Ray and Faye Copeland appeared to be a simple, elderly farming couple in rural Missouri, known for their hard work and unassuming nature. However, beneath this façade, they orchestrated a series of chilling crimes. The Copelands hired transient workers to help on their farm, but instead of providing employment, they used these workers in their fraudulent schemes, ultimately leading to their murders. The isolated location of their farm allowed their activities to go undetected for years. Despite initial disbelief from the community, mounting evidence eventually led to their arrest and conviction, making Ray and Faye the oldest couple ever sentenced to death.

Sources:

https://www.thoughtco.com/serial-killers-couple-ray-faye-copeland-9727

https://allthatsinteresting.com/serial-killer-couples/2

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/case-vanishing-vagrants-article-1.220343

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_and_Faye_Copeland

https://criminalminds.fandom.com/wiki/Ray_and_Faye_Copeland

https://medium.com/@delanirbartlette/senior-citizen-serial-killers-ray-faye-copeland-83a83b0feac0

Senior Citizen Serial Killers: Ray and Faye Copeland by DeLani R. Barlette

http://dksale.net/2016/08/29/ray-and-faye-copeland-were-framed-for-murder/

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/how-an-amateur-sleuth-and-rock-musician-became-a-player/article_2712c540-5fcb-58bd-a51c-8e339c7af006.html

http://maamodt.asp.radford.edu/Psyc%20405/serial%20killers/Copeland,%20Ray%20_spring,%202006_.pdf

At 14, Natasha Ryan was reported as missing, twice. The first time, she was found within the same month. After the second disappearance, a prison inmate reported that his cellmate, a serial rapist and murderer, had confessed to killing her. But a shocking discovery in the middle of this confessed killer’s trial turns this case on its head.

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonard_Fraser

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natasha_Ryan

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/jun/03/queensland-woman-natasha-ryan-remembered-as-more-than-just-the-girl-in-the-cupboard

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/the-girl-who-returned-from-death/ND6RPBBD2A4ST57HTGAOKJYW4Q/

https://www.murderpedia.org/male.F/f/fraser-leonard.htm

https://www.crimelibrary.org/serial_killers/predators/leonard_fraser/1_index.html

By all accounts, Hiroshi Maeue's childhood was normal. His parents both worked respectable, blue-collar jobs and aside from being a fan of a peculiar choice of entertainment, there was nothing notable about Maeue’s adolescence that would indicate that he would go on to have a compulsion for harming others.

Sources:

https://wickedwe.com/hiroshi-maeue/

https://murderpedia.org/male.M/m/maeue-hiroshi.htm

https://web.archive.org/web/20071226194658/http://gonta13.at.infoseek.co.jp/newpage495.htm (from wikipedia reference, in japanese, english Google translation)

http://www.executedtoday.com/2010/07/28/2009-hiroshi-maeue-suicide-website-murderer/ ( not much from here)

https://medium.com/true-crime-addiction/the-suicide-serial-killer-of-japan-true-crime-494ed2be8514

https://vimeo.com/260643824 (lots of info here)

https://www.theregister.com/2007/03/28/suicide_pact_murderer/

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2007/05/let-s-die-together/305776/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2015/10/16/disabled-japanese-pro-wrestlers-fighting-for-equality-inside-the-ring-and-out/