List of murdered American children

This is a list of murdered American children that details notable murders among thousands of cases of subjects who were or are believed to have been under the age of 18 upon their deaths. Cases listed are stated to be unsolved or solved. This list is inclusive only of subjects who have an existing article on the English-language Wikipedia. Note that this list does not include deaths where there is an on-going investigation without a conviction due to Wikipedia's policy at WP:BLPCRIME. For this reason pending cases are typically not included in this list, and unsolved cases are only included when there is no living suspect.

20th century Before 1920

Victim(s) Date of death Age Location Status DescriptionLemuel Earll February 14, 190211Welsh, LouisianaSolvedVictims of the Earll family murders. Perpetrator was tried and hanged.Fay Earll15Fannie WhittenSeptember 19, 190211Dexter, MaineSolvedPoisoned by her mother.Jennie WhittenNovember 27, 19029Dexter, MaineSolvedPoisoned by her mother.Roy C. DavisAugust 13, 190315Winfield, KansasSolvedYoungest victim of the Winfield massacre.Joachim AndrusFebruary 24, 19113Lafayette, LouisianaSolvedVictims of a serial killer.Agnes Andrus0 (11 months) Elsie Paroubek April 8, 1911 4 Chicago, Illinois Unsolved Murdered and dumped into a drainage canal.Paul VernonJune 9–10, 19125Villisca, IowaUnsolvedFamily and two guests bludgeoned to death.Arthur Boyd7Mary Katherine10Herman Montgomery11Ina May8Lena Stilinger11Philip RintoulJune 9, 19118Ardenwald, OregonUnsolvedMurdered along with their parents. Considered one of Oregon's most brutal mass murders.Dorothy Rintoul5

1920s

Victim(s) Date of death Age Location Status DescriptionGeneva Hardman February 4, 192010Lexington, KentuckySolvedVictim of serial killer Will Lockett.Martha WolfApril 22, 19203Turtle Lake, North DakotaSolvedKilled by their neighbor Henry Layer.Liddia Wolf5Edna Wolf7Maria Wolf9Bertha Wolf12Jacob Holfer13Robert Neal OsbornJuly 21, 19204Kinston, North Carolina SolvedMurdered by serial killer Asbury Respus. Little Lord Fauntleroy 1920 or 1921 5–7 Waukesha, Wisconsin Unsolved, unidentified Found dead in a quarry.Bobby FranksMay 21, 192414Chicago, IllinoisSolvedThe two perpetrators confessed soon after the murder. Richard RussellJune 4, 19250 (4 months)Hamilton, OhioSolvedKilled by their uncle.Paul Russell3Robert Russell8George Francis RussellJulia Russell12 Arthur Schumacher July 1925 8 Wauwatosa, Wisconsin Unsolved Went missing on July 24, 1925. His body was found 3 weeks later.Bath School disasterMay 18, 19277–14Bath Charter Township, MichiganSolvedPerpetrator set off two explosions that killed 38 children. Perpetrator died in the second explosion.Frank WongAugust 22, 19280 (10–11 days old)Fairfield, California SolvedVictims of the 1928 Fairfield murders.Willie Wong3Johnnie Wong4Nellie Wong15Lawson family murdersDecember 25, 19290–17; 4 monthsGermanton, North CarolinaSolvedMurder–suicide and familicide.

1930s

Victim(s) Date of death Age Location Status DescriptionMary Haven February 9, 19300 (2 months)Schafer, North DakotaSolvedVictims of Charles Bannon, the last person to be lynched in North Dakota.Charles Haven2Leland Haven14Anabel Eicher June 23, 19319Park Ridge, Illinois SolvedKilled by serial killer Harry Powers.Harry Eicher12Greta Eicher14Vera LeonardSeptember 30, 19319Winston-Salem, North CarolinaSolvedFinal victim of serial killer Asbury Respus.Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr.March 2, 19321Hopewell Township, New JerseySolvedVictim of kidnapping and murder, child of aviator Col. Charles Lindbergh.Fileman MartinezOctober 7, 193216Santa Fe, New MexicoSolvedMurdered by his stepfather.James Cordie CheckDecember 15, 193317Maury County, Tennessee SolvedMurdered for being falsely accused of rape. Babes in the Wood murders (Pine Grove Furnace) November 24, 1934 8–12 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Solved Murder–suicide and familicide.

1940s

Victim(s) Date of death Age Location Status DescriptionMargaret LynchSeptember 14, 19427Bedford Village, New YorkSolvedMurdered by Edward Haight.Helen Lynch8Willie James HowardJanuary 2, 194415Live Oak, Florida SolvedLynched by a man who was upset his daughter received a Christmas card from Howard.Thora Chamberlain November 2, 194514Campbell, California SolvedMurdered by Thomas McMonigle.Suzanne Degan January 7, 19466Edgewater, ChicagoSolvedMurdered by serial killer William Heirens.Samuel HillNovember 6, 19487Chester, PennsylvaniaSolvedYoungest victim of the Market Street Massacre.Richard NoeApril 7, 19490 (1 month old)Philadelphia, Pennsylvania SolvedMurdered by his Serial Killer mother, Marie Noe.Thelma TaylorAugust 6, 194915Portland, OregonSolvedKilled by Morris Leleand.Thomas HamiltonSeptember 6, 19492Camden, New JerseySolvedVictims of the Camden shootings.Orris Martin Smith6John M. Wilson10

