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Richard Cottingham

S6 : E3

TV-14 | 47 min | Aired: 07.08.15

Richard Cottingham earned his nickname 'the Torso Killer' by dismembering NY sex workers in the 1960s–1970s.

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"Born to Kill?" takes an in-depth dive into the childhoods and lives of some of the world's most notorious murderers.

Cast

Christopher Slade, Louis B. Schlesinger, Katherine Ramsland

Executive Producers

Neil Edwards, Melanie Leach

full-episodes (12)

Fred West

S1 : E1 | TV-14 | 49 min | Aired: 10.13.05

What motivated Fred West to commit such terrible crimes? Was he born evil or did his upbringing make him this way?
Harold Shipman

S1 : E2 | TV-14 | 49 min | Aired: 10.20.05

When the police began investigating Dr. Harold Shipman, they struggled to understand him.
Myra Hindley

S1 : E3 | TV-14 | 48 min | Aired: 11.03.05

Can people be persuaded to kill for love? Can they be crimes of passion?
Jeffrey Dahmer

S1 : E4 | TV-14 | 49 min | Aired: 10.27.05

Why does a Jeffrey Dahmer happen? How does a man become a killer, necrophiliac, cannibal and psychopath?
The Washington Snipers

S1 : E5 | TV-14 | 49 min | Aired: 11.10.05

John Allen Muhammad, a veteran of the Gulf War, and his teenage stepson John Lee Malvo were convicted of the D.C. sniper attacks.
Ivan Milat

S1 : E6 | TV-14 | 49 min | Aired: 11.17.05

Australia's worst solo serial killer, Ivan Milat (aka The Backpack Murderer), is now serving life for the murders of seven hitchhiking backpackers between 1989 and 1992.
Richard Chase

S2 : E1 | TV-14 | 48 min | Aired: 03.13.11

A profile of Richard Trenton Chase, also known as the Vampire of Sacramento, who slaughtered men, women and children.
Albert DeSalvo

S2 : E2 | TV-14 | 48 min | Aired: 03.27.11

A profile of one of the most infamous serial killers in modern American history, Albert DeSalvo, better known as the Boston Strangler.
Charles Starkweather

S2 : E3 | TV-14 | 48 min | Aired: 03.20.11

Charles Starkweather and his girlfriend Caril Ann Fugate, who embarked on an eight-day killing spree in 1958 that left ten people dead.
Ted Bundy

S2 : E4 | TV-14 | 48 min | Aired: 02.20.11

Between 1974 and 1978, Ted Bundy orchestrated a campaign of terror across the United States, luring a series of women to their deaths.
John Wayne Gacy

S2 : E5 | TV-14 | 48 min | Aired: 02.27.11

A profile of John Wayne Gacy, also known as the Killer Clown, who was sentenced to death in 1980 after being found guilty of viciously murdering more than thirty men.
Aileen Wuornos

S2 : E6 | TV-14 | 48 min | Aired: 03.06.11

A profile of serial killer Aileen Wuornos, who was executed in 2002 for murdering seven men.
Gary Ridgway

S3 : E1 | TV-14 | 48 min | Aired: 02.16.12

A profile of Gary Ridgway, the Green River Killer, who conducted a 19-year reign of terror in Washington during the 1980s and 1990s.
Edmund Kemper

S3 : E2 | TV-14 | 48 min | Aired: 02.13.12

A profile of serial killer Edmund Kemper, who targeted female college students. Was his mind twisted by his upbringing in a broken home and his volatile relationship with a domineering mother?
Richard Ramirez

S3 : E3 | TV-14 | 47 min | Aired: 02.20.12

A profile of Richard Ramirez, infamously known as the Night Stalker. Was he schooled in murder during his poor childhood in the tough Texan border town of El Paso, was his mind warped by drugs or was he simply born to kill?
Donald Gaskins Jr.

