“Unmasking the Unthinkable: 5 Teen Killers Who Came Closer to Freedom Than You’d Imagine”
3. Mary Bell – 11 years old
Although not quite a teenager, Mary Bell was assisted in her crimes by her 13-year-old best friend, Norma Bell, who was no relation despite having the same last name. Together, the pair strangled two young boys, ages three and four. When police investigated Mary’s background, they found out that her prostitute mother was abusive. On more than one occasion, she tried to kill Mary and forced her to engage in sexual acts with men.
While Norma was acquitted of the crimes on account of her feeble mindedness, Mary served 12 years in a juvenile detention center. Today, she’s a grandmother and lives anonymously under a new name.
4. William Heirens – 18 years old
William Heirens began committing petty crimes at the age of 13, but, five years later, he turned to murder. After brutally stabbing his second female victim, he wrote a message on the wall in lipstick. It read, “For heavens sake, catch me before I kill more. I cannot control myself.” Sadly, he would murder a six-year-old girl before police finally caught him.
Heirens served 65 years in a Chicago prison before dying of natural causes.
5. Jesse Pomeroy – 14 years old
The case of Jesse Pomeroy is infamous because of his standing as one of America’s first-known teen serial killers. In 1871, at the age of 12, Pomeroy began murdering young boys in Massachusetts. After his family moved to South Boston, he continued his killing spree and was apprehended by police, but spent only two years in a juvenile detention center.
