Some Serial Killers Seek Recognition But Not All

In his classic work, The History of Murder, Colin Wilson gives three reasons for murder. The first is for economic gain. It could be a robbery or kidnapping incident that goes terribly wrong, or it could involve an insurance or inheritance scheme. Poisoning was popular in the nineteenth century before it became easily detected in the bloodstream in the early age of forensic chemistry. Poisoning was so common during the Victorian period that police dubbed arsenic “inheritance powder.”

"No one attacks me with impunity."

A second type of murder is the resentment murder over a real or perceived slight. Somebody harbors a deep rage against society, government, religion, or even a person for some personal affront. Revenge murders fall under this category. The famous Edgar Allen Poe revenge tale “The Cask of Amontillado” begins with these all too human words, “The thousand injuries of Fortunato, I bore as best I could. But when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge.” What the insult was is never made clear. It is irrelevant because the killer--Montresor--admits to the cold-blooded murder fifty years later as he casually boasts of his cunning. He couldn’t die without first telling someone of his crime.

The last major reason author Colin Wilson gives for people killing one another is sexual. A sexual predator may want to prevent later identification by a rape victim, may have a psychotic hatred of the opposite sex, or may have a psychological compulsion to rid the world of harlotry or some other perceived moral evil.

Sexual homicide falls in the FBI category of unexplained murder. This type of murder is most troubling for law enforcement because of its apparent random nature. When a series of unsolved murders occurs within a well-defined area, feelings of vulnerability, panic, and fear can grip a whole community. Intense press coverage often does little more than advertise the problem to the public and complicate the situation for police. Serial killers like to act out their cat-and-mouse games with the police and manipulate the public through the media coverage their crimes generate.

John Norman Collins' perp walk

After the fourth unsolved murder in Washtenaw County, Michigan in the late 1960s, the college town of Ypsilanti went into lock-down mode. Yet, three more young women would die before John Norman Collins was arrested on July 31, 1969, for the sex-slaying of Karen Sue Beineman. The wave of mutilation murders—over the two year period—finally ended.

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Psychologist Dr. Stephen Giannangelo believes that serial killers have a “lost sense of self and intimacy, inadequacy of identity, and feelings of no control.” It is thought that these killers’ minds create a mirrored reality where satisfying their sexual needs and sadistic thoughts is the only palpable reality. Stalking and the ensuing capture indicate that these killings are often premeditated and rehearsed events. What makes serial killers different than most other killers is they tend to be more intelligent and learn from their mistakes.

Dennis Rader in court

Many serial killers are perversely proud of their work as evidenced by their tendency to brag after they are caught. Dennis Rader of Kansas, Missouri was even bolder. Dubbed the “BTK” (Bind, Torture, and Kill) killer by the Wichita press, Rader began to brag in the form of a complaint letter to local news station--KAKE-TV. “How many people do I have to kill before I get my name in the paper or some national attention?” he asked. 

Dennis Rader admitted to seven murders and said he was planning an eighth. He felt invisible and wanted to be noticed. He wasn’t content to torture and control a mere human being. He wanted to terrorize and manipulate a whole city. Such was his twisted ego. He was subsequently identified and captured. He boasted that he considered himself among the elite of serial killers--every bit the equal of H.H. Holmes, Jack the Ripper, and Ted Bundy.

Gerald Schaefer mug shots

Another serial killer proud of his work was Gerald John Schaefer. After being found unfit to be a school teacher, he was also rejected for the priesthood. Schaefer eventually became a deputy sheriff in Florida where he was able to hide behind the mask of a police officer. After his trial and conviction for the murder of two young women, he was so boastful and obnoxious in prison that one December night in 1995, Gerald John Schaefer had a fatal reaction to some sharpened steel--an early Christmas present from his cellmate. Serial killers often do not fare well behind bars.

Despite some serial killers having above average intelligence, they become bold, compulsive, and arrogant. These are often narcissistic individuals who consider themselves gifted and smarter than everyone else--especially law enforcement. Each time serial killers get away with their crimes, they become more confident until they start making mistakes. Crime studies indicate that most serial killers willingly talk about their crimes once they are caught red-handed or when the police have irrefutable evidence against them.

One notable exception to this serial killer characteristic is John Norman Collins. He has never admitted culpability for any of his crimes or shown the slightest bit of remorse. Collins has maintained his innocence for decades--despite overwhelming evidence against him.

Toxic Behaviors--Recognizing Sociopaths

One in twenty-five people is a sociopath. These are people with an instinctual ability to exploit weakness and vulnerability. Sociopaths read and study their victims--this is their great advantage over us. They know us better than we know them. Their propensity to exploit weakness is their hidden skill. Once they target their prey, their victims are compromised. People who can see through a sociopath’s deceptions are avoided or eliminated. Discovery is the last thing they want.

But this speaks to them. What about us? Why do so many of us seem vulnerable to sociopaths? One answer may be that many of us have a mild to moderate affinity for danger and a hunger for excitement to punctuate our otherwise mundane lives. Many people enjoy controlled risks and love cheap thrills they can get an emotional rush from and then return to the safety of our homes. Vicarious experiences from action and thriller fantasies on the silver screen, to riding the latest and greatest amusement park rides, fill this void for most of us.

