True Crime thread

[timb2]

Edmund Kemper was one of the early serial killers... Early 70's. At the end (after several prior murders), murdered and beheaded his mother, then murdered her friend and next door neighbor.

He then turned himself in.

There are a couple interviews with him on Youtube, both an early one and one more recently (he's been in prison for close to 50 years now).

He is one scary dude. He is like Norman Bates(Mommy issues),Jason(size),Patrick Bateman(likeable, but sadistic), Hannibal Lector( cannibal) all in one

 

[MichaelWinicki]

He is one scary dude. He is like Norman Bates(Mommy issues),Jason(size),Patrick Bateman(likeable, but sadistic), Hannibal Lector( cannibal) all in one

Yep!

And you listen to him in his interviews he's not a dummy.

He has a good understanding of why he did what he did and what would have helped kept him from doing it.

 

[aria]

My wife watches all the true crime/cold case shows but I can’t watch them. I used to read a lot about serial killers in high school before it became somewhat glamorized over the past decade. I’m pretty sure some of my teachers were frightened of me when I did presentations, art work, and papers on guys like Bundy and Gacy.

Anyways, I’ve changed a bit over the years and having seen so much death and sadness in my line of work, I can’t sit there and watch shows of someones life and family member being murdered anymore. It’s too depressing.

Having said that, there are still cases that have always interested me. Just a few are the villisca axe murders (lots of interesting theories on potential suspects and you can still rent a night in the house).

https://iowacoldcases.org/case-summaries/villisca-axe-murders/

Others that everyone knows would be the Black Dahlia, Jack the Ripper and to a lesser extent Elisa Lam.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

My wife watches all the true crime/cold case shows but I can’t watch them. I used to read a lot about serial killers in high school before it became somewhat glamorized over the past decade. I’m pretty sure some of my teachers were frightened of me when I did presentations, art work, and papers on guys like Bundy and Gacy.

Anyways, I’ve changed a bit over the years and having seen so much death and sadness in my line of work, I can’t sit there and watch shows of someones life and family member being murdered anymore. It’s too depressing.

Having said that, there are still cases that have always interested me. Just a few are the villisca axe murders (lots of interesting theories on potential suspects and you can still rent a night in the house).

https://iowacoldcases.org/case-summaries/villisca-axe-murders/

Others that everyone knows would be the Black Dahlia, Jack the Ripper and to a lesser extent Elisa Lam.

The Villisca case is maddening...

BUT, Bill James (the baseball stat guru– Who also has an interest in true crime) wrote a book with his daughter not that long ago investigates a string of related killings across the US... And I mean across the US.

And he identifies a possible suspect.

There is a possibility this person was the worst serial killer in US history.

Yeah, the worst as far as shear numbers go.

Not only did he murder a large number of people, several more were seemingly tried and either executed or lynched for murders they did not commit.

One thing I thought was interesting was that I always thought the Villisca murders were the result of someone using the sharp-end of an axe.

They weren't, the killer used the blunt-end. Which was a key connecting point (and there are other connecting points) that tie the killer to other murders throughout the country during that time period.

 

[aria]

The Villisca case is maddening...

BUT, Bill James (the baseball stat guru– Who also has an interest in true crime) wrote a book with his daughter not that long ago investigates a string of related killings across the US... And I mean across the US.

And he identifies a possible suspect.

There is a possibility this person was the worst serial killer in US history.

Yeah, the worst as far as shear numbers go.

Not only did he murder a large number of people, several more were seemingly tried and either executed or lynched for murders they did not commit.

One thing I thought was interesting was that I always thought the Villisca murders were the result of someone using the sharp-end of an axe.

They weren't, the killer used the blunt-end. Which was a key connecting point (and there are other connecting points) that tie the killer to other murders throughout the country during that time period.

Huh, that’s interesting, I may have to look it up and read it. I haven’t spent a lot of time researching it an once, just bits and pieces over the years. It seems like there’s so many possibilities and if it’s the same guy, I do remember one of the suspects being a suspected serial killer.

Another little tid bit I literally just read a few days ago was that there were marks in the ceiling of some of the rooms from the axe hitting it which gave clues as to the killers height. Other than one victim, one of the younger girls, showing defensive wounds I’ve always been curious how 6 people could be murdered with an axe in the same relatively small house and no one heard a thing.

*Although I think I also recently read one of the victims was found hiding in the closet. Not sure if that’s true or not.

 

[Hardline]

My wife watches all the true crime/cold case shows but I can’t watch them. I used to read a lot about serial killers in high school before it became somewhat glamorized over the past decade. I’m pretty sure some of my teachers were frightened of me when I did presentations, art work, and papers on guys like Bundy and Gacy.

Anyways, I’ve changed a bit over the years and having seen so much death and sadness in my line of work, I can’t sit there and watch shows of someones life and family member being murdered anymore. It’s too depressing.

