http://thoughtcatalog.com/jay-roberts/2013/10/i-met-a-convicted-serial-killer/
Spectacularly written account of a pleasant afternoon spent with Randy Kraft.
― Plasmon, Wednesday, 30 October 2013 05:15 (ten years ago) link
wow @ that essay. i had to look up randy kraft but he was a real piece of work.
― ryan, Wednesday, 30 October 2013 05:49 (ten years ago) link
crazy stuff
― Me & Mahomies (Spottie_Ottie_Dope), Wednesday, 30 October 2013 06:35 (ten years ago) link
Wow. The comments are actually good, too.
― carl agatha, Wednesday, 30 October 2013 12:58 (ten years ago) link
Yeah, and the author also shows up in the Metafilter thread.
― Plasmon, Wednesday, 30 October 2013 13:54 (ten years ago) link
This was very good. Thank you for sharing it, Plasmon.
― c21m50nh3x460n, Wednesday, 30 October 2013 16:36 (ten years ago) link
Kraft is such a type too--it's almost strange how genuine psychos like that follow such a predictable pattern of behavior. probably mentioned this upthread, but one thing the author says in Hunting Humans (mentioned a lot upthread) that has stayed with me is that people don't just "go crazy," they go crazy in socially proscribed and predictable ways.
i've often wondered (i obviously think about this stuff too much) if the murders are just a by-product of the other urges...that killing someone is just a logical extension of all the other things they want to do--either because those things happen to cause death or they want to eliminate the witness. anyway, not something i can or want to delve into deeply.
― ryan, Wednesday, 30 October 2013 16:41 (ten years ago) link
cool article.
― will.i.an (cajunsunday), Wednesday, 30 October 2013 17:04 (ten years ago) link
serial killers don't really seem to be a "thing" any more.
― Ayn Rand Akbar (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 30 October 2013 17:18 (ten years ago) link
like, they feel more like a medai myth/cliche at this point.
the shift to mass murder killing sprees seem to be the result of a different kind of psychosis
― Ayn Rand Akbar (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 30 October 2013 17:19 (ten years ago) link
the interesting thing about the (maybe dubious) thesis of Hunting Humans that serial killing is a kind of social performance in addition to a private fetish, that in the boston strangler's words it was about "getting one over on those people," (this is why he thinks that many of them have to get caught to "complete" the act) is that the mass shooting type of thing does seem to issue from similar impulses. if anything it ratchets up the "performance" angles and seizes attention that few other things do in a distracted mass media environment.
― ryan, Wednesday, 30 October 2013 17:25 (ten years ago) link
yeah, but the killing one person at a time, the fixation on the particular victim and (a lot of times) the victim's particular traits, not to mention the sexualization of it - this seems very different from the "I'm gonna kill as many random people as possible" motive
― Ayn Rand Akbar (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 30 October 2013 17:27 (ten years ago) link
it's true there are important differences. most obviously the psychosexual element (or maybe a freudian would disagree!). not to mention that serial killers are probably way more common. what's that old canard about 100s being active at any one time?
the overlap, i think, involves the selection of a very controlled set of circumstances and victims. shootings, for instance, always seem to take place in a very specific location for the perpetrator.
― ryan, Wednesday, 30 October 2013 17:32 (ten years ago) link
not to mention that serial killers are probably way more common.
that doesn't seem to be the case at all, which is what I was getting at. I can't remember the last high profile serial killer case that got any attention, and yet there is a mass shooting (or attempted mass shooting) like once a month now
― Ayn Rand Akbar (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 30 October 2013 17:37 (ten years ago) link
either serial killers are too good now & don't get caught or the cops are too good & catch them before they get very serial
― Eyeball Kicks, Wednesday, 30 October 2013 17:42 (ten years ago) link
cops not really good at motive-less crimes, I think we can rule out the latter
― Ayn Rand Akbar (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 30 October 2013 17:53 (ten years ago) link
i think in a true statistical sense they have always been quite rare. but i do think that sort of thing definitely still goes on--more likely in rural areas.
