lives, and then also kill their mother so she wouldn't have to grieve his loss. After the double murder, they used their father's money to go on shopping sprees and vacations.

27. Charles Starkweather and Caril Fugate

Image Source: NBC News
Charles was convicted of eleven murders, and Caril was named an accomplice in ten of them. Caril was only 15 years old when she found her boyfriend, Charles, had murdered HER mother, stepfather and baby sister. After people became suspicious, the pair went on the run, which resulted in a violent road trip of robbery and more murders.

28. The Ken and Barbie Killers

Image Source: Toronto Star
Karla Homolka and Paul Bernardo were not a match made in heaven. Before meeting, Paul had a long history of r*pe and assault. He was abusive towards Karla, but she also encouraged his sadistic behavior towards women. Together they r*ped and killed at least three women between 1990 and 1992.

29. The Columbine Killers

Image Source: NZ Herald
Honestly, these guys don't even deserve to be discussed. They so desperately wanted fame, so we hate to even talk about them here, but the Columbine shooting is one of the most notorious school shootings in history. We won't even give the satisfaction of typing their names, but the Columbine shooting was a shocking and senseless tragedy leaving 13 students dead.

30. Joseph and Jenny Carrier

Image Source: Philadelphia Magazine
If you saw these two on the street, you'd likely think they're just a suburban couple living their lives. In reality, the pair went on a bank robbery spree up and down the East Coast. The unfortunate reality is that they didn't get away with much cash - about $15,000 total, but they were trying to support their heroin addiction.

31. Bailey Boswell and Aubrey Trail

image source: omaha.com
Known as the minds behind the 'Tinder Murder', this sadistic pair lured a woman to her death by pretending she was going out on a date with Bailey Boswell. The poor woman - Syndey Loofe - was murdered and then had her remains disposed of in 16 different garbage bags.

32. Catherine and David Birnie

image source: IMDb.com
Back in the 80s, Catherine Birnie - who was with somebody else at the time - left him to reunite with her childhood sweetheart, David. Why? So that they could play out their fantasies, which included murder. Over five weeks, the couple abducted, raped and murdered four women - the fifth managed to escape.

33. Ray and Faye Copeland

image source: wikipedia.org
In the 1980s, this married couple decided to start murdering their farm hands. It's believed they killed up to 12 workers on their farm. A tip to Crime Stoppers got them caught, when the bodies of several men were found on the farm by police - as well as a quilt that the Copelands had made out of their victims' clothes.

34. The Virgin Hunters

image source: thesun.co.uk
This pair, Monique Olivier and Michel Fourniret, married after Monique had initially been writing letters to Michel while he was already serving time in prison. Over a decade, they abducted, sexually assaulted and murdered between 8 and 12 girls, and 1 man. Olivier eventually turned Fourniret, and herself, in.

35. The Baby Farmers

image source: dailytelegraph.co.uk
Sarah Jane and John Makin were a married couple in the late 1800s, who had 10 children together. The term 'baby farmers' is actually more innocent than it sounds, as the pair turned to caring for children in exchange for money in an early form of foster care. But it turned sinister when the bodies of at least 12 murdered infants were found on their property. One of their victims was an 18-month old.

36. Inessa Tarverdiyeva and Roman Podkopaev

image source: dailymail.co.uk
This murderous pair actually kept it in the family - because their children were also killers. Together, they were all known as the Gang of Amazons. The family was known to have killed at least 30 people, as well as stealing thousands of dollars. Roman was killed in a police shootout, the rest went to prison.

37. Cindy Hendry and David Parker Ray

image source: allthatsinteresting.com
Also known as the 'Toy Box Killer', David Parker Ray actually began killing before he met Cindy Hendry. Ray's 'toy box' was actually a trailer he'd had soundproofed and fitted with various torture devices. Cindy would help him lure victims there: 25 women who were tortured, raped and murdered.

38. Rose and Fred West

image source: bbc.com
Not long after they married, Rose and Fred West took advantage of young women looking for lodgings by providing their own home - and then murdering them. In total, there were at least 13 victims - 3 of which were the West's own children. Their crimes included torture, rape and murder.

39. Cynthia Coffman and James Gregory Marlow

image source: buzzfeed.com
James Gregory Marlow married Cynthia after he was released from prison, and the couple then went on to rape and kill four women. After they were caught, found guilty and sentenced to death, Cynthia Coffman was actually the first woman to be put on death row since 1977.

40. And Now: Some Of The Most Famous Crime Duos From Fiction! Walter White and Jesse Pinkman

image source: bleedingcool.com
Breaking Bad remains one of the best TV shows that you have to watch in your lifetime - and the partnership between Walter White and Jesse Pinkman is one of the reasons. While you felt sympathy for Jesse in the end, Walter only spiralling into a murdering lunatic.

41. George and Diego

image source: twitter.com
The famous biopic 'Blow' starred Johnny Depp and Jordi Molla as the crime due, George and Diego. The pair just proved how everything can be fine and dandy when money is good and drugs are even better - but when things go wrong, things really go south.. especially for these two.

42. Jules and Vincent

image source: dazed.com
If you're a fan of Quentin Tarantino, then you should already have seen Pulp Fiction - if you haven't, you should probably go watch it now! Jules and Vincent are one of the most iconic crime pairs in the history of cinema, and arguably one of the best performances from Samuel L Jackson and John Travolta.

43. Jimmy Conway and Henry Hill

image source: thetelegraph.co.uk
Goodfellas is one of the best organized crime films in history, and nothing is more legendary than the pairing of Jimmy Conway and Henry Hill, played by Robert De Niro and Ray Liotta. The pairing doesn't mean that the characters are likeable - nobody is in this movie - but their relationship and ultimate betrayal from Hill makes for a great watch.

44. Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid

image source: theguardian.com
This crime pair is so famous that most people have probably heard of the names even if they don't have a clue who they are! This Wild West outlaws go down in the history books, and even more so because of the performances from Paul Newman and Robert Redford.

45. Brandon and Phillip

image source: baltimoreson.com
Hitchcock's movie 'Rope' is actually inspired by real life murderers Leopold and Loeb, who murdered someone just to see if they could get away with it. In this movie, Brandon and Philip are the unnervingly calm murderous pair who strangle their classmate just to see if they can get away with it.

46. Sal and Sonny

image source: pinterest.com
Sal and Sonny brings together the epic performances of Al Pacino and John Cazale, no strangers to the crime or gangster genre. Sal and Sonny star in the movie Dog Day Afternoon when a pair of bank robberies run into some trouble and decide to go all in!

47. Perry and Dick

image source: tcm.com
This crime pair come from the movie In Cold Blood, which was adapted from a novel with the same name by Truman Capote. Both the novel and the movie also come from the story behind a real life crime: the murder of four people who lived in a rural farming community in Kansas.

48. Holly and Kit

image source: filmlinc.org
This pairing comes from the movie Badlands, with Martin Sheen taking the lead alongside Carrie actress Sissy Spacek. The story follows the murder of Spacek's father, committed by the pair, before the two of them go on a killing spree whilst on the run from bounty hunters.

49. Mickey and Mallory Knox

image source: dangerousminds.com
Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis make a memorable crime pair from the movie Natural Born Killers. Mickey and Mallory are what Bonnie and Clyde would be on a bad day. The movie not only follows all the sadistic things the pair does, but it does so whilst delving deep into their warped minds!

50. Thelma and Louise

image source: kqed.org
You can't really talk about crime duos without mentioning Thelma and Louise! Played by Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis in the movie of the same name, this movie not only follows the pair on their crime spree, but also their journey of friendship and self-discovery.

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