A list of events in 1981 related to serial killers.
January[]
- 2 — Peter Sutcliffe is apprehended.
- ? — Joseph Christopher is apprehended.
February[]
- 27 — Donald Miller is apprehended.
- ? — Zhivko Dimitrov is apprehended.
- ? — Ángel Nieves Díaz is apprehended.
March[]
- 7 — Randall Woodfield is apprehended.
- 10 — David Villarreal is apprehended.
- 24 — Kelvin Malone is apprehended.
- 30 — Thor Nis Christiansen died.
April[]
- 3 — Charles Robert Huber Jr. is murdered by Bruce Lindahl.
- 4 — Bruce Lindahl's victim, Charles Robert Huber Jr., is found.
- 4 — Bruce Lindahl died.
- 6 — Brenda Gerow is allegedly murdered by John Kalhauser (suspected victim).
- 10 — Michael Cluck is allegedly murdered by Randy Kraft (suspected victim).
- 15 — Charles E. Terry died.
- 15 — Branislava Ipatava is murdered by Gennady Mikhasevich.
- 23 — Jimmy Ray Payne is murdered by Wayne Williams.
- 23 — John Porter is allegedly murdered by Wayne Williams (suspected victim).
- 23 — Yuri Ustimenko is born.
May[]
- 11 — William Barrett is allegedly murdered by Wayne Williams (suspected victim).
- 12 — Dzung Ngoc Tu is murdered by Michael Ross.
- 14 — David Carpenter is apprehended.
- 15 — Donna Payant is murdered by Lemuel Smith.
- 16 — Michael Joseph Albanese is murdered by Charles Albanese.
- 18 — Laron Williams is apprehended.
- 22 — Nathaniel Cater is murdered by Wayne Williams.
- 23 — Linda Sutton is murdered by the "Ripper Crew".
June[]
- 3 — Kimberly Compton is murdered by Paul Michael Stephani.
- 8 — Ronald Turney Williams is apprehended.
- 21 — Wayne Williams is apprehended.
- 27 — Joseph Ervin is apprehended.
July[]
- 1 — Joseph Ervin died.
- 14 — James Walraven is apprehended.
- 21 — Vladimir Storozhenko is apprehended.
August[]
- 10 — Ramiro Matildes Siqueira died.
- 12 — Clifford Olson is apprehended.
September[]
- 29 — Anatoly Nagiyev is apprehended.
October[]
- 14 — Anthony Cook is apprehended.
- 17 — Marion Albert Pruett is apprehended.
- 25 — Frank J. Leaver died.
- 26 — Billy Mansfield is apprehended.
- 27 — Timur Nedogon is born.
- 28 — Anatoly Nagiyev died.
November[]
- 8 — Jorge Ignacio Palma is born.
- 18 — Charles Albanese is apprehended.
- 24 — Robert Diaz is apprehended.
December[]
- 14 — Jesse Matthew is born.
Unknown[]
- ? — Jesus Aguilera is apprehended.
- ? — Edson Barbosa Alves de Matos is born.
- ? — Alexey Babenko is born.
- ? — Pavel Bondarenko is born.
- ? — Sidney Brinkley is apprehended.
- ? — Dmitry Dilschneider is born.
- ? — Zhivko Dimitrov died.
- ? — Thomas Francis Edwards is apprehended.
- ? — Rick Ennis is born.
- ? — Alexander Ershov is born.
- ? — Muchio Fukuoka is apprehended.
- ? — Francisco García Hernández is born.
- ? — Viktor Karamarkov is born.
- ? — Lin Yu-ju is born.
- ? — Dmitry Medvedev is born.
- ? — Thabang Moorosi is born.
- ? — Janer Morales Poveda is born
- ? — Joseph Naso's victim, Shariea Lefern Johnson Patton, is found.
- ? — Amir Qayyum is born.
- ? — David Sarabashyan is born.
- ? — David Virgulák is born.
- ? — Ward Weaver Jr. is apprehended.
- ? — Alexander Yurpalov died.
- ? — Denis Zubov is born.