Serial Killer Episode 3: The Bikini Killer
Charles Sobhraj, known as the "Bikini Killer," used charm and deception to rob and murder foreign backpackers across Asia, becoming one of the world's most notorious serial killers.
Charles Sobhraj, one of the world's most infamous serial killers, terrorised foreign backpackers across Asia during the 1970s by using fake identities, charm and manipulation to gain their trust. Nicknamed the "Bikini Killer," he targeted tourists travelling along the popular Hippie Trail, often poisoning victims before robbing and murdering them.
Born in Saigon, Vietnam, in 1944, Sobhraj carried out crimes across countries including Thailand, Nepal and India. Travelling with accomplices Marie-Andrée Leclerc and Ajay Chowdhury, he used stolen passports and constantly changed identities, making it difficult for police to track him. Investigators linked him to the murders of several Western tourists, including American traveller Teresa Knowlton and Dutch couple Henk Bintanja and Cornelia Hemker.
Sobhraj was arrested in India in 1976 but stunned authorities by escaping from Delhi's Tihar Jail in 1986 after drugging prison guards. He was recaptured weeks later in Goa by Mumbai police officer Madhukar Zende, who had previously arrested him in 1971. Dutch diplomat Herman Knippenberg also played a key role in exposing Sobhraj's international killing spree.
After serving more than 20 years in Indian prisons, Sobhraj returned to France in 1997 before travelling to Nepal in 2003, where he was arrested and later convicted of murder. Interest in his crimes surged again following the release of the 2021 series The Serpent. In 2022, Nepal released and deported him to France due to his age and health, bringing to a close one of the world's most notorious criminal cases.
