[SPEAKER_00]: What is the most disturbing serial killer fact? [SPEAKER_00]: Story one. [SPEAKER_00]: Israel Keys was a bank robber as well as a serial killer. [SPEAKER_00]: In one of the towns where he robbed a bank, a construction worker went missing the day before. [SPEAKER_00]: This worker was known to have long black hair. [SPEAKER_00]: Keys robbed the bank wearing the man's hard hat, and what looked to be a long black wig as a disguise.
[SPEAKER_00]: Later, they asked keys where he bought the wig. [SPEAKER_00]: Bought it. [SPEAKER_00]: There's more than one way to get a wig. [SPEAKER_00]: He scouted this dude and used his hair as a disguise. [SPEAKER_00]: Story 2. [SPEAKER_00]: One of the most grotesque facts I read was Ted Bundy said that after he had killed his victims.
[SPEAKER_00]: For days he would go and revisit their corpse and even perform sexual acts with her dead bodies until future faction of the dead body no longer allowed for him to do this. [SPEAKER_00]: Story 3. [SPEAKER_00]: The toybox killer, David Parker Ray, built a soundproof trailer he called his toybox, where he tortured and killed his victims.
[SPEAKER_00]: He recorded detailed audio tapes describing what he would do to them, and played these tapes for his victims before beginning their torture. [SPEAKER_00]: Story 4. [SPEAKER_00]: That if they stayed random, it's highly unlikely we would ever catch them. [SPEAKER_00]: Most murders are emotional, and involve people like spouses or relatives. [SPEAKER_00]: It takes a huge amount of motivation to want to take someone's life.
[SPEAKER_00]: After investigators look at the family, they ask who had a problem with the person. [SPEAKER_00]: Once those options are gone, solving the case becomes very difficult. [SPEAKER_00]: Across the country, the rate for solving murders in the U.S. is now less than 50%. [SPEAKER_00]: This means a random act of violence will lose focus and resources fast.
[SPEAKER_00]: The serial killers who do get caught almost always make errors that show the crimes are linked, such as using the same weapon or the same method. [SPEAKER_00]: Eventually, they make a mistake that reveals who they are. [SPEAKER_00]: It is almost certain that there is a smart serial killer in the country who is claiming many victims with almost no chance of being caught because they're staying random.
[SPEAKER_00]: Story 5 There's a sad and unsettling account of experience that was had by the father of Jane McDonald. [SPEAKER_00]: One of the victims of the infamous Yorkshire Ripper. [SPEAKER_00]: It seems that while Mr. [SPEAKER_00]: McDonald was waiting up for his daughter to get home from her campus he dosed off on the couch. [SPEAKER_00]: At one point he later said he sensed Jane quietly into the living room. [SPEAKER_00]: Kiss him tenderly on his head and go upstairs.
[SPEAKER_00]: He was later awoken by police knocking on his door to inform him that Jane's body had been found near her university. [SPEAKER_00]: He was confused and swore blind at the time that there must be some estate. [SPEAKER_00]: The poor guy had to go and check her room and the rest of the house to realize she'd never actually made it home after all.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's a sad and unsettling account of experience that was had by the father of J. McDonald, one of the victims of the infamous Yorkshire Ripper. [SPEAKER_00]: Paul Bernardo was questioned by the police for his crimes in Scarborough, because people who knew him called in tips. [SPEAKER_00]: Also a police drawing of the suspect looked exactly like him.
[SPEAKER_00]: The police thought he was too charming and nice looking to be the person they were after, but he still gave them a DNA sample. [SPEAKER_00]: Later, while he and his wife were hurting and taking a lives of young girls, he was questioned again. [SPEAKER_00]: Many people, including his best friend from childhood, told the police he was likely the one.
[SPEAKER_00]: Once again, the police did not think he was a suspect because they believed a handsome man who acted so calm and friendly could not be a monster. [SPEAKER_00]: When the DNA was finally analyzed, they couldn't write him off anymore. [SPEAKER_00]: Story 7. [SPEAKER_00]: More like general theories than facts about serial killers that I've come across. [SPEAKER_00]: There's a rise in serial killers with in-generation's born or raised during wartime.
[SPEAKER_00]: This might happen because fathers who serve in the military return home with untreated trauma, leading to a stressful or abusive home life. [SPEAKER_00]: Another idea is that they are raised by single mothers who are overwhelmed or neglectful, causing a child to develop a deep hatred for women. [SPEAKER_00]: The Vietnam War is often used as an example to support this theory.
[SPEAKER_00]: Some believe we are no longer in the Golden Age of Traditional Serial Killers because many now become school shooters or domestic terrorists. [SPEAKER_00]: On the other hand, something that Golden Age never actually ended. [SPEAKER_00]: Instead, the resources once used to find and catch serial killers are now used to stop terrorism. [SPEAKER_00]: This theory suggests it has never been easier to be a serial killer than it is now.
[SPEAKER_00]: There may be fewer serial killers because improvements in science and psychology help police catch them after their first crime. [SPEAKER_00]: However, another view is that we have become worse at catching them. [SPEAKER_00]: The popularity of true crime media might teach killers how to hide evidence and change their methods so that their crimes are harder to link together.
[SPEAKER_00]: Being able to travel easily across states and countries allows killers to spread their crimes across different areas. [SPEAKER_00]: Some modern killers may travel to places with high crime rates to engage in homicide tourism, before returning home to live normal lives.
[SPEAKER_00]: Story 8 The single scariest thing I've ever read was Ted Bundy's application letter to law school, in which he does not lie, but instead chooses his words very carefully and pointedly by saying, I believe a full and comprehensive knowledge of the law is essential for the life I have chosen [SPEAKER_00]: Story 9, Dean Coral, who murder at least 28 boys in Houston, was involved in some way with a man who ran a harmful ring with tens of thousands of customers, John David Norman.
[SPEAKER_00]: John David Norman was also potentially connected to John Wayne Gacy. [SPEAKER_00]: John David Norman ran multiple illegal rings for decades. [SPEAKER_00]: Activities included selling boys into modern-day slavery. [SPEAKER_00]: Most of the serious evidence against him disappeared when it was sent to the state department. [SPEAKER_00]: Story 10. [SPEAKER_00]: When you look into serial killers, you'll find most of them had tons of people who thought they were doing something wrong.
[SPEAKER_00]: Co-workers, neighbors, or random strangers, they're usually a list of people who had some sort of feeling something was off about them. [SPEAKER_00]: And it's not uncommon they had the police investigate them a few times before their [SPEAKER_00]: Story 11. [SPEAKER_00]: The 14-year-old boy who escaped Jeffrey Dahmer's apartment naked with a whole drilled in his head and ran to two police officers asking for help.
[SPEAKER_00]: Dahmer told the cops that they had a lover's spat and the kid was drunk or something, so they just left the kid back with Dahmer. [SPEAKER_00]: He got out, went for help, thought he'd be saved, only for them to give him right back to his captor. [SPEAKER_00]: Jeffrey Dahmer told a psychologist he drilled a hole in the head of a lay-ocean boy and poured an acid before police encountered Dahmer and the naked days boy on a sidewalk. [SPEAKER_00]: The psychologist testified Tuesday.
[SPEAKER_00]: The officers involved said they believed Dahmer when he told him the boy was his adult partner and left them in Dahmer's apartment. [SPEAKER_00]: Dahmer has said he took the boy's life shortly after police left. [SPEAKER_00]: Judith Becker, a defense psychologist, is the first witness in Dhammers' trial to indicate that police failed to notice a hole in the boy's head.
[SPEAKER_00]: But defense attorney Gerald Boyle said it in news conference after the testimony that police couldn't have noticed the injury. [SPEAKER_00]: There was no blood apparent from the boy's head, he said.
[SPEAKER_00]: A defense psychiatrist testified Monday that Dhammer used a drill to perform surgery on the brains of some of his victims in an effort to turn them into zombies who would not resist him, but he killed them when he realized they [SPEAKER_00]: The boy-14-year-old Conorax sent to some phone, fled the apartment May 27 when Domer went to the store, but officers returned him when Domer convinced them the two had had an argument between partners.
[SPEAKER_00]: The incident prompted critics to accuse police of insensitivity and discrimination. [SPEAKER_00]: Two officers later were fired. [SPEAKER_00]: Ms. Becker also testified that Domer got a thrill from eating parts of some of the 17 men and boys he admitted to harming. [SPEAKER_00]: Periodically, he would take portions out of the freezer and cook them. [SPEAKER_00]: Ms. Becker said, while he ate, he would become aroused.
[SPEAKER_00]: Domer had physical contact, in one way or another, with all 17 victims after they passed away, Ms. Becker said, Ms. Becker said, Domer soaked one victims, remains in chemicals to preserve them. [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe I was born too late, Ms. Becker quoted Domer as saying, [SPEAKER_00]: Story 12. [SPEAKER_00]: Dean Corel, the candyman, abducted, tortured, and murdered teenage boys in Houston, Texas.
[SPEAKER_00]: Instead of laughing maniacally and rubbing it in the boys' face throughout the torture period, he would repeatedly thank the boys he was torturing for letting him do this to them, and how much he loved and treasure them for this. [SPEAKER_00]: So there's that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Story 13. [SPEAKER_00]: Countries where you were told the people are super friendly like Canadians have long stretches of roads that pass through either wilderness or aboriginal areas, and they are known hunting grounds for serial killers, but because the victims are aboriginal native tribes people, the law doesn't give shit.
[SPEAKER_00]: For every Jeremy Skabicki or Robert Pickton, there's a dozen that have never been caught, still driving the inter-provincial highways of the TCH system. [SPEAKER_00]: Story 14. [SPEAKER_00]: Many victims were buried slash hidden in their house, where their kids grew up, and they buried their first born daughter under the backyard porch. [SPEAKER_00]: When they were caught, Fred vowed to take all the blame, but he talked too much to the cops and implicated her.
[SPEAKER_00]: After that, Rose turned from him entirely and portrayed herself as a victim. [SPEAKER_00]: It didn't save her. [SPEAKER_00]: But a similar defense [SPEAKER_00]: Story 15. [SPEAKER_00]: Fred and Rosemary West killed for over two decades. [SPEAKER_00]: Many victims were buried slash hidden in their house, where their kids grew up. [SPEAKER_00]: And they buried their first born daughter under the backyard porch. [SPEAKER_00]: When they were caught, Fred vowed to take all the blame.
[SPEAKER_00]: But he talked too much to the cops and implicated her. [SPEAKER_00]: After that, Ros turned from him entirely and portrayed [SPEAKER_00]: But a similar defense saved Carla Holmolka from being in prison with her husband, and she is out free now. [SPEAKER_00]: Story 16 I have a personal story. [SPEAKER_00]: So the first known victims of the Golden State Killer were friends of my stepfather.
[SPEAKER_00]: They all were attending Sacramento State University at the time, and my stepfather, and his then-girlfriend had plans to play some card games with it would be victims. [SPEAKER_00]: So my stepfather and his gal arrived to their friends' apartment on time for their plan hangout. [SPEAKER_00]: Yet no answer at the door. [SPEAKER_00]: They were perplexed as to why they'd have left the house when they had invited people over.
[SPEAKER_00]: They waited around for a while to see if maybe they were delayed on an errand or something. [SPEAKER_00]: Kept knocking as well, assuming they'd taken a nap or whatever. [SPEAKER_00]: After some time, they gave up on waiting and went home. [SPEAKER_00]: As it turns out, they were either already dead, or I think it's possible that the GSK was even still in there with them when my stepfather and date were knocking and waiting outside.
[SPEAKER_00]: Had it got there earlier, perhaps it would have deterred the GSK, saving their lives. [SPEAKER_00]: But the timing just didn't work out. [SPEAKER_00]: Story 17 Apart from the terrible things serial killers do and have done, I once heard a serial killer say something that's particularly creepy to me somehow, and sticks with me. [SPEAKER_00]: He said, the first time you kill someone, you feel you are crossing a line.
[SPEAKER_00]: But after your first kill, that feeling is gone with the next kill. [SPEAKER_00]: It makes it sound like it's pretty easy to descend into madness. [SPEAKER_00]: Story 18. [SPEAKER_00]: Jody Angelo was relatively recently identified as the original night stalker, the Golden State Killer, or the Viceroy or Ransacker. [SPEAKER_00]: He terrorized California for years. [SPEAKER_00]: Eventually part of his pattern was to target couples, so he could disable the husband and harm the wife.
[SPEAKER_00]: He would tie the man up and stack plates on him. [SPEAKER_00]: While assaulting the woman, DeAngelo would listen for the sound of plates falling or breaking, so he would know if the man was trying to move or become a threat. [SPEAKER_00]: These attacks often took a very long time, sometimes hours, because he would take breaks [SPEAKER_00]: DiAngelo had an unusually high level of patience when watching potential victims.
[SPEAKER_00]: He was capable of, for example, standing perfectly still while observing a house to look for patterns of behavior and ways to get inside. [SPEAKER_00]: He would even find chances to enter the house early and hide items that would be useful for a later attack. [SPEAKER_00]: If I remember correctly, he would know when he could enter the house without being seen to hide ropes or ties where he could easily grab them, but where the people living there would not notice them.
[SPEAKER_00]: Story 19. [SPEAKER_00]: Gillis Darius was a French knight and lord who notably fought alongside Joan of Arc during a hundred years war. [SPEAKER_00]: He was appointed as Marshal of France and was a hero for lifting the siege as a lagney and orlons. [SPEAKER_00]: It turns out he was luring around 40 young peasant boys to his castle, harming and killing them and then allegedly using their bodies and dark rituals.
[SPEAKER_00]: He was executed by being strangled and then burnt at the stick. [SPEAKER_00]: Story 20. [SPEAKER_00]: The night stalker Richard Ramirez took a victim's eyeballs at the trophy and would vomit on the floors of the crime scenes. [SPEAKER_00]: He was also a coward who avoided the rougher areas of L.A. like East L.A. and Boyle Heights to commit his crimes.
[SPEAKER_00]: He had to drive through and purposely pass those areas from his apartment downtown to the more suburban San Gabriel Valley where he committed the bulk of his crimes. [SPEAKER_00]: Story 21. [SPEAKER_00]: Louis Skirovito. [SPEAKER_00]: suspected 300-plus victims but only 180 or 190 confirmed. [SPEAKER_00]: He murdered mostly children in Venezuela and Colombia.
[SPEAKER_00]: I lived as a child in South America for a few years and my parents drilled it into our heads we were never to go outside alone. [SPEAKER_00]: It wasn't the safest place to begin with but this is how they scared us. [SPEAKER_00]: He received over 1,800 years in prison and it eventually got reduced to 25 or something like that.
[SPEAKER_00]: Story 22. [SPEAKER_00]: Aside from medical professionals like Harold Shipman, who had 218 confirmed victims, because he was able to kill in plain sight, the serial killer with the highest recorded number victims is Luis Guerrero, La Bestia, who committed 193 confirmed murders. [SPEAKER_00]: His victims were mostly minors, usually children living on the street, and the things he did to them before they died are too terrible to describe.
[SPEAKER_00]: Most of these crimes happened in Colombia, but a few were in Venezuela and Ecuador. [SPEAKER_00]: He passed away last year, which was the same year he became eligible to be released from prison. [SPEAKER_00]: Story 23. [SPEAKER_00]: There are a bunch of serial killers that authorities know of and worth the cases and were never able to identify ex-Zodiac killer.
[SPEAKER_00]: More disturbingly is there there are most likely a hell of a lot more serial killers out there than we even know about. [SPEAKER_00]: There are so many unsolved murders and disappearances that it is highly probable that many are linked, but that connection has not been established. [SPEAKER_00]: The FBI estimates that there may be as many as 50 active serial killers in the U.S. at any time.
[SPEAKER_00]: Story 24. [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe not a serial killer, but family annihilator John List. [SPEAKER_00]: He sat his kids down and asked if they wanted to be buried or cremated, but then wrote down the opposite of their wishes in his goodbye letter. [SPEAKER_00]: Presumably, because cremation was cheaper. [SPEAKER_00]: I find it disturbing because he told the kids he was going to be taking their lives in so many words, but they weren't able [SPEAKER_00]: Story 25.
[SPEAKER_00]: The most prolific known serial killer was a nurse who murdered up to 400 hospital patients. [SPEAKER_00]: In the late 1980s, Charles Cohen was employed at a medical facility in New Jersey, and he began taking the lives of patients. [SPEAKER_00]: At times, he would go and give them too much medication through a needle. [SPEAKER_00]: At other times, he would put the medicine into four bags in the storage area, so a random person would receive the dangerous amount at a later time.
[SPEAKER_00]: He was suspected many times at several different medical centers. [SPEAKER_00]: Some of the people he worked with believed he was dangerous and would not work with him. [SPEAKER_00]: At least one person before she passed away pointed him out as the strange male nurse who quietly entered the room and gave me a needle with something in it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Every time the leaders of a hospital started to doubt about him, they understood that if they contacted the law, the families of everyone who passed away would take them to court for money. [SPEAKER_00]: Because of this, they did not call the authorities. [SPEAKER_00]: Each time, they simply let him go from his job and said nothing about it. [SPEAKER_00]: He would then just go to a new place and find a job at a different hospital.
[SPEAKER_00]: He continued working as a nurse at many hospitals and continued taking lives until 2003. [SPEAKER_00]: After he was eventually caught, investigators found hard evidence of 29 murders, and he gave detailed confessions to a total of 40. [SPEAKER_00]: The true number will never be known, because so much evidence was destroyed or covered up by the hospitals. [SPEAKER_00]: Story 26 Israel Keys Final Victim was everyone.
[SPEAKER_00]: He had a plan, so they never found out who were how many he killed, and he left who knows how many kill kids buried that are still around. [SPEAKER_00]: In return, he got special treatment from investigators in the hopes that he would admit everything. [SPEAKER_00]: He also agreed to tell everything if his story stayed out of the spotlight. [SPEAKER_00]: Then he killed himself, story 27.
[SPEAKER_00]: Gary Ridgeway, the Green River Killer, after he was convicted, was interviewed by the FBI. [SPEAKER_00]: He admitted that after he had killed and raped his victims, he would often go home and have dinner or go to work, and then would go back and have sex with a corpse later on. [SPEAKER_00]: On one of these occasions, he had killed a victim in night before, and then went back the next night and had sex with a corpse while his seven-year-old son was asleep in his truck.
[SPEAKER_00]: The FBI asked him what he would have done if his son had woken up and seen him. [SPEAKER_00]: He casually replied, I would have killed him of course. [SPEAKER_00]: Story 28. [SPEAKER_00]: That John Wayne Gacy was connected to the biggest pedophile ring in the 60s and 70s run by John David Norman out of homewood. [SPEAKER_00]: Illinois, around the same time, all the kids went missing in northern Chicago left.
[SPEAKER_00]: John David Norman used Philip Pacek to manage his illegal mail ordering before and during his time in jail. [SPEAKER_00]: Philip Pacek was also a close and trusted partner for Gacy, which makes people wonder if all three men were working together in child exploitation, moving victims across state lines and taking lives. [SPEAKER_00]: Story 29 While working at a suicide prevention center alongside and rule, Ted Bundy had to reach across her dog to answer the phone.
[SPEAKER_00]: This dog had never acted that way toward anyone else before that time, that never did so again afterward. [SPEAKER_00]: In another interesting case, a woman survived a meeting with Bundy, because she refused to let him inside her home. [SPEAKER_00]: It is very likely she stayed safe because her dog was acting extremely upset and aggressive the moment he arrived. [SPEAKER_00]: Just like the first dog, this pet had never behaved that way toward a stranger before since that day.
[SPEAKER_00]: Additionally, an actor who played the role of Bundy in a movie mentioned a similar experience. [SPEAKER_00]: He said that when he would return home while still acting like the character, his own dogs would snarl and growl at him. [SPEAKER_00]: Would you like me to find more historical accounts of how people or animals reacted to him before he was caught? [SPEAKER_00]: Story 30 If you truly read in study serial killers, it is very interesting how they evolved and changed.
[SPEAKER_00]: They all basically start out the same way. [SPEAKER_00]: cruelty to animals, young odds sexual behaviors, being an oddball at school, abuse in the home and so on, they mostly have an addiction to adult films. [SPEAKER_00]: It is all crazy. [SPEAKER_00]: I think the one that made me really pay attention is Bundy. [SPEAKER_00]: A lot of women found him attractive. [SPEAKER_00]: Not me, but a lot did. [SPEAKER_00]: He was becoming a lawyer and new some people in high places.
[SPEAKER_00]: He also escaped two times from the courthouse. [SPEAKER_00]: He very easily was liked and sucked women right in. [SPEAKER_00]: To look at him, you would never think he was that kind of creepy person. [SPEAKER_00]: A police officer we knew told me that you do not need to be afraid of the creepy guy on the corner talking to himself as much as you do about the normal looking next door neighbor.
[SPEAKER_00]: I believe that, story 31, the toolbox killers made a sound recording of themselves hurting and killing weather victims. [SPEAKER_00]: People working for the FBI are told they must listen to the whole recording. [SPEAKER_00]: This is done to help them get used to the reality of such terrible crimes so they can do their jobs. [SPEAKER_00]: The recording is not open for the public to hear, and it should stay that way.
[SPEAKER_00]: However, a person put a written version of what was said on Reddit, a normal, healthy person [SPEAKER_00]: Story 32. [SPEAKER_00]: In the TV show Breaking Bad, Walter White and Jesse Pinkman were known to melt bodies and acid. [SPEAKER_00]: That has already been proven that it does not work. [SPEAKER_00]: In fact, the University of Wyoming already proved that all that does is turn the bodies into mummies. [SPEAKER_00]: Why?
[SPEAKER_00]: They were requested to run a recreation of the last eight victims that were found in a disused bank vault in a small South Australian town of Snowtown, as part of the South Australian case in regard to the Snowtown killers in the late 90s. [SPEAKER_00]: Story 33. [SPEAKER_00]: Generally, no remorse. [SPEAKER_00]: Actually taking pride in having a feeling of accomplishment. [SPEAKER_00]: The celebrity fame reason. [SPEAKER_00]: All four were very extremely bad in my book.
[SPEAKER_00]: especially, Bundy's abnormal and very huge need for power. [SPEAKER_00]: I never understood this huge and not normal need. [SPEAKER_00]: I probably came from his own fear, I guess. [SPEAKER_00]: The weird part is that he was working himself into a normal position of power in his school career at the same time. [SPEAKER_00]: It is said that it is possible that he harmed three women in the same day.
[SPEAKER_00]: Then came home appearing innocent and was intimate with his girlfriend all night. [SPEAKER_00]: This happened more than once. [SPEAKER_00]: I always felt for his girlfriend. [SPEAKER_00]: She was simple, innocent, and so brainwashed, or manipulated. [SPEAKER_00]: Sick man, he was. [SPEAKER_00]: Story 34. [SPEAKER_00]: My mom's friend dated John Norman Collins when they were in college.
[SPEAKER_00]: He went to pick her up one night and she didn't want to go out with him because he was on his motorcycle and it was raining. [SPEAKER_00]: He got mad, like flipped a switch, and became incredibly angry. [SPEAKER_00]: She broke up with him, right then. [SPEAKER_00]: He was later caught that year for taking the lives of several women in a young girl in the area. [SPEAKER_00]: He was identified by his motorcycle after taking his last victim.
[SPEAKER_00]: Until then, her whole family liked him and thought he was a great person who was studying to become a teacher. [SPEAKER_00]: This was during the late 60s, so everyone thought this serial killer was a hippie or freak, but it was the clean cut college student who was liked by mostly everyone. [SPEAKER_00]: Very Ted Bundy before Ted Bundy. [SPEAKER_00]: Story 35. [SPEAKER_00]: Read about William Bonin sometime. [SPEAKER_00]: Or maybe don't.
[SPEAKER_00]: He hurt and took the lives of children in a terrible van with the help of different partners for years in California. [SPEAKER_00]: He would strike them until they passed out over and over, let them wake up and then strike them until they passed out again while his partner drove around for hours. [SPEAKER_00]: He caused them pain in ways that would not end their lives quickly, but instead make their suffering last a long time. [SPEAKER_00]: They passed away in terrible pain.
[SPEAKER_00]: We're talking 12-year-olds. [SPEAKER_00]: The judge who found him guilty called Bonin, the single worst person he had ever met. [SPEAKER_00]: He was the first person to be put to death by lethal injection in California. [SPEAKER_00]: Governor Pete Wilson called Bonin, the poster boy for capital punishment. [SPEAKER_00]: If ever anyone deserved to be removed from this Earth, it was William Bonin.
[SPEAKER_00]: Story 36. [SPEAKER_00]: Not sure if this is the most disturbing, but Albert Fish, [SPEAKER_00]: If our call correctly after doing some of the most brutal inhumane things to his child victims, he would send letters to the family parents of those victims describing what he did in vivid detail to essentially just mess with those relatives. [SPEAKER_00]: Although some things he said were not things he confirmed he did, but that's not the point.
[SPEAKER_00]: Story 37. [SPEAKER_00]: I've worked with two separate people who have known and worked with Paul Bernardo. [SPEAKER_00]: The first guy said he worked with Paul at a restaurant and used to make fun of him while he worked even throwing things at him. [SPEAKER_00]: The second guy said he went on a vacation with Paul and he only saw him on the first and last day of a 5 day trip. [SPEAKER_00]: Paul apparently told him he was off chasing women and having fun with the locals.
[SPEAKER_00]: Story 38. [SPEAKER_00]: They go on doing what they're doing for so long not because they're really good at what they do, but because the police investigating them are usually next to useless. [SPEAKER_00]: Constantly see things like we wrote them off because they were nice. [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, they can't be the murderer. [SPEAKER_00]: We don't have enough proof meanwhile.
[SPEAKER_00]: They're out here leaving every bit of DNA at the crime scene and the cops investigating are just too lazy to do their jobs. [SPEAKER_00]: It was a common problem from a time where there were no body cameras so the police could get away with as much as they wanted to, including slacking and not following up on leads. [SPEAKER_00]: No personal responsibility until it negatively affects them. [SPEAKER_00]: Then it's an all-out manhood.
[SPEAKER_00]: Story 39 Golden State Killer One of the more messed up attacks by Joseph DiAngelo was targeting a couple from a community safety meeting about his attacks. [SPEAKER_00]: A man stood up and said something along the lines of how it would be impossible for a woman to be attacked if the husband was home. [SPEAKER_00]: DeAngelo found him several months later. [SPEAKER_00]: He tied up the husband and balanced dishes on a husband's back while JD harmed the man's wife.
[SPEAKER_00]: He told him that if he heard the dishes rattling and the man trying to escape that he would end both of their lives. [SPEAKER_00]: story 40. [SPEAKER_00]: Andre Chikatillo, a Ukrainian serial killer when cop-by-police was found to be in possession of a piece of a woman's cervix in his pocket wrapped in tissue. [SPEAKER_00]: He stated he kept it there as he liked to take it out and chew on it, even referring to it as his sexy truffle.
[SPEAKER_00]: Albert Fish, a serial killer in Cannibal, who took young children in New York in the 1920s, wrote a letter to one of the boys' parents with such comments as he cried like a girl when I heard him, and I ate his private parts with liver and onions. [SPEAKER_00]: It was chewy, ed game, the inspiration for Buffalo Bill in silence of the lambs.
[SPEAKER_00]: When caught was in possession of various items in his house covered with human skin, such as lampshades and sofas, there is even a belt made of nipples, story 41. [SPEAKER_00]: I was a witness in the Michigan Oakland County Child Killing Investigation against Gary. [SPEAKER_00]: Gary's sister bar also named him, the complistment task he's brother-in-law less identified Gary's photo, and I named Gary, police did nothing.
[SPEAKER_00]: Smintowski's childhood friend was the lead state cop investigating the case. [SPEAKER_00]: One victim was Jill Robinson, J.R. Found dead on December 26, 1976. [SPEAKER_00]: On the 20th anniversary, J.R. Ramsey, J.R. was found dead on December 26, 1996. [SPEAKER_00]: The killer Gary is my brother's friend, and I saw and heard key facts about the crime, including that a Ramsey neighbor and his wife were involved and gave the killer Gary a house key for the Ramsey home.
[SPEAKER_00]: Both the killer's sister barb and I have volunteered to give DNA. [SPEAKER_00]: Yet the police do nothing. [SPEAKER_00]: The serial killer Gary has victims in Puerto Rico, Iowa, Indiana, and Michigan graveyards to name a few from what I heard and what my brother, who is the killer's best friend told me. [SPEAKER_00]: Most disturbing fact, police often ignore witnesses or try to say the witness was involved.
[SPEAKER_00]: Story 42. [SPEAKER_00]: That one of Dominor's victims managed to escape to the street, people saw him, called the cops. [SPEAKER_00]: And the officers let Dominor take the young man back inside. [SPEAKER_00]: This specific event is often cited as one of the most heartbreaking and preventable moments in criminal history. [SPEAKER_00]: It involved a 14-year-old boy named Conorax into some form.
[SPEAKER_00]: In May 1991, while suffering from the effects of substances in physical trauma, the young boy managed to flee from the apartment where he was being held. [SPEAKER_00]: He made it out into the public eye, naked and clearly distressed, wandering near an intersection in Milwaukee. [SPEAKER_00]: Several helpful citizens, including two women named Glenda Cleveland and her daughter, Spotted the Boy.
[SPEAKER_00]: They immediately realized something was terribly wrong and contacted the authorities. [SPEAKER_00]: When the police arrived on the scene, they found the teenager shivering and unable to speak clearly. [SPEAKER_00]: Shortly after the officers arrived, the man responsible for the boy's condition appeared. [SPEAKER_00]: He remained calm and collected, providing a false story to the officers.
[SPEAKER_00]: He claimed that the boy was actually a 19-year-old adult, and that they were simply in a relationship and had a minor argument. [SPEAKER_00]: Despite the obvious physical state of the boy and the concerned pleas from the witnesses, the officers chose to believe the man. [SPEAKER_00]: They ignored the protest of the women on the sidewalk who insisted the boy was a child and was in danger.
[SPEAKER_00]: Instead of conducting a thorough investigation or checking the boy's identification, the officers helped the man lead the teenager back into the apartment building. [SPEAKER_00]: They even joked with a man as they walked him back to the unit. [SPEAKER_00]: The tragedy of this situation was compounded by the fact that the officers actually entered the apartment briefly.
[SPEAKER_00]: Even though there were strange smells and evidence of foul plain nearby, they stayed only a few minutes before leaving. [SPEAKER_00]: Once the police were gone, the boy was never seen alive again. [SPEAKER_00]: Later investigations reveal that if the police had simply checked the man's name in their system, they would have discovered he was already a registered offender on probation.
[SPEAKER_00]: This massive failure in police work allowed a dangerous person to continue his crimes for several more months before he was finally caught. [SPEAKER_00]: The incident remains a powerful example of how bias and a lack of professional responsibility can lead to devastating consequences. [SPEAKER_00]: It highlights a dark chapter where the voices of concerned community members were silenced in favor of a convincing lie, leading directly to the loss of an innocent life.
[SPEAKER_00]: This story serves as a reminder of the importance of thoroughness and empathy in public service, as a different choice that night could have saved many people. [SPEAKER_00]: story 43. [SPEAKER_00]: One of the most disturbing facts is that some serial killers have maintained normal lives and relationships while hiding their crimes, which can be chillingly deceptive. [SPEAKER_00]: This ability to blend into society is often what makes them so difficult to catch.
[SPEAKER_00]: To their neighbors, co-workers, and even their families, they appear to be regular people. [SPEAKER_00]: They might hold steady jobs, volunteer in their communities, or be known as the NICE GYnextor. [SPEAKER_00]: This mask of sanity allows them to live a double life, where their public persona is a complete contrast to the darkness of their private actions.
[SPEAKER_00]: Many notorious figures manage to stay under the radar for years by mimicking normal human emotions and social behaviors. [SPEAKER_00]: Because they didn't look or act like the monsters people imagined, they were often overlooked by the police or protected by those who knew them. [SPEAKER_00]: It is the realization that someone so dangerous can look so ordinary that continues to be one of the most frightening aspects of these cases.
[SPEAKER_00]: Story 44. [SPEAKER_00]: Dennis Rader was my uncle's scout troop leader. [SPEAKER_00]: He taught them how to use knots he used to bind his victims. [SPEAKER_00]: He told them he used certain knots all the time. [SPEAKER_00]: This personal connection to one of the most notorious figures in criminal history is a chilling reminder of how these individuals often hide in plain sight.
[SPEAKER_00]: Dennis Rader famously known as the BTK Killer spent years living a life that appeared perfectly normal, if not exemplary, to the people of Wichita, Kansas. [SPEAKER_00]: He was a family man, a devoted church member, and a leader for a local youth scouting group. [SPEAKER_00]: To the young boys in the troop, including the uncles in this story, he was simply a strict but knowledgeable leader who was an expert in outdoor skills.
[SPEAKER_00]: The most disturbing part of this history is how Raider integrated his dark impulses into his public duties. [SPEAKER_00]: In the scouts, learning to tie knots is a fundamental skill. [SPEAKER_00]: It is a badge of honor and a tool for survival. [SPEAKER_00]: However, Raider viewed these knots through a different lens.
[SPEAKER_00]: While he was demonstrating clove hitches or square knots to a group of children, he was mentally revisiting the crimes he had committed or planning new ones. [SPEAKER_00]: When he told the scouts that he used these specific knots all the time, the boys likely thought he was referring to his years of camping and outdoor experience. [SPEAKER_00]: In reality, he was offering a terrifyingly honest glimpse into his life as a predator.
[SPEAKER_00]: He used his role as a scout leader to build a reputation as a responsible and trustworthy citizen. [SPEAKER_00]: This mask made it nearly impossible for anyone to suspect him. [SPEAKER_00]: Even as he terrorized the community for decades, leaving behind a trail of victims, he continued to lead meetings and teach skills to the next generation. [SPEAKER_00]: The psychological impact on those who were under his leadership is profound.
[SPEAKER_00]: They grew up trusting a man who was using those very same lessons to cause harm to others. [SPEAKER_00]: It wasn't until 2005 that the truth finally came to light. [SPEAKER_00]: The community was stunned to learn that the man who had been so involved in their civic and religious lives was the monster they had feared for so long. [SPEAKER_00]: For the people who knew him personally, like those in the scout troop, the memories of his lessons took on a new haunting meaning.
[SPEAKER_00]: Every not tied during a camping trip became a reminder of his deceptive nature. [SPEAKER_00]: This story serves as a stark example of how evil can blend seamlessly into the fabric of everyday life, using the most innocent of settings to hide its true face. [SPEAKER_00]: Story 45 Fred West impregnated his younger sister, and that's why he was kicked out of heriferture only to go kill a kid with his workvan in Scotland.
[SPEAKER_00]: Both crimes should have put him away for a bit before his killing spree. [SPEAKER_00]: His wife Rosemary was a prostitute who had her dad as one of her clients. [SPEAKER_00]: This history shows a disturbing pattern of behavior that existed long before the couple was caught for their more famous crimes.
[SPEAKER_00]: The fact that Fred West was involved in such serious incidents in two different locations without facing long-term consequences is often pointed to as a major failure of the legal system at that time. [SPEAKER_00]: These earlier actions were clear warning signs of a complete lack of regard for others and for the law. [SPEAKER_00]: The situation involving Rose West is equally unsettling, highlighting a deeply troubled family dynamic that existed from a young age.
[SPEAKER_00]: This environment likely contributed to the dark partnership the two formed later in life. [SPEAKER_00]: Their home on Cromwell Street eventually became the side of many tragedies, but the foundations for their actions were laid years earlier through these initial acts of abuse and violence. [SPEAKER_00]: Story 46. [SPEAKER_00]: There are victims still out there that haven't been found yet and might never be found, and the killer is still out there adding to his total.
[SPEAKER_00]: This realization is perhaps the most chilling aspect of modern criminal investigations. [SPEAKER_00]: While high-profile cases often dominate the new cycles once a suspect is caught, there is a vast and quiet world of unsolved disappearances that suggest some much darker reality. [SPEAKER_00]: For every case that is solved through DNA or a lucky break, there are numerous files that remain cold for decades.
[SPEAKER_00]: These are the missing who have no voice and whose families are left in a permanent state of grief and uncertainty, never knowing where their loved ones are, [SPEAKER_00]: The idea that a predator could be active for years without ever being identified is a testament to how easily someone can hide in the gaps of society. [SPEAKER_00]: Many of these individuals target people who are often overlooked.
[SPEAKER_00]: Those without stable homes, those traveling alone, or those who live on the edges of the community. [SPEAKER_00]: By choosing victims that the system might be slower to search for, these criminals can continue their patterns without drawing the attention of major task forces. [SPEAKER_00]: They move between states, change their methods, and maintain a mask of normalcy that protects them from suspicion.
