# Has there ever been a convicted murderer more heinous than Joseph Edward Duncan III? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 24, 2008, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-convicted-murderer-more-heinous-than-joseph-edward-duncan-iii/461144 "2008-08-24T23:14:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cubsfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cubsfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cubsfan)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2008, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-convicted-murderer-more-heinous-than-joseph-edward-duncan-iii/461144/1 "2008-08-24T23:14:50Z")
[http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/08/22/duncan.verdict.ap/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/08/22/duncan.verdict.ap/index.html) I can’t think of any. If you try to have the worst imagination possible that you could possibley dream up for any sort of murder I can’t see someone coming up with a worse scenario than this guy. I’m not going to go through the details of what he did but even in my wildest imagination I can’t come up with anything worse he could have done, other than to have done it to more kids. The methods he used and his total lack of any remorse is astonishing. Those last days for the boy must have been unbearable and the girl had to witness it all, as well as participate in it. The details that keep coming out are nauseating and really stretch what I think the worst humans are capable of doing to others. Just the little lines from the videos are enough to shake me to the core. I feel for the jurors and law enforcement teams that had to view those tapes and prepare the case. So, now for opinions, has there ever been a more henious murderer? I’m not talking about someone who killed more people, but someone who dragged it out and enjoyed it as much as this guy? ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2008, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-convicted-murderer-more-heinous-than-joseph-edward-duncan-iii/461144/2 "2008-08-24T23:24:13Z")
Hard to talk about “more”, but certainly the [BTK Killer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Rader) would be in a league with this fine citizen… ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2008, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-convicted-murderer-more-heinous-than-joseph-edward-duncan-iii/461144/3 "2008-08-24T23:54:42Z")
Gilles de Rais. ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2008, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-convicted-murderer-more-heinous-than-joseph-edward-duncan-iii/461144/4 "2008-08-25T02:33:20Z")
Carl Panzram and Charles Ng\* come to mind as being the same type of criminal. (\*Had he lived to be convicted, Leonard Lake would be here as well.) ---
**Author:** ![Amp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Amp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amp)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2008, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-convicted-murderer-more-heinous-than-joseph-edward-duncan-iii/461144/5 "2008-08-25T02:57:31Z")
[Susan Smith](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Yates) and [Andrea Yates](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Smith). Imagine what type of person you must be to go against hundreds of thousands of years of ingrained maternal instinct to murder your own children. You have to override something that nature has built in to preserve us as a species in order to do what those women did. ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2008, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-convicted-murderer-more-heinous-than-joseph-edward-duncan-iii/461144/6 "2008-08-25T11:39:13Z")
In the UK you would put Myra Hindley and Ian Brady into this category. If you do want to look them up, I’d suggest only going for an outline of their crimes, don’t look for more. ---
**Author:** ![Will\_Repair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a698b9/32.png) [@Will\_Repair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Will_Repair)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2008, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-convicted-murderer-more-heinous-than-joseph-edward-duncan-iii/461144/7 "2008-08-25T12:31:03Z")
[Albert Fish](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Fish). ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2008, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-convicted-murderer-more-heinous-than-joseph-edward-duncan-iii/461144/8 "2008-08-25T12:37:35Z")
[QUOTE=Amp] [Susan Smith](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Yates) and [Andrea Yates](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Smith). [/QUOTE] Or [Charles Rothenberg](http://newsgroups.derkeiler.com/Archive/Alt/alt.true-crime/2006-07/msg01495.html). I cannot image anything more horrible than setting your own child on fire. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2008, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-convicted-murderer-more-heinous-than-joseph-edward-duncan-iii/461144/9 "2008-08-25T13:17:32Z")
[QUOTE=casdave] If you do want to look them up, I’d suggest only going for an outline of their crimes, don’t look for more. [/QUOTE] QFT. But it just goes to show that depravity is nothing new. On the positive side, it’s good that we are appalled at such depravity. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2008, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-convicted-murderer-more-heinous-than-joseph-edward-duncan-iii/461144/10 "2008-08-25T13:32:37Z")
[Richard Allen Davis](http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/klaas/7b.html), the monster who murdered Polly Klaas, comes to mind. > [@Richard Allen Davis](#): > > “The main reason I know I did not attempt any lewd act that night was because of a statement the young girl made to me while walking up the embankment,” he recalled. " ‘Just don’t do me like my Dad.’ " The article doesn’t mention that when Klaas’s father told him to “Burn in Hell,” Davis gave him the finger with both hands. ---
**Author:** ![5-HT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/f19dbf/32.png) [@5-HT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5-HT)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2008, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-convicted-murderer-more-heinous-than-joseph-edward-duncan-iii/461144/11 "2008-08-26T07:22:51Z")
[Elizabeth Báthory](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_B%C3%A1thory) is about as bad as you can get. In more modern times, its tough to compete with Colombian serial child killer [Pedro López](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_L%C3%B3pez_(serial_killer)). He killed about 300 little girls, all aged 9 to 12. Charming fellow. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2008, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-convicted-murderer-more-heinous-than-joseph-edward-duncan-iii/461144/12 "2008-08-26T16:50:36Z")
[QUOTE=Quartz] QFT. But it just goes to show that depravity is nothing new. On the positive side, it’s good that we are appalled at such depravity. [/QUOTE] Also that such depravity is so rare that we know the perps full names and their histories. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2008, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-convicted-murderer-more-heinous-than-joseph-edward-duncan-iii/461144/13 "2008-08-26T19:26:29Z")
Idi Amin? Pol Pot? Stalin? Mao? They murdered millions. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2008, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-convicted-murderer-more-heinous-than-joseph-edward-duncan-iii/461144/14 "2008-08-26T19:44:53Z")
How about [Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka](http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/bernardo/index_1.html)? ---
**Author:** ![Ultraviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/c77e96/32.png) [@Ultraviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ultraviolet)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2008, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-convicted-murderer-more-heinous-than-joseph-edward-duncan-iii/461144/15 "2008-08-26T19:57:45Z")
I’m surprised no one has mentioned **Fred & Rose West** yet. They tortured, raped and killed at least 12 young women, one of which was his daughter - they buried her in the backyard, under the patio. They sexually and physically tortured all of their children, even offering them to other family members (Rose’s father) to abuse. There are still debates about the extent of Rose’s participation in the crimes, some accounts paint her as an abused victim herself, others say she was a sadistic mastermind. The wiki link gives a brief summary [Fred West - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_West) ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2008, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-convicted-murderer-more-heinous-than-joseph-edward-duncan-iii/461144/16 "2008-08-26T20:41:37Z")
That guy’s on up there, though. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Gay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/3ab097/32.png) [@Enola\_Gay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Gay)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2008, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-convicted-murderer-more-heinous-than-joseph-edward-duncan-iii/461144/17 "2008-08-26T20:53:58Z")
[QUOTE=Drain Bead] How about [Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka](http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/notorious/bernardo/index_1.html)? [/QUOTE] And Karla Homolka is now out of prison and recently had a baby. Considering her history of raping and killing her own sister as well as other innocent girls, one questions her ability to be a good mother… ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2008, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-convicted-murderer-more-heinous-than-joseph-edward-duncan-iii/461144/18 "2008-08-26T21:22:01Z")
I don’t revel in the sordid details of the people that commit serial crimes but I sort of thought that John Wayne Gacy [Gacy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wayne_Gacy) and Jefferey Dahmer [Dahmer](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Dahmer) . . . were contenders for top honors. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2008, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-convicted-murderer-more-heinous-than-joseph-edward-duncan-iii/461144/19 "2008-08-26T21:27:38Z")
Let us not forget [Andrei Chikatilo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrei_Chikatilo) who mutilated and killed more than 50. ---
**Author:** ![malkavia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malkavia/32/5621_2.png) [@malkavia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/malkavia)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2008, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-convicted-murderer-more-heinous-than-joseph-edward-duncan-iii/461144/20 "2008-08-26T23:27:00Z")
I first learned of [Delphine LaLaurie](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphine_LaLaurie) from these boards and I must say, I’ve never read a story that made me even half as nauseous. Although I will agree that everyone listed in this thread has a good helping of eternal damnation coming to them, if such a thing exists. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-there-ever-been-a-convicted-murderer-more-heinous-than-joseph-edward-duncan-iii/461144.md?page=2)