10 Most Brutal Serial Spouse Killers

George Joseph Smith was born in London, England, in 1872. He married seven women between 1908 and 1914. Smith often stole his new bride's valuables before disappearing. He was never seen again. On July 13, 1912, Smith drowned his wife Bessie Williams in their home's bathtub. Smith convinced officials she died accidentally, letting him take her estate. Five months later, on December 12, 1913, Smith killed his second wife, Alice Smith, again covering up the murder to gain financial rewards.

When Smith killed his third wife, Margaret Lloyd, a year later on December 18, 1914, Smith's former landlord read about her death in the newspaper. The landlord immediately contacted the police. He thought Lloyd's death connected to the mysterious drowning of Alice Smith, which happened while she and her husband lived as tenants in his home.

Law enforcement investigated the lead. On July 1, 1975, Smith—who the public called the "Bluebeard of the Bath"was convicted of three murders. He received the death penalty for his crimes. The following month, on August 13, 1915, 42-year-old Smith hanged in Maidstone, England.

Henri Désiré Landru was born in Paris in 1869. Landru started placing personal ads in French newspapers in 1914 after separating from his wife. In the ads, Landru pretended to be a wealthy widower seeking a new bride. This seemed simple given the number of women who lost husbands in World War I. From January 1915 to January 1919, Landru killed 11 women by luring them to his home in Paris, or sometimes his villa in the Gambais suburb, stealing their money. After murdering his victims, Landru, who was calledHenri Désiré Landru was the "Bluebeard of Gambais" for his crimes., dismembered the women's bodies and burned their remains in his oven, eliminating all traces of their corpses.

Landru's murders surfaced when the sister ofCélestine Buisson, one of his victims, tracked him down. She convinced the police to investigate the suspected killer. Officials could not find the victims' bodies. They did find documents linking Landru to many missing women. He was convicted of 11 murders in November 1921 and sentenced to death in 1922. On February 25, 1922, 52-year-old Landru was executed by guillotine in Versailles, France.One person tracked Landru down. This person convinced the police to investigate the suspected killer. Officials could not find the bodies of his victims. They did find documents linking him to many missing women. Landru was convicted of 11 murder counts in November 1921. The court sentenced him to death for his crimes. On February 25, 1922, the 52-year-old Landru was executed by guillotine in Versailles, France.

Lyda Southard was born in Missouri in 1892. She killed at least six people between 1915 and 1920. This makes her one of America's first known serial killers.Female serial killersLiving in Idaho in 1915, Southard's young daughter, husband, and brother-in-law all died suddenly. This let her collect thousands from life insurance. Southward married four more times later. Three of her husbands and one young child died. This made a relative of her first husband, Robert Dooley, suspect foul play.

A relative, a chemist, found Dooley died from arsenic poisoning. Another chemist and a doctor convinced officials to dig up the remains of Southward's other suspected victims. Officials found evidence showing Southard used arsenic to kill multiple people.The press called her "Mrs. Bluebeard".In 1921, Southward faced a second-degree murder charge and received ten years to life in prison. She escaped the state penitentiary in 1931. Southard returned to jail and received another ten-year sentence. While on parole, Southard died of a heart attack on February 2, 1958, at age 65.

Tillie Klimek was born in Poland in 1876. She moved to the United States with her parents as a baby, settling in a Polish neighborhood in Chicago, IL. By age 38, Klimek's first husband died. She married three more times, and her second and third spouses died under strange circumstances. In 1921, when her fourth husband became ill, he sought medical help and quickly found out.Suspicion immediately fell on Klimek. Officials then dug up the bodies of many people who died after touching her—including her cousin Nellie's children and grandchildren.Authorities found Klimek and her cousin Nellie Koulik used rat poison to kill 12 people.

Authorities later determined Klimek and her cousin Nellie Koulik used rat poison to kill twelve people.In 1923, Klimek was convicted for killing her third husband, Frank Kupczyk. She died in prison on November 20, 1936, while serving a life sentence. Klimek stayed in prison her whole life. Her cousin was tried for murder but found not guilty, letting Koulik go free.In 1923, Klimek was convicted for killing her third husband, Frank Kupczyk. She died in prison on November 20, 1936, while serving a life sentence. Klimek spent her life in prison. Her cousin was tried for murder but acquitted, freeing Koulik.

Johann Otto Hoch was born in present-day Germany in 1855. He left his second wife and four children to move to the United States in 1887. He married his third wife while on the ship to America. After settling in Chicago, IL, Hoch married over 50 women over two decades, using more than 20 aliases to hide his actions. Authorities reported Hoch moved constantly, meeting and marrying wealthy widows.Hoch became known as the "Stockyards Bluebeard".Hoch killed his new brides using arsenic poisoning. He stole their cash and valuables before fleeing the area.

