She soon broke off the engagement after meeting Knowles in person. In the meantime, however, Covic had consulted with a psychic who warned her of a new, dangerous man entering her life. Out of Florida State Prison in Raiford, Knowles flew to San Francisco to meet his bride-to-be. Thinking she had found her dream man, Covic used her money to provide legal counsel for Knowles and, in May 1974, secured his release on parole. A recent California divorcee, she started corresponding with Knowles during the early 1970s while he was in prison for lesser convictions. At least one woman who met Knowles described him as “ruggedly handsome,” hence the name the “Casanova Killer.” There was another woman in Knowles’s life who also survived her encounter, thanks to a psychic warning. He was killed in 1974 while in custody after attempting to grab the handgun off the sheriff escorting him. Paul John Knowles murdered anywhere between 18 and 35 women. See Also: 10 Creepiest Photos of Victims Taken by Serial Killers 10 Paul John Knowles A future list will look at female killers, though there is only one who had sufficient kills to be included on this list based on the death toll, and she is added as a bonus item.

This new list is a little more precise: focussing on American male killers only and ranking based on the verified death toll. That 2007 list ranked killers based on various factors, only one of which was their death toll. Many years ago we wrote the definitive list of Serial Killers.

California serial killers