Last Updated on October 7, 2025 by Matt Staff
The 1960s are remembered for counterculture, civil rights, and cultural revolution, but the decade also produced some of the most notorious criminals in modern history. Their stories reveal a darker undercurrent beneath the era’s free spirit surface, with mobsters and cult leaders as well as assassins and con artists.
These photos capture criminals from the 1960s who shocked, terrified, and fascinated the world. I’m just more surprised than anything else that we don’t have a mountainous queue of compelling Netflix series about each of these criminals just yet. That being said though, there’s obviously plenty of time for such a thing.
1. Charles Manson, the cult leader
In 1969, Manson directed his followers to commit a series of brutal murders, including the killing of actress Sharon Tate. His influence and delusion turned him into one of America´s most infamous figures.
2. Richard Speck, ex-sailor with a violent temper
In 1966, he murdered eight student nurses in Chicago in one night, one of the most shocking mass murders of the decade.
3. Ronnie and Reggie Kray, leaders of “The Firm”
They ran protection rackets, extortion, and murder operations while maintaining celebrity status in 1960s Britain.
4. James Earl Ray, a small-time criminal
He assassinated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968 and fled to London before being captured and sentenced to 99 years in prison.
5. Myra Hindley, partner in the “Moors Murders”
Together, they kidnapped and murdered children across England between 1963 and 1965. Her mugshot remains one of Britain´s most chilling images.
6. Bonnie Lou Brown, con artist and smuggler
Involved in interstate fraud schemes and illegal transport of stolen goods across state lines during the early 60s.
7. Frank Lucas, drug dealer
He built an international heroin empire by smuggling drugs from Southeast Asia, later portrayed in American Gangster.
8. George Metesky — “The Mad Bomber”
Between 1940 and 1965, he planted over 30 bombs in public places before being caught in 1960.
9. Albert DeSalvo — “The Boston Strangler”
Confessed to murdering 13 women in Boston between 1962 and 1964, although some doubt remains about the full truth.
10. Patricia Krenwinkel, from Charles Manson’s fan to murderer
Participated directly in the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders and earned a life sentence for her role.
11. Jack Ruby, mob club owner
Shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald, the accused assassin of President John F. Kennedy, live on national television in 1963.
12. Jimmy “The Gent” Burke
Involved in robbery, loan-sharking, and famously connected to the 1978 Lufthansa heist, one of the largest cash robberies in U.S. history.
13. Ruth Ellis, nightclub hostess
Convicted of shooting her lover, David Blakely, in 1955, but her execution in 1960 became a major factor in Britain´s decision to abolish the death penalty.
14. Donald “Pee Wee” Gaskins
Confessed to murdering more than a dozen people throughout the 1906s and 1970s, making him one of the most violent criminals in the South.
15. Christine Keeler, showgirl
Her affair with a government minister sparked the 1963 Profumo Affair, a political scandal that exposed Cold War-era espionage and deceit.
16. Whitey Bulger, mob boss
Ran illegal gambling and loan-sharking operations and later led the Winter Hill Gang, ruling Boston´s underworld for decades.
17. George Harrison Marks, dark filmmaker
Convicted in the 1960s for obscenity charges tied to his adult films, and challenged Britain´s censorship laws.
18. Richard Nixon’s “Plumbers”
In the late 1960s, Hunt and associates were part of secretive operations that foreshadowed the Watergate break-in scandal.
19. Valerie Solanas, feminist writer
In 1968, she shot artist Andy Warhol in his Manhattan studio, claiming he had “too much control” over her work.
20. Frank Abagnale Jr., con artist and impostor
In the 1960s, he forged checks and posed as a pilot, doctor, and lawyer, later becoming the inspiration for the Catch Me If You Can movie.
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The 1960s were an era of upheaval, rebellion, and reinvention, and its criminal figures reflected those same forces. Their stories blend charisma, corruption, and tragedy, showing how fame and infamy often walked hand in hand. These photos remain haunting reminders of a decade when the rules were changing, and so were the faces of crime itself. If you loved this content, check out 35 Vintage Photos of the Early to the Mid-1970s, or 24 Vintage Photos That Capture 1999 Perfectly.
