Last Updated on October 1, 2025 by Matt Staff
The yearbook is where even the most infamous faces looked ordinary. These pre-fame portraits of 1970s and 1980s criminals are filled with debate-team grins, letterman jackets, and the unsettling thrill of seeing a familiar headline, years before the actual headline that marked their stories.
This gallery contains 20 yearbook photos tied to the crime stories that shaped the ’70s and ’80s. Is the quiet before everything changed.
1. Robert Christian Hansen
The Alaska “Butcher Baker” led a double life as a quiet shop owner while also abducting victims in the 1970s and 1980s. He was arrested in 1983 and received a long prison sentence.
2. Griselda Blanco
Griselda was known as the “Cocaine Godmother” who helped shape Miami’s drug wars in the late 70s and early 80s. The multiple arrests and convictions followed her as her empire unraveled.
3. Ted Kaczynski
Ted was the “Unabomber” who carried out a years-long mail bombing campaign beginning in 1978. He was arrested in 1996 after a manifesto led the investigators to his Montana cabin.
4. Dennis Rader
Rader was better known as the “BTK Killer”. He terrorized Wichita from the 1970s to 1991 and went quiet for years. He was arrested in 2005 after contacting the police again and is serving life sentences.
5. Jeffrey Dahmer
After spending most of the 80s killing men, Dahmer was arrested in Milwaukee in 1991. He confessed to the series of murders that horrified the world. He received multiple life sentences and died in prison.
6. Richard Ramirez
Ramirez was known as the “Night Stalker”. He was captured in Los Angeles in 1985 after a summer of fear. He was convicted and later died on death row.
7. David Berckowitz
New York’s “Son of Sam” was arrested in 1977. This put an end to months of citywide panic. He is serving multiple life terms.
8. Ted Bundy
Bundy was a serial killer who was active in the mid-to-late 1970s. He was captured after multiple escapes. He was executed in 1989.
9. John List
In 1971, List murdered his family in New Jersey and vanished for nearly 18 years. A TV reenactment ended up leading to his arrest in 1989, followed by a life sentence.
10. Rodney Alcala
The so-called “Dating Game Killer” was arrested in 1979. His TV appearance became a grim afterthought. He was ultimately convicted of multiple murders.
11. Frank Lucas
Lucas was Harlem’s heroin kingpin of the early 1970s, who built a flashy empire before a high-profile takedown. His case later inspired American Gangster.
12. Sara Moore
In 1975, Moore attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford in San Francisco and was quickly arrested. She received a life sentence and was paroled decades later.
13. John Hinckley Jr.
Hinckley shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981 and was found not guilty by reason of insanity. He spent decades under psychiatric restrictions before conditional release.
14. Mark David Chapman
Chapman killed John Lennon in 1980 outside the Dakota in New York City. He was arrested at the scene, and he received a prison term of 20 years to life.
15. Aileen Wuornos
Wuornos was a serial killer. A Florida case from 1989 drew international attention to her. She said the killings were in self-defense, but she was convicted and later executed.
16. Wayne Williams
Williams was arrested in 1981 and convicted of two adult murders. He has long been linked to the Atlanta child murders. The case remains debated in the public record.
17. John Delorean
Delorean was an auto executive who was arrested in a 1982 FBI sting on cocaine charges. A jury acquitted him after an entrapment defense. His company didn’t survive the scandal.
18. Andrew Daulton Lee
Lee is half of the “Falcon and the Snowman” spy duo. He was arrested in 1977 for selling U.S. secrets to the Soviets. He received a lengthy prison sentence.
19. David Alan Gore
Gore was a Florida serial offender active in the early 1980s. He was arrested in 1983 and was later executed for his multiple convictions.
20. Andrew Kokoraleis
Kokoraleis was a member of Chicago’s “Ripper Crew”. He was arrested and convicted in the 80s, and executed in Illinois in 1999.
Explore more historical content:
If these pages from the past pulled you in, keep the mood going with these 20 Fascinating Mugshots from the Fabulous Fifties, or these 15 Lesser Known Tales About Famous Outlaws. You can also take a look at these 20 Infamous 1930s Gangsters Who Ruled the Era.
