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Our Fascination With Serial Killers

Our fascination with Serial killers

The Sun-Herald (Sydney, Australia). (May 21, 2000): News: p95. From Opposing Viewpoints In Context.

Copyright:

COPYRIGHT 2000 Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited. Fairfax Media Publications Pty Limited. www.smh.com.au. Not available for re-distribution.

Full Text:

Byline: Sue Williams

As Sir Anthony Hopkins picks up $40 million for reprising his role as Hannibal Lecter, a Sydney academic announces the first Australian survey of serial killers. Sue Williams reports. THEIR names are as familiar as any hero of our popular culture. In the US, there's Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer. In the UK, memories of Fred and Rosemary West bring a chill to our hearts. In Australia we have backpacker killer Ivan Milat, "Granny Killer" John Wayne Glover, drug-crazed Richard Leonard and the Perth killer of young women who is still playing a cat-and-mouse game with police and his victims. Yet they don't only spread terror and horror on the dark streets of major cities. There are far more novels revolving around the ghastly deeds of serial killers than there ever could be real crimes, and they're up there in lights at thousands of cinemas every day. Where would the collective consciousness be without the five-Oscar The Silence Of The Lambs and its much-mooted sequel, Hannibal. Or Seven, The Bone Collector or the upcoming movie of the hotly debated American Psycho? We might be resting a lot easier in our beds, for a start. "The number of movies and books about serial killers has exploded in the past five years," said John Clarke, who is about to run lectures on serial killers at the University of Sydney. "People are just fascinated by them. They're interested in the psychological profiling aspect and they always want to know what makes a serial killer different from themselves. "The answer is: not much. It's just that the serial killer is prepared to go to extremes to get power over other people. Everyone wants power, but serial killers will go to any lengths to get it." When Clarke announced his lectures on the subject, he was inundated by thousands of people wanting to sign up. He spent the next five days answering his phone. He is convinced, happily, that the interest isn't coming from serial killers eager to learn new techniques, or even wannabe killers anxious to find out how it's done. It's purely that regular, law-abiding people's interest is always piqued by a grisly phenomenon that has always been with us, but usually much less publicised. Some of that response has come from police, too. With profiling gaining more and more currency among our top crimebusters, even the ordinary copper on the street is eager to find out more. Indeed, Clarke's proudest moment came recently when a police officer who had attended one of his Sydney lectures helped track down an elusive serial killer using some of the techniques he had learnt on the day. "The reason I do these courses is to get people to think critically about things and what's going on," said Clarke, now completing his PhD in psychology, who has lectured NSW police on serial homicide, serial rape, criminal investigative analysis and interview techniques. "If I manage to tell one police officer ... how to spot a serial killer, and they manage to catch one person, then that's worth the entire course," he said. "I know that's happened in the past. A policeman I know helped solve a series of crimes because he recognised one of the things that I mentioned to look for. He told his fellow officers they should look at one suspect again and ended up arresting and charging him. "If you end up taking one more serial killer off the streets, then it's all worthwhile. That's my primary motivation." Clarke is about to embark on a landmark study of Australian serial killers. Already, it is sparking a great deal of attention from police, law-makers and academics the world over. NO-ONE knows how many of our murder victims have fallen prey to serial killers. Latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show a fall in the annual number of murders, from 321 in 1997 to 284 in 1998. But with crime investigators in the US putting the number of serial killers wandering around at any time at about 35, it is realistic to assume Australia has at least two or three still on the loose. More accurate estimates are well nigh impossible, however. While it is easy to track the well-publicised disappearance of a number of young women on Sydney's north shore, it's less likely that the vanishing of a number of sex workers, homeless people or travellers will be added up to the conclusion that a serial killer is working the streets. So how do you spot them? There were always a few signs to look out for, Clarke said. Most had two characteristics out of the "homicidal triad" of bed-wetting, being fascinated by fire and being cruel to animals or small children. Half of them have been physically, sexually or emotionally abused by their parents, and being bullied at school is very common. Most have very low self-esteem and feel disenfranchised by society. They don't care about other people and feel so outside society that they believe they can do anything they want. A very large proportion have suffered a traumatic head injury at some point, which has caused brain damage. Some may be mentally ill with a recognised problem such as schizophrenia; and up to 40 per cent may be genuinely insane. It is always difficult, however, to work out whether the serial killers are sane or not. For instance, in the US, schizophrenic Richard Chase believed his blood would turn to powder unless he drank human blood. He embarked on a series of horrific crimes, involving slitting people open, having sex with their internal organs and then putting them in the blender, to drink. A court found him sane. It didn't do him much good, though. He was later stabbed to death in jail by another prisoner. Nearly all serial killers like to strangle their victims, often so they can have sex and feel the person die at the same time. Almost all about 98pc are men and they're predominantly white, aged between 25 and 35, fairly well off and with above-average intelligence. Many are older than their siblings. It is difficult to know if there are more serial killers today, or if we've simply become more proficient at catching them. Talk of vampires and werewolves in the distant past, experts now suspect, was suspicion of serial killers. *John Clarke's lectures on serial killers are on June 22 and 24 at the University of Sydney. Details are available fromhim on 0416 166 028 or on e-mail [email protected]. REIGNS OF TERROR John Wayne Glover Dubbed the Granny Killer, Glover, 59, was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1991 for killing six elderly women on Sydney's north shore between 1989 and 1990. The court heard he had a bizarre fascination with elderly women. Richard Leonard Leonard, 24, was jailed for life in 1997 for the murders of gardener Stephen Dempsey, whose body he dismembered, and taxi driver Ezzedine Bahmad. Unknown Police in Perth are still hunting a serial killer suspected of being responsible for the disappearance of three young women after they had visited nightclubs. The bodies of lawyer Ciara Glennon, child-care worker Jane Rimmer and Sarah Spiers were all found within a 50km radius. Ted Bundy The US serial killer was linked to 36 killings and disappearances before he was executed for the murder of a 12-year-old girl and two women, aged 20 and 21. He claimed responsibility for 10 other murders before his death in Florida in 1989. Jeffrey Dahmer The man nicknamed Satan was sentenced in 1992 to 936 years in jail in Wisconsin, US, for a decade-long reign of terror in which he murdered, dismembered and sometimes ate the bodies of 17 men and boys.

CAPTION(S):FIVE ILLUS: POWER: Sir Anthony Hopkins as serial killer Hannibal Lecter in The Silence Of The Lambs. KILLER:Glover. KILLER:Leonard. KILLER:Bundy. KILLER: Dahmer.

Sue Williams

DMU Timestamp: March 07, 2019 02:52





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