Serial Offender Profile Paper

For this assignment, you will submit a profile of a serial offender that you will be selecting on your own. You can choose an offender discussed in the text, online, from other books, or any other resource (at the discretion of the professor). Once you select your offender, you will:

Discuss if the offender fits the common profile of the serial murder offender. This requires much more than providing a biography of the serial killer.
Apply a typology used in the text and apply it to the offender. In doing so, explain how the offender aligns with the typology.
Discuss how the particular offender’s crimes were solved (if applicable: if they were unresolved, discuss this, too); and the resolution of the case.
Cite sources using APA format. There is no required length for this paper. However, it must be comprehensive and fulfill all necessary requirements. Please make sure it looks clean and clear.

Examples of why I do not focus on length:

Example 1: Excerpt of a poor paper (the paper goes on and on but does not address anything in the prompt in any meaningful way):

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Ridgway thot of as behavior manipulator, deceitful and inconsideration for the rights and feeling of people. Ridgeway is callous and don’t care who he hurt. Considered to be psychological unstable exhibiting characters linked with anti-personality disorder as well as borderline personality disorder. This means he don’t care about the victims or the family.

Example 2: (poor paper; another class)

In this country there is lot controversy surround the being arrested process. due to many incident of police brutality many people are on edge when they see police. Police are not being trained in proper way to deal with the confronting people. I feel in situation they use excess force and because lack of being tained. as a result has led to people being afraid to police all together and that should not be. Police are here to protect the community and its citizens not put fear in them. Police need to be trained to not make people afraid of them. Police being trained help.

From the above, I hope you can see why I would prefer that you focus on your writing and content. Reading ten pages of the above styled writing isn’t meaningful to the assignment. They are poorly written and painfully redundant in aims of taking up space. Please address the prompt you choose in a comprehensive way. Identify and define concepts when appropriate, apply reasoning and ideas from the course material, provide examples when reasonable, and edit your work prior to submission.

Other formatting: Use APA style https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/general_format.html (Links to an external site.)

[typologies include -organized/disorganized; Visionary, Hedonistic/sadistic, etc. See Hickey Ch. 1 for a start -or you may seek alternative sources]

Serial Murderers and Their Victims

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ERIC W. HICKEY California School of Forensic Studies Alliant International University

SIXTH EDITION

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For my son Chad P. Hickey, who is always in my heart.

To the victims, both the living and the dead—may their suffering not be ignored nor forgotten.

To every person who has a passion for the study and application of forensics.

And to Col. Robert Ressler, retired FBI, who never really retired, and for that I am grateful.

Eric W. Hickey, Ph.D.

A Special Dedication

Twenty-two years have passed since one of the founding fathers of modern criminal profiling and behavioral analysis retired from the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit. But no matter. Robert Ressler still finds himself in demand around the world for his knowledge and expertise in

analyzing and interpreting the most complex and unusual of violent criminals and their crimes. As Robert’s current partner, I know firsthand that hardly a day passes where we don’t receive an email, letter, or telephone call seeking Robert’s advice in solving an extremely difficult homicide case or imploring him to lecture at some well-known university around the world. There is always an audience anxious to learn from one of the pioneers in criminal behavioral analysis who had the foresight and research acumen to understand that there was much that we,

as a society, could learn from the most violent of offenders, the serial killer.

In fact, Robert has been given credit for coining the term “serial killer” in its modern iteration. But those intimately involved in the field know that Robert’s contribution goes well beyond nomenclature: his groundbreaking research and unique approaches to understanding violent offenders’ behaviors has paved the way for law enforcement agencies around the world to organize and develop their own profiling units. In addition, Robert’s creation of ViCAP, the computerized Violent Criminal Apprehension Program database, is responsible for helping police and sheriff departments nationwide link what previously would have been viewed as individual murder cases, leading to the successful capture of serial offenders who undoubtedly would have continued plying their trade, undetected, across the country.

In his long FBI career, Robert worked tirelessly to push the boundaries of his research into violent criminal behavior in order to understand the psychological and behavioral attributes and

crime scene dynamics of serial killers, mass murderers, and offenders who commit sexual homicide. He shared that knowledge through the publication of numerous articles and books that have assisted law enforcement agencies around the world in helping to solve their previously unsolved cases. Robert’s life work has also helped to soften the sharp edges of the traumatic

wounds left in the lives of the families of so many of the men, women, and children who fell victim to these violent offenders. He remains a hero, mentor, teacher, and problem solver to

tens of thousands who have learned from his research and followed in his footsteps.

Despite his well-deserved reputation and fame, Robert has always remained accessible to those who have asked for his assistance. And he has always been humble in providing it. I am honored to call Robert my friend, mentor, and partner. He has had a significant impact

on the direction my career has taken, and years down the line, when I look back on all I’ve accomplished, I hope I will find I have honored his legacy. The truth, however, is that his

shoes are exceptionally large, and I doubt that anyone will ever be able to fill them.

Mark E. Safarik M.S., V.S.M. (FBI Ret.) Executive Director

Forensic Behavioral Services International Fredericksburg, Virginia

About the Author

Eric W. Hickey is the dean of the California School of Forensic Studies at Alliant International University, where he oversees the growth and development of the largest clinical forensic studies program in the United States. At Alliant he often teaches seminars in profiling psychopaths, sex offenders, and sexual preda- tors. Dr. Hickey has taught many courses in criminal personalities, sex crimes and paraphilia, homicide, and psychopathology in several universities and colleges, as well as for jail and prison staff. He supervises theses and dissertations involving forensic and criminal psychology. Dr. Hickey has considerable field experience working with the criminally insane, psychopaths, sex offenders, and other habitual criminals. He has also served as an adjunct instructor for the American Prosecutor’s Research Institute at the National Advocacy Center in Columbia, South Carolina, profiling stalkers and cyberstalkers.

He publishes books and articles and lectures extensively on the etiology of violence and serial crime. His book, Serial Murderers and Their Victims, sixth edition (Wadsworth), is used as a teaching tool in universities and by law enforcement in studying the nature of violence, criminal personalities, and victim–offender relationships. Another of his books, The Encyclopedia of Murder and Violent Crime (Sage Publishers), explores the phenomenon of murder and violence through the eyes of some of the world’s most noted experts. In 2006 he published his edited book Sex Crimes and Paraphilia (Prentice Hall Publishers), a comprehensive examination of sexual perversions, sex offending, and sexual predators. A coauthored book, The Myth of a Psychiatric Crime Wave (Carolina Academic Press), examines the misperceptions and reality of the mentally ill and mentally disordered as criminals. His current research focuses upon the development of his theory of relational paraphilic attachment (RPA) and sexual predators. His expertise is regularly sought by the media, including appearances on CNN, History Channel, NPR, Larry King Live, 20/20, A&E Biography, Good Morning America, CBC, True TV, Discovery, and TLC.

vii

He consults with private agencies and testifies as an expert witness in both criminal and civil cases. He is a court-qualified expert in paraphilia including pedophilia, child molestation, and fetishes; stalking; adult rape and sexual assault; and violent criminal behavior including robbery, burglary, and homicide (solo and serial). A former consultant to the FBI’s UNABOM Task Force, Dr. Hickey currently assists local, state, and federal law enforcement in training and investi- gations. He also conducts seminars for agencies involving the profiling and inves- tigating of sex crimes, arson, robbery, homicide, stalking, workplace violence, and terrorism as well as workshops for mental health practitioners. Dr. Hickey is a member of an FBI Threat Assessment Regional Evaluation Team that addresses campus violence and potential threats. He is internationally recognized for his research on multiple-homicide offenders and has conducted seminars in countries throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. He has also trained VIP protection specialists in Israel in profiling stalkers, threat assessment, and interventions.

viii A BOU T T HE A UT HO R

Contents

PREFACE xviii

1 Introduction 1

The Phenomenon of Serial Murder 1

Serial Murder: Fact and Fiction 2

Myths of Serial Murder 5

Numbers and Types of Mass Murders and Serial Killings in the United States 9

Homicide Facts 2010 9

Mass Murder 11

Profiles in Modern Mass Murder in the United States 12

PROFILE 1.1 Dr. Amy Bishop, 2010 13 PROFILE 1.2 Nidal M. Hasan, the Ft. Hood Shooter, 2009 14

Mass Murderer Classifications 14

PROFILE 1.3 Marcus Wesson, 2003 15 PROFILE 1.4 Andrew Kehoe, America’s Mass Murderer of Children: The Bath School Disaster, 1927 16 PROFILE 1.5 Mark Barton, Portrait of a Mass Murderer, 1999 22 Bifurcation in Mass Murder 23

