Serial Killers Who Drove Cabs Or Worked For Car Services
There are plenty of real-life examples where killers were also car service drivers. Cabbie serial killers feed their insatiable hunger for death by posing as people trying to make an honest living. They don't care about getting 5 stars on Uber, they only care about picking up their next victim. Climbing in the backseat of a stranger's car is always a risk, and most people who work in the transportation industry aren't trying to kill you, but there are some out there hoping to take advantage of patrons.
Gowri Shankar - The Rickshaw Killer
Photo: J. Miers / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0This Indian serial killer began his life of crime as a rickshaw driver. Gowri Shankar used his mobile business to transport illicit items from city to city, including sex workers. He killed six people and disposed of at least one of the bodies by cremating them and driving their remains to the Bay of Bengal.
After his arrest, he was hanged for his crimes. He was known in India as Auto Shankar because of his profession as a cabbie.
- Photo: Florida Department of Corrections / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
Paul Durousseau is a serial killer who murdered five women between 1997 and 2003. His victims, two of whom were pregnant, were killed in Georgia and Florida.
Durousseau was killing prior to his job with Gator City Taxi in 2003.
He was sentenced to death and remains on death row in Florida.
Jason Dalton - The Uber Killer
Video: YouTube
In February 2016, an Uber driver from Kalamazoo, MI, named Jason Dalton was arrested for driving around and killing people as he picked up various fares.
Between killings, he picked up at least one rider. News reports said one rider called 911 when Dalton started driving erratically.
All in all, Dalton killed six people and injured two others, all of whom the police believe to be unconnected. He pleaded guilty to all charges.
Jesse Matthew Jr., The Cabbie Who Killed College Girls
Video: YouTube
Jesse Matthew Jr. killed two college students from Virginia while working as a cabbie in the area. Police say Matthew killed Morgan Harrington and Hannah Graham, two students who went missing in 2009 and 2014, respectively.
Matthew abducted the women and then brutally murdered them, eventually leaving their remains in a rural areas near their college towns.
UK Cabbie Christopher Halliwell Used Business To Murder
Video: YouTube
Russell Ellwood Threw His Victim In A Swamp
Russell Ellwood was convicted of killing two women, but police suspect he might be involved in more. In 1999, the former cab driver was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Cheryl Lewis. She was one of 26 women found dead in swampy areas around New Orleans from 1991 through 1996.
At the time of Ellwood's arrest in 1997, police suspected he was involved in as many as 15 killings. According to the FBI, they believe that someone within the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Department had hidden or destroyed evidence that could link Ellwood to the rest of the murders.
Glen Edward Rogers, The Casanova Killer
Photo: Florida DOC / Wikimedia Commons / Fair UseGlen Edwards Rogers, known as the Casanova Killer, was convicted of two murders and suspected in several others throughout the United States.
He worked as a cab driver in Ohio.
Limo Driver Gary Beach Killed Five People
In 1999, limousine driver Gary Beach killed five men, including his stepson, in Kansas City, MO.
Gary pleaded guilty to five counts of murder.