― ryan, Wednesday, 30 October 2013 17:56 (ten years ago) link
some recent American oneshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Keyeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_Island_serial_killerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Cullenhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grim_Sleeperhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Sowell
John Douglas says "A very conservative estimate is that there are between 35-50 active serial killers in the United States"
― Number None, Wednesday, 30 October 2013 18:12 (ten years ago) link
Hasn't been one in the UK for a while
― Thomas K Amphong (Tom D.), Wednesday, 30 October 2013 18:15 (ten years ago) link
So nice that we had Anthony Sowell and Ariel Castro active in the same city at the same time WHAT UP CLEVELAND?
― Dave Froglets (Phil D.), Wednesday, 30 October 2013 18:17 (ten years ago) link
long island serial killer was mentioned in a throwaway line in a recent nyer piece on online prostitution which was jarring
i've seen articles claiming that serial murders have been on the decline since 1990 although the data is p hazy. you can tease out a bunch of different conclusions from the general trend but its certainly true that the media/public arent as interested in serial killers. interesting to think about i guess, change in social fears post-9/11, cultural immediacy, the way violence is expressed
― Lamp, Wednesday, 30 October 2013 18:17 (ten years ago) link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bradford_murders
― Lamp, Wednesday, 30 October 2013 18:19 (ten years ago) link
change in social fears post-9/11, cultural immediacy, the way violence is expressed
I think this is totally true (see also how horror movies changed in that time). but yeah I dunno if its just cuz we don't care about it anymore and the prospect of mass death is so much more frightening/palpable than being randomly kidnapped and murdered, or if its because there really are just fewer serial killers
― Ayn Rand Akbar (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 30 October 2013 18:21 (ten years ago) link
it's possible a lot serial killers are also caught earlier due to better technology available to law enforcement. Before they actualize their serial killer goal.
― christmas candy bar (al leong), Wednesday, 30 October 2013 18:29 (ten years ago) link
you guys watch too many CSI episoes
― Ayn Rand Akbar (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 30 October 2013 18:30 (ten years ago) link
I think he could be right though
― Thomas K Amphong (Tom D.), Wednesday, 30 October 2013 18:30 (ten years ago) link
I liked the one where a guy was id'ed as a killer because his victim's aids blood splashed into his eyes, infecting him with HIV. Or as Jorja Fox noted, "she killed you right back."
Executive ProducerJerry Bruckheimer
― christmas candy bar (al leong), Wednesday, 30 October 2013 18:33 (ten years ago) link
i agree that law enforcement is better and that makes a difference. particularly in bigger cities with more potential for surveillance. one thing you notice about a lot of the more famous serial killer is how often they had brushes with the law that got lost in the shuffle. kraft among them! there's certainly been a lot of work done in regards to identifying these types that probably wasnt in place 30-40 years ago.
― ryan, Wednesday, 30 October 2013 18:35 (ten years ago) link
it is true that every crime scene these days is covered in semen
― Ayn Rand Akbar (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 30 October 2013 18:35 (ten years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7C3RrvZMx-M
― Number None, Wednesday, 30 October 2013 18:42 (ten years ago) link
Agents Day Morris and Barnard Marcus are marketing the flat but with no mention of its history. Richard Evans, from Day Morris, said he had not known he was selling Nilsen’s former home, adding: “In that case I've under-priced it. No, but seriously, we were unaware. I don’t see the importance of it — something that happened 25, 30 years ago.”
He called it a “very sweet” property: “It is a very nice top-floor flat with glorious views. It is ideal for one person.”
Barnard Marcus describes it as having “the added benefit of balcony giving panoramic views” and says: “Internal inspection highly recommended.” Branch manager Maxine Casey said they would “let people know” of the property’s history during viewings as “it would be worth mentioning”.
http://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/serial-killer-dennis-nilsens-flat-goes-on-sale-for-100k-profit-after-a-swift-makeover-9154198.html
― Joyeux animaux de la misère (nakhchivan), Thursday, 27 February 2014 01:28 (ten years ago) link
Thought this revive would have something to do with the new craigslist killer.
― how's life, Thursday, 27 February 2014 12:41 (ten years ago) link
I stumbled into this MetaFilter thread on the death of Loretta Saunders and the hundreds of missing and murdered Canadian Aboriginal women. Saunders story is tragic, but the full details of just what's happening is grim.
