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This pathfinder is intended for use in a grade 11-12 Forensic Sciences course. Mr. Kolesar and Mr. Rogers both teach this course at Davies High School. During the course, students conduct research related to a serial killer of their choice. Their findings are shared through an essay and visual presentation to their peers. This tool will focus on solidifying foundational interaction and knowledge with basic Forensic Science skills they’ve been learning throughout the semester. Additionally, students will develop their reference and inquiry skills as well as informative writing skills specific to this unit project. Many of the items in this pathfinder are available online, but select items are only available at Davies High School. Materials specific to Davies will be marked in the annotation.

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Serial Killer Research Project - Assignment Sheet

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Serial Killer Research Project - Assignment Sheet

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This assignment sheet will help guide your research, writing, and presentation process! Requirements and rubric along with the list of serial killers are in here.

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Starting Text: "The Social Study of Serial Killers" by Haggerty and Ellerbrok

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Starting Text: "The Social Study of Serial Killers" by Haggerty and Ellerbrok

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Here's one of the starting texts from the beginning of the unit. Feel free to return to this document when needed!

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The Social Study of Serial Killers by Haggerty and Ellerbrok

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Starting Text: "What makes a serial killer?"

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Starting Text: "What makes a serial killer?"

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Here's the other text you read at the start of the unit! This can be a great reference to connect general concepts from class to the specific information in your research.

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anadian police have announced the discovery of more human remains on a property frequented by Bruce McArthur, an alleged serial killer believed to have murdered at least eight men in Toronto's gay community. A self-employed landscaper, McArthur allegedly buried the remains of some victims in flower planters. Most of his victims, all gay men, were recent immigrants of south Asian or Middle Eastern background. LGBT activists have accused the Toronto police of failing to take seriously years of reports of disappearances in the Toronto gay village.

The Guardian spoke with Peter Vronsky, a historian and journalist based in Toronto and the author of several books studying the history and psychopathology of serial killers. His latest, Sons of Cain: A History of Serial Killers from the Stone Age to the Present, will be released 14 August in the US and Canada and 16 August in the UK.

The book explores how our understandings of serial killers - called "monsters" before the advent of modern psychology - have changed over time, and considers answers to a difficult question: what, exactly, "makes" a serial killer?

John Wayne Gacy, who was responsible for 33 murders. Photograph: Tim Boyle/Getty Images

One of the oldest questions in criminology - and, for that matter, philosophy, law, theology - is whether criminals are born or made. Are serial killers a product of nature (genetics) or nurture (environmental factors)?
We don't quite know. Nothing has been isolated.

My basic argument is that it is intrinsic to the human survival mechanism that we have this capacity to repeatedly kill. Killers are anachronisms whose primal instincts are not being moderated by the more intellectual parts of our brain.

Perhaps it's not that serial killers are made, but that the majority of us are unmade, by good parenting and socialization. What remains behind is these un-fully-socialized beings with this capacity to attack and kill. And often that capacity is grafted onto a sexual impulse - aggression sexualized at puberty.

Many serial killers are survivors of early childhood trauma of some kind - physical or sexual abuse, family dysfunction, emotionally distant or absent parents. Trauma is the single recurring theme in the biographies of most killers.
Are there any cases of serial killers who had well-adjusted childhoods?
Most serial killer biographies are self-reported, so you are relying on what they tell you. That being said, there do seem to be some examples. Ted Bundy is a classic one. No one has really found any evidence of "trauma" in his childhood, in the dramatic, traditional sense. He did, however, grow up believing that his mother was his sister.

Mugshot of murder suspect Ted Bundy, 1980. Photograph: AP

We had a killer here in Canada who was the commander of an air force base. He was flying the equivalent of Air Force One - flying around the prime minister, visiting dignitaries - then suddenly in his 40s, a colonel, he commits two sexual homicides. He is a mystery. There is nothing in his childhood to explain his behavior. There is also the strangeness of the late age at which he started.

I am currently studying a serial killer called Richard Cottingham. I talked to him in prison last month. He comes from a nuclear family ... the father was there, the mother was there, and there is no clear history of trauma or abuse. It could be that there is something but he doesn't want to admit it. I really don't know.

But there is nothing in his past that obviously parallels the early lives of, say, Charles Manson or Henry Lee Lucas. When you read these killers' biographies it is no surprise they turned into what they did.
If killers are the products of childhood trauma, or underdeveloped brains, are they still "responsible" for their actions?
It's true that almost all serial killers suffered childhood trauma. But here's the problem: if 100 kids grow up in an abusive foster home, and one turns out to be a serial killer - what about the other 99? They grew up to be, well, maybe not all well-adjusted citizens, but certainly not serial killers. What is the missing X factor?

My sense is responsibility falls on the offender here. Serial killers choose to act on their compulsions.

During the first big wave of celebrity serial killers in the 1960s and 1970s, some defense lawyers tried to argue in court that serial killers are not guilty by reason of insanity, because an irresistible compulsion to kill is a form of temporary insanity. The legal definition of insanity is an inability to distinguish right from wrong and an inability to understand the consequences of an action. But serial killers are very aware of what they're doing. That's why they disguise themselves, hide evidence, leave the scene of the crime.

One can make the argument that serial killers suffer from psychopathy, that because they are psychopaths they have no sense of remorse or empathy and their decision-making process is faulty. Interestingly, however, not all serial killers are psychopaths, according to the Hare test, a psychiatric diagnostic - or at least don't test as such.
What exactly is psychopathy?
The number one trait of a psychopath is a lack of empathy. Others are a tendency to lie, a need for thrills - psychopaths become bored very quickly - and narcissism. But the lack of empathy is the biggest thing.

One common explanation is that psychopaths experience some kind of trauma in early childhood - perhaps as early as their infant state - and as a consequence suppress their emotional response. They never learn the appropriate responses to trauma, and never develop other emotions, which is why they find it difficult to empathize with others.

They grow up not knowing how to "feel", and learn instead how to manifest what they think are emotions or the correct appearances of emotion. They know the "mask" they should wear.
What do you make of Bruce McArthur, the alleged Toronto gay village killer arrested earlier this year?
In the case of serial killers, that's why there are individuals who can raise a family, be what most people would consider a good spouse and parent, and at the same time have secret second lives where they go out and kill strangers. They can compartmentalize.

Bruce McArthur is interesting because he was apprehended at such a late age. He is way beyond the statistical norm for when serial killers first kill - so either he has been killing for decades, and we have not yet identified his earlier victims, or he is some kind of new breed of serial killer; an evolution in that phenomenon - someone who kills very late in their life when most serial killers have already begun "retiring" because their testosterone is declining.
How common are same-sex serial killers?
If McArthur has been committing crimes since the 1970s or 1980s then this is going to be an extremely difficult investigation. Currently law enforcement are looking at his dating apps for evidence and to link him to more possible victims. But they didn't have that kind of stuff then.

There have been dozens of gay serial killers. Probably the most notorious were John Wayne Gacy and Jeffrey Dahmer. So that alone is not unusual.

There is obviously a lot less stigma about being gay today than there was in the 1960s or 1970s or even 1980s. Then, gay serial killers were sometimes more effective because both they and their victims were living a secret double life. They were already kind of acclimatized to surreptitious behavior - covering up what they are.
What about female serial killers?
Closeted people are still particularly susceptible to victimization by predators. If there are no witnesses or confidantes - family members and so on - able to link your disappearance to the killer, that gives the killer an advantage.

Roughly one in every five to six serial killers are female. There are significant differences in their psychopathology from male killers.

Aileen Wuornos at her trial in Florida, 1992. Photograph: Sipa Press/REX/Shutterstock

Research on female serial killers is difficult because they are fewer and harder to catch. Female serial killers have less tendency to leave bodies behind. They are quiet killers; they have longer killing careers. They are much better at it.

There is a less sadistic tendency. They tend not to torture their victim and they are less interested in mutilation. But the motivation is similar - the need for control over their victim. It's not sex, it's control, though they may assert it through sexual acts.

Aileen Wuornos is the classic example - a female serial killer in Florida. She worked as a prostitute and would kill her clients. A couple of documentaries have been made about her, and a feature film (Monster, with Charlize Theron). Here was a serial killer motivated by pure rage.
Is it true, as some have suggested, that serial killing is now on the decline? Or is it just less reported in the media?
The types of predation in which female serial killers engage are often an extension or perversion of gender roles. For example, the expectation that women are in nurturing roles, caring roles. You have a category of female serial killers with Munchausen syndrome by proxy - mothers killing children, nurses killing patients.

You know, it appears that we're arresting and apprehending less serial killers, and when we do apprehend them they have a much smaller victim list, per killer. So yes, there seems to be a decline in American serial killing. Either there are less serial killers or we have gotten better at catching them earlier.
Do you know of any examples of serial killers who have expressed remorse?
We have had huge breakthroughs in forensic technology, especially DNA science. Many of the serial killers who were arrested in the 1990s and 2000s were arrested for crimes committed earlier.
It seems like the more research there is on serial killers, the more we realize how little we know.
Sort of. They may reach an age where they think "I should be making amends". They may not feel it, but they think that they "ought" to. I know of an example of a guy who in several decades had only given one interview. He was approached by the daughter of one of his victims, and he completely opened up to her.