A Sampling of Bifurcated Mass Murders in the United States 1950–2011 23

PROFILE 1.6 Virginia Tech Massacre, 2007 24 Differences among Mass, Serial, and Spree Murderers 25

Defining Homicide, Murder, and Serial Murder 27

PROFILE 1.7 Gary Leon Ridgway, the Green River Killer, 1982–1998 30 Redefining Serial Murder 32

San Antonio Symposium 33

Typologies of Serial Murder 34

PROFILE 1.8 Elias Abuelazam, the Serial Stabber, 2010 37 Methodology Used in This Book 40

2 Cultural Development of Monsters, Demons, and Evil 44

Cults and the Occult 50

Ritualism, Cults, and Child Victims 53

PROFILE 2.1 Robin Gecht, Edward Spreitzer, and Andrew and Thomas Kokoraleis, 1981–1982 54

The Notion of Evil 55

PROFILE 2.2 Josef Mengele, 1943–1945 57 When Evil Embraces Good 59

PROFILE 2.3 Gerard Schaefer Jr., Evil for Evil’s Sake, 1972–1973 60 When Good Embraces Evil 62

3 Psychopathology and Biogenics of Serial Murderers 64

Psychobiology and Biochemical Theories of Violent Behavior 65

PROFILE 3.1 Arthur John Shawcross, 1972–1990 68 Insanity: Psycho-Legal Issues 70

The M’Naughten Rule 71

The Brawner Rule 72

The Durham Rule 72

Incompetency 72

Mental Illnesses and Personality Disorders 73

PROFILE 3.2 Joseph Kallinger, the Shoemaker, 1974–1976 74 PROFILE 3.3 Edward Theodore “Ed” Gein, American Psycho 76 Dissociative Disorders 77

Psychoanalytic Factors 80

PROFILE 3.4 Eric Smith, 1993 83 Personality Disorders 85

Asperger’s Disorder and the DSM-IV 87

Constructing the Psychopath 88

Dr. Robert Hare and Psychopaths 90

x C O N T E N T S

Differentiating the Sociopath, Psychopath, and Primary Psychopath 91

Female Psychopaths 92

Measuring Criminal Psychopathy 94

PROFILE 3.5 Bernard Madoff, 1980–2009 96 PROFILE 3.6 Mr. Carter, a Psychopath Exposed 100 Focus on Psychopathy 104

4 Social Construction of Serial Murder 106

Understanding Murder 106

Social Structure Theory 107

Social Class Theory 109

Social Process Theory 110

Neutralization Theory 112

Social Control Theory 114

Labeling Theory 115

Juvenile Mass Murderers and Serial Killers 117

School Shooters 117

Juvenile Serial Killers 119

The Myers Studies 119

PROFILE 4.1 Columbine High School Massacre, 1999 120 The Kirby Study 120

PROFILE 4.2 Craig Price, the Warwick Slasher, 1987–1989 122

The MacDonald Triad 123

Family Dynamics and the MacDonald Triad 123

PROFILE 4.3 Edmund Emil Kemper III, 1964–1973 124 Animal Cruelty 128

Enuresis 130

Fire-Setting 130

PROFILE 4.4 Portrait of a Serial Arsonist and Pyromaniac 133 Etiology of Serial Killing 134

Trauma-Control Model of the Serial Killer 135

Observations of a Male Serial Murderer 138

Facilitators 140

PROFILE 4.5 Jeffrey Dahmer, 1978–1991 142 Cyclical Nature of Serial Killing 145

C O N TE N T S xi

5 Sexual Predators, Paraphilia, and Murder 146

Differentiating Between Sex Offenders and Sexual Predators 147

PROFILE 5.1 Charles Albright, the Eyeball Serial Killer, 1990–1991 148

Sexual Homicides and Paraphilia 148

A Spectrum of Paraphilia 150

Factors in Paraphilia 152

PROFILE 5.2 The Doctor Rapist 154 PROFILE 5.3 Armin Meiwes, the German Cannibal, 2001 155 PROFILE 5.4 An Auto-Erotic Death 156 PROFILE 5.5 Mary Kay Letourneau, Child Sex Offender 160 Female Sex Offenders 161

PROFILE 5.6 Predator Priests: Myths and Realities 164 PROFILE 5.7 North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA) 165

Dynamics of Rape and Sexual Assault 166

Rapists Typologies 167

PROFILE 5.8 John Jamelske, Serial Abductor and Rapist 170 PROFILE 5.9 Melvin Carter, the College Terrace Rapist (Compensatory Rapist) 171 PROFILE 5.10 The Night Caller 175 PROFILE 5.11 The Stroker 176 PROFILE 5.12 The Burglar and His Sexual Fantasies 177 PROFILE 5.13 Preying in Public 178

Paraphilia Classifications 178

Preparatory Paraphilia 178

Attack Paraphilia 179

Relational Paraphilic Attachment (RPA) 179

Lust Killers 181

PROFILE 5.14 The Banana Man 182 PROFILE 5.15 Westley Allan Dodd, Sadistic Child Killer, 1989 184 PROFILE 5.16 Theodore Robert Bundy, “Ted,” 1973–1978 186 PROFILE 5.17 John Edward Robinson, the “Slavemaster,” 1984–2000 190

Paraphilic Fantasy 191

PROFILE 5.18 Jerry Brudos, the Trophy Collector, 1968–1969 192 Uncensored Exotics 196

xii C O N T E N T S

Signatures of Sexual Predators 198

PROFILE 5.19 Cary Stayner, the Yosemite Park Signature Killer, 1999 198

6 Healthcare Killers 201

PROFILE 6.1 John Riems, Sexual Predator, 1985–2008 202 Foreign Healthcare Providers Who Kill 202

The Yorker and Fields Studies 203

PROFILE 6.2 Dr. Harold F. Shipman, “The Jekyll of Hyde,” 1976–1998 204 PROFILE 6.3 Dr. Heinrich Gross, Am Spiegelgrund Klinik, Lebensunwertes Leben, 1940–1945 206

Care Providers and Serial Murder 209

Male “Angels of Death” 209

PROFILE 6.4 Efren Saldivar, “Angel of Death,” 1988–1998 210 PROFILE 6.5 Donald Harvey, 1970–1987 212

Female Care Providers Who Kill 213

PROFILE 6.6 Kristen Gilbert, 2000 213 PROFILE 6.7 Terri Rachals, 1985–1986 214 PROFILE 6.8 Genene Jones, 1978–1982 215

7 The Male Serial Murderer 216

Emergence of Male Serial Murderers 218

Male Solo Serial Killers Update, 2004–2011 222 African American Serial Killers 227

PROFILE 7.1 Wayne B. Williams, 1980–1981 228 PROFILE 7.2 Chester D. Turner, 1978–1998 231 PROFILE 7.3 Henry Louis Wallace, 1992–1994 232 PROFILE 7.4 Carlton Gary, 1977–1978 234 PROFILE 7.5 Calvin Jackson, 1973–1974 235

Mobility, Stalking, and Victimization 235

PROFILE 7.6 Samuel Dixon, 2000–2001 236 PROFILE 7.7 Bruce Mendenhall, 1992–2007 237 PROFILE 7.8 Robert Joe Long, 1984 238

Highway Serial Killers 239

Stalking 240

Site and Nonsite Stalking 243

Cyberstalking 244

Stalking Fantasy 245

C O N TE N T S xiii

Victims 246

Offenders’ Backgrounds and Occupations 250

PROFILE 7.9 Albert Henry DeSalvo, 1962–1964 250 PROFILE 7.10 Dennis Lynn Rader, “The BTK Strangler,” 1974–1991 254 PROFILE 7.11 Robert Hansen, 1973–1983 256 PROFILE 7.12 Paul John Knowles, 1974 257

Disposition of Serial Killers 259

8 Team Killers 261

Identifying Team Killers 262

PROFILE 8.1 Kenneth Bianchi and Angelo Buono, 1977–1978 264 Team Serial Killers Update, 2004–2011 265

Females as Masterminds in Serial-Murder Relationships 266

Males as Masterminds in Serial-Murder Relationships 266

PROFILE 8.2 Olga Rutterschmidt and Helen Golay, 1999–2005 267 PROFILE 8.3 Martha Beck and Ray Fernandez 268 PROFILE 8.4 Tene Bimbo Gypsy Clan, 1984–1994 268 PROFILE 8.5 Alton Coleman and Debra D. Brown, 1984 269

Occupations of Team Serial Killers 270

Team Killing and Mobility 271

PROFILE 8.6 Douglas D. Clark and Carol A. Bundy, 1980 272 PROFILE 8.7 Henry Lee Lucas and Ottis Elwood Toole, 1976–1982 274

