10 murders. 50 rapes. Decades of media attention. The Golden State Killer is still at-large almost 40 years after his last victim. As infamous as his string of crimes is, he’s remained elusive from his meticulousness in committing murder – as weird as that sounds.
The Golden State Killer was a professional. The man patiently profiled his victims, gaining a critical information disparity that left both the victims and police dumbfounded with the lack of evidence to be substantiated. His tactics for anonymity were limiting visibility through blindfolds and nighttime, learning the schedules of victims through creepy phone calls and “setting up” his murder site in the preceding days by breaking into the homes. McNamara notes that these systems culminated in the unsettling dichotomy that: “He was always a stranger to you, but you were not to him.” (McNamara, 2. The M.O.) His ability to move – t0 kill – in effective silence kept him out of the public eye much more than other serial killers of his time. The Golden State Killer did not want themselves to be known; others lacked this reserved humility, ultimately gamifying their back-and-forth with the police which usually led to their arrest.
Hypothetically, if the Golden State Killer did continue his spree the exponential growth of forensic technology would’ve met his spree with an swift end. The Golden State Killer’s last victim was in 1986. This date just precedes the beginning of DNA technology. Today, as mentioned by McNamara, California has one of the most impressive data banks for DNA testing around the globe. One morsel left at a crime scene would most likely lead to a matched suspect from the vast swaths of data that the state has gathered. Additionally, new tracking and tapping technology could easily use the phone-calling strategy directly against the Golden State Killer. If the Golden State Killer had continued, his killings would likely have been abruptly stopped with a conviction – the same can be said for serial killers in general.
The increases in technology in the forensic sphere have greatly reduced the number of serial killers because of the relative ease to catch them then in the 1970s and 1980s. The uptick in information will make sure that serial killers are not running rampant like they did in the past.
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I like that you pointed that at the time that the Golden State Killer stopped his crime spree was right at the start of advances in forensic science techniques. He would have definitely been caught if he continued his reign of terror. Also, the advancements in tracking and tapping technology, if used against him, would have turned the tables, making it increasingly difficult for him to continue his crimes undetected. Your assumption on how the same could be said for serial killers in general very valid.
As you pointed out, the Golden State Killer stopped killing people right before forensic techniques began to advance. If he had continued with his killing spree, he would have undoubtedly been caught sooner due to the evidence he was leaving at the crime scenes.
He also used phone calls to taunt his victims. In today’s world, technology allows phone calls to be traced back to the caller. While the Golden State Killer slept contentedly in his bed for 44 years, he had no idea that he was the one who was being targeted, and would eventually be forced to pay for the suffering he caused.