S3 : E4 | TV-14 | 47 min | Aired: 01.31.12

A profile of Donald Gaskins Jr. aka Pee Wee and "the meanest man in America." Those who knew him, leading experts and the daughter he confessed to examine whether the psychopath was born to kill.
Dennis Nilsen

S3 : E5 | TV-14 | 49 min | Aired: 02.27.12

A profile of Dennis Nilsen, one of Britain's most prolific serial killers. Was Dennis Nilsen's obsession with death fused during his childhood, or was his instinct to kill hard-wired from birth?
David Berkowitz

S3 : E6 | TV-14 | 48 min | Aired: 03.05.12

A profile of David Berkowitz, the most notorious killer in New York City's history. Was the Son of Sam driven by demons? Was he wreaking bitter revenge fuelled by mental illness? Was he programmed from birth to be a serial sexual murderer?
The Hollywood Hillside Strangler

S4 : E1 | TV-14 | 49 min | Aired: 08.09.12

A look at the case of the Hillside Strangler, the mysterious murderer who was actually two cousins, Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono, working together.
Dennis Rader

S4 : E2 | TV-14 | 47 min | Aired: 08.21.12

A profile of Dennis Rader, the Bind and Torture Killer, who murdered ten people between 1974 and 1991, sending letters describing the details of the killings to police and local news outlets.
The Angel of Death

S4 : E3 | TV-14 | 48 min | Aired: 10.02.12

A profile of British nurse Beverley Allitt, nicknamed the Angel of Death, who killed four infants and attempted to kill another nine by lethal injection in the children's ward where she was employed.
The Manson Family

S4 : E4 | TV-14 | 48 min | Aired: 10.09.12

A look at Charles Manson's serial killing cult group known as "The Family." What made the members accept their sickening missions? Did they share murderous genes, disturbed upbringings, warped minds or something else?
The Gay Slayer

S4 : E5 | TV-14 | 48 min | Aired: 10.16.12

A profile of serial killer Colin Ireland, who claimed the lives of five men in 1993 after making a New Year's resolution to become a serial killer.
The Serial Killing Saviour

S4 : E6 | TV-14 | 48 min | Aired: 03.14.12

A profile of serial killer Herbert Mullin, who murdered 13 men, women and children in California in the 1970s.
Donald Neilson

S5 : E1 | TV-14 | 47 min | Aired: 08.13.13

A profile of serial killer Donald Neilson aka the Black Panther, a self-employed builder who was obsessed with reliving his army days and planned his crimes with military precision.
Patrick Mackay

S5 : E2 | TV-14 | 48 min | Aired: 01.01.13

With insights from those who encountered him, experts unravel whether Patrick Mackay was born to kill.
John Linley Frazier

S5 : E3 | TV-14 | 48 min | Aired: 09.17.13

Eye witnesses and experts attempt to unravel the mysteries of serial killer John Linley Frazier's mind. Was he born to kill?
Cary Stayner

S5 : E4 | TV-14 | 48 min | Aired: 01.01.13

Cary Stayner was a depraved, conscienceless killer who had fooled everyone he'd ever come into contact with. Was he born to kill?
The Briley Brothers

S5 : E5 | TV-14 | 48 min | Aired: 01.01.13

Serial killers Linwood, James and Anthony Briley terrorised a whole city and took the lives of at least ten people — but was murder in their DNA?
Hadden Clark

S5 : E6 | TV-14 | 48 min | Aired: 01.01.13

A profile of serial killer Hadden Clark, the Cross-Dressing Cannibal. With an older brother also convicted of a shocking murder, might he have been destined to be a killer?
Thor Christiansen

S5 : E7 | TV-14 | 48 min | Aired: 01.01.13

From an early age, others had noticed a dark side to serial killer Thor Christiansen's personality — but was murder his destiny?
The Thriller Killers

S5 : E8 | TV-14 | 48 min | Aired: 08.20.13

Dubbed the Speed Freak Killers, were Wesley Shermantine and Loren Herzog, who'd grown up across the street from each other, born killers? Or had their upbringing led them to begin hunting the ultimate prey?
Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka

S5 : E9 | TV-14 | 48 min | Aired: 08.27.13

Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka were serial killers capable of sickening cruelty, but what drove this seemingly clean-cut couple to their appalling crimes? Were they born to kill?
Twisted

S5 : E10 | TV-14 | 48 min | Aired: 09.03.13

A profile of Serial Shooters Dale and Jeff and Hausner, and their wayward friend Sam Dietman. Had certain events in their lives turned them into monsters or were they simply born to kill?
Peter Sutcliffe

S5 : E11 | TV-14 | 47 min | Aired: 09.10.13

In the 1970s, Peter Sutcliffe, one of Britain's most prolific and infamous serial killers, terrorised the north of England. What had driven the Yorkshire Ripper to his crimes? Was he born to kill?
Doug Clark and Carol M. Bundy

S5 : E12 | TV-14 | 49 min | Aired: 01.01.13

A profile of serial killers Douglas Clark and Carol Bundy, the Sunset Strip Killers. What motivated this killer couple's string of sickening murders?
Gerald and Charlene Gallego

S6 : E1 | TV-14 | 47 min | Aired: 06.17.15

The love affair between Gerald and Charlene Gallego resulted in a trail of merciless rapes and murders across three states from 1978 to 1980.
Tony 'Chop Chop' Costa

S6 : E2 | TV-14 | 46 min | Aired: 07.01.15

Antone Charles 'Tony' Costa was a Massachusetts carpenter who achieved notoriety for killing four women in 1969 — but his crimes began much earlier. Did his upbringing influence his violent tendencies, or was he simply born to kill?
Richard Cottingham

S6 : E3 | TV-14 | 47 min | Aired: 07.08.15

Richard Cottingham earned his nickname 'the Torso Killer' by dismembering NY sex workers in the 1960s–1970s.
Cleophus Prince Jr.

S6 : E4 | TV-14 | 46 min | Aired: 07.15.15

In 1990, the Clairemont area of San Diego was left terrified for its safety as ruthless serial killer Cleophus Prince Jr. stabbed six women to death in their homes.
Robert Napper

S6 : E5 | TV-14 | 46 min | Aired: 06.03.15

Robert Napper's shockingly savage serial murders of three women and a child in South East London left the nation in shock.
Levi Bellfield

S6 : E6 | TV-14 | 47 min | Aired: 06.24.15

Levi Bellfield targeted women using public transport in London and the surrounding areas, killing three — though he is suspected of many more attacks.
Sean Vincent Gillis

S6 : E7 | TV-14 | 46 min | Aired: 07.22.15

Sean Gillis callously took the lives of eight women in Louisiana in order to satisfy his sickening desire to manipulate their corpses. This egomaniac killer raped, murdered and mutilated eight women in the local Baton Rouge area from 1994 to 2004.
Timothy Wilson Spencer

S6 : E8 | TV-14 | 47 min | Aired: 07.29.15

Women in Virginia were told to nail their windows shut in order to protect themselves from the Southside Strangler, Timothy Spencer.
John Duffy and David Mulcahy

S6 : E9 | TV-14 | 47 min | Aired: 06.10.15

Childhood friends John Duffy and David Mulcahy shared many common interests, but as they got older these took a darker turn — resulting in brutal rapes and murders in the 1980s.
David Alan Gore and Fred Waterfield

S6 : E10 | TV-14 | 47 min | Aired: 08.05.15

Cousins Waterfield and Gore hunted women in Vero Beach, Florida. Their perverse and violent acts resulted in the sexual abuse and murder of six young women before Gore was finally caught.
David Carpenter

S6 : E11 | TV-14 | 48 min | Aired: 08.12.15

California state parks became scenes of violence in 1979 and 1980 as convicted rapist David Carpenter took his crimes to new and diabolic levels.
Bobby Joe Long

S6 : E12 | TV-14 | 47 min | Aired: 08.19.15

Bobby Joe Long was a brutal and ruthless killer who terrorised women in Florida before his arrest in 1984, when he claimed to have also raped over fifty women.

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