Victim Selection 275

Methods and Motives 278

Offender History 279

PROFILE 8.8 Dean A. Corll, David O. Brooks, and Elmer Wayne Henley, 1970–1973 280 PROFILE 8.9 Leonard Lake and Charles Ng, 1983–1985 282 PROFILE 8.10 Gerald A. Gallego Jr. and Charlene Gallego, 1978–1980 284

Disposition of Offenders 286

9 The Female Serial Murderer 287

Identifying Female Serial Murderers 288

PROFILE 9.1 Betty J. Neumar, “Killer Granny,” 1952–2007 289 Female Serial Killers Update, 2004–2011 291

xiv C O N T E N T S

Emergence of Female Serial Murderers 292

Victim Selection 295

PROFILE 9.2 Aileen Carol Wuornos, 1989–1990 296 PROFILE 9.3 Nannie Doss, the “Giggling Grandma,” 1925–1954 300

Methods and Motives 303

Disposition of Female Offenders 307

PROFILE 9.4 Christine Falling, 1980–1982 308 Summary 310

10 Victims 312

Victim Data Update, 2004–2011 315 Demographics of Victimization in Serial Murder 316

Victim Facilitation 325

Missing and Murdered Children 328

Children as Victims of Serial Murderers 331

Luring Children 334

Agencies for Missing, Murdered, and Exploited Children 337

Other Specific Victims of Male Serial Murderers 339

Women 339

Prostitutes 340

Gay Men 342

PROFILE 10.1 The Prostitute Murders, California, 2000–2001 343 PROFILE 10.2 Randy Kraft, the Southern California Strangler, 1972–1983 345 PROFILE 10.3 John Wayne Gacy, 1972–1978 346 PROFILE 10.4 Herb Baumeister, 1980–1996 348 The Elderly 348

Families 349

Both Men and Women 349

PROFILE 10.5 James P. Watson, 1910–1920 350 PROFILE 10.6 David Richard Berkowitz, 1976–1977 351

11 Serial Murder from a Global Perspective 353

Beyond Jack the Ripper 353

PROFILE 11.1 Anders B. Breivik, 2011 354 PROFILE 11.2 Martin Bryant and the Port Arthur Massacre, 1996 355

C O N TE N T S xv

Global Issues in Serial Murder 355

PROFILE 11.3 Jack the Ripper, 1888 356 German Serial Killers 357

PROFILE 11.4A Fritz Haarmann, The Butcher of Hannover, 1919–1924 357 PROFILE 11.4B Peter Kurten, the Vampire of Dusseldorf, 1883–1931 358

Assessing Global Data on Serial Murder 359

PROFILE 11.5 Clifford Robert Olson, 1980–1981 364 Canadian Serial Killers 364

Russian Serial Killers 364

PROFILE 11.6 Robert “Willy” Pickton, Operator of the Piggy Palace Good Times Society, 1983–2002 365 PROFILE 11.7 Colonel Russell Williams, 2007–2010 366

The Gorby Study 368

PROFILE 11.8 Andrei Chikatilo, 1978–1990 369 PROFILE 11.9 Alexander Pichushkin, the Chessboard Killer, 1992–2006 371

Serial Murder in Japan: The Aki Study 374

Victims and Duration 378

Mobility 378

Age and Gender 379

Team Killers 379

PROFILE 11.10 Kau Kobayashi, 1952–1960 380 Methods and Motives 380

Sexual Activities 381

Serial Murder in South Africa 381

The Investigative Psychology Section of the Forensic Services Division of the South African Police Service 382

PROFILE 11.11 Stewart Wilken, 1990–1997 386 Muti Murders in South Africa 388

PROFILE 11.12 Muti Murder of a Family Member 391

12 Responding to Serial Killers 393

Forensic Science 394

PROFILE 12.1 The Frog Boys 396

xvi C O N T E N T S

Profiling 398

Types of Profiling 400

Problems in Profiling 407

PROFILE 12.2 Bruce Pardo, the Santa Claus Mass Murderer, 2008 409 PROFILE 12.3 John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo, the D.C. Snipers, 2002 410

NCAVC and VICAP 414

The University of Tennessee Forensic Anthropology Center 417

Cold Case Files: Unsolved Murder Series 418

The Hunt for the Unabomber 418

PROFILE 12.4 Theodore Kaczynski, the Unabomber, 1978–1996 420 PROFILE 12.5 Larry DeWayne Hall, 1980–1994 424 Interviewing Serial Killers 426

Obstacles 426

PROFILE 12.6 Joseph Naso, “The Alphabet Killer,” 1977–1994 427 PROFILE 12.7 An Interview with Manny 430

Problems in Interviewing 432

PROFILE 12.8 Juan Chavez, the MacArthur Park Murderer, 1986–1989 434 PROFILE 12.9 Explanations of Serial Killers 436

Disposition 437

Capital Punishment 438

BOX 12.1 The Depravity Scale 439 Treatment 442

Future Issues and Research 443

Closing Thoughts 444

REFERENCES 447

INDEX 467

C O N TE N T S xvii

Preface

Serial Murderers and Their Victims was the first scholarly, comprehensive, empiricalexamination of serial murder in the United States. Chapter 1 examines the emergence of serial and mass killing in the United States and the many problems involved in adequately defining the phenomenon. Chapters 2–4 explore cultural, biological, psychological, and sociological frameworks as explanations for serial murder and present a model for understanding serial killing as a process.

Chapter 5 explores criminal paraphilia, fantasy, and sex offenders and pre- dators, some of whom attach themselves to their victims through a process of relational paraphilic attachment. Chapters 6 through 9 sort out the demographic, social, and behavioral characteristics of male and female offenders, those who murder with accomplices, and others who find their victims as healthcare provi- ders. The role of stalking in serial murder is also examined and placed into a classification system.

Chapter 10 examines the victims and victim–offender relationships in cases of serial murder as well as certain more vulnerable populations including prostitutes, young women, gay men, teens, children, and the elderly. Chapter 11 explores serial killing around the world and compares serial murder in the United States with its occurrences in other countries such as Canada, Japan, Germany, Russia, and South Africa.

Chapter 12 examines how society responds to serial murder. This includes the role and utility of forensics as a science in studying and investigating serial crime, current issues faced by law enforcement officials such as detection and apprehension of offenders using a variety of emerging profiling techniques and the challenges of cold case files, and the role of NCAVC and ViCAP. Chapter 12 also explores the process of interviewing serial killers and includes an interview with an incarcerated serial killer. The chapter concludes by exploring sentencing, punishment, treatment, and prevention tactics in cases of serial murder.

This book is intended for students interested in understanding multiple homi- cide, the nature of serial killing, the offenders, and their victims. It is designed to

xviii

supplement a variety of college and university courses covering a wide spectrum of forensic studies including criminology, criminal justice, deviant behavior, sex crimes, victimology, abnormal psychology, and penology. Students using this book will be exposed to concepts and information that will help prepare them to understand society’s most dangerous criminals. For those currently working in law enforcement, this book should serve as a useful reference and in-service tool.

THE SIX TH EDITI ON

This new sixth edition has received considerable updates, with new cases, current demographic analysis of serial killers in the United States, and the restructuring of two chapters. All chapters now have a set of Learning Objectives to assist readers and instructors as to the overarching features of each chapter.

Chapter 1: Current homicide data updates were added, and I moved the Columbine High School Massacre profile to Chapter 4, where there now is a significant new section on school shootings. To emphasize the differences between mass and serial murder in Chapter 1, I included Andrew Kehoe, the worst case of mass murder of children in the United States. I also included the lone wolf terrorist case of Nidal Hasan, the Ft. Hood mass murderer, and Amy Bishop, the university professor who shot six of her departmental colleagues in a shooting rampage. These cases underscore the intellectual level of some mass mur- derers and their ability to plan and execute with deadly precision. To this end I also included a section on bifurcated mass murders, or cases where offenders commit their murders in more than one location within the same day or time frame. I expanded the examination of the myths of serial murder and moved the section on myths from Chapter 7 to Chapter 1. Finally, in Chapter 1 I added the case of Elias Abuelazam, who murdered several adult male strangers by walking up to them in public locations and stabbing them to death. The serial stabbing case emphasizes the variety of ways serial killers can target their victims.

Chapter 2: I did a small reorganization in Chapter 2 by moving the section on ritualism, cults, and child victims in Chapter 8 to Chapter 2. This section includes the Robin Gecht and associates case of ritualistic serial murder and underscores that a small percentage of serial killers do engage in cult-like or self-styled satanic killings.

