Children of Serial Killers and what they are doing in 2019

You hear a lot about the victims of serial killers and their families, but what about the children of the serial killers. To know your mother or father is a murderer is some of the worst news you can get. I will talk about how they coped or not with being a child of a serial killer.

Francis Weaver – Stepson of Ward Weaver the third

He is the stepson of the killer Ward Weaver III. Ward abducted, raped and killed two school girls in 2002. Ward received two life sentences in 2004 after admitting to the crimes. Francis testified against his father at the trial and was deemed a hero. One of the girl’s bodies was buried under a concrete slab in Ward’s back garden. Francis unknowingly helped dig her grave.

Francis made headlines in March 2016 as he was sentenced to life in prison for shooting a drug dealer Edward Spangler 43. The shooting happened in 2014. Interestingly enough the family murdering is now three generations in. Ward’s father Ward F Pete Jr is currently on death row for murdering a young couple 18 years ago. Ward F Pete Jr also buried one of his victims under a concrete slab in his back garden. This family made not all be genetically linked but killing runs in their veins.

Francis at the age of 33 will never be normal again, in fact, I do not think with a grandfather and father as killers you will be normal. No matter what happened in the life of Francis, he still chose the life of a killer.

Michael Kallinger – Son of Crime spree killer Joseph Kallinger

There is a saying if you can’t beat them, join them. Michael did just that. At the tender age of 15 he and his father Joseph Kallinger, murdered three people, tortured, robbed and sexually abused a lot of other people.

Their crime spree was from 1974 to 1975. Twenty-one-year-old nurse Maria Fashching was one of their victims. They held her hostage in a patient’s house; slit her throat after she refused to perform oral sex on another hostage. How can you call yourself a father if you subject your 15-year-old son to murder?

Their reign of terror come to an end in 1976. Joseph was sentenced to life in prison, and Michael was sent to a young offender’s institute. The judge said that Michael was under the control of his father and at age 21 Michael was released and given a new identity. Michael’s whereabouts have never been made public, and I really hope that he has a loving wife and kids, he deserves it.

In the meantime, Joseph has confessed to killing one of his other sons. Not surprisingly, it seems that he had no problem using his own children. Why people like Joseph have children is beyond me, children are gems and should not be treated like Guinee pigs. Joseph died in prison of a seizure in 1996, he was 56.

Yuri Chikatilo – Son of the infamous serial killer Andrei Chikatilo

Yuri followed in his father’s footsteps and became a killer in his own right. Who wants to live in the shadow of one of Russia’s notorious killers? Yuri’s father Andrei’s Chikatilo, known as the Rostov Ripper, sexually assaulted, mutilated and murdered 52 women between 1978 and 1990. Andrei was sentenced to death and executed in 1994.

Yuri decided the family murderous legacy should go on and became involved in fraud, extortion, racketeering, and rape. I wonder what his father would have thought?  Yuri was arrested in April 2009 for attempted murder in the Ukraine; he stabbed a companion in a car several times in the abdomen. I am glad that he will never have the opportunity to do what his father did. I wonder if he feels like a disappointment to his father.

Kenny Kimes – Mother, Son serial killer team

Here we have a twist in the story, typically the sons would partner with their fathers to kill, Kenny decided that his mother was his role model in crime and they would make a good killing duo. Kenny grew up in a sad household with both of his parents being imprisoned in 1985 while they lived in Mexico. His parents detained immigrant street girls in their home.

His mother Sante Kimes was a known scammer; she had a long list of convictions including insurance fraud and arson. Kenny did not really stand a chance. Kenny’s father died in 1994, and Kenny felt it was his job to look after his mother and what better way to do it than form a killer partnership with her.

Kenny and Sante killed Elmer Golmgren, a lawyer, Sayed Bilal Ahmed a banker, Irene Silverman a socialite and David Kazdin, a businessman. You do not kill those types of people unless you are superb. It is people who would quickly be missed, and a lot of resources will go into finding them.

Kenny and Sante not only killed them, but they also took control of their finances and property. And like a lot of other serial killers the two of them were arrested on an unrelated warrant for writing a bad cheque. The police found Irene’s passport in their possession. They were convicted of murder in 2000. Sante was sentenced to 120 years in prison, it might have been big news if she lived that long, but she died in 2014 at the age of 79. Kenny received 125 years in prison. Kenny lived the only life he knew, I feel sorry for him. His parents never taught him anything accept crime and murder.

Matthew Ridgway – Son of the Green River serial killer Gary Ridgeway

He is the son of the famous Green River Serial Killer Gary Ridgway.

Before we continue with where Matthew Ridgeway is today let us have a quick look at his history and relationship with his father.

Matthew was born in September 1975, to Gary and Marsha Rigdway. The origin of the name Matthew is a Hebrew name Mattityahu meaning gift of Yahweh.

Matthew’s father was not around a lot after the divorce from his mother in 1981, but their relationship became stronger after Matthew enlisted in the Marines in September 1994.

Matthew unwittingly played a part in his father’s murders. Gary would sometimes show photos of his son to his victims to make them feel more at ease before killing them.

