10 Horror Movie Villains You Didn't Know Were Based On Real-Life Monsters
4. Badlands’ Holly Sargis And Kit Carruthers
Loosely based on the murder spree of Charles Starkweather and his girlfriend, Caril Ann Fugate, Badlands takes place in 1959 and follows 15-year-old Holly Sargis and her relationship with 25-year-old garbage collector named Kit Carruthers. The pair, who go on the run after Kit murder’s Holly’s father, are hunted across the Midwest by law enforcement as Carruthers' body count rises.
The real deadly duo? 13-year-old Caril Ann Fugate and her boyfriend, 18-year-old Charles Starkweather fled after the latter killed the former's entire family. There’s no question of guilt in the days that followed, as both parties confessed to the murders of six individuals while tearing through states while being chased by the cops.
What happened on the lovebird's macabre road trip is still up for debate. Starkweather took the heat for 11 murders, but claimed his lady love was an active participant in many of the killings. Fugate, however, staunchly denied participating in any of the murders and claimed to be a victim, herself. Her version of events is substantially different than those of her lover, as Fugate claimed to have been kidnapped by Starkweather after discovering he killed her parents and threatened into participation.
As far as Judge Harry A. Spencer was concerned, Fugate was lying through her teeth about being a hostage citing her apple opportunities to escape. The judge handed down his rulings: Life in prison for her, death for him.