Why We Love Serial Killers (6 page)

Unfortunately, it is far more likely that a pattern of serial homicide will be detected and aggressively pursued in an affluent white neighborhood than a poor racial minority neighborhood. Because white serial killers typically live and operate in white neighborhoods and kill white victims, their investigations are more likely to be solved by the well-trained and well-equipped law enforcement officials who patrol those neighborhoods. Stated differently, police departments and
the FBI prioritize the apprehension of white serial killers who stalk affluent white neighborhoods and kill white victims, particularly white female victims. A racial imbalance in the allocation of law enforcement resources contributes to the myth that all serial killers are white because the majority of serial killers who are identified and apprehended are white, while racial minority serial killers who target minority victims are less likely to be apprehended or even detected. Thus, similar to the news media, law enforcement authorities are also instrumental in spreading the myth that serial killers are white. In the process, they obscure and deny the truth about the racial patterns of serial homicide in the US.

Myth #3: All Serial Killers Are Isolated and Dysfunctional Loners.

Reality:
The majority of serial killers are not reclusive, social misfits who live alone, despite pervasive depictions of them as such in the news and entertainment media, including the socially challenged “Tooth Fairy” serial killer in the film
Red Dragon
. Real-life serial killers are not the isolated monsters of fiction, and frequently they do not appear to be strange or stand out from the public in any meaningful way. Many serial killers are able to successfully hide out in plain sight for extended periods of time. Those who successfully blend in are typically also employed, have families and homes, and outwardly appear to be non-threatening, normal members of society. Because serial killers can appear to be so innocuous, they are often overlooked by law enforcement officials, as well as their own families and peers. In some rare cases, an unidentified serial killer will even socialize and become friendly with the unsuspecting police detectives who are tracking him. The incredible tale of Ed Kemper, the “Co-ed Killer,” provides an example of this phenomenon in chapter 9.

Serial killers who hide out in plain sight are able to do so precisely because they look just like everyone else. It is their ability to blend in that makes them very dangerous, frightening, and yet very compelling to the general public. Consider two classic examples of unassuming and seemingly mild-mannered serial killers who absolutely defy the stereotype of an isolated, dysfunctional loner.

The first example, Dennis Rader, the “Bind, Torture, Kill” or BTK Strangler, murdered at least ten people in Wichita, Kansas, over a twenty-year period prior to his capture in 2005. He pled guilty and received ten consecutive life sentences. Prior to his arrest, Rader was married for thirty-four years and had two children. He was a Boy Scout leader, was employed as a local government official, and was the president of his church congregation. His alter ego, on the other hand, was a stone-cold killer who sought power, control, and domination of his victims. The torture of his victims gratified BTK, and strangling the life out of them made him feel like God.

Dennis Rader in court. (photo credit: Associated Press)

The second example, Gary Ridgway, the infamous “Green River Killer,” was one of the most prolific serial killers in US history. He confessed in 2003 to killing forty-eight women over a twenty-year period in the Seattle, Washington, area. He pled guilty to avoid the death penalty. In exchange, he was sentenced to 480 years without the possibility of parole. Ridgway was married three times, had a son, served in the Navy during the Vietnam War and held the same job at a truck factory for thirty-two years. He also attended church regularly and read his bible at home and at work. In shocking contrast, the Green River Killer strangled young prostitutes and runaways whom he picked up in his truck. In the beginning, he used a chokehold to kill his victims. In his later killings, Ridgway used a ruler to twist fabric around the necks of his victims. Sometimes he killed them inside his house and other times he killed them in the woods. He engaged in necrophilia with the corpses of some of his victims. In a confession that reveals the extent of his psychopathy, Ridgway said that he sometimes used a picture of his son to disarm his intended victims and lure them into his truck. He also admitted to killing one of his victims while his young son waited for him in his truck. When asked if he would have killed his son had the boy realized what he was doing, his chilling answer was “yes.”

In summary, despite pervasive media stereotypes to the contrary, the majority of serial killers are not social misfits who live in isolation without interacting with others. In fact, many are highly functioning and appear to be completely normal.

Myth #4: All Serial Murderers Travel Widely and Kill in Multiple States.

Reality:
The roaming, homicidal maniac such as Freddy Krueger in the cult film
A Nightmare on Elm Street
is another entertainment media stereotype that is rarely found in real life. Among the most infamous serial killers, Ted Bundy is the rare exception who traveled and killed in various states in the US. Bundy twice escaped from police custody and committed at least thirty homicides in the states of Washington, Utah, Florida, Colorado, Oregon, Idaho, and California. Articulate, educated, well-groomed, and charming, Bundy was truly atypical among serial killers in his cross-country killing rampage. Unlike Bundy, most serial killers have very well-defined geographic areas of operation. They typically have a comfort zone—that is, an area that they are intimately familiar with and where they like to stalk and kill their prey. Jack the Ripper provides the classic example of this geographic preference because he stalked and killed exclusively in the small Whitechapel district of London in the fall of 1888.

