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Research studies on serial killers
Essays on serial killers
Essays on serial killers
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The Hartsville Murders
The first murder happened on Monday, October 19. Sixty year old Diana Dixon was gardening when a stranger killed her instantly with a blunt object. The police arrived two days later when a neighbor called her in missing. The autopsy report showed signs of blunt force trauma and internal bleeding. The police got a suspicious call that monday but ignored it. The murder weapon was found next to Diana. It was a spade. After the police questioned Diana’s adopted kids, David and Jenny, they were released until David’s prints were found on the murder weapon. He was tried in court and got life in prison. The small town of Hartsville, Montana was in disbelief for the next few days. The small innocent town didn’t know what terrible things would come next.
On the 27th of October, the police found two more bodies. The bodies belonged to Shane and Katherine Brown, neighbors of the Dixons’. The murder was called in by a strange man who told the police he did it.
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he told the police and they got a search warrant to look in his house. The guy’s name was Keith Moore, a detective for the police who happened to be on the news for the Hartsville murders. The police raided Keith’s home only to find emptiness. They searched his room and found a journal with addresses. The police cross checked the addresses and two of them were addresses of the people who were murdered. The journal had many addresses, 25 to be exact. The police searched every home only to find almost nothing. Two detectives were searching a home when they found a note that had an address leading to a warehouse. The police called in the SWAT, raiding the building. What they found next was the most brutal thing they would ever see. Five bodies lying on the floor with what looked like torture equipment. On the wall written in blood read, “You’re too late.” The police identified the bodies and one of them belonged to
Growing up in a small town you would never expect for a family to get murdered. Many people have the perception that in a small-town things, never happen. Well I’m sure that’s what Herbert and Bonnie Clutter thought to until the night of their death. Herbert and Bonnie Clutter lived in Holcomb, Kansas with their two kids Nancy and Kenyon on their family farm. The Clutter family was very respected within the community and in Garden City. Herbert was also a very respected employer. The Clutter family lived a very disciplined but still enjoyable and well provided for.
The Army CID sent a new, inexperienced investigator named William Ivory to investigate the scene. Ivory decided after looking around the house that MacDonald made up the story of the killers. He also persuaded everyone that he was the culprit. This meant that everyone in Ivory’s chain...
Suzanne Lebsock, the author of “A Murder in Virginia”, has written many historical novels, including “The Free Women of Petersburg: Status and Culture in a Southern Town, 1784-1860”, “Visible Women”, and “A Share of Honour”. Lebsock has been recognized with the MacArthur Fellowship, the Bancroft Prize and Berkshire Conference Prize for “The Free Women of Petersburg”, and the Guggenheim Fellowship. “A Murder in Virginia” captures the essence of the Southern society post-slavery. The strictly fact based novel goes chronologically from soon prior the murder of a white farm wife, Lucy Pollard, to the convicting of suspects, to sentencing those found guilty to be hanged, to the children of Fort Mitchell searching for the lost money. These events span from 1895 to over a century later. The previously
After reading ‘The Murder of Helen Jewett” it gave me insight on how crime in New York City was in the 1830’s and another view on how life for men and women differed. The book starts off talking about Dorcas Doyen famously known as Helen Jewett and how she was highly thought of but then the news comes out of nowhere with several stories about her past some twisted to make her seem as bad as a prostitute who has bounced around a few times could be seen. But her actual story was that she was born in 1814 in Temple, Maine to a regular working family. She lost both of her parents at a young age her mother died when she was at the early ages of her life and he father who was an alcoholic died shortly after her mother. She was put in a home, orphaned
On June 7th 2008, Sarah May Ward was arrested for the murder of Eli Westlake after she ran him over in a motor vehicle in St. Leonards. Prior to the incident the offender had been driving the wrong way down Christine Lane which was a one way street. Whilst this was occurring she was intoxicated, under the influence of marijuana, valium, and ecstasy and was unlicensed to drive. The victim and his brother who were also intoxicated, where walking down the lane and where nearly hit by the offender. This prompted the victim to throw cheese balls at the car and make a few sarcastic remarks regarding her driving ability. After a brief confrontation between the two parties the victim and his brother turned away and proceeded to walk down Lithgow Street. The offender followed the victim into the street and drove into him while he was crossing a driveway.
Mark worried about his cousin considering that her son and husband had abusive tendencies and contacted the authorities. Officers checked the house twice and both times a note was on the front door of the house claiming the family was away. The police returned a third day and forced their way in. The police found the bodies of Randy and Karen Ringquist frozen in the freezer Jeremy had purchased to hide the smell of decay. Mark told the paper; “Karen and her husband didn’t get along. He was abusive to her. And then their son moved in and he was also abusive. He’s a 300 pound kid.” He continued with; “Her life was miserable and I tried to tell her to get out. I said ‘You’ve got to get out of there,’ but she said she had no money and no place to go. There’s no relatives close. I’m probably her closest
This morning October 8th 1965 at about 5:13 am the body of Bob Sheldon was found lying next to the park fountain he was seen to be in a pool of blood. His body had a single stab wound in his back which had pierced his heart, killing him instantly. Supposed eye witnesses say that a small boy who was a member of the "Greaser Gang" attacked and killed Bob and intended to kill the rest of them. Cherry Valance claims that she was walking with Johnny and Ponyboy after the movies when Bob approached them in his car and threatened the two them. Be on the lookout for the two boys with the description of one that has long light-brown hair, green eyes, and is about five feet tall and another has long jet-black hair, large black eyes, and is about four feet six inches. The first one is considered to be Ponyboy and the second one is considered to be Johnny. The two are now on the run they were last seen at a party with Dally. Investigators report that Dally says he has no idea where these two are but he thinks that they are going to Mexico. A woman was taking a walk through the park and discovered the bloody corpse she said “I was hesitant at first because I thought they were watching me, but I gained some courage and called 911” the friends that were their helping Bob bully the 2 said they were there during the homicide, but decided not to call the police because they were drunk and they were scared after seeing him dead. They said, the murderer was a 16 year old boy named Johnny Cade.
