Random Criminals Who Really Thought They Were Vampires (11 items)

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  (#5) James P. Riva Ended His Wheelchair-Bound Grandmother

  James P. Riva is known as the "Vampire Killer" for two reasons. He claimed the person he ended was a vampire, and he later said he was a vampire himself. He is also known as the "Schizophrenic Vampire." As a teen, Riva became obsessed with vampires. He claimed to need to drink blood, and he would often consume a blood-like drink made of ketchup and oil.

  In 1980, Riva was 23 years old and living in Marshfield, Massachusetts. He had a history of mental illness and had been in several institutions. He had dealt with voices telling him what to do nearly all his life. On April 10, 1980, the voices told him he needed to end his 74-year-old grandmother, Carmen Lopez, who was in a wheelchair and whom he believed to be a vampire plotting to take his life.

  He painted bullets gold, which he said another vampire told him would terminate vampires. He then went to his grandmother's house and stabbed her in the heart. He also shot her before setting her house on fire to destroy the evidence.

  Riva later told his mother from prison that he was a 700-year-old vampire and that he had tried to drink his grandmother's blood, but she was too old and dried up. Riva was sentenced to life in prison and has repeatedly been denied parole.
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  (#12) Joshua Rudiger Said That He Was A 2,600-Year-Old Vampire

  Joshua Rudiger is known as the "Vampire Slasher." In 1998, he took the life of a homeless woman and injured three homeless men with a knife. When asked why he did it, he said he was a 2,600-year-old vampire and that he wanted to drink the victims’ blood.

  Rudiger was just 22 years old at the time. He had a troubled past and a history of aggression and mental illness. With over two decades of experience, Rudiger's lawyer said that Rudiger exhibited the worst case of mental illness he had ever seen. Rudiger - who also claimed to be a samurai - was diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

  The woman he ended was 48-year-old Shirley Dillahunty. He stabbed her with his knife while she was sleeping in a doorway. Rudiger later said he didn't intend to take her life; he just wanted to make a small incision to drink her blood. The other victims did not report Rudiger trying to drink their blood. Rudiger was sentenced to 23 years to life.
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  (#7) Mathew Hardman Cut Out His Elderly Neighbor's Heart And Drank Her Blood

  Mathew Hardman from North Wales was described by friends as a normal, quiet boy. The 17-year-old attended art school and worked part-time as a kitchen porter. No one suspected he would take the life of his 90-year-old neighbor, Mabel Leyshon. But that's exactly what happened in November 2001. Hardman came into his elderly neighbor's house while she was watching TV and stabbed her 22 times with a knife.

  After she passed, Harman carved out her heart and wrapped it in newspaper. He drained her blood into a kitchen saucepan and drank it. He also placed candles and a makeshift crucifix at her feet. Before the incident, Hardman had become obsessed with vampires. He believed drinking blood would make him immortal. He even accused a German exchange student of being a vampire. He begged her to bite him so he'd become one, too.

  Hardman was apprehended and subsequently confessed to smoking pot at the time of the Leyshon's passing. In 2002, Hardman was sentenced to life in jail.
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  (#10) Fritz Haarmann

  • Dec. at 46 (1879-1925)

  Fritz Haarmann is one of the most famous vampiric perps of all time. Between 1918 and 1924, he took the lives of at least 24 boys and young men in Hanover, Germany. His nicknames include the "Vampire of Hanover," the "Butcher of Hanover," and the "Wolfman." Haarmann was a petty criminal and police informant. He started a life of wrongdoing at a young age; at 16, he was apprehended for inappropriately touching younger boys. He was placed in a mental institution but later escaped.

  Haarmann would lure young men and boys into his home by promising them jobs. He would then assault them, biting their Adam's apples and drinking their blood until they passed. Haarmann said he didn't intend to terminate his victims, but that he was overcome by a "rabid sexual passion."

  After claiming a victim, Haarmann would dismember the body, removing the skull and internal organs. The bones would be dropped into the Leine River. One of Haarmann's enterprises was selling meat on the black market. It has been guessed, but never proven, that the meat from Haarmann's victims was sold as mince or sausages.

  After the discovery of more than 500 bones in the Leine River, suspicion turned to 45-year-old Haarmann. He had been questioned regarding several disappearances and was a known homosexual, which was considered a legal offense at that time. Many items belonging to the victims were found at Haarmann's home, and he confessed.

  Haarmann claimed to have ended between 50 and 70 men, although he was only convicted in relation to 24. In 1924, he was sentenced to death. Of his conviction, Haarmann reportedly remarked: 

  Condemn me to death. I ask only for justice. I am not mad. Make it short; make it soon. Deliver me from this life, which is a torment. I will not petition for mercy, nor will I appeal. I want to pass just one more merry night in my cell, with coffee, cheese and cigars, after which I will curse my father and go to my execution as if it were a wedding.
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  (#9) Caius Veiovis Drank Blood From A 16-Year-Old Girl, Then Extinguished Three Hell's Angels

  Caius Veiovis isn't exactly someone who can blend into a crowd - and that's the way he likes it. His face is full of piercings, tattoos, and yes, horn implants. His mug shot has been called one of the scariest ever, but even scarier are the actions he's committed - cutting and drinking the blood of a 16-year-old girl and later terminating three Hell's Angels.

  Veiovis's given name is Roy Gutfinski, Jr. He legally changed his name in 2008. Many media outlets reported that he changed his name to Caius after a vampire character in the Twilight books and movies, although Veiovis denies this.

  Veiovis has a long history of violence and Satanism. In 1999, he stood trial for assault. He and a former girlfriend cut another girl, who was 16 at the time, and kissed while they drank her blood. Veiovis has professed to being a vampire.

  In 2001, Veiovis, along with two other men, snatch three Hell's Angels before taking their lives. One of the Angels was said to have been about to give testimony against Veiovis's friend. The dismembered bodies were found in a trench in Becket, MA. Found guilty on numerous counts, Hampden County Superior Court sentenced Veiovis to three consecutive life sentences without parole.
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  (#6) Elizabeth Báthory

  • Dec. at 54 (1560-1614)

  Elizabeth Báthory - called "The Blood Countess" - is one of the most famous female real-life vampires. She may have been the inspiration for Bram Stoker's Dracula, even more than Vlad the Impaler. Between 1585 and 1609, Báthory sadistically harmed as few as 37 or as many as 650 young women. She holds the Guinness World Record for the most murders committed by a woman.

  Báthory was a Hungarian countess who was married and had four children. She also had a sadistic streak. She started her infamous spree by tormenting and ending young peasant girls who came to work for her. Though unsubstantiated, there are rumors she drank and bathed in their blood to keep herself young. Court testimonies mentioned Báthory using needles on her victims, burning them, and biting off their flesh.

  Báthory wasn't put to trial until she began targeting the daughters of noble families. At her trial in 1611, more than 300 witnesses spoke of the atrocities she'd committed. She was found guilty but was imprisoned in her castle instead of executed. She lived there for four years before passing from an illness. The location of her body is unknown.

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