We are floundering. We are floundering in masses of information but very little knowledge coming out of that information. We seem to know less about serial killers now than we thought we did 20 years ago. We are only now realizing how little we know. That's partly because the more serial killer case studies we aggregate, the less clear the patterns become. We are starting to see all these anomalies.
This transcript has been edited and condensed for clarity.
As we as a society become more scientific and less philosophical it becomes more difficult for us to explain this kind of abnormal behavior. All that is left is the very human definition: evil. But what is that? It is not a term that can be tested or duplicated in the scientific sphere. It was easier when we just thought of them as monsters.

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anadian police have announced the discovery of more human remains on a property frequented by Bruce McArthur, an alleged serial killer believed to have murdered at least eight men in Toronto's gay community. A self-employed landscaper, McArthur allegedly buried the remains of some victims in flower planters.

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Full Text: "Serial Murder - Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for Investigators" by the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit

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Full Text: "Serial Murder - Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives for Investigators" by the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit

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Extra, extra: read all about it! Fascinated by the study of serial killers and interesting in joining the field of forensics and investigations? This book, published by the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, goes through the different perspectives and investigative techniques the professionals use.

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Serial Murder - Multi-disciplinary Perspectives for Investigators by the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit and National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime

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Wondering more about why many people have a morbid curiousity for killers? This article from Pscyhology Today is a great further read to get additional context and details behind the public and media fascination with some of history's worst inidividuals.

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Key points

Like other animals, humans have evolved strategies for avoiding predators. These apply to predatory people as well.

Many animals, including humans, take advantage of safe opportunities to learn about predators' behaviors and motivational states.

Thanks to our ability to imagine and mentally simulate events, humans have many opportunities to learn about serial killers in a safe setting.

A recent Twitter thread about our fascination with serial killers stirred up some buzz. Most people will say they despise serial killers and don't want to glorify them, yet they will often find themselves struggling to avoid the newest true- crime podcast or documentary. Some of the most listened-to podcasts, most-read books, and most-watched TV shows are about murderous men. This may leave some wondering-what is the psychology behind this strange behavior?

Our fascination with serial killers is part of a broader tendency that humans have to be intrigued by dangerous situations. I've been conducting research on a phenomenon I call morbid curiosity, which refers to the tendency to seek out information about dangerous circumstances. As part of this research, I've developed the Morbid Curiosity Test, which measures how morbidly curious an individual is and the types of things they are morbidly curious about. I've found that morbid curiosity tends to fall into four domains: supernatural danger, body violations, violence, and the minds of dangerous people. Our fascination with serial killers falls within the latter two domains, especially the minds of dangerous people.

To better understand our fascination with serial killers, we first need to understand our evolutionary relationship with predators. Effectively avoiding a predator is an essential skill for most animals. However, predators aren't always looking for a meal. If a predator isn't hungry, it's not in the predator's best interest to chase after prey. Hunting is energetically costly, it isn't always successful, and food can't be safely and easily stored after it's caught.

Prey often live in close proximity to their predators. But, because the predators aren't always hungry or hunting, it is in the prey's best interest to be able to identify when a predator is hungry or actively hunting. One way to learn when the predator is hunting is to inspect the predator from a distance. This allows the prey to learn more about how the predator looks, what its habits are, and its current motivational state. This behavior, called predator inspection, is common in nature, especially among subadults.

If a zebra, gazelle, or wildebeest always ran when they saw a lion or cheetah, they would exhaust themselves. This would put them in even greater danger of being preyed upon. Instead, these animals pay close attention to predators and learn how to identify them and their motives. It's a risky tactic to inspect a predator in the wild. But, over the course of evolutionary time, this risk has paid off when it's done under the right circumstances.

Learning about predators is just as important for humans as it is for other animals, and this was especially true over evolutionary time. While our risk of being preyed upon today by lions and cheetahs is relatively low, we still face the risk of being preyed upon by dangerous people. Our minds deal with dangerous people like they do with other dangerous predators: We try to learn about them when it is safe to do so because this helps us know how to more effectively avoid them.

Humans have a uniquely impressive ability to imagine events and experience them through mental simulation. By imagining dangerous situations, humans can generate scenarios where the perceived learning benefit is high, but the cost of learning is low. These low-cost opportunities to observe dangerous situations attract our attention, acting like candy for our anxious minds.

This cost-benefit shift in learning about dangerous situations lies at the core of our morbid curiosity, our love of violent thrillers, and our fascination with serial killers. We thirst for knowledge about the killer. Why does he behave as he does? How does he act around others when he isn't hunting? What are his motivations for selecting his victims? Perhaps most importantly, what are the signs that someone might be a killer? Questions like these intrigue us because they strike at something deep in our animal nature-the need to avoid predation. Our questions are not so different from the zebra's, we just have a clever way of investigating them thanks to our powerful imagination.

If you know something about the motivations and behaviors of serial killers, you're in a better position to identify and avoid them. We are voracious consumers of thrillers, horror, and true crime precisely because these genres provide a safe way to learn about threats. We face no danger of being preyed upon by the serial killer in a true-crime podcast, but we do stand to learn something about him. More importantly, we stand to learn how to identify and understand other dangerous people like him-people we may someday meet.

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Like other animals, humans have evolved strategies for avoiding predators. These apply to predatory people as well. Many animals, including humans, take advantage of safe opportunities to learn about predators' behaviors and motivational states. Thanks to our ability to imagine and mentally simulate events, humans have many opportunities to learn about serial killers in a safe setting.

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Full Text: "Serial Murder - Pathways for Investigations" by the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit

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Full Text: "Serial Murder - Pathways for Investigations" by the FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit

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Another extra book to consider reading from the BAU! This one covers the different pathways an investigation can take, and is a great way to look at the aspects of a true serial killer investigation.

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Serial Murder - Pathways For Investigations by FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit

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Video: "How Investigating a Serial Killer Actually Works"

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Video: "How Investigating a Serial Killer Actually Works"

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We've seen some extra books published from professionals, but let's hear from the professionals themselves! This video interviews a former police detective and investigative reporter for a figurative look behind the crime scene tape.

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How Investigating A Serial Killer Actually Works | How Crime Works | Insider

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Quick Read/Audio: "How to think like a detective"

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Quick Read/Audio: "How to think like a detective"

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This is another professional investigator offering a quick podcast to listen to or article to read! Additionally, this detective offers a mind map organizer to help you keep track of evidence, motives, and more during an investigation. A great resource for those interested in continuing to study forensics!

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Listen to this Guide.

Need to know

A criminal investigation is a complex, multifaceted problem-solving challenge. Detectives must make critical decisions rapidly - sometimes involving life and death, based on limited information in a dynamic environment of active and still-evolving events. Detectives are responsible and empowered under the law to make judgment calls that will dramatically affect the lives of those involved. The stakes are high, the settings are ugly, and there's no room for error.

Detectives are often portrayed as misanthropic masterminds. They seem to possess almost mythical personal gifts that the average person can only dream of. I'm sorry to disappoint you, but this isn't entirely true. Not all detectives are masterminds, and you actually don't need to be a detective to think like one. A few tools and methods can improve your inner detective, help you find facts, and learn to better understand the relationship between them.

Most of us, whether we're highly educated or not, have never actually learnt how to think and make safe judgments under pressure. Yet good thinking is important for every aspect of life. Learning how to think like an expert detective can boost your incisiveness and creativity. It can make you less judgmental and a better listener. Honing your detective-thinking skills could help you solve everyday issues, such as planning the perfect vacation or choosing the best job candidate.

I am a university academic, but I'm also a real-life detective myself - more specifically, I'm a detective chief superintendent at the Norwegian Police University College. I've worked on some of the worst crimes in Norway for 30 years. These days, I spend much of my time teaching police detectives and other investigators how to make safer decisions in serious and complex matters - and I'm going to share some of the basics with you in this Guide.

When I first started as a police officer, none of my fellow detectives, police academy teachers or criminal investigation department bosses were seemingly able, nor interested, in telling me in practical terms how to think like a detective. Instead, they talked about attitude, talent and experience. Most of all, they liked talking about old cases they'd solved. They never spoke about the cases they failed to solve or the next challenge. The most crucial tool of any successful investigator - namely, sharp reasoning skills - was also never mentioned. We were all very keen on formulating mental profiles of offenders. Yet, strangely, the idea of profiling the effective detective was almost taboo. It's as if the ability to think like an expert detective was taken for granted.

In fact, what might at first seem akin to a supernatural gift is mostly a metacognitive skill, which means the ability to think about thinking. Anyone can learn to improve their metacognitive skill, but it doesn't come easily. For most of us, it goes against our instincts. Consider the common cognitive bias known as WYSIATI or 'what you see is all there is', described by the Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman in his book Thinking, Fast and Slow (2011). WYSIATI refers to the fact that we typically make our judgments according to the information we have readily available - no matter how incomplete it is. We find it difficult to appreciate that there are still many things we don't know. Another bias known as 'confirmation bias' compounds WYSIATI, and describes our tendency to seek out more evidence to support our existing beliefs or judgments.

