Interview Of A Serial Killer



Interviewing Serial Killers

Talking to a serial killer for research, Dr. Aysha Akhtar, MD, MPH, reveals the planning that went into her interviews and how she stayed sane through the process. In order to do the research for a section of her book Our Symphony With Animals (Pegasus Books, May 2019), Dr. Aysha Akhtar, MD, MPH. 00:55:53 - Former LAPD detective Steve Hodel compiles never-before-seen evidence that reveals his father as a serial killer who may have been responsible for s Zodiac Killer Interviews #4 - STEVE HODEL - House of Mystery Radio/Inside Writing (podcast) Listen Notes. The 5 Creepiest Serial Killer Interviews Ever 1. Ted Bundy Interview. Just hours before he was electrocuted in the electric chair for the rape and murder of nearly 50. Jeffrey Dahmer's Interview. If playback doesn't begin shortly, try restarting your device. Videos you watch may be. Author Melissa Moore was a teenager when her father was convicted of being the 'Happy Face Killer,' a serial murderer who killed eight people. Several years later, she has written a book about.

1.Why is it important to interview serial killers?

  1. “An in-depth analysis of interviews with convicted murders allowed us to retrieve first-hand information about their patterns of values and beliefs, patterns of information storage, levels of recall on the crimes, and admission of responsibility for the murders” (Profilers, p. 109).
  2. “An understanding of some of the dynamics behind sexually deviant behavior provides law enforcement officials some insight into the suspects they are trying to identify and apprehend” (Profilers, p. 81).
  3. “Although our interviews were conducted with murderers already convicted and incarcerated, we believe our observations provide insight for interviewing suspects in order to identify a killer” (Profilers, p. 109).

2.Why do serial killers allow themselves to be interviewed? (Profilers, chap. 9).

  1. They want people to have a better understanding about them.
  2. If they did not admit guilt, they may want to show why it was impossible for them to have committed the crimes.
  3. Some want to “teach” police how the crimes were committed and motivated.

3.How to interview serial killers (Profilers, chap. 9)

  1. Terms of the Interview

a)Before the interview: Become familiar with pertinent existing information (crime scene photographs, records, files, etc.). This interest shows respect for the suspect, which will make it easier to get to the point of the interview more quickly.

b)Convince the subject that the interview is beneficial to him/her

  1. The Communication Link

a)Gain rapport by mirroring the subject’s spoken and unspoken behavior (by matching the words of the subject, adopting aspects of his posture, speaking in a similar tone and rate of speech).

  1. Eliciting Information

a)First, questions were asked about the what/where/when descriptions of the crime. Next, questions were asked about the victim selection. Finally, questions were asked about thoughts, feelings, and images.

b)Within the interview, questions were organized around the four phases of murder:

i)Precrime Phase: Try to establish a conscious motive by asking what triggered the murder. Murderers with conscious intent were able to describe this in detail.

ii)The Murder Event: Memory varied in offenders. Murderers who deliberately planned the murder through fantasy were generally able to remember more details. If a subject avoids a certain topic, it shows that strong emotions may exist. “The interviewer should concentrate on important aspects of the event, such as how the suspect gained access to the victim; conversation and behavior involving the victim; transporting the victim from one location to another; what the murderer did sexually before, during, and after the victim’s death; methods of torture; behaviors after the victim’s death (such as mutilation or amputation); and thoughts and feelings during these acts” (Profilers, p. 111).

iii)Disposal of the Body: Fantasy is often important in disposing of the victim’s body. Ask questions on what was done with the body, how the offender left the scene, what was taken from the body or the crime scene, and what thoughts and feelings were experienced during those acts.

iv)Postcrime Phase: Ask what was done right after the murder, what was thought and felt, if he dreamed about the murder, whether or not he returned to the crime scene, whether he attended the funeral, whether he read about the murder or talked to the police about it. Include questions about the recovery of the body (did the offender assist the police or observe the recovery of the body?).

