The Killers Among Us : Examination of Serial Murder and Its Investigations / Edition 2

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Overview

Definition of a Serial Killer: A series of two or more murders, committed as separate events usually, but not a/ways, by one offender acting alone. The crimes may occur over a time ranging from hours to years. Quite often the motive is psychological, and the offender's behavior and the physical evidence observed at the scene will reflect sadistic and sexual overtones.
– The Definition of a Serial Killer (Brooks et al., 1988)

This book takes the reader into the complex world of serial killers by providing a detailed account of seven up-to-date cases, the myths surrounding serial murderers and the reasons why they continue to kill, the seven major problems of investigating a serial murder, and an analysis of the fourteen different law enforcement agencies who respond to a serial murder.

New to the second edition:

  • An expanded chapter on how the media treats the phenomenon of serial murder
  • An essay on victimology
  • An expanded chapter on the victims of serial killers
  • Three new cases
  • Numerous examples of serial killers, both on a national and international basis
  • A discussion on the concept of "the less dead" or how victims of serial killers are devalued
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780130179159
  • Publisher: Pearson
  • Publication date: 7/28/2001
  • Edition description: 2ND
  • Edition number: 2
  • Pages: 348
  • Product dimensions: 9.10 (w) x 6.90 (h) x 0.70 (d)

Meet the Author

Steven A. Egger is professor of Criminal justice at the University of Illinois at Springfield. He was formerly interim dean of the School of Health and Human Services at the University of Illinois. He was project director of the Homicide Assessment and Lead Tracking System (HALT) for the state of New York. HALT, which was the first statewide computerized system to track and identify serial murderers, has become the model for the development of a number of other statewide systems.

Dr. Egger has been conducting research on serial murder since 1983. He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees from the School of Criminal Justice, Michigan State University. He has a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice from Sam Houston State University, where he completed the first dissertation on serial murder in the world. He has worked as a police officer, homicide investigator, police consultant, and law enforcement academy director. His other research interests include the epistemology of criminal investigation, police interagency networking, and the future predator.

He is the author of Serial Murder: An Elusive Phenomenon (Praeger, 1990), editor of a series of monographs entitled Criminology and Crime Control Policy for Praeger, and series editor of a series entitled Issues in Criminal Justice Controversy, under contract to Allyn and Bacon. He has lectured on serial murder in England, Canada, the Netherlands, and Spain.

Dr. Egger and his wife, Kim, are currently working on an encyclopedia of serial murder, which will include entries on over seven hundred serial killers.

Kim A. Egger studied at Purdue University and has a B.S.in Psychology from the University of Illinois at Springfield. She is currently pursuing a master's degree in Law and Psychology. She has co-authored, with Steven Egger, a chapter on the victims of serial murder in a monograph on victimology. For the past ten years she has been developing a database on serial killers, which currently holds information on 1,246 serial murderers. She has lectured at Purdue University, the University of Illinois at Springfield, and Brazosport College, Texas.

Don Larsen is a detective with the Springfield, Illinois, -Police Department. He holds a B.S. in Criminal Justice from the University of Illinois at Springfield.

Linda Kreuger was formerly a part-time patrol officer with the Sangamon County Sheriff's Office. She is currently employed in Rehabilitation Administration for the state of Illinois. She holds a master's degree in Rehabilitation from Southern Illinois University.

Both Don and Linda were previously enrolled in Steven Egger's course on serial murder at the University of Illinois at Springfield.

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Read an Excerpt

Preface

The first edition of this book, published in 1998, was my second attempt to provide an overview of the phenomenon of serial murder and to discuss its investigation. This was essentially an update of my first book on serial murder, Serial Murder: An Elusive Phenomenon, published in 1990 by Praeger Publishers. This second edition of The Killers Among Us provides an expanded overview and exploration of the phenomenon of serial murder and its investigation using the same basic format as the first edition. Minor editorial revisions have been made throughout the book.

