The 10 Most Horrifying US Murders Committed on Halloween

We've all seen horror movies that depict murders and crimes on Halloween, but when it actually happens on Oct. 31st, takes on a new meaning. (Image courtesy of Murderpedia on Facebook. )

10 of the worst murders committed

According to information compiled by insider.com, in no particular order, here's a look at some of the worst. And, a few of them are unsolved.

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*Napa Valley CA double-fatal stabbing. In 2004, Leslie Mazzara and Adriane Insogna retired after trick-or-treaters stopped coming. A friend, Lauren Meanza, was sleeping downstairs in the home when she was awakened by screaming from upstairs. Meanza fled the home, and authorities later arrested a family friend Eric Matthew Copple, who turned himself in for the stabbings. He's serving 20 years.

*The L.A. Toolbox Killers.  Lawrence Bittaker and Roy Norris killed five women, the last one on Halloween in 1979, before a friend who had gotten wind of what they were doing turned them in to the Police.  The two got the name because they used common tools to torture female hitchhikers before killing them. Their last victim was dumped in a residential yard on Halloween night, 1979. Both got lengthy terms, Bittaker died in prison four years ago.

*Connecticut murder solved 25 years later. (1975)  15-year-old Martha Moxley had left home the night before Halloween to attend a party at a friend's home, on Halloween she was found fatally beaten with a golf club in her backyard. Michael Shakel, who was also 15 at the time, was arrested in 2000 for the crime but maintained his innocence. His sentence was vacated in 2018, and in 2020 the case was reopened.

*Japanese exchange student fatally shot in New Orleans 1992.   He was fatally shot after he got lost and knocked on the door of a home occupied by  Rodney Peairs. He had knocked but gotten no answer. Peairs thought the student was a burglar. He was found not guilty by a jury.

*Man shot by wife's 'girlfriend?' in LA in 1957  Peter Fabiano and his wife Betty had gone to bed Halloween Night in LA, but then well after trick-or-treaters were gone, the doorbell rang.  A woman standing on the lawn wearing a mask fatally shot him in the chest. The suspect, Goldyne Pizer, was apparently talked into the shooting by another woman who was having a sexual relationship with Fabiano's wife. However, Betty was never tried in connection with his murder.

*Man executed for sexual assault and stabbing of a nun in Texas  Johnny Frank Garrett in 1981 was convicted of murder and other crimes following the death of a nun at a convent in Texas on Halloween, 1981.  In 1992 he was put to death, at the time of his demise, he reported told the people present he was thankful for his family, but the rest of the world "could kiss my ass."

*1998 murder in the Bronx over car egging incident  Karl Jackson, long-time area resident, and his wife were picking up their son from a Halloween party when he confronted some teens who threw eggs on their car. He was fatally shot by Seventeen-year-old Curtis Sterling, who is nearly finished with a 20-plus-year prison sentence.

*Step-brother murders family in Michigan  In 2010 16-year-old Devon Griffin had come home to play some video games after Halloween activities. He noticed the home was strangely quiet. He would find his father, mother, and older brother dead. His step-brother, William Liske. killed them with a hammer and shot them. Liske avoided the death penalty but committed suicide in prison in 2015.

*Unsolved Manhattan Murder  In 1981, on Halloween, Photographer Ronald Sisman and Smith College student Elizabeth Platzman were found dead in their apartment, which had been ransacked, but authorities said nothing appeared to have been stolen. The case remains unsolved to this day.

And finally, The Candyman murders his son  In 1974 a man named Ronald O'Bryan in Houston was convicted of poisoning his 8-year-old son Timothy with cyanide. O'Bryan apparently changed his story numerous times, but during his trial, it was revealed he was in deep financial trouble and had taken out life insurance policies on his children. Timothy ate a Pixie Stix laced with the poison and died on his way to the hospital. This case galvanized the nation and is largely responsible for the beginning of the practice of parents examining their child's Halloween candy to ensure its safety.

O'Bryan was executed by lethal injection in Texas in 1984.