D)Specific Techniques

a)Offenders with a long-standing fantasy life may not be very open to talk about it. Often a low-key approach is successful in encouraging the discussion of fantasy.

b)Many offenders were emotionally stimulated by fantasies and a sense of power and control. Some offenders were so concerned with their detailed plans that they became enraged when the victims interrupted their plans. “These murderers were very sensitive to being called crazy or maniacal, as they associated those characteristics with carrying out acts in ways that are stupid, foolish, and not in control” (Profilers, p. 112).

E)Continuum of Admission

a)There are three positions regarding guilt (admitting to the crime, admitting lack of total recall, and not admitting the crime). Most murderers admitted their crime.

b)What to do when confronted with an individual who did not admit their crime after their convictions of murder:

i) “When confronted with such individuals, the interviewer should attempt to determine if the individual is lying (which implies conscious intent) or if the individual is denying (which implies subconscious intent).” (Profilers, p. 113).

ii) Identify lies based on the amount of detail provided. Fantasy worlds or delusions are typically very detailed, so if the story appears inconsistent and lacking in detail, the subject may be trying to feign psychosis or delusion.

iii) It is important to try to maintain an atmosphere of mutual respect, even if the interviewer suspects the subject is lying.

v)Reasons that a subject might lie: Protection from legal action or psychological impact of admitting the crime.

vi)When a subject denies a murder, it often helps to use an imaginary third person.

4.Results from interviews: (Profilers, chap. 5)

FBI special agents conducted interviews with 36 incarcerated murderers.

A.Background information

a)All male

b)Predominantly white

c)Usually eldest sons (first or second born)

d)Most had pleasant general appearances – heights and weights were within the norms and few had distinguishing handicaps or physical defects.

e)Majority were of average or above-average intelligence (1/3 had superior intelligence)

f)Majority began life in two-parent homes. One-half had mothers who were homemakers. The majority had fathers who worked at unskilled jobs. Only five of them men reported living in a substandard economic level.

B.Family background

a)Half of the offenders’ families had members with criminal histories.

b)Over half of the families had psychiatric problems

c)Nearly 70% of the families had histories of alcohol abuse.

d)One-third of the families had histories of drug abuse.

e)Almost half of the offenders’ families had (or were suspected of having) sexual problems among family members.

f)One-third grew up in one location; 17 experienced occasional instability; 6 reported chronic instability or frequent moving.

g)Twenty-five had histories of early psychiatric difficulties.

h)Families had minimal attachment to the community.

i)In 17 cases, the biological father left home before the boy reached the age of 12.

j)In 21 cases, the mother was the dominant parent of the offender.

k)Sixteen of the men reported cold or uncaring relationships with their mothers; 26 reported a cold or uncaring relationship with their father.

l)Twenty of the men had no older brothers; 17 had no older sisters.

m)Frequently, the offenders reported that discipline was unfair, hostile, inconsistent, and abusive.

C.Individual development

a)Twenty offenders had rape fantasies before they were 18 years old (seven of these men acted out these fantasies within a year of becoming aware of them).

b)Physical abuse (13/31), psychological abuse (23/31), childhood sexual abuse (12/31).

c)Sexual interests: 81% pornography, 79% compulsive masturbation, 72% fetishism, 71% voyeurism.

D.Performance

a)Often poor performance in academics, employment, sexual relationships, and military service.

Interview Of A Serial Killer Netflix

b)Majority did not finish high school.

c)Most had poor work histories in unskilled jobs; only 20% held steady jobs.

d)Half had entered the military.

e)Sexual performance was generally autoerotic (masturbation).

f)Many had low self-esteem prior to the murders.

E.Resultant attitudes and beliefs

a)Devaluation of people

i)low social attachment

ii)detachment from family and peers

iii)loners, felt different from others their age

b)World viewed as unjust

c)Authority in life viewed as inconsistent

d)Obsession with dominance through aggression

Interview Of A Serial Killer

e)Autoerotic preference

f)Fantasy is reality

F.Deviant behaviors

a) Rape, mutilation, torture, murder

5. Profiling serial murderers (PVC, chap. 7)

A) Not only is understanding serial murders important for the reasons mentioned above, but they are also important due to the possible increase in serial killers. While this is a debated topic some researchers have suggested that serial killing is at an epidemic proportion.

B) In order to have an idea of what kind of a serial killer one is going to deal with Holmes and Holmes have classified serial killers into six different types.

C) Types of serial killers

1. Visionary serial killer

a. Propelled to kill by the voices they hear or visions they see. However, it doesn’t have to be a chronic state, they can also be lucid and aware but other times lose reality.

b. They are “outer directed” by the voices or even apparitions of the devil, demons, or God.

c. Harvey Carignan was convinced that God spoke to him, demanding that the kill young women. He believed himself to be the instrument of God doing his part to rid the world of “evil.”

d. Usually declared insane or incompetent during a trial.

e. Does not engage in any crime scene “staging,” and usually kills quickly.

2. Mission serial killer

a. Feels a need on a conscious level to eradicate a certain group of people. This person is in touch with reality and daily living, but also has a self-imposed duty to rid the world of some identifiable group of people.

b. Usually an organized nonsocial offender typology. Stalking, controlled crime scene and penile penetration is usually the MO for a mission killer’s crime scene.

Example: a man thought any woman walking in the streets early in the morning was a prostitute. Since it was his mission to rid the world of prostitutes, when he attacked one of them he would make them choose to have sex or to die, all of his victims were found dead. His rationale was only a prostitute would consent to sex; “good” women would rather die than to have sex with a stranger, even at gunpoint.

3. Hedonistic serial killer

a. The lust or thrill killer subtype

i. This person has a vital connection between sexual gratification and personal violence. These individuals murder because killing is an eroticized experience.

ii. Crimes are process focused; take time to complete, and including things like anthropophagy (cannibalism), dismemberment, necrophilia, torture, mutilation, domination, or other fear-instilling activates.

b. Comfort-orientated serial murders

i. Kill for personal gain (e.g., assassins killing for profit.

ii. Type of serial killer more likely to be female.

iii. Gain is the overall purpose for these killers; these can include money or property.

c. Hard to catch, especially if geographically mobile; apprehension may be delayed for years.

4. Power-control serial killer

a. Receive sexual gratification from the complete dominance of his victim. Controlling another’s life is the ultimate form of domination for many of them.

b. Has a stable mental mentality, but may have a diagnosis of sociopathy or character disorder.

c. This type of killer is aware of social and culture norms but chooses to ignore them. He lives by his own personal rules and norms.

d. Focused killings, prolong the killing scene as long as possible in order to obtain the most gratification, and also generally uses a hand on weapons but has a tendency to strangle his victims.

6. Serial murderers general characteristics (PVC, chap. 7)

A. It is impossible to speak in absolute terms when dealing with these varying personalities, but there is a framework that can apply to many cases. This is important to the interviewing stage also because it will help one ask the right questions to get a response.

1. Male

2. White

3. Range in age from 25 to 34 years

4. Intelligent (“street smart”), charming, and charismatic

5. Police groupies or interested in police work

B. Victim selection

1. It is true that serial killers have an “ideal” victim in mind, but in reality that “ideal” is never realized. The hunt for the victims and take what they know they can take easiest, and if they wait around until the perfect victim they may not get to quench their compulsions for violence. So while they have a picture of this “idea” their victim could have half or less of the characteristics.

C. Perception of potential victims

1. Almost always true he knows absolutely nothing about his victim and he doesn’t care

2. Doesn’t believe his victim to be within the sphere of real-life human beings. They are there for his purposes only, nothing more than a mere object. Before he even has a victim selected they are already stripped of all humanity in the killers mind.

3. However this ability to depersonalize his victims doesn’t happen over night. It is part of a cycle.

Stage 1: Distorted thinking

-Mind pictures of violence and fantasy provide him with gratification.

