It’s disturbing to think that some individuals start committing violent acts at such a young age. While most kids are focused on school, sports, or playing games, some embark on a path of destruction and harm. Here are ten shocking cases of killers who began their dark journey in childhood.
Harvey Miguel Robinson, 17 Years Old
Harvey Miguel Robinson, from Allentown, Pennsylvania, became one of the youngest serial killers on death row. At 17, in August 1992, he committed his first murder. Police apprehended Robinson on July 31, 1993, after he raped Denise Cali on June 28, 1993. Robinson returned to Cali’s house, where police were waiting. Cali had bitten Robinson’s arm during the initial attack, allowing police to match the bite mark and convict him.
Allentown police linked Robinson to the rape and murder of three other women:
- Joan Burghardt: A 29-year-old nurse’s aide (August 1992).
- Charlotte Schmoyer: A 15-year-old newspaper carrier (June 1993).
- Jessica Jean Fortney: A 47-year-old grandmother (July 1993).
Robinson was convicted on November 10, 1994, for the rape and murder of Schmoyer, Burghardt, and Fortney, receiving a death sentence for each case. In April 1995, he was also convicted of raping a 5-year-old girl, adding 57 years to his prison sentence. In April 2006, his sentence for the Burghardt murder was reduced to life imprisonment, as he was only 17 at the time. By December 14, 2012, he exchanged his appeal rights for a life sentence in the Schmoyer case. As of 2020, he remains on death row for the Fortney murder.
Craig Price, 13 Years Old
Craig Chandler Price, from Warwick, Rhode Island, is currently incarcerated at Florida State Prison. At 13, he killed his 27-year-old neighbor, Rebecca Spencer, stabbing her 58 times. Initially not a suspect in Spencer’s murder, Price confessed after being caught for killing three additional neighbors in 1989 while high on drugs. The victims were 39-year-old Joan Heaton and her daughters Jennifer and Melissa, aged 10 and 8. He stabbed them over 30 times with such force that the knife handles broke. He also crushed Melissa’s skull. Price showed no remorse, even imitating the sounds of their death cries.
Because of his age, Price was committed to a juvenile correctional institution. In 2004, he was transferred to Florida due to his violent behavior. He was denied parole in March 2009. Although his release was set for May 2020, he received an additional 25 years on January 18, 2019, for stabbing an inmate on April 4, 2017.
Jasmine Richardson, 12 Years Old
Jasmine Richardson and her boyfriend, Jeremy Steinke, enacted a dark version of forbidden love. Instead of ending their own lives, they murdered anyone who stood in their way. At 12, Richardson began dating the 27-year-old Steinke after meeting at a punk rock show in 2006. Her parents strongly disapproved of the relationship due to their age difference. On April 23, 2006, the couple decided to murder Richardson’s parents, Marc and Debra, and her 8-year-old brother, Jacob, in their home in Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada.
Steinke admitted that Richardson wanted her parents dead to be free from them. He even told her father, “It’s what your daughter wanted,” as Marc died from stab wounds. Jasmine Richardson stabbed her brother in the neck. On July 9, 2007, both Richardson and Steinke were convicted of three counts of first-degree murder. Richardson was one of the youngest people in Canada to be convicted of multiple first-degree murders. However, convicts under fourteen cannot receive more than a ten-year sentence. Steinke received three life sentences on December 15, 2008.
Richardson attended classes at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta, during the final years of her sentence and was released into a psychiatric hospital in 2011. With evidence of rehabilitation, she completed her sentence in May 2016.
Mary Bell, 10 Years Old
With a difficult life and a mother who attempted to kill her multiple times, Mary Bell turned down a dark path before her 11th birthday. On May 25, 1968, Bell took 4-year-old Martin Brown to a deserted house in Newcastle, England, and strangled him. She later left notes confessing to the murder, but the police didn’t take her seriously. Two months later, she killed again. Bell left the body of 3-year-old Bryan Howe in the same area. This time, she was arrested.
In December 1968, she was convicted of manslaughter due to diminished responsibility. A court-appointed psychiatrist described her as having classic symptoms of psychopathy. Police reports indicated she had carved an “M” into Howe’s body and mutilated him. Bell spent 12 years in prison, released in 1980 at age 23. She now lives with her daughter under a new identity.
Joseph Mcvay, 10 Years Old
On January 2, 2011, in Holmes County, Ohio, 10-year-old Joseph McVay shot his mother, Deborah McVay, 46. According to his sister, Joseph was tired of arguing with his mom and used a .22 caliber rifle to shoot her. He then went to his neighbor’s house, called 911, and told the dispatcher, “I shot my mom. I shot her with a gun.” Joseph pleaded guilty to one count of murder on the same day. The court found him incompetent for trial until early 2013, when he was sentenced in juvenile court at 13.