Leonardo Dicaprio in The Great Gatsby.

 
American pop culture presents a high-octane lifestyle of the rich and famous, often fueled by drugs, alcohol, and conspicuous wealth that create an unrealistic expectation for success that most Americans can never hope to achieve. We idolize famous actors, successful athletes, dubious celebrities, and people with money. We long for our own sense of celebrity--anything to quell the routine boredom of our conventional lives. We hunger for excitement, so most of us are willing to take the occasional risk and let down our guard.

Part of our American folklore informs us that dangerous people are charismatic. Going for the bad boy seems like a coming-of-age ritual for many young women in our culture--the proverbial moth attracted to the flame. How many intelligent women get over their heads in relationships with men who aren’t as smart because they perceive the man to be exciting, sexy, or notorious? The answer is simply too many. These relationships often become controlling, degrading, and violent. Sometimes, they become fatal.
 
Everyday life is routine and tedious much of the time, and we are creatures of habit. So every once in a while, many of us like to step out of our hum-drum lives and relax our defenses. Predators know this. When someone or something doesn’t seem right, people should go with their instincts and not ignore the warning signs.

Here are ten traits of sociopaths to watch for:

1. Sociopaths don’t have a conscience.

2. They suffer from attachment disorder.

3. They are easily bored and need continual stimulation.

4. They are not comfortable in their own skin.

5. They are absolutely self-involved and high-strung.

6. They tend toward hypochondria and seek pity to manipulate others.

7. They are not team players.

8. They show unremitting self-interest.

9. They use and abuse people with impunity.

10. They are narcissists who know the words but not the music of life.

(Source unknown.)

Sociopaths make full use of social and professional roles which provide a ready-made mask. Many of us are irrationally influenced by people in positions of authority or in uniform. Conventional wisdom insists that You can’t judge a book by its cover, but people do so routinely. We have all heard and seen news reports of police, teachers, clergymen, and childcare providers who abuse the trust placed in them. Their roles or the masks they wear constitute their protective coloration or camouflage.

Serial killer Gerald John Schaefer became a teacher after college but was fired for “totally inappropriate behavior” by the school’s headmaster. Next, he tried to get into the priesthood and was quickly rejected. Then, he became a policeman. Each of these authoritarian roles would have placed Schaefer in a position of power to exploit and abuse people.

As a patrolman, Schaefer picked up two teenage girls who were hitchhiking on July 21, 1972--one seventeen and the other eighteen. He took them to a secluded place in a remote wood, tied them to a tree, and threatened to kill them or sell them into prostitution if they tried to escape. He had to answer a police call on his radio and left. When he returned, the girls had escaped and made their way to the local police station, the same station where Patrolman Schaefer worked. He was arrested and posted bail. Two months after his release, he pulled the same stunt. He abducted Susan Place--age seventeen--and Georgia Jessup--age sixteen. Schaefer tortured, murdered, and buried them on Hutchinson Island, Florida.

Most people readily accept the superficial trappings of authority unquestioned. Too often the danger signs are there, but people choose to ignore them. When they finally see what’s behind the mask, it is often too late.

Serial Killer Groupie Sondra London Interview--Parts Two and Three

Sondra London

While researching serial killers and why they do what they do, I am amazed at how easily they can rationalize their actions and take pride in them. This perverse narcissism is disturbing and repulsive to most people. 

But there are those people who are in love with lunacy and attracted to these psychopaths. Serial killer groupie Sondra London is a case in point. After establishing a relationship with serial killer Gerald Schaefer, London dropped him for another serial killer Danny Rolling and played one man against the other. Trying to figure out human nature is complicated and often heart-breaking.

If part one of Sondra London's interview--in my last post--wasn't enough to make you lose sleep--parts two and three will send you ranting into the darkness.

Part two: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g27LWxWtwzA

Part three: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAc8BnmSNmY

Serial Killer Groupie - Sondra London - Pt. One

Warning! This interview may be disturbing to some people. It is part of my research for The Rainy Day Murders, my book about John Norman Collins and the Washtenaw County Coed Killings of the late sixties in Ypsilanti and Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Ex-Deputy Sheriff Gerald Schaefer

More inscrutable than trying to understand the logic of a psychotic serial killer is trying to understand why some women are attracted to them and have relationships with them behind bars. It is the ultimate expression of either falling for the bad boy or flirting with disaster that some women seem wedded to in our culture.

Sondra London

Rather than going crazy trying to understand these people, I will satisfy myself with trying to become familiar with them and their behavior. This video link goes into the relationship between Sondra London, a writer and lover of serial killer Gerard John Schaefer. Watch part one of an interesting interview about their relationship. Then, check out Schaefer's Wikipedia entry. It is amazing how serial killers share so many of the same characteristics. Look at that smile on Schaefer's face. It says "Recognition at Last!"

Gerald John Schaefer had a fatal reaction to some sharpened steel in his Florida prison cell one December night in 1995 - an early Christmas present from his cellmate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbLhBISXbVA&feature=player_embedded

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerard_John_Schaefer