Hello,

I'm curious what people's favorite moments of real investigations are. For example, some great ones for me are:

In the Russell Williams interrogation, they bluffed a confession by claiming that his tire tracks were found, and that tire track forensics is as good as fingerprinting (lie). In reality, the tire tracks had numerous other potential matches and likely would not hold up in court. Then they proceed with asking for his shoeprints and make the same claim, about shoeprints. Using this 'hard evidence' they get a confession.

Or in the Ratcliffe murders, the main suspect was convicted because of (from wikipedia): he had had an opportunity to take the maul, that he had money after the murders but not before, that he had returned to his room just after the killer had fled the second crime scene, and that he had had bloody and torn shirts [and also a set of bloody footprints led to a witness who gives a matching description].

Or Albert Fish sending a letter with an envelope that has a watermark, and an employee from the watermarked company says they left some of those at a hotel room he rented out. From here they found that albert fish also rented out that room, leading to his interrogation and capture.

I'm interested in more 'deduction' type moments or just generally cool things I guess.

Thanks

Rodney, "Rod" Alcala is suspected to have more then the 7 murders (I believe that's the amount) he was convicted of. What do you all think?

I assume he has more based on pictures found in Washington and the earrings. No one allows someone (male, older) to take their earrings off that they don't know.

Also, it might just be me but I feel like he evaded capture for awhile without being caught. I saw an interview about a person who got raped by him* and she never reported it ( others probably didn't report it as well though)so maybe that's why.

*; however, I don't have any evidence to support the claim and because of that I must approach it with skepticism, please look up her story if interested because it is quite the interesting story.

I very rarely if ever have heard of a serial killer that continues to kill in prison. Does their compulsion to kill go away or do the constraints of prison temper them somehow? You would think there’d be more stories of attempts to murder at the very least

I'm playing The Pictures Anthology: The Devil In Me and just got to the part with the trap door with the spikes. Anyway this one covers HH Holmes and this is my first The Dark Pictures Anthology story play and I would imagine they might just be doing inspired by real events with some exaggeration. Anyway I thought HH Holmes would just gas your hotel and kill you that way but this whole using a trap door is something I don't think I've heard of when researching HH Holmes.

I’m reading a book I picked up in a local charity shop. Published in 1973, Burke & Hare: The True Story of the BodySnatchers by Hugh Douglas is a serious, but not academically dry, historical account of the infamous duo of resurrectionists who were at large in my hometown of Edinburgh in the early 19th Century.

To my shame, I had assumed they were grave-robbers, plundering the newly dug graves of Greyfriars Kirkyard in order to sell the relatively fresh corpses to the local medical community, particularly the celebrated physician and lecturer Dr Robert Knox.

This is a myth. William Burke and William Hare were straight-up murderers, their victims being plucked from the flotsam and jetsam of the local Old Town underclass, most of them piss-poor and usually chronic alcoholics who would not be missed. In 1828 they killed 16 people, inclusive of a deaf-mute young boy, for this purpose yet their diabolical legacy in popular culture is that of grave-robbers (their first ‘body’ was removed from a grave but according to the records the rest were not - one was almost served up on a - metaphorical -plate by a local policemen).

Also, in a recent newspaper article I read about a ‘real-life Hannibal Lecter’ type killer being held in an underground, ‘specially built’ glass cage at Wakefield Prison, England by the name of Robert Maudsley. A seriously disturbed yet apparently highly intelligent man who has killed 4 people, 3 whilst in custody.

It got me to thinking if there are any others who slip under the serial-killer categorisation having killed 3 or more victims. This would appear to be as knowledgable a community as it gets so hopefully it can unearth some more little known possibilities.

(I’m not including mass killers, likes of school-shooters, bombers, spree-killers and/or terrorists; Klebold and Harris, McVey, Kaczynski, Breivik et-al).

I understand, some get off to having a corpse, some are necrophilists (I apologize if I spelled that word wrong), some love the idea of killing someone and treasuring it. However, why don’t they COMPLETELY dispose of the body?

I don’t want to go into detail, but I’ve thought of so many ways serial killers could have disposed of bodies, ways they would NEVER get caught. I was very into true crime growing up, so I know how things go.

I just wonder, why do they care so much about the bodies? It’s a rotting corpse that has maggots fill inside, that will ruin your home. Why do they kill if they are too unintelligent to dispose of a body? I get psychosis and everything, but my point still stands, even the serial killers with very high IQ’s did it horribly.

Does anyone have some good speculation on what exactly was wrong with Gacy? It seems easy to just say he's a psychopath, but if I recall correctly he only scored 27/40 on the psychopathy checklist and the score to qualify as a psychopath is 30. Is malignant narcissism more plausible? Just curious if anyone has a good theory on what caused him to be the way he was

Handymen /Tradesmen

Mechanics

Truck drivers

Security guards

Photographers

Painters

Labourers

Landscapers

Carnies

Hotel Workers

Cab drivers

Shelf Stocker

Line cooks

Janitors

Farmers

Source info:

https://cookcountysheriffil.gov/case/unknown/

https://www.websleuths.com/forums/threads/il-lemont-twp-whtfem-35-45-1174ufil-unkage-tattoos-joe-64-swe-jul79.322618/

Stumbled across this cold case from 1979 involving a jane doe

Here's the info on the case:

The victim has been a jane doe for 46 years.

1174UFIL - Unidentified Female

Date of Discovery: July 13, 1979

Location of Discovery: Lemont Township, Cook County, Illinois

Estimated Date of Death: Unknown

State of Remains: Partially decomposed

Cause of Death: Strangulation

Physical Description

Estimated Age: Unknown

Race: White

Sex: Female

Height: Unknown

Weight: Unknown

Hair Color: Unknown

Eye Color: Unknown

Distinguishing Marks/Features: The name "Joe" followed by "64" beneath it was tattooed over her right breast, the letters "SWE" were also tattooed on her chest.

Identifiers

Dentals: Unknown

Fingerprints: Unknown

DNA: Unknown

Clothing & Personal Items Clothing: Unknown

Jewelry: Unknown

Additional Personal Items: Unknown

Circumstances of Discovery: Three young boys discovered the decedent's partially decomposed body in the Tampier Lake Forest Preserve near 131st Street and Will Cook Road in Lemont Township. According to a Chicago Tribune Article written in 1979, an investigator with the Sheriff's Office stated the decedent was possibly 35-45 years old.

Outside of a few internet researchers, there hasn't been much publication of this case or updates whatsoever. Everything described appears to be extremely vague except for the mention of these two odd tattoos. Seems like an interesting case. I've compiled a few names that have potential.

Possible leads:

Catherine Runte - Missing on 5/22/1979 in Palatine IL (Cook County)

Kathleen Beitzel - Missing on 7/14/1979 in Streamwood IL (Cook County) - The date is 1 day off from it being feasible, however I'm not sure if slight errors or possible criminal deception could of created a discrepensy here

Stephanie Lyng - Missing on 10/27/1977 in Palatine IL (Cook County) - I believe it was determined that her Husband murdered her and got convicted years later, but a Body was not found. (the husband didn't co-operate with detectives once convicted)

Patricia Spahn - Missing on 2/11/1975 In East Dubuque IL (Jo Daviess County)

Diana Laughlin - Missing on 1/1/1975 in Chicago IL (Cook County) - Was dropped off by her dad at a Greyhound station in Chicago to get on a bus and hasn't been seen since. The bus was in route to Missouri, and the body of the Jane Doe was found in the Lemont/Palos Park area. When routing directions from roughly where she left from in Downtown Chicago to St. Louis Missouri (most common crossing point for IL travelers going into Missouri), It takes you right by the lake where she is found. All 3 alternate routes go through and past the location of the Jane Doe body at about probably 25-30 miles from her departure point in CHI.

Let me know what thoughts, info, or opinions y'all have on this case and if you want to research it a bit, go right ahead.

Update:

I've looking into a lot of different possible leads. Diana Laughlin specifically peaks my curiosity, as the information regarding her case is so so minimal with the story of the bus ride to missouri being the only details. The bus going to or through St Louis would be the most likely route with the vague info provided, and the body is found pretty much smack dab in between i-55 and i-57 going southwest out the city 30 miles or so. i55 and i57 would be the only two interstates you'd drive down to get to st louis from chicago. A greyhound bus on a route like that is making tons and tons of stops along the way especially in that area in between the two interstates that take you to the destination. Lots of room and risk for abduction.

I've also looked into Samuel Little and his 90 murder confessions (most of which have been confirmed) and I found a really interesting detail about one of his confessions. There are 2 women that little has confessed to murdering in the Illinois both of which haven't been confirmed yet I believe(with over 90 confessions, its gonna take a long time). Both women were picked up in St. Louis and taken across into illinois, one of which he admitted to killing in Granite City. With little's poor memory, these confessions aren't very detailed, but he did make it a point to give the police this women's name or "nickname". Most of the women he doesn't even know or remember their names, but this women he very much did, as the name is quite unique for a women. That name he provided was none other than "Jo". He estimated the murder to have been between 1976-1979 (Within range) and he killed this women the same way he did all his victims... He strangled her to death (Just as it lists in the autopsy).

Now, he drew sketches of all these women, and this particular women appears to be white in the sketch, but they have her down as being a black women which is certainly a discrepency. I wonder if that part is wrong or if it was an error on little's end when describing 1 of the 90+ victims he had. The sketch of this women really appears to depict a white women. She's brunette, pinkish peach skin, and hazel eyes, but who knows how much certainty the investigators who found this jane doe had that she was white. The stage of decomposition seemed to be so extreme that I could totally see a possible mixed women being labeled white especially in 1979 with the lack of technology. I could also see Little making an error in communicating this specific victims ethnicity especially given his poor memory and this being 1 of 90+ other victims.

Now, he said he killed this women in granite city, but it's not clear whether thats where he dumped the body, as it is not said in the transcript nor have investigators found the body... Or maybe they already did... Who knows... The joe tattoo above the breast totally could be a nickname with the 64 possibly holding some other significance. The other one, I'm still unsure of, but I found this discovery very interesting in regards to this case. Sam Little murdered so many women across the US, so many of which are/were jane doe's. It wouldn't be a shocker if this women was a victim of his.

Source:

https://www.cincinnati.com/picture-gallery/news/crime/crime-and-courts/2019/04/03/serial-killer-samuel-littles-sketches-his-alleged-victims/3348501002/

St Louis "Joe" Drawing - Important to note the top right label reading "St. Louis, Joe" instead of the spelling "Jo" investigators shared with the public

Link to image:

https://www.cincinnati.com/gcdn/presto/2019/04/03/PCIN/8d85fa6f-cbf0-4973-a595-d57879d42a69-vicap-samuel-little-victim-black-female-jo-granite-city-illinois-1976-1979.jpg?width=990&height=1320&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp

Hypotheticly, if guards had entered and pulled scarver away whilst he was attacking dahmer, and he survived but with massive head injuries, what would they have done with him?

Put him in an isolated unit of the prison instead?

Most well-known serial killers don't strike me as particularly competent or super smart at avoiding attention from authorities, leaving no evidence behind, and the like. In fact, many of them seem a little dumb and even pathetic, despite being extremely manipulative. In a lot of cases, they relied on luck, the police failing to do their jobs properly, or the limitations of forensic technology during the times in which they were active

I think the few truly competent serial killers might not have been caught yet. But among those who have been caught, who do you guys think were the most competent?

I’m watching an episode of Family Guy with Lois’ brother (The Fat Guy Strangler) and I was wondering if there have been serial killers in real life with specific “tastes” in victims. I feel like it’s always either gay men or pretty girls. I know there was a Mexican lady who only killed grandmas but are there any other serial killers who only killed very specific types of people?

Are there any known cases where serial killers have worked together?

I've come across the conspiracy theory about John Normann and the Delta Project, but nothing has been officially proven regarding that.

Do you know of any similar cases or anything along those lines?

Hi there…for some reason, I find the story of Gacy’s first known murder of the late Tim McCoy interesting in a way.

Before that, Gacy tried to lure another young man from the same bus station in Chicago by flashing his badge and/or pulling a gun on him but charges were dropped or never filed. In 1972, Gacy comes across McCoy but I find it hard to believe McCoy would’ve gone with Gacy willingly…but also , it’s hard to picture Gacy abducting someone from a crowded station.

I know Gacy is a liar but I wonder if McCoy genuinely accepted his offer to stay the night (he was known to hitchhike apparently) and Gacy only intended to assault him and McCoy defended himself with a knife….either that, or Gacy knew that he couldn’t risk getting caught or going to prison again for raping a minor.

What say you?

1986 was the first year DNA was utilized in a rape/murder case to determine or rule out a suspect. That case understandably made world news, as a groundbreaking leap in forensic technology and evidence gathering. 1986 was also Deangelo’s last known murder. (Matched to him due to his bodily fluids left at the crime scene in Irvine.) As a former law enforcement officer and a prolific serial killer, Deangelo would most likely be aware of new advancements in forensic evidence. I believe it’s much more likely Joseph James Deangelo realized he had to stop leaving his DNA on his victims, as opposed to 1986 being the last time he gave in to his insatiable appetite to punish women.

Nicholas Trapishkin was an Soviet outlaw, who had been sentenced and executed in the year 1926. He was accused of killing 100 people in the span of 6 years. I hadnt found any more details. Very obscure case.

I would imagine some killers get hundreds of requests. Is this correct? Yet don't give hundreds of interviews, but maybe a couple. Wonder how the ones they give are chosen and who chooses, and why most requests rejected (this is assuming I'm right that many more are requested than given).

Hello guys I have been wondering this for a while. When I do research on these big famous serial killers in the U.S. they all seem to have several things in common, almost all are from the 70s-90s and a lot of them seem to be Korean or Vietnam war vets. Pornography also became a rising trend in the late 60s-70s during the peace movement and increased in the 80s to the 90s (correct me if I'm wrong) Could all these factors be linked to the serial killings that we saw in those times? Has there been any research done on this? What do you think? Thank you guys for any response!

Not justifying what he did by any means at all but when i finished his book recently and don’t see too much discussion or sympathy towards the horrific acts he endured as a child. I think any human being would lose their mind at that point as well.

Some highlights-

born out of wedlock, unwanted by his own mother and did not know his full name until age 13. Beaten, starved, regularly locked out of the house at age 4/5 by a series of step fathers and older siblings due to small size (likely due to severe malnutrition). Drank a bottle of kerosene as a baby which gave him severe convulsions

Dropped out of school at age 8 due to severe bullying and began working full time as a mechanic to make money to avoid being at home. Began hanging out with teenage boys who essentially brought him into the world of crime and also sexually assaulted him and “taught” him how to assault others, cumulating in the gang rape he did as a teen.

Raped, starved, tortured daily with chains and lashes once again in juvenile reform school. Upon being released he chose to link up with one of his school rapists to look for work/help instead of his own family because he had nowhere else to turn to. Sunk into crime again and the rest of history.

Just wow. After reading the book all i can say is is anyone surprised he became a killer after so that? Cause i’m most certainly not