'Mindhunter': From Charles Manson to Son of Sam, here's a list of all the serial killers featured on the show in season 2
What goes on inside criminal minds? That's precisely what season two of 'Mindhunter' attempts to crack. FBI agents Holden Ford (Jonathan Groff) and Bill Tench (Holt McCallany) wrack their brains around monstrous sinners with expert psychological assistance from Dr. Wendy Carr (Anna Torv). As Ted Gunn (Michael Cerveris) takes over as the new boss, things at FBI's Behavioural Science Unit have taken a dark turn.
If season one brought viewers face-to-face with the chilling crimes of Edmund Kemper (Cameron Britton), Monte Rissell (Sam Strike), Jerry Brudos (Happy Anderson) and Richard Speck (Jack Erdie), the second chapter unleashed many more horrendous minds. Here's a peek into the heinous serial killers from season two and the real stories behind their lives.
Dennis Rader aka BTK Strangler
The BTK killer Dennis Lynn Rader (Sonny Valicenti)was on a hunt for victims through both the seasons. Known as the "BTK" (which stands for "bind, torture, kill") killer, he murdered ten people in the Wichita, Kansas metro area between 1974 and 1991. As shown in 'Mindhunter', the serial killer sent letters with symbols to the press and police. What's more, he himself gave the name.
Demanding media attention in one letter, he enclosed a poem titled 'Oh! Death to Nancy', a parody of the lyrics to the American folk song 'O Death'. Rader was so clever in his doings that by 2004, the investigation was considered a "cold case". It was only when he began a series of 11 communications to the local media that cops could arrest him in February 2005.
David Berkowitz aka Son of Sam
In 'Mindhunter' season one, Berkowitz was first seen in a glimpse on the cover of Time magazine. In the second season, Ford and Tench sit across him to interview and ask him about his killings. Also known as the .44 Caliber Killer, he pled guilty to eight separate shooting attacks that began in New York City during the summer of 1976. He sent handwritten letters signed as 'Son of Sam' to the police and media to proclaim his identity.
Later, during conviction, Berkowitz (played by Oliver Cooper) put the blame of his crimes on demonic influences, satanic cult, and witchcraft. However, as Ford and Tench delve deeper into his mind, it becomes clear that it was all a facade.
William Pierce Junior
Charged with the murder of nine people, including the 13-year-old daughter of South Carolina state representative James Cuttino, William Pierce Junior (played by Michael Filipowich) was found to be "dangerous to himself and others". In the show, he brags about speaking seven languages, including English and is eventually bribed into talking with Mallomar cookies.
As it turns out, the criminal actually had a liking for chocolate bars and the picture Jim Parsons held out during the interview shows the real William Pierce Jr. While he repeatedly denied the charges, he finally confessed to three murders in Georgia. Pierce is currently serving a life sentence at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification State Prison.
William Henry Hance
A former soldier, Hance (played by Corey Allen) was convicted for "bludgeoning" a sex worker and three other women in 1978. He never confessed to his crimes until he was executed by the state of Georgia via the electric chair almost 20 years later. He was accused of writing letters to the authorities signed as "Chairman, Forces of Evil",
Elmer Wayne Henley Jr.
Elmer Wayne Henley Jr. (essayed by Robert Aramayo) played a major role in a series of murders known as the Houston Mass Murders. More than 28 teenage boys and young men were abducted, tortured, raped and murdered by Dean Corll between 1970 and 1973. In the show, Elmer Wayne accepts how he finally shot Dean Corll at the age of 17. He discloses he did just as Corll taught him: "If you're even in a situation where you have to shoot someone, shoot them until they hit the ground."
He is currently serving his life sentence in a Texas prison called the Mark W. Michael Unit.
Charles Manson
Did you know Manson was a singer-songwriter before he became the cult leader? Manson's obsession with music and the book 'Helter Skelter' is a part of the series. Manipulative, shrewd and twisted, David Herriman ticks all the right boxes with his portrayal of the cult leader in the Netflix series.
Manson was charged for forming the Manson family, a quasi-commune based in California, who committed a series of nine murders at four locations. The mastermind behind it, he was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy for seven deaths. Manson never confessed to his doings but instead preached of his greatness and bragged how he followed his "love", just as eerily as shown in the series.
Charles "Tex" Watson
One of the pivotal members of The Manson Family, Charles Tex Watson (played by Charles Tex Watson) was convicted of seven counts of murder, including the death of Sharon Tate in 1971. In the show, when Watson is confronted with Manson's denials, he tells them none of it is true. He narrates how Manson did nothing, but he was the biggest influencer for the members who told them to kill and torture the victims.
Paul Bateson
Paul Bateson (played by Morgan Kelly) is interviewed in the show but never confesses to his crimes in the “bag murders", a series of murders in Greenwich Village from 1975 to 1977. In 1979, Bateson was convicted of the murder of film industry journalist Addison Verrill and sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in prison. However, he was released on parole in 2003, which ended after five years. Currently, it is not known whether is dead or alive.
Wayne Williams
The prime suspect of Atlanta Child Murders, Wayne Williams (played by Christopher Livingston) was tried and convicted for two adult murders, but he has still not been charged for the rest of the murders and he still maintains his innocence. Unlike his interview on 'Mindhunter', he never admitted to killing the people he was suspected for. The case remains unsolved to date. However, the killings did stop after Williams's arrest.
It is yet to be seen whether Netflix greenlights another season, but there is much to expect from the makers — from the arrest of the BTK Strangler to Brian Tench's serial killer streak