Imagine what happens when you meet someone new. It typically takes less than a second to establish an impression of a complete stranger. Immediately, we decide whether they're empathic and courteous or dominant and hostile, and whether we like them or not. What's more, we do all this based on gut feeling and incomplete information such as facial features, how the person's dressed, or how they talk. When we make everyday decisions, our mind often considers only the first information at hand. Regardless of its quality and quantity, the only thing it tries to do with the information is to build a coherent story. 'He is nice!', 'She is not!' That's it. The story doesn't have to be accurate, complete or reliable; it only has to be coherent for us to feel confident in our judgment.

Making decisions this way is easy, comfortable and intuitive, but unfortunately it also fuels feelings of overconfidence and exaggerated competence. Regardless of our social class or our so-called intelligence, we are all by nature 'cognitive misers' - that is, we have a tendency to solve problems in superficial and effortless ways rather than via more sophisticated and effortful ways. If not addressed deliberately, this overconfidence, and the gap between one's initial ideas and reality (see figure above), can lead even the most trusted experts astray.

As a homicide detective, I began to notice how my more skilled colleagues were different from the others. It wasn't apparent at first. They never spoke loudly nor did they frown at how obvious things were. They didn't voice their opinion any more than others; they didn't jump to conclusions. Rather, they observed, asked questions, and calmly kept on digging. This detached involvement and the ability to keep digging are the main attributes that set expert detectives apart from the rest of the crowd. Hence, not making a decision is the best decision a good investigator can make. For some of us, it will be hard, and it might take some practice. It seems counterintuitive to walk away from a problem you want to solve. Forcing your mind to take a step back is not easy.

However, when you get the hang of this way of thinking, you'll find it helpful in many everyday situations and problems, big or small. For instance, it might help you become less judgmental in social settings, have the patience to acquire more information, and end up a better reader of people. Thinking like a detective will encourage you to continuously analyse any problem until the time is right to start fixing it. When done correctly, over time, your patient approach will also build your trustworthiness and integrity.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that when making any important life decisions where it would be hazardous to jump to conclusions - eg, when buying a new home, hiring a new employee or planning a career move - it's wise to adopt the same detachment and patient approach as used by expert detectives. Keep in mind that your brain will invariably try to convince you that your first impression is right. So, to activate your inner detective, you will have to make a conscious effort to dig deeper into all the available information, and try to do a more systematic and thorough analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of various conclusions before making your decision. In the next section, I'll show you the practical steps involved in applying a detective's mindset to any investigation in your life.

What to do

Step 1: Assume nothing and find out what you really know
To think like an expert detective, you have to embrace a so-called 'investigative mindset'. The terms 'possibly' and 'could' should be your watchwords as they are in every real investigation and at every crime scene. In detective handbooks, this is called the ABC principle:

Assume nothing

Believe nothing

Challenge and check everything

Nothing should be taken for granted or accepted at face value. Expert detectives will always take a sceptical approach to any information or evidence. All stories are possible, until they are not. Always ask yourself 'What do I know?' and 'What do I not know?' Doing this is sometimes very hard, but even just attempting to slow down your otherwise conclusion-jumping brain will prove helpful. Keep reminding yourself: correlation does not imply causation. Hence, the safest way to test any hypothesis is to try to disprove it. Suppose you think your house keys are lost or stolen. In this situation, it might be a good idea to double-check and eliminate all other options before you decide to change your locks. The only true investigative mantra was formulated in 1890 by Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. It goes like this: '[W]hen you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.'

It might sound pretty straightforward, but believe me, it's not. There's a reason why Sherlock Holmes is considered a genius. The hardest thing is to resist our automatic assumptions and deep-seated need for closure.
Step 2: Identify all the possible explanations
In the Sherlock Holmes novels, our titular hero continuously assails Dr Watson, a man of science, about the merits of deductive logic. In fact, strictly speaking, Holmes's favoured logical approach is not deduction, which is reasoning on the basis of known facts, but rather what is known as abductive logic, which is the cognitive process of identifying the best possible explanation for a given set of observations. Abductive reasoning is widely recognised as a powerful mechanism for hypothetical reasoning in the absence of complete knowledge. It's generally understood as reasoning from effects to causes. Only rarely does Holmes engage in the deduction of which he speaks so highly.

A familiar and typical application of abductive reasoning is when a doctor makes a medical diagnosis: given a set of symptoms, what is the diagnosis that would best explain most of them? As a general rule - and due to our conclusion-loving brain - there will always be more alternative explanations than you first realised. A wise doctor won't leap to make the first diagnosis that springs to mind, but will consider many alternatives to see which best matches the presentation before them.

Similarly, criminal investigations are abductive and not deductive. In most cases, the police don't find a crystal-clear and indisputable CCTV picture of the suspect while he commits a crime. We'll typically have a greyish, blurred image of a person leaving or entering a dark alley just before, or just after, a crime was committed. Our initial interpretation of the picture might tell us that this potential offender is a relatively tall man in his 40s wearing a short dark jacket and black or blue jeans. The description can, in essence, fit half the city's population. Hence, to identify a suspect, you have to come up with all the possible interpretations, then cross-check your blurred picture with a number of other sources of information such as witness statements, motives, fingerprints or mobile-phone activity, to find a suspect and rule out other potential candidates.

Similarly, you should always create a short outline of all the possible alternative explanations you can think of for the situation you're trying to solve. Based on your alternatives, your next important step is to make a plan for the information you need to test your different explanations, including how you'll get hold of the required information. This will be your investigation plan.
Step 3: Test the alternative explanations and narrow your investigation
Now's the time to start the real investigation. This is when the Sherlock Holmes mantra about eliminating the impossible kicks in. Try to eliminate as many explanations or lines of inquiry as you can. Just like in science, theories can be truly tested only through falsification. To be able to keep track of all your alternative explanations and information needs, you'll need to take a methodical approach. Without it, there's a huge risk you'll become a slave to your first and best idea. My colleagues and I designed a model to help. It's in no way perfect, but probably far better than no model at all. We've called this the 6-Cs approach:

First of all - what do you know? Collect the available information and check the facts. Are they relevant, accurate and reliable? Connect the dots. Do different sources say the same? Find out what you don't know. Next, construct all possible solutions and hypotheses. What does the available information allow for? What do we need to check, and what can be cross-checked? What can be ruled out? What remains possible? Now, consider what information you need the most in order to test your remaining hypotheses? Before you implement your plan, always consult somebody you trust, to help narrow the scope of your investigation by repeating this process from step one.

Let's apply this to a fictional example based in the world of the animated movie Zootopia (aka Zootropolis) (2016): officer Judy is called to Zootopia Town Hall after mayor Lionheart was found lifeless on the floor in the canteen with a deep wound to his head. Beside him is a large candleholder covered in blood marked with fingerprints. Officer Judy takes photos and secures the candleholder, and soon after she finds that the blood is Lionheart's and that the fingerprints belong to the assistant mayor Dawn Bellwether. Bellwether is called for an interview, but denies any knowledge of, or involvement in, the incident.

Now, imagine you're assisting officer Judy on this case: what's your first idea or suspicion? Write that down. Like me, you probably suspect Bellwether of a deliberate attack or even attempted murder of mayor Lionheart by hitting him over the head with a heavy candleholder. To think like a detective, what's critical at this point is not to jump to conclusions but to start digging.

This is the first step - assume nothing. We need more information. To paraphrase Holmes: data, data, data: you can't make bricks without clay. Ask yourself, what do we not know? What other sources of information are available? What alternative explanations might fit the evidence?

First, assuming that the fingerprints are related to the episode, Bellwether might accidentally have hit the mayor. Second, perhaps Lionheart was the one who attacked Bellwether, and she hit him in a lawful act of self-defence. These alternatives should definitely be investigated. Third, perhaps Bellwether found the mayor on the floor after somebody else had attacked him and she touched and moved the bloody candleholder. This hypothesis should also be added to your investigation plan. Fourth, although it might seem unlikely, maybe Bellwether and Lionheart were involved in an earlier incident where the mayor cut himself, such as during cooking or decorating, and Bellwether subsequently moved the candleholder with his blood on it. Furthermore, we can't yet exclude that someone is trying to frame Bellwether by staging the event. Is that possible? Does she have enemies? If the answer is yes, you have yet another hypothesis that should be addressed. Now, since our investigation rests solely on the conclusion of a fingerprint expert, we should also double-check if another independent expert will come to the same conclusion. Sadly, in real life, there are plenty of examples of botched forensic evidence leading to wrongful convictions. Finally, we must check whether Bellwether hit mayor Lionheart but was somehow not in complete control of her faculties while she did so, hence her lack of memory for the incident.
Use a mind map
As you can see, there are more alternative options than you perhaps thought of in the beginning. To assist our fragile minds, we need practical methods and information-handling tools to keep track of our investigations. This will help your brain be more accurate, and reduces the risk of it jumping to premature conclusions. So you should keep track of your investigation using a matrix or a 'mind map' that lists the upcoming sources of further information against all the alternative explanations for the crime scene (see table below). This will also create transparency, allowing for a second opinion on your ideas and judgments, and you'll gradually see if information from different sources narrows your investigation.

