 |
Raymond Fernandez | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Raymond Martinez Fernandez December 17, 1914 |
| Died | March 8, 1951 (aged 36) |
| Cause of death | Execution by electrocution |
| Occupation | Confidence trickster |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Children | 4 |
| Conviction(s) | First degree murder |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
| Details | |
| Victims | 3–20 |
Span of crimes | 1947–1949 |
| Country | United States |
| State(s) | Michigan and New York |
Martha Beck | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Martha Jule Seabrook May 6, 1920 Milton, Florida, U.S. |
| Died | March 8, 1951 (aged 30) |
| Cause of death | Execution by electrocution |
| Occupation | Nurse |
| Criminal status | Executed |
| Children | 2 |
| Conviction(s) | First degree murder |
| Criminal penalty | Death |
| Details | |
| Victims | 3–20 |
Span of crimes | 1947–1949 |
| Country | United States |
| State(s) | New York and Michigan |
Raymond Martinez Fernandez (December 17, 1914 – March 8, 1951) and Martha Jule Beck (May 6, 1920 – March 8, 1951) were an American serial killer couple. They were convicted of one murder, are known to have committed two more, and were suspected of having killed up to twenty victims during a spree between 1947 and 1949.
After their arrest and trial for serial murder in 1949, Fernandez and Beck became known as the Lonely Hearts Killers for meeting their unsuspecting victims through personal ads, posted in newspaper lonely hearts columns. A number of films and television shows are based on this case.