Every Serial Killer Caught In The '00s

Robert Lee Yates, "The Spokane Killer," got his nickname for his murdering in Spokane County, Wash. That's not to say he didn't do a lot of it. Since 1990, Yates had killed at least 15 women, but it's possible there are more unknown victims out there in the world. According to the Seattle Times, Yates shot sex workers, homeless women, and drug addicts — people that likely wouldn't be missed — and dumped them in places far enough off the grid to avoid immediate detection. As 7 News points out, the killer would tell his wife he was going on "hunting trips," which in a way, he was. But the game Yates was hunting was human.

In 2000, Yates was arrested for, confessed to, and pleaded guilty on the charges of killing 13 women in Spokane County. Court House News Service says this earned the serial killer a hefty 408 years in prison, but the charges didn't stop there. Two years after the initial sentencing, Yates was charged with two more murders in a different county. This time, he was sentenced to death. Like all death penalty cases, Yates was awarded an appeal, but the sentence was upheld. However, in 2018, as noted by iFiberOne, the state of Washington abolished the death penalty entirely, giving Yates the opportunity to live out his years in prison instead.