All real-life serial killers referenced by Fanboy Killer in the first crossover season

Notice! This article contains spoilers for season 1 of Cross.

In CrossLasting eight episodes, the central Fanboy Killer appears to make references to many famous real-life serial killers, highlighting how much he admires them. Rather than maintain an air of ambiguity surrounding the identity of its central killer, Amazon Prime Video’s Cross reveals who is in one of its opening episodes. The show depicts how the eccentric killer is obsessed with the lives and crimes of renowned serial killers and tries to make his victims look like the criminals he idolizes before murdering them.

As Alex Cross and his team learn more about the serial killer’s long history of crimes, they also realize how much he admires some of the most notorious criminals who have ever lived. Due to his obsession with serial killers, they call him the “Fanboy Killer”. The Closer Alex Cross Gets to Catching the Fanboy Killer on Amazon Crossthe more he learns about their rituals and their compulsion to recreate their final moments.

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John Wayne Gacy

American serial killer also known as killer clown

When John Sampson and Alex Cross finally get their hands on the Fanboy Killer’s scrapbook, they realize that he has made all of his previous victims look like famous serial killers. Two pages of the album are also dedicated to real-life serial killer John Wayne Gracy, who sexually assaulted and murdered more than 33 young men and women in Chicago. Before his criminal history came to light, Gracy made several public appearances as a clown. Therefore, he was later labeled as “the killer clown” by the masses due to the disturbing nature of their crimes.

As reports suggest, Gracy committed most of his crimes at his home, where he convinced his victims to handcuff themselves by claiming he was performing a magic trick. Once they fell into his trap, he would sexually assault and torture them before killing them in cold blood. After being convicted of thirty-three murders, John Wayne Gracy was sentenced to death in March 1980. His execution took place at the Stateville Correctional Center on May 10, 1994, where he received a lethal injection.

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Aileen Wuornos

American serial killer who spent 10 years on Florida’s death row

The Fanboy Killer’s latest victim, Shannon, on the Amazon Prime Video detective show, looks just like Aileen Carol Wuornos. Although he is unable to kill her because Alex Cross manages to stay one step ahead of him, the killer, Ed Ramsey, makes her look exactly like Wuornos’ twin before Cross stops him. Aileen Wuornos, who the Fanboy Killer adores in Crossmurdered and robbed seven men while they were engaged in sex work on Florida highways. According to her claims, she killed the men because they sexually assaulted her or attempted to sexually assault her.

When the court proceedings surrounding her criminal case ended, she had been sentenced to death for six of the homicides because the body of one of the victims was never found. As shown in Cross In the final arc of Season 1, Wuornos was finally executed on October 9, 2002, by lethal injection. Wuornos’ story was also featured in 2003 Monsterin which Charlize Theron portrays her. Theron also won an Oscar for her memorable portrayal of the serial killer.

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John Allen Mohammed

American Spree Killer Who Executed the D.C. Sniper Attacks

Cross also mentions John Allen Muhammad in passing. Also known as “DC Sniper”, John Allen Muhammad was responsible for orchestrating the DC sniper attacks in October 2002 with his accomplice, Lee Boyd Malvo. Seventeen people died during the attacks, and both John Allen Muhammad and his partner were arrested after alert passersby spotted them. Although Muhammad’s prosecution later alleged that he carried out the attacks as a revenge plot against his wife to gain custody of their children, the allegations were dismissed due to a lack of concrete evidence.

Almost four months after the trial began, John Allen Muhammad was sentenced to death. Similar to almost all serial killers linked to the Fanboy Killer in CrossMuhammad was also executed by lethal injection on November 10, 2009. By including names of real-life serial killers such as John Allen Muhammad and making references to their crimes, Cross it effectively makes your fictional narrative feel more grounded.

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Ted Bundy

American serial killer who confessed to 30 murders

During the 1970s, Ted Bundy kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and killed several young women. He would lure them into his vehicle by pretending to have a physical disability or claiming to be an authority figure. Once they accompanied him to his car, he would beat them and take them to a remote location. After getting away with his crimes for several years, Bundy was finally arrested in 1975. Although he initially denied his crimes for a decade, he eventually confessed to 30 murders, although the real number is believed to be even higher.

After receiving three death sentences in two trials, Bundy was executed in the electric chair at Florida State Prison on January 24, 1989. Ted Bundy is one of the many murderers that Ed Ramsey admires in Cross. As his scrapbook reveals, he even made one of his victims look like Bundy before killing her.

1

Harry Powers

Dutch-born American serial killer who lured victims through personal ads

Amazon Cross also briefly mentions serial killer Harry Powers, who was known for luring his victims through “lonely hearts” advertisements. He would claim he was looking for love but would kill them for money once they fell for his tricks. Harry Powers used many pseudonyms in his letters to other women and reportedly received around 10 to 20 letters a day. After his criminal activities came to light, Powers was hanged to death on March 18, 1932.

Unlike most of the other serial killers mentioned in CrossHarry Powers does not appear in the Fanboy Killer scrapbook. Instead of, the central killer uses his name as an alias to carry out many criminal activities. The use of Harry Powers as a pseudonym on the Amazon show appears to be a reference to how Powers used alternate names to interact with his potential victims in his letters.