-Feeds on it so much that he requires a powerful means of gratification such as specific fantasies of causing harms to those near him.

Stage 2: The fall

-During his fantasies which he has played over in his head several times, something clicks for him and it becomes an all important for the killer. That he needs to live his fantasies for the most gratification. The event that triggers it can be trivial or something most would over look but for the killer is all that matters.

-He may use outlets like violent pornography and masturbation, but these are only temporary and short term symbolic responses.

-Once the fall has happened physical release is a necessity and the stalking process begins. There can be no return to distorted thinking after the fall.

Stage 3: Negative inward response

-Feeling of inadequacy are present in the serial killer (e.g., “I’m too important and I don’t have to take this” mentality

-He must validate his self-status and will do so by means of violence.

Stage 4: Negative outward response

-This is necessary for the serial killers’ self-affirmation of personal superiority.

-The killer has no thought or care relating to possible consequences of his actions.

-Once he commences to validate and affirm his personal superiority, he is not in command. He chooses vulnerable victims because he cannot risk a further negative reality message.

Stage 5: Restoration

-His status has been reestablished and now the serial killer will think of the potential dangerous consequences of his behavior and realize that he must take care in the proper disposal of the victim. None of these concerns enter his head until stage 5.

-He must now take steps to minimize his personal risk.

-Once that is done He returns to stage 1 and the cycle is complete.

4. Perceptions during violence

1. The acts the killer carries out on victims is done very much like he is put on autopilot. This is believed to be the case because they have acted these scenarios many times in their fantasies and so it is just like revisiting them.

2. They just want to see their victim in the way in which he receives gratification reducing them to the very lowest depths of misery and despair.

5. Additional crime scene analysis of suspected serial murder cases (see Table 1 at the end of this document)

6. Integrative experience: Discussion questions

A)Look at the biographies of the serial killers listed below. Are their histories consistent with the findings of the interviews conducted by the FBI special agents? What parts of the biographies fit in with the findings, and what parts do not?

B)Many of the characteristics found in the study of the 36 serial killers apply to the larger portion of the population than just the serial killers. For example, most people who fit the background information (oldest white male child with pleasant appearance and above average intelligence) do not grow up to be serial killers. Do you think it is still important to gather this information? Does it help in identifying possible serial killers in an open investigation, or are the descriptions to vague?

Biographical Information on Some Serial Killers (from Wikipedia)

David Berkowitz

John Vincent Sanders writes that 'David's childhood was somewhat troubled. Although of above-average intelligence; he lost interest in learning at an early age and began an infatuation with petty larceny and pyromania.' He was an avid baseball player, and earned a reputation as something of a bully in his neighborhood. Berkowitz's tense relationship with his father became even more strained, and he disliked the woman Nathan later married. Berkowitz joined the U.S. Army in 1971, and was active until 1974 (he managed to avoid service in the Vietnam War, instead serving in both the U.S. and South Korea.) Afterwards, he toyed with Christianity and located his birth mother, but after a few visits, Berkowitz learned the details of his conception and birth, and they fell out of contact with one another. Berkowitz worked at several jobs, and was employed by the U.S. Postal Service at the time of his arrest.

Jeffery Dahmer

Dahmer was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. His family soon moved to Bath, Ohio. He reportedly dissected already dead animals as a child. He struggled with substance abuse and suffered from extremely low self-esteem. After years of constant fighting, his parents underwent a divorce when Jeffrey was 18. Dahmer committed his first murder at the age of 18, killing Steven Hicks. Dahmer attended Ohio State University, but he dropped out after one term. Dahmer's father then made him sign up with the Army. He signed up for a six-year stint in the Army, but was released after only two years because of his excessive drinking. In 1982, he moved in with his grandmother in West Allis, Wisconsin, where he would live for six years. In 1988 he was arrested for sexually fondling a 13-year-old boy, for which he served one year in a work release camp and was required to register as a sex offender. He convinced the judge that he needed only psychological help, and he was released with a 5 year probation on good behavior. Shortly thereafter, he began the string of murders that would end with his arrest in 1991.