Gary Ridgway at his sentencing. (photo credit: Associated Press)

The comfort zone of a serial killer is often defined by an anchor point such as a place of residence or employment. Crime statistics reveal that serial killers are most likely to commit their first murder very close to their place of residence due to the comfort and familiarity it offers them. John Wayne Gacy (“The Killer Clown”) buried most of his thirty-three young male victims in the crawl space beneath his house after
sexually assaulting and murdering them. Serial killers sometimes return to commit murder in an area they know well from the past such as the community in which they were raised. Over time, serial murderers may extend their activities outside of their comfort zone but only after building their confidence by executing several successful murders while avoiding detection by law enforcement authorities.

As noted by the FBI in its 2005 report on serial murder, the crime data reveal that very few serial predators actually travel interstate to kill. The few serial killers who do typically fall into one of three categories: 1) They are itinerant individuals who periodically move from place to place, 2) they are chronically homeless individuals who live transiently, or 3) they are individuals, such as truck drivers or those in the military service, whose job function lends itself to interstate or transnational travel. The major difference between these individuals who kill serially and other serial murderers is the nature of their traveling lifestyle, which provides them with many zones of comfort in which to operate. Most serial killers do not have such opportunities to travel, and therefore keep their killings close to home.

Myth #5: All Serial Killers Are Either Mentally Ill or Evil Geniuses.

Reality:
The images presented in the news and entertainment media suggest that serial killers either have a debilitating mental illness such as psychosis or they are brilliant but demented geniuses like Dr. Hannibal Lecter. Neither of these two stereotypes is quite accurate. Instead, serial killers are much more likely to exhibit antisocial personality disorders such as sociopathy or psychopathy, which are not considered to be mental illnesses by the American Psychiatric Association (APA). An examination of psychopathy and sociopathy, and an in-depth discussion of the powerful connection between antisocial personality disorders and serial homicide, is presented in chapter 4.

In fact, very few serial killers suffer from any mental illness to such a debilitating extent that they are considered to be insane by the criminal justice system. To be classified as legally insane, an individual must be unable to comprehend that an action is against the law at the exact moment the action is undertaken. In other words, a serial killer must be unaware that murder is legally wrong while committing the act of murder in order to be considered legally insane. This legal categorization of
insanity is so stringent and narrow that very few serial killers are actually included in it.

Psychopathic serial killers such as John Wayne Gacy and Dennis Rader were entirely aware of the illegality of murder while they were killing their victims. Their understanding of right and wrong did nothing to impede their crimes, however, because psychopaths such as Gacy and Rader have an overwhelming desire and compulsion to kill that causes them to ignore the criminal law with impunity. When they are apprehended, serial killers rarely are determined to be mentally incompetent to stand trial, and their lawyers rarely utilize an insanity defense on their behalf. Once again, this is due to the extremely narrow legal definition of insanity which simply does not apply to most psychopathic killers. Even David Berkowitz, the infamous Son of Sam, who told his captors tales of satanic rituals and demonic possession, was found to be competent to stand trial for his murders following his arrest in 1977.

Considerable mythology also surrounds the intelligence of serial killers. There is a popular culture stereotype that serial killers are cunning, criminal geniuses. This stereotype is heavily promoted by the entertainment media in television, books and films. In particular, Hollywood has established a number of brilliant homicidal maniacs like John Doe in the acclaimed 1995 film
Se7en.
John Doe personifies the stereotype of the evil genius serial killer who outsmarts law enforcement authorities, avoids justice, and succeeds in his diabolical plan. The image of the evil genius serial killer is mostly a Hollywood invention. Real serial killers generally do not possess unique or exceptional intellectual skills. The reality is that most serial killers who have had their IQ tested score between borderline and above average intelligence. This is very consistent with the general population. Contrary to mythology, it is not high intelligence that makes serial killers successful. Instead, it is obsession, meticulous planning, and a cold-blooded, often psychopathic personality that enable serial killers to operate over long periods of time without detection.

Myth #6: All Serial Killers Must Keep On Killing.

Reality:
Another common myth is that once serial killers start killing, they simply cannot stop. Although this claim may seem reasonable, it is simply inaccurate. There are serial killers who stop
murdering altogether before ever being caught. In such instances, there are events or circumstances that occur in the offenders’ lives that inhibit them from continuing a life of murder. These events can include an increased participation in family life, a substitute for sexual gratification, or some other diversion. For example, Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer, confessed to murdering ten victims between 1974 and 1991. There is no evidence that he killed anyone from 1992 until his capture in 2005. In our correspondence, Rader has admitted to engaging in autoerotic activities as a substitute for murder in order to satisfy his sexual desires between killings. In another example, Jeffrey Gorton killed his first victim in 1986 and his next victim five years later in 1991. He never killed again and was finally captured in 2002. To satisfy his desires when he wasn’t killing, Gorton said that he engaged in cross-dressing, masturbatory activities, and consensual sex with his wife. Also, Jack the Ripper and the Zodiac Killer were never apprehended but their legendary killing sprees ended abruptly and mysteriously. Contrary to mythology, not all serial killers are compelled to kill forever once they start.