Chapter 3: I made many edits, changes, and updates that begin with a restruc- turing of the presentations of insanity, neurosis, mental illness, and personality disorders. This new structuring includes the examination of serial killers who were insane during their murders. I added the cases of Joseph Kallinger, the Shoemaker, and Ed Gein, the American Psycho. While cases of insane serial killers are rare, they rank among the most depraved killers in American history. This chapter includes significant updates regarding psychopaths and how they prey upon unsuspecting victims. The case of Bernard Madoff has been added to emphasize the scope of psychopathic behaviors and the various Ponzi-scheme offenders who victimize American citizens. A new section on female psychopaths

PRE FA CE xix

and how they operate should be of interest to readers. I also added in Chapter 3 a new type of profile, which will be seen in later editions as well, that explores current research in a specific topic by reviewing a prominent researcher in the field. “Focus on Psychopathy” highlights the career, current research, and publica- tions of Dr. Chris Patrick, a prominent scholar at Florida State University. I also reexamined Dr. Hare’s PCL-R Factors 1 and 2 and presented them as tools and deficits of psychopaths. I identified a prominent tool of the psychopath, often difficult to see, which makes the tool very effective in controlling his/her victims. Readers will also be challenged to think about how they would respond to the “trolley problem,” a new addition to this chapter.

Chapter 4: I added a new section on American school shooters and multiple- homicide offenders who began their careers in murder as juveniles. This new section includes current studies on juvenile serial violence. I moved the Colum- bine case from Chapter 1 to Chapter 4 as well as the Edmund Kemper case from Chapter 7. I added a new profile on Craig Price, the Warwick Slasher, one of the most brutal teenage serial killers in the annals of American crime.

Chapter 5: This chapter has several updates regarding sexual predators, paraphilia, female sex offenders, and homicide. New case studies in paraphilic behavior, including pedophile clergy, are added to assist the reader in understand- ing the development of paraphilia. Typologies of female sex offenders are exam- ined, including treatment outcomes. I also added a new section on the myths and realities of predator priests, including current research. Thanks to police I also have been able to include the case of the Banana Man. This case emphasizes the psychopathology of paraphilic predators and how they are able to successfully stalk and prey upon unsuspecting child victims.

Chapter 7: I moved the “Myths of Serial Murder” to Chapter 1 and added some very important updates and analysis in Chapter 7. Current data of all new serial killers in the United States from 2004 to 2011 are provided in a very read- able format. Analysis of these data reveal some very significant trends and changes in the demographics of serial murder. This is one of the most important updates in this sixth edition not only because it debunks stereotypes of serial killers, but it also underscores the fact that many victims of serial murder are being ignored by the media. The significant increase in serial killers who are black in the United States is contrary to the stereotype that the majority are white offenders. I have included the case of Samuel Dixon along with several well-documented cases of black serial killers to emphasize that society needs to recalibrate its thinking about serial murder. I also added a new section on highway or truck-stop serial killers who use our interstate highways to find, abduct, murder, and dispose of hundreds of victims, many of whom are prostitutes.

Chapter 8: The most important part of the changes in Chapter 8 is the updated information regarding serial killers in the United States from 2004 to 2011. Readers can compare these most recent data to prior studies on team killers and note simi- larities and changes in their trends. One section on ritualism, cults, and child victims was moved to Chapter 2 for better organization of material.

Chapter 9: The most important part of the changes in Chapter 9 is the updated information regarding serial killers in the United States from 2004 to

xx PREFACE

2011. Readers can compare these most recent data to prior studies on the female serial killers and note similarities and changes in their trends.

Chapter 10: This important chapter focuses upon victims of serial murder and provides updated information on victimization from 2004 to 2011. I include current scholarly research by Dr. Quinet, who addresses the ignored problem of the “missing missing” and the many prostitutes who are mere statistics in the study of serial murder. I make recommendations to readers regarding books to read by former FBI personnel and provide updates on agencies that deal with missing and murdered children. These updates include NCMEC data as well as Department of Justice information on missing and murdered children. I also include scholarly research by Dr. Alexander, who posits Routine Activities Theory and Life-Course Theory as ways to understand victim–offender relationships in target selection.

Chapter 11: Although murders overall in the United States are at 40-year lows, serial and mass murders continue to slowly increase. Multiple homicide worldwide also continues to attract international attention. I have included the notorious case of Anders Breivik, the Norwegian mass murderer who bifurcated his attacks. I also included the incredible case of Russell Williams, the former commander of the largest air force base in Canada. I document his ability to lead a double life while he progressed from voyeurism to fetishes to serial murder. The section on serial murder in South Africa has also been updated and now includes a rare case of muti murder of a family member.

Chapter 12: Chapter 12 of the fifth edition was merged with Chapter 13 from the fifth edition to add more order and process to serial-murder case man- agement. The final chapter is now titled “Responding to Serial Killers.” I have provided many updates in restructuring this final chapter. I included the tragic case of the Frog Boys to illustrate the complexity of crime scene analysis that can require persons with expertise in many fields including anthropology, ortho- dontics, criminal justice, criminology, culture, sociology, psychology, weaponry, DNA, etc. A new section on cold case files is introduced along with several new cases that encourage reader participation in explaining offender behavior, fanta- sies, and paraphilic interests. I discuss the role of cold case review teams and provide two disturbing new cases for consideration: Larry Hall, who is now in prison for the murder of one college student but is believed by investigators to have murdered over 30 other female victims, and the case of Joseph Naso, “the Alphabet Killer,” who liked to kill prostitutes with first and last names beginning with the same initial. In addition, several research updates are provided. I also merged and edited the section on interviewing serial killers to make the chapter compatible with the process of responding to serial murder investigations. Finally, under disposition of serial killers, I included Dr. Welner’s Depravity Scale, which allows students to go online and decide for themselves how certain crimes of violence should be categorized in terms of their levels of violence. I trust that you will find this sixth edition to be current, provocative, informative, and useful in understanding the phenomenon of serial murder.

Serial Murderers and Their Victims debunks the myths and stereotypes that have evolved from public efforts to find easy explanations for the relatively rare

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yet horrifying phenomenon of serial murder. It also raises many questions about serial killers and their behavior. The research for this book has included visits to prisons, police departments, and numerous university libraries across the United States, as well as extensive Internet searches and interviews with numerous sexual predators such as pedophiles, child molesters, stalkers, paraphiliacs, and several serial murderers, their spouses, ex-spouses, lovers, and friends. I explored the lives of dead victims and victims who survived the attacks, and I communicated with families and relatives of the victims. Despite the extensive social, psycholog- ical, physiological, and financial devastation inflicted by serial murderers on their victims and the victims’ families, the victims are often reduced to little more than crime statistics. The etiology of victimization and the continued suffering of survivors must not be forgotten or neglected.

S U P P L E M E N T S

To further enhance the use of this textbook, the following supplements are avail- able to qualified adopters. Please consult your local sales representative for details.

Instructor’s Resource Manual with Test Bank

Prepared by Amy Hembree, the manual includes learning objectives, key terms, a detailed chapter outline, a chapter summary, discussion topics, student activities, and a test bank. Each chapter’s test bank contains questions in multiple-choice, true/false, fill-in-the-blank, and essay formats, with a full answer key. The test bank is coded to the learning objectives that appear in the main text, and includes the page numbers in the main text where the answers can be found. Our Instruc- tor Approved seal, which appears on the front cover, is our assurance that you are working with an assessment and grading resource of the highest caliber.

The manual is available for download on the password-protected Website and can also be obtained by e-mailing your local Cengage Learning representative.

PowerPoints

Prepared by the author, Eric W. Hickey, these handy Microsoft PowerPoint slides, which outline the chapters of the main text in a classroom-ready presentation, will help you in making your lectures engaging and in reaching your visually oriented students. The presentations are available for download on the password-protected Website and can also be obtained by e-mailing your local Cengage Learning representative.

ACK NO WL E D GM E NT S

I wish to recognize and thank the many people who helped during the course of my research and publication of this sixth edition. I was very fortunate to have very talented forensic doctoral students passionate about conducting research

xxii PREFACE

on predators and their victims. Those who assisted me in varying stages of my sixth edition were Blake Harris (my project coordinator), Alison Carlile, Dena Legari, Cody Charette, Melissa Murphy, Michele Wysopal, Arava Halevi, Karina Wong, Rina Norris, Julie Mizera, Xarina Chen, and Toni Ognibene (Fresno State University).

Some of these students will graduate in June 2012, while the rest are still facing their dissertation and/or their forensic internship year. As I worked with this dedicated group, I realized that these are they who will one day replace me and my fellow colleagues who have been engaged in multiple-homicide research. I think their work will not only be significant in the eyes of the scientific commu- nity but also be instrumental in helping others. Jason Crow, also one of our stellar students with a passion for dissecting the nature of sexuality and sex offending, was always willing to engage me as I updated my research on sexual predators.

