A lonely hearts killer (also called want-ad killer) is a criminal who commits murder by contacting a victim who has either posted advertisements to or answered advertisements via newspaper classified ads and personal or lonely hearts ads.

Varied motives

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 simple robbery gone wrong, an elaborate insurance fraud scheme, sexual violence/rape, or any of several other ritualized pathological impulses (e.g. necrophilia, mutilation, cannibalism, etc.). Sometimes murder is not the (original) intent, but becomes a by-product of rape or other struggles; in some cases, murder is committed simply to cover up the original crime. Some, on the other hand, are serial killers who utilize this method of targeting victims, either exclusively, or when it suits them.

Notable lonely hearts and want-ad killers

The following accused and convicted murderers and serial killers are known to have used want ads, personal ads, and/or matrimonial bureaus to contact their victims: