Notorious Murderers and Serial Killers

It is currently unknown how many actual serial killers originate from Alaska. It is also difficult to say how many fugitive murderers have avoided justice by moving to Alaska from somewhere else in the United States.

One well-known serial killer from Alaska was Robert C. Hansen or Bob "The Butcher" Baker, who was convicted of killing 4 women and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. 11 recovered bodies are known to be Hansen's work but police speculate the death toll could be up to 30 or more.

Originally from Iowa, Hansen moved to Alaska as an adult. Despite prior arrests for theft and rape, Hansen managed to live under the radar for a decade as a quiet, respectable member of the community. He owned a bakery in Anchorage, Alaska (hence the name) and was an avid hunter, outdoorsman and pilot.

After sending his family on vacation, Hansen worked his 'Summer projects' by prowling the streets of Anchorage for prostitutes and strippers. After coercing one into his vehicle, he would kidnap her, bring her to his Anchorage home, rape her repeatedly, fly her out to his remote cabin on Knik River and release her into the woods. He would then hunt her down like an animal with his .223 caliber rifle.

In 1983, Hansen's luck ran out when 17-year-old Cindy Paulson managed to escape from the hangar before being flown out. Though her claims were largely ignored at first, they began taking her seriously after the discovery of the body of Jane Doe, 'Eklutna Annie'.

Police raided Hansen's home and discovered the murder weapon and a whole loot of paraphernalia connecting him to the murders. In 1984, Hansen confessed to 4 murders out of a plea bargain and even assisted police in finding other bodies. It is unknown to this day exactly how many women Hansen has killed.

There is no capital punishment in Alaska so Hansen is currently spending the rest of his years in the Seward, Alaska penitentiary.

- R. Shortman

Wasilla, Alaska

At the time of his arrest, Ridgeway lived with his third wife in Auburn, WA. A city in Washington south of Seattle.

The 'strain theory' as it applies to Gary L. Ridgeway, aka Green River Killer, begins in his childhood. Ridgeway had a very interesting relationship with his domineering mother. Borderline incestuous, Ridgeway later told how her provocative way of dressing, bathing young Gary when in his teens, and an absent father left Ridgeway sexually attracted to his mother. She was also overbearing and would quite frequently humiliate him especially about his bed wetting. Although the Ridgeways seemed, at least superfically, like an average family, Gary struggled throughout his childhood and teen years.

As an adult he had failed marriages (2), failed service record, and in general had trouble relating to other people. As is common with serial killers, many are not at ease with the rest of the human population.

Modern forensics caught up with the Green River Killer, Gary Leon Ridgeway. One of the most vital pieces of evidence was very specialized paint chips found on a victim. That and a DNA profile from a previous arrest led police to Ridgeway. Ridgeway was arrested at his place of employment where painted trucks at the Kenworth factory in Auburn, Wa.

Criminal profiling is a combination of science, psychology, good old-fashion detective work and experience. At every crime scene there are clues. Not just fingerprints and hairs and fibers. More subtle hints that give detectives a glimpse into the perp's mindset. The Boston Strangler liked to pose the bodies in particular ways. These types of behaviors tell a story to the profiler. 'Posers' are usually trying to shock the police and the community, and in most cases they do. The Boston Strangler's unique calling card, in addition to the posing, was to tie an article of the victim's clothing or other personal objects around the women's necks since they were easily accessed because the murders took place within the victim's homes. Nylon stockings or the tie belt to a bathrobe are examples of this.

This is where the fine line between MO and signature is defined. The perp's MO is his method(s) that is needed to actually carry out the crime. But the signature is what the killer does to satisfy a psychological need that he has. This signature is like a mental fingerprint, unique to that individual killer. A serial killer's MO will usually change and evolve as he hones his technique. But his signature will not change. His psychological needs remain the same.

Former FBI Special Agent Gregg McCrary has written several books about profiling. They make for facinating reading and it will give you an idea of how profiling actually works.

Actually, Mr. Ramirez is dead. He died of complications with the B-cell lymphoma and substandard care given to inmates of American prisons at 9:10 AM on 7 June 2013. He was 53 years old.

Edward Theodore "Ed" Gein was an American serial killer and grave robber. Ed Gein, known as The Butcher of Plainfield, gained notoriety in the 1950s for murdering at least two women and for committing grisly, fetishistic acts on corpses stolen from graves. He was sent to Waupan State Hospital because he seemed insane. He died of cancer in 1984.

The FBI calculates active serial killers to be close to a thousand in the United States but it is still highly unlikely that you will ever encounter an active serial killer. They go for prostitutes and homeless most of the time. In the related links box below, I posted an article that you should read in case you need it.

//The estimate for active serial killers according to FBI statistics is between 25-50 at any given time. And while it is true that prostitutes make easy targets, there are just as many who target other types of victims. Examples of this:Ted Bundy liked pretty, brunette co-eds, Edmund Kemper (with the exception of his own family members) liked young college girls also, Jeffrey Dahmer picked young men with dark complextions, Danny Rolling killed both male and female young adults, John Wayne Gacy killed white young men and boys, Dean Corll chose young men, BTK killed both sexes of different ages but the focus was on young girls and women, Son of Sam David Berkowitz liked white middle-class couples (male/female), Wayne Williams liked black young boys and men (with one or two young girls), Richard Ramirez liked to sneak into the homes of the middle-class killing both sexes, Paul Bernardo and Karla Homolka aka Ken and Barbie killers picked teenaged school girls including one of Karla's sisters, Aileen Wuornos picked middle-aged men, the Zodiac (original) killed mostly young couples, and Harold Shipmen, a doctor from Great Britian, killed an estimated 200 elderly patients after they gave Shipman executor status of their newly signed wills.

