Do serial killers typically plan their attacks?
Sexually sadistic serial killers tend to be the major planners as they want to spend a long time with their victims. They need a secure location, tools, and a good amount of time to enjoy themselves. Anger retaliatory and power type serial killers often just start thinking that raping and murdering a girl tonight might be a good evening activity, or, hey, that one over there, looks pretty good right now. They are more impulsive and driven by downturns and frustrations in their lives.
Are the majority of serial killers mentally ill?
No, almost 100% of them are psychopaths. They know what they are doing and why they are doing it. Now, we may think their reasons for committing their heinous acts makes them mentally ill (in the sense that mentally healthy people don’t need to do these kinds of things), but, they are not detached from reality and in a court of law they are considered sane.
Why does it take a number of victims for police to finally name a suspect? Are serial killers that good at cleaning up crime scenes?
Police do not like to admit there is a serial killer loose in the community. First of all, the politicians and business people don’t like all that bad publicity, and, secondly, the police don’t like the pressure of having the citizens breathing down their necks to solve these very difficult cases. Finally, a lot of police don’t really understand that any time you find a naked, raped, and strangled woman in the bushes, you have a serial killer in town. No one but a serial killer does this kind of thing to others and even if this is the first time he has committed such a crime, it won’t be his last. This is like saying a man with a downloaded photo of a four-year being sexually assaulted isn’t really a pedophile and that he probably won’t do it again. As far as how good serial killers are at eliminating evidence, they actually are pretty lousy. But, since they are usually strangers, the police rarely beat a path to their door and find evidence from the victim and if the killer leaves evidence on the victim, unless he is in the DNA bank (which is actually helping get these guys put away on occasion), he will not be identified. If the police don’t nab him the first time he commits a serial homicide, then he tends to get smarter about how he handles the crime scenes. He will then be very hard to catch. Only when he gets overconfident and careless, will he start to do stupid stuff that may do him in.
Do serial killers usually choose their victims at random?
They picked convenient ones that come in easy-to-handle bodies. Sometimes they will troll on the Internet or at a bar or on the strip waiting for a window of opportunity (no witnesses) and a gullible or defenseless victim. Big strong women and big strong men are rarely targets. This is one reason plus-size women are never victims and there is no Smiley Face Gang of killers drowning athletic college boys all over Minnesota, Wisconsin, etc.
What serial killers have you interviewed?
I do not interview serial killers in prison. I don’t like to give them the time of day and I don’t think they have anything to teach us (we have interviewed enough of them).
In your opinion, who is/was the most dangerous serial killer?
The one that hasn’t been caught and the one who nobody even realizes is committing serial homicides (because the police haven’t labeled them as such). The unrecognized serial killer has a feeling of invisibility, superiority, and invincibility. This means he will kill again and again until he dies or gets bored or law enforcement can no longer ignore the body count.
Do you think Dennis Rader (“BTK”) gave the public a different view of a serial killer?
Well, he certainly was cold and creepy and made people shudder when he gave his statement in court. I think the most illuminating part for most people was the way he talked about the crime as if he were talking about a visit to the museum, so matter-of-factly. As I do not believe Dennis Rader committed all of the crimes he confessed to (I believe the prosecution gave him a deal to claim all the BTK labeled killings), the public may actually have a rather skewed idea of what he did and did not do. Of course, this is true any time a serial killer opens his mouth. They are pathological liars and will tell whatever story gives them the best results.
Where can readers purchase your book?
Amazon.com or a bookstore in your neighborhood.
