Female Cult Leaders Who Kill | Psychology Today Most serial killers, male and female, work alone. However, there are those who religious beliefs and murderous proclivities are intertwined, resulting in a systematic system for serial murder. Let's take a look at two female serial killer cult leaders, despite having lived 100 years apart, share some remarkable similarities. In 1912, 18-year-old Clementine Barnabet shocked Lafayette, Louisiana when she confessed to personally axing 17 people to death as part of her devotion as high priestess to the Church of the Sacrifice. Seven entire families, 40 people in all, were killed by members of this religious group, which apparently believed that riches and immortality could be gained through human sacrifice. Revenge also seemed to be a factor in a few of the murders, as Ms. Barnabet stated that at least two of the families had refused to obey "messages from God." Ms. Clementine stated that the murders mostly occurre...