Why We Love Serial Killers (30 page)

The Role of Serial Killers

What is the role of serial killers themselves in the social construction of their public identity? This is an important question that is rarely, if ever, addressed by criminologists or the media in their discussions of serial killers. I contend that the killers are central actors in the process. Unlike folk devils in a moral panic drama that recoil from public attention such as school bullies or youth gangs, many serial killers seek out public acclaim and actively engage in the creation of their own public image. Among this ilk, the Son of Sam, BTK, the Zodiac Killer, and the Boston Strangler come immediately to mind. Such criminals are well-established celebrity folk devils in the popular culture. Our analysis of the social construction of serial killers must consider the significant contributions of the criminals themselves. Therefore, I analyze the actual words and actions of notorious serial killers who were unabashed self-promoters in the following pages.

Richard Ramirez displays a pentagram symbol on his hand in court. (photo credit: Associated Press)

One of the most gruesome but enduringly popular serial killers among true crime fans is the late Richard Ramirez, dubbed the “Night Stalker” by the press. He was convicted of killing thirteen people (and suspected of killing six others) during a home invasion crime spree in Los Angeles during 1984 and 1985. Men were shot or strangled and women were brutally raped and mutilated. At the crime scenes, the Night Stalker left occult symbols such as an inverted pentagram drawn on a wall with a victim’s lipstick as his personal signature. Ramirez, who was an avowed Satanist, never expressed any remorse for his crimes
after his capture. Instead, he gloated about his brutal crimes to reporters and mugged for the news cameras.

Ramirez contributed greatly to his satanic public image by wearing all black in the courtroom and donning sunglasses throughout his trial. At one point he said that he aspired to be “100 percent evil.” He loved the news media attention and played up to the crowd. At his sentencing, Ramirez praised Lucifer and told the judge, jurors, and a packed courtroom, which included some of his victims’ relatives, the following:

You don’t understand me. You are not expected to. You are not capable of it. I am beyond your experience. I am beyond good and evil . . . I don’t believe in the hypocritical, moralistic dogma of this so-called civilized society. . . . You maggots make me sick! Hypocrites one and all . . . I don’t need to hear all of society’s rationalizations. I’ve heard them all before . . . Legions of the night—night breed—repeat not the errors of the Night Stalker and show no mercy. I will be avenged. Lucifer dwells within all of us . . . See you in Disneyland. That’s it.

Superior Court Judge Michael Tynan, who upheld the death sentence imposed by the jury, remarked that Ramirez’s deeds exhibited “cruelty, callousness, and viciousness beyond any human understanding.” Following his sentencing, Ramirez remained defiant in prison where he wore a perpetual sneer and enjoyed the attention of his female groupies who sent him a steady stream of love letters through the mail. When asked about his appeal to women, Ramirez said:

I think the girls are attracted to me because they can relate to me. The girls are nice when you’re in my situation, but since I’m in here I spend more time writing to them about the relationship, rather than living it, but there are good friendships formed nevertheless.

Richard Ramirez died in prison of natural causes while awaiting execution on death row in 2013. He had a strange magnetism, similar to Charles Manson, and was keenly aware of the public’s fascination with him. He skillfully manipulated the press and aggressively promoted his demonic public identity as the Night Stalker. His broad appeal among serial killer aficionados, particularly women, has continued and perhaps even increased since his death. His great popularity is manifested in bizarre fashion by fans and groupies who collect his personal artifacts and mementos, including his clothing, original paintings, and writings.
(I explore the strange hobby of collecting the so-called murderabilia of Richard Ramirez and other killers in chapter 11.)

There is no more infamous serial killer “brand name” in the world—with the possible exception of Jack the Ripper—than the Son of Sam. As explained in chapter 6, David Berkowitz introduced his legendary moniker to the world in 1977 when he communicated directly with his pursuers for the first time by leaving a handwritten letter addressed to the NYPD near the body of one of his victims. In the poorly written note, which was partially incoherent and full of misspellings, Berkowitz used supernatural and satanic terminology to define himself. He wrote in part:

I am the “Monster”—“Beelzebub”—the “Chubby Behemouth.” I love to hunt. Prowling the streets looking for fair game—tasty meat. The wemon of Queens are z prettyist of all. I must be the water they drink. I live for the hunt—my life. Blood for papa . . . “Go out and kill” commands father Sam. Behind our house some rest. Mostly young—raped and slaughtered—their blood drained—just bones now . . .

David also drew an occult symbol on one of his letters which became part of the Son of Sam legend and his signature. He was delighted to see his threatening letters published in the New York City newspapers throughout his killing spree. The letters caused widespread panic and helped to establish the Son of Sam legend. Although he is now a born-again Christian and very remorseful for his crimes, David realizes that he is still considered to be the epitome of evil by many people. He also knows that there is nothing he can do to change that popular perception. From his perspective, society is obsessed with evil and murder which explains why the Son of Sam is an enduring demonic icon in the popular culture. At the same time, however, David takes responsibility for his own actions. He fully recognizes that he facilitated the construction of his public identity by committing his savage crimes and defining himself as a monster in his taunting letters to the press and police.

