Serial killer TV shows, movies, podcasts, documentaries, and even dances (The Dahmer) are so popular today, but the idea of serial killers is still relatively new to crime and criminal investigations. Historically, people were murdered for revenge or jealousy, to protect secrets, or for a million other reasons, but these reasons always boiled down to some explicit motivation. Even though the motivation was antisocial, the victim usually understood why they were attacked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Conversely, serial killers are strangers to their victims. Serial killers rampage across cities, enforcing some silly manifesto because of their unresolved mommy issues. That a person would go around killing people randomly was understandably hard for law enforcement officers to believe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The fact that serial killers usually committed more than just murder and didn\u2019t stick to one vicinity could have helped criminal investigators catch them. The investigators from the different jurisdictions would have been able to sense trends and put their separate pieces of evidence together to investigate the case more efficiently. However, the investigators did not communicate effectively, so the serial killers could continue these twisted and inhumane acts under the radar for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A good example of this challenge is the case of the Golden State Killer. This serial killer terrorized California from 1976-1986 when criminal investigations had not begun using DNA evidence. Although evidence containing the killer\u2019s DNA was collected, criminal investigations did not have the phenomenal tool of DNA analysis in their toolbox yet. In addition, there was a lot of bad communication between the jurisdictions involved in this case. If the Golden State Killer had continued his attacks, he probably would have been nabbed faster because, eventually, he would have started making slip-ups that would have led to his arrest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On a good note, in the decades since the 80s, the rate of serial killings has dropped drastically. This is partially due to the number of documentaries about serial killers and their horrible fates. A rational human being would think twice before going down that path. As ridiculous as the idea of making adaptations of horrible people seems to be, it serves as a deterrence to getting involved in such a cruel pastime. Developments in forensic science have made it easier to investigate crimes because, in almost every criminal case, genetic evidence is left behind that can be processed through methods such as forensic DNA analysis, serology, and toxicology to find the perpetrator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Serial killer TV shows, movies, podcasts, documentaries, and even dances (The Dahmer) are so popular today, but the idea of serial killers is still relatively new to crime and criminal investigations. Historically, people were murdered for revenge or jealousy, to … Continue reading