Part I has been updated and expanded, with the addition of minor myths to the major myths of serial murder discussed in Chapter 1 and the inclusion of additional theories of the etiology of serial murder in Chapter 2. A discussion of a number of serial killers in the United States and internationally has been added to Chapter 3. My essay, "Serial Killing of the Lambs in Our Dreams: Concept of the 'Less-Dead,' " now stands alone as an introduction to Chapter 4 on victims, which has been completely rewritten by Kim Egger to include the results of a preliminary analysis of her database of 1,246 serial killers identified worldwide between 1990 and 1999. Chapter 5, which discusses mass media treatment of serial murder, has been completely rewritten and expanded.

Part II now includes seven case studies of serial killers rather than four. The study of Jeffrey Dahmer, which appeared alone in Part IV of the first edition, is now included with the other case studies. Two additional case studies are new to this edition. The case study of Joseph Miller, written by Don Larson, describesMiller's killings in the Chicago and Peoria, Illinois, areas. The case study of Jerry Marcus, written by Linda Kreuger, describes Marcus's killings in three southern states. Marcus is unique among the seven case studies in that he is African American and also because most of his victims were women he knew. Chapter 13 presents a cross-case analysis of these seven case studies.

Only minor changes have been made in Part III since the status of serial murder investigation has remained essentially unchanged.

As in the first edition, Part IV briefly discusses the future of the phenomenon and of its investigation.

This book is intended for a variety of audiences. Students attempting to understand the phenomenon of serial murder and its investigation will find the book useful. It is designed as a text for a separate course on serial murder or as a supplement to a variety of college and university courses, including Criminology, Criminal Justice, Victimology, Deviant Behavior, Penology, Criminal Investigation, and Abnormal Behavior. Crime writers should find this book useful as a research tool. It is my hope that criminal investigators will also find this book useful in dealing with serial murder investigations or in becoming prepared to respond to such an investigation.

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Table of Contents

Preface xiii
Acknowledgments xv
About the Author xvii
Future Prey xix
Part I The Serial Murder Phenomenon 1
Chapter 1 Serial Murder 3
Introduction 3
Defining Serial Murder 4
Why Do they Kill and Kill Again? 6
Who Are These Serial Killers? 8
Solo Predators 8
Team Killers 9
Serial Murder Victims 11
Investigation of Serial Murder 12
The Myths of Serial Murder 13
Chapter 2 Why Do They Kill and Kill and Kill? 15
Serial Killers on the Couch: Explanations 15
Sources of Serial Murder Theories and Explanations 17
Common Characteristics of Serial Killers 19
Empirical Works 20
A Multidisciplinary Theory 22
Case Studies 23
The Case Study 24
Other Studies 25
Psychopaths or Sociopaths? 26
Inadequate Socialization 29
Sex As a Motive 30
Nature and Nurture? 31
Variations on Power and Control 31
Similarities to Rape 32
Biological Predisposition 34
Anthropological Viewpoint 37
Are They Simply Evil? 38
Problems with Explanations 38
Chapter 3 They Are All Around Us 40
We Are Strangers to One Another 40
Who Are They? 40
Appearances Can Be Deceiving 46
What Do They Look Like? 47
They May Be Your Neighbors 47
Some Are Very Quiet and Hard to Spot 48
Some Take Years to Catch 48
A Number of Serial Killers Have Not Been Caught 49
Female Serial Killers 55
Categories and Types of Serial Killers 59
How Many Are There in the United States? 62
FBI and CNN Disagree on the Numbers 68
A New Phenomenon? 68
An Increase in Serial Killers? 68
International: A Global Phenomenon 69
Colombia 70
Ecuador, Colombia, and Peru 70
Russia 71
India, Turkey, Thailand, and Nepal 72
South Africa 72
Singapore 72
Australia 73
United Kingdom 73
Italy 76
France 76
Serial Killers Outside the United States Who Have Not Been Caught 76
Europe--Identified but Not Caught 76
United Kingdom 77
Canada 77
Mexico 78
Poland 79
Sweden 79
Becoming an International Phenomenon 79
Essay by the Author: Serial Killing of the Lambs in Our Dreams: Concept of the "Less-Dead" 80
Chapter 4 Victims: The "Less-Dead" 83
Serial Murder Victims 83
Society's Throwaways: A Low Priority for Law Enforcement 88
Who Are the "Less-Dead"? 91
The Killing Fields: Where Do Serial Killers Hunt? 93
Investigative Value of Victim Information Quickly Dismissed 94
Chapter 5 Serial Murder As a Growth Industry: A Brief Analysis 100
Serial Killers in the Arts and Music 105
Serial Killers in News Reporting 105
"Mutants from Hell" 107
The Profile That Isn't 107
Sound-Bite Answers 108
The FBI and Serial Murder Mythology 109
A Violent Culture 110
Part II Case Studies of Serial Killers 111
Chapter 6 John Wayne Gacy: A Case Study 115
Social Environment 115
Family Background 117
Peer Group Associations and Personal Relationships 119
Contact with Defining Agencies 120
Offense Behavior 126
Self-Concept 127
Attitudes 128
Recall of Events 131
The Demise of John Wayne Gacy 132
Chapter 7 Henry Lee Lucas: A Case Study 133
Social Environment 133
Family Background 134
Peer Group Associations and Personal Relationships 136
Contact with Defining Agencies 137
Offense Behavior 140
Self-Concept 142
Attitudes 143
Recall of Events 144
The Aftermath and the Lucas Controversy 144
Lucas's Last Words 147
Chapter 8 Kenneth Bianchi: A Case Study 148
Social Environment 148
Family Background 149
Peer Group Associations and Personal Relationships 152
Contact with Defining Agencies 153
Offense Behavior 157
Self-Concept 160
Attitudes 160
Recall of Events 160
Afterword 160
Chapter 9 Theodore Robert Bundy: A Case Study 161
Social Environment 161
Family Background 164
Peer Group Associations and Personal Relationships 165
Contact with Defining Agencies 167
Offense Behavior 173
Self-Concept 178
Attitudes 180
Recall of Events 182
Bundy's Last Con 182
Chapter 10 Jerry Marcus: A Case Study 183
Social Environment 183
Family Background 185
Peer Group Associations and Personal Relationships 188
Contact with Defining Agencies 189
Offense Behavior 192
Self-Concept 200
Attitudes 201
Recall of Events 202
A Concluding Statement 203
Chapter 11 Joseph Miller: A Case Study 204
Social Environment 204
Family Background 205
Peer Group Associations and Personal Relationships 206
Contact with Defining Agencies 206
Offense Behavior 211
Self-Concept 214
Attitudes 214
Recall of Events 215
The Possibilities for Closure 216
Acknowledgments 216
Chapter 12 Jeffrey Dahmer: A Case Study 217
Social Environment 217
Family Background 218
Peer Group Associations and Personal Relationships 218
Contact with Defining Agencies 219
Offense Behavior 223
The Victims: The Forgotten Ones 226
Self-Concept 228
Attitudes: From Jeffrey Dahmer's 179-Page Confession 228
Recall of Events 229
Dahmer's Demise 229
Chapter 13 Cross-Case Analysis: Similarities of Seven Serial Killers 230
Social Environment 231
Family Background 231
Peer Group Associations and Personal Relationships 232
Contact with Defining Agencies 232
Offense Behavior 233
Self-Concept 234
Attitudes 234
Recall of Events 235
Missing Persons Problem 236
Part III The Investigation of Serial Murder 237
Chapter 14 Problems in Investigating Serial Murder 239
Defining the Problem 239
Seven Major Problems of a Serial Murder Investigation 241
Linkage Blindness 241
Lack of Commitment 245
Coordinating Investigative Functions and Actions 246
Managing Large Amounts of Investigative Information 246
Public Pressure and Mass Media Pressure for Information 247
The Less-Dead: Low Priority Leads to Low Clearance Rate 247
Lack of Knowledge of Others' Experiences with Serial Murder Investigation: Documenting the Problem 248
Linkage Blindness: An Analysis 251
Chapter 15 Different Police Strategies for Investigating Serial Murder 259
Conferences 266
Information Clearinghouse 268
Task Force 268
Central Coordination without Forming a Task Force 271
Psychological Profiling (Investigative Profiling) 272
FBI Model 274
Canter Model 282
Geographic Profiling 283
Investigative Consultants 284
Forensic Consultants 285
Major Incident Room Procedures 286
Solicitation from the Public 287
Computerized Analysis System 288
Centralized Investigative Network 289
Interpol 289
FBI's Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (VICAP) 289
New York State's Homicide Assessment and Lead Tracking System 293
Examples of Other Computerized Analysis Systems 294
Psychics 295
Offender Rewards 297
Specialized Response Team 297
All Investigative Response Strategies Share a Common Focus 298
Part IV The Future 299
Chapter 16 Future of the Phenomenon 301
A Research Agenda for Serial Murder 302
Victimology 302
Serial Murderers 302
Policy 302
Criminal Justice Failure: An Example 303
Chapter 17 Future Investigation of Serial Murder 304
Beyond the Dahmers of the 1990s 305
Author's Final Comments 306
References 307
Appendix Case Study Source Material 323
Index 333
Read More Show Less

Preface

The first edition of this book, published in 1998, was my second attempt to provide an overview of the phenomenon of serial murder and to discuss its investigation. This was essentially an update of my first book on serial murder, Serial Murder: An Elusive Phenomenon, published in 1990 by Praeger Publishers. This second edition of The Killers Among Us provides an expanded overview and exploration of the phenomenon of serial murder and its investigation using the same basic format as the first edition. Minor editorial revisions have been made throughout the book.

Part I has been updated and expanded, with the addition of minor myths to the major myths of serial murder discussed in Chapter 1 and the inclusion of additional theories of the etiology of serial murder in Chapter 2. A discussion of a number of serial killers in the United States and internationally has been added to Chapter 3. My essay, "Serial Killing of the Lambs in Our Dreams: Concept of the 'Less-Dead,' " now stands alone as an introduction to Chapter 4 on victims, which has been completely rewritten by Kim Egger to include the results of a preliminary analysis of her database of 1,246 serial killers identified worldwide between 1990 and 1999. Chapter 5, which discusses mass media treatment of serial murder, has been completely rewritten and expanded.

Part II now includes seven case studies of serial killers rather than four. The study of Jeffrey Dahmer, which appeared alone in Part IV of the first edition, is now included with the other case studies. Two additional case studies are new to this edition. The case study of Joseph Miller, written by Don Larson, describes Miller's killings inthe Chicago and Peoria, Illinois, areas. The case study of Jerry Marcus, written by Linda Kreuger, describes Marcus's killings in three southern states. Marcus is unique among the seven case studies in that he is African American and also because most of his victims were women he knew. Chapter 13 presents a cross-case analysis of these seven case studies.

Only minor changes have been made in Part III since the status of serial murder investigation has remained essentially unchanged.

As in the first edition, Part IV briefly discusses the future of the phenomenon and of its investigation.

This book is intended for a variety of audiences. Students attempting to understand the phenomenon of serial murder and its investigation will find the book useful. It is designed as a text for a separate course on serial murder or as a supplement to a variety of college and university courses, including Criminology, Criminal Justice, Victimology, Deviant Behavior, Penology, Criminal Investigation, and Abnormal Behavior. Crime writers should find this book useful as a research tool. It is my hope that criminal investigators will also find this book useful in dealing with serial murder investigations or in becoming prepared to respond to such an investigation.

Read More Show Less

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