8 Killers With Bizarre Motivations
"I don't like Mondays. This killing spree livens up the day."
Whether it's in real life or in cinematic works of fiction, serial killers tend to have relatively ordinary motives. Now sure, killing isn't exactly an ordinary thing to do, but there are definitely motives out there - revenge, jealousy, enjoyment of the crime - that are a lot more common than others.
Many killers are simply mentally unstable, while others have a history of violence that leads them down a murderous path. Others take lives because they like the thrill it gives them, while some pin their crimes on unresolved childhood trauma.
Putting aside all the usual suspects though, there are rare cases where the killer's motive is, for lack of a better term, downright bizarre. Ever heard the story about the man who murdered someone over something as ridiculous as a wi-fi password? Or how about the woman who blamed her numerous killings on a shopping addiction?
Both of these cases - and more - have been reported over the last several decades, and they're just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the strangest reasonings behind the crimes of certain killers.
8. Lester Bower Wanted An Ultralight Airplane
By the time he was executed via lethal injection in 2015, Lester Bower had spent over 30 years on death row for committing a quadruple-murder in 1983.
In October of that year, the corpses of Jerry Brown, Bob Tate, Philip Good, and Ronald Mayes were found inside an airplane hangar on a Texas ranch. The four men had been shot in the head at point-blank range, a crime for which Bower was later arrested when corroborating evidence was found at his home.
The motive? Apparently, Bower killed his victims in an effort to steal a $4,000 ultralight airplane that Tate was selling. Tate was the first one to receive a bullet, with the other men being shot when they unexpectedly arrived at the hangar.
Right up until his death, Bower maintained that he was actually innocent, partly due to the fact that there were no fingerprints or witnesses linking him to the crime scene. He was convicted off the back of airplane parts being found at his residence, which, for the officials involved, was a substantial enough detail to hold him accountable.