◆ SpookStack

Douglas et al.: Criminal Profiling trom Crime Scene Analysis obtains victims by chance, and behaves haphazardly during the crime. For ex- ample, Herbert Mullin of Santa Cruz, California, who killed 14 people of varying types (e.g., an elderly man, a young girl, a priest) over a four-month period, did not display any specific planning or targeting of victims, rather, the victims were people who happened to cross his path, and their killings were based on psychotic impulses as well as on fantasy. The determination of whether or not the crime was staged (i.e., if the subject was truly careless or disorganized. or if he made the crime appear that way to distract or mislead the police) helps direct the investigative profiler to the killer’s motivation. In one case. a 16-year-old high school junior living in a small town failed to return home from school. Police, responding to the father’s report of his missing daughter, began their investigation and located the victim's scattered clothing in a remote area outside the town. A crude map was also found at the scene which seemingly implied a premeditated plan of kidnaping. The police followed the map to a location which indicated a body may have been disposed of in a nearby river. Written and telephoned extortion demands were sent to the father, a bank executive, for the sum of $80,000, indicating that a kidnap was the basis of the abduction. The demands wamed police in detail not to use electronic monitoring devices during their investigative efforts. Was this crime staged? The question was answered in two ways. The details in one aspect of the crime (scattered clothing and tire tracks) indicated that subject was purposely staging a crime while the details in the other (extortion) led the profilers to speculate who the subject was; specifically that he had a law enforcement background and therefore had knowledge of police procedures con- cerning crimes of kidnaping, hiding the primary intent of sexual assault and possible murder. With this information, the investigative profilers recommended that communication continue between the suspect and the police, with the hy- pothesis that the behavior would escalate and the subject become bolder. While further communications with the family were being monitored, profilers from the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit theorized that the subject of the case was a white male who was single, in his late 20's to early 30's, unemployed, and who had been employed as a law enforcement officer within the past year. He would be a macho outdoors type person who drove a late model, well maintained vehicle with a CB radio. The car would have the overall appearance of a police vehicle. As the profile was developed, the FBI continued to monitor the extortion telephone calls made to the family by the subject. The investigation, based on the profile, narrowed to two local men, both of whom were forme: police officers. One suspect was eliminated, but the FBI became very interested in the other since he fit the general profile previously developed. This individual was placed under surveillance. He turned out to be a single, white male who was previously employed locally as a police officer. He was now unemployed and drove a car consistent with the FBI profile. He was observed making a call from a telephone booth, and after hanging up, he taped a note under the telephone. The call was traced to the residence of the victim’s family. The caller had given instructions VOL. 4.NO 4+ 1986 19