10 Deadliest Real Life Families
#10: The Kray Twins
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Born in London in 1933, Ronald and Reginald Kray became infamous for leading the Firm, a gang in London’s East End. The Firm earned profit and notoriety through organized criminal acts including armed robberies, protection rackets, and murder. One of the twins’ most notable victims was Jack “the Hat” McVitie, who failed to fulfill a contract with the gang. After failing to shoot the Hat, Reginald Kray attacked him with a knife. In 1968, the twins were arrested and sentenced to life in prison for their crimes. As nightclub owners in the Swinging Sixties, the Krays knew many celebrities, some of whom campaigned for their release. However, these campaigns were short-lived, in part thanks to the twins’ violent conduct in prison.
#9: The Kelly Family
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The Kelly Family gained their spot among the deadliest families in history for murdering unsuspecting travelers. In 1869, the family moved from Pennsylvania to Kansas and opened a tavern for passing travelers. However, over the following months, those heading toward the tavern started disappearing. Suddenly, in December of 1887, the family left their home. A traveler stumbled upon the house and was overtaken by a strange odor. In the cellar, he found three dead bodies. Authorities searched the house and found more corpses, including that of a famous Chicago drummer. After the gruesome discovery, vigilantes tracked down the family in Texas. Shockingly, those who knew the Kellys considered them an ordinary working family, never suspecting their heinous crimes.
#8: The Staffleback Family
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In the 1890s, Nancy Staffleback moved with her children to Kansas, turning their new home into a brothel. One summer evening, a miner named Frank Galbraith arrived to see Nancy’s daughter, Emma, but was turned away. A drunk Frank returned in the early morning, leading to a confrontation that ended with Nancy’s son Ed fatally shooting him. After authorities raided the brother and arrested the family, Nancy’s daughter-in-law Cora and another woman, Rose, confessed that the family had committed numerous other murders. The number of the family’s victims remains unknown, adding an eerie mystery to the story of the notorious Staffleback family.
#7: The Briley Brothers
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In 1971, 16 year old Linwood Briley shot and killed his 57 year old neighbor, landing him in reform school. This violent episode was a taste of what was to come. From March to October, 1979, Linwood and his brothers James and Anthony embarked on a bloody murder spree in Richmond, Virginia. With accomplice Duncan Meekins, they robbed and killed at least 11 people. The brothers left a trail of terror through Richmond, and after they were caught, Linwood and James were sentenced to death. In 1984 they escaped prison, but were recaptured. Anthony and Duncan were given life sentences and remain incarcerated.
#6: The Gang of Amazons
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Led by matriarch Inessa Tarverdiyeva, this killer family from Stavropol, Russia, was dubbed the Gang of Amazons by the media. It consisted also of Inessa’s husband Roman and her daughter Viktoria and Anastasiya. Together, they went on a six year long killing spree, claiming the lives of at least 30 people. From 2007 to 2013, the family pillaged the North Caucasus. After numerous armed robberies and murders, the family was captured on September 8, 2013. Roman died at the hands of the police, while the rest were found guarding at least 20 firearms at a campsite. While the family’s motives were unclear, Inessa told authorities she was “a gangster by nature” and considered their killings as just another day’s work.
#5: Fred & Rose West
In 1969, two future serial killers met at a bus stop, and the rest is history. From 1971 to 1987, Rose and Fred West sought out female victims in Gloucestershire, England. After torturing and murdering them, the Wests buried them in their cellar, earning their home the moniker the “House of Horrors.” Among Rose’s victims was her husband’s young daughter Charmaine. The law caught up with the couple in 1994 when they were arrested. Rose was convicted of 10 murders and sentenced to life in prison, while Fred took his own life before he could be convicted. However, before he died, he confessed to 30 murders - meaning there may be even more out there than police know about.
#4: The Truro Murderers
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A gruesome discovery was made in the South Australian town of Truro on April 20, 1978, when mushroom hunters stumbled on the remains of 18-year-old Veronica Knight, who had been missing since Christmas. A year later, police discovered another body in the same area – that of 16 year old Sylvia Pittmann. Thanks to a tip-off, they were eventually led to laborer James Miller, who had killed a series of women with his partner Christopher Worrell. Miller and Worrell had met in prison and begun a romantic relationship, but in 1977 Worrell died in a car accident. In total, the remains of seven women were discovered. Miller was sentenced to six life sentences.
#3: The Poquianchis
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From 1950 to 1964, these four sisters ran a prostitution ring known as Rancho El Ángel in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. Together, Delfina, Maria de Jesus, Carmen, and Maria Luisa Gonzalez Valenzuela would kidnap women, or lure them with false promises, and set them to work on their property. When they could no longer work, the sisters would kill them. They would also murder customers who brought lots of cash with them. Eventually, after one woman escaped the property, it was raided, and the sisters were brought to justice. Three of them died in prison. All told, it’s believed they killed at least 91 people, but their victim count may have been over twice that.
#2: The Bean Clan
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Historians debate whether this tale is true; but the legend is certainly terrifying. Led by the infamous Sawney Bean, the Bean clan was supposedly a family of cannibals in Scotland during the 16th century. The clan consisted of patriarch Sawney, his wife, 14 children, and 32 grandchildren, who lived in a cave on the coast. The clan allegedly killed and cannibalized over 1,000 people over the span of 25 years. Their remote location apparently allowed them to get away with their crimes for years. But eventually, they were caught and executed.
#1: The Bloody Benders
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Like the Kelly Family, this family of serial killers ran an inn in Kansas in the late 19th century. The family consisted of John and his wife Elvira, and their children John Jr and Kate - although, some claimed that the latter were spouses, rather than siblings. It’s said that the family would invite travelers to sit at a table positioned over a trapdoor. After killing their victims, they’d drop them through the trapdoor into the cellar. In 1873, a search party uncovered their horrific deeds, but the family escaped. Stories about their final fate are inconsistent; they may have been milled by vigilantes, or moved state and changed their names. There’s also speculation that they went on to become the Kelly Family!