Having said that, there are still cases that have always interested me. Just a few are the villisca axe murders (lots of interesting theories on potential suspects and you can still rent a night in the house).

https://iowacoldcases.org/case-summaries/villisca-axe-murders/

Others that everyone knows would be the Black Dahlia, Jack the Ripper and to a lesser extent Elisa Lam.

My wife watches all the true crime/cold case shows but I can’t watch them. I used to read a lot about serial killers in high school before it became somewhat glamorized over the past decade. I’m pretty sure some of my teachers were frightened of me when I did presentations, art work, and papers on guys like Bundy and Gacy.

Anyways, I’ve changed a bit over the years and having seen so much death and sadness in my line of work, I can’t sit there and watch shows of someones life and family member being murdered anymore. It’s too depressing.

Having said that, there are still cases that have always interested me. Just a few are the villisca axe murders (lots of interesting theories on potential suspects and you can still rent a night in the house).

https://iowacoldcases.org/case-summaries/villisca-axe-murders/

Others that everyone knows would be the Black Dahlia, Jack the Ripper and to a lesser extent Elisa Lam.

You probably already know this but it was rumored that LaVey put a death curse on Jayne Mansfield and her then lover.
LaVey wanted to resend the curse because he had a change of heart but it was too late.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Huh, that’s interesting, I may have to look it up and read it. I haven’t spent a lot of time researching it an once, just bits and pieces over the years. It seems like there’s so many possibilities and if it’s the same guy, I do remember one of the suspects being a suspected serial killer.

Another little tid bit I literally just read a few days ago was that there were marks in the ceiling of some of the rooms from the axe hitting it which gave clues as to the killers height. Other than one victim, one of the younger girls, showing defensive wounds I’ve always been curious how 6 people could be murdered with an axe in the same relatively small house and no one heard a thing.

*Although I think I also recently read one of the victims was found hiding in the closet. Not sure if that’s true or not.

Yes, the apparent murderer was short in stature. In several of the murder sites the bedrooms were located in areas of the home with slanted ceilings (pretty common in 2-story homes).

Also the murderer had the tendency to close all the curtains to keep others from being able to look in at his handiwork.

He (I don't think it's a reach to refer to the killer as a "he") would help himself to food and would sexually relieve himself somewhere in the house.

IF the same person committed all these murders the victim count is well over 100 people.

Just a stunning total.

 

[jsb357]

Interstate Highway 35 covers some 740 miles from Salina, Kansas, in the north, to Laredo, Texas, on the Mexican border.
More than half the highway's length -- in excess of 420 miles -- runs north-to-south across the Lone Star State, past
Gainesville, Denton, splitting to accommodate the twin giants of Dallas-Ft. Worth, reuniting above Hillsboro for the long
run south, through Waco, Temple, Austin, San Antonio. Between 1976 and 1981 the Texas stretch of I-35 was the
hunting ground for a killer (or killers) who preyed on hitchhikers, and motorists in trouble,
claiming at least 22 victims in five years time.

http://www.crimezzz.net/serialkillers/I/I35.php

Henry Lee Lucas claimed involvement but most are unsolved.

 

[aria]

You probably already know this but it was rumored that LaVey put a death curse on Jayne Mansfield and her then lover.
LaVey wanted to resend the curse because he had a change of heart but it was too late.

I never read anything about him putting a curse on her but allegedly he did do it to her boyfriend at the time and they both died in a car accident together IIRC.

He was an interesting character to say the least.

 

[aria]

Yes, the apparent murderer was short in stature. In several of the murder sites the bedrooms were located in areas of the home with slanted ceilings (pretty common in 2-story homes).

Also the murderer had the tendency to close all the curtains to keep others from being able to look in at his handiwork.

He (I don't think it's a reach to refer to the killer as a "he") would help himself to food and would sexually relieve himself somewhere in the house.

IF the same person committed all these murders the victim count is well over 100 people.

Just a stunning total.

Fascinating! I’m a bookworm so now you have my curiosity piqued, I’ll be getting that book in the near future.

Are you pretty familiar with all the suspects? If so, do you think it was this transient serial killer? One of the other suspects that interested me was the guy who the murdered husband worked for and allegedly had an affair with his daughter in law. It was rumored he may have hired someone to do it but to kill everyone in the house seems a little extreme.

 

[Seven]

Edmund Kemper was one of the early serial killers... Early 70's. At the end (after several prior murders), murdered and beheaded his mother, then murdered her friend and next door neighbor.

He then turned himself in.

There are a couple interviews with him on Youtube, both an early one and one more recently (he's been in prison for close to 50 years now).

You ever see 'ol Ed standing up?

He's one LARGE man. I believe he's over 7 feet.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Fascinating! I’m a bookworm so now you have my curiosity piqued, I’ll be getting that book in the near future.

