The Briley Brothers of Richmond Virginia...
Not necessarily the most well-known group of murderers out there, but certainly qualify as among the most heinous.
(from
https://www.thoughtco.com/briley-brothers-killing-spree-4060045)
In 1979, Brothers Linwood Briley, James Briley Jr., and Ray Briley went on a seven-month
killing spree in their hometown of Richmond, Virginia. When they were finally caught, there were 11 people dead, although investigators believed that there were as 20 victims.
James and Bertha Briley were a hard-working couple when their first child, Linwood Earl Briley, was born in 1995. Their second child, James Dyral Briley, Jr. was born about 18 months later followed by their youngest and last child, Anthony Ray Briley.
From the outside looking in, the Briley family seemed well adjusted and happy. They lived in a nice two-story home located on Fourth Avenue in downtown Richmond. Unlike a lot of kids their age, the Briley boys came from an unbroken home where both parents were directly involved with their lives.
On January 28, 1971, Linwood Briley was 16 years old and home alone, when he saw his neighbor, 57-year-old Orline Christian, outside hanging up her laundry. For no apparent reason, Linwood got a rifle from the closet, aimed it out his second-floor bedroom window towards Christian, and pulled the trigger,
fatally shooting Christian.
Somehow no one noticed that she had a gunshot wound in her back and it was assumed that stress led to her death after having recently buried her husband. Then during a viewing her body, some of her relatives noticed a spot of blood on her dress. Curious as to why the family asked for a second examination. It was during the second examination that a bullet was found lodged in her back and a murder investigation was opened.
An investigation of the murder scene led the police straight to Linwood's bedroom window. A search of the house produced the murder weapon. With the solid evidence staring him in the face, Linwood confessed to the murder. In a flat, unemotional voice, the 16-year old said to the detective: "I heard she had heart problems, she would have died soon anyway."
Linwood was found guilty and sentenced to one year in
reform school.
March 12, 1979- The Briley gang went to Henrico County and randomly selected the home of William and Virginia Bucher. Linwood knocked on the Bucher's door, and when William answered it Linwood claimed that he had car trouble and needed to borrow a phone to call Triple A. Williams said he would make the call and asked Linwood for his Triple-A card, but when he opened the screen door to get the card, Linwood rushed towards him and forced his way into the house. The rest of the gang followed behind Linwood and they took control of William and Virginia and tied them up in separate rooms. They then went through each room and took any valuable that they wanted and saturated the rooms with kerosene.
When they were finished stealing what they wanted, Linwood poured kerosene all over Williams' legs, then lit a match as he was leaving the house. The Buchers were left tied up inside to burn to death alive. Somehow William Bucher managed to untie himself and he was able to get himself and his wife to safety. The Buchers are the only known victims of the Briley gang that survived their attack.
March 21, 1979- Michael McDuffie was the victim of a home invasion. The Briley gang forced themselves into his home, assaulted McDuffie and robbed the home and then shot McDuffie to death.
April 9, 1979 - Mary Gowen was walking home from a babysitting job when the Briley gang spotted her and followed her to her home. They then forced their way into her home and beat, robbed and raped her repeatedly, then shot her in the head. The 76-year-old woman managed to survive the attack, but fell into a coma the next day and died a few weeks later.
July 4, 1979 - Christopher Philips, age 17,
lingered around Linwood's car a minute too long. Assuming that he was planning on stealing it, the Bailey brothers forced the boy to a field where they beat and kicked him and then Linwood killed him by crushing his head with a cinderblock.
September 14, 1979 - Popular disc jockey John "Johnny G." Gallaher was playing in a band at a nightclub when he went outside during a break. The Briley gang saw him and forced him into the trunk of his Lincoln Continental, then drove to an old paper mill out by the James River. Gallaher was pulled from the trunk, robbed and shot in the head at close range. His body was discovered floating in the river two days later.
September 30, 1979 - Mary Wilfong, age 62, was working as a private nurse when the Briley gang saw her and followed her home. Just as she was about to enter her apartment, the Brileys assaulted her, then beat her to death with a baseball bat, after which they burglarized her apartment.
October 5, 1979 - On Fourth Avenue, not far from the Briley home, the brothers
assaulted then bludgeoned to death 79-year-old Blanche Page, then beat and stabbed to death her boarder, 59-year old Charles Garner. According to investigators, the beating and murder of Garner was one of the most brutal that the investigators had ever seen.
October 19, 1979 - Harvey Wilkerson and his wife, 23-year-old Judy Barton and her five-year-old son lived around the corner from the Briley's home. Wilkerson and the Briley brothers had known each other for years and were friends. The four would often talk about snakes since, like the Briley brothers, Wilkerson also owned pet snakes.
On October 19, the Brileys were in a celebratory mood. J.B., the middle brother, had been paroled earlier that day. Throughout the day the brothers had been hanging out on Fourth Avenue, drinking and smoking pot, and as night fell they began to talk seriously about finding another victim that night. They decided on Harvey Wilkerson, possibly because they thought he had been dealing drugs and wanted the money or his customers or both.
Wilkerson was outside when he saw the Briley brothers and 16-year-old Duncan Meekins headed his way. He went inside and locked the door, but the group kept coming. When they got to Wilkerson's apartment, they knocked on the door and despite his fears, Wilkerson opened the door and let them inside.
As soon as the gang got inside they began attacking the couple. They bound them with duct tape and gagged them, and then Linwood Briley raped Judy while in close proximity to her son and husband. When he was finished, Meekins, who was considered one the gang, continued to sexually assault and sodomize the pregnant woman.
The gang then went through the house and took whatever personal belongs that they wanted. Linwood put J.B. in charge and left the apartment with some of the stolen goods. J.B. told his brother Anthony and Meekins to cover Wilkerson and his wife with sheets. They left 5-year-old Harvey on the couch. J.B. then ordered Meekins to shoot Wilkerson. Meekins grabbed a pillow and shot through it multiple times and killed Wilkerson. J.B. then shot Judy, killing her and her unborn child. Anthony allegedly shot and killed the boy.
The Brileys didn't know that the police had the area under surveillance and were aware that the gang had gone into Wilkerson's apartment. When the police heard gunshots go off, they could not tell where the shooting was coming from and started canvassing the area. They spotted Meekins and two of the Briley brothers leaving Wilkerson's apartment. They did not think that it was connected to the gunshots that they heard."
A few days later the Briley brothers and Meekins were connected to the crime and taken into custody.
Found guilty (helped by testimony by Meekins) the two older brothers, Linwood and James were given a death sentence.
Concocting an elaborate escape plan, the two brothers escaped from prison in 1984. They were later recaptured in Philadelphia, PA.
Linwood was executed in October 1984 and James was executed in April 1985.
I mean, I'm super happy they got him, but just wow. 