Working with doctoral students is a great experience for me. They bring fresh ideas, enthusiasm, excitement, and promise to our California School of Forensic Studies (CSFS) programs. This is especially true of Dr. Blake Harris, who was one of our doctoral students and became my teaching and research assistant. Blake did it all. He was nothing less than phenomenal in his productiv- ity, organizational skills, punctuality, and enthusiasm. I have never met a more determined or dedicated person. Blake volunteered for every task and project I engaged in during the three years he worked with me. He served as my project manager for the sixth edition and coordinated the other graduate students. I cannot thank him enough for his loyalty and assistance. He and his spouse, Celesta, also one of our top CSFS doctoral students, are going to be incredible forensic psychologists wherever their careers take them.

Each of these doctoral students researched specific areas of multiple homicide that could possibly be included in this sixth edition. And a special thanks to Alison (Aly) Carlile and Cody Charette for their extra time and willingness to serve as sounding boards for me as I engaged in structuring the sixth edition. Our dis- cussions were timely and most helpful in starting and completing the revision. I express my many thanks to each and every one of these doctoral students for their time and effort.

Every once in a while I come across someone in my career who seems to appear on my doorstep wanting to help and collaborate. Enzo Yaksic did just that and offered to collect serial murder cases for me to use in updating my tables for 2004–2011 found in Chapters 7–10. A special thanks to Dr. Mike Aamodt of Radford University, Virginia, and Dr. John White of Richard Stockton College Center for Public Safety and Security, New Jersey, for their help in identifying the race of specific serial killers who appear in the sixth edition updates constructed by Enzo. He also prepared the original profile for the Samuel Dixon case that was facilitated by the use of the Serial Homicide Expertise and Information Sharing Collaborative. Enzo, thank you so much for your assistance. Your passion for the field of forensics is exactly what is needed to further the work. Working with you has been most enjoyable, and I am sure that we will collaborate for many years to come. Also, a special thanks to James A. Reavis, Psy.D., Director of Forensic Services at the Relationship Training Institute in San Diego,

PRE FA CE xxiii

California, for his assistance in developing the profile of Samuel Dixon. Your col- laboration is much appreciated.

I deeply appreciate the assistance of Dr. Gérard Labuschagne, Brigadier of the Investigative Psychology Unit of the Forensic Science Services Division of the South African Police Service, and Dr. Charisse T. M. Coston, at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, in helping me better understand ethnic, racial, and cultural differences in serial murder. Indeed, there are many sensitive issues discussed in this book. In no way do I mean to be critical or disparage any group, regardless of nationality, race, ethnicity, culture, religion, socioeconomic class, or sexual orientation. My goal is always to expose the truth in order to help reduce victimization, provide greater understanding of the nature of multiple homicide, and better identify the perpetrators. I also want to thank Cathy C. Petchel, visiting professor of psychology at Washington and Jefferson University, Pennsylvania, and Dr. Susan Williams of Kansas State University, Kansas, for their friendship and passion for teaching. Their enthusiasm is contagious.

In addition, my profound gratitude goes to my colleagues and my lifelong friends Dr. John R. Fuller, a noted scholar and my best critic (the guy who tells you when you have egg on your face), Lloyd A. Mackenzie (my Canadian child- hood, hell-raiser buddy), whose counsel, encouragement, and true friendship will never be forgotten, and Steven W. Opager, mon ami, bien-aimé, a man of soul who has walked in my shoes and understands.

Special thanks to Alliant International University and the faculty and staff of California School of Forensic Studies for supporting me in following my dreams. Thanks also to Roberta Roper of the Stephanie Roper Committee for her will- ingness to share her personal tragedies and her efforts to be more than a mere sur- vivor; and to Mike Reynolds, author of the “Three Strikes” and the “10-20-Life” laws. Neither of these fine people expected their daughters to be brutally mur- dered, but as a result, each of these social justice champions have spent many years fighting to establish victims’ rights and justice for violent offenders. We are safer because of them. And to Nadia Fezzani, my journalist friend in Mon- treal, Canada, who decided, after being a victim of violent crime, to walk into the lions’ den and interview serial killers.

In addition, my appreciation goes to the entire Wadsworth team, especially to my more-than-patient, wonderful chief editor, Carolyn Henderson Meier. I deeply appreciate her support and guidance for both the fifth and sixth editions. I especially want to thank Rachel McDonald, assistant editor responsible for overseeing this project and for her vigilance, thoroughness, and professionalism in seeing this sixth edition to fruition. And of course, Rathi Thirumalai, my production manager, who caught all of my errors and kept me on task, Isabel Saraiva, permissions editor, who dogged me for permissions, Virginette Acacio, assistant editor, who handled the Instructors Manual and Test Bank development, and Michelle Williams, senior marketing manager and Webinar coordinator. Never could an author expect to find a more competent, professional team of editors than those at Wadsworth.

I would like to thank the reviewers for this sixth edition, who include: Kevin Barrett, SUNY/Rockland Community College; Kevin Beaver, Florida State

xxiv PREFACE

University; Denise Bissler, Randolph-Macon College; Martha Bray, Fort Hays State University; Diana Bruns, Southeast Missouri State University; David A. Camp, Blackburn College; Robert Carroll, East-West University; Russ Cheatham, Cumberland University; Enid Conley, Johnson & Wales University, North Miami Campus; Julie Cowgill, Oklahoma City University; Martha Earwood, University of Alabama at Birmingham; Phyllis B. Gerstenfeld, California State University at Stanislaus; Sandra Grant, Midwestern State University; Christopher Hensley, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga; Stacey Hervey, Metro State College; David Horiuchi, Troy University; Andy Johnson, Bethel University; Natalie Johnson, University of North Texas; Soraya K. Kawucha, University of North Texas; Edward C. Keane, Housatonic Community College; David D. Legere, New England College; Joel Lundstrom, Barton Community College; Darlene Mallick, Anne Arundel Community College; Dennis F. Mazone, Bloomfield College; LaVarr McBride, Weber State University; Dyan McGuire, Saint Louis University; Tracy L. Newvine, Troy University; Dr. Brian Ogawa, Washburn University; Daniel Osborne, Empire State College; Cornel Plebani, Husson University; Dennis Powell, Middle Tennessee State University; Brad Reyns, Southern Utah University; Jennifer Riggs, Eastern New Mexico University at Ruidoso; Leeanna Rossi, Western New Mexico University; Ken Salmon, Arizona State University; Natalee Segal, Paradise Valley Community College; Mary Shenouda, University of Arkansas at Fort Smith; Donna M. Sherwood, Macomb Community College; James Sparks, University of Alabama at Birmingham; Lesley Stevens, CUNY, Queens College; Barbara Tipton, Chemeketa Community College; Dennis Williams, Arkansas Tech University; and James Wright, Chattanooga State Community College.

Finally, and most importantly, I want to thank my family: first, my dearest friend and spouse, Holly Peacock-Hickey, for her contributions, encouragement, corrections, and assistance on my behalf. You are my constant sounding board and guide. Your patience and insights are valuable beyond measure. Thank you for reminding me that my greatest resource is the Lord Almighty. And to my four beautiful children, Trevor, Erin, Alicen, and Chad, my two step-sons, Ben and Chad, and my twelve adorable grandchildren: Joshua, Melissa, Samantha, Aidan, Ethan, Megan, Lauren, Katie, Andrew, Abbie, Kennington, and Adeley. As they journey through life, I will always hope that they might think of their dad and granddad with kindness and always know that I will love them, uncon- ditionally, forever and ever. They stand for all that is good and worthwhile in this world, and I have never been more proud of them. And in memory of my dear parents, Wes and Shirley Hickey. Their devotion and support was constant and their love unconditional. I miss them.

Eric W. Hickey

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The tragedy of life is what dies inside a man while he lives. —Albert Schweitzer

Now ask yourself this question and see if by the time you have finished reading this most horrifying book, you have discerned the answer:

What is required to live the life of one’s own image?