As each new nugget of information is obtained, you mark on the matrix what it means for each of the different possible explanations or hypotheses. The judgment symbols in the matrix have three different codes: the green plus-sign means that the explanation is supported; a red minus-sign means that an incoming fact opposes the hypothesis, whereas N/A means that the information doesn't inform or have any bearing upon the hypothesis. The hypotheses that attract the most opposition or minus symbols can gradually be dismissed, while you move forward with the ones that receive more support. Your investigation should document all relevant hypotheses identified in the case, and the inquiry should seek to disprove each one. The last remaining hypothesis is probably the strongest theory but, as a true detective, you should ideally leave it up to others to make the final judgment.

All this nitty-gritty crosschecking is what 'digging deep' looks like. You can measure your investigation's quality on both axes of the matrix: a glance at your number and range of hypotheses will tell you if you have gone wide enough to capture the true potential solution, and your investigative actions will tell you whether you've dug deep enough to find the facts to prove or disprove the different hypotheses. In other words, you need to consider both the breadth and the depth of your inquiry.
Recruit a 'devil's advocate'
As a rule, in any investigation there will always be something you've forgotten or don't know everything about. That is why an open-minded and critical friend, like Dr Watson in the Sherlock Holmes stories, is so indispensable. As Holmes said: 'You have a grand gift of silence, Watson. It makes you quite invaluable as a companion.' He is the so-called 'devil's advocate'. Dr Watson's role is not to solve the case, but to be sceptical and point to things that Holmes might have overlooked or misunderstood.

Remember that evidence, new perspectives or insights can be found where you least expect them. That's why all expert detectives should demonstrate empathy, be humble, ask questions, and develop their listening skills. Investigative interviewing is done by gently holding back your own opinion, asking open-ended questions, and using silence and active listening techniques such as nodding and humming. This extends to listening to your devil's advocate. Receptivity to alternative views is a crucial skill not only for detectives, but for any decision-maker in the modern era. In a world where complexity increases constantly, there's no room for lone wolves.

Key points - How to think like a detective

We aren't born detectives or good decision-makers. Your 'cave-man' or 'cave-woman' brain will constantly try to fool you into quick-and-dirty decisions.

There's one cognitive bias in particular that makes it difficult to think like a detective: 'What you see is all there is.' The antidote is to resist jumping to conclusions and to seek out more information.

Step back and establish what you currently know. Try to defer forming any conclusions. Instead, use what you already know as the starting point for a systematic investigation. What don't you know, and how can you find it out?

Identify all the possible explanations and write them down.

Think again - there's always something you will have forgotten.

Use a mind map to keep track of incoming information, and whether it supports or contradicts the various possible explanations. Look for patterns without jumping to conclusions. Ensure your investigation has sufficient breadth (number of lines of inquiry) and depth (incoming evidence).

Appoint a competent devil's advocate to look at the case from a critical perspective and raise objections before or during implementation.

Be curious, patient and a good listener.

Practise: your brain needs training like any other muscle. Embrace doubt, start digging, stay humble, and continue educating yourself.

Learn more

Rising complexity
Managing a major investigation or in fact any modern project today is fundamentally different than it was 30 years ago. According to the management scholars Gökçe Sargut and Rita Gunther McGrath, complexity has gone from something found mainly in large systems, such as cities, to something that affects almost everything we do: the life we live, the jobs we have, and the projects or organisations we run. As a consequence, the gap between our first idea and reality has almost exploded. Most of this increase stems from the information-technology revolution of the past few decades. Phenomena that used to be hidden, constant or separate are now tangible, interconnected and interdependent. Complex systems interact in unexpected ways. New patterns form, and the outlier is often more significant than the average. Making matters even worse, our analytical tools haven't kept up with these developments. Collectively, we know a good deal about how to navigate complexity but this knowledge hasn't been transformed into effective tools. Some predict that artificial intelligence might be our salvation, while others see it as our downfall.

What this rising complexity means in practice is that, whenever you're confronted by a real-life dilemma that involves abductive reasoning - such as working out why a product launch failed, why your kid is struggling at school, or why your smartphone has stopped working - it's more important than ever that you learn how to think more systematically. More like a detective.
Thinking like a detective is a skill that takes practice
Thinking the detective way won't always guarantee a solution to your problem. There are still a number of circumstances involved that you can't control as an investigator. There are always things you don't know and perhaps won't ever know. That said, using the approach I've outlined will help you handle the complexity inherent in almost all investigations or other difficult decisions. If you learn how to systematically shift focus and rewrite your understanding, you'll increase the chance of discovering a quick and simple solution to your problem. In more complex and high-risk matters, following the expert-detective approach will help you reduce the risk of prematurely jumping to conclusions and therefore avoid serious blunders on your way. With practice, we can adjust the brain's automatic wiring, unveil our inner detective, and improve our decision-making. This is like any other skill. The more you practise, the better you'll get.

Links & books

To develop your thinking skills, you need regular training and feedback. Can you solve the three switches puzzle hosted by Guardian News on YouTube? Clue: it helps to start thinking like a detective.

When it comes to examining your existing beliefs, perspective is everything. Are you prone to defending your viewpoint at all costs, like a soldier, or are you spurred on by curiosity, like a scout? In her TED talk 'Why You Think You're Right - Even If You're Wrong' (2016), the rationalist Julia Galef examines the motivations behind these two different mindsets and how they shape our interpretations of information. When your steadfast opinions are tested, Galef asks: 'What do you most yearn for? Do you yearn to defend your own beliefs, or do you yearn to see the world as clearly as you possibly can?'

In this blog post for the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Gisle Kvanvig and I told the story of how, building on the work of British experts, we used the idea of a detective mindset to inform a new, more ethical approach to interviewing and investigation techniques in, for example, law enforcement. Following this approach, officers are trained to handle the interview room much like a crime scene where accurate, reliable and actionable information can be collected for the purpose of investigating the case.

The book Blackstone's Senior Investigating Officers' Handbook (5th ed, 2019) by Tony Cook is a unique one-stop guide to all the processes and actions involved in conducting major investigations, presented in a clear and understandable fashion.

For my PhD thesis The Making of an Expert Detective: Thinking and Deciding in Criminal Investigations (2016), I drew on theoretical frameworks developed in social and cognitive psychology to examine the degree to which individual and systemic factors can compensate for inherent biases in criminal detectives' judgments and decision-making.

The book The Routledge International Handbook of Legal and Investigative Psychology (2019), edited by the psychologists Ray Bull and Iris Blandón-Gitlin, explores contemporary topics in psychological science, applying them to investigative and legal procedures. Featuring contributions from recognised scholars from around the globe (including myself), it brings together current research, emerging trends, and cutting-edge debates in a single comprehensive and authoritative volume.

The book Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction (2015) by the political scientist Philip E Tetlock and the author Dan Gardner offers a deeper insight into prediction, drawing on decades of research and the results of a massive, US government-funded forecasting tournament. The Good Judgment Project involves tens of thousands of ordinary people - including a Brooklyn filmmaker, a retired pipe-installer, and a former ballroom dancer - who set out to forecast global events. Some of the volunteers have turned out to be astonishingly good. These 'superforecasters' have beaten other benchmarks, competitors and prediction markets. They've even beaten the collective judgment of intelligence analysts with access to classified information.

'Correlation does not imply causation': for decades, this mantra was invoked by scientists in order to avoid taking positions as to whether one thing caused another, such as smoking and cancer, or carbon dioxide and climate change. But today, that taboo is dead. The causal revolution has (seemingly) cut through a century of confusion, and placed cause and effect on a firm scientific basis. The Book of Why (2018) by the computer scientist Judea Pearl and the science writer Dana Mackenzie explains causal thinking to general readers, showing how it allows us to explore both the world that is and the worlds that could have been. It is the essence of human and artificial intelligence. And just as these scientific discoveries have enabled machines to think better, The Book of Why explains how we too can think better.

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How to think like a detective | Psyche Guides

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Listen to this Guide. A criminal investigation is a complex, multifaceted problem-solving challenge. Detectives must make critical decisions rapidly - sometimes involving life and death, based on limited information in a dynamic environment of active and still-evolving events. Detectives are responsible and empowered under the law to make judgment calls that will dramatically affect the lives of those involved.

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Archive: "FBI Records: The Vault" - a comprehensive collection of primary source FBI  documents

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Archive: "FBI Records: The Vault" - a comprehensive collection of primary source FBI  documents

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Imagine if there were a website with published FBI documents and records. Well, imagine no further: "The Vault" is just that! If you visit this link then select "Vault Search", you can type in the key words or serial killer subject to find any documents they have made available to the public.

As a note, many of the documents feature censored sections for privacy reasons. Additionally, Kolesar and Rogers are aware that these are primary investigation documents and may feature difficult content, but they also find value in this primary source. Look through at your own discretion.

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This site has determined a security issue with your request.

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Archive: Historic Newspapers' "Serial Killers Archives"

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Archive: Historic Newspapers' "Serial Killers Archives"

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This site provides links to a few of the more notorious serial killers's newspaper mentions and headlines in history. Photos of original newspapers and documents can be found throughout each of the webpages. This is another source that is great for those with infamous killers, but lesser-known subjects may need to find an alternative source.

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Serial Killers Archives - Historic Newspapers US

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Historic Newspapers have genuine original newspapers documenting the murders of some of the world’s most notorious serial killers.

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Archive: Library of Congress "Early American Serial Killers" - headlines and newspaper clippings

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Archive: Library of Congress "Early American Serial Killers" - headlines and newspaper clippings

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Want to look at actual newspapers mentioning serial killers? Here's your stop! This resource does focus specifically on historical American killers, so individuals from more recent decades are not mentioned. As such, if you have a more recent serial killer as your research subject, you may need to find an alternative source.

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Diabolical and prolific serial killers existed early in America at a time when police were still devising investigative methods to link related murders. Newspapers reported the gory details of their crimes to a terrified, yet fascinated public.

1794-1799: Micajah "Big" Harpe and Wiley "Little" Harpe terrorize the western frontier for years killing men, women, and children without discretion. Considered to be America's first recorded serial killers.

Poisons 1864-1871: Lydia Sherman, the "Derby Poisoner" three husbands and eight children in Derby, Connecticut.

1870-18 73: The Bender Family, the "Bloody Benders"
A family of killers prey on travellers who pass through their inn and general store in Labette County, Kansas. Authorities find fifteen bodies with crushed skulls and cut throats buried within miles of the Bender property.

1873-1875: Thomas W. Piper, the "Belfry Butcher"
Parishioners are stunned when Piper, a well-respected sexton at Warren Avenue Baptist Church in Boston, Massachusetts confesses to raping and beating to death four victims after a body of a little girl was found in the belfry of the church.

1874: Jesse Pomeroy, the "Boy Fiend"
At age fourteen, Pomeroy viciously stabs two children to death in Boston, Massachusetts. At the time, one of the youngest people in the history of the state to be convicted of murder.

1874-1875: Joseph LaPage
The French-Canadian trapper confesses to rape, murder, and mutilation of school teacher Marietta Ball in St. Albans, Vermont after the discovery of the mutilated body and head of young Josie Langmaid in Pembroke, New Hampshire leads to his arrest.

Using strychnine, Dr. Cream poisons two people in Chicago, Illinois and Some believe him to be 1881-1891: Dr. Thomas Neill Cream, "The Lambeth Poisoner" later three women in London, England. Jack the Ripper .
Discover more:

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Early American Serial Killers | Headlines and Heroes

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Diabolical and prolific serial killers existed early in America at a time when police were still devising investigative methods to link related murders. Newspapers reported the gory details of their crimes to a terrified, yet fascinated public.

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Serial Killers Info's Archive of Famous Serial Killers

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Serial Killers Info's Archive of Famous Serial Killers

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This archive features a collection of articles and webpages related to famous serial killers throughout history. There are three total pages of articles to select from to find possible information on your subject.

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Serial Killers Archives - Serial Killers Info

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Britannica's "7 of History's Most Notorious Serial Killers"

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Britannica's "7 of History's Most Notorious Serial Killers"

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Have one of the more "infamous" serial killers from the list? This easy and quick read from Britannica offers a look into the top 7 notorious serial killers of history. If you have a lesser-known subject, you may have to use a different website from this section.

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© Marccophoto-iStock/Getty Images

Strictly speaking, a serial killer is someone who murders at least two people in separate events that occur at different times. While "serial murder" is not formalized by any legal code, the crimes of serial killers have often been seized on by the media and the public consciousness-especially in cases where there are many victims or the murders are carried out in gruesome fashion. The following list explores some of the most notorious serial killers the world has ever known.

H.H. Holmes

Chicago has had its share of killers, but perhaps none more haunting than H.H. Holmes, the pharmacist who turned a hotel into a torture castle. Ahead of the 1893 world's fair, Holmes moved to Chicago and started outfitting a three-story hotel with all manner of nefarious contraptions, including gas lines, secret passages and trapdoors, hallways to dead ends, chutes to the basement, soundproofed padding, and torture devices strewn throughout a maze. The gas allowed Holmes to knock out his guests before the worst of what was to happen came next, often on his surgical tables. He then burned the bodies in the building's furnace, selling skeletons to medical schools and running life insurance scams. In all, he copped to more than 30 murders-found only after a fellow scammer turned him in for falling short on a financial agreement-before he was hanged in 1896.

Pedro Lopez

One of the world's most prolific serial killers might still be out there. Pedro Lopez is linked to more than 300 murders in his native Colombia and in Ecuador and Peru. At least one-third of those murders were tribal women. After Lopez's arrest in 1980, police found the graves of more than 50 of his preteen victims. He was later convicted of murdering 110 girls in Ecuador and confessed to 240 more murders in Colombia and Peru. The "Monster of the Andes" didn't even spend 20 years in prison, as he was released in 1998 for good behavior. More than 20 years since, his whereabouts remain unknown.

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7 of History's Most Notorious Serial Killers

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Learn about 7 notorious killers and the crimes they committed.

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Newsweek's "The Most Notorious Serial Killers in U.S. History and Why They Fascinate Us"

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Newsweek's "The Most Notorious Serial Killers in U.S. History and Why They Fascinate Us"

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This is another list of infamous killers - 10 in fact. However, this article focuses specifically on American killers, and it provides commentary on why the study of serial killers is so fascinating to many of us.

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Society has always been captivated by serial killers.

But the near-constant release of films, TV, documentaries and podcasts delving into the most horrific crimes in our country over the past 50 or so years means the fascination is growing. Most recently, true crime junkies have been transfixed by the Netflix series Dahmer-Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.

As transfixed as fans have been, the real-life families of Dahmer's victims have criticized the series and its supporters for glorifying a murderer.

The line between a desire for knowledge and a glorification of gore seems to be getting ever thinner. Rather than simply remembering serial killers as culprits and acknowledging their victims, some truly brutal serial killers have been regarded with horrified fascination, and even some attraction-Evan Peters' acting skills and good looks have earned him a dedicated fanbase, but his portrayal of Dahmer has been the subject of some discourse regarding romanticizing the actor in the role they play.

Dr. Scott Bonn, a criminologist and author of the book Why We Love Serial Killers: The Curious Appeal of the World's Most Savage Murderers, understands the fascination well.

"On the one hand, the things that they do, and particularly Jeffrey Dahmer, are so over the top and incomprehensible that it's simultaneously mind-boggling and very, very frightening," Bonn told Newsweek. "So part of the interest is to try and answer the question of why."

But in the same way one might watch a fictional horror film or television series like Silence of the Lambs or Dexter, Bonn said that the adrenaline rush viewers feel when watching true crime is the same. "For the individuals sitting at home in their lounge chair, it's just entertainment. Jeffrey Dahmer doesn't become real until he's knocking on your front door," Bonn said.

The fascination with serial killers is a dangerous slope, one that could alter the way that society sees present and future serial killers, such as the Stockton Killer currently in California.

Dr. Katherine Ramsland, a professor of forensic psychology at DeSales University and author of the book How to Catch a Killer, told Newsweek that because there is so much variation with each serial killer, one cannot generalize them beyond the simple definition of what makes them a serial killer.

"All serial killers have killed at least two victims on at least two occasions," Ramsland said. "That's the one thing you can say about all serial killers because that's what it means to be a serial killer."

While some TV and movies have been accused of glamorizing these killers, their crimes are a history to acknowledge and remember because of the real people and families that they affected.

Below are 10 of the most notorious serial killers in U.S. history and the people they killed.

1. Dennis Rader, AKA the BTK Killer

Dennis Rader was a serial killer in Kansas who murdered 10 people over the span of three decades, dubbing himself BTK because he bound, tortured, and killed his victims. He committed his first murders in January of 1974 when he strangled four family members, including two children.

He is known for hiding in plain sight, having been the president of a church congregation and a seemingly loving husband and father. But he wanted attention for his crimes, too, and in 1977, Rader wrote a letter to a local TV station that read, "How many people do I have to kill before I get a name in the paper or some national attention."

He was arrested in 2005 after sending a disk to the police department, which they traced back to the church that Rader served. He confessed to stalkings and killings, as well as sexual fantasies that drove his crimes. The BTK Killer received a sentence of 10 consecutive life terms in prison in Kansas.

His victims: The Otero family-Joseph, Julie, and two of their young children-Kathryn Bright, Shirley Vian, Nancy Fox, Marine Hedge, Vicki Wegerle, and Dolores Davis.

Having been the subject of several films and documentaries, Ted Bundy is well known for his crimes.

Having been described as intelligent and charming, Bundy used his good looks to lure his victims in, sexually assaulting and killing at least 36 women across Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, and Florida between 1974 and 1978. Some have estimated he could be responsible for hundreds of deaths.

Bundy was ultimately sentenced to death in 1979 for the murder of two college students and again for the rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl. He was executed in Florida by electric chair in 1989.

The names of 26 identified victims: Joni Lenz, Lynda Ann Healy, Donna Gail Manson, Susan Rancourt, Roberta Parks, Brenda Carol Ball, Georgeann Hawkins, Denise Naslund, Janice Ott, Nancy Wilcox, Melissa Smith, Laura Aime, Carol DaRonch, Debra Kent, Caryn Campbell, Julie Cunningham, Denise Oliverson, Melanie Cooley, Lynette Culver, Susan Curtis, Margaret Bowman, Lisa Levy, Kathy Kleiner, Karen Chandler, Cheryl Thomas, Kimberly Leach.

3. John Wayne Gacy

John Wayne Gacy was responsible for the deaths of at least 33 boys and young men in Chicago in the 1970s, but he has also been used as a figure in the media due to his performance as a party clown at children's parties and social events.

Gacy was arrested several times for sexual assault in the 60s, the first being a teenage boy. After being released on parole in the early 1970s, Gacy was able to purchase a home in a Chicago suburb, from which neighbors later recalled a horrible stench emanating.

In 1978, 15-year-old Robert Piest went missing, and police discovered that Gacy had been the last to have seen him. Upon further investigation, police discovered the bodies of 29 boys and young men in or near Gacy's house and four more near Des Plaines River.

He pleaded innocent by reason of insanity, but the jury rejected the psychological evaluations, and Gacy was found guilty of all 33 murders. He was executed via lethal injection in 1994.

The names of the 28 identified victims: Timothy Jack McCoy, John Butkovich, Darrell Julius Samson, Randall Wayne Reffett, Samuel G Dodd Stapleton, Michael Lawrence Bonnin, William Huey Carroll Jr, James Byron Haakenson, Rick Louis Johnston, Kenneth Ray Parker, Michael M Marino, William George Bundy, Francis Wayne Alexander, Gregory John Godzik, John Alan Szyc, Jon Steven Prestidge, Matthew Walter Bowman, Robert Edward Gilroy Jr, John Antheney Mowery, Russell Lloyd Nelson, Robert David Winch, Tommy Joe Boling, David Paul Talsma, William Wayne Kindred, Timothy David O'Rourke, Frank William Landingin, James Mazzara, Robert Jerome Piest.

4. Sam Little

Serial killer Samuel Little was known as one of the most prolific killers in American history. Having gone undetected for decades, Little confessed to killing 93 victims in 19 states between 1970 and 2005. According to the FBI in 2019, law enforcement had been able to verify 50 of the confessions; most of his victims were marginalized, young Black women.

In 2012, Little was arrested at a homeless shelter in Louisville, Kentucky, on a narcotics charge and was extradited to California, where police in Los Angeles were able to convict him for killing three women in the late 1980s after being linked through DNA evidence found at the crime scenes.

"In all three cases, the women had been beaten and then strangled, their bodies dumped in an alley, a dumpster, and a garage," the FBI had said in a report at the time.

He had been serving a life sentence at a state prison in Los Angeles County when he died in 2020 at the age of 80.

While the FBI is still working to confirm some of Little's confessions and identify many more of his alleged victims, these are the names of some of his confirmed victims: Annie Lee Stewart, Mary Jo Peyton, Carol Elford, Guadalupe Apodaca, Audrey Nelson Everett, Zena Jones, Rose Evans, Denise Christie Brothers, Mary Jo Brosley, Sarah Brown, Clara Birdlong, Patricia Parker, Melinda "Mindy" LaPree, Frances Campbell, Jolanda Jones, Alice Denise Duvall, Roberta Tondarich.

5. Jeffrey Dahmer

Jeffrey Dahmer, also known as the Milwaukee Cannibal, was a notorious killer and sex offender who killed and dismembered 17 boys and young men between 1978 and 1991.

Dahmer was arrested in 1991 after a man named Tracy Edwards was found by police running down the street in handcuffs, having narrowly escaped Dahmer's clutches.

Police later went to Dahmer's apartment, where they found photo albums of dismembered bodies, human heads in the refrigerator and freezer, several skulls, and a 57-gallon drum filled with acid and decomposing bodies inside. Police also found evidence that Dahmer might have eaten some of his victims.

Dahmer's victims were usually black, Latino or Asian men and boys.

He confessed to 17 murders total and was sentenced to 15 life terms, but Dahmer was killed in prison by another inmate in 1994.

Dahmer's victims: Steven Hicks, Steven Tuomi, Jamie Doxtator, Richard Guerrero, Anthony Sears, Raymond Smith, Edward W. Smith, Ernest Miller, David C. Thomas, Curtis Straughter, Errol Lindsey, Anthony "Tony" Hughes, Konerak Sinthasomphone, Matt Turner, Jeremiah Weinberger, Oliver Lacy, Joseph Bradehoft.

6. David Berkowitz

David Berkowitz, AKA Son of Sam, brought fear and terror to New York City in 1976 and 1977 and was the cause of one of the largest manhunts in NYC history.

Berkowitz wrote in his diary that he set around 1,500 fires in New York City in the mid-1970s and claimed to be driven by demons. He killed a total of six victims and injured more, often targeting couples. He also wrote letters to newspapers, signing them Son of Sam, a reference to a black labrador retriever owned by his neighbor, Sam Carr. He believed that a demon lived inside the dog.

He was arrested in 1977 just 11 days after his last murder following a large manhunt and confessed to the killings. Berkowitz is currently serving a sentence of 365 years in a New York prison.

His victims: Jody Valenti (survived), Donna Lauria, Carl Denaro and Rosemary Keenan (both survived), Donna DeMasi and Joanne Lomino (both survived), Christine Freund, John Diel (survived), Virginia Voskerichian, Valentina Suriani, Alexander Esau, Judy Placido and Sal Lupo (both survived), Robert Violante (survived) and Stacy Moskowitz.

7. Richard Cottingham

In the late 1970s and early 80s, Richard Cottingham, otherwise known as the Torso Killer, left a trail of brutal murders in his wake in New York City.

For several months, women, mostly sex workers, were found in hotel rooms, their bodies horrifically mutilated. He was given the name Torso Killer because he often cut off his victims' heads and hands.

In 1984, Cottingham was found guilty of five murders and sentenced to 200 years in prison and has since confessed to many more. Some believe his victim count lies around 80 to 100. In April 2021, Cottingham confessed to drowning two girls in New Jersey in 1974. He currently is 75 years old, serving his sentence in the New Jersey State Prison.

Many of Cottingham's victims are unidentified, but the names of some of his victims are as follows: Nancy Schiava Vogel, Jacalyn Harp, Lorraine Marie Kelly, Mary Ann Pryor, Maryann Carr, Deedeh Goodarzi, Valerie Ann Street, Jean Reyner.

8. Belle Gunness

Belle Gunness, who was known as "Hell's Belle," is unlike the other killers on this list. One of the most notorious women in the U.S., Gunness is said to have killed at least 14 people, but some believe she may have had up to 40 victims.

In the late 1800s, Gunness moved from Chicago to a pig farm in Indiana. She reportedly murdered her two husbands and collected the life insurance money, and later, her foster daughter's body would be found with several other dismembered corpses buried in her hog pen. Gunness advertised for wealthy, single Norweigan-American men to invest in her farm and court her, and nearly all of them went missing shortly after arriving.

In 1908, her house burned down-but so did her previous house in Chicago and a candy store that she and her first husband ran-and her three children's bodies were found inside the burned house. They also reportedly found a headless body of a woman in the house, believed to be Gunness, though some believe she got away.

One of her handymen, Ray Lamphere, was arrested and charged with the arson of her house after the pair had a falling out, and Lamphere confessed later in life that he helped Gunness kill 42 people and bury them in the pig pen.

While many of her victims were not identified, and some were children, her victims are suspected to include both of her husbands, Mads Sorensen and Peter Gunness, as well as Andrew Helgelien and others.

9. Dean Corll

Dean "Candy Man" Corll made a name for himself as the culprit behind the Houston Mass Murders. Between 1970 and 1973, Corll killed at least 28 young boys.

Corll was an electrician and former candy store owner who used two teenage accomplices, David Owen Brooks and Elmer Wayne Henley, to lure young boys to his apartment, where they were shackled, sexually assaulted, and killed.

In 1973, a fight broke out between Corll and Henley at Corll's home, and the Candy Man was shot several times by Henley with a .22 caliber pistol. Henley then confessed to all of their crimes and led police to the mass graves around Houston which held the bodies of their victims. According to the Associated Press, some of the bodies had been mutilated, others were buried with tape around their mouths or cords around their necks.

A final, unknown victim of Corll's still has yet to be identified, and is only known as "John Doe 1973."

Some of Corll's identified victims: Jeffrey Konen, James Glass, Danny Yates, Donald Waldrop, Jerry Waldrop, Randell Harvey, David Hilligiest, Gregory Winkle, Ruben Watson Haney, William Branch, Jr., Frank Aguirre, Mark Scott, Johnny Delome, Billy Baulch Jr., Steven Sickman, Roy Bunton, Wally Jay Simoneaux, Richard Hembree, Richard Kepner, Joseph Lyles, William Ray Lawrence, Raymond Blackburn, Homer Garcia, John Sellars, Michael Baulch, Marty Jones, Charles Cary Cobble, James Stanton Dreymala.