As for the state of Pennsylvania, there are of course unsolved homicides but they are unrelated. That doesn't mean there is not a killer on the loose but many times police don't recognize this type of killer for quite a while. This type of killer can be very crafty in their ability to avoid detection and stay at least a step in ahead of the law.

Serial killers are not described by number of kills, rather, by the method and psychological factors that went into the kills. For example, ssgt. Giunta in afganastan killed between 9& 13 people in a 20min. period of time. By your definition, we should have him executed. Instead we gave him the congressional medal of honor. Son of Sam killed the same number of people but he was a serial killer. Most female serial killers are suffering from munchousen by proxy. The others are in almost always involved with male serial killers, or they kill men who remind them of their male abusers. Women make up approximately 51% of the earths population, they represent less then half of that percentile in murders. And less then half that percentile of serial killers. At any given time there are approximately 300 serial killers operating in the USA. Statistically speaking, only, about 10 of those are women. Almost all serial killers are are white males between 18&45 So most serial killer profiles begin with that group of people. That is unless the victims are children or men that died of poisoning or genital mutilation.

//Female serial killers comprise only 8% of all American serial killers. Furthermore, American female serial killers comprise 76% of female serial killers world-wide. The total for female serial killers is around 62 to 65. Contrary to the above information, Munchausen by proxy is one of the rarest conditions and makes up only a small percentage of total female serial killers.

The FBI estimates that at any given time there may be up to 50 active serial killers.//

That's the million dollar question. There's no way to do so right now. We don't have a solution because we don't even understand where the problem stems from. There are many hypothesis on how a serial killer is a serial killer, but none of them can give us a 100% insight to how they became who they became. Many serial killers have loads of things in common, like living in a dysnfuctional home and suffering head trauma as children. But we still can't find the problem. Until we know what the problem is, we cannot solve it.

The larger percentage of serial killers are born under the sign of Cancer.

Serial means a series of crimes, usually one at a time, with a 'cooling off' period in between kills. The cooling off time depends on the individual killer. Jack The Ripper killed two women in the space of an hour. Some killers may not kill again for several years.

Many people think that serial murder is about sex and in fact sexual violence is a factor for a large number of these types of killers. But what most serial murder is about is power and control. This power is the true reason that these killers do what they do. Ted Bundy summed it up nicely. He loved to watch the life go out of his victim's eyes. For those few moments Bundy was in total control, he held the fate of that victim in his hands. He had the power to spare or take life as he saw fit. Even at the end of his life Bundy retained a certain control by not revealing victim's names which would have brought a certain amount of closure and relief to the families that remained. To the very end it was all about Ted.

Jack Ruby shot accused Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald to death on live national TV, during a prisoner transfer. Ruby blended in with the scores of reporters covering the event.

No, She is not. She unfortunately died of breast cancer in the year 2000. she is buried in Atlanta, Georgia.

We don't know, and research does not provide an answer. Searching the online New york state DOC Inmate Information site does not show Lemuel Smith. This indicates that the prisoner's information has been removed, likely for security reasons.

What we do know is that Smith is incarcerated for three life sentences, and a fourth life sentences commutwd from a sentence of death. Mr. Smith will never be a free man again. We also know that "solitary confinement" is not permitted under US law. However, the state DOC's and FBOP use modified forms of the punishment for inmates such as Smith. Likely as not, although this is speculation, Smith is housed in a Segregation unit or the SHU, allowing him at best one hour a day for showering and individual "yard" time.

Again, lacking the abilty to confirm this, it is at best speculation.

After 3 similar murders have occurred over a span of more than 30 days with apparent "breaks" or "cooling off" periods in between each murder.

For example, after the 3rd body was found in the Green River in Washington in the 80s, it was officially classified as a serial crime.

It's up to debate as to whether Ed Gein should truly be described as a serial killer. He only admitted to killing 2 women, and was convicted for these two. Law officials believe he may be responsible for other murders in the area. But it goes unproven.

Ed Gein was a regular grave robber, not necessarily a murderer. But his increasingly violent behaviour would have eventually led him to further murders, had he not been so disorganised, which made it easy for investigators to track down their murderer.

West Yorkshire in the northern part of England.

most people will not be able to determine a serial killer from just looking at him. It takes law enforcement agencies a great deal of work and time to do so. For your part you should avoid dangerous areas depicted by the law enforcement agencies and put a lot of use of common sence.

It's possible that there is one presently active. Two young women, one from Georgia, the other from Florida, disappeared suddenly just months apart. The crimes have many similarities and police from both states are comparing notes.

The right thing to do is call 911. If you have a lawyer call him/her right away (first even). Wait for law enforcement to arrive and do not make any threatening movements when they do arrive.

Running away just makes things worse. Your lawyer will advise you.

It obviously depends on the circumstances.

A civilian, in the normal course of events, should call the emergency services.

He was 48 when he killed Mary Hogan, owner of a local tavern. That was his first kill.

The most common motives for murder are:

for financial gain,

unintentional in the commission of another crime,

as the ultimate control of another person,

vengeance or retribution,

result of a mental illness,

jealousy,

hate,

fear,

arrogance or self righteousness,

subservience to another person or entity.

Some murders are a result of a combination of these motivations.