The answer is within…

Introduction

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

■ To understand the many myths surrounding the phenomenon of serial murder and how society perpetuates those myths

■ To explore the definition of homicide and the various classifications of murder in American society

■ To explore the extent of mass and serial murder in the United States

■ To examine the definitions and differences between mass and serial murder

■ To evaluate case studies of mass and serial murder as they relate to the reality and frequency of multiple homicide in modern society

T H E P H E N O M E N O N O F S E R I A L M U R D E R

Multiple murder is undoubtedly one of the most terrifying and fascinating phenomena of modern-day crime. We are frequently reminded of how vulner- able we can be when persons who decide to kill us can do so with relative ease. No one ever imagined a military psychiatrist going on a shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009, killing 13 military personnel and wounding many others; a female college professor in 2010 in Alabama shooting six members of her department; a college student in 2011 in Arizona walking into a grocery store and shooting to death six people and seriously wounding many others, including a congresswoman; or a man walking into an IHOP restaurant in Nevada and shooting several people before ending his own life. As of 2011, investigators in Long Island, New York, have unearthed or located in wooded areas ten victims believed to be those of a serial killer. Other serial killers include the Craigslist Ripper or Gilgo Killer Joel Rifkin, an unemployed land- scaper who confessed to murdering 17 prostitutes; and Robert Shulman,

responsible for the deaths of 5 other prostitutes. Multiple murder is one of the most sensationalized areas of research within the fields of criminology, psychol- ogy, and sociology. Getting down to the “real facts” of a case rather than get- ting caught up in the inevitable media barrage has become a task difficult for even the most stringent, reputable researchers. The problems are many and interrelated. Philip Jenkins (1994), in his book Using Murder: The Social Con- struction of Serial Homicide, provides a scholarly examination of how serial killing has been dealt with by the media, law enforcement personnel, and the public. Indeed, much of what we know, or claim to know, about serial murder is based on misinformation and myth construction. Nearly 20 years later many of those misperceptions continue, fueled by our interest in forensics and violent crime. One of the primary confounding myths of serial murder is that they are all, by definition, sexual. Schlesinger (2004) in his seminal work, Sexual Murder, notes that many seemingly sexual murders are not sexually motivated and that many sexual homicides are not overtly sexual (pp. 2–6). As a result of the sen- sational nature of this form of murder, the aura surrounding it has assumed a life of its own as it filters throughout both the public and private sectors of society.

S E R I A L M U R D E R : F A C T A N D F I C T I O N

In the summer of 1981 in Atlanta, Georgia, Wayne Williams, a young African American male, was arrested for his involvement in multiple homicides of young African American males. He was believed, at that time, to be one of the nation’s more prolific serial killers. This case brought increased focus on serial murder and the fact that not all serial killers are white, nor are the victims, and even children could be targets. Technology, specifically hair- fiber evidence, became a critical factor in convicting Williams, and forensic science became prominent in explaining why such evidence ultimately played a key role in linking Williams to the crimes. Over 20 homicides were attrib- uted to Williams, most of them children, although he was actually convicted of murdering just two of his victims. The horror and fascination of this case focused media attention on Atlanta both during the homicides and after Williams’s capture. Within the next three years several more accounts of serial murder appeared in newspapers around the country. The American public had been invaded by a new criminal type, the serial murderer. Lurking in our communities, preying on hapless victims, serial murderers had suddenly emerged from the criminal underground—perhaps a product of the Vietnam War or possibly a by-product of technology and the moral decay of our soci- ety. In the past, most citizens simply assumed serial killers must be insane. No one knew for sure. But as the cases of serial murder increased, as did the body counts, the ever-growing reality of multiple murders began to intrude on public awareness. Something had to be done to stem the tide of homicides with no apparent motive.

2 CH APTER 1

In 1984 the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI; 1984a, 1984b; Ninety- Eighth Congress, 1984) appeared before the U.S. Senate to seek funding for the development of a program specifically targeting violent criminals. According to news accounts of the hearing, as many as 5,000 people per year were believed to be killed by serial murderers. Although this was factually not true, the numbers used to describe the victims in all categories of violent crime were, nonetheless, shocking and incredible. The public and public officials alike were horrified, and funding was procured for the program. For the next several years the incidence of serial murder was considered by the public to be pervasive in our society, though in fact this remained far from the truth. No one knew how many serial killers actually existed at any one time, but it was clear that the number of victims killed by such offenders did not even begin to approach 5,000. Where that inflated figure first originated is still a mystery. Perhaps a piece of information exchanged during an interview between the media and law enforcement personnel had been misinterpreted. What is impor- tant is not who started the rumors but that they were so quickly disseminated without ever being verified.

Such forms of disinformation are not new or uncommon. For example, when marijuana came into public view during the 1940s, a film, Reefer Madness, was distributed, depicting the powerfully destructive forces of the illegal substance. Clean, upstanding young men and women, on experiencing the effects of just one reefer, were transformed into raving, sex-crazed lunatics. Though amusing to us now, such exaggeration is disturbing in light of the film’s original purpose and effects.

Much of the proliferation of disinformation is a result of public pressure to know more about a specific subject. In some respects, a symbiotic relationship has developed among law enforcement personnel, the media, and the public that serves, in fact, to encourage disinformation in regard to certain types of issues. Realizing this, some researchers, such as Philip Jenkins and others, began question- ing the actual extent of serial murder. We do not question that serial murder occurs, but to what quantifiable and qualitative extent? This is the role of the social scientist: to objectively examine phenomena to determine their origin, nature, and impact on society.

Members of the community also want to understand the phenomnenon of serial murder. A very popular and interesting radio program Behind the Yellow Tape, founded by Joey Ortega, can be found on www.blogtalkradio.com/ behindthetellowtape as well as their companion blog www.behindtheyellowtape .wordpress.com. National and international forensic experts discuss investigative techniques, criminal psychology, current research in behavioral analysis, violent crimes, profiling, victimology and other relevant topics. Ortega is also the co-founder of the Ullemeyer group, a company that offers forensic and inves- tigative services, training in forensic disciplines, investigative specialties and crime scene investigations to both private and public agencies. Their company, located in Santa Barbara, California can be found online at www.ullemeyer. com. Nadia Fezzani, an investigative journalist in Montreal, Canada, herself a victim of violent crime, decided to interview serial killers and publish her

I N TRO DU CTI O N 3

findings. Her compelling book, My Serial Killers, (2011) documents the face to face interviews she conducted with these men. The apparent or perceived increase in the modern serial, or multiple, murder has incited interest among social scientists in several areas. Researchers have begun to explore the social, psychological, and biological makeup of the offenders in order to establish accurate profiles. In spite of their efforts, during the 1980s the body of knowl- edge about serial murders remained small compared to the number of unan- swered questions—especially concerning the extent of the phenomenon. In more recent years law enforcement personnel and academicians have come closer to understanding the dynamics of serial killing and its etiology, or causation.

The pure sensationalism and horror of serial murder have also spawned a plethora of novels about such murders, and the figure of the cold-blooded and senseless serial killer has been exploited by the media: for example, in television documentaries and prime-time shows—such as those that depicted California’s Hillside Strangler, the BTK Strangler case, and the infamous Ted Bundy (The Deliberate Stranger)—and in various box-office thrillers. Because of the wide publicity given to serial murderers, a stereotype of this type of killer has formed in the mind of American society. The offender is thought of as a ruthless, bloodthirsty sex monster who lives a Jekyll-and-Hyde existence—probably next door to you. Increasingly, crime novels and movies have focused on multiple-homicide offenders. Consider the steady proliferation of multiple-homicide films in which serial killing occurs (see Table 1.1).

Although the list in Table 1.1 is not exhaustive, it is representative of each decade. It does not include films involving mass murder (the killing of a number of people all at one time) or horror films depicting vampires and murderous zombies, but only films portraying real people murdering other people. Notice the explosion of serial-murder themes between the early 1990s and 2008. More than half of those never made it to theaters but went straight to home-video release. In the privacy of one’s home, viewers are bombarded with graphic

T A B L E 1.1 Increase in Films with Serial Killing, 1920–2008

Decade Number of Serial

Murder–Themed Films

1920s 2

1930s 3

1940s 3

1950s 4

1960s 12

1970s 20

1980s 23

1990s 150þ 2000s 300þþ

4 CH APTER 1

killings, mutilations, and sexual torture. Clearly, this cinematic emphasis has added credibility to the notion of high body counts at the hands of ubiquitous serial-killer monsters.

In his 1987 book The Red Dragon, Tom Harris gave a fictional account of a serial killer who took great pleasure in annihilating entire families. Later his work was made into the movie Manhunter, an engrossing drama of psychopa- thology, blood, and carnage. At that time Hollywood was only beginning to realize the huge market for multiple-murder movies. Some years later, the next book by Harris and the derivative movie, both titled Silence of the Lambs, caught the American imagination. By 2001, movies such as Copycat, Kiss the Girls, the Scream trilogy, Along Came a Spider, Hannibal, the Saw series, Hostel, and The Bone Collector continued to exploit the public’s fascination with serial murder without yielding much insight about the offender. Filmmakers, unable to ade- quately navigate the minds of serial offenders, resorted to technology and spe- cial effects to draw in viewers, as seen in the film The Cell. Other films, such as Seven, a dark, disturbing movie, attempted to offer some understanding of the murdering mind but confused viewers with the concepts of psychopathy, psy- chosis, and murder. By late 2003, a remake of the classic horror film Texas Chainsaw Massacre appeared in theaters just a few weeks before the confession and conviction of the Green River Killer, Gary Leon Ridgway, in the murders of 48 young women (see Profile 1.7). Serial-murder movies are now rivaled by a plethora of television and cable serials such as CSI, Profiler, Forensic Files, Criminal Minds, Cold Case Files, and Dexter. Viewers can now examine, from the comfort of their homes, theaters, computers, Kindles, and iPods, the minds and crimes of violent predators.