Sue Grafton once stated: “Except for cases that clearly involve a homicidal maniac, the police like to believe murders are committed by those we know and love, and most of the time they're right.” This is clearly the thought the Boulder Colorado police conceived in the case of little beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey. As many have observed from the onslaught of media coverage, the day after Christmas 1996, six year old Jon Benet Ramsey was found buried under a white blanket, bound, beaten, and strangled to death in the wine cellar of their Boulder home. With such a strikingly rare and glamorous story of a six year old beauty queen dead, who was a part of a “perfect American upper-middle class family”, combined with a lack of a lead and ever mounting suspicion piling up against the parents it was no surprise to find that it was fuel to the media and soon stories sold and became a matter of competition between the press. So, like wildfire, this heart-breaking story spread, stretching across the nation, shattering the souls of the world. News broadcasts, magazine and newspaper articles, and television specials all shaped and molded peoples perceptions of this beautiful child’s murder, especially her parents, John and Pasty Ramsey’s involvement or lack there of. The police and FBI’s merciless quest to connect Jon Benet’s murder to her parents, seemed to cause the them to overlook important evidence, or at the very least dismiss suspicious findings that would otherwise send red flags to investigators. There are many contributors as to why this case remains unsolved including lack of investigative expertise, failure to protect valuable evidence, and focusing too much on the parents as suspects but, ultimately, the over involvement of...
The book Murder in the Bayou: Who Killed the Women Known as the Jeff Davis 8?, written by independent journalist and private investigator Ethan Brown, tells the horrific true story of the bayou town of Jennings, Louisiana located in the heart of the Jefferson Davis parish. During the four year duration between 2005 and 2009, the town of Jennings was on edge after the discovery of the bodies of eight murdered women were found in the filthy canals and swamps. The victims became known as the “Jeff Davis 8.” For years, local law enforcement suspected a serial killer, and solely investigated the murders based on that theory alone. The victims were murdered in varying manors, but when alive they all shared many commonalities and were connected to
Michael Kirk and Peter J. Boyer. (2000, January 18). The killer at Thurston High. May 5, 2010, by FrontLine: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/kinkel/etc/script.html
Two detectives were assigned to the case: Harry Hanson and Finis Brown. [2] When they and the police arrived at the crime scene, it was already swarming with people, gawkers and reporters. The entire situation was out of hand and crowded, everyone trampling all over any hopes for good evidence. [2] One thing they did report finding was a nearby cement block with watery blood on it, tire tracks and a heel print on the ground. There was dew under the body so they knew it had been set there just after 2 a.m. when temperatures dropped to 38 degrees.
A society that presumes a norm of violence and celebrates aggression, whether in the subway, on the football field, or in the conduct of its business, cannot help making celebrities of the people who would destroy it, (Lapham, 1985). Unfortunately, such acts of rampage have become a prevalent factor in the Canadian culture. As a result of endless media coverage, Canadians now are constantly bombarded with countless images of violence. Many of which often portray a victim avenging their opponent by force. Thus, indoctrinating individuals to believe that it is only through aggression that problems are resolved. Rather than being punished for acts of violence, those who commit such offenses are often praised for their “heroism”. In addition, the success of films like The Godfather, Gladiator, and Troy further aid in reinstating we live in a society that praises violence. Furthermore, this ideology allows for people to partake in violent acts with little or no backlash from ones community. However, when an person strays away from the “norm”, they are likely to then be viewed as a deviant. Such cases of rejection within a society, are often seen in the portrayal of serial killers. Although our society tends to condone violence when it is directed towards a specific individual(s), it does not allow the killing of innocent bystanders. Instead, crimes that are targeted against a number of people over a long period, entail the harshest forms punishments under the law. Sadly, in executing the law for said crimes, those in charge often face much public scrutiny. Such occurrences were apparent in the faulty murder investigations of Canada's most notorious serial killer Robert Pickton. This is due to the fact that, the negligence of the Vancou...
"I see a perfect explosion, God's ammunition dump, going up in flames of righteousness, Satan storming heaven, his artillery captain, a fiercely grinning fool with red flayed cheeks, Damien by name, never to be Michael Hutchison again. The end is near. Kiss your ass goodbye people, it's time to pay up. Now is the judgment. I am the judge."-Damien Echols, (West Memphis Three Facts). The West memphis three is considered one of the most unfair trials in US history. On May fifth, three eight year old boys came up missing from their West Memphis, Arkansas homes. The next day, they were found brutally murdered in which appeared to be the attempts of a Satanic ritual. This lead to an opinion that only Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jesse Misskelley, due to the assumption, the investigators of this case, caused Jesse Misskelley to have a nervous breakdown caused by his unrecognized mental retardation, which forced a confession out of him. When word got out on this case, celebrities backed up the belief that the three boys were innocent and were giving an unfair trial.
These murder cases stayed unsolved for decades, and their resolution may give some sense of closure to the long-suffering families of the victims. But these triumphs are largely symbolic. By congratulating ourselves too much for them, we risk neglecting the challenges of the present.
The school's undercover narcotics officer, Randy, was killed in the faculty parking lot. A car pulled up, and a black tinted window rolled down. The passenger in the back seat shot him once in the head with a handgun, then the car sped away. Randy was killed instantly, and the people in the car were never caught.