Many infamous criminals have a knack for attracting a following but David Berkowitz is unique in that he has been aggressively reinventing himself in prison as the Son of Hope through his letter-writing ministry and the global exposure he has received as a redeemed serial killer. With the help of an odd assortment of Christian ministers, evangelists, social workers, followers, and even victims’ rights advocates, David is
receiving what amounts to a highly unusual public relations makeover. However, the bulk of the attention he has received has been confined to the religious community so his new identity is largely unknown to the general public. Moreover, as discussed in chapter 6, many people scoff at David’s claim of spiritual transformation. In particular, the mainstream media have been skeptical of his born-again Christian status. Perhaps it is a testimony to the news media’s preoccupation with the macabre and the destructive power of the labels “evil” and “monster” that the Son of Sam moniker will likely forever eclipse the Son of Hope in the public consciousness.

Perhaps no serial killer ever relished or participated more heavily in the construction of his own public image than the BTK Killer. Dennis Rader was determined to establish a brand name for himself and attract public notoriety like the Boston Strangler and the Son of Sam, so he brazenly contacted the news media in the fall of 1974 and left a letter for authorities at the local public library which instructed his pursuers to call him “Bind, Torture, Kill.” Similar to the first letter to authorities from the Son of Sam, the first letter from BTK included supernatural descriptions of himself. In particular, Dennis used the word “monster” as a descriptor on several occasions. He introduced himself to authorities in his first letter with the following words:

. . . I’m sorry this happen to society. They are the ones who suffer the most . . . Where this monster enter my brain I will never know. But, it here to stay. How does one cure himself? If you ask for help, that you have killed four people, they will laugh or hit the panic button and call the cops . . .

Dennis’ expression of concern for society in this letter is laughable in its insincerity. Contrary to his written statement, his actual goals in writing to authorities were narcissistic and self-gratifying—that is, to create terror, gain notoriety, and demonstrate intellectual superiority. In addition to his desire to instill public panic and gain attention, Dennis was particularly driven by a need to show off his ability to outsmart his pursuers. He taunted law enforcement authorities for years to satisfy that need. As explained in chapter 7, Dennis has an antisocial personality disorder known as malignant narcissism which affords him a grandiose sense of his own abilities and accomplishments. He simply cannot get enough attention or notoriety to satisfy his inflated ego.

An example of this need for attention and notoriety, Dennis openly bragged in one of his letters to me about a particular time that he outsmarted his police pursuers. It involved him having to go to city hall to receive a permit when he became a city compliance officer. City hall was also the home of the BTK command center which had been established by the Wichita Police Department to oversee the hunt for the unknown killer. After receiving his permit, Dennis was escorted around the facility by a member of the BTK task force and incredibly given an update on the latest progress in the investigation. Dennis described this incident as a tremendous “rush” for him and I believe it was one of the great highlights of his life. He had the police completely fooled. I believe that the ego gratification Dennis received from outsmarting the police and demonstrating his intellectual superiority over them was an even greater thrill for him than killing his victims.

I asked Roy Hazelwood why, in his experience, some serial killers contact the news media and law enforcement authorities and take credit for their crimes. His answer to me points directly to the personality disorders of psychopathy and narcissism. Hazelwood told me that such contact satisfies four significant needs for a serial killer:

1) It allows him to brag. Up to this time he was the only one who knew what he did. BTK had three secrets (what actually happened during the crime; whether the killer was alive or dead; and who committed the crime). Having a secret is no fun unless you can share it, but then it is no longer a secret. In Rader’s case, he shared two of his three secrets: The killer took pictures [of his victims] and the killer was still alive and in the area. What remained a secret was the identity of the killer.

2) It validates his superiority over society in general and the police in particular.

3) It re-ignites the fear and emotional trauma in the community, giving him a tremendous sense of power.

4) It allows him to read about himself on almost a daily basis as the media revives the case by re-writing old stories, re-interviewing friends and neighbors of previous murder victims, and interviewing experts from the mental health, law enforcement, and academic professions.

These important insights provided by Roy Hazelwood support my contention that many serial killers derive great pleasure from being
actively involved in their public identity construction. While not every serial killer contacts his pursuers or assigns a brand name to himself, it is clear that many serial killers do relish their criminal celebrity status and enjoy fueling the public panic they create. It is also very fitting that Hazelwood used BTK as his example because no serial killer was ever more concerned about his public image and legacy than Dennis Rader.

Another serial killer who loved his public image as a celebrity monster and helped to construct it was the Zodiac Killer who operated in Northern California in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Although the killer’s identity remains unknown to this day, he originated the name “Zodiac” in a series of taunting letters he sent to the Bay Area press containing a hand-drawn symbol that became his iconic signature. Some of the letters also included cryptograms or ciphers—that is, coded messages. On August 1, 1969, three letters prepared by the killer were received at the
Vallejo Times Herald
, the
San Francisco Chronicle
and the
San Francisco Examiner
. The nearly identical letters took credit for two very recent shootings. Each letter also included one-third of a 408-symbol cryptogram that, according to the killer, contained his identity. The unknown killer demanded the letters and cryptogram be printed on each paper’s front page or he would “cruse [
sic
] around all weekend killing lone people in the night then move on to kill again, until I end up with a dozen people over the weekend.” The
Chronicle
published its third of the cryptogram on page four of the following day’s edition. The murders the killer threatened did not occur and all three parts of the cryptogram were eventually published by the newspapers. Similar to BTK and the Son of Sam, the Zodiac Killer received tremendous notoriety by contacting his pursuers and just like them he would go on to murder again. Ultimately, however, the Zodiac stopped killing for unknown reasons and vanished.