Novelists such as Easton Ellis, with his exploration of psychopathy, narcis- sism, sadism, and murder in American Psycho (later made into a movie by the same name), and Caleb Carr, author of the acclaimed serial-murder thriller The Alienist, clearly indicate that writers are familiarizing themselves with the topic of serial murder and have begun to inject some insightful and historical perspectives into their narratives. The fictional accounts of serial killing, how- ever, often fail to surpass the horror described in nonfictional accounts of serial murder by writers such as Ann Rule, a former acquaintance of the serial killer Ted Bundy; Bundy was executed in January 1989. Besides her work on Bundy (The Stranger Beside Me, 1980), she has written about Jerry Brudos (Lust Killer, 1983), Randy Woodfield (The I-5 Killer, 1984), and Harvey Carnigan (The Want-Ad Killer, 1988).

MY TH S OF SER IA L M UR D ER

The result of such an array of cases of serial murder as well as media focus has given rise to several general myths surrounding the phenomenon. With every myth, just as in every stereotype, there is a measure of truth. The following are long-held myths surrounding serial killers.

I N TRO DU CTI O N 5

Myth Fact

1. They are nearly all white. One in five serial killers is black.

2. They are all male. Nearly 17% are female.

3. They are insane. Insanity is a legal term. Very few offenders (2%–4%) are legally insane.

4. They are all lust killers. Many are, but several cases do not involve sexual assaults, torture, or sexual mutilations.

5. They kill dozens of victims. A few have high body counts but most kill under 10 victims.

6. They kill alone. About one in four have one or more partners in murder.

7. Victims are beaten, stabbed, strangled,ortorturedtodeath.

Some victims are poisoned or shot.

8. They are all very intelligent. Most are of average intelligence.

9. They have high mobility in the United States.

Most offenders remain in a local area.

10. They are driven to kill because they were sexually abused as children.

Many kill as a result of rejection and abandonment in childhood.

11. Most serial murderers cannot stop killing.

Some serial killers stopped killing for several years before they killed again or until they were caught, including Dennis Rader (BTK), Jeffrey Gorton, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Theodore Kaczynski. Such offenders often substitute paraphilic beha- viors or other diversions in lieu of killing.

12. Most serial killers want to be caught.

Like anyone, they learn and gain confi- dence from experience. Many want-to-be serial killers end up in prison after their first murder. Some become very adept at concealing their identities and may feel as if they will never be caught.

Throughout the 1990s, dozens of novels and nonfiction accounts of multiple homicide were published for the entertainment and sometimes enlightenment of the general public. Amid this proliferation, female serial killers were given increased attention in true-crime accounts of “black widows” (women who, for various reasons, kill their husbands, then remarry only to carry out the cycle of homicide again and again); nurses who kill their elderly, young, or otherwise helpless patients; mothers who murder their children; females who assist men in serial killing; and a few women who have stalked and murdered men.

6 CH APTER 1

Researchers who have been examining the phenomenon of serial murder to promote greater understanding—and, they hope, develop intervention strategies—have also been busy. Case study analysis of serial murder has begun to provide researchers with insightful information, however tenuous. For example, Elliott Leyton (1986a) in his book Hunting Humans provides in-depth examinations of the lives and minds of a few contemporary U.S. serial killers and their relation- ships with their victims. In Mass Murder: The Growing Menace (1985), Overkill (1994), and Extreme Killing (2011), Jack Levin and James Fox assess some of the dynamics of serial and mass murder. Fox, Levin, and Quinet in The Will To Kill (2011) analyze the circumstances in which people kill one another and provide insights to family and school homicides. Ronald Holmes and James DeBurger, in their work Serial Murder (2010), formulate typologies based on material gathered from interviews with serial murderers. Holmes’s second work, Profiling Violent Crimes: An Investigative Tool (2009), has become a useful tool in the investigation of serial murder. Steve Egger’s work Serial Murder: An Elusive Phenomenon (1990) and his The Killers Among Us (2001) underscore several critical problems encoun- tered by researchers and law enforcement investigators of serial murder. Robert Keppel, a law enforcement officer who has investigated several cases of serial killing, published his observations in Serial Murder: Future Implications for Police Investigations (1989). Jenkins (1994) has examined societal forces such as law enforcement, the media, and public interest, which have acted as catalysts in the emergence of the serial-murder phenomenon as a social construct. Also in recent years, a number of documentaries, such as CNN’s Murder by Number, have critically examined the extent and impact of serial murder. In 1994, British television produced an award-winning documentary To Kill and Kill Again (Optomen Television, 1994). As a result of the case of Jeffrey Dahmer and other cases, serial murder began to be explored not merely as an act, but as a process. In 1996, several books examining serial murder, including Serial Murderers and Their Victims, first edition, were placed on the compact disc Mind of a Killer. This “serial-murder library” allowed researchers, students, and law enforcement personnel to access a vast amount of information, including biographies, photo- graphs, and the investigative tools used to track serial killers. By 2001, other scholarly documentaries including Understanding Murder (the Learning Channel) aired on television and sought to examine the roles of psychology and biology in serial murder; in 2002 Court TV explored the careers of criminal profilers in The Elite: The New Profilers; in 2002 WE Channel examined female serial killers in Black Widows: Explaining Women Who Kill Their Husbands; and in 2010 CNN revisited the Wayne Williams case in The Atlanta Child Murders.

Many other people associated with research on serial murder have also con- tributed to the body of knowledge on the subject. For instance, Dr. Katherine Ramsland, a prolific author and professor of forensic psychology and criminal justice at DeSales University in Pennsylvania, has published scholarly articles and books involving serial murder. Two of her books I highly recommend are The Human Predator: A Historical Chronicle of Serial Murder and Forensic Investigation (Berkley, 2005) and The Mind of a Murderer: Privileged Access to the Demons that Drive Extreme Violence (Praeger, 2011). Philip Jenkins, at Pennsylvania State

I N TRO DU CTI O N 7

University, has explored the social environments of serial murderers, whereas Candice Skrapec, a forensic psychologist in the Department of Criminology, California State University, Fresno, has gathered data on the psychogenic status of serial offenders. Al Carlisle, a psychologist at the Utah State Prison and Provo Canyon Boys School, has explored dissociative states and other forces that may affect the mind of a serial killer. David Canter and Donna Youngs at the University of Huddersfield, England, have organized the International Research Centre for Investigative Psychology, an impressive program that, among other things, emphasizes the application of science in geographic profiling of crimes and offenders. D. Kim Rossmo, formerly of the Vancouver Police Department, in his 1995 dissertation made a substantial contribution to the field of forensics through his geographic profiling of serial murderers. Now a senior research pro- fessor at the Center for Geospatial Intelligence and Investigation, Texas State University, he is considered to be one of the top geographic profilers in the world. Increasingly, both academicians and law enforcement personnel are becoming involved in the study and exploration of violent serial crime. While all of this research is critical in establishing a knowledge base, Haggerty (2009) notes that focusing on the etiology and biography of offenders is only part of the equation in understanding serial murder. He argues that serial killers are dis- tinctively modern and that thus far “broader social, historical and cultural context have been largely ignored” (p. 168). He outlines six important preconditions for serial murder that have their roots in modernity:

■ Mass media and the rise of celebrity status. Be a serial killer and appear in TIME magazine, have movies made about you, and gain a following of murder groupies.

■ A society populated with strangers. ■ A society void of value considerations that encourages extreme rationaliza-

tion. Depersonalization of others and perceiving relationships as instrumental makes killing others so much easier and pleasurable.

■ A cultural framework that through processes of denigration positions specific groups for increased predation, such as the elderly, children, prostitutes, homeless, and homosexuals.

■ Opportunity structures that afford serial killers more access to certain victims such as females who now often work outside their homes, and, of course, prostitutes.

■ Society can be engineered, and for some serial killers, they provide a service in ridding society of certain undesirable types of people. (pp. 168–187)

Haggerty has indeed provided a broader platform from which researchers can investigate and study serial murder. These structural and cultural frameworks may have significant utility in explaining multiple homicide and even help us understand how we might detect, investigate, prosecute, and categorize these forms of murder and murderers.