1950s

Victim(s) Date of death Age Location Status DescriptionElizabeth NoeFebruary 17, 19510 (5 months old)Philadelphia, Pennsylvania SolvedMurdered by her serial killer mother, Marie Noe. Kathy Tongay May 6, 1953 5 Miami, Florida Solved Bobby Greenlease September 28, 1953 6 Kansas City, Missouri Solved Murdered by Bonnie Heady and Carl Austin Hall.Deborah Kay FisherMarch 8, 19540 (11 months)Waterville, MaineSolvedKilled by their mother during a psychotic episode.Daniel Fisher5Richard Fisher6 Emmett Till August 28, 1955 14 Money, Mississippi Solved Lynched/murdered by Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam.James Fitzpatrick IINovember 1, 19551Longmont, Colorado (in the air)SolvedThe youngest victim of the bombing of Flight 629, committed by Jack Gilbert Graham.Patricia GrimesDecember 28, 195612Chicago, IllinoisUnsolvedBarbara Grimes15 Joseph Augustus Zarelli February 1957 4 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Unsolved, identified Previously known as "The Boy in the Box." Unidentified until 2022. Maria Ridulph December 3, 1957 7 Sycamore, Illinois Unsolved A suspect was convicted in 2012, but was eventually exonerated in 2016.Betty Jean BartlettJanuary 22, 19582Lincoln, NebraskaSolvedVictims of Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate.Carol KingJanuary 27, 195816Robert Jensen17Dusty Paul OrgeronSeptember 15, 19597Houstan, TexasSolvedVictims of the Poe Elementary school bombing. Dusty was the perpetrator's son.William S Hawes Jr.John Cecil Fitch Jr.8Kenyon ClutterNovember 15, 195915Holcomb, KansasSolvedMurdered with their parents during a robberyNancy Clutter16Debbie WalkerDecember 19, 19591Osprey, FloridaUnsolvedMurdered along with their parents.Jimmie Walker3 Maryann Mitchell December 28, 1959 16 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Solved Kidnapped, raped and murdered by Elmo Lee Smith, who was sentenced to death and executed in 1962.

1960s

Victim(s) Date of death Age Location Status Description Sharon Lee Gallegos July 17–24, 1960 4 Congress, Arizona Unsolved, identified Kidnapping and murder victim, abducted outside her house. Her body was found in the desert 10 days after her abduction. The exact cause of death remains undetermined, but was ruled a homicide. Rene Duperrault November 12, 19617at sea in the Atlantic, near the BahamasSolvedRene and Brian were murdered alongside their parents and the perpetrator's wife aboard the Bluebelle, followed by the perpetrator scuttling the ship. Perpetrator committed suicide after finding out one of the children, Terry Jo Duperrault, had survived the scuttling of the Bluebelle.Brian Duperrault 14Carol Ann DoughertyOctober 26, 19629Bristol Borough, PennsylvaniaSolvedThe perpetrator, a man who died in 2002, was identified based on eye-witness testimony and a confession to his step-son, and the case was officially closed in October 2025. Steven CrawfordJuly 11, 19632Ashland, OregonUnsolved, identifiedCrawford was previously unidentified. Jackson County law enforcement used DNA testing and genealogical tracing to identify his remains in 2021. Carol Denise McNair September 15, 1963 11Birmingham, AlabamaSolvedFour girls killed in a bombing by the Ku Klux Klan.al.com Sep. 15, 2013Carole Robertson14Cynthia WesleyAddie Mae CollinsMary Theresa SimpsonMarch 15, 196414Elmira, New YorkSolvedIn February 2026, Elmira Police Department identified a perpetrator using DNA evidence and genealogical tracing. The identified perpetrator died in 2004. Troy axe murdersSeptember 28, 19645–17Troy, MichiganSolvedThe perpetrator murdered his daughter with a shotgun and his five step children with an axe. The perpetrator was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison in 1968.Eric HoytJanuary 25, 19650 (3 months old)Richford, New YorkSolvedMurdered by his serial killer mother, Waneta Hoyt.Dennis JurgensApril 11, 19653White Bear Lake, MinnesotaSolvedThe perpetrator, Jurgens's adoptive mother, was found guilty and convicted of third-degree murder in 1987.Kevin Dean ReidaApril 25, 19655Orcutt, CaliforniaSolvedVictim of 1965 Highway 101 sniper attack. Perpetrator died from self-inflicted gunshot wound. Sylvia Likens October 26, 1965 16 Indianapolis, Indiana Solved Her caretaker was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1966 and released on parole in 1985.StarFiles: The 1965 murder of Sylvia Likens The Indianapolis Star. Access date: February 5, 2024.Jessica YoungNovember 22, 19650 (11 months old)Aiea, HawaiiSolvedKilled by their mother during a psychotic episode.Jeanette Young2Judy Young3Janice Young5James Jr. Young8Mark GabourAugust 1, 196616Austin, TexasSolvedVictims of the University of Texas tower shooting. Perpetrator killed onsite by police.Karen Griffith17Debra LaRea SellersNovember 12, 19663Mesa, ArizonaSolvedVictim of the 1966 Rose-Mar College of Beauty shooting.Julie HoytSeptember 5, 19680 (6 weeks old)Richford, New York.SolvedMurdered by his serial killer mother, Waneta Hoyt.James HoytSeptember 19, 19682Richford, New York.SolvedMurdered by his serial killer mother, Waneta Hoyt. Jane Durrua November 5, 1968 13 Keansburg, New Jersey Solved Marina Habe December 30, 1968 17 Los Angeles County, California Unsolved Daughter of writer Hans Habe and actress Eloise Hardt. Possible victim of Charles Manson's followers.Ed Sanders, The Family, Avon Books, May 1972, p. 132. Retrieved 19 February 2021.Barbara Jean RingroseJanuary 1–2, 196912Westernville, New YorkSolvedVictims of Westernville New Year's Day shooting.Milton James Pepper14Ileana TorresJune 25, 19697Jersey City, New JerseySolvedMurdered alongside their mother and older sisters by their father.Annie Torres10Victor Torres11Fay Torres12Carrie Torres17

1970s