The most memorable game show killers in history

Before appearing on the US game show To Tell The Truth in 1972, Edward Edwards had already landed himself on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list. In 1961, the petrol station robber escaped from jail in Portland, Oregon. However, he was recaptured in 1962 and finally released in 1967.

But it was after the TV appearance that Edwards became infamous for murdering William Lavaco and Judith Straub in 1977, then Tim Hack and Kelly Drew in 1980. He also killed his own 25-year-old foster son Dannie in 1996. It is believed this murder was to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars in insurance payments.

Edwards confessed to the five murders in 2009 after he was identified by DNA evidence. He was given the death penalty for killing Dannie but died naturally in 2011.

“That’s when it truly hit me how evil my dad was,” Edwards’ daughter April Balascio revealed in her memoir. “He was a bad man. My dad confessed to five murders, yes, but I also believe there’s more out there.”

Some true-crime buffs believe Edwards was San Francisco’s infamous Zodiac Killer. Meanwhile, others hold him responsible for the murder of child pageant winner JonBenet Ramsey.

When John Cooper, 80, appeared on the British darts-themed game show Bullseye in 1989, he had no idea the footage would be used to convict him for four murders in 2011.

Cooper’s crimes began at the age of 17 with a string of theft and assault charges. Then, they escalated to the murders of siblings Richard and Helen Thomas in their Milford Haven home in Wales in December 1985.

He later killed Peter and Gwenda Dixon while they were camping near Little Haven in June 1989.

Following both double murders, which became cold cases, Cooper went on to commit 31 burglaries and robberies. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 1998.

But it wasn’t until 2006 when Dyfed-Powys Police started a forensic investigation into the two double murders that Cooper was linked to the cases that eventually saw him sentenced to life in prison in 2011.

“He is the most dangerous human being that I’ve ever come into contact with,” detective superintendent Steve Wilkins said in a documentary about the murders in 2021. “I was in no doubt that Cooper would kill again.”

When Cheryl Bradshaw appeared on The Dating Game in 1978, she thought she’d meet the man of her dreams. But instead, she crossed paths with killer Rodney Alcala.

Before she selected him for a date, Alcala had already slain Jill Barcomb, Georgia Wixted and Charlotte Lamb in 1977 and 1978.

Luckily, Cheryl decided not to go through with their date. She recalls, “I started to feel ill. He was acting really creepy.”

In 1979, Alcala attempted to kill 15-year-old hitchhiker Monique Hoyt, murdered Jill Parenteau, then killed 12-year-old Robin Samsoe.

In July that year, Alcala was arrested and, in May 1980, he was found guilty of Robin’s murder. However, this verdict was overturned in 1984 due to jurors not being properly informed of his previous sexual crimes.

He was found guilty for all five murders in 2010 and received the death penalty for his crimes. However, while awaiting his execution, Alcala, then 77, died of a heart attack in July 2021.

He was eventually found guilty of eight murders. However, authorities believe he killed up to 130 people across the US during his lifetime.

Alcala is the subject of Netflix film Woman Of The Hour, directed by and starring Anna Kendrick.

Known as “Doomsday Mum”, Lori Vallow, 51, had her first brush with fame as a contestant on Wheel Of Fortune in 2004.

But her fame turned into infamy in 2019 after she and her husband Chad Daybell murdered their former spouses, Charles Vallow and Tammy Daybell, along with Vallow’s children Tylee, 16, and J.J, seven, as the pair believed the world would end in July 2020.

In May 2023, Vallow was convicted of murdering her two children. She was sentenced to life in prison with no parole.

“I’ve had many communications with Jesus Christ, many angelic visitors,” Vallow said at her hearing. “Because of these communications, I know my children are happy and busy in the spirit world.”

Despite her life sentence, Vallow believes she and Daybell, also found guilty, will be exonerated.

First gaining fame by winning Jeopardy! twice in 1989, Paul Curry, 67, then found notoriety for murdering his wife Linda Kinkade five years later.

Friends described the pair as “the perfect couple”. They married in 1992, but signs of what was coming started appearing soon after.

Linda’s best friend Merry Seabold first became concerned after being told Curry was taking out a $1.6 million life insurance policy on her.

“Paul’s getting real intent on getting everything put in his name – the mortgage and life insurance,” Linda told Merry in footage from the doco Charmed To Death.

After contracting hantavirus (the same disease that killed Gene Hackman’s wife Betsy Arakawa), Linda became progressively weaker until she died in 1994 from a fatal dose of nicotine.

After collecting the payout from Linda’s death, Curry remained under the radar until his arrest in 2010. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole in November 2014.

“We know that Linda was slowly poisoned,” her niece Rickianne Rycraft says. “He tortured her.”