Ted Bundy

Bundy is believed to have been a sociopath. He is usually described as an educated, handsome and charming young man despite the brutality of his crimes. Typically, he murdered young women and girls by bludgeoning them, and sometimes by strangulation. Bundy was born on November 24, 1946, at the Elizabeth Lund Home for Unwed Mothers in Burlington, Vermont. His mother, Eleanor Louise Cowell, was a young department store clerk. His father's identity has never been authoritatively established. For the first nine years of his life, Bundy and his mother lived with his maternal grandfather (who, according to some family members, was mentally unstable and prone to violence) in Philadelphia. To avoid the stigma of an illegitimate pregnancy, many neighbors and friends were told that Eleanor's parents had adopted Bundy, and that he was actually Eleanor's younger brother. According to some sources, Bundy may have believed his mother was actually his older sister throughout most of his childhood and adolescence. When he was three years old, Bundy is alleged to have appeared at his aunt Julia's bedside, smiling as he brandished several knives and laid them beside her on the bed. Bundy was a good, if not spectacular, student at Woodrow Wilson High School, and was active in the local Methodist Church and the Boy Scouts. However, as he told Stephen Michaud and Hugh Aynesworth, authors of The Only Living Witness, he had no natural sense of how to get along with other people. 'I didn't know what made people want to be friends,' he told the authors. 'I didn't know what made people attractive to one another. I didn't know what underlay social interactions.' Bundy remained shy and introverted throughout most of his high school and early college years. Bundy's criminal activities began at an early age, before he was even out of high school. He was a compulsive thief, a shoplifter, and on his way to becoming an amateur con man, and also claims to have indulged in voyeurism and window-peeping as a young teenager. Bundy described the part of himself that, from a very young age, was fascinated by images of sex and violence, as 'the entity,' and kept it very well hidden. It should be noted, however, that by the time Bundy was talking about 'other selves' he was trying to appeal his death sentence. Later, friends and acquaintances would remember a handsome, articulate young man. Bundy worked and campaigned for the Washington State Republican Party as an adult. He also worked as a volunteer at a Seattle suicide crisis center, alongside fledgling crime reporter Ann Rule who, ironically, wrote articles on the 'Ted' murders that, unbeknownst to her, her young friend was committing.

References

Campbell, J. H., & DeNevi, D. (Eds.). (2004). Profilers: Leading investigators take you inside the criminal mind. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books.

Holmes, R. M., & Holmes, S. T. (2002). Profiling violent crimes: An investigative tool (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.


Table 1. Crime scene analysis of suspected serial murder cases

Type of serial killer

Crime Scene Characteristic

Visionary

Mission

Comfort

Lust

Thrill

Power/ Control

Controlled crime scene

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Overkill

Yes

No

No

Yes

No

No

Chaotic crime scene

Yes

No

No

No

No

No

Evidence of torture

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Body moved

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Specific victim

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Weapon at the scene

Yes

No

Yes

No

No

No

Relational victim

No

No

Yes

No

No

No

Victim known

Yes

No

Yes

No

No

No

Aberrant sex

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Weapon of torture

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Strangles the victim

No

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Penile penetration

?

Yes

Usually not

Yes

Yes

Yes

Object penetration

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

Necrophilia

Yes

No

No

Yes

No

Yes

Gender usually

Male

Male

Female

Male

Male

Male

On the Web: http://www.csbsju.edu/uspp/CrimPsych/CPSG-3.htm
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Mug shot of Shawcross
Born
June 6, 1945
Kittery, Maine, United States
DiedNovember 10, 2008 (aged 63)
Albany Medical Center, Sullivan Correctional Facility, Fallsburg, New York, US
Other names
  • The Genesee River Killer
  • The Monster of the Rivers
  • The Rochester Strangler
Height6 ft (183 cm) tall
Conviction(s)Arson, Burglary, Manslaughter, Second degree murder
Criminal penaltyLife in prison without parole (or a term amounting to 250 years)
Details
Victims14
May 7, 1972–December 28, 1989
CountryUnited States
State(s)New York
Date apprehended
January 5, 1990

Arthur John Shawcross (June 6, 1945 – November 10, 2008), also known as the Genesee River Killer, was an Americanserial killer active in Rochester, New York.

His first known murders were in 1972 when he killed a young boy and a girl in his hometown of Watertown, New York. Under the terms of a plea bargain, Shawcross was allowed to plead guilty to one charge of manslaughter, for which he served 14 years of a 25-year sentence. He killed most of his victims in 1988 and 1989 after being paroled early which led to criticism of the justice system. A food service worker, Shawcross trawled the streets of Rochester in his girlfriend's 1984 sky blue Dodge Omni (later using her blue-grey 1987 Chevy Celebrity), looking for sex workers to kill.

He died in Albany, New York in 2008, while serving a prison sentence of 250 years for his crimes. Dr. Michael H. Stone, professor of psychiatry at Columbia University, and an authority on violent behavior, identified Shawcross as 'one of the most egregious examples of the unwarranted release of a prisoner' in his book, The Anatomy of Evil.[1]

Early life[edit]

Shawcross was born in Kittery, Maine, the first of four children of Arthur Roy Shawcross and Elizabeth 'Bessie' ('Betty') Yerakes Shawcross. His family moved to Watertown, New York when he was young. While several later tests showed Shawcross' intelligence to be sub-normal or even 'borderline retarded,' he received As and Bs in his first two years of grade school but was later tested to have an IQ of 86, signifying below average intelligence.

Shawcross said throughout his childhood, he was a frequent bed-wetter (which is one part of the Macdonald triad). He later claimed his mother would insert foreign objects into his rectum and that his aunt performed oral sex on him when he was 9, and that during junior high school he had sexual relations with his sister. Shawcross had a reputation at school as a bully and would frequently act out violently. He dropped out of high school in 1960.

In April 1967, at age 21, he was drafted by the Army. At this time, Shawcross divorced his first wife and gave up his rights to their 18-month-old son, whom he never saw again.[2] He served one tour of duty in Vietnam, where he boasted of grotesque combat exploits, such as 'beheading mama-sans and nailing their heads to trees as a warning to the Vietcong'—though he'd never seen active combat.[1]

After Vietnam he was stationed at Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma as an armorer.[2] His second wife Linda experienced several aspects of his disturbing behavior, especially his penchant for starting fires; an Army psychiatrist told her that Shawcross derived 'sexual enjoyment' from fire starting.[2]

Return to New York[edit]

After his discharge from the Army, Shawcross moved with his wife from Oklahoma to Clayton, New York. His wife would soon divorce him, and he began committing crimes such as arson and burglary.[2] His offenses earned him a five-year sentence at Attica Correctional Facility, and later Auburn Correctional Facility. After serving 22 months, he was granted an early release in October 1971, in part due to his role in the rescue of a correctional officer during a prison riot.[2]

Shawcross returned to Watertown, eventually getting a job with the Watertown Public Works Department, and marrying for the third time.[2] On May 7, 1972, he raped and killed his first known victim, 10-year-old Jack Owen Blake, after luring the boy into a wooded area in Watertown. Blake's body wasn't found until authorities received a tip by phone on September 5.[3]

On September 2, just prior to the body's discovery, he raped and killed eight-year-old Karen Ann Hill, who had been visiting Watertown with her mother for the Labor Day weekend. Shawcross was arrested the next day.[4] A grand jury indicted Shawcross for murder in Hill's death. On October 17, he was allowed to plead guilty to a lesser charge of first degree manslaughter for both deaths and was sentenced to an indeterminate term with a maximum of 25 years at Attica.[5]