Matthew remembers his dad like a normal dad who went with him on camping trips, taught him how to play baseball and showed up for soccer practice and school concerts. Matthew said that his father never yelled and hardly had any fights with his mother Marsha.

Matthew said his mother told him his father was under investigation for the murders when he was in 4^th or 5^th grade and he never believed that his father could be a serial killer. Matthew thought his father was 1 of 500 suspects in the killings, he adds “I think that is how I related that he is just one the guys that happened to be one place and, you know, he’s my dad. He didn’t do it.”

His father had a busy life with being the perfect husband, father and serial killer. July 1982, Gary picked up a woman with Matthew in the car, took her into the woods and killed her; he told Matthew that she decided to walk home.

Another time Matthew was sleeping in his truck about 30 feet away while he was having sex with a corpse. Luckily Matthew never remembered any of these things.

When Matthew Ridgeway found out about his father:

When the news broke that Gary Rigdway was the Green River serial killer, Matthew was a 26-year-old in the Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton near San Diego. Matthew told the police his dad was a part time dad who had visitation rights every other weekend after his parents divorced in 1981.

He said after his fathers arrest it made him think of Ted Bundy, how a personality of a notorious killer can be “one guy and one minute and the other guy the other minute.”

Matthew recalled his father only spanked him once and never held a grudge. His father had a bad short-term memory and was a penny pincher who drank cheap box wine. During his childhood years he never once got an inkling that his father would turn out to be a prolific serial killer. Matthew cannot recall the photos his father showed him of his victims and according to sources it could be that, Matthew’s brain built up a wall against the trauma.

Also, according to sources in more than 100 court transcripts Matthew told the court that his dad was a normal dad. Although Matthew did all the father and son things together, he still did not feel as close to his dad as he wanted to. Matthew said his dad never talked about hurting anyone or used any racial slurs.

Where is Matthew Ridgeway now?

Matthew is married and lives in California. He and his dad continued to have a good relationship, and his father even made him laugh in 2001.

According to sources Matthew stood by his dad’s side throughout the trial and no matter what Gary did to Matthew he will always be his dad. To Matthew, his dad will forever be just a regular dad, and he loves his father for giving him a wonderful childhood.Matthew will continue to have a relationship with his dad but, these days Matthew has been very private and has not been seen or talked to after his 2003 interview

Jenn Carson – Daughter of the Witch Killers

Jenn’s father Michael and stepmother Suzan was known as the Witch Killers in the early 1980’s in San Francisco. Jenn recalls the time before her parents were divorced, she said that her father was a stay at home dad. She stated that both her parents were well educated and professional. Her father changed when he was in his twenty’s, her mother tried to help him but they grew apart, and after the divorce she and her mother went on the run, moving every six months, her mother took low paying jobs to keep them below the radar.

Her father remarried to Suzan, they became involved with drugs and had a vision that they had to change their last name, become Muslims and kill witches who they deemed as evil. In 1984 they were convicted of one murder and received 25 years to life in prison. They were later convicted of two other murders and got another 50 years to life.

Jenn was only ten years old when her parents were sentenced to life in prison, she is now in her early 40’s. She works as a child and adult councilor, helping other kids whose parents have been sent to jail. Jenn is doing noble work, she said that it can either break you or make you stronger; she chose to fight and help others so that they can come out stronger. She struggled when she was a teenager with depression and an eating disorder. In the end, homicide helps her become a positive contributor to society.

Ekaterina Popkov – Daughter of the Werewolf serial killer Mikhail Popkov

Ekaterina’s dad is known in Russia as The Werewolf serial killer. Mikhail Popkov was a former policeman who tortured and killed 22 women. His nickname comes from the brutality of the rapes, the victims were found in strange poses because he violated them in unusual ways. Ekaterina still believed in her dad’s innocence, despite all the evidence against him.

Ekaterina is 27 years old and a math teacher, she still sees herself as daddy’s girl. She and her father did everything together from riding bikes together to having the same hobbies. After Mikhail’s trail, she and her mother moved away and stopped visiting Mikhail in jail. Ekaterina is still devoted to proving her father’s innocence and wants to study criminology to clear her father’s name. And that he does not fall into the primary classifications of a serial killer.

Kerri Rawson – Daughter of the ultras infamous BTK

Kerri is the daughter of the BTK serial killer, Dennis Rader. For the first time in nine years in 2014, Kerri broke the family silence, after Stephen King wrote a short story inspired by Dennis murders that turned into a movie called “ A Good Marriage .“ Kerri was upset about the intentions of Stephen King and told him about it online. Kerri said that her father’s crimes were vile and it shocked their family. Dennis killed ten people and took trophies. She said it is personal and nobody else can understand it. Kerri finally had enough, and she felt she should say something to stand up for her mother. I can understand why she reacted that way and that they only want a normal life and want to be left alone.

The King of Horror replied and he replies was so nice it said that the movie was about a common little man and the story is really about a brave and determined woman, her mother. Kerri said it was the first time in nine years she felt like she could talk about what they went through and it was a huge relief. The movie was a success and got 5.2 stars from the critics. I do not think Kerri watched the movie but parted on good terms with Stephen King.

Sources:

hthttp://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/children-serial-killers-what-becomes-9146287
tp://www.oddee.com/item_99471.aspx