The Chilling List: 5 People Coriolanus Snow Directly Killed On His Path To Tyranny

The character of Coriolanus Snow, the iconic villain of The Hunger Games trilogy, has been thrust back into the spotlight with the recent release of the prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes (BOSAS). As of December 2025, the debate over the young Snow’s true nature—was he a victim of circumstance or a born killer—has intensified, but the facts remain clear: his ascent to power was paved with the blood of his friends and rivals. The prequel reveals the shocking truth about how many people Coriolanus Snow personally murdered, betrayed, or ordered the death of, long before he became the tyrannical President of Panem.

This deep dive will explore the grim roster of his victims, distinguishing between the people Coriolanus "Coryo" Snow killed directly with his own hands and those whose deaths he orchestrated, revealing the psychological breakdown that transformed a desperate young man into the Capitol’s most feared autocrat. From his desperate act in the arena to the calculated betrayal of his closest friend, these murders were pivotal steps in his ruthless climb to restore the Snow family's lost glory.

Coriolanus Snow: A Brief Profile and Biography

Coriolanus Snow, known to his cousin Tigris and close friends as "Coryo," was born into one of the Capitol's most respected and wealthy families. However, by the time of the 10th Hunger Games, the Snow family was financially destitute, living in their crumbling penthouse with only their grandmother, the Grandma'am, and their cousin, Tigris. This poverty, hidden behind a facade of Capitol privilege, became the primary driving force behind Coriolanus's ambition.

• The Enduring Legacy Of Haylor 5 Shocking Facts About Harry Styles And Taylor Swifts Relationship 10 Years Later Sf662

• Full Name: Coriolanus Snow
• Nickname: Coryo
• Affiliations: Snow Family (former), Capitol Academy, Peacekeepers (former), President of Panem (later)
• Key Relationships: Tigris (Cousin), Grandma'am (Grandmother), Sejanus Plinth (Friend/Rival), Lucy Gray Baird (Romantic Interest/Betrayer), Dr. Volumnia Gaul (Mentor)
• Motive: To restore the Snow family’s wealth and reputation, and to maintain control and order in Panem, believing humanity is inherently savage and requires a strong hand.
• Later Role: The autocratic President of Panem for over two decades, the primary antagonist of Katniss Everdeen.

The Direct Kills: Who Coriolanus Snow Murdered With His Own Hands in BOSAS

The most shocking revelations in The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes involve Coriolanus Snow's direct involvement in murder. These acts were not the distant orders of a President but the desperate, brutal actions of a young man fighting for survival and status. He is directly responsible for at least two, and arguably three, deaths during his time as a mentor and Peacekeeper.

1. Bobbin (District 8 Tribute)

Context: Bobbin was the male tribute from District 8 in the 10th Hunger Games, mentored by Lysistrata Vickers. During the initial chaos and breakdown of the Games in the dilapidated arena, Coriolanus snuck in to save his own mentee, Lucy Gray Baird.

The Murder: Snow and his friend Sejanus Plinth were cornered by a group of tributes, including Bobbin. In a moment of panic and self-defense, Coriolanus grabbed a metal rod with debris attached and clubbed Bobbin in the head, killing him. This was Snow’s first confirmed direct kill, a brutal, up-close act of violence that terrified him initially but also served as his initiation into the world of lethal control. Dr. Gaul later used this act to manipulate Snow, praising his "natural killer" instinct and reinforcing her philosophy of human nature.

• Shania Twains Bold Statement Why The Star Chose Nude Photoshoots At 57 Qf9cg

2. Mayfair Lipp (District 12 Resident)

Context: After being sent to District 12 as a Peacekeeper, Coriolanus found himself entangled in a rebel plot involving his friend Sejanus Plinth, Spruce, and Billy Taupe. Mayfair Lipp was the daughter of the Mayor of District 12 and Billy Taupe’s girlfriend, and she was privy to the rebels' plan to flee the District.

The Murder: The situation escalated when Snow and Lucy Gray were cornered by Billy Taupe and Mayfair. In a tense confrontation, Snow shot Mayfair Lipp. This murder was a cold, calculated move to eliminate a witness and a threat to his own safety and career. It solidified his commitment to self-preservation above all else and marked a significant step away from the moral compass of his youth.

