Partners in crime? When couples commit crimes together

The rule is clear: never mix business with pleasure – but for the couples mentioned here, separating their criminal activities from their private lives proved extremely difficult. These infamous love affairs, including Bonnie and Clyde, the Moor Murderers, the Natural Born Killers and others from today, were not just lovers, but criminals and murderers as well. Their stories provide a grim insight into the complexities of such relationships, where deep love was often entangled with heinous crimes.

Click below to explore the tangled stories of these criminal couples.

Raymond Martinez began scouring newspaper personals for lonely hearts to prey on vulnerable women. At first he outlived their trust and then stole their money, but soon he committed his first murder.

His original target was Martha Beck. Unexpectedly, however, they developed feelings for each other and continued their fraudulent plan together from then on. Beck took on the role of his sister and helped him convince lonely women to sign over their money.

In 1949, the duo were arrested after murdering numerous women, including a young child, and were sentenced to death by electric chair for their crimes.

Myra Hindley and Ian Brady were responsible for the kidnapping, torture, sexual abuse and murder of three young children. The pair hid the bodies of their victims in the desolate Saddleworth Moors in England – a gruesome detail that is inextricably linked to their notorious crimes.

Myra Hindley rose to fame as Britain’s first convicted female serial killer, and this gruesome photograph achieved cult status.

19-year-old Charles Starkweather committed his first murder after a gas station attendant refused to sell him a gift for his 14-year-old girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate, on credit.

The following month, Starkweather killed Fugate’s parents and two-year-old sister. The two went on a week-long crime spree that left 10 people dead. They were caught by police in Wyoming at the end of their trip in January 1958.

Their heinous acts have inspired numerous songs and films, the most famous being Oliver Stone’s “Natural Born Killers,” which was released in 1994. This film sparked a fierce controversy in which the director was accused of glorifying the crimes. Shockingly, at least eight murders have been documented that mimic the events depicted in the film.

The Wests are responsible for the most gruesome series of murders ever committed by a British couple.

Her downfall began when police began a search for a missing daughter in 1994. After obtaining a search warrant, police found the last of two young women buried under the porch of her home. Her own daughter, Heather, was among the deceased. As a result, the house at 25 Cromwell Street-West was given the infamous nickname “House of Horrors.”

Fred West confessed to further crimes and cooperated with police by revealing the burial locations of 12 more people in his basement and also revealing the whereabouts of his other victims. He was convicted of the gruesome sexual abuse and murder of 12 women, while Rose West was convicted of 10 murders. It is believed that the duo may have committed numerous other crimes that have not yet been solved.

Daniel and Manuela Ruda, who called themselves vampires and Satanists, were convicted of a gruesome murder in 2002. The German couple confessed to consuming blood and resting in coffins. Manuela, who was sensitive to light, insisted that the trial take place in dim light.

In 2001, they lured their associates to their home, where they beat him to death with a hammer and stabbed him 66 times. During the trial, they claimed they were following orders from the devil to free souls.

Daniel Ruda and Manuela were sentenced to prison terms of 15 and 13 years respectively for their crimes. They were also ordered to undergo treatment in a psychiatric facility. Psychological experts diagnosed both people with narcissistic personality disorders. They made their decision while in prison. Today they are free again.

In this shocking story of brutality, Inessa Tarverdiyeva and Roman Podkopaev, a Russian couple, were accused of turning their own family into a ruthless criminal organization. Tarverdiyeva worked as a kindergarten teacher, while Podkopaev was a dentist.

The gang operated in Russia from July 2007 to September 2013 and included Tarverdiyeva’s daughters Victoria and Anastasia. This family was responsible for the murder of up to 30 people, including police officers, security officials and homeowners. Authorities discovered significant amounts of money, gold jewelry and weapons in their apartment.

Anastasia Sinelnik, Podkopaev’s sister, and her husband Sergei, a police officer, were involved in the crimes. They helped cover up the crimes, while Sergei revealed confidential details about the investigation. With the exception of Podkopaev, who was shot by law enforcement agencies, all the others were arrested. At the time of the murders, Anastasiya Tarverdiyeva was still a minor.

In 2015, Syed Rizwan Farook, a local health inspector, attended a Christmas party with his colleagues in California. He was later joined by his wife, Tashfeen Malik. Together they carried out an attack on the event, killing 14 people and injuring 22 others.

The couple fled in a black SUV and were later spotted by police. During the pursuit, Farook fired shots at police from the vehicle while his wife was driving. Police officers eventually shot and fatally wounded the two.

Farook and Malik were the perpetrators of one of the deadliest mass attacks in US history. According to their acquaintances, they were not considered extremists and had no connection to terrorist groups. Nevertheless, they are said to have declared their loyalty to the Islamic State on Facebook on the day of the attack.

This infamous duo is responsible for one of the most famous criminal rampages in history.

Between 1932 and 1934, they roamed the southern states of the USA and are said to have killed 13 people during this time, including police officers. They are also said to have committed numerous robberies and kidnappings. Impressively, they managed to free five inmates from a prison. They were ultimately ambushed and shot by the authorities in Louisiana.

The lives of a former baseball player and a student from a Christian fundamentalist family take an unexpected turn when they team up to commit a series of daring bank robberies across the United States in search of adrenaline.

In the late 1990s, they left the country with over $500,000 in cash and were on the FBI’s most wanted list. They traveled around the globe, exploring tropical waters and enjoying the most beautiful ski resorts before finally settling in Cape Town, South Africa.

The FBI tracked down the couple and worked with South African authorities to arrest them and bring them back to the United States. They earned the nickname “modern-day Bonnie and Clyde.”

Wolfgang Beltracchi, a self-proclaimed hippie, and his wife Helene have started the biggest art fraud of all time.

Wolfgang, a self-taught artist, had an amazing talent for imitating the style of famous painters. Little by little, he managed to earn a living with his increasingly bold forgeries. In 1992, he met his wife Helene, who took on the role of art dealer. Helene sold his artworks for exorbitant sums, including a fake Max Ernst painting that fetched an incredible $7 million.

The Beltracchi couple are said to have made around $22 million from their scam before they were caught in 2010. The whole deception was exposed when an expert discovered contemporary paint on a painting that was supposedly a classic. After that, several fake works of art were found that were linked to the Beltracchis.

Discover also: The most unbelievable scandals in sports history