Faye Copeland is thought to be the oldest woman serial killer in history.

She was well into her 60’s when she and and her husband Ray started killing drifters in Missouri.

They had hit on a scheme to use down and outs as front men in a dud cheque fraud. When the drifters were of no further use to them, they killed them with a bullet to the head.

By the time the couple went on trial in 1990, Faye was 69 years old.

Police could prove they had murdered five men, but thought that the total number of victims was twelve. Few remains were ever found.

Detectives found Faye had hand written a ‘death list’ of the suspected victims with black X’s alongside each name.

On Death Row awaiting execution by lethal injection, Copeland suffered a stroke. She was paroled and died in hospital a year later.

Her husband Ray died of natural causes while awaiting execution on Death Row.