Last Updated on October 3, 2025 by Matt Staff
The yearbook is where even the headline-makers look ordinary. These pre-fame portraits tie to 1990s crime stories that encapsulate an unsettling sense that history was waiting just off-camera.
In this gallery, you’ll flip through 20 yearbook photos linked to notorious ’90s cases and the quiet before everything changed.
1. Andrew Cunanan
In 1997, Cunanan drifted across the country during a weeks-long killing spree that ended in Miami. His case drew international attention after the murder of the famous designer Gianni Versace.
2. Anthony “T.J.” Solomon
Solomon was a 15-year-old student in Conyers, Georgia. He opened fire at Heritage High School in 1999 and was apprehended at the scene. He later received a lengthy sentence under Georgia law.
3. Michael Alig
The New York “Club Kid” impresario pleaded guilty in 1997 to manslaughter in a case that shocked the nightlife world. His rise and fall became a cautionary tale about the ’90s club culture.
4. Barry Loukaitis
In 1996, Loukaitis carried out a school shooting in Moses Lake. He was convicted and given a long prison term.
5. Nick Leeson
Leeson was the rogue trader behind Barings Bank’s 1995 collapse. He incurred massive losses with unauthorized bets. He was arrested in Singapore and served time. Later, he wrote a book about the scandal.
6. Hadden Clark
Clark was a drifter and a handyman linked to the early-1990s murders in Maryland. He was arrested in 1992 and received long sentences after multiple convictions.
7. Michael Milken
Also known as the “junk bond” financier, Milken was sentenced in 1990 for securities violations tied to the 1980s market. His prosecution helped define the era’s white-collar crackdowns.
8. Mitchel Johnson and Andrew Golden
These two Arkansas boys carried out the 1998 Westside Middle School attack in Jonesboro. They were tried as juveniles, and they served time under state law.
9. Ivan Boesky
Boesky was a Wall Street arbitrageur whose insider-trading case broke in the early 1990s. His plea deal and fines made headlines worldwide.
10. Paul Bernardo
Bernardo was a central figure in the early-1990s Canadian murder cases. He was arrested in 1993 and later convicted. The media coverage was extensive and closely regulated by the courts.
11. Carey Stayner
Stayner was a Yosemite-area motel handyman. He was arrested in 1999 after a series of murders near the national park. He was convicted and received a death sentence.
12. Kip Kinkel
Kinkel was an Oregon teenager who killed his parents and then opened fire at Thurston High School in 1998. He pleaded guilty and received a long sentence.
13. Susan Smith
In 1994, Smith reported a carjacking before admitting that she had rolled her car into a lake with her two sons inside. She was convicted of murder and sentenced to life.
14. Luke Woodham
In 1997, Woodham killed his mother and then attacked students at Pearl High School. He was arrested nearby and later received life sentences.
15. Pamela Smart
In 1990, in New Hampshire, Pamela had her husband murdered by a teen. She was convicted of plotting the crime, and it became one of the first trials to receive extensive live TV coverage.
16. Dylan Klebold
Klebold was one of the two perpetrators of the 1999 Columbine High School attack in Colorado. He died at the scene.
17. Timothy McVeigh
McVeigh was a Gulf War veteran convicted of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that killed 168 people. He was executed in 2001.
18. Eric Harris
Along with Dylan Klebold, Harris carried out the 1999 Columbine High School shooting. He also died at the scene.
19. Terry Nichols
Nichols was McVeigh’s co-conspirator in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. He was convicted in state and federal courts and is serving multiple life sentences.
20. Joel Rifkin
Rifkin was a Long Island serial killer. He was arrested in 1993 after a routine traffic stop. He is serving a long prison term following multiple murder convictions.
Explore more historical content:
If these snapshots pulled you into time-capsule mode, keep the nostalgia going with these 20 Mugshots Of Prohibition Era Gangsters, or these 15 Lesser Known Tales About Famous Outlaws. You can also take a look at these 20 Unforgettable Stories about Criminals in the 1940s.