Audio interview here: http://podcast.cbc.ca/mp3/podcasts/current_20140219_18949.mp3
― Elvis Telecom, Friday, 28 February 2014 07:59 (ten years ago) link
More: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/craig-and-marc-kielburger/aboriginal-women_b_4638968.html
At the core of Pearce's work is her database. She has meticulously documented 3,329 missing and murdered aboriginal and non-aboriginal women using public sources like newspaper articles, web sites, public police files, and missing person posters. Some of the cases date back to the 1950s, but the overwhelming majority are from 1990 to 2013.Where possible, Pearce also recorded the ethnicity of the victim. She discovered another risk factor: simply being an aboriginal woman. Of all the missing and murdered women in the database, 24.8 per cent are aboriginal, even though aboriginal women make up only about two per cent of the Canadian population.
Where possible, Pearce also recorded the ethnicity of the victim. She discovered another risk factor: simply being an aboriginal woman. Of all the missing and murdered women in the database, 24.8 per cent are aboriginal, even though aboriginal women make up only about two per cent of the Canadian population.
― Elvis Telecom, Friday, 28 February 2014 08:01 (ten years ago) link
this is a really good read (book excerpt):
http://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/murders-in-the-night/#disqus_thread
― ryan, Saturday, 9 April 2016 23:43 (eight years ago) link
try this instead: http://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/murders-in-the-night/
Destroy: Ted Cruz (aka Zodiac killer). He should have stayed away from politics.
― a little too mature to be cute (Aimless), Saturday, 9 April 2016 23:55 (eight years ago) link
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/cannibal-couple-eat-30-people-russia-dmitry-baksheev-natalia-military-aviation-academy-krasnodar-a7967216.html
Huge cannibalism case broke open in Russia yesterday.
― how's life, Tuesday, 26 September 2017 15:30 (seven years ago) link
j f c
― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Tuesday, 26 September 2017 15:34 (seven years ago) link
Yep, it is completely nuts. They think he started when he was fifteen or sixteen and don't really know how many people they could have killed over the last twenty years.
― Wag1 Shree Rajneesh (ShariVari), Tuesday, 26 September 2017 15:36 (seven years ago) link
jesus
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 26 September 2017 16:24 (seven years ago) link
Awful. Seminole Heights is about five miles away from where I live.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/serial-killer-seminole-heights-tampa-florida/
― Rod Steel (musicfanatic), Saturday, 21 October 2017 21:04 (six years ago) link
Ongoing story up here; if guilty, one of the oldest (66) serial killers ever.
http://torontosun.com/news/local-news/mcarthur-accused-serial-killer-ranks-with-gacy-dahmer
― clemenza, Thursday, 1 February 2018 00:41 (six years ago) link
Yes, I was reading about him last week.
I might have mentioned this somewhere else on ILX but when I lived in London, I worked with a woman who had worked with Dennis Nilsen at a Jobcentre during the time of his arrest. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Nilsen Worse? She'd been at a dinner at his house. O_O
― Benson and the Jets (ENBB), Thursday, 1 February 2018 18:51 (six years ago) link
Detectives believe Gacy — a Democratic Party mover who often dressed as a clown — was responsible for more than 30 slayings.
thanks, Toronto Sun
― omar little, Thursday, 1 February 2018 18:53 (six years ago) link
Ya. Clemz should have probably found a different source than that shit stain of a tabloid.
― Mad Piratical (The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall), Thursday, 1 February 2018 19:05 (six years ago) link
Paul Bernardo, basically Canada's Charles Manson in terms of notoriety (and even sicker, if anything), was happily denied parole last week. Disagree with this editorial--I don't see him ever getting out, although his female accomplice did, as part of a plea, 13 years ago.
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/2018/10/18/face-it-schoolgirl-killer-paul-bernardo-will-probably-be-free-one-day.html
― clemenza, Monday, 22 October 2018 00:07 (five years ago) link
agree
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 22 October 2018 00:22 (five years ago) link
Ian Brady is the most obvious comparison surely? And yeah it's remarkable that Karla Homolka is out and remarried with three children and a new name. Compared to how Myra Hyndley was treated.
― everything, Monday, 22 October 2018 00:49 (five years ago) link
yeah def a strong Brady vibe
― Squeaky Fromage (VegemiteGrrl), Monday, 22 October 2018 01:14 (five years ago) link