3. The Attempted Murder of Lucy Gray Baird

Context: Following the murders of Bobbin and Mayfair, Coriolanus and Lucy Gray fled District 12, planning to escape to the north. Lucy Gray, however, became suspicious of Snow after finding the guns he and Spruce had hidden, and realizing he was capable of betraying her, just as he had betrayed Sejanus.

• The Untouchable Privacy 7 Secrets Of Rachel Mcadams And Jamie Lindens Life Beyond The Red Carpet E820e

The Attack: When Lucy Gray left to gather katniss, she disappeared, leaving Snow alone and paranoid. Convinced she was planning to betray him, Snow frantically opened fire into the woods with a machine gun, believing he had shot her. While her ultimate fate remains a mystery—she is generally presumed to have survived and disappeared—Snow believed he had killed her. This act of firing on his romantic partner, driven by paranoia and the fear of exposure, was the final, defining moment of his transition into the ruthless dictator. The betrayal of Lucy Gray, the "songbird," cemented his hatred for the freedom and chaos of the Districts.

The Indirect Kills: People Coriolanus Snow Betrayed or Ordered Dead

Beyond the direct acts of violence, Coriolanus Snow’s most impactful kills were those he orchestrated. These calculated betrayals and orders showcase his true genius for manipulation and his evolving philosophy that control is paramount, a lesson learned directly from Dr. Gaul.

4. Sejanus Plinth (Peacekeeper/Friend)

Context: Sejanus Plinth was Coriolanus's closest friend at the Capitol Academy and later his fellow Peacekeeper in District 12. Sejanus, the son of the wealthy District 2 munitions magnate, was deeply empathetic to the Districts' plight and was actively involved in a rebel plot to escape to the north.

The Betrayal: Coriolanus, terrified that Sejanus’s treasonous actions would expose him and ruin his chances of returning to the Capitol, secretly recorded Sejanus’s plans using a jabberjay. He sent the recording to Dr. Gaul. This act of betrayal led directly to Sejanus’s arrest and subsequent execution by hanging at the Hanging Tree, alongside his co-conspirator, Spruce. This was the most significant kill in Snow's psychological development, as he sacrificed his only true friend for self-preservation and the promise of power, a choice he later rationalized as necessary for Panem's stability.

5. Head Gamemaker Seneca Crane

Context: Decades later, as President Snow, his tactics became more subtle but no less lethal. Seneca Crane was the Head Gamemaker for the 74th Hunger Games, the one in which Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark were tributes.

The Execution: Crane was deemed responsible for allowing both Katniss and Peeta to survive the Games by threatening a double suicide with nightlock berries, which was seen by President Snow as a grave act of rebellion against the Capitol's authority. Snow punished Crane by locking him in a room with a bowl of nightlock berries, forcing him to commit suicide. This demonstrated President Snow’s absolute zero-tolerance policy for insubordination and his preference for making his victims choose their own demise.

6. The Lovers and Family of Finnick Odair

Context: In the original trilogy, Finnick Odair, the charismatic victor from District 4, reveals the dark secrets of President Snow’s reign during a televised interview in Catching Fire.

The Blackmail: Finnick revealed that President Snow had forced him into prostitution, threatening to kill his loved ones if he refused to comply. When Finnick’s clients became too attached or were no longer useful, Snow had them secretly murdered. Furthermore, Snow ordered the death of Finnick’s family and friends to maintain control and secrecy. This systemic, long-term pattern of murder and blackmail highlights the depth of Snow’s depravity as an adult, using the lives of innocent people as leverage to control the Victors and maintain the Capitol's moral corruption.

The Snow Doctrine: From Coryo to Capitol Tyrant

The progression of Coriolanus Snow’s kills—from the panicked clubbing of Bobbin to the calculated execution of Seneca Crane—illustrates a clear and terrifying character arc. His early murders in District 12 were primarily motivated by a desperate need for self-preservation and the restoration of the Snow name, an obsession fueled by his impoverished childhood and the influence of the ruthless Dr. Volumnia Gaul. The entities of the Capitol, particularly the Academy and the Peacekeepers, served as the crucibles for his transformation.

His eventual rule as President was an extension of this personal philosophy: the world is an arena, and only the strongest—the victor—survives. Every death he caused, whether directly or through an order, was a calculated move to reinforce the Capitol’s control over the Districts and to silence any potential rebellion, ensuring that no one could ever challenge his absolute authority. The shocking list of his victims is not just a body count; it is a timeline of his descent into the pure, cold evil that defined the Snow Doctrine.