News, views and top stories in your inbox. Don't miss our must-read newsletter Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Serial killers are among the most chilling of all criminals.

Cold, calculated and merciless, their tales of evil and depravity are sure to send tingles down even the toughest of spines.

But are these psychotic traits genetic? Could they be passed down their bloodline?

Best-selling author David Jester, whose gruesome new horror novel This Is How You Die features the son of a serial killer who follows in his father’s footsteps, examines the lives of five children of notorious murderers.

Here they are:

Francis Weaver

(Image: Police handout)

While not technically a biological sibling, Francis Weaver’s murder conviction in March this year hit the headlines because of his family connections.

Stepson of infamous child killer Ward Weaver III, the 33-year-old, of Oregon, US, was sentenced to life in prison in March for shooting drug dealer Edward Spangler, 43, in the face two years earlier

Just over a decade earlier, in 2002, Francis had been hailed a hero after testifying against his stepdad, who had abducted, raped and murdered schoolgirls Ashley Pond, 12, and Miranda Gaddis, 13, in January the same year.

Ward buried Miranda’s remains under a concrete slab in his yard after Francis had unknowingly helped him to dig the grave.

Ward was given two life sentences after admitting to the murders in 2004.

Just when you thought things couldn’t get any creepier, Ward’s own father, Ward F Pete Weaver Jr, sits on death row after being found guilty of murdering a young couple 18 years earlier.

One of the victims was also buried under concrete in his back garden.

Melissa Moore

(Image: ABC News)

When Melissa Moore’s father, Keith Jesperson, was convicted of raping and murdering eight women in 1995, she initially bottled up her shocking secret.

However, in the years that followed she was, rather remarkably, able to use his brutal killing spree as inspiration.

Jesperson, a truck driver from Washington, US, was arrested over the death of long-time girlfriend Julia Ann Winningham, after which he confessed to strangling prostitutes and homeless women during long-hauljourneys.

The 6ft 6in savage became known as the ‘Happy Face Killer’ after signing a series of truck-stop confessions and letters to the media with a smiley face.

Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now

He was eventually jailed for life.

Understandably, his distraught daughter initially kept her past a secret, but after confiding in her husband, she revealed the true story of her dad’s twisted past and the family's struggle to cope in her book ‘Shattered Silence: The Untold Story of a Serial Killer's Daughter’.

She has since become an advocate for relatives of murderers and their victims.

Michael Kallinger

Teenager Michael Kallinger didn’t just take inspiration from his sadistic parent, he teamed up with him.

Aged 15, Michael formed a deadly duo with his old man, Joseph Kallinger, during the mid-1970s.

Between 1974 and 1975 they murdered three people and tortured, robbed and sexually abused many others, including four families, across Philadelphia, Baltimore and New Jersey in the US.

In one particularly shocking incident, Joseph slit the throat of 21-year-old nurse Maria Fasching.

They had been holding her hostage in a patient’s home at the time, killing her when she refused to perform oral sex on another victim.

Once arrested, Joseph was sentenced to life in prison in 1976, while his son, who was judged to be under his dad’s control, was sent to a young offenders’ institute.

Upon his release aged 21, Michael was given a new identity.

His whereabouts have never been revealed.

Meanwhile, Joseph, who is believed to have confessed to killing another one of his sons, died in prison from a seizure in 1996. He was56 years old.

Yuri Chikatilo

(Image: Wikipedia)

Russian killer Yuri Chikatilo was intent on continuing his dad Andrei’s murderous legacy.

Chikatilo Sr was the country’s most notorious serial killer, nicknamed the “Rostov Ripper”.

He committed the sexual assault, murder and mutilation of at least 52 women and children between 1978 and 1990.

He was subsequently sentenced to death and executed in 1994.

Determined to follow in his father’s footsteps, Yuri became involved in fraud, extortion, racketeering, kidnapping and rape.

In April 2009 he was arrested for attempted murder in Ukraine after attacking a companion in a car, stabbing him several times in the abdomen.

Kenny Kimes

(Image: Police handout)

Kenny Kimes has his mum to thank for his murderous disposition.

His parents Kenneth and Sante Kimes were imprisoned in 1985 while living in Mexico City, Mexico, for detaining immigrant street girls in their home.

The cunning Sante, a known scammer, also had a long list of convictions, including insurance fraud and arson.

However, following the death of his dad in 1994, Kenny took up his predecessor’s mantle by forming a terrifying partnership with his mum.

As part of their vicious crime spree, the pair killed lawyer Elmer Golmgren, banker Sayed Bilal Ahmed, socialite Irene Silverman, and businessman David Kazdin, taking control of their finances and property after the murders.

They were arrested in New York on an unrelated warrant after writing a bad cheque. Among their possessions was Silverman’s passport.

They were tried and convicted of murder in 2000. Sante was sentenced to 120 years, while Kenny received 125. Sante died in prison in 2014, aged 79.