[SPEAKER_00]: The phrase adding to his total points to the terrifying fact that for a serial offender, the compulsion does not simply vanish. [SPEAKER_00]: Without an intervention, these individuals often continue their actions until they are physically unable to do so or until they make a critical mistake. [SPEAKER_00]: In the time it takes for technology to catch up or for a witness to come forward, the number of victims continues to grow.
[SPEAKER_00]: Each new person taken represents another family shattered, and another location added to a map that the authorities haven't even begun to dry yet. [SPEAKER_00]: Modern forensic science such as genetic genealogy has started to close some of these gaps. [SPEAKER_00]: Uncovering the identities of John and Jane does from decades ago.
[SPEAKER_00]: However, even with these advances, the vastness of the world and the calculated movements of a careful predator mean that many secrets will remain buried. [SPEAKER_00]: The thought that someone could be walking among us today, appearing perfectly ordinary while leaving a trail of tragedies behind them, is a haunting truth that keeps investigators working tirelessly to find the answers before the total rises again.
[SPEAKER_00]: Story 47. [SPEAKER_00]: Elaine Wernos was sexually abused by her grandfather, and she lived out of a tent for some time as a child in Michigan to avoid him. [SPEAKER_00]: Just in case you were wondering where she got her hatred from men at, [SPEAKER_00]: This background provides a grim look into the early life of one of the most well-known female figures in criminal history.
[SPEAKER_00]: The trauma she experienced during her youth in Michigan created a foundation of pain and survival that defined her later years. [SPEAKER_00]: Living in a tent as a young person was not a choice, but a desperate attempt to find safety from a person who was opposed to protector.
[SPEAKER_00]: This kind of extreme neglect and harm during childhood often leaves deep [SPEAKER_00]: The transition from a victim of her environment to someone who took the lives of seven men is a complex journey. [SPEAKER_00]: Many experts who have studied her case point to these early years are the starting point for her deep-seated anger and lack of trust. [SPEAKER_00]: She spent much of her life on the fringes of society, working in difficult conditions and facing constant instability.
[SPEAKER_00]: By the time she began her string of crimes and Florida during the late 80s, she had spent decades feeling targeted and abandoned by those around her. [SPEAKER_00]: While her actions were illegal and caused immense suffering to the families of her victims, her story is often used as a case study and how severe childhood trauma can lead to a cycle of violence.
[SPEAKER_00]: It highlights the importance of early intervention and support for children in abuse of [SPEAKER_00]: In her mind, her actions were a form of self-defense against the world she felt had always been out to get her. [SPEAKER_00]: Understanding her past doesn't excuse what she did, but it offers a clear picture of how a person can become so disconnected from society.
[SPEAKER_00]: The story of her living in the woods to escape her own family is a haunting image that stays with many people who study her life. [SPEAKER_00]: It represents a total breakdown of the family unit and a failure of community to protect a vulnerable child. [SPEAKER_00]: This early struggle for survival shaped the person she would become, eventually leading to the events that made her a household name for all the wrong reasons.
[SPEAKER_00]: Story 48 [SPEAKER_00]: It's very likely the zodiac killer was spotted on the sidewalk after murdering Paul Stein, but the cops were told to look for a black man. [SPEAKER_00]: This was likely due to bias and or miscommunication from police dispatch. [SPEAKER_00]: He even stopped to speak with the officers. [SPEAKER_00]: This moment is widely considered one of the greatest what-ifs in the history of law enforcement.
[SPEAKER_00]: On the night of October 11, 1969, after the driver Paul Stein was attacked in the Procidio Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, witnesses provided a description of the person they saw leaving the scene. [SPEAKER_00]: However, a significant error occurred when the information was broadcast over the police radio. [SPEAKER_00]: Instead of searching for a white male, the responding officers were mistakenly told to look for a black male suspect.
[SPEAKER_00]: Because of this incorrect report, [SPEAKER_00]: drove right past a man walking away from the area. [SPEAKER_00]: The man matched the actual physical description of the person seen by witnesses at the cab, but because he didn't match the incorrect race provided by dispatch, the officers didn't immediately view him as a suspect. [SPEAKER_00]: In a later letter, the person claiming to be the zodiac even bragged about this encounter, mocking the police for their failure.
[SPEAKER_00]: He claimed that he had actually spoken to the officers, though the officers later clarified that they only slowed down and had a very brief interaction or observation. [SPEAKER_00]: This incident highlights how a single error in communication can completely change the course of an investigation. [SPEAKER_00]: At the time, the neighborhood was on high alert and a massive search was underway.
[SPEAKER_00]: If the dispatch had provided the correct description, it is highly probable that the man on the sidewalk would have been detained and questioned right there. [SPEAKER_00]: Instead, the mistake allowed him to walk away into the darkness of the Procidio, disappearing from sight. [SPEAKER_00]: The failure that night has been analyzed for decades. [SPEAKER_00]: It shows how preconceived notions or simple clerical errors and high-pressure situations can lead to devastating results.
[SPEAKER_00]: While the police department eventually corrected the description, the window of opportunity had closed. [SPEAKER_00]: The man's seen that night was never officially identified, and the case remains one [SPEAKER_00]: This event serves as a stark reminder of the importance of accuracy in emergency reporting and the high cost of human error in the field.
[SPEAKER_00]: Story 49 Hamilton Howard Albert Fish May 19, 1870 to January 16, 1936, was an American serial killer child predator and cannibal. [SPEAKER_00]: He was also known as the Grey Man, the Werewolf of Westeria, the Brooklyn Vampire, the Moon Maniac, and the Boogie Man. [SPEAKER_00]: The story of Albert Fish is often considered one of the most disturbing chapters in the history of American crime.
[SPEAKER_00]: Born in the late 19th century, Fish lived the life that, on the surface, appeared to be that of a quiet elderly man. [SPEAKER_00]: However, beneath this gray-man exterior was a person driven by incredibly dark and violent urges. [SPEAKER_00]: His nicknames reflected the terror he struck into the hearts of the public, as the details of his actions slowly came to light during the early 1900s.
[SPEAKER_00]: Fish primarily targeted children, a fact that earned him the name the boogie man, among fearful parents. [SPEAKER_00]: He was known for his extreme patience, often spending a long time gaining the trust of families before taking their children away. [SPEAKER_00]: His crimes were not just limited to taking lives. [SPEAKER_00]: They involved acts of cannibalism and the inflection of terrible pain, which led to the name the Brooklyn Vampire.
[SPEAKER_00]: He claimed to have harmed hundreds of children across many states, though the exact number of his victims remains a mystery to this day. [SPEAKER_00]: One of the most terrifying aspects of fish was his behavior after his crimes. [SPEAKER_00]: As mentioned in other accounts, he took a twisted pleasure and contacting the families of those he had harmed. [SPEAKER_00]: He would write letters that describe his actions and graphic detail.
[SPEAKER_00]: Seemingly enjoying the psychological pain, he caused the grieving parents. [SPEAKER_00]: This lack of any human empathy or remorse made him what the most feared individuals of his time. [SPEAKER_00]: The name the Werewolf of Westeria came from his connection to a specific location where he committed some of his most famous and horrific acts. [SPEAKER_00]: Despite his elderly and frail appearance, fish with a master of deception.
[SPEAKER_00]: He used his age and grandfatherly look to put people at ease, making him a perfect example of a predator hiding in plain sight. [SPEAKER_00]: When he was finally caught in 1934. [SPEAKER_00]: A public was shocked to find that the monster they had imagined was actually a small, polite man in a suit.