Law enforcement linked Hoch to several deaths. They arrested him in 1905. Hoch confessed to killing women. He received a conviction for only one murder. Chicago, IL, executed Hoch on February 23, 1906, for killing his wife, Marie Walcker.Hoch told law enforcement."Marriage was purely a business proposition to me. When I found they had money, I went after that."

Alfred Leonard Cline murdered several wives after marrying them. He ended their lives by serving buttermilk spiked with sedatives. Law enforcement found Cline murdered eight women and one man, Reverend Ernest Jones, from 1930 to 1945. This let Cline inherit estates worth thousands of dollars. Because of Cline's crimes and methods, The press called him the “Buttermilk Bluebeard.”Authorities could not gather enough evidence to charge Cline with one murder. Cline cremated his wives after killing them.

Ultimately,Clinereceived a conviction for nine forgery counts related to the killings. He got a sentence of 126 years in prison. On August 5, 1948, Cline died of a heart attack in Folsom Prison, California, at age 60.

Born in Norway in 1859, Belle Gunness moved to the United States in 1881. She married her first husband soon after. However, Gunness's husband died in 1900 under suspicious conditions. This allowed Gunness to collect his life insurance policy. After his death, Gunness committed multiple arsons to get insurance money. She used this money to buy a farm near La Porte, IN.

After settling in Indiana, Gunness married again. Her new husband, stepdaughter, and brother-in-law died soon after the wedding. Gunness put up ads in local papers claiming to be a wealthy widow seeking a new husband. Many suitors visited Gunness's farm, but few ever left. Then, on April 28, 1908, a fire burned Gunness's home down. The fire left behind the bodies of a headless woman and three children.

When officials searched the farm, they found the remains of several men. Police concluded Gunness murdered the eligible bachelors to steal their money. So,the press called Gunness the "Lady Bluebeard" for her crimes. Authorities could not prove any of the burned remains at the Indiana home belonged to Gunness. This made many believe she killed her children and faked her death to start a new life with a different identity.

Herman Drenth,Herman Drenth was born in the Netherlands in 1892. He moved to the United States with his family in 1910. There, he met and married his first wife, Luella Strother, through a personal ad. Drenth's wife, who owned a grocery store and farm in Clarksburg, WV, gave him money. Drenth then placed more ads seeking other women to improve his status. These ads went in the "American Friendly Society Circular".American Friendly Society issued a circular.On June 23, 1931, Drenth traveled to Park Ridge, IL. He went to the home of Asta Eicher, a woman he met through that advertisement. Drenth killed her and her three children after failing to take all the money from her bank account.

Less than a month later, Drenth went to Northborough, MA, to see Dorothy Pressler Lemke, another woman from his personal ad. Anticipating a trip to Iowa to marry, Lemke took out $4,000 from her bank account and then vanished. Police in Illinois linked Drenth to Asta Eicher's disappearance and her children. Officials in West Virginia found the remains of five of his victims in his garage.

Drenth murdered his victims by strangling them or beating them with a hammer.People called Drenth the "Bluebeard of Clarksburg" for his disturbing crimes.Drenth faced trial and conviction for the murders. On March 18, 1932, 40-year-old Drenth died by hanging at the state penitentiary in Moundsville, WV.

James Watson was born in 1870 in Paris, AR. Watson married many women in Canada, California, Washington, and Idaho. He met them through personal ads in local newspapers. Watson stated he wed 22 women and married three people in the same town at one time.

In 1919, Kathryn Wombacher, a woman Watson married in Spokane, WA, became suspicious when her new husband asked her for large sums of money. Watson fled to California. Wombacher hired a private detective. The investigator and police then entered Watson's home and found multiple marriage licenses, several wedding rings, and many financial papers.

Watson - was called "Bluebeard" because of his crimes. - admitted killing seven women. He told the authorities, "Something just told me to go and marry them, and yet something told me not to." Watson received a life sentence. He died of pneumonia at age 61 in California's San Quentin State Prison on October 15, 1939.

Prosecutors say Lowell Edwin Amos, a 51-year-old ex-GM executive, killed his wife, 36-year-old Roberta Amos, on December 10, 1994. They killed her in a Detroit, MI, hotel room where the couple stayed after a company party. Amos tried to fake the scene, making it look like Roberta overdosed on cocaine vaginally. Officials found Amos likely gave her a drink with sedatives before smothering her after she lost consciousness. Police investigating Roberta's death found Amos's first and second wives also died suspiciously. He collected over $1 million in life insurance after their deaths.

Investigators thought Amos killed all three women. The prosecution charged him only with killing his last wife, Roberta. This occurred on October 24, 1996.Amos was convicted of murder.On November 4, 1996, the judge sentenced Amos to life in prison, calling him a "modern-day Bluebeard." Amos currently sits at Michigan's Muskegon Correctional Facility.