Probably the best-known criminal couple, to which some films, series and songs were dedicated, came from the USA: Their names are Bonnie Elizabeth Parker and Clyde Chestnut Barrow – Bonnie and Clyde were born at the beginning of the 20th century. She comes from Rowena, Texas, he grew up in Telico near Dallas. While Clyde had an early delinquency for stealing a rental car and turkeys, Bonnie was a star student and married her childhood sweetheart, Roy Thornton, when she was just 16. But the marriage ended when her husband went to prison.
Petty criminals become nationally wanted criminals
Bonnie and Clyde met in 1930 in Oak Clif, a town near Dallas, Texas. And just two months later, Clyde was arrested again. By then they were already a couple and Bonnie smuggled a gun into her lover’s jail, which he used to attempt an escape. Initially with success, but only a short time later he was arrested again and ended up in prison again. When Clyde was released in 1932, the two began their raids. They robbed banks, shops and killed nine police officers and four civilians. Since both came from poor backgrounds and the Great Depression of the 1930s had a severe impact on the Midwestern United States, the couple saw no other option but to become criminals. The couple went from petty crooks to nationally wanted murderers and bank robbers, and spent two years playing cat and mouse with the police. On May 23, 1934, the couple was ambushed by the police. Police fired 167 projectiles at the vehicle. Each of them was fatally hit by around 50 projectiles.
Other couples also embody pure evil
In the Manchester area of England there was a couple – the so-called Moorslayers – who lured children, tortured them and eventually killed them. To this day there is no trace of one of their victims. Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka lured women into their home to torture and kill – or cousins Bianchi and Buono, also known as the “Hillside Stranglers”. They also murdered women. Her story became the basis for a successful feature film.