Honestly, I had never heard of this guy before, but I was doing a deep dive into the history of serial murder for the upcoming adult Jazz stories, and it occurred to me: Who is the generally agreed-upon first serial killer in history?

Well, according to most sources, it’s a guy named Liu Pengli.

He was a prince in the Han Dynasty, so we’re talking second century BCE. A long time ago! And since he was the nephew of the Emperor, he had a lot of wealth and prestige to cover up his crimes.

Cover them up he did, to the tune of more than a hundred victims. Dude was so prolific that people were afraid to leave their houses at night.

Eventually, the son of one of his victims worked up the nerve to complain to the Emperor. And in what absolutely shocks me, the Emperor did notpardon his nephew or cover up his crimes or punish the brave subject who reported him. Instead, the Emperor — unable to bring himself to put his own kin to death — banished Liu Pengli and stripped him of his nobility, making him a rank commoner in exile.

Billy Dent’s thesis that serial killing is for rich elites…stands!

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