Alonely hearts killer (also calledwant-ad killer) is a criminal who commitsmurder by contacting a victim who has either posted advertisements to or answered advertisements vianewspaperclassified ads andpersonal or lonely hearts ads.[1]
The actual motivations of these criminals are varied. By definition, a killing will have taken place in as much as the suspected, accused, or convicted perpetrator has been dubbed a want-ad or lonely hearts killer. However, the crime may have involved a simplerobbery gone wrong, an elaborateinsurance fraud scheme,sexual violence/rape, or any of several other ritualizedpathological impulses (e.g.necrophilia,mutilation,cannibalism, etc.). Sometimes murder is not the (original) intent, but becomes a by-product ofrape or other struggles; in some cases, murder is committed simply to cover up the original crime. Some, on the other hand, areserial killers who utilize thismethod of targeting victims, either exclusively, or when it suits them.[2]
The following accused and convicted murderers andserial killers are known to have used want ads, personal ads, and/or matrimonial bureaus to contact their victims:
Long before there was a craigslist or dot-com dating, there were places where men and women who were too shy or busy to meet face to face could find romance. Calling themselves "matrimonial bureaus," these organizations were known mostly as the "lonely hearts clubs," and they flourished through the middle of the 20th century. [...] (The article is a side-bar to a story aboutPhilip Markoff, a "Craigslist killer" and it describes the murders committed in 1931 by Harry F. Powers, the so-called "Matromonial Bureau Murderer," also known as "The West Virginia Bluebeard" and "The Butcher of Clarksburg.")