Jefferson County District Attorney William McClusky explained the plea by stating that other than Shawcross' confession to police there was no direct evidence linking Blake and Shawcross. McClusky also suggested Shawcross could have argued at trial that he was under 'extreme emotional disturbance,' and a jury would have been likely to arrive at a verdict of manslaughter.[5] In November, he was transferred from Attica to Green Haven Correctional Facility.[6]

After fourteen years, inexperienced prison staff and social workers concluded that Shawcross was 'no longer dangerous',[7] disregarding the warnings of psychiatrists, who had assessed Shawcross as a 'schizoidpsychopath.' He was released on parole in April 1987.[2] He had difficulty settling down in communities as the neighbors would protest his presence and employers would fire him.[2]

He first moved into Binghamton, New York, then relocated to Delhi, New York, with his girlfriend, Rose Marie Walley. When Delhi residents became aware of Shawcross' presence, the couple moved to nearby Fleischmanns, New York, only to be met with hostility there as well.[2] In late June 1987, Shawcross' parole officer moved him and Walley into a transient hotel in Rochester, New York, but failed to notify Rochester authorities of this action.[2] In mid-October, Shawcross and Walley found more permanent lodgings at 241 Alexander Street in Rochester.[2]

Second series of murders[edit]

In March 1988, Shawcross began murdering again, primarily sex workers in the area (apart from June Stott, who was a local and was the first one of his victims to be mutilated after her death), before his capture less than two years later. He was convicted of 11 murders, with a 12th not officially charged to him. The victims were:[8]

#NameAgeDisappearedDiscovered
1.Dorothy 'Dotsie' Blackburn27March 18, 1988March 24, 1988
2.Anna Marie Steffen28July 9, 1988September 11, 1988
3.Dorothy Keeler59July 29, 1989October 21, 1989
4.Patricia 'Patty' Ives25September 29, 1989October 27, 1989
5.June Stott30October 23, 1989November 23, 1989
6.Marie Welch22November 5, 1989January 5, 1990
7.Frances 'Franny' Brown22November 11, 1989November 15, 1989
8.Kimberly Logan30November 15, 1989November 15, 1989
9.Elizabeth 'Liz' Gibson29November 25, 1989November 27, 1989
10.Darlene Trippi32December 15, 1989January 5, 1990
11.June Cicero33[9]December 17, 1989January 3, 1990
12.Felicia Stephens20December 28, 1989December 31, 1989

All the victims were murdered in Monroe County, except for Gibson, who was killed in neighboring Wayne County. The retired detective Robert Keppel has argued that the detectives investigating the case over-relied on the concept of modus operandi, at times searching for multiple suspects due to small differences in the profiles of each victim.[2]

On January 5, 1990, two days after June Cicero's body was discovered by aerial surveillance, police arrested Shawcross. He had been spotted by an eyewitness and police surveillance team standing near his car apparently urinating on a bridge over Salmon Creek where the body of his final victim had been dumped.[2]

Trial and conviction[edit]

In November 1990, Shawcross was tried by Monroe County First Assistant District Attorney Charles J. Siragusa for the 10 murders in Monroe County. Shawcross pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, with testimony from psychiatrist Dorothy Lewis that he had brain damage, multiple personality disorder (now known as dissociative identity disorder) and post-traumatic stress disorder, and had been sexually abused as a child.[10]

Shawcross, who had served in Vietnam with the 4th Supply and Transport Company of the 4th Infantry Division, had told many outlandish tales of murderous activities (including cannibalism), often perpetrated while alone in the jungle.[2] From the time Shawcross returned from his tour of duty, he told acquaintances of seeing American soldiers 'skinned from their neck to their ankles,' and claimed to have decapitated two women he had victimized, 'placing' their heads on poles.[2]

FBI criminal profiler Robert K. Ressler reviewed the PTSD claim on behalf of the prosecution before the trial. Ressler wrote that 'his claim of having witnessed wartime atrocities was patently outrageous and untrue.' Prosecution psychiatrist Dr. Park Dietz said Shawcross had antisocial personality disorder.[11]

Imprisonment[edit]