Are you pretty familiar with all the suspects? If so, do you think it was this transient serial killer? One of the other suspects that interested me was the guy who the murdered husband worked for and allegedly had an affair with his daughter in law. It was rumored he may have hired someone to do it but to kill everyone in the house seems a little extreme.

All the other suspects discussed in the book were local to the killings in their area. However the crimes were so wide-spread across the country if the communication had been better from one jurisdiction to another, then some of the local guys who were blamed for the murders (in their own areas) probably wouldn't have been accused. Again, several of these folks that were blamed ended up in prison, were executed or lynched.

The main suspect was transient indeed. Riding the rails apparently from one local to another.

You could say, "Well he operated in a manner that was well beyond police investigation procedures of the era" which is true, but if he had done the same thing in the 1970's– he probably would have still gotten away with it for a long time.

 

[aria]

Oh shoot, almost forgot about this one. The only reason I know about it is because I was trying to read all of John Grishams books (just finished) and this is the only non fiction book he’s written. Apparently there’s a documentary on Netflix (maybe same title as book) but I’ve never seen it. If any of you can stomach reading, I highly, highly recommend this book. It leaves a big unanswered question (who done it) amongst several others and shows how messed up our legal system can be through corruption and other unethical practices.

I literally felt like I was reading something fictional because I couldn’t believe how screwed up a lot of what happened actually happened. To sum it up, 2 guys were sentenced to death row for a murder they allegedly committed. You’ll have to read the book or watch the documentary to form your own opinion but I know who’s side I believe. This is the book

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Innocent_Man:_Murder_and_Injustice_in_a_Small_Town

 

[SlammedZero]

My wife watches all the true crime/cold case shows but I can’t watch them. I used to read a lot about serial killers in high school before it became somewhat glamorized over the past decade. I’m pretty sure some of my teachers were frightened of me when I did presentations, art work, and papers on guys like Bundy and Gacy.

Anyways, I’ve changed a bit over the years and having seen so much death and sadness in my line of work, I can’t sit there and watch shows of someones life and family member being murdered anymore. It’s too depressing.

Having said that, there are still cases that have always interested me. Just a few are the villisca axe murders (lots of interesting theories on potential suspects and you can still rent a night in the house).

https://iowacoldcases.org/case-summaries/villisca-axe-murders/

Others that everyone knows would be the Black Dahlia, Jack the Ripper and to a lesser extent Elisa Lam.

My wife gets this way. She works in the medical field in-home care and hospice section of her division. Sometimes I will have a true crime show on and she will politely ask "can we watch something else?" I always get her drift and comply. So while I may not share in the personal experiences you have endured, I understand where you're coming from.

 

[SlammedZero]

Does anyone remember “the hunt for the zodiac killer” which was a mini series on History Channel that aired a few years ago?


They had people trying to crack one of the zodiacs ciphers, which eventually was cracked and then they also were investigating his crimes with retired detectives.


The series was awesome I loved watching it. But it seemed to end so abruptly, abruptly to the point that I was waiting for the next episode to come and it never did.

I wish they would do more episodes of that.

That's another one we may never know who the killer was. I know there are a fair amount of theories out there, but so far, nobody has anything concrete. I know they just recently cracked one of his codes and it was actually pretty underwhelming IMO. I was hoping for something more juicy. lol

 

[aria]

My wife gets this way. She works in the medical field in-home care and hospice section of her division. Sometimes I will have a true crime show on and she will politely ask "can we watch something else?" I always get her drift and comply. So while I may not share in the personal experiences you have endured, I understand where you're coming from.

Ha! You’re wife is a lot more polite about it than I am. I told my wife to change the channel when she’s done watching those shows because next time I turn the tv on to hear a deep solemn voice say “and there was a trail of blood leading to the basement where they found the missing body...” I would throw the remote through the tv. She finally got the message.

Kudos to your wife, in home and hospice are tough, that would definitely wear on me pretty quick. I have to deal with it every now and then, I couldn’t imagine doing it on a daily basis. Glad there’s people like her out there willing to do it, they’re important and make a big difference in the pt’s lives and their families.

 

[Bizwah]

You ever see 'ol Ed standing up?

He's one LARGE man. I believe he's over 7 feet.

I read he's 6-9.

Still huge.

 

[HungryLion]

That's another one we may never know who the killer was. I know there are a fair amount of theories out there, but so far, nobody has anything concrete. I know they just recently cracked one of his codes and it was actually pretty underwhelming IMO. I was hoping for something more juicy. lol

Yeah I saw that. Unfortunately the zodiac was just seemingly playing mind games and it didn’t contain anything substantial.

a real shame.

 

[Seven]

I read he's 6-9.

Still huge.

Thanks, my man. I could've looked it up rather than guess......shame on me.

 

[yimyammer]

I'm fascinated by people that do this crap and of all the cases I've followed, this guy is probably the scariest I've ever heard of, I hope no one learns from his example