The official motive was an argument over chores. To avoid bringing in firewood, he shot his mother in the head. However, there are questions about how long the intent to kill had been brewing. Interviews with family members and school administrators indicated his mother physically, emotionally, and verbally abused him. Joseph had also shown signs of anger and aggression before the murder.
Cayetano Santos Godino, 9 Years Old
Cayetano Santos Godino, known as El Petiso Orejudo, was a serial killer and arsonist from Buenos Aires, Argentina, who started young. He beat a 2-year-old at age 7 and another child with a stone at age 8. Due to his age, he was released. A year later, in 1906, Godino killed 3-year-old Maria Rosa Face, strangling her and burying her alive.
In 1912, before turning 16, Godino began a spree of destruction. His attacks included:
- Arturo Laurona: A 13-year-old, killed and left in an abandoned house (January 26th).
- Reyna Vainicoff: A 5-year-old killed by setting fire to her dress (March 7th).
- Roberto Russo: An 8-year-old choked but survived (November 8th).
- Carolina Neolener: A 2-year-old kidnapped but rescued (November 20th).
On December 4, 1912, police arrested Godino after he killed Jesualdo Giordano by hammering a nail into his skull.
Godino entered a youth detention center on January 4, 1913. Medical reports declared him insane, and the judge ordered him to stay in the center. He later transferred to Ushuaia Penitentiary on March 28, 1923, where he died in 1944.
Christian Romero, 8 Years Old
On November 5, 2008, Christian Romero from St. Johns, Arizona, committed a double murder at eight years old, killing his father, Vincent Romero, and a family friend, Tim Romans, with a .22-caliber rifle.
Romero pleaded guilty to negligent homicide in 2009 for killing Romans, but the court never charged him with his father’s death. Prosecution attorney Michael Whiting explained that charging him with his father’s killing wasn’t in Romero’s best interest.
Romero lived under the supervision of the Apache County Superior Court in a supervised group home, receiving treatment and mental health evaluations. In 2015, a probation officer recommended that the 15-year-old Romero attend public school.
Carroll Cole, 8 Years Old
Born on May 9, 1938, in Sioux City, Iowa, Carroll Cole started killing at age 8. After his family moved to Richmond, California, Cole was emotionally abused by his younger sister and teased at school. In 1947, he retaliated against a classmate by drowning him in a lake. Authorities ruled it an accident, but Cole confessed years later that it was intentional.
As a teenager, Cole committed petty crimes and was discharged from the Army for bad conduct. He attempted to strangle numerous women, including an 11-year-old girl in Missouri, leading to a five-year prison sentence.
After his first murder at 8, Cole didn’t kill again until May 7, 1971, when he strangled Essie L. Buck. In November 1980, police arrested Cole for fatally strangling three women in Texas. He was convicted on April 9, 1981, and executed by lethal injection on December 6, 1985. Before his death, Cole claimed to have murdered at least fourteen other women.
Amarjeet Sada, 7 Years Old
Amarjeet Sada, from Bihar, India, had some of the youngest victims. When he was 7, he killed his 8-month-old sister and 6-month-old cousin, but his parents covered it up. In January 2007, he killed Kushboo, a neighbor’s 6-month-old daughter. Police caught him after he confessed to strangling her and hitting her with a stone, making him known as India’s youngest serial killer.
Police said Sada smiled a lot and spoke little when questioned. A psychoanalyst said Sada was a sadist, while a professor said he lacked a sense of right or wrong. Authorities determined he had a chemical imbalance and needed help, so Sada stayed in a children’s home until he turned 18.
Carl Newton Mahan, 6 Years Old
Carl Newton Mahan is considered the youngest known killer in American history. He became Kentucky’s youngest murder defendant after killing a friend with a shotgun on May 18, 1929. Mahan and 8-year-old Cecil Van Hoose argued over selling a scrap of iron, and Hoose slapped Mahan with the iron scrap.
Mahan retrieved his father’s shotgun and declared, “I’m going to shoot you!” before pulling the trigger. Less than a week later, Mahan was on trial for murder. A jury convicted him of manslaughter, sentencing him to 15 years in reform school.
Public opinion was divided, and a Circuit Court judge overturned the conviction, stating a county judge should decide juvenile cases. Kentucky’s attorney general ultimately took no action against Mahan, allowing him to remain with his parents.
These cases highlight how some individuals embark on a path of violence and destruction at a very young age, leaving lasting impacts on society and raising profound questions about the nature of crime and punishment.
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