Page 1 of 2
Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2010 3:23 pm
by Leisher
Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2010 4:18 pm
by GORDON
I've read that feet are often severed in plane crashes, and crashes at sea have feet washing up on shore... but I haven't heard of any plane crashes, lately.
Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2010 4:31 pm
by Malcolm
Serial killers stupid enough to leave calling cards (severed feet, whatever) usually get caught nowadays.
Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2010 4:43 pm
by Leisher
If you read the whole article this has been going on for a while now. Lots more washing up in Canada.
Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2010 8:35 pm
by Malcolm
It reminds of the scene from "Home Alone"
...
"And thanks to the kitchen sinks you plugged up, we know all the houses you robbed."
It's like asking to be caught.
Posted: Wed Dec 15, 2010 11:42 pm
by Leisher
That's what they do though. Trophies and MO rarely deviate for most serial killers.
Why? I don't know. I've seen people say they want to get caught. I've seen others claim they do it because they don't think they'll ever be caught.
Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 2:40 am
by Malcolm
Maybe they're not quite as bright as they think/want to be. Maybe they're reckless. Maybe they're just fucked in the head.
Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 9:23 am
by Leisher
Maybe they're not quite as bright as they think/want to be.
No, they're smart. Not all, of course, but generally speaking serial killers are smart people.
Maybe they're just fucked in the head.
That's obvious.
Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 9:29 am
by DoctorChaos
It's a compulsion. They really can't help it. Almost like ocd.
Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 12:15 pm
by Malcolm
No, they're smart. Not all, of course, but generally speaking serial killers are smart people.
Eh, they're smarter than 90% of the population, usually given lots of planning time and the element of surprise. That still leaves lots of room to get busted by people with enough information and resources.
It's a compulsion. They really can't help it.
Hence why they get caught. Jack the Ripper's ass would've been arrested today.
Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 3:34 pm
by Leisher
Jack the Ripper's ass would've been arrested today.
Not necessarily. Him with his MO? Probably. A simple stakeout would have caught him.
However, there are serial killers around the world active right now that haven't been caught. More then you would think too.
Will they be caught? Who knows. Most will, but there are serial killers who get away with it. The Phantom Killer and the Zodiac Killer are probably two of the most famous examples.
They're very difficult to catch due to the lack of motive. Think about it, take a large group of people and put them into a community. Insert a murder. You know who was killed, but how do you find the killer unless you know the "Why"?
Their MO is the key. As Chaos points out, its a compulsion. That MO or ritual usually leads to their capture based on time, dates, victim type, locations, equipment used, etc. Something is broken down into a traceable pattern.
However, what if you had a serial killer with a changing MO? Now you not only don't know why someone was killed, but you might not realize their death is related to numerous others.
Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 4:00 pm
by Malcolm
However, what if you had a serial killer with a changing MO? Now you not only don't know why someone was killed, but you might not realize their death is related to numerous others.
People who change their MO are killing for practical purposes, normally. The OCDness is what separates true psychos from professionals. If you're killing people and leaving a calling card, on some level, you want notoriety. People with that kind of ego typically can't stand working completely anonymously, which leads to them fucking up.
Most will, but there are serial killers who get away with it. The Phantom Killer and the Zodiac Killer are probably two of the most famous examples.
Yeah, from fifty years plus way back when. Criminology and forensics have taken several quantum leaps forwards since then.
Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 4:40 pm
by Leisher
The question about the serial killer with no MO was a theoretical. There's never been such a beast.
Yeah, from fifty years plus way back when. Criminology and forensics have taken several quantum leaps forwards since then.
First, CSI isn't real. I KNOW you know that, but I'm pointing it out for anyone else reading this thread. The technology they use doesn't work that fast, that accurately, and some of it is theory.
Second, don't assume that just because the technology is there to help identify what a fiber is that it'll lead them to where it was bought, who bought it, why the person was killed, etc. The investigators still need to build the crime scene and find those clues to be examined. They also need a logical link leading them from evidence to certain tests and then to the next thing, whether it be another clue or a suspect.
Third, and this might be the most important piece, these tests aren't free. Yes, that fact hinders investigations.
Now granted, sometimes they might stumble upon a budding serial killer and get lucky like that Dutch Kid and the Craigslist guy, but they aren't 100% sure they got them after their first kill. Also, how many women did that guy in Cleveland kill before he was caught earlier this year?
Keep in mind that a lot of times there's no evidence of a crime, just a missing person. What do you use forensics on there? Point being is that until Tom Cruise hunts us down before we even plan the crime there will be people out there getting away with murder.
Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 5:29 pm
by TPRJones
Leisher wrote:The question about the serial killer with no MO was a theoretical. There's never been such a beast.
How would you know?
There probably has been, several even, but with nothing to link the killings together only they themselves would know about it.
Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 6:01 pm
by GORDON
Is Wolverine a serial killer, or mass murderer?
Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 6:49 pm
by TPRJones
Mass murderer, to qualify as a serial killer he'd have to be more subtle and secret and (usually) work alone.
Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 8:28 pm
by unkbill
Leisher wrote:Third, and this might be the most important piece, these tests aren't free. Yes, that fact hinders investigations.
I believe someone wrote a book that if you wanted to commit murder do it in the poorest rural county you can find and buy the best attorny money can buy.
The county has no resources or money to have a large trial. And if you can just come up with a hung jury they can't afford a second trial. Of course some would say OJ did it in LA.
I think they should look for an Al Bundy type with a foot fetish.
Posted: Thu Dec 16, 2010 9:47 pm
by Leisher
How would you know?
There probably has been, several even, but with nothing to link the killings together only they themselves would know about it.
That's actually a good point. How do we know? Can randomness be an MO?
Obviously, up to this point all known serial killers have been identifiable by their MO.
How would you ever catch this person, and even if you did, would it only be for a single murder?
The white whale!
Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 10:27 am
by unkbill
Leisher wrote:There probably has been, several even, but with nothing to link the killings together only they themselves would know about it.
That's actually a good point. How do we know? Can randomness be an MO?
Obviously, up to this point all known serial killers have been identifiable by their MO.
How would you ever catch this person, and even if you did, would it only be for a single murder?[/quote]
On a few murders yes. But the more something is randomized the more there is a pattern. Lets see I killed someone on the North side of town then the South now I will go to the East. What next the West? You could mix it up but sooner or later it isn't random.
Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 10:50 am
by DoctorChaos
It's simpler than that. There has to be opportunity. For instance, there is a high statistical correlation with serial killers hunting within their own ethnicity. Why? Because a white guy in a predominantly black neighborhood sticks out like a sore thumb. And while we are on statistics, given a growing number of victims, a pattern has to emerge, as unk pointed out. I would think behavior would give away even the most random and careful killer.
I read a book by the guy that invented profiling and it is really fascinating what they can predict. In the Atlanta child murders, he had the make and color of the killer's car picked out correctly.