10. Gary Ridgway

Gary Ridgway became known as the Green River Killer and later was known as the deadliest convicted serial killer. He claims to have killed over 80 women in Washington in the 1980s and 90s, but he pled guilty in 2003 to killing 48.

In 1980, Ridgway was arrested for choking a prostitute, though no charges were ever filed. He was arrested again for solicitation in 1982, and experts believe his killing spree began shortly after. His first believed victim was said to be a 16-year-old girl, whose body was found in the Green River.

In the next two years, Ridgway raped and killed over 40 women, many of whom were sex workers. His last murder occurred in 1998.

Ridgway was a suspect in several different killings over the years, but DNA technology was unable to connect him, and he reportedly even passed a polygraph test in 1984. He was finally arrested in 2001 when he confessed to wanting to kill prostitutes. In 2003, he was given a plea deal and was sentenced to 48 life sentences, though he said he killed more than 80 women.

Some of Ridgway's identified victims: Wendy Lee Coffield, Gisele Ann Lovvorn, Debra Lynn Bonner, Marcia Fay Chapman, Cynthia Jean Hinds, Opal Charmaine Mills, Terry Rene Milligan, Mary Bridget Meehan, Debra Lorraine Estes, Linda Jane Rule, Denise Darcel Bush, Shawnda Leea Summers, Shirley Marie Sherrill, Rebecca "Becky" Marrero, Colleen Renee Brockman, Sandra Denise Major, Wendy Stephens, Alma Ann Smith, Delores LaVerne Williams, Gail Lynn Mathews, Andrea Marion Childers, Sandra Kay Gabbert, Kimi-Kai Pitsor, Marie M. Malvar, Carol Ann Christensen, Martina Theresa Authorlee, Cheryl Lee Wims, Yvonne "Shelly" Antosh, Carrie Ann Rois, Constance Elizabeth Naon, Kelly Marie Ware, Tina Marie Thompson, April Dawn Buttram, Debbie May Abernathy, Tracy Ann Winston, Maureen Sue Feeney, Mary Sue Bello, Pammy Annette Avent, Delise Louise Plager, Kimberly L. Nelson, Lisa Yates, Mary Exzetta West, Cindy Anne Smith, Patricia Michelle Barczak, Roberta Joseph Hayes, Marta Reeves, Patricia Yellowrobe.

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The most notorious serial killers in U.S. history and why they fascinate us

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Society has always been captivated by serial killers. But the near-constant release of films, TV, documentaries and podcasts delving into the most horrific crimes in our country over the past 50 or so years means the fascination is growing. Most recently, true crime junkies have been transfixed by the Netflix series Dahmer-Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.

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Out of the four websites, Crime Museum's Serial Killers Archive is the most comprehensive. This link will take you directly to their list of serial killers divded by male and female. Furthermore, the links at the top of the list define the "early signs", "types", and "victim selection" of serial killers as well as defining the difference between a serial killer versus a mass murderer. This is a comprehensive site that I highly recommend using as a starting point for resources!

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Types of Serial Killers Serial Killers vs. Mass Murderers Female Serial Killers Amelia Dyer Dorothea Puente Gwendolyn Graham and Cathy Wood Karla Homolka Myra Hindley Albert Fish The Broomstick Killer The Craigslist Killer Dennis Rader Edward Gein H.H. Holmes Jeffrey Dahmer Ottis Toole Richard Trenton Chase The Wineville Chicken Coop Murders Todd Kohlhepp Back to...

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This article focuses moreso on individual serial killers' reasons for killers. It's a great read that goes further into those foundational factors that impact killers and their motives.

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There have been 220,000 unsolved murders in the U.S. since 1980. Are serial killers to blame? Here's everything you need to know:
How many serial killers are there?
Since 1900, there have been 3,000 identified American serial killers who've collectively killed nearly 10,000 people, says Dr. Michael Aamodt, who oversees the Radford University/Florida Gulf Coast University Serial Killer Database. The FBI defines a serial killer as someone who kills two or more people in separate events. About 32 percent of these killers, Aamodt says, did so for enjoyment (thrills, lust, and power); 30 percent for financial reward; 18 percent in anger; 6.3 percent to advance a criminal enterprise; and fewer than 1 percent because a cult put them up to it. Their favorite murder weapon was a gun (42 percent), although 6 percent preferred poison and 2 percent axes. About 52 percent were white, 40 percent black, and 6.7 percent Hispanic. Men outnumber women by a factor of 10. Samuel Little, a transient former boxer and career criminal serving time for two murders, was recently identified by the FBI as the most prolific serial killer in U.S. history, after he confessed to 93 killings between 1970 and 2005.

What makes a serial killer?
Probably a combination of genetics and experience. Research shows that certain genes can predispose people to violence. (One gene, particularly, the so-called warrior gene, is present in about 30 percent of the population and has been linked to increased aggression.) Many serial killers also experienced childhood trauma or early separation from their mothers. As a consequence of that trauma or separation, scientists believe, they learned to suppress empathy or suffered damage to the areas of the brain that control emotional impulses. Serial killers often are loners who fear all relationships and seek to control, to destroy other people to eliminate the possibility of another humiliating rejection. Prolific arsonist Robert Dale Segee, who is believed to have killed 168 and injured hundreds more by setting a fire at a Connecticut circus in 1944, grew up with a dad who punished him by holding his fingers over a candle flame. Jeffrey Dahmer, who killed, dismembered, and partially ate 17 boys and young men beginning in 1978, said he did so "not because I hated them, but to keep them with me." Gerald Stano, who killed at least 22 women beginning in the 1970s, compared killing people to "stepping on a cockroach." Little said he got sexual pleasure from strangling women with his bare hands, and that by taking their lives, he came to "own" them.

What role does society play?
The teeming, impersonal nature of the modern world is fertile soil for creating serial killers, experts say. Five hundred years ago, the average citizen lived in a small community, traveled rarely if at all, and might have come into contact with 100 "strangers" over the course of his lifetime. By comparison, modern urban dwellers live amid "a sea of strangers," providing the consistent, impersonal interactions and anonymity that are almost preconditions for serial killing. Those who've studied serial killers believe that many are at least partly motivated by the attention and fame that mass media can provide mass murderers. As Dennis Rader, the self-proclaimed "BTK killer" ("Bind them, torture them, kill them"), put it in a letter to a TV station, "How many people do I have to kill before I get a name in the paper or some national attention?" He murdered 10 people during the 1970s and '80s in Kansas.

How do they choose targets?
Serial killers often prey on the most marginalized members of society. Little, for one, managed to evade detection for so long by preying on prostitutes, drug addicts, and homeless women. As he told New York Times reporter Jillian Lauren, "I never killed no senators or governors or fancy New York journalists. Nothing like that. I killed you, it'd be all over the news the next day. I stayed in the ghettos." Earlier this year, Bruce McArthur pleaded guilty to murdering eight men in Toronto's Gay Village - many of them immigrants from South Asia or the Middle East who were not "out" to their families. Generally speaking, the majority of victims of serial killers are women (51.4 percent). African-American victims are over-represented (24 percent) relative to their proportion of the U.S. population (13 percent).

How many are active?
Data suggest that American serial killing peaked in the 1980s and has declined since then. The FBI says only 1 percent of murders today are committed by serial killers, and that it's harder for them to go undetected, because of DNA evidence, public cameras, stricter parole laws, and the use of databases. But Michael Arntfield, a retired police detective and author of a dozen books on serial killing, contends that the number of repeat killers active today is more likely between 3,000 and 4,000. He notes that the police "solve rate" for murders dropped from 91 percent in 1965 to only 61.6 percent in 2017, partly because mass killers are more sophisticated. Thomas Hargrove, who has created the nation's largest database of killings, also puts the number of active serial killers at greater than 2,000. "There are more than 222,000 unsolved murders since 1980," he said. "I'll say almost every major American city has multiple serial killers and multiple uncaught serial killers."

The century of mass killings
Many factors are credited with the growth in the number of serial killers during the 20th century. Some have cited the creation of the interstate highway system, which gave predators greater mobility and a vulnerable pool of victims - hitchhikers. Historian Peter Vronsky says the growth of cities and surge in suburbs "led to a lot of transience, a lot of mobility, a lot of broken families, which is where many of these people came from." But Vronsky also says the savagery of World Wars I and II might have contributed as well. He says there was a bump in active serial killers in the years immediately after the First World War and an even greater one after the Second. The wars, he said, were "far more vicious and primitive than we have been able to acknowledge." Vronsky believes traumatized soldiers who had been desensitized to taking lives either became killers themselves or had a hand in raising them.

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There have been 220,000 unsolved murders in the U.S. since 1980. Are serial killers to blame? Here's everything you need to know: How many serial killers are there? Since 1900, there have been 3,000 identified American serial killers who've collectively killed nearly 10,000 people, says Dr. Michael Aamodt, who oversees the Radford University/Florida Gulf Coast University Serial Killer Database.

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Bookmark this website! Purdue's Online Writing Lab (OWL) has citation and format guides for the major citation formats, including MLA (which is the required format for this paper). Even beyond high school, this website can do a great job helping you give proper credit to the information you've found in your research.

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General Format - Purdue OWL® - Purdue University

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Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

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MyBib is Davies' preferred citation generator...and it's free! You've more than likely used MyBib in your English classes as well, but if you need help navigating MyBib, please visit with your teacher or contact the school librarian.

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📖 MyBib – A New FREE APA, Harvard, & MLA Citation Generator

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Automatically create bibliographies, references, and citations in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and more with our fast and free citation generator.

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MLA Formatting...so many rules, so little time! Well, you're in luck! SmartStudent, the Youtube account linked here, helps writers like you with formatting concerns. Furthermore, she timestamps her videos - so if time really is in a crunch for you, you can skip right to the section you need!

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How to format your essays using MLA 9th edition

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Video: MLA 9 In-text Citations and Parentheticals

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Video: MLA 9 In-text Citations and Parentheticals

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While the previous video is about MLA, I know many students can feel nervous about in-text citations and parentheticals. But never fear - SmartStudent is here (again)! This video also reviews through different criteria, but focuses specifically on parentheticals and in-text citations. Use this video to help give proper credit to the information and sources you use in your paper and presentation.

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In-Text Citations Made Easy: MLA 9th Edition

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MapFact - Interactive Serial Killer Map (1900s to now)

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MapFact - Interactive Serial Killer Map (1900s to now)

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Have some time to spare? Check out this interactive serial killer map. Each circle marks the birthplace of the subject, offers a preview of who they are and how many confirmed victims they've had, and each circle links to their corresponding Wiki page. An interesting and interactive look at the geography of killers.

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A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more people, usually in service of abnormal psychological gratification, with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. Psychological gratification is the usual motive for serial killing, and most serial killings involve sexual contact with the victim. The murders may be attempted or completed in a similar fashion; victims may have something in common, for example, demographic profile, appearance, gender or race.

According to criminologists, around 150 people are killed by serial killers in the US every year - that is less than a percentage of the 15,000 murders committed annually.

About the map of serial killers

All known serial killers from the twentieth century to the present are depicted on the map. The size of the circles indicates how many people they have killed. The mentioned number refers to confirmed victims; in many situations, the precise number of victims linked to a serial murderer is unknown. The map is based on Wikipedia entries.

Who are serial killers?

Serial murderers often have families and homes, are gainfully employed, and appear to be normal members of the community. Many serial murderers blend in so effortlessly, they are overlooked by law enforcement and the public. According to the FBI, the majority of serial killers are not reclusive, social misfits who live alone. They are not monsters and may not appear strange. 17 percent of serial killers are women.

Most serial killers live in the US

As the map shows, US has raised considerably more serial killers than other nations. According to the Radford University/FGCU Serial Killer Database, the world has seen 3,112 victims of serial killers since the 1900s. Three quarters of the amount, 2,320, or roughly 75 percent of those serial killings occurred in America. In contrast, India and China, which have nearly half of the planet's inhabitants, have had 46 and 30 serial killers respectively (numerical not percentile).

Why do people become serial killers?

When a serial killer is apprehended, the question is always asked: How did this person become a serial killer? The explanation is in the individual's growth from infancy to adulthood. The behavior that a person exhibits is influenced by life experiences as well as certain biological factors. Serial killers, like all humans, are the result of their ancestors' genes, their upbringing, and the decisions they make throughout their lives.

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Map of all known serial killers | MapFact.com

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A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more people, usually in service of abnormal psychological gratification, with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. Psychological gratification is the usual motive for serial killing, and most serial killings involve sexual contact with the victim.

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"5 Must-Have Google Search Tips for Students" - Common Sense Education

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"5 Must-Have Google Search Tips for Students" - Common Sense Education

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Google search results not coming up with anything useful? Use this resource to help your search methods on the general internet! These are 5 great ways to be a more effective internet detective.

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5 Must-Have Google Search Tips for Students | Common Sense Education

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Is Google OK for formal research? Sure ... if you know how to use it.

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Using Keywords to Search Databases More Efficiently - Krueger Library (WSU)

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Using Keywords to Search Databases More Efficiently - Krueger Library (WSU)

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Using keywords in academic databases and Google Search can yet again help you find more relevant information in your research efforts. This super short video can help you generate a research question, select and modify key words, and expand or refine your search parameters.

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Krueger Library - Winona State University

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It's time to get thinking like a serial killer hunter! This pathfinder will help you do just that. Before diving in to your project, review through the organization of this source below:

1. Just getting started? Find the intro readings and the assignment instructions followed by research tips and tricks in these first two sections.
2. Ready to research? Specific reference sources are listed next. These include a mix of physical and online sources to Davies as well as general and even primary source documents online!
3. Time to write and present? These three sections guide you on writing effective essays, how to use MLA format, and creating engaging presentations.

Extras!
4. Want to think like an investigator? Near the end are supplemental materials including FBI-official books and a short video on how forensic investigation works.
5. Still want more? If you're interested in more general information, the pathfinder ends with interactive maps, articles, full-episodes, and more related to serial killers and forensic investigation.

Happy (research) hunting, investigators!

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Office for Victims of Crime from the Department of Justice

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Office for Victims of Crime from the Department of Justice

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While this unit focuses on researching serial killers, it's also important to recognize and honor their victims. If you are someone who will continue in the field, or someone who wants to support and advocate for victims of crime, this government resource is a must-have in your bookmarks bar.

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Each year, the Office for Victims of Crime recognizes exceptional individuals and organizations for their outstanding service in supporting victims.

These award recipients were selected for their vision, action, and leadership in seeking justice, ensuring victims' rights, and inspiring hope.

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Each year, the Office for Victims of Crime recognizes exceptional individuals and organizations for their outstanding service in supporting victims. These award recipients were selected for their vision, action, and leadership in seeking justice, ensuring victims' rights, and inspiring hope.

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Know that you should use key words but don't quite know which key words to start with? Look through the list here for some guidance!

-serial killer
-background (childhood, environmental factors)
-general profile
-conviction evidence
-direct and circumstantial evidence (biological, physical, class, individual - these are evidence categories)
-investigation techniques
-premeditated versus impulse
-victim pattern
-sentence, charge, post-courtcase details

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Destiny Discover: Serial killer reference titles

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Destiny Discover: Serial killer reference titles

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This is a collection of all the books Davies has for the Serial Killer research project. Some books are only physical and labeled "book" - these are available in the library or on the classroom cart.

Books labeled digital are available to view online or in the library. If there's an inifinity symbol, many people can use the digital book at once at home or in school!

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Collections by Follett is a new, collaborative way for educators to collect and share resources from anywhere, at any time, and with anyone.

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Remember: all courses in Canvas link to the Database List. Just click "High School Resources" in any Canvas class to access the databases! All databases can be accessed at home using the login information from the Database List.

Consider taking a peak at these databases for this assignment:

1. Britannica Online

2. Gale Virtual Reference Library

3. Salem Science

4. Science Reference Center

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CRAAP test - an easy way to evaluate online sources

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CRAAP test - an easy way to evaluate online sources

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Not everything posted online is credible, but how can we tell what sites are good to use and what sites aren't? Well, this handy-dandy CRAAP test can help! Review through the site you found - does it pass the majority of questions asked, or does it fail the CRAAP test? This handout will help you evaluate the effectiveness and reliability of a source.

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Quick Read: "How to Write a Killer Research Paper (Even If You Hate Writing)"

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Quick Read: "How to Write a Killer Research Paper (Even If You Hate Writing)"

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You've finished your research - congrats! The first big step is done. However, if you struggle with writing, this article offers some great advice to help you brainstorm, plan, write, revise, and publish your work. This quick read will help you turn your serial killer research into a "killer" research paper.

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How to Write a Killer Research Paper (Even If You Hate Writing)

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Writing a research paper doesn’t have to be painful and frustrating. Here’s a 7-step guide to everything from research to outlining to revision.

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Video: 5 Tips to Make an Effective Slideshow Presentation

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Video: 5 Tips to Make an Effective Slideshow Presentation

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Research done, paper done...all that's left is the presentation! Not sure how to create an effective presentation, though? This quick two-minute video goes through 5 tips to make a slideshow that is effective and engaging.

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5 Presentation Tips for Students w/Templates

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Quick Read: Tips to Deliver an Effective Presentation

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Quick Read: Tips to Deliver an Effective Presentation

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So you've created the perfect presentation format...but how do you effectively present the slideshow? This site is for you! This webpage specifically goes through tips and tricks to improve your presentation skills. If you review through this tips and implement them with enough practice, I know you will do great!

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Subject Guides: Essential Study Skills: Delivering Presentations

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Subject Guides: Essential Study Skills: Delivering Presentations

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Reach out to your Forensics teacher or visit us in the library! We are open Monday through Friday from 7:15 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. A quick email to breitbj@fargoschools.org can also help. Happy researching!