Law enforcement officials have been dealing with serial murders for many, many years. By the 1990s, however, the nature and sophistication of investiga- tion techniques had changed. Computer technology, especially the development

8 CH APTER 1

of the Internet, expedited data collection and analysis. During the mid-1980s, the FBI established, at its Behavioral Science Unit in Quantico, Virginia (now referred to as the Investigative Support Unit), the Violent Criminal Apprehen- sion Program (VICAP). VICAP is designed to collect detailed information on homicides throughout the United States. Investigators such as former FBI agents Robert Ressler and John Douglas, both pioneers in the investigation and classifi- cation of serial killers, collectively interviewed many notorious serial killers in the United States. Ressler and colleagues published their findings in Sexual Homicide (1988), which became a standard reference text for this form of murder. In addi- tion, the U.S. government continues to develop programs such as the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime (NCAVC) to focus specifically on repetitive offenders, including serial murderers.

N U M B E R S AN D T Y P E S O F M A S S M U R D E R S AN D

S E R I A L KI L L I N G S I N T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S

The number of murders in the United States fluctuated around 25,000 per year by the early 1990s. By that time, we had witnessed a 20-year period of murder and manslaughter rates increasing 300% while police clearance rates for these crimes had declined from 93% in 1962 to 74% in 1982 and to about 65% by 1995 (FBI, 1995). Homicide rates in the United States during this period appeared to be one of the highest of any Westernized nation. In recent years, however, we have seen a remarkable decline in violent crime. The last several years have seen fewer violent and property crimes. By 2003, areas of the United States were reporting 30-year lows in crime rates. The Centers for Disease Control (2001) found that in 1997, of the 5,285 workplace deaths, 14% were homicides, far behind deaths caused by mining and agriculture accidents. By 2002 the number of murders in the United States had dropped to just over 14,000, with a 1.1% increase in 2003 (see Table 1.2) and almost equal numbers of white and black residents being victimized, even though blacks constitute only 13% of the U.S. population (see Homicide Facts 2010). By 2007, murders in the United States had slowly continued to rise to over 17,000, but these were still nearly half the murder rates of the early 1990s. Between 1991 and 2010 murder rates dropped by 51%.

Homicide Facts 2010*

■ An estimated 14,748 persons were murdered nationwide in 2010, a 4.23% decline from 2009.

■ For homicides in which the age of the victim was known

� 9.94% of murder victims were under 18 � 32.86% were between the ages of 20 and 29

*National Center for Victims of Crime, 2011.

I N TRO DU CTI O N 9

� 20.35% were between the ages of 30 and 39 � 13.39% were between 40 and 49 � 11.55% were between 50 and 64; � 4.55% were ages 65 and older.

■ Homicides of teenagers ages 13 to 19 accounted for 12.41% of murder victims.

■ Males accounted for 77.4% of murder victims and 22.5% were female. ■ The sex of the offender was known in 73.19% of homicide cases. Among

those cases, 90.27% of offenders were male and 9.73% were female. ■ In the majority of homicide cases 92% were 18 or older. ■ Whites accounted for 46.5% of homicide victims while 49.8% were black.

For 3.7% of victims, race was classified as “other” or “unknown.” ■ Homicide was generally intra-racial: white offenders murdered 83% of

white victims, and black offenders murdered 90% of black victims. ■ Homicides in which the type of weapon was specified, 68% of the offenses

were committed with firearms.

T A B L E 1.2 United States Homicide Rates, 1987–2010 (Murder and Nonnegligent Manslaughter)

Year Number of Murders Rate per 100,000 Population

1987 20,096 8.3

1989 21,500 8.7

1991 24,703 9.8

1993 24,526 9.5

1995 21,606 8.2

1997 18,208 6.8

1999 15,522 5.7

2000 15,586 5.5

2001 16,037 5.6

2002 16,229 5.6

2003 16,528 5.7

2004 16,148 5.5

2005 16,740 5.6

2006 17,030 5.7

2007 16,929 5.6

2008 16,442 5.4

2009 15,399 5.0

2010 14,748 4.8

10 CH APTER 1

The lower rate in violent crime, especially murder, is explained by several contributing factors. First, the U.S. economy, bolstered by new advances in technology, had been in a strong growth period for several years. Although an economic slowdown occurred after 2001 and was affected by the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center and subsequent war with Iraq, unemploy- ment remained relatively low. Second, the victim’s movement acted as a catalyst for many new legal reforms. For example, Mike Reynolds, the father of Kim- berly Reynolds, who was gunned down while leaving a restaurant in Fresno, California, became the father of three-strikes laws, along with many other laws requiring harsher punishments for repeat offenders. Some states, such as New York, have seen a dramatic increase in the number of police officers on duty. Some argue that violent offenders eventually “age out” because they become too old to commit violent crimes. For whatever reasons, most likely a combina- tion of factors, crime dropped dramatically and steadily until 2000. Behind the statistics is the reality that crime rates will inevitably rise again given the growing rates of unemployment, disasters such as Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005, and significant increases in the cost of living.

Though murder rates have been declining in general, it is clear from the data that certain types of homicides are occurring more frequently. While the majority of murders result from domestic and community conflicts, many murders are per- petrated by strangers. Because of a marked increase in stranger-to-stranger homi- cides, in some cities, such as Los Angeles, as many as 60% of all murders go without being prosecuted each year. The increasing number of serial murders is believed by some experts, including your author, to account for some of these unsolved cases.

Mass Murder

Serial murders, however, are not the only type of killings attracting considerable public attention. Mass murders, in which several victims are killed within a few moments or hours, seem to be occurring with greater frequency. In this context, the term mass murder does not refer to institutional mass murder as ordered by dictators or ethnic cleansing of groups of people as seen in Europe and Africa but rather the individually motivated and carried-out mass murders in the work- place or in private residences. The current frequency of mass murder in the United States has increased from approximately one case per month to approxi- mately one case every 10 days (author’s files). Part of the increase can be attrib- uted to how we define mass murder. Although mass murders were once considered to involve public displays of violence (school attacks, for instance), we now must include domestic mass murders (the killing of some or all of one’s family members and/or acquaintances). According to the FBI, killing four or more persons at one time is considered to be a mass murder. Over half of all attempted and/or completed mass murders in the United States involve domestic homicides. Other cases of mass murder involve offenders walking into schools, shopping malls, restaurants, or government offices and randomly shooting bystanders—as in April 1990, when a man released only the day before from a

I N TRO DU CTI O N 11

psychiatric institution walked into a crowded shopping mall in Atlanta, Georgia, and began shooting everyone in his path.

P R O F I L E S I N M O D E R N M A S S M U R D E R

I N T H E U N I T E D ST A T E S

■ Jared L. Loughner, a 22-year-old pot-smoking army and college reject, was considered by the police to be angry and mentally unstable when he entered a shopping center in Tucson, Arizona, in 2011 and shot twenty people, killing six. His primary target was congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was also critically wounded.

■ Dr. Amy Bishop, a Harvard trained neurobiologist, shot six faculty members in a department meeting at the University of Alabama in 2010, killing three of them. She had been denied tenure (see Profile 1.1).

■ Dr. Nidal M. Hasan, a psychiatrist and major in the military, shot over 40 military personnel, killing 13, at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2009. He had become a radicalized Muslim who viewed the United States as an aggressor nation (see Profile 1.2).

■ Omar Thornton, 2010, shot and killed eight coworkers and himself at a beer distribution company in Manchester, Connecticut. He had just been termi- nated for stealing beer from the company.

In other cases a troubled parent or sibling has annihilated entire families. In recent years there have also been several instances of assailants walking into ele- mentary or secondary schools, or sometimes just standing by the playground, and randomly shooting children (see Profile 1.3).

As mentioned, another type of mass murder includes the killing of family members. Based on the number of victims in each case, some domestic mass murders are viewed as mini-mass murders because relatively few victims (three to four) are killed. Consider the perpetrators under Profiles in Modern Mass Murder in the United States. There is not a distinctive profile of such killers. Some are men- tally ill while others are just angry. Many are males but some are females. Some kill because they subscribe to political or religious ideologies at variance with the community in which they reside. Some are white, others black. Some are Asian, Hispanic, or African American while many are Caucasian. Some are very well educated in professional careers while others have high school educations in blue-collar jobs. Some do not work. Some kill at school or on college campuses, others where they work or live. Some kill their families while others kill cow- orkers or strangers. Some kill both relatives and strangers. Many use guns, but some use knives, fire, or bombs.

When combining all mass murders, mini-mass murders, and attempted mass murders, the incidence of such murders remains very high. Although the reality is that the United States is experiencing relatively low homicide rates (the actual

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