In addition to their heinous crimes, some of the most notorious serial killers in history also have surprisingly high IQs. While at least one study showed that the average IQ of a serial killer is only 94.7, the people on this list proved to be quite intelligent - though they were also phenomenally cruel.
From Unabomber Ted Kaczynski to the imposing Edmund Kemper, this list breaks down the IQs and crimes of 11 infamous serial killers.
- Photo:
- San Quentin State Prison, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public Domain
IQ: Estimated 170
Rodney Alcala, also known as The Dating Game Serial Killer, had an estimated IQ of 170. Alcala was known for being the winning contestant on a 1978 episode of The Dating Game, which occurred while he was simultaneously killing women in California.
Although after Alcala's trial, investigators found more than 1,000 photos he took of his crimes and estimated he had 50 victims, Alcala was only found guilty of killing five people. Alcala managed to get off on a technicality in his first murder trial but was convicted in 2005 due to DNA evidence.
Alcala died in prison from natural causes in 2021.
- Age: 77 (1943-2021)
- Birthplace: San Antonio, Texas
- Photo:
- Photo:
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public Domain
IQ: 167
Ted Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber, had an IQ of 167 and was considered a math prodigy. Kaczynski was accepted into Harvard at just 16, but he reportedly took issue with modern technology. To take a stand against it, he mailed bombs (mostly to professors) between 1978 and 1995 that killed three people and injured another 23.
Kaczynski would leave messages encrypted with mathematical codes that not even the FBI could crack. He managed to escape capture for 17 years, but upon the release of his manifesto, his brother and sister-in-law recognized the writing style and tipped off the FBI.
- Age: Dec. at 81 (1942-2023)
- Birthplace: USA, Evergreen Park, Illinois
- Photo:
Charlene Gallego
- Photo:
- California Department of Corrections
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public Domain
IQ: 160
Charlene Gallego committed numerous murders with her husband, Gerald Gallego, in the late 1970s. A violin prodigy with an IQ of 160, some believe Charlene was the mastermind behind the couple's killings. They kidnapped 10 people, some as young as 13 and most of them female, whom they sexually assaulted and held captive before eventually murdering them.
Charlene later agreed to testify against her husband and, as a result, received only a 17-year prison sentence. She was released in 1997.
- Age: 65
- Photo:
Carroll Edward Cole
IQ: 152
As a child, Carroll Edward Cole's mother forced him to watch her have sex with other men while his father was away. She would then threaten him with violence to prevent him from telling his father. Cole later claimed this trauma contributed to his issues with women in his adult life.
Authorities believe his first murder was the drowning of his friend at age 10, though nobody knew it was murder at the time. As an adult, he picked up women in bars and killed them, targeting women he believed to be "loose" or adulterers. Police caught Cole twice in the middle of violent acts, but he managed to talk his way out of them.
He was eventually sentenced and executed for the death of five women, though his death toll may have been much higher.
- Age: 47 (1938-1985)
- Photo:
- Unknown author
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public Domain
IQ: 147
Andrew Cunanan is widely known for murdering the fashion designer Gianni Versace, but he also had four other victims. He was reportedly a bright student and spoke seven languages but ran into trouble in school when he began pathologically lying.
From a young age, Cunanan reportedly had an obsession with violent sex and even had sex for money as a teenager. Despite the numerous murders he committed, beginning with his former lover, Jeff Trail, the FBI couldn't seem to catch him.
Versace is considered Cunanan's final victim. Cunanan took his own life eight days later, never revealing his motive for murdering the designer.
- Age: 27 (1969-1997)
- Birthplace: National City, California
- Photo:
- Photo:
- Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public domain
IQ: 145
Investigators described Edmund Kemper as a "natural born killer," and with good reason. Kemper was formidable: He was 6'9", weighed over 300 pounds, and had an IQ of 145. His victims included his grandparents, several women, and even his own mother. Authorities believe Kemper murdered 10 people in total, and he reportedly kept some of his victims' heads for days before disposing of them.
Kemper managed to evade law enforcement for nine years until he eventually turned himself in and requested the death penalty. Instead, Kemper was given eight life sentences.
- Age: 76
- Birthplace: Burbank, California
- Photo:
IQ: 144
Jeffrey Dahmer murdered 17 men and boys between 1978 and 1991. He would pick them up, typically at gay bars, and take them home before drugging and strangling them. After performing sex acts with their lifeless bodies, he would dismember them while taking photos for posterity along the way. He also kept body parts in his freezer, engaged in cannibalism, and performed lobotomies.
Dahmer was eventually caught when police found Tracy Edwards, a man wandering around with his wrists in handcuffs who said Dahmer had drugged him. Dahmer was swiftly arrested and later killed in prison by a fellow inmate.
- Age: 34 (1960-1994)
- Birthplace: St. Louis, Missouri, USA
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IQ: 138
Lawrence Bittaker, one half of the Tool Box Killers, abducted, raped, tortured, and murdered five teenage girls. Even prior to the murders, he had had trouble with the law and while in a state prison was found to be "paranoid and borderline psychotic, with little control over his impulses." However, he somehow managed to get released.
When Bittaker met Roy Norris, they began murdering together. They bought a van, which they nicknamed the "Murder Mack." They committed a number of atrocities in their killing spree and were only found out when Norris was picked up on minor drug offenses.
John Douglas, the FBI agent on the case, described Bittaker as the most disturbing person he'd ever profiled.
- Age: 79 (1940-2019)
- Birthplace: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Stephen Christopher Stanko
IQ: 143
With an IQ of 143 and "a grandiose sense of self-importance, failure to conform to social norms, and lack of remorse," Stephen Stanko had already served a prison sentence for kidnapping and published a book about prisons while he was incarcerated. After his release, Stanko began researching serial killers, and articles on famous killers were found in his home.
Stanko killed his girlfriend as well as a fellow library patron. He also sexually assaulted his girlfriend's daughter, who managed to escape and contact the police, leading to Stanko's capture in 2005. He is currently serving his sentence on death row in South Carolina.
- Age: 54
- Birthplace: Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba
- Photo:
- State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public Domain
IQ: 136
Ted Bundy confessed to murdering 30 women between 1974 and 1978, though his true victim count remains unknown. Bundy was known for mutilating his victims' bodies and performing sex acts on their remains.
He eventually ended up on the FBI's 10 Most-Wanted List and was arrested, though he managed to break out of jail more than once.
Bundy was eventually captured, tried for his crimes, and executed via the electric chair in Starke, FL, on January 24, 1989.
- Age: 42 (1946-1989)
- Birthplace: Vermont, USA, Burlington
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- Photo:
John Christie
IQ: 128
John Christie, also known as the “Whispering Killer of England,” killed at least eight people, including his own wife, in the 1940s and early ‘50s. His crimes were only made known after he moved out of his apartment and his victims’ bodies were found hidden in a wall. Two more were found in the back garden, and his wife's body was discovered beneath the floor of their living room.
Although police suspected Christie of murder, mistakes in the investigation resulted in Christie getting away with his crimes for years until the bodies were discovered. He was executed via hanging in 1953 for murdering his wife.
- Age: 54 (1899-1953)
- Birthplace: Halifax, United Kingdom
