Contract killing provides the hiring party with the advantage of not having to carry out the actual killing, making it more difficult for law enforcement to connect the hirer with the murder. The likelihood that authorities will establish that party's guilt for the committed crime, especially due to lack of forensic evidence linked to the contracting party, makes the case more difficult to attribute to the hiring party. Contract killers may exhibit serial killer traits, but are generally not classified as such because of third-party killing objectives and detached financial and emotional incentives.[2][3][4] Nevertheless, there are occasionally individuals that are labeled as both contract killers and serial killers.[5][6][7]
A contract killer is colloquially known as a hitman. Contract killers who work for criminal organizations are often known as enforcers.
Statistics
A study by the Australian Institute of Criminology of 162 contract murders and attempted contract murders in Australia between 1989 and 2002 indicated that the most common reason for murder-for-hire was insurance policy payouts. The study also found that payments varied from $5,000 to $30,000 per killing, with an average of $15,000, and that the most commonly used weapons were firearms. Contract killings accounted for 2% of murders in Australia during that time period.[8]
Contract killings generally make up a small percentage of murders. For example, they accounted for about 5% of all murders in Scotland from 1993 to 2002.[9]
Maia "Mainha" Cunha, a notorious Brazilian hitman; he is considered the biggest hitman in Northeast Brazil and his targets were usually northeastern politicians, mostly mayors of cities in the interior of northeastern Brazil.[10][11]
El Chino Ántrax, a notorious Mexican drug lord and hitman, he was a high-ranking member of Sinaloa Cartel and the leader of Los Antrax, a feared hitman squad and an armed wing of the Sinaloa Cartel.
Julio Santana, a notorious Brazilian hitman; he is considered by the Brazilian and international media as "the deadliest hitman in history", for having killed 492 people officially (more than 500 unofficially),[Note 2] considered the highest number of fatal victims killed by a single hitman.[12]
Alexander Solonik, Russian hitman, known for carrying a firearm in each hand. Alexander Solonik was a main killer in the Kurganskaya criminal group.
Harry Strauss, hitman for Murder, Inc. he is possibly the most prolific hitman to have ever lived, committing 100 (possibly 500) murders during his career.
Z, a 15-year-old minor who was convicted of murdering an insurance agent under the orders of her husband in Singapore in 2001. He was detained at the President's Pleasure for 17 years.
Kenneth Eugene Smith, Billy Gray Williams and John Forrest Parker, the three hitmen who murdered a pastor's wife on the orders of the pastor (who committed suicide) in 1988. Parker was executed in 2010, while Williams was given a life sentence and later died in prison in 2020, and Smith was executed in 2024.
Danny Hogan, an Irish mob boss based in the Twin Cities, whose 1928 assassination, allegedly by disgruntled associate Harry Sawyer is believed to be the first murder by car bombing in the history of American organized crime.
Annie Leong, an insurance agent in Singapore who was murdered by a minor hired by her husband, who was subsequently sentenced to death and later executed.
Salvatore Maranzano, a Castellammarese Mafia boss and rival to Masseria in the Castellammarese War who was killed by Siegel and several other men in 1931.
Shiori Ino, a 21-year-old university student, who was stabbed to death in 1999. Hitman had been hired by Ino's abusive ex-boyfriend (who committed suicide before he could be apprehended) and the ex-boyfriend's brother, who was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Alexander Solonik, was strangled to death by Russian hitman and ex-Marine Alexander Pustovalov in his villa in 1997.
Mike Danton, former NHL player, hired an undercover federal agent to kill his sports agent.
Wanda Holloway hired a hitman to kill the mother of her daughter's cheerleading rival, inspiring a film.
Silas Jayne, Chicago-area stable owner, was convicted in 1973 of hiring hitmen to murder his half-brother George.[19]
Tim Lambesis, heavy metal vocalist who attempted to hire an undercover police officer to murder his wife.[20]
Charlotte Karin Lindström, Swedish waitress/model who attempted to hire a hitman to kill persons testifying against her boyfriend in a drug trial in Australia.
Joseph Maldonado-Passage (better known by his stage name Joe Exotic), an American zoo owner who attempted to hire an undercover FBI agent to murder a rival, the CEO of Big Cat Rescue (with whom he had a long-running and public feud).[21]
Diana Lovejoy, a technical writer, and her gun instructor Weldon McDavid were convicted of conspiracy to commit murder of Lovejoy's husband in 2016.[22]
Pamela Smart hired teenage lover Billy Flynn and his friends to murder her husband.
Thomas Bartlett Whitaker, an American man who hired people to attack his parents and brother in a home invasion in 2003.
Flordelis dos Santos de Souza, former Brazilian congresswoman, convicted of the murder of her husband, pastor Anderson do Carmo.[24]
Anthony Ler, a Singaporean who hired a 15-year-old student in 2001 to murder his wife with promises of money and sex, as well as manipulation and death threats.
María del Pilar Pérez, a Chilean architect who hired a hitman to kill her husband (who had come out as gay), his boyfriend, and her niece's boyfriend.
In popular culture
Fictional cases of contract killing or "hitmen" are depicted in a range of popular fiction genres in the 20th and 21st century, including comic books, films, and video games.
Contract killing is a core aspect of the video game franchise Hitman, wherein the player controls a hired hitman simply known as Agent 47.[25][26] In the game Hotline Miami, the player controls a man who receives mysterious calls telling him to kill members of the Russian Mafia.[27]
The website RentAHitman.com is a satirical homepage for a fake contract killing agency. Its owner passes on details of those who try to use his services to law enforcement agencies.[28]
Nothing Personal is a television documentary series that presents stories of contract killings.[29]
^His nickname, "Karate" is due to the fact that he is a martial artist and also to the fact that he is a black belt in Goju-ryu Karate.
^According to Julio Santana himself, he stopped counting the number of targets he killed after the 492nd victim, implying that the actual number of victims he killed would be (unofficially) 500 or more.
_-_The_Hired_Assassins_-_P327_-_The_Wallace_Collection.jpg)
