The 6 Most Infamous Serial Killers From Buffalo and WNY! [List]
Buffalo and WNY are known for tons of great things, but there are a few sinister people that came out of our area! Check out these six serial killers from Buffalo and WNY!
- 1
Altemio Sanchez AKA The Bike Path Killer/the Bike Path Rapist
Altemio Sanchez was born in Puerto Rico, but lived in the Cleveland Hill neighborhood of Cheektowaga, according to Murderpedia. On January 15, 2007, a police task force here in Erie County arrested Sanchez. On May 16, 2007, Sanchez pleaded guilty to the murders of Linda Yalem, Majane Mazur, Joan Diver and an unnamed victim and was sentenced to spend 75 years to life behind bars!
Video Credit: Dan Oshier Productions via Youtube
- 2
Joseph G. Christopher AKA .22 Caliber Killer
Born in Buffalo, Joseph G. Christopher was a racist serial killer. On September 22, 1980, Christopher began shooting African-American men, which later changed to stabbing. Even though Christopher claimed credit for 13 killings, he was convicted on only three counts of murder, according to Murderpedia. He was sentenced to 60 years to life but ended up dying from male breast cancer!
Video Credit: The FBI Files via Youtube
- 3
Timothy McVeigh (Domestic Terrorist)
Timothy McVeigh was born in Lockport, but his family moved to Pendleton, New York when he was 10 years-old. Terrorists are often thought of as being from outside the U.S., but McVeigh was an American citizen, who killed 168 people including 19 children, according to Murderpedia. His victims were in the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. The 1995 bombing deeply affected the country, making it clear that homegrown terrorists pose just as much of a threat as international terrorists!
Video Credit: FilmRise True Crime via Youtube
- 4
Joseph Naso AKA The Alphabet Killer
Joseph Naso was born in Rochester, New York. Although he was convicted of murders in California, Naso was also a person of interest in the Rochester Alphabet murders of 1971–73 case. DNA was eventually used to rule him out of the Rochester killings, but he kept a “Rape Diary,” that mentioned the death of a girl in the "Buffalo woods," according to Murderpedia.
Video Credit: KRON via Youtube
- 5
Arthur John Shawcross AKA The Genesee River Killer
Arthur John Shawcross moved to Rochester in 1987, according to Murderpedia. After being paroled early following a conviction for murdering a child, Shawcross began killing again. In 1988, he began killing prostitutes in the Rochester area. He was convicted of 11 murders.
Video Credit: Real Stories via Youtube
- 6
Gail Trait
Surprise, there is a female killer on the list! Gail Trait, who was born in Buffalo, is a mass murderer, according to Murderpedia. She stabbed her four children to death, claiming that she was saving her soul from a voodoo curse. She killed her three girls and one boy, Kylia, Amina, Inez and the two-year-old boy was named Demario. She served 10 years in prison, but was eventually transferred to a psychiatric hospital. CLICK HERE to see a picture of Trait.