Dr. Glennon Engleman: 'The Killing Dentist'
The crime: St. Louis dentist Glennon Engleman orchestrated at least seven murders (though he is suspected of up to 12) over 30 years using guns, dynamite, and car bombs -- all for insurance money.
The shocking details:
- Engleman shot his ex-wife's new husband so they could split the $64,500 insurance payout.
- He killed his business partner with dynamite at a dragstrip he owned.
- He murdered a patient's husband and his wealthy parents.
- Engleman killed the owner of a dental lab who was suing him with a car bomb.
- Engleman described himself as a sociopath who killed "without remorse" and enjoyed planning murders.
- He provided free dental care to poor patients while moonlighting as a contract killer.
- Engleman is often described as having a "hypnotic" way with women, using multiple female accomplices.
Outcome: Engleman served multiple life sentences; he died in prison in 1999.
Clara Harris: 'The Mercedes Murder'
The crime: Texas dentist Clara Harris ran over her orthodontist husband David Harris multiple times with her Mercedes-Benz after catching him with his mistress at a hotel.
Shocking details:
- The murder occurred in the parking lot of the same Nassau Bay Hilton where they'd been married 10 years earlier on Valentine's Day.
- After confronting her husband and his mistress in the hotel lobby, she got in her car and struck him, sending him flying 25 feet.
- She then crossed two grassy medians and ran over him three more times before putting the car in reverse and backing over his body.
- Her 16-year-old stepdaughter was in the passenger seat screaming during the entire attack.
- The entire murder was captured on video by the private investigator Clara had hired to follow her husband.
- She then cradled her dying husband and told him she loved him.
Outcome: Harris was convicted of murder with sudden passion. She was sentenced to 20 years and served 15. Released in 2018, she completed parole in 2023.
Colin Howell: 'The Double Murder-Suicide Hoax'
The crime: Irish dentist Colin Howell murdered both his wife and his mistress's husband by suffocating them with car exhaust fumes, then staged an elaborate murder-suicide scene.
Shocking details:
- Howell placed an exhaust hose near his sleeping wife on the couch; when she woke up crying for her children, he smothered her with a blanket.
- He did the same to his mistress's husband, Trevor Buchanan, who fought back but was overpowered.
- Howell then loaded both bodies into a car, adding photographs and personal items to the vehicle, and then rigged the hose to make it look like they'd set it up themselves.
- Howell created a fake suicide note from his wife.
- Howell collected the insurance money.
- He got away with the crimes for 18 years before confessing in 2009.
Outcome: The double murder remained unsolved for nearly two decades before Howell's conscience apparently caught up with him.
Dr. James Craig: 'The Protein Shake Poisoner'
The crime: Aurora, CO, dentist James Craig allegedly poisoned his wife Angela's protein shakes with arsenic and cyanide.
Shocking details:
- Craig had Googled "Is arsenic detectable in an autopsy?" and other incriminating searches before Angela Craig's death.
- He ordered potassium cyanide and arsenic online.
- Angela Craig suffered mysterious symptoms, including severe headaches, dizziness, and nausea before dying.
- After being arrested and jailed, Craig allegedly asked a fellow inmate to plant evidence in exchange for free dental work.
- Craig had been having an affair and wanted to start a new life.
Outcome: After deliberating for more than eight hours, James Craig, 46, was found guilty of solicitation to commit murder in the first degree in the death of Angela Craig. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Dr. Bert Franklin: 'The Toddler Murder'
The crime: Tulsa, OK, dentist Dr. Bert Franklin savagely murdered his girlfriend's 19-month-old son, Lincoln Lewis.
Shocking details:
- The toddler died from blunt force trauma.
- Franklin was supposed to be caring for the child.
- The level of violence inflicted on such a young, helpless victim shocked the community.
- Initially, Franklin claimed that the child had fallen, but an autopsy revealed that the extensive injuries were inconsistent with his story.
Outcome: This case was particularly devastating because of the victim's extreme vulnerability and the betrayal of trust by someone in a caring profession. On October 19, 2018, Franklin was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Honorable mentions
- In 2022, Wisconsin dentist Dr. Scott Charmoli, who reportedly used a drill to damage patients' teeth for insurance billing purposes, was sentenced to 54 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $1 million in forfeiture.
- On September 2, 2015, Dr. Kendra Hatcher was murdered in the parking garage of her Dallas apartment complex. Police quickly zeroed in on Brenda Delgado, a dental hygiene student, who hired two hitmen because Hatcher was dating Delgado's ex-boyfriend.
- In 1978, Theodore Robert Bundy, or Ted Bundy, was added to the FBI's 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list. Bundy perpetrated a series of kidnappings, sexual assaults, and murders across the U.S. While Bundy was not a dentist, his distinctive bite marks on victims -- captured through forensic dentistry --ultimately helped convict one of America's most notorious serial killers.