[SPEAKER_00]: During his trial, his legal team tried to argue that he was not mentally sound because of the strange and self-harming things he did to himself, but the jury found him responsible for his actions. [SPEAKER_00]: His execution in 1936 marked the end of a long period of fear for the residents of New York and beyond. [SPEAKER_00]: Even decades after his death, the name Albert Fish remains synonymous with the absolute worst of human nature.
[SPEAKER_00]: His case is still study by experts today to understand how someone could commit such inhumane acts while maintaining a normal role in society. [SPEAKER_00]: He remains a haunting figure whose many names all point to the same terrifying truth. [SPEAKER_00]: A monster can look like anyone. [SPEAKER_00]: Story 50. [SPEAKER_00]: Everything we know about serial killers there behavior, how to catch them only comes from the ones who are bad enough at it to get caught.
[SPEAKER_00]: There's likely much more effective serial killers out there who have never even been detected. [SPEAKER_00]: This is a chilling realization for many people who study criminal history. [SPEAKER_00]: Most of our psychological profiles and investigative techniques are based on the mistakes made by those who are currently behind bars. [SPEAKER_00]: We study their patterns, their signatures, and the reasons they eventually slipped up.
[SPEAKER_00]: However, this creates a survivor bias in our data. [SPEAKER_00]: If a person is careful enough, mobile enough, and chooses their targets with enough cold calculation, they may never enter the radar of law enforcement at all. [SPEAKER_00]: These effective offenders likely understand how to avoid the common traps that lead to capture.
[SPEAKER_00]: They might avoid leaving any physical evidence, stay away from patterns that link crimes together, or operate in areas where the authorities are overwhelmed or lack resources. [SPEAKER_00]: While the media often focuses on the famous cases where justice was served, there are countless cold cases and missing person files that suggest a much more successful type of predator may be moving through society unnoticed.
[SPEAKER_00]: It is the thought of those who never left a trail that remains the most frightening mystery of all. [SPEAKER_00]: Story 51. [SPEAKER_00]: At the time between him and Andrew's bravict, for the person that I would most like to have three rounds in a ring with or to have tied to a chair while I slowly hurt them with a small blade and a pair of thin pliers.
[SPEAKER_00]: Obviously, all cereal and sprinklers are terrible people who deserve to be punished and removed, but I think those are the only two that I would ruin what's left of my own mental health to get at. [SPEAKER_00]: When we look at the history of those who commit mass harm, names like Bravic stand out because of the sheer scale and cold calculation of their actions. [SPEAKER_00]: These individuals do not just take lives.
[SPEAKER_00]: They attempt to shatter the peace of entire nations to spread a message of hate. [SPEAKER_00]: For many people observing these cases from the outside, the natural human response is a deep, burning desire for a specific type of justice. [SPEAKER_00]: This feeling often goes beyond the standard legal punishments of prison or even the death penalty.
[SPEAKER_00]: It is a raw visceral need to see the person experience the same level of fear and pain that they force upon their innocent victims. [SPEAKER_00]: The desire to face such a person in a physical ring or to hold them accountable in a more intense way is a reflection of how deeply these crimes wound our collective sense of safety. [SPEAKER_00]: When a person targets children, families, or innocent bystanders, it feels like an attack on humanity itself.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is why some feel they would be willing to sacrifice their own peace of mind or mental well-being just to ensure that the perpetrator feels the true way to their choices. [SPEAKER_00]: Is the idea that some crimes are so unforgivable that a standard courtroom sentence never feels like enough to balance the scales?
[SPEAKER_00]: Anders Bravick specifically is often cited in these discussions because of his complete lack of remorse and his attempt to use his trial as a platform for his ideology. [SPEAKER_00]: Watching someone show pride in causing such a mint suffering creates a unique kind of anger. [SPEAKER_00]: It makes the observer want to strip away that ego and replace it with a reality of the pain they cost.
[SPEAKER_00]: The mention of using tools like a small blade or pliers represents a desire to break through the cold, unfeeling wall these killers build around themselves. [SPEAKER_00]: However, the cost of such an encounter is often overlooked. [SPEAKER_00]: To become the person who delivers that kind of treatment requires a person to enter a dark place. [SPEAKER_00]: As noted in the original thought, it would involve trashing one's own mental health.
[SPEAKER_00]: This highlights the ultimate tragedy of these killers. [SPEAKER_00]: They don't just destroy the lives of their direct victims. [SPEAKER_00]: They also poison the thoughts and spirits of those who are left behind to deal with the aftermath. [SPEAKER_00]: The anger they leave in their way can be so strong that it makes good people contemplate doing things that go against their own nature.
[SPEAKER_00]: In the end, while the legal system focuses on removing these individuals from the Earth or locking them away forever, emotional weight remains with the public. [SPEAKER_00]: We are left with a knowledge that such evil exists, and the desire for more personal, physical form of retribution is a common way for people to process that horror.
[SPEAKER_00]: It is a testament to the impact of these shit stains on society that even years later, the mere mention of their names can spark a desire for such intense and personal justice. [SPEAKER_00]: Story 52 [SPEAKER_00]: Robert Picton would take the lives of women, feed the remains to his pigs, and then butcher those pigs and sell the meat to local stores and neighbors. [SPEAKER_00]: It is believed that human remains were processed along with the meat, too.
[SPEAKER_00]: But the British Columbia Health officials only made that information public many years after he was jailed. [SPEAKER_00]: This case remains one of the most gruesome and disturbing in Canadian history. [SPEAKER_00]: For years, women went missing from the downtown east side of Vancouver, but the investigation was slow to connect the disappearances to Picton's farm in Port Coquillum.
[SPEAKER_00]: When the police finally searched the property in 2002, they uncovered a scene that was far more horrific than anyone had imagined. [SPEAKER_00]: The farm was a place of total devastation, and the forensic team spent months sifted through the soil to find evidence of the many people who had disappeared. [SPEAKER_00]: The most shocking part for the local community was the realization that they might have a knowingly consumed meat from that farm.
[SPEAKER_00]: Picton was known to host large gatherings and pigboils where he served the meat he processed. [SPEAKER_00]: The delay by health officials and informing the public caused massive outrage. [SPEAKER_00]: Many people felt that the government had failed to protect the most vulnerable citizens' twice. [SPEAKER_00]: First by not stopping the crime sooner, and second by not warning the community about the possible health risks until long after the threat was gone.
[SPEAKER_00]: The legal process was long and difficult, as investigators had to piece together the stories of dozens of women. [SPEAKER_00]: picked in eventually face justice, but the shadow of his actions still hangs over the region. [SPEAKER_00]: The story serves as a terrifying reminder of how a person can hide horrific activities behind a seemingly normal agricultural business.
[SPEAKER_00]: It also highlights the importance of transparency from public officials when it comes to the safety and well-being of the community. [SPEAKER_00]: Story 53. [SPEAKER_00]: A lot of angels of death weren't investigated properly, or at all, because the hospitals didn't want to get sued by the victim's families. [SPEAKER_00]: It's terrifying to think that the person taking care of you while your sick can just turn around and take your life for their own twisted gratification.
[SPEAKER_00]: This reality is one of the most frightening aspects of the health care world. [SPEAKER_00]: Angels of death are medical workers who use their positions to harm those who are most vulnerable. [SPEAKER_00]: Because they have easy access to medicine and are trusted to be alone with patients, they can't commit these acts without drawing immediate attention.
[SPEAKER_00]: Often, their crimes are hidden by the fact that the victims were already ill, making a sudden passing seem like a natural event rather than something caused by a person. [SPEAKER_00]: The role of the hospitals in these cases is particularly disturbing. [SPEAKER_00]: In many instances, when red flags were raised or suspicious patterns were noticed, the administration chose to protect the institution's reputation and finances rather than the safety of the patients.
[SPEAKER_00]: Instead of calling the police, some hospitals simply fire the suspicious employee or allow them to resign. [SPEAKER_00]: This allowed the person to move to a new hospital and find new victims, continuing the cycle of harm in a different location. [SPEAKER_00]: This lack of accountability allowed some of the most prolific killers in history to operate for years.
[SPEAKER_00]: It was only after a massive number of unexplained deaths occur that authorities were finally brought in to look at the data. [SPEAKER_00]: These cases have since led to much stricter rules regarding the monitoring of medication and the reporting of unexpected patient outcomes. [SPEAKER_00]: The thought that a placement for healing could be used as a place for harm, and that the leadership might look the other way to avoid a lawsuit, remains a haunting concern for many.
[SPEAKER_00]: It highlights the desperate need for transparency and a system where the lives of patients are always valued more than the profit or image of a company. [SPEAKER_00]: Story 54 I read something that isn't disturbing per se, but has stuck with me since reading it. [SPEAKER_00]: I read that the types of people that are more likely to be serial killers end up in one of three places. [SPEAKER_00]: Jail, dead, or in a career field like defense or the armed forces.
[SPEAKER_00]: This is because, in those roles, their harmful nature is pointed toward an enemy. [SPEAKER_00]: Instead of being punished or sent to jail, they are actually rewarded for their behavior in nature. [SPEAKER_00]: This idea suggests that the same personality traits, such as a lack of empathy, a desire for control, or an attraction to violence, can manifest in very different ways depending on a person's environment.
[SPEAKER_00]: In a civilian setting, these traits often lead to criminal behavior and eventual capture. [SPEAKER_00]: However, within a structured military or defense setting, those same tendencies can be seen as useful assets for combat or high-stakes operations. [SPEAKER_00]: It is a chilling thought that the difference between a person being viewed as a threat to society and being viewed as a hero might simply be the context in which they use their natural inclinations.
[SPEAKER_00]: When these traits are channeled through official channels and directed at a specific target, they are given a level of social acceptance that wouldn't exist anywhere else. [SPEAKER_00]: This concept forces us to think about how society categorizes good and bad behavior based on the uniform a person is wearing.
[SPEAKER_00]: While many people enter the armed forces out of a genuine desire to protect and serve, this theory focuses on those with a specific psychological makeup who find a legal outlet for their impulses. [SPEAKER_00]: It highlights a strange overlap between the mindset of a predator and the mindset required for certain types of extreme combat, which is why the idea has stayed with so many people who read it.
[SPEAKER_00]: Story 55. [SPEAKER_00]: Many many victims of the Kingsbury run torso killer were never identified. [SPEAKER_00]: There were casts, models, photos, descriptions, lots of information provided to the public. [SPEAKER_00]: Most of these butchering took place at the depth of the Great Depression. [SPEAKER_00]: The killer rode the freight trains, so did his victims. [SPEAKER_00]: He hung out in hobo jumbles, so did his victims.
[SPEAKER_00]: This situation created the perfect storm for a predator to operate without being caught. [SPEAKER_00]: During the 1930s, thousands of people were moving across the country looking for work, often leaving their families and homes behind. [SPEAKER_00]: These drifters were essentially invisible to society.
[SPEAKER_00]: When someone disappeared from a hobo camp or a freight train, there was often no one to report the missing, and the police had very little way to track people who had no fixed address or identification. [SPEAKER_00]: The nature of the crimes was especially gruesome, involving the total dismemberment of the victims. [SPEAKER_00]: This made identification even harder, as the killer often removed the heads and other identifying features.
[SPEAKER_00]: Even with a police creating plaster cast of the victim's faces and displaying them to the public, the sheer number of people passing through the Cleveland area meant that most remain nameless. [SPEAKER_00]: The investigator on the case was the famous Elliott Ness, but even with his reputation, the killer was never officially found.
[SPEAKER_00]: The transient nature of both the killer and the victims allowed the perpetrator to blend into the desperate crowds of the Great Depression. [SPEAKER_00]: It remains one of the most haunting cold cases in American history, representing a time when poverty and displacement made it all too easy for people to vanish forever into the shadows of the railyards.
[SPEAKER_00]: Story 56. [SPEAKER_00]: One of the most common factors between a big chunk of serial killers is that before beginning their spree, many applied first to become law enforcement. [SPEAKER_00]: And as the case of Sonya Massey proved, some of them were successful in getting badges. [SPEAKER_00]: This connection is a deeply unsettling reality that investigators and psychologists have noted for a long time.
[SPEAKER_00]: The desire to be in a position of authority to accatroll over others, and to understand how police investigations work often draws these individuals toward careers in uniform. [SPEAKER_00]: By attempting to join the police force, they seek a role that provides them with power and a front row seat to the very systems meant to stop people like them. [SPEAKER_00]: In some cases, these individuals use their training to become better at hiding their actions.
[SPEAKER_00]: They learn about forensics, how evidence is gathered, and how to avoid leaving a trail. [SPEAKER_00]: When someone with these harmful impulses actually succeeds in becoming an officer, the danger to the community is immense. [SPEAKER_00]: They are granted the public's trust and given the legal right to use force, which can be a terrifying cover for someone who intends to cause harm.
[SPEAKER_00]: The tragic event involving Sonya Massey serves as a modern and painful reminder of what happens when the system's meant to protect people are instead used by those who should never have been given that power. [SPEAKER_00]: It forces a difficult conversation about how people are screened for these roles and how to prevent those with dangerous tendencies from obtaining a batch.
[SPEAKER_00]: The idea that a person meant to provide safety could actually be a threat is one of the most significant fears the public faces regarding those in positions of power. [SPEAKER_00]: Story 57. [SPEAKER_00]: A serial killer who is good at what they do will change their MO to avoid detection. [SPEAKER_00]: Case in point, Richard Ramirez.
[SPEAKER_00]: He changed his MO often enough that police thought there was more than one serial killer operating in the greater Los Angeles and San Francisco areas. [SPEAKER_00]: This unpredictable behavior made the investigation into his crimes incredibly difficult. [SPEAKER_00]: Usually, investigators look for a signature or a specific pattern of behavior that stays the same from one crime to the next.
[SPEAKER_00]: This helps them link cases together and create a profile of the person they're looking for. [SPEAKER_00]: However, Ramirez did not follow a set set of rules. [SPEAKER_00]: He attacked different types of people in different neighborhoods, used various tools, and committed his acts at different times. [SPEAKER_00]: Because his methods were so inconsistent, law enforcement struggled to realize that all of these tragic events were the work of a single person.
[SPEAKER_00]: While one team was looking for a specific type of attacker, another team was looking for someone completely different. [SPEAKER_00]: This confusion gave him more time to move through the community unnoticed, causing widespread fear across California during the mid-80s. [SPEAKER_00]: The case of the night stalker remains a primary example of how a lack of a consistent pattern can shield a predator from being caught.
[SPEAKER_00]: He was only through a combination of physical evidence left at a scene and the alertness of citizens that he was finally identified. [SPEAKER_00]: This case taught investigators that they must be open to the possibility that a single person can be responsible for vastly different types of crimes, especially when that person is intentionally trying to stay ahead of the law.