Shawcross with his daughter (left) and granddaughter at the Sullivan Correctional Facility, 2002

Shawcross was held at the Sullivan Correctional Facility in Fallsburg, New York, until he died on November 10, 2008, at the Albany Medical Center.[12]

In 2003, Shawcross was interviewed by British reporter Katherine English for a documentary on cannibalism. Shawcross bragged about slicing out and eating the vulvae of three victims, but refused to discuss his earlier claim of eating the genitals of his first victim, Jack Blake.[2]

Death[edit]

Netflix Serial Killer Interview

Officials said Shawcross complained of a pain in his leg on the afternoon of November 10, 2008, his date of death. He was taken to Albany Medical Center, where he went into cardiac arrest. Shawcross died at 9:50 PM.[13][14] He was cremated.

References[edit]

  1. ^ abStone, Michael H. (July 28, 2009). The Anatomy of Evil. Prometheus Books. p. 347. ISBN1591027268.
  2. ^ abcdefghijklmnopOlsen, Jack (February 1, 1993). The Misbegotten Son. Delacorte Press. ISBN978-0385299367.
  3. ^'Boy's Body Found In Woods'. Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, New York. September 8, 1972. Retrieved June 21, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.(subscription required)
  4. ^'City Girl Strangled, Man Held'. Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, New York. September 4, 1972. Retrieved June 21, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.(subscription required)
  5. ^ abStrom, Bob (October 18, 1972). 'Shawcross Sent to Attica In Child's Death'. The Post-Standard. Syracuse, New York. Retrieved June 21, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.(subscription required)
  6. ^'Shawcross Transferred'. The Post-Standard. Syracuse, New York. November 21, 1972. Retrieved June 21, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.(subscription required)
  7. ^'Inside The Mind Of Arthur Shawcross, The 300-Pound 'Genesee River Killer''. All That's Interesting. March 22, 2018. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
  8. ^'Serial killer profile: Arthur Shawcross'. truelifecrimes.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2015.
  9. ^'June Cicero (1956-1989)'. Find a Grave.
  10. ^Foderaro, Lisa W. (December 2, 1990). 'A Serial-Murder Trial, On TV, Grips Rochester'. The New York Times.
  11. ^Ressler, Robert K.; Shachtman, Tom (May 1, 1992). Whoever Fights Monsters: My Twenty Years Tracking Serial Killers for the FBI. St. Martin's Press. ISBN978-0312078836.
  12. ^'Serial killer Arthur Shawcross dead at 63'. NBC News. November 11, 2008.
  13. ^'Upstate New York serial killer dies'. WSTM-TV. November 11, 2008. Archived from the original on July 19, 2011. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  14. ^'Arthur Shawcross Biography Murderer (1945–2008)'. Biography Channel. April 2, 2014. Retrieved January 15, 2017.

Netflix Interview Serial Killers

See also[edit]

Interview With A Serial Killer Arthur Shawcross

  • Ressler, Robert; Schactman, Tom (1992), Whoever Fights Monsters: My Twenty Years Hunting Serial Killers for the FBI, St. Martin's Press, ISBN0-312-95044-6
  • 'Paroled Killer Charged Again'. The Spokesman-Review. January 6, 1990. Retrieved 6 January 2010.[permanent dead link]
  • 'Serial Killer Arthur Shawcross Dead'. Rochester, NY: 13WHAM.com. 2008-11-08. Archived from the original on 2013-01-01.
  • 'Upstate New York Serial Killer Dies'. AP. 11 October 2008. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  • Keppel, Robert; Birnes, William J. (2011). Signature Killers. Random House.
  • Norris, Joel. (1992) Arthur Shawcross: The Genesee River Killer, Pinnacle Books, ISBN1-55817-578-4
  • WGBH Educational Foundation (1992). Mind of a Serial Killer (TV-Series). PBSNova.
  • 'Democrat and Chronicle PhotoGallery'. Archived from the original on 2013-01-22. Retrieved 2008-11-18.

Interview With A Serial Killer Belfast

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