“There have been several serial killers who actively communicated with the police or the media. In these cases, investigators should consult with behavioural experts to assist with a proactive media strategy. The BTK case is an example of how a proactive media strategy contributed to the capture of a serial murderer. The BTK killer first emerged in 1974 and, over time, killed a total of ten victims. From 1974 until 1988, BTK sent a series of five communications to the media, citizens, and the police in which he not only named himself BTK (Bind them, Torture them, and Kill them) but also claimed credit for killing a number of the victims. He re-emerged in 2004 by sending a new communication to the media. BTK eventually provided eleven communications to police and the media during the eleven-month investigation. The last communication BTK sent included a computer disk, containing information that eventually identified Dennis Rader as BTK.”
http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/serial-murder
Serial Killers are a source of macabre fascination to many people; therefore there is no disputing the fact that serial killers sell newspapers. There have been several cases in the last century of killers who go to the ultimate lengths to revel in their notoriety. They speak to the world through the media.
From Jack the Ripper, to modern killers such as Gary Ridgway, (the Green River Killer) the public has been enthralled and appalled by reading the latest developments in these cases. Many would argue that press coverage only adds to a sense of mass hysteria, whereas others would state that these matters are in the public interest, especially in terms of safety and warning, and are therefore invaluable to the public.
But what of the toll these letters take on the journalist? As you will learn, some take the responsibility in their stride, and revel in the knowledge that they have received a career-making piece of correspondence. Others think more about the ethics involved, is it moral to print this letter? How can I keep control of the article, but still hand it over to the authorities?
Whatever the journalistic approach, the fact remains the same that these letters will be the most important pieces of information the journalists involved will ever receive.
But why do stories of serial killers captivate newspaper readers?
In a dissertation entitled Serial Killers as Heroes in the Media’s Storybook of Murder (2002), Julie B Weist of the University of Tennessee gives her theory on this phenomenon.
“Serial murder receives extensive news coverage because it seems to fascinate society even more than single murder. In the case of single murder, people in society tend to identify and sympathize with the victim and his or her family and demand punishment for the crime, but serial murder shifts the focus and attention from the victims to the killer. We hear about the victims, but the killer and his or her motives are what really interest us. While there is usually a clear motive or reason for a single- murder killer’s crime, there is no immediately obvious motive or reason for a serial killer’s crimes.”
Simply put, we are interested as the killer as a person, a source of fascination which contrasts with our relative normality. They evoke feelings and opinions in people which very few subjects can arouse.
They make us feel good about our own lives.
Red Ink Letters 