73 Sinister True Crime Trivia Questions And Answers

What's up true crime fans!

Whether you are a forensic specialist that focuses on catching notorious criminals, the media, or just love the true crime genre we have questions and answers that will help you brush up on your true crime knowledge.

We're working on creating the most extensive list of true crime trivia questions and answers to ease your curiosity! 

We'll be continuously expanding this list and are working on creating some games based on it. Bookmark this page to get more true crime trivia questions to stump your twisted friends!

Question 1: How did Ed Gein Die?

Answer: Respiratory failure.

Learn more about how Ed Gein died.

Question 2: Are Bonnie and Clyde considered serial killers?

Answer: No they would be considered spree killers or outlaws.

Learn more about Bonnie and Clyde.

Question 3: Which serial killer was known as the “Killer Clown?” 

Answer: John Wayne Gacy 

Question 4: How did Ted Bundy lure his victims?

Answer: Pretending to be injured or disabled

Question 5: When did Ed Gein die?

Answer: July 26, 1984

Question 6: What was Dorothea Puente's cause of death?

Answer: Natural Death

Learn more about Dorothea Puente.

Question 7: What U.S. government agency maintains the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS)?

Answer: FBI

Question 8: What type of evidence helped convict Richard Hauptmann in the Lindbergh baby kidnapping case?

Answer: Wood from a handmade letter

Question 9: What mobster was convicted for tax evasion instead of his violent crimes?

Answer: Al Capone

Question 10: What is the primary component of luminol, used to detect blood at crime scenes?

Answer: Hydrogen Peroxide

Question 11: What crime was committed in 1974 that created the term “Stockholm Syndrome“?

Answer: A bank robbery

Question 12: Which robbery led to $6 million in cash and jewels being stolen at JFK Airport in 1978?

Answer: The Lufthansa Heist

Question 13: What serial killer claimed 11 female victims between 1962 and 1964 before he was identified as Albert DeSalvo?

Answer: The Boston Strangler

Try our true Crime Trivia Game online.

We've created a true crime trivia game you can play with your friends. It has 16 multiple choice true crime questions. You can play it on the TriviaMaker website. For a sneak peak of how it works check out our YouTube video below.

Question 14: What crime was famously nicknamed the “Crime of the Century” in the early 20th century?

Answer: Kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh Jr.

Question 15: Which infamous criminal couple was ambushed and killed by law enforcement in 1934?

Answer: Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow

Question 16: What podcast helped reopen the investigation into the murder of Hae Min Lee?

Answer: Serial

Question 17: Which cult leader attacked a Tokyo subway with sarin gas in 1995?

Answer: Shoko Asahara

Question 18: What prison did El Chapo escape in 2015?

Answer: Altiplano Prison

Question 19: Who bombed the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995?

Answer: Timothy McVeigh

Question 20: What is the name of the Netflix true crime documentary series about Steven Avery’s case?

Answer: Making A Murderer

Question 21: Which famous bank robber earned the nickname “Public Enemy No. 1” during the 1930s?

Answer: John Dillinger

Question 22: Who was the first woman to receive the death penalty after the U.S. reinstated it in 1976?

Answer: Karla Faye Tucker

Question 23: Which infamous killer operated in London’s Whitechapel district during 1888?

Answer: Jack The Ripper

Question 24: Who was tried and acquitted for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman?

Answer: O.J. Simpson

Read O.J. Simpson's book "If I Did It: Confessions Of The Killer"

Question 25: What type of evidence helped solve the Golden State Killer case in 2018?

Answer: Genetic Genealogy

Question 26: What technology helped solve the 2001 anthrax attacks in the U.S.?

Answer: Microbial Forensics

Question 27: Who was the first known criminal convicted using fingerprint evidence?

Answer: Francesca Rojas

Question 28: What is the name of the ship that the German military received criminal charges for sinking in 1915?

Answer: RMS Lusitania

Question 29: What government organization did Robert Ressler work for when he coined the term "serial killer?"

Answer: FBI

Question 30: What is the name of the city where Timothy James McVeigh killed 168 people? 

Answer: Oklahoma City

Question 31: Who is the fictional serial killer first portrayed in Thomas Harris's 1981 novel "Red Dragon?" 

Answer: Hannibal Lecter

Read Thomas Harris book Red Dragon.

Question 32: What serial killer is the Bruce Springsteen landmark song "Nebraska" about?

Answer: Charles Starkweather

Question 33: What rapper referred to Ted Bundy in the song “Stay Wide Awake?" 

Answer: Eminem

Question 34: Which of the words in Nike's famous "Just Do It" slogan were not included in the final words of convicted serial killer, Gary Gilmore?

Answer: Just

Question 35: What Showtime drama included Michael C. Hall as a serial killer between 2006 to 2013?

Answer: Dexter

Question 36: What governmental agency released the 2008 "Serial Murder" handbook after a 2005 symposium about serial killers? 

Answer: FBI

Download the handbook for free.

Question 37: What serial killer represented himself with a "cross-circle" and was never caught after a string of California murders during the 20th century? 

Answer: Zodiac Killer

Question 38: What killer is the World Series of Poker player Phil Laak nicknamed after because he wears a hood and sunglasses while playing poker?

Answer: The Unabomber

Question 39: What London-based serial killer was called "The Whitechapel Murderer" and "Leather Apron?" 

Answer: Jack The Ripper

Question 40: What is the nickname Luis Garavito received for murdering over a hundred victims with animal-like viciousness in Colombia?

Answer: The Beast

Question 41: What serial killer grew up in Tacoma, Washington and went to the University of Puget Sound and University of Washington before killing at least 30 young women in the 1970s?

Answer: Ted Bundy

Question 42: What 1995 movie was directed by David Fincher and followed two detectives tracking down a serial killer?

Answer: Se7en

Question 43: Who is the American serial killer that killed and dismembered men and boys in Milwaukee between 1978 to 1991?

Answer: Jeffrey Dahmer

Question 44: What was Russian serial killer Mikhail Popkov's lycanthropic nickname? 

Answer: The Werewolf

Question 45: What country released Pedro Filho after 30 years in prison for killing 100 victims because he had served the maximum sentence allowed?

Answer: Brazil

Question 46: What serial killer was appointed to Seattle’s Crime Prevention Advisory Committee in 1972 while already engaged in his murder spree?

Answer: Ted Bundy

Question 47: What film about a serial killer included Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Kevin Spacey? 

Answer: Se7en

Question 48: Who was the cult leader for the people who killed Sharon Marie Tate Polanski?

Answer: Charles Manson

Question 49: What type of doctor was Hannibal Lecter before his incarceration?

Answer: Psychiatrist

Question 50: Who is the 1974 book Helter Skelter"  by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry about?

Answer: Charles Manson

Question 51: What game inspired Russian serial killer Alexander Pichushkin wanting to kill 64 people to match the number of spaces on its board?

Answer: Chess

Question 52: What horror movie franchise included Bubba "Leatherface" Sawyer, a fictional villian inspired by infamous serial killer and body-snatcher Ed Gein?

Answer: Texas Chainsaw Massacre

Question 53: What band benefited when people believed there were Satanic messages hidden in the album "Hell's Bells" because of serial killer Richard “The Night Stalker” Ramirez love for the the song “Night Prowler?”

Answer: AC/DC

Question 54: What author inspired a serial killer in the 2012 movie "The Raven?"

Answer: Edgar Allen Poe

Question 55: What uncaptured serial killer committed the "Lake Herman Road attack" and the "Blue Rock Springs attack?" 

Answer: The Zodiac Killer

Question 56: What movie is the fictional serial killer "Buffalo Bill" in?

Answer: Silence Of The Lambs

Question 57: What city did the serial killer known as the "Son of Sam" or the ".44 Caliber Killer" plead guilty to shooting eight people?

Answer: New York City

Question 58: What decade did former FBI Director Robert Ressler first use the term "serial killer?" 

Answer: 1970s

Question 59: What famous serial killer's first murder was Sharon Tate, wife of director Roman Polanski?

Answer: Charles Manson

Question 60: What type of car did Ted Bundy drive during his earliest murders?

Answer: Volkswagen Beetle

Question 61: What book was released in 2003 and includes plot lines of the architecture of the 1893 World's Fair and the murderous rampage of serial killer Dr. H. H. Holmes?

Answer: The Devil In The White City

Question 62: How was American serial killer Ted Bundy executed?

Answer: Electric Chair

Question 63: What 2009 movie earned Stanley Tucci a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for playing a serial killer?

Answer: The Lovely Bones

Question 64: In which Scottish city did the “Bible John” killer kill three women?

Answer: Glasgow

Question 65: What is the nickname of the fictional serial killer Thomas Hewitt in “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre?”

Answer: Leatherface

Question 66: What English rock band wrote a song about Jack the Ripper?

Answer: Motörhead

Question 67: What is the name of the book written by the prosecutor in the Charles Manson trial?

Answer: Helter Skelter

Question 68: What was Harold Shipman’s job that made it where he was able to kill over 250 people before he was arrested?

Answer: Doctor

Question 69: What was the prequel to Silence of the Lambs that included Ralph Fiennes?

Answer: Red Dragon

Question 70: What was the name of Charles Manson's cult?

Answer: The Manson Family

Question 71: Who was the primary suspect in the Zodiac Killer case?

Answer: Arthur Leigh Allen

Question 72: What 1947 unsolved case is referred to as the “Black Dahlia“?

Answer: Elizabeth Short

Question 73: What forensic technique is more commonly used after the UK conviction of Colin Pitchfork in 1986?

Answer: DNA Fingerprinting

Question 74: Which serial killer claimed he was commanded to kill by a demon that possessed his neighbor's dog?

 Answer: David Berkowitz

Question 75: In 1943, which Hollywood actor was charged with and acquitted of three counts of rape?

Answer: Errol Flynn

True Crime Trivia FAQ

What makes true crime trivia so engaging?

True crime trivia immerses you into the world of crime, horror, and mystery to explore your knowledge of some of the most infamous criminal cases. 

Our questions range from common knowledge to obscure facts to let every level of true crime fan to participate and learn more information. 

What kind of questions are in true crime trivia trivia?

True crime trivia includes questions about serial killers, forensic science, and true crime entertainment. Questions range from common knowledge to information most people (including me) have never heard. 

You’re sure to find some questions that will stump you no matter how long you’ve been a true crime fan.

Are there any extra tips I should know?

Click on any of the links to learn more information about the serial killers and crimes we have discussed.

Where can you find true crime trivia questions?

The Murder Meme Coin website is the best place to get your true crime trivia questions